solvency, and these afterward swayed the balance of the company to a
stand which won a better compromise. When Monsieur Noire, with a
curious smile, asked Madam Villenauve, however, she laughed very
pleasantly.

"Oh, non," said she; "it does not apply, zis offair, to me. I do not
need it, for Monsieur Burnit ees to marry wiz me zis Christmastam."

"I am afraid, Madam Villenauve, that we will have to quit joking about
that," said Bobby coldly.

"Joking!" screamed the shrill voice of madam. "Eet ees not any joke.
You can not fool wiz me, Monsieur Burnit. You mean to tell all zese
people zat you are not to marry wiz me?"

"I certainly have no intention of the kind," said Bobby impatiently,
"nor have I ever expressed such an intention."

"We s'all see about zat," declared the madam with righteous
indignation. "We s'all see how you can amuse yourself. You refuse to
keep your word zat you marry me? All right zen, you do! I bring suit
to-day for brich promise, and I have here one, two, three, a dozen
weetness. I make what you call subpoena on zem all. We s'all see."

"Monsieur Noire," said Bobby, more sick and sore than panic-stricken,
"you will please settle matters with all these people and come to me
at the hotel for whatever checks you need," and, hurt beyond measure
at this one more instance that there were, really, rapacious schemers
in the world, who sought loathsome advantage at the expense of decent
folk, Bobby crept away, to hide himself and try to understand.

They were here for the latter half of the week, and, since business
seemed to be fairly good, Bobby had decided to fill this engagement,
canceling all others. In the morning it seemed that Madam Villenauve
had been in earnest in her absurd intentions, for, in his room, at
eleven o'clock, he was served with papers in the breach-of-promise
suit of Villenauve _versus_ Burnit, and the amount of damages claimed
was the tremendous sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, an
amount, of course, only commensurate with Madam Villenauve's standing
in the profession and her earning capacity as an artist, her pride and
shattered feelings and the dashing to earth of her love's young dream
being of corresponding value. Moreover, he learned that an injunction
had been issued completely tying up his bank account. That was the
parting blow. Settling up with the performers upon a blood-letting
basis, he most ignominiously fled. Before he went away, however,
Signor