orshipful uplift of her gray
eyes to his that had betrayed him in the first place to such a confusion
of schemes. "If it added anything to it, I would even be willing to let
you put the Adair name to the vulgar thing they read here to-day, but it
wouldn't help it anywhere except in Louisville and Cincinnati and
Nashville and Atlanta and New Orleans and Richmond. People don't know us
in New York, and any name will do here; so mine won't--won't have to be
disgraced."

"Please don't say that!" pleaded Mr. Vandeford with consternation in his
soul as he thought of the development of the Howard "pep" Hawtry would
make as the rehearsals of "The Purple Slipper" progressed. "It is the
same thing with Miss Hawtry as it is with Mr. Rooney; she has a--a kind
of gutter drag that gets across to the multitude, and of course your
play had to be--be fitted to her. Hawtry, to be Hawtry, has to do and
say things that you couldn't write at all, that you couldn't very well
understand; but they'll get the crowd going and coming. Please give me
your promise again to sit tight and see it through--or go home and leave
it all to me." Mr. Vandeford was surprised to feel how hard his heart
beat, and he was afraid that it sounded like the echo of an anvil chorus
in the big empty theater.

"I never have to give promises a second time, and this is the last time
I am ever going to cry out," Miss Adair answered him, with a lift to her
proud little head. "I am going to stay right here and help if I can, and
learn. But I won't in any way distress or--or trouble you. Please don't
get me on your mind!"

"I won't get you on my mind," Mr. Vandeford answered out loud--"because
I've got you in my heart, poor kiddie," he continued to himself, in a
kind of desperation.

Mr. Dennis Farraday burst in upon the dusk of the theater and the
tragedy of the situation. He was vastly excited and he waved a letter
in his hand.

"Oh, you Patricia Adair, why didn't you tell me that you are old Roger
Adair's sister?" he demanded.

"Why, what do you mean about Roger? Do you know--"

"Do I know him? Just listen to this, will you, and here I've _not_ been
handing you around on a silver salver for two weeks!" He then read the
following letter aloud to Miss Adair and Mr. Vandeford:

Adairville, Kentucky.

DEAR DENNY:

Well, here I am! I'm the Captain of my county in the Army of the
Furrows, and hope to turn in many thousand pounds of food stuffs