Mr. Caruthers filled a glass with ice and brandy and
soda, and walked back to his place by the mantel, on which he
rested his arm, while he clinked the ice in the glass and
looked down into it.

"I was at the first night of `The Sultana' this evening,"
said Van Bibber, slowly and uncertainly.

"Oh, yes," assented the elder man, politely, and tasting
his drink. "Lester's new piece. Was it any good?"

"I don't know," said Van Bibber. "Yes, I think it was.
I didn't see it from the front. There were a lot of children
in it--little ones; they danced and sang, and made a great
hit. One of them had never been on the stage before. It was
her first appearance."

He was turning one of the glasses around between his
fingers as he spoke. He stopped, and poured out some of the
soda, and drank it down in a gulp, and then continued turning
the empty glass between the tips of his fingers.

"It seems to me," he said, "that it is a great pity." He
looked up interrogatively at the other, but Mr. Caruthers met
his glance without any returning show of interest. "I say,"
repeated Van Bibber--"I say it seems a pity that a child like
that should be allowed to go on in that business. A grown
woman can go into it with her eyes open, or a girl who has had
decent training can too. But it's different with a child.