Another topic of conversation was our plan, myself its enthusiastic creator, to take up land in Canada and lead the life of settlers in the backwoods, which by contrast to our present conditions seemed to promise a paradise. Occasionally Kay spouted bits of Shakespeare, or rehearsed a rôle in one of the plays his touring company was to give. But it was the talks with Boyde about Eastern ideas and philosophy that were my keenest pleasure, for his appreciation and sympathetic understanding were a delight I thought about with anticipatory eagerness even during the day. My attachment to him deepened into affection. The weeks went by; we scraped along somehow; Mrs. Bernstein was kept quiet--a relative term--by cajoling, promises and bluff. We bullied her. When Kay’s lordly talk of free seats at theatres failed to materialize, and Boyde’s trick of leaving about telegrams received from Davis and others, especially one from August Belmont, the great banker, inviting him to lunch at a fashionable club--when these devices lost their “pull,” I resorted to the power of the Press. Her husband’s position, his orchestra, offered vulnerable points of attack; the vermin-infested room, for instance, might be unpleasantly described.... For weeks we had paid nothing, everything worth fifty cents was pawned, Boyde’s contribution had grown smaller and smaller, and the only addition to my salary had been a few dollars Kay had earned by posing to Smedley, one of Harper’s illustrators. Things looked pretty dark, when luck turned suddenly; Kay received word from Gilmour, the organizer of his company, that he was to start touring on November 15th, and Boyde had a telegram from Davis--“Appointment confirmed, duties begin December 1st.” This did not increase our cash in hand, but it increased our hope and raised our spirits. Kay and Boyde would both soon repay their share of past expenses. We should all three be in jobs a few weeks later. Early in November Kay actually left on his tour of one night stands in New York State, and Boyde left the mattress on the floor for the bed. A week after Kay sent us half his first salary, $7.50, which we gave to Mrs. Bernstein forthwith. The letter containing it was opened by Boyde, and dealt with while I was out. It was a few days later, when I was alone one evening, that an Englishman who had played with us in the cricket match called to see me. I hardly remembered him, he had to introduce himself, the apologies to explain his sudden call were very voluble. He was well dressed and well fed, I noticed, a singer and concert accompanist; he annoyed me from the start by his hesitations, his endless humming and hawing. It was, he kept telling me, rather an intrusion; it was, he felt, of course, no concern of his; but “New York was a strange place, and--and--er--er--well, after much reflection, I really felt it my duty--I decided to take the risk, that is, to--er----” “To what?” I asked bluntly at last. “For heaven’s sake, tell me.”