ave I a
gift which is worth cultivating? You promised to tell me the truth, and
I ask it of you now."

Then for the first time Mr Hammond gave a hint of encouragement. He
smiled whimsically, as at an amusing recollection, and studied the
girl's face with a new interest.

"Oh yes; you have the faculty. It is there; there is no doubt it is
there. I read your story, and with all its faults it escapes the two
unpardonable crimes--it is neither dull nor commonplace. I don't
pretend to say that you will be a great writer, but when you have
learned your trade you will probably be able to place your stories with
little difficulty. Study style; study the best masters; don't think any
time wasted that is given to cultivating pure, forcible English. Study
the people around you, and write of what you _know_, not of what you
imagine. It is difficult to describe an emotion which one has never
felt, or a life in which one has no part. Study the magazines also, and
note what style is adopted by each, the length of story taken, and so
on. These things are but the technicalities of the profession, but the
mastery of them will save you needless disappointments. When a MS is
returned for the sixth time, put it away for a month, then read it over
in a critical spirit, and try to discover wherein the fault lies. A
little altering and rewriting may make it a marketable article."

"Y-es," said Theo faintly. That "sixth time" fell sadly on her ear, for
it was one thing to assert that she did not expect to win in a day, and
quite another to hear repeated failure predicted in that cool,
unemotional fashion. She wondered if Mr Hammond would refer to her
story in any more definite fashion, and seeing that he began to play
with the papers on his desk, as if to intimate that the "five minutes"
were drawing to a close, she summoned courage to put a direct question.

"And the MS that I sent you, Mr Hammond--was it pretty good? Do you
think it suitable for--er--for--"

Her courage failed as he looked up in grave inquiry, and she dared not
say "the _Casket_," as she had intended; but Mr Hammond finished her
sentence, as if he had not divined the unspoken word.

"Publication! There would be no harm in trying. I have read many less
interesting stories, though it bears the mark of inexperience. Try some
of the smaller papers, like the _Companion_; and, if necessary, cut it
down to their length. I have it here in this drawer, I think