cdotes. And this he
kept up morning and evening until the notable Sunday came.

[Illustration: "HE GRINNED AND WINKED AND FRISKED AND CAPERED"]

He was so nervous, this old actor of a thousand parts, that he could eat
no supper that night. He almost trotted to the gymnasium in his
excitement, and, though his pockets bulged with grease paint, mustaches,
wigs, and other paraphernalia, he forgot almost half of his material. At
the door he had to push his way through a wriggling, impish mass of
small boys who blocked the steps and the sidewalk. Inside the hall,
young faces packed the place to the window-sills. To the old man the
newsboys seemed as so many antagonistic bits of the younger generation,
the generation which evidently would have none of him, which relegated
him carelessly to the warehouse for old scenery and old settings.

He stood in dismay behind an extemporized "wing" and peered out at the
restless little bodies. He fancied already that he could see grins on
their sophisticated faces, ridicule in their eyes; he remembered once
hearing a gallery god shout "Twenty-three!" in the middle of an actor's
monologue, and what had then seemed humorous precocity now seemed hard,
bitter cruelty. He fumbled at his make-up in his pockets, shuffled
uneasily, and waited.

It was almost time to begin. Where were the other actors who had
promised to come? The boys out front were whistling, kicking their feet
upon the floor, clapping their hands, and shouting to one another. A
distracted official raced here and there among other officials, asking
some sort of exasperated question. Barnes could not hear what it was;
but telepathically he felt that there was a hitch in the program.

At last, after waiting a quarter of an hour, the manager stepped forward
and said:

"Boys, we had arranged a fine program for you to-night----"

"Good fer you!" yelled a voice.

The speaker held up his hand. "But it seems that actors are better
_promisers_ than they are _actors_." He smiled at his own joke, but the
audience gave one long "Aw-w-w!"

"However," he continued, "we are all here now and we intend to do the
best we can. If we make up our mind to, we can have a bully good time
just the same. We have with us at least one kind gentleman who
appreciates what a celebration like this means to the boys." ... Barnes
heard and saw things as if through a fog. The arms of the speaker were
gyrating and a voice shouted in the ear of the old act