Captain Anne of the Red Cross BY- MERAB EBERLE. I PRICE 25 CENTS 111 Eldridge Entertainment House Franklin, Ohio Denver, Colo. GET THIS NEW PATRIOTIC MONOLOG "THE STARS AND STRIPES IN FLANDERS" By SEYMOUR S. TIBBALS HERE is a ten minute dramatic reading with a climax that will cause a thrill. Suitable for a male or female reader and a number that will strengthen any program. We recommend it for any patriotic celebra- tion, commencement, alumni or civic banquet. The story deals with the manner in which the news of America's entrance into the war was received in a dugout in Belgium. A col- onel of artillery, a priest and an Irish- Ameri- can are the leading characters. You will like it. PRICE 25 CENTS THE ELDRIDGE ENTERTAINMENT HOUSE FRANKLIN, OHIO • - • • DENVER, COLO. Capt. Anne of the Red Cross How the Militant Ghosts Saved Millville. A Red Cross Comedy for Girls. By MERAB EBERLE Copyright, 1918, Eldridge Entertainment How* i Published by Eldridge Entertainment House, Franklin, Ohio - - Denver, Colo. 4? CAST OF CHARACTERS ANNE — An excitable girl of initiative. ELIZABETH— Practical girl who talks in a high monotone. GRACE— A person of opinions, tall and angular in movements. CLADYS ) MARGARET \ ^ sters - Gladys is easily frightened. PAULINE— Dictatorial and possessed of a superior .air. GERTRUDE— Affected and cynical. RUTH— Affects Eastern mannerisms and is good- natured. All are American girls, eager to do their best by the U. S. BRIDGET O'FLANNIGAN-Janitress, fat and Irish MARY DOKENWADDLE-Her friend, fat and e singularly effective as an organization thereafter. Anne All in favor of me for chairman, say 'Aye." All Aye. Anne Elected. Now girls, here comes the speech- making. (She stands on a high table. ) Throw a night- 12 Capt. Anne of the Red Cross ingale, each of you, over your head. There are plenty or just any piece of white cloth. Grace I suppose we must. (All exhibiting a little more interest, good-naturedly put the nightingales over their heads. ) Anne Throw me one. No not a dozen. Now that you are all in white what do you look like? Pauline More like ghosts than anything I can think of. Anne Good. Exactly. Hand me that package over there. {She shows a number of white masks.) Put these on. ( The girls adjust them hurriedly. They must be practised in doing this speedily. Anne dons one as well as the rest.) Ghosts, wonderful ghosts. How do you like it? Goodness, I'm afraid of you. And now Grace, hand me that package. Grace Horrors. It's heavy. Anne (Opens box and shows revolvers.) See. Gladys (Shrieking. ) I cannot stand it. Anne They're Fourth of July revolvers. I got them at Adamson's. If you carry on that way, we'll have all of Millville in here. They only have blank cartridges in them. They make a noise— Gladys Oh, oh! Gertrude I must say that I consider this nonsensi- cal. Ruth A party, girls, this way. Wouldn't it be glorious? Grace It reminds me of the Ku-Klux Klan. Anne Of course it does and, girls, this is now the time for me to make a speech. All Hear. Hear. Anne We've entered this war for a purpose. (Calls of hear, hear.) Some of us don't like the others. We disapprove of each others way of dress. We don't Capt. Anne of the Red Cross is like one another's mannerisms but we all want to whip Germany and we are all down on the Kaiser. It's not the Germans themselves that we want to hit so hard, it's their Kaiser, old Bill Hollenzollern. The Stars and Stripes can come it over the German flag at any time. That is if we all help. Now I want to ask you girls a plain question. If you knew that Ger- man treason was abroad in this town tonight would you give your lives to stop it? Our boys are over there being shot down, would you give your lives here to help them over there? Grace I should say. Anne All of you say, "We would." All We would. Anne Fine! Now just suppose that the Stedman munition plant was to be fired. Would you help scare the men who are to do it? All We would. Grace This sounds like the marriage ceremony. Anne And that these very rooms were to be en- tered and vandals were to destroy our work of days and so hinder our Red Cross hospitals. Would you help catch the vandals? All We would. Anne Swear it. Say, "We swear it. " All We swear it. Anne Now girls don't scream. I have something awful to tell you. (Gladys falls on shoulder of Mar- garet who shakes her sister and stands her up. All manifest interest.) Tonight these rooms are to be en- tered and all our work destroyed. (All ask at once,, "Who said so? When? Are you crazy?") Elizabeth The Ku-Klux isn't in it. Anne Girls, I'll have to ask you to believe me.. Listen please. At half past five I came back for er— lJf Capt. Anne of the Red Cross something I forgot and I heard a noise in the janitress' rooms, Pauline Oh we'll have to protect Biddy. Anne Protect nothing. She's the worst of them. It's she with another woman who is going to dam- age the Red Cross. Grace For heaven's sake, everybody, keep still and let Anne talk. Anne Yes, girls, let me talk. (Looks at wrist watch. ) We only have half an hour. I heard a noise in the janitress' rooms. So I listened at the partition but the talking was jumbled. Then I thought of the flue, and through the pipe hole I heard — well I heard enough to know that at eleven o'clock the Stedman munition plant is to be blown up. It may set the whole town on fire. Grace Oh my soul, have you told the marshal? Anne Now girls, we don't want any men in this. Grace Oh, don't we? I for one want a thousand. Anne Not a one. Gertrude But we must. Anne If all the men were .at war we could do it, couldn't we? Girls, you swore a moment ago what you would do. Pauline But we didn't know. Elizabeth But we did swear. Anne Please, all of you, be as terrific as you look. In the dark you would scare the soul out of any man that lived. Some of us must go right away to the mu- nition plant and one of us will stay here. Elizabeth I'll go to the munition plant. I've scared people before with a costume something like this. Gladys Well for me, I'd rather be out in the open so I can run. It's me for the munition factory, Capt. Anne of the Red Cross 15 Anne And who'll stay here? Pauline Suppose you do— you're so brave. Anne I will, gladly. Grace I don't think she should be left here alone. Suppose something should happen. Pauline You stay with her. Grace Well I suppose I should. Anne Now girls, hurry down the back alleys. Moan like good ghosts and tell the men that you have come to take them to the cemetery. Gladys It is like a mad nightmare. But in a night- mare I could scream, now I cannot. Margaret I'd be ashamed. {All exit with the exception of Anne and Grace.) Anne I knew I'd have to stay here. Now we've got to hustle. When those women come, and they'll come as soon as it's very quiet and dark in here, you be the ghost that locks them in. And I. Look here. (Produces a time bomb.) Don't jump. There's no powder in it. John got it by sneaking away one part of it at a time. We are going to have some fun with those women. Grace You are optimistic. Anne They'll think we're going to blow them up. I'll pretend that I'm the ghost of the Gunpowder Plot and you, of the New Jersey Munition Plant Explosion. Out with the lights. {The stage is then totally dark- ened.) Let's hide. (Count a slow fifteen for a pause during which there must be total silence and darkness. ) 1 think I heard Biddy's door open. (Another pause.) They're coming. (Biddy O'Flannigan and Dutch Mary enter, carry- ing lantern. The stage is then very dimly lighted. ) Biddy It is just as I thought. Thim careless young women even lift the door unlocked. Now it's to the 16 Capt. Anne of the Red Cross -work with us. We will get the stuff in a bunch first We kin cut up a bit of it and carry the rist off. We will not freeze for the lack of winter flannels after this, ould goirl. ( They commence Hinging garments in pile in center of floor. ) Mary Already I can feel the Kaiser's happiness should he of this learn. Yet may Dutch Mary be a proud lady when she at court introduced ist. Biddy At court is it? Now we Oirish care nothing for court. Me oncle was king of Oirland once before the English irristed him for thaving. And me father was invoited to be, but he was that afraid that his royal duties would kape him from tending proper to his pigs that he refused. And such illigant pigs as they were. Mary Vat did I hear? There was a noise. Biddy Nothing. This place is as quiet as a saloon in a dry town. (The ghosts made themselves visible, Dutch Mary and Biddy manifest great fright. ) Holy blazes! The first that Oi've seen in me loife. Mary Mein Gott! (Sinks to her knees.) Grace (Backs to door and locks it. Speaks in sepul- chral tones. ) Well may you beg for life. Tonight is the last night wherein you'll breathe. Biddy Oh holy Mither o' Mike. Anne Here are two ghosts sent to accompany you •on your way to the cemetery. Biddy I know the way. I kin go mesilf. (Backs from Anne as she approaches. ) Mary Shust here ist where I cannot id stand. (Shrieks at Grace who approaches her.) Go! Go! Go! Anne Be not afraid. We have come to help you. Biddy Hilp? Grace I'm the Ghost of the Gunpowder Plot. Anne I am the Ghost of the New Jersey Munition Capt. Anne of the Red Cross 17 Plant Explosion. We have come out of our resting places to aid you. Grace We are much opposed to the Red Cross. Anne And we hope through our great love for the Kaiser to help him to the cemetery soon. Mary We your help do nod need. We can id alone agomplish. Anne But we can help you do it right. My spirit heard you say that you intend to cut these to pieces. That is no way to do it. Blow this place up. See what I have brought to you, straight from the trenches. (Displays time bomb. ) Biddy Oh Arrah, begarrah. Tis a bumb. Tis I who am so afraid of the things that me hair stands on ind. I am dripping with perspoiration. Mary (Runs to the door and shakes it wildly.) The door, id ist locked. Anne Here I will light it. (Does so.) In five min- utes it will go off. Biddy But the door is locked. Grace You cannot leave this room by door or win- dow. The spirits of the air are holding them shut. Biddy But we will be blown to smithereens. Mary Indo beazes. Grace Ghosts cannot be blown to pieces. Biddy But mortals kin. Anne You will be ghosts too in three minutes. And then we can take you with us to the cemetery. Mary Gute ghostes, kind ghostes, let a poor wo- man to home go. Biddy Faith and I will give you a quart of the best Oirish whiskey. Mary And a keg, vun whole keg of beer. 18 Capt. Anne of the Red Cross Anne We eat not. Neither do we drink. Here hold the bomb. (Biddy automatically receives it in her hand and then with a howl of fright throws it at the feet of Mary who recovers enough from her drooping spirits to climb on a stand where she remains in the attitude of prayer and repeats the word "Kaiser", at intervals. ) Anne One more minute and we will take our little ride into Eternity. A very nice place, Eternity. Plenty of room. Have you ever ridden over the tree tops and far away? Biddy Only on the Chicago illivated. (A babble of voices is heard at the door. The ghosts have returned from the munition factory. ) Elizabeth {Outside.) Let us in. Biddy Glory to St. Dinnis. Hilp has arroived. Grace {Advancing to the door. ) Friends we will let you in. (The ghosts enter.) Biddy The cimitiry is open tonight, (Mary falls from the table to the floor and lies there groaning. ) Elizabeth We got them, the men. We scared them to death in the first place. It was easy. Moan girls like you did. (They all moan in dismal unison.) We then told them that we had come to take them to the cemetery and they started to run away. When they saw our revolvers and heard a shot or two, they came along with us like lambs. We took them to the lock- up and then ran like mad. Gladys I was scared to death. Margaret I'd be ashamed to tell it if I was. Anne But where is Pauline? (All look startled.) Gertrude She was at the lock-up with us. Elizabeth The night watch must have got her. Some men down at the fire department ran after us. Capt. Anne of the Red Cross 19 Gladys What will we do? Gertrude She'll tell. She'll tell the whole story. Elizabeth She'll have to, but I guess it won't mean disgrace. Gertrude I see you have caught the women. Biddy O'Flannigan, who would have thought it of you? (All start to throw aside their disguises. Lights brighten. ) Biddy 'Tis the young women. Ould Dutch Mary, 'tis the young ladies, thimsilves. Mary Vhere, oh vhere? Biddy Roight here. They were not ghosts. Come git up and let's git out. Your fist and mine are tough customers. Back you spalpeens, Dutch Mary and I have claned up on the min in Schmiddy's saloon this many a toime- Anne _ (Showing revolver. ) Stay where you are. (Mary gives one look and sinks back on the floor with a groan. ) (A great noise is heard outside. All the girls but Anne, who points her revolver at Biddy, rush to the window. ) Anne What is it? Grace It looks like the whole town. There's the Marshal, and Mayor and Pauline. And oh, there comes Mr. Stedman. They're cheering. Pauline has told them. Red lights and everything. Voices from Outside. Hurrah for the Armed Ghosts of Millville. Hurrah, hurrah for the Red Cross. Who says the women can't do the work? CURTAIN A GREAT WAR MUSICAL RECITATION THE AR ROSARY The words appeared in "The Westminster Gazette," and an especially melodious and appropriate accompaniment has been given them by Sarah Butler Eldridge This nu mber especially good for Red Cross programs. I knit, I knit, I pray, I pray; My knitting is my rosary. And as I weave the stitches gray I murmur prayers continually. Music and words complete, sheet music size, price 50 cents. THE ELDRIDGE ENTERTAINMENT HOUSE FRANKLIN, OHIO also TnSSff DENVER, COLO. 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