That third act went off well....
"But you skipped a few lines in that act, Mr. Gregory," warned the directress, concerned.
"Oh, let me alone, will you!" I returned, enjoying the petulance of stardom to the full....
"Remember the fight-scene at the finish," she persisted, "just pretend to strike with the shovel ... you might hurt someone!" anxiously.
"I am going to act the thing realistically, not as a matter of stagecraft."
She tiptoed away. And I had the satisfaction of hearing her instruct the boys who acted as guards, and who were to seize on me—in my moment of physical exasperation—
"Grab him before the cue, just a trifle before it! I think Mr. Gregory is going to forget himself!"
I swung the shovel high in the air, making at all my relatives, crying out terms of reproach ... sobbing....
In the audience, everybody sat still with wonder.