him my address, and he saw it was yours, too. He asked if I
lived in the same place."

"Was that all?"

"He wanted to know how you was getting on. I let him know you needed
work, but I didn't tip my hand you was flat broke. He said something
about you being a damned fool."

Laura looked up in surprise.

"How?" she demanded.

Weston twirled his hat round nervously, and remained silent.

"How?" she demanded again.

Thus encouraged, he proceeded:

"Well, Johnny Ensworth--you know he used to do the fights on the
_Evening Screamer_; now he's press agent for Burgess; nice fellow and
way on the inside--and he told me where you were in wrong."

"What have I done?" she asked, taking a seat in the armchair.

"Burgess don't put up the money for any of them musical comedies--he
just trails. Of course, he's got a lot of influence, and he's always
Johnny-on-the-Spot to turn any dirty trick that they want. There are
four or five rich men in town who are there with the bank-roll,
providing he engages women who ain't so very particular about the
location of their residence, and who don't hear a curfew ring at
eleven-thirty every night."

"And he thinks I am too particular?" interrupted Laura dryly.

"That's what was slipped me. Seems that one of the richest men who is
in on Mr. Burgess's address book is that fellow Brockton. You're an old
friend of his. He's got more money than he knows what to do with. He
likes to play show business. And he thought that if you----"

Rising quickly, the girl went to the wardrobe, and, taking out her hat,
picked up a pair of scissors, and proceeded to curl the feathers. The
hat was already in so deplorable a condition that this belated home
treatment was not likely to help it, but the diversion served its
purpose, which was to distract the agent's attention away from her
face.

"I didn't mean no offence," said Jim apologetically. "I thought it was
just as well to tell you where he and Burgess stand. They're pals."

Laura jumped up, and, putting the hat and scissors down on the bed,
went close up to her visitor. Confronting him, she said with angry
emphasis:

"I don't want you to talk about him or any of them. I just want you to
know that I'm trying to do everything in my power to go through this
season without any more trouble. I've pawned everything I've got; I've
cut every friend I knew. But where am I going to end? That's what I
want to know--where am I going to end?" Sitting dow