She walked away, and Frank followed her sympathetically with his eyes.
“As good-hearted girl as ever lived,” he murmured. “It’s a shame she’s contracted that frightful habit. I’m afraid it has such a hold on her that she’ll never be able to get rid of it. Poor Cassie!”
Then he resumed his studying.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE REHEARSAL.
By this time the band, which had given its midday parade through the town at the regular hour, was gathered before the stage, ready to practice the pieces to be played that evening.
Ephraim Gallup had managed to retain his position in the band, as he was a remarkably good baritone player, and he had a way of making his horn “talk” so that it pleased the ear of the average countryman mightily.
Hans Dunnerwurst, the Dutch boy, had developed a knack for playing the bass drum, so he was retained by Manager Haley. Hans played the drum and cymbals at the same time, beating the drum with his right hand and playing the cymbals with his left, one of the brass discs being attached to the drum so that the other could be struck against it.
The leader of the band had a great idea of the proper music for a street parade and for an inclosure like the interior of a hall or theater. On the street the little band of eight pieces roared and thundered in an amazing manner, making enough noise for four times their number. It was not noise without harmony, either; and it was the kind of music that pleased all small boys and most men and women.
In the band was a quartet of fine singers. Each night the band played in front of the theater just before the doors were opened. The final piece in the open air was one that always pleased the fancy of the listeners, as it was replete with all kinds of musical tricks. It contained a cornet solo, into which some imitation bugle calls were worked, a snare drum solo, during which, for a few seconds, the drummer rattled away on the side of his drum, instead of the head; a trombone solo, giving the trombone player a chance to do some fancy flourishing, and, at one point in the piece, every other instrument stopped for the bass drum and cymbals to rattle, and bang, and thunder, and crash. But the real catching features of the piece came toward the end. Of a sudden every instrument stopped, and the entire band whistled a strain of the piece. Then it was that Hans Dunnerwurst made his great hit, for he was a marvelous whistler, and he warbled and trilled in a way that made it seem a whole flock of mocking-birds had broken loose, and caused the spectators to stand on their toes and crane their necks to see who was producing all those amazing sounds. The final feature of this piece was singing by the quartet, and when it was all over the crowd almost invariably broke into a tumult of applause, and the astute Mr. Haley rushed the band off the scene, knowing anything more would be too much, as the crowd had been worked up to just the proper pitch to part with its quarters and halves.