white who is being dragged away from his bride? I've been examining the big
picture; the little girls were so curious to know what it meant.'

'Yes, he may play that part; it is called Pom-Pom Pouet--I can't pronounce
it right; it's French. But in any case you'll find him fine. All theatre
people are. The other day I went behind to talk to Bill, and Mr. Rickett
stopped to speak to me as he was running to make a change.'

'What's that?' asked Kate.

'Making a change? Dressing in a hurry.'

'I hope you won't get into trouble; stopping out so late is very dangerous
for a young girl. And I suppose you walk up Piccadilly with him after the
play?'

'Sometimes he takes me out for a drink,' Hender replied, anxious to avoid a
discussion on the subject, but at the same time tempted to make a little
boast of her independence. 'But you must come to see _Madame Angot_; I
hear it is going to be beautifully put on, and Mr. Lennox is sure to give
you a ticket.'

'I dare say I should like it very much; I don't have much amusement.'

'Indeed you don't, and what do you get for it? I don't see that Mr. Ede is
so kind to you for all the minding and nursing you do; and old Mrs. Ede may
repeat all day long that she's a Christian woman, and what else she likes,
but it doesn't make her anything less disagreeable. I wouldn't live in a
house with a mother-in-law--and such a mother-in-law!'