ventures, did not return empty-handed. They had practical
results to vouch for and explain their absence. Their endeavors had not
resulted in all work and no pay. If they had anxious moments and at
times hard work, they had their recompense and earned their reward, and
there were homes in which assistance was needed. They were solicitous,
too, to hasten to the cherished ones who were waiting to welcome them,
for strange as it may appear to the unthinking, the poor players who
fret and strut their brief hours upon the stage have homes--homes that
they prize beyond aught else and which to many of them are perhaps more
dearly prized than is the marble palace by the millionaire. No one knew
this better than Handy. He therefore lost no time in bringing his craft
into port.

"We can't complain, boys," he exclaimed, "after all is said and done, of
our undertaking. Here we are again under the lee of the big city, with
money in our pockets and our homes close at hand. You are not sorry you
took the chances," he continued, as the company gathered together before
separating. "May good fortune always smile upon enterprise."

"Amen!" responded Smith, who regarded that ejaculation as the proper
climax to his manager's peroration.

In half an hour the company were all ashore, each member homeward bound,
and possibly turning over in his mind the many eventful episodes of the
trip preparatory to relating them to those who might question them about
the exploit. Stories of this character lose nothing by repetition.

Handy and his fellow-craftsmen had not been home a week when their
adventures became the talk of the town, especially among the theatrical
fraternity. As usual in somewhat similar cases, every impecunious player
became desirous of immediately starting out upon the uncertain sea of
theatricals. They reasoned that if a man like Handy could succeed, why
could not they also turn the trick? Could they not even improve on his
tactics? Of course they could! Were they not, they argued, better actors
and had they not more experience as managers? Of course they were, and
had! Where Handy had made twenties and fifties, might not they pick up
hundreds? Of course there could be no doubt on that score. All this kind
of speculation in words, however, ended only in talk. Those who indulged
in it were mere theorists--not men of action and active brain like the
commander of the _Gem of the Ocean_ expedition, who put into execution
his plans