eply relieved to see Douglass in the box, advanced towards him,
and their eyes met for an instant in a lovers' greeting. Again that
subtle interchange of fire took place. She looked marvellously young and
light-hearted; it was hard to believe that she was worn with work and
weakened by anxiety. Her eyes were bright and her hands like lilies.

The act closed with a very novel piece of business and some very unusual
lines passing between _Enid_ and _Sidney_, her lover. Towards this
passage Douglass now leaned, uplifted by a sense of power, exulting in
Helen's discernment, which had enabled her to realize, almost perfectly,
his principal characters. He had not begun to perceive and suffer from
the shortcomings of her support; but when _Enid_ left the stage for a
few minutes, the fumbling of the subordinate actors stung and irritated
him. They had the wrong accent, they roared where they should have been
strong and quiet, and the man who played _Sidney_ stuttered and drawled,
utterly unlike the character of the play.

"Oh, the wooden ass!" groaned Douglass. "He'll ruin the piece." A
burning rage swept over him. So much depended on this performance, and
now--"I should have directed the rehearsals. I was a fool to neglect
them. Why does she keep the sot?" And part of his anger flowed out
towards the star.

Helen, returning, restored the illusion, so complete was her assumption
of the part, and the current set swiftly towards that unparalleled
ending, those deeply significant lines which had come to the author only
late in the week, but which formed, indeed, the very key to _Sidney's_
character--they were his chief enthusiasm in this act, suggesting, as
they did, so much. Tingling, aching with pleasurable suspense, the
author waited.

The curtain fell on a totally different effect--with _Sidney_ reading
utterly different lines!

For a moment the author sat stunned, unable to comprehend what had
happened. At last the revelation came. "They have failed to incorporate
the changes I made. They have gone back to the weak, trashy ending which
I discarded. They have ruined the scene utterly!" and, looking at two of
the chief critics, he caught them in the act of laughing evilly, even as
they applauded.

With face set in rage, he made his way back of the curtain towards
Helen's room. She met him at the door, her face shining with joy. "It's
going! It's going!" she cried out, gleefully.

His reply was like a blow in the face. "