The Greyhound

About the show

The play may have been published as The Greyhound: A Play in Four Acts, date and publisher unknown. This synopsis is compiled from 1912 newspaper reviews. Act I (A room in a lodging house at San Francisco, March 15.) J. Crawford Alexander, Kitty Doyle, and Jack Fay meet at the room of their leader, Louis Fellman. He tells them that wealthy Mrs. Allen will be sailing with her children on the Mauretania. They will make excellent targets for a variety of sly approaches. The gang plans to make their way across country to New York and board the vessel. Just outside, McSherry has been sent by "The Eye", which suspected Louis of backsliding. The three henchmen having departed, Louis is confronted by his wife Claire. She reproaches him for returning to crime. Worried she will shop him to police, he agrees to a joint suicide pact by poison. Louis fakes drinking while Claire collapses to the floor. He leaves, but McSherry enters and saves Claire by summoning an ambulance. (Curtain) Act II (Hurricane deck of the steamship Mauretania, just underway from New York, June 5.) Passengers, stewards, and others mill about the deck. The gang covertly scouts their intended victims. Henry Watkins attracts attention for his obvious wealth and by calling the Hurricane deck the "roof" of the ship. The Allen matriarch and her brood come in for close scrutiny: they note Mrs. Allen's dissatisfaction with Bob Kirk as a suitor for Bess, and Percival's naive fascination with fashionable women. Among many other passengers, though, they miss seeing McSherry bring aboard Claire with a nurse to tend her. (Curtain) Act III (Scene 1:Promenade deck of the Mauretania, mid-ocean, on June 9.) Kitty in her role of Baroness has bewitched young Percival, to the consternation of his mother. Later, Louis Fellman approaches Mrs. Allen with a note, supposedly from Bob Kirk but forged by Whispering Alex, suggesting he can be bought off for $50,000. (Two minutes intermission) (Scene 2:The Smoking Room, mid-ocean, on June 9.) Jack Fay induces McSherry and Henry Watkins into a card game, under the misapprehension the former is a rich rube. Bob Kirk is also in the game, trying to win enough to marry Bess. When the deal comes around to McSherry, he deals Jack four aces, but gives Bob a Queen-high straight flush. Jack bets everything, but with the pot at $10,000 is busted by Bob's hand. (Two minutes intermission) (Scene 3:The Grand Salon, mid-ocean, on June 9.) Mrs. Allen has given Louis a check for $50,000, unaware of Bob's new fortune. He promises not to cash it until the ship reaches France. She then catches Percival with the "Baroness" and sends him to his stateroom. The "Baroness" and her "attorney" Alex demand a settlement for "alienation", a subtle hint of blackmail to prevent a scandal. But Steve the wireless operator brings a radiogram at McSherry's behest, confirming there is no Baroness Von Hilde. (Curtain) Act IV (Off the Irish coast, the hurricane deck at night, June 9.) Distraught by repeated glimpses of his "dead" wife, Louis has been drinking heavily. He still has the check for $50,000, but his confederates have been defeated and are penniless. Now Claire approaches Louis in the moonlight, appearing ghostly in all white. Louis backs away, then jumps over the railing into the ocean. With the ship's alarm sounding and cries of "Man overboard!", the play ends. (Curtain)