Pauline Frederick : on and off the stage (1940)

94 Pauline Frederick a sudden she was missing. A search began among the dressing rooms, wash rooms, eating places and so on, but she wasn't there. Everyone was waiting to begin, and as Pauline was to do some of the judging, she must be found. Everyone became excited — except her manager. He merely grinned, for he knew Pauline very well by now. This manager of hers, Allen Boone, came to know more about the workings of Pauline's mind than anyone during her entire lifetime. His reply to the agitation that she could not be found was to inquire where the cowboys' hangout was. He made his way there and saw a large circle gathered around a group on the floor. He grinned again, and pushing his way through the crowd, discovered the guest of honor kneeling on the floor and shooting craps! And how she could shoot 'em! They would change the dice on her again and again but those deft fingers never failed. They were tough, hard men, those boys with whom she played on the floor of their quarters, and as her merry laugh rang out each time she beat them, there was nary a note of resentment among them. How was it that she could so easily enter into their spirit, a gentle-bred woman among the roughest of men? Most women who would have tried to do such a thing would have seemed entirely out of place and would have given the impression of trying to be patronizing or clever. Not Pauline — because she had those qualities of simplicity and naturalness that people anywhere recognize. It was Allen Boone who first introduced her into these cowboy circles. There is no man who has a keener perception of human nature than Allen. His task at first was not easy, not because of Pauline but because of Mumsy. She had kept Pauline in the stricter, more formal circles of life and she most heartily disapproved of these rough western homes into which Pauline loved to go. It