r owner!"

Lily had knocked up against everything, seen everything, heard everything,
in her adventurous life; but this way of getting out of a difficulty
always made her blush to her eyes. No, a triumph at the Astrarium: that
was the only solution for her, Lily Clifton! She was eager also to hand
the money to Nunkie. The Bambinis' money was a different matter from
Jimmy's: they were hungry children. Nunkie must be at the theater now,
with his Three Graces, quite close, and they were going to perform at the
Astrarium. So it was not essential never to have appeared in Paris! That
meant one more chance for her!

"Come along, Glass-Eye!"

They now passed into the noisy quarters. The Olympia opened its furnace of
light before them. The Three Graces stood displayed in life-size on
posters, with others beside them, names which Lily knew vaguely, as she
knew them all, from seeing them somewhere,--as she knew the stage-entrance
of the Olympia, by instinct, in the dark street, at the side: the mouth by
which the monster nightly swallowed and rejected its fill of meat. A
courtyard ... three steps up ... turn to the right ... Lily was at home
again, amid rainbow lights.

"Hullo, Lily!"

It was Nunkie greeting her on the stage, while his dear girls were
dressing in their room. He took the money for the Bambinis, congratulated
Lily on the result of her collection, thanked her.

"And what about the Astrarium?" asked Lily. "Do you know...?"

Of course, Nunkie knew. His dear girls were engaged to perform there. And
he had seen some one on his way to the theater: the opening would take
place in a month ... in six weeks at the latest....

The architect--"You know, Lily?" said Nunkie--the architect who used to
hang about on the stage, in the passages, on some pretext or other--to
make love to girls, apparently--was minding everything for Harrasford! He
was taking measurements, drawing out plans:

[Illustration: THE ARCHITECT]

"Everything is ready in advance, everything's ordered; they've only got to
put things in their places; the workmen will start to-morrow."

"So that's what he came for!" thought Lily angrily. "The damned
_parley-voo_!"

"And your Pa, you know," continued Nunkie, "will be there too, with his
New Trickers: it would have been easy for you to get there first," he
added, with a meaning smile.

"The New Trickers! Daisy Woolly-legs!" stammered Lily, turning pale. "Who
told you so?"

"I'm sure of it, I had