To the tyro Mr. Manning was rather terrifying. His bowler hat, which he always wore either on the extreme back or the extreme front of his head, seemed menacing, as also did the extinguished cigarette which stuck to his lower lip and engaged upon the strangest evolutions as he spoke.
“Y-e-es,” he said, looking her up and down. “Um! Of course I know what you can do. What have you done?”
“Nothing,” said Mary, startled into speaking the truth.
Mr. Manning sucked his teeth and shook his head. At this juncture Eliphalet Cardomay appeared from behind the scenery, and said:
“All right, Manning, make the engagement. She will enter after the French Consul and his wife—cross down right and sit in chair below settee until music cue, then off; on again at finale by door right. Walk it through and see the wardrobe-mistress. Tell Boscombe to make a duration of tour contract.” And without another word he vanished into the shadows.
“Am I really engaged?” panted Mary. “Is it a good part?”
“No worse than other walk-on,” replied Manning. “Come on through this door; you’ll have to go on to-night, and I want some tea.”
It is questionable whether the inclusion of Miss Eunice Terry at the Ambassador’s reception greatly improved the scene. For certainly never was a guest more awkward.
With jealous amazement she viewed the natural ease of the other young ladies in the crowd, and envied them their mellifluous laughter. Earlier in the evening she had listened with awe to the conversation in the dressing-room, and had marked how each, according to her own tale, was usually to be seen in highly important rôles, but being sick of “resting” had accepted a “walk-on” as a “fill-in.” From the way the Christian names of stage celebrities flew about Mary judged them to be well in with the élite of the profession. After a few days she learnt that it was not essential to be personally acquainted with such persons as Julia Neilson or Marie Löhr, before speaking of them as “Julia” or “Marie.”
These familiarities intrigued her greatly, and before the week was out she was able to refer to H. B. Irving as “Harry” or Dion Boucicault as “Dot” without the slightest embarrassment. Eliphalet Cardomay was the only person never spoken of by an abbreviation. He was and remained “The Guv’nor.”