about in the light. She stretched out her face
in ecstasy toward Lily: that Lily who had traveled everywhere, who was
born so far away, in a land full of monkeys and parrots. She followed Lily
to her dressing-room, trotted after her like a dog, worshiped her
open-mouthed.

Lily had ripened out, was becoming more beautiful, more of a woman daily,
despite the fact that her Pa still treated her like a kid. She no longer
looked at things from the point of view of the child-girl who had been
delighted with a satin hair-ribbon in India; now her pride was not
appeased with such trifles. Ma, according to Lily, seemed ashamed of her,
dressed her badly: an odd skirt here, an odd frock there, of a cheap make.
That was not what Lily wanted. She was an artiste: she wanted a hat with
big feathers and a gown with gold braid to it; but, when she showed Ma a
dress which she liked in the shop windows, Ma would exclaim:

"What do you want with that? My poor Lily, you must be mad! That's for
rich little girls, girls who have time to be pretty; it wouldn't suit you
at all. Why, if we listened to you, we'd soon be in the workhouse!"

[Illustration: P.T. CLIFTON, MANAGER]

Ma always said no, pretending that she had no money; whereas Lily knew to
the contrary. She knew that the troupe earned a great deal and that the
troupe was herself. The other day, at the theater, she had heard her aunt,
who felt bitter that Mr. Clifton had not accepted her daughter Daisy--who
could have learned the business and later on have starred by herself!--she
had heard that "old sheep" say, speaking of her:

"What a shame to dress her like that! A girl who brings them in capital to
invest!"

So Pa was investing capital. She didn't exactly know what investing
capital meant; no doubt it meant making a lot of money. She asked for none
of it! Children belong to their parents! But she would have liked to be
treated with more consideration, to be spoiled; to get presents, nice
things. She had plenty from her Pa, true enough: presents, my! But they
were cheap gifts, for all that.... She was always having promises made her
of more important things; and the promises were never kept: that big gold
watch, for instance. She had a thirsting for luxury. It seemed to her that
she was being treated like a performing dog, not a bit better. Ma, without
exactly knowing, but with an infallible instinct, saw all this budding
under that obstinate brow. Mr. Clifton might see nothing