of "The Purple
Slipper." Until four o'clock he was closeted with the most brilliant
theatrical publicity man in New York City; then he took his contracts
and went over to Weiner's office and sacrificed "The Rosie Posie Girl"
to--

An hour later he had told his partner, Mr. Dennis Farraday, all about
it, and showed him the deeds of execution.

"You ought not to have done it, Van. It was too big a price to pay," Mr.
Farraday declared, with his mane rumpled on high.

"No," answered Mr. Vandeford, in happy calmness. "'The Purple Slipper'
will pay it all out--one way or another."

"It must," declared Mr. Farraday, with helpless energy. "What can I do?"

"Oh, be the usual ray of sunshine around the place and--and keep the
Violet happy and busy until we land on Broadway." Mr. Vandeford said
this with a coldness in tone and voice that he had to force hard. His
attitude was that he had had to sacrifice himself so why not sacrifice
Mr. Farraday also? And he hated himself for that attitude.

"I understand, and you can count on me," answered Mr. Farraday, with
such an innocently happy face that Mr. Vandeford groaned inwardly at the
fact that he did not understand, and would surely be made to soon if his
calculations on the intentions of Miss Hawtry were correct.

"I've arranged for a chair-car to take the whole company down to
Atlantic City Sunday morning, so the whole bunch can have a plunge and a
good rest-up before the Monday dress rehearsal." Mr. Farraday produced
that piece of business with great pride.

"Good!" was all the commendation that he got, and he betook himself off
for other good-natured efforts on the affairs of "The Purple Slipper."

Though at times Mr. Godfrey Vandeford approached the heroic in action,
he was very human in reflexes and, having paid a price for the happiness
of Miss Patricia Adair, he proceeded to partake of as much of that
happiness as he could get hold of. He captured the author of "The Purple
Slipper" after the rehearsals on Friday, which were the last before the
dress rehearsal in Atlantic City on Monday night, because the cast of a
play are, after all, so many human beings, who have to be given at least
a day for such animal functions as packing trunks, closing apartments,
dodging creditors, and severing home ties, and he carried her off to the
country with the intention of having her all to himself for dinner at a
little inn up Westchester way. After they had started in that directio