finally whispered so loudly that Majkowska trembled on the stage.

Rosinska sat behind the scenes on the other side of the stage. As
soon as Majkowska entered there began a scene upon the stage for she
repeated each word after Mela in an undertone and in a false
intonation, laughed aloud at her acting, ridiculed and mimicked her
gestures.

At first Majkowska paid no attention to this, but finally she could
no longer refrain from looking behind the scenes and could not help
hearing that raillery and mimicry of herself. She could not catch
the prompter's words and stopped short in the middle of a sentence,
while Rosinska continued to crowd her ever more mercilessly.

Majkowska grew furious with impotent rage, but her playing was
becoming worse all the time and she felt it, and began to throw
herself about the stage as though she were obsessed. Behind every
scene she saw faces laughing at her; even Dobek in his box stopped
his mouth with his hand so heartily amused was he by what was going
on. That deprived Majkowksa of the rest of her self-control.

As soon as she left the stage she threw herself at Rosinska with her
fists. There arose such a rumpus that the men had to part the two
actresses, for they had begun pulling the hair out of each other's
wigs. Majkowska was forcibly led to the dressing-room. She raged
like a mad woman and got an attack of hysteria. She smashed mirrors,
tore up costumes, and tossed about so violently that they had to
call a doctor and tie her hands and feet.

Cabinska pulled out the rest of his hair in despair, but the actors
laughed in their dressing-rooms and enjoyed themselves immensely.

The curtain had to be lowered in the middle of the play, and
Topolski, almost pale with anger announced to the audience: "Ladies
and Gentlemen! Because of the sudden and serious indisposition of
Miss Majkowska, Doctor Robin cannot be concluded. The following play
on the program will immediately begin."

Janina despite the satisfaction that she felt at the fiasco of her
enemy, began to feel sorry for Majkowska when she saw her senseless
and suffering. She was not yet enough of an actress to feel
indifferent to it, so she went to her, but seeing in the room the
doctor, and Cabinski, who was quarreling with Rosinska she hastily
retreated.

Rosinska, Wolska, and Mirowska declared outright to Cabinski that if
Majkowska remained in the company they would leave it the very next
day.

Cabinski fled, but