"Ah, yes," he said a moment later. "We'll find something else
for Miss Lyston when she recovers. You will keep the part."





V


When Canby (with his hair smoothed) descended to the basement
dining room of his Madison Avenue boarding-house that evening,
his table comrades gave him an effective entrance; they rose,
waving napkins and cheering, and there were cries of "Author!
Author!" "Speech!" and "Cher maitre!"

The recipient of these honours bore them with an uneasiness
attributed to modesty, and making inadequate response, sat down
to his soup with no importunate appetite.

"Seriously, though," said a bearded man opposite, who always
broke into everything with "seriously though," or else, "all
joking aside," and had thereby gained a reputation for
conservatism and soundness--"seriously, though, it must have
been a great experience to take charge of the rehearsal of such
a company as Talbot Potter's."

"Tell us how it felt, Canby, old boy," said another. "How does
it feel to sit up there like a king makin' everybody step around