when the situation would
permit--If you are interested I might come and see them sometime."

Eugene looked perturbed. Two hundred dollars! Two hundred dollars! Could
he afford it? It would mean so much to him. And yet the man was not at
all anxious to rent him the show room even at this price.

"I will come," said M. Charles, seeing his mood, "if you wish. That is
what you want me to do. We have to be careful of what we exhibit here.
It isn't as if it were an ordinary show room. I will drop you a card
some day when occasion offers, if you wish, and you can let me know
whether the time I suggest is all right. I am rather anxious to see
these scenes of yours. They are very good of their kind. It may be--one
never can tell--an opportunity might offer--a week or ten days,
somewhere in between other things."

Eugene sighed inwardly. So this was how these things were done. It
wasn't very flattering. Still, he must have an exhibition. He could
afford two hundred if he had to. An exhibition elsewhere would not be so
valuable. He had expected to make a better impression than this.

"I wish you would come," he said at last meditatively. "I think I should
like the space if I can get it. I would like to know what you think."

M. Charles raised his eyebrows.

"Very well," he said, "I will communicate with you."

Eugene went out.

What a poor thing this exhibiting business was, he thought. Here he had
been dreaming of an exhibition at Kellners which should be brought about
without charge to him because they were tremendously impressed with his
work. Now they did not even want his pictures--would charge him two
hundred dollars to show them. It was a great come down--very
discouraging.

Still he went home thinking it would do him some good. The critics would
discuss his work just as they did that of other artists. They would have
to see what he could do should it be that at last this thing which he
had dreamed of and so deliberately planned had come true. He had thought
of an exhibition at Kellner's as the last joyous thing to be attained in
the world of rising art and now it looked as though he was near it. It
might actually be coming to pass. This man wanted to see the rest of his
work. He was not opposed to looking at them. What a triumph even that
was!

CHAPTER VI

It was some little time before M. Charles condescended to write saying
that if it was agreeable he would call Wednesday morning, January 16th,
at