She cut him short with a gesture that might have been given by a tragedy queen. “You have said enough, Mr. Vance! You cannot remedy it now. Let me tell you something—let me tell you all something! Bart Hodge has acted as a gentleman toward me. Anything that has happened that may seem to contradict my statement I could account for—if I chose. Let me say something more. I admire Bart Hodge. He is young, but he doesn’t care for any living thing, and that is something that I admire in any man. When he is angry he looks as if he’d enjoy killing somebody, and I admire him for that! If he started to do a thing men or devils could not keep him from doing it, and I admire him for that! When I attempted to have sport with him, he seized me, held me, forcibly kissed me—and I admire him for that! When some one attempted to interfere in my behalf, he promptly knocked that person down, and I admire him for that! There—I’ve said my say. You know what I think of Hodge.” “I suppose you admire him for acting like a cad on the stage?” hissed Vance. “Havener must admire him, too! Oh, he is a fine chap to admire!” Stella looked at him and began to laugh again. “My dear fellow,” she said, in a most provoking way, “you had better attend to that eye without delay. It’s turning black. It’ll be closed if you don’t look after it.” Then she turned and walked away, leaving Vance almost frothing with jealous fury. Granville Garland was almost the only man who remained with Vance. The others moved away, talking about what had happened. “You’ve got it in the neck, Vance,” said Garland, sympathetically. “She has thrown you down for Hodge.” “Oh, don’t talk to me!” growled the discomfited actor. “I could murder that fellow! I’d do anything to get even with him, and I’ll find a way to do it, too!” “Well, just now you had better take Stanley’s advice and attend to that eye. You’ll be a beauty if you don’t doctor it in a hurry.” Snarling to himself, Lester Vance left the stage, and a second later, fuming with fury, hurried from the theater. At a market he bought a slice of beefsteak to use as a poultice on his eye, and then hastened to the hotel at which the company was stopping. Entering as unobtrusively as possible, he hurried up to his room. Turning a corner of the corridor, he suddenly halted, catching his breath. A short distance away, with his back toward Vance, Hodge was unlocking the door of a room. “Why is he going in there?” thought the jealous actor. “That is not his room. It’s Merriwell’s!” Bart opened the door and entered the room. Vance stood irresolute in the corridor, wishing to do something to injure Hodge, but undecided concerning the course to pursue. “He has secured the key from the office and entered Merriwell’s room,” muttered the actor. “I wonder what he is up to. I’d give something if I knew.” Softly he stole along the corridor till he reached the door of the room. There he paused and listened. He could hear Hodge moving about inside.