commission out of her salary. Is that what you were thinking of doing?"

"No, that was not my idea," said Van Bibber, smiling. "I hadn't any
plan. I just thought I'd go down to that hotel and tell her that in the
opinion of the four people best qualified to know what good dancing is,
she is a good dancer, and then leave the rest to her. She must have some
friends or relations who would help her to take a start. If it's true
that she can make a hit as a dancer, it seems a pity that she shouldn't
know it, doesn't it? If she succeeded, she'd make a pot of money, and if
she failed she'd be just where she is now."

Travers considered this subject deeply, with knit brows.

"That's so," he said. "I'll tell you what let's do. Let's go see some of
the managers of those continuous performance places, and tell them we
have a dark horse that the Grahame Wests and Letty Chamberlain herself
and George Lester think is the coming dancer of the age, and ask them to
give her a chance. And we'll make some sort of a contract with them. We
ought to fix it so that she is to get bigger money the longer they keep
her in the bill, have her salary on a rising scale. Come on," he
exclaimed, warming to the idea. "Let's go now. What have you got to do?"

"I've got nothing better to do than just that," Van Bibber declared,
briskly.

The managers whom they interviewed were interested but non-committal.
They agreed that the girl must be a remarkable dancer indeed to warrant
such praise from such authorities, but they wanted to see her and judge
for themselves, and they asked to be given her address, which the
impresarios refused to disclose. But they secured from the managers the