The Vaudeville Star

Ruby watched the siblings move effortlessly across the stage, and she smiled at them. They were good people. Kind people. She was so grateful to have met them both.

She picked up the next card, which bore the name “The Mysterious Chinaman.” She saw him backstage wearing his long black gown. His eyes were closed, and he seemed to be in a trance with his arms dangling at his side. No one bothered him as the stagehands moved about, and several minutes passed before the Moore siblings exited the stage.

“Lively audience tonight!” Bessie said breathlessly.

“They are! Nothing worse than a cold crowd,” Archie agreed.

Ruby took a deep breath and entered the stage with her new sign. Everyone clapped, and Ruby smiled brightly as she crossed the stage. When she moved back across, someone shouted, “Don’t go!”

Ruby performed her little curtsy and winked at the audience, who roared their approval.

“Well, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em,” she told the old stagehand backstage.

He winked back at her and grinned.

Ford read the telegram, which was brief and to the point. Ruby was working at one of the theaters in New York and had found a room at a nearby boardinghouse. Ford placed the telegram aside and smiled to himself. He wasn’t exactly surprised, but Ruby was a woman who did the unexpected. He had almost laughed at her when she told him of her desire to travel to New York.

Women of her breeding didn’t do such a thing. They m

arried young and had children. But she was a firebrand, and it was something he had always admired. Their night together had changed everything for him. He knew he cared for her, but she had been dead set on leaving. He had discreetly asked one of his fellow detectives to follow her from Connecticut, and so he had.

He was a nondescript fellow with sandy blond hair, and Ford knew no one would look twice at him. He had followed Ruby since she had left school, and finally Ford had received the update via telegram. It was time he was getting back to New York himself. He had enjoyed his time in Mississippi, but his work required him to be in New York. He would telegram the agency, find out his next assignment, and take the next train back.

Ruby watched from the wings as the Vadas sisters performed onstage. Their song was the popular “Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay" that had been made famous by Lottie Collins almost ten years earlier.

The sisters moved about the stage in a sensuous manner and flung their skirts over their backs to expose their ruffle-clad bottoms. Ruby had never seen anything like it, and she was mesmerized, her eyes wide and staring at the sisters as they pranced about the stage. And how the male audience members loved the sisters! They whistled and yelled as the chorus began and then quieted down when each sister sang a verse.

A sweet tuxedo girl you see, A queen of swell society, Fond of fun as fond can be, When it's on the strict Q.T.

I'm not too young, I'm not too old, Not too timid, not too bold, Just the kind you'd like to hold

Just the kind for sport I'm told.

The lyrics were extremely suggestive, and the men whistled and clapped and seemed to love every second of it. When the sisters flew offstage, breathless and laughing, after their song, the cat-calls continued for them to return.

When Ruby came onstage with her card, it bore only two words, “Zeta Riggi.” As the audience saw the name, they clapped and clamored for the star of the show.

Vernon and Max had groveled enough to have Zeta return, and as always, she had agreed. She waited until the applause died down before she entered. The applause came again, and Zeta put a hand out to wave to them. She also acknowledged the conductor of the orchestra, who in turn nodded to her.

Ruby watched as Zeta completely commanded the stage and everyone was silenced by her. She wore a gown of emerald satin and long black ostrich feathers in her hair. A string of pearls dangled to her waist, and she looked stylish and elegant.

“The Boy I Love Is Up in the Gallery” was her signature song and had been for almost ten years. It had been made famous by Marie Lloyd, who was a contemporary of Zeta’s. Even though the song was about a young girl and her love, Zeta refused to give it up. She even began to make small changes to the song that made the audience laugh.

I was a young girl, having just come over, Over from the country where they do things big, And amongst the boys I've got a lover, And since I've got a lover, why I don't care a fig.

The boy I love is up in the gallery, The boy I love is looking now at me, There he is, can't you see, waving his handkerchief, As merry as a robin that sings on a tree.

Her voice was not as high and clear as it had once been, but she was well loved in New York, and the audience flocked to see her. As she sang the line about the boy in the gallery, she waved her hand up to it, and several people waved back.

When she had finished her song, she exited the stage with wild applause following her, not even casting a glance at Ruby. Ruby sighed. She wanted to be exactly like Zeta. Center stage and adored.

That night after the performance, she lay on her back going over everything she had seen from each act. They all had something that drew the audience in. The magician was mysterious while the comedian made everyone laugh, and the sisters were sexy and fun. The dancing duo danced as most people never could while Zeta commanded the stage.

She had memorized several songs while at school, but none of them were special. She needed a song to learn and practice so that when the time was right she could perform it onstage. She would ask for Bessie’s help. She would know what to do.

The next morning after breakfast, Ruby and Bessie ventured to a side street off of Broadway to a well-known music store frequented by many of the vaudeville troupers. The store sold a wide range of instruments as well as sheet music, and as they entered the shop, a bell over the door sounded their arrival.

“Hello,” Bessie called out.