he miserable Miss Lyston, he transfixed her with a
forefinger and a yell.

"It wasn't a cough! What was that horrible noise you made?"

Miss Lyston, being unable to reply in words, gave him for answer an
object-lesson which demonstrated plainly the nature of the horrible
noise. She broke into loud, consecutive sobs, while Potter, very little
the real cause of them, altered in expression from indignation to the
neighborhood of lunacy.

"She's doing this in purpose!" he cried. "What's the matter with her?
She's sick! Miss Lyston, you're sick! Packer, get her away--take her
away. She's sick! Send her home--send her home in a cab! Packer!"

"Yes, Mr. Potter, I'll arrange it. Don't be disturbed."

The stage-manager was already at the sobbing lady's side, and she leaned
upon him gratefully, continuing to produce the symptoms of her illness.

"Put her in a cab at once," said the star, somewhat recovered from
his consternation. "You can pay the cabman," he added. "Make her as
comfortable as you can; she's really ill. Miss Lyston, you shouldn't
have tried to rehearse when you're so ill. Do everything possible for
Miss Lyston's comfort, Packer."

He followed the pair as they entered the passageway to the stage door;
then, Miss Lyston's demonstrations becoming less audible, he halted
abruptly, and his brow grew dark with suspicion. When Packer returned,
he beckoned him aside. "Didn't she seem all right as soon as she got out
of my sight?"

"No, sir; she seemed pretty badly upset."

"What about?"

"Oh, something entirely outside of rehearsal, sir," Packer answered in
haste. "Entirely outside. She wanted to know if I'd heard any gossip
about her husband lately. That's it, Mr. Potter."

"You don't think she was shamming just to get off?"

"Oh, not at all. I--"

"Ha! She may have fooled you, Packer, or perhaps--perhaps"--he paused,
frowning--"perhaps you were trying to fool me, too. I don't know your
private life; you may have reasons to help her de--"

"Mr. Potter!" cried the distressed man. "What could be my object? I
don't know Miss Lyston off. I was only telling you the simple truth."

"How do I know?" Potter gave him a piercing look. "People are always
trying to take advantage of me."

"But Mr. Potter, I--"

"Don't get it into your head that I am too easy, Packer! You think
you've got a luxurious thing of it here, with me, but--" He concluded
with an ominous shake of the head in lieu of words, then returned t