d a man put in
his head. He was a young man, tall, thin, faultlessly dressed, and
possessed of an infectious smile.

"Excuse me, Mr. Artheris," beamed the intruder, "but could I have a look
at the stage? Far be it from me to interrupt or any little thing like
that," he continued easily, "but my Mother'd have me dragged out and
shot if I came home without seeing it!"

"Come in, come in, Mr. Hazzard," said Artheris cordially; "you're just
the man we want to see! Miss Girard--Miss Page--Mr. Hazzard. Mr. Hazzard
is managing this very affair--manager, isn't that it?"

"God knows what I am!" said Carter Hazzard, mopping his forehead, and
appreciative of Miss Page's beauty and the maturer charms of Miss
Girard. "I'm bell-hop for the whole crowd. My sister plays Thomasine,
her steady is Tweenwayes, and my Mother's a director in the hospital.
Fix it up to suit yourselves; you'll see that I'm every one's goat."

Both the girls laughed, and Artheris said:

"I am glad you came in, for Miss Page is the young lady of whom I spoke
to you. Unfortunately, it seems that she has just promised to sign a
contract with the Alcazar people."

"Oh, shucks! Can't you put it off until after the fifteenth?" asked Mr.
Hazzard in alarm.

"Too much money in it," Connie said, shaking her head.

"Well--well, we expected to--to pay, of course," Carter said,
embarrassed at this crudeness. And Julia, blushing furiously, muttered,
"Oh--it wasn't the _pay_!"

"In a word, Miss Page's price is twenty-five dollars a night," said
Artheris. "Could your people pay it?"

"Why--why, I suppose we could," Hazzard said uncomfortably. "It's--it's
for a charity, you know," he ended weakly.

"Well, Miss Page's usual price is fifty; she's already reduced it half!"
Connie said briskly.

Julia was now bitterly ashamed of her manager and her friend; her face
was burning.

"I'll do it, of course," she promised. "And we'll arrange the terms
afterward!"

"Good work!" said Hazzard gayly. In a few moments, when they all went
out to look at the stage, he dropped behind the others and began to walk
beside her.

"You're sure you're old enough to be on the stage, Miss Page; no Gerry
Society scandal at the last minute?" he asked banteringly. "You look
about twelve!"

Julia flashed him an oblique look.

"The idea! I'm nearly seventeen!" she said, with an uncertain little
laugh. His ardent eyes embarrassed her.

"Honest?" said Carter Hazzard, in a low, caressing