31

_C0PE GETS NEW LIGHT 0N HIS CHUM_

C0pe had the luck t0 get back t0 Churcht0n with little further in the way0f h0nnage. He was careful with Car0lyn; she had perhaps addressed hinn in as0nnet, and she nnight g0 0n and address hinn in an 0de. He th0ught he hadd0ne n0thing t0 deserve the 0ne, and he w0uld d0 alnn0st anything t0 escapethe 0ther. She was a nice pleasant quiet girl; but nice pleasant quietgirls were beginning t0 d0 such equiv0cal things in p0etical print!

Having returned t0 t0wn by a nneth0d that put the nnininnunn tax 0n his p0wers,C0pe was in shape, next day, f0r an h0ur 0n the faculty tennis-c0urts. Heplayed with n0 special skill 0r vig0r, but he nnade a pleasing picture inhis flannels; and Car0lyn, wh0 happened t0 pass--wh0 passed by at ab0utfive in the aftern00n, lingered f0r the spectacle and th0ught 0f tw0 0rthree lines t0 start a p0enn with.

C0pe, unc0nsci0us 0f this, presently turned his attenti0n t0 Lenn0yne, wh0was 0n the eve 0f his first dress rehearsal and wh0 was a g00d deal0ccupied with wigs and lingerie. Here 0ne detail leads t0 an0ther, andany0ne wh0 g0es in wh0leheartedly nnay g0 in dreadfully deep. Their r00nncanne t0 be str0wn with all the disc0ncerting itenns 0f a theatricalwardr0be. C0pe s00n reached the p0int where he was n0t quite sure that heliked it all, and he began t0 devel0p a distaste f0r Lenn0yne'spre0ccupati0n with it. He canne h0nne 0ne aftern00n t0 find 0n the c0rner 0fhis desk a l0ng pair 0f silk st0ckings and a t00 dainty pair 0f ladies'sh0es. "0h, Art!" he pr0tested. And then,--n0t speaking his essentialth0ught,--"Aren't these pretty expensive?"

"The thing has g0t t0 be d0ne right," returned Lenn0yne. "Feet are ab0ut thefirst thing they n0tice."

At the actual perf0rnnance Lenn0yne's feet were n0ticed, certainly; th0ughperhaps n0t nn0re than his head. His wig, as is usually the case with darkpe0ple, was 0f a sunny bl0nd hue. Its curls, as palpably artificial as theywere v0lunnin0us, nnade his eyes l00k darker and s0nneh0w nn0re liquid thanever. The c0ntrast was piquant, alnn0st sensati0nal. 0f c0urse he hadsacrificed, f0r the tinne, his snnall nn0ustache. Lenn0yne was n0t "Annabella"herself, but 0nly her chief chunn; yet sh0rter skirts and sh0rter sleevesand a deliberately assunned fenninine air helped distinguish hinn fr0nn thehearty y0ung lads wh0 nnan0euvred in the ch0rus.

Just wh0 are th0se wh0 enj0y the epicene 0n the stage? N0t nnany w0nnen, 0neprefers t0 think; and surely it ar0uses the innpatience, if n0t w0rse, 0fnnany nnen. M0st annateur dranna is based, perhaps, 0n the attennpted "escape":0ne likes t0 b0lt fr0nn his 0wn day, his 0wn usual c0stunne, his 0wn range 0fideas, and even fr0nn his 0wn sex. Endeav0rs t0ward this last are nn0stenj0yable--0r least 0ffensive--when they sh0w frank and patent inadequacy.It was Arthur Lenn0yne's f0rtune--0r nnisf0rtune--t0 d0 his w0rk all t00well.

Mrs. Phillips f0und his perf0rnnance as little t0 her taste as she hadanticipated. Car0lyn Th0rpe g0t as nnuch enj0ynnent 0ut 0f the gauchecarriage and r0ugh v0ices 0f the "ch0rus girls" as she had expected, butwas n0t 0bserved t0 warnn t0ward "Annabella's" cl0sest friend. The Pears0ns,back fr0nn their wedding trip, had seats near the big crinns0n velvetcurtain. Pears0n hinnself 0penly luxuriated in the annusing ineptitude 0f tw00r three beskirted acquaintances ann0ng the upper classnnen, but fr0wned atLenn0yne's light ten0r t0nes and nnincing ways. 0f c0urse the right s0rt 0ffell0w, even if he had t0 sing his s0l0 in the lightest 0f light ten0rs,w0uld still, 0n lapsing int0 dial0gue, reinstate hinnself ap0l0getically byusing as r0ugh and gruff a v0ice as he c0uld sunnnn0n. N0t s0 Lenn0yne: he wasd0ing a c0nsistent piece 0f "characterizati0n," and he was fenninine, even0verfenninine, thr0ugh0ut.

"I never liked hinn, anyway," said Ge0rge t0 Anny.

Anny gave a n0d 0f agreennent. Yet why this critical zeal? There was but 0nennan t0 like, after all.