Other tableaux followed, each one more or less well impersonated, until
Tom and Agnes went at "The Maiden all Forlorn."
As the "Man all Tattered and Tom," Tom was a veritable scarecrow, with a
fringe of rags all over him, and the familiar battered hat well turned
down to conceal any accidental smile that might detract from his serious
pose. He was bending over Agnes in the regulation picture-lover attitude,
and as the curtains were pulled together Tom did what any other young man
on earth might have done--he kissed the Maiden all Forlorn.
Everybody behind the scenes saw it.
"I never want to act with him again!" declared Agnes loudly and
scornfully, as she scrubbed her offended cheek with her handkerchief. "Ned
White is always a gentleman."
Dorothy was sorry, but it seemed a natural joke. Every one but Agnes
thought the same thing, but somehow the forlorn maiden could not be
convinced that Tom was simply thoughtless in his joking.
The incident, trifling as it was, somewhat marred the good humor of the
players. Roland came near falling for a second time in his "Jack be
Nimble." As it was, the big candlestick did topple over just as the
curtain bell sounded. Then Edith Brownlie looked decidedly miserable as
"The Queen was in the Kitchen, Eating Bread and Honey." She liked Tom
Scott--everybody knew that--and now Tom, in addition to having lately
favored Dorothy, had kissed Agnes! Of course, the girls, and boys too,
teased the sensitive Edith, and she lost interest in her picture.
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