Thursday morning especially seemed interminable, but at last the long-watched clock on their staircase struck the wished-for hour, and still settling their bonnet-strings, Kate and Hender strolled in the direction of the theatre. The evening was dry and clear, and over an embrasure of the hills beyond Stoke the sun was setting in a red and yellow mist. The streets were full of people; and where Piccadilly opens into the market-place, groups and couples of factory girls were eagerly talking, some stretching forward in a pose that showed the nape of the neck and an ear; others, graver of face, walking straight as reeds with their hands on their hips, the palms flat, and the fingers half encircling the narrow waists. 'You must be glad to get out.' Hender said. 'To be cooped up in the way you are! I couldn't stand it.' 'Well, you see, I can enjoy myself all the more when I do get out.' Kate would have liked to answer more tartly, but on second thoughts she decided it was not worth while. It bored her to be reminded of the humdrum life she led, and she had come to feel ashamed that she had been to the theatre only twice in her life, especially when it was mentioned in Dick's presence. 'We're too soon,' said Hender, breaking in jauntily on Kate's reflections; 'the doors aren't open yet.' 'I can see that.' 'But what are you so cross about?' asked Hender, who was not aware of what was passing in her employer's mind. 'I'm not cross. But how long shall we have to wait? Mr. Lennox said he'd meet us here, didn't he?' 'Oh, he can't be long now, for here comes Wentworth with the keys to open the doors.' The street they were in branched to the right and left rectangularly; opposite were large flat walls, red in colour, and roofed like a barn, and before one black doorway some fifty or sixty people had collected. The manager pushed his way through the crowd, and soon after, like a snake into a hole, the line began to disappear. Hender explained that this was the way to the pit, and what Kate took for a cellar was the stage entrance. A young man with a big nose, whom she recognized as Mr. Montgomery, stared at them as he passed; then came two ladies--Miss Leslie and Miss Beaumont. Dick did not appear for some time after, but at last the big hat was seen coming along. Although, as usual, in a great hurry, he was apparently much pleased to see them, and he offered Kate his arm and conducted her across the street into the theatre. 'You're a bit early, you know. The curtain doesn't go up for half an hour yet,' he said, as they ascended a high flight of steps, at the top of which sat a woman with tickets in her hand. 'We were afraid of being too late.' 'It was very good of you to come. I hope you'll have a pleasant evening; it would be quite a treat to act when you were in the house.' 'But aren't you going to act, sir?' 'You mustn't call me sir; everybody calls me Dick, and I don't know anyone who has a better right to do so than you.'