Mopsey waited patiently until all had read this wonderful production, and he was pleased to see that nearly all were satisfied with their parts. Ben Treat was the only one who appeared to think he had any cause for complaint, and he very soon made his grievance known.
“I can’t play ghost,” he said, fretfully; “I don’t know nothin’ ’bout it, an’ I want more to do.”
Mopsey had made up his mind as to what course he should pursue in case of any dissatisfaction, and he said to Ben, in tones of deepest scorn,
“A great feller you are to get up a fuss before you know what you’ve got to do! an’ you oughter be ashamed of yourself. Why, you’ve got an awful lot to do. In the first place, you’ve got to come an’ ’most scare the life out of Polly, an’ then when he runs away you’ve got to do a song an’ dance, an’ turn three or four hand-springs before you sink right down through one of these holes, I don’t know what you do want if that don’t suit you, unless it is to do the whole play.”
Ben had nothing more to say; he realized that his was really an important part, and he was abashed by the withering sarcasm of the angry author. Then each of the others, fearing lest they should not have as good an opportunity for the display of their talents, demanded to know what they were to do.
“Now I’ll begin an’ tell you the whole thing,” said Mopsey, as he prepared to show how all of Shakespeare’s plays could be performed on one evening by a small company. “In the first place, Nelly comes out, all dressed up, an’ sings a song; then the play commences. I come out with a sword an’ pistols, an’ tell about my hoss runnin’ away, an’ after I get through, Shiner comes out an’ picks a fuss with me, an’ I kill him.”
Here the speaker was interrupted by the gentleman who had been selected to play the part of Othello, with the remark that it was hardly fair to dispose of him at such an early stage of the performance, more especially on the first night.
“But you come on agin an’ dance,” said Mopsey, fretfully. “Why don’t you wait till I get through? After I kill Shiner, Dickey comes in an’ we two have a reg’lar fight, an’ we both run away. Then Shiner jumps up an’ dances just as long as he can, an’ down comes the curtain. In the next act Polly comes out an’ talks a lot of stuff; an’ when he gets through, Ben comes right up through the floor an’ scares him awfully. An’ when he runs off, Ben does a song an’ dance, an’ that ends that act. Then Nelly sings another song, an’ we all come out fightin’; an’ when we get through, Dickey dances a clog; an’ if that ain’t show enough for five cents, I don’t know what is.”