replied Crane.

Frohman reached over from his desk and shook his new star by the hand.
It was his way of ratifying a contract that was never put on paper, and
over which no word of disagreement ever arose. Crane's connection with
Charles Frohman lasted for nine years.

Frohman personally rehearsed "David Harum." Much of its extraordinary
success was due to his marvelous energy. It was Frohman, and not the
dramatist, who introduced the rain-storm scene at the close of the
second act which made one of the biggest hits of the performance.
Throughout the play there were many evidences of Frohman's skill and
craftsmanship.

* * *

It was just about this time that the real kinship with Augustus Thomas
began. Frohman, after his first meeting with Thomas years before in the
box-office of a St. Louis theater, had produced his play "Surrender,"
and had engaged him to remodel "Sue." Now he committed the first of the
amazing quartet of errors of judgment with regard to the Thomas plays
that forms one of the curious chapters in his friendship with this
distinguished American playwright.

Thomas had conceived the idea of a cycle of American plays, based on the
attitude toward women in certain sections of the country. The first of
these plays had been "Alabama," the second "In Mizzoura." Thomas now
wrote "Arizona" in this series. When he offered the play to Frohman, the
manager said:

"I like this play, Gus, but I have one serious objection to it. I don't
see any big situation to use the American flag. Perhaps I am
superstitious about it. I have had such immense luck with the flag in
'Shenandoah' and 'Held by the Enemy' that I have an instinct that I
ought not to do this play, much as I would like to."

As everybody knows, the play went elsewhere and was one of the great
successes of the American stage.

Frohman now realized his mistake. He sent for Thomas and said: "I want
you to write me another one of those rough plays."

The result was "Colorado," which Frohman put on at the Grand Opera House
in New York with Wilton Lackaye in the leading role, but it was not a
success.

A few years later Frohman made another of the now famous mistakes with
Thomas. Thomas had seen Lawrence D'Orsay doing his usual "silly ass"
part in a play. He also observed that the play lagged unless D'Orsay was
on the stage. He therefore wrote a play called "The Earl of Pawtucket,"
with D'Orsay in mind, and Frohman accepted it. When the time came t