t
he simply won't do a solo! His mother says he has a cold, and so on, and
I swear I'll throw the whole thing up; I will, indeed!--rather than have
this number ruined. There's no earthly reason why you can't do both--of
course the poor old man couldn't help dying--but if you knew----"

"My dear girl, of course I'll do it!" All the youth and buoyancy that
had been missing from his voice for weeks had come back. Christopher
laughed his old delightful laugh. "I'll have to have Roy's costume cut
down, but Smithers will do it for me. I'll do my very best----"

"Oh, Chris, God bless you," Annie said. "You'll do it better than he
ever did. Take my car and stop for his suit, and express whatever's
decent--the funeral will be Saturday morning and we'll all have to go,
but there's no help for it. And come to my house for dinner, and you and
Norma can go over it afterward; you poor girl, you're tired out, but
it's such a Godsend to have Chris fill in. And it will be the prettiest
number of all."

Tired out? The radiant girl who was tripping away to change to street
attire was hardly conscious that her feet touched the ground. The stage,
the theatre, the fur coat into which she buttoned herself, the fragrance
of the violets she wore, were all touched with beauty and enchantment.

Snow was still falling softly, when she and Annie went out to the car.
Annie was so exhausted that she could hardly move, but Norma floated
above things mortal. The dark sidewalk was powdered with what scrunched
under their shoes like dry sugar, and up against the lighted sky the
flakes were twirling and falling. The air was sweet and cold and pure
after the hot theatre. Chris put them in the motor-car. He would see his
tailor, have a bite of dinner at home, and be at Annie's at eight
o'clock for the rehearsal.

"I'll do something for you, for this, Norma!" her aunt assured the girl,
gratefully. Norma protested in a voice that was almost singing. It was
nothing at all!

She felt suddenly happy and light. It was all right; there was to be no
more agony and doubt. Alice should lose nothing, the world should know
nothing, but Chris loved her! She could take his friendship fearlessly,
there would be nothing but what was good and beautiful and true between
them. But what a changed world!

What a changed room it was into which she danced, to brush her hair for
dinner, and laugh into her mirror, where the happy girl with starry eyes
and blazing cheeks lau