"I do hate to be alone," explained Evarne, brightening visibly at the effect of this chatter. "I--I've had great trouble lately, and when I'm by myself--well--I think!" Margaret was full of sympathy. "Poor dear, don't 'think' then, don't be alone. I know what we will do. I'm going to order Mrs. Burling to serve your meals along with ours, and we will see if we can't cheer you up among us." "I should like that," cried Evarne, jumping at the idea. Thus until the following Sunday, when these kind friends moved on to play their "sketch" in a hall right out of London, she was scarcely left alone for an hour. Every night she went with Mrs. Cuthbert and Margaret to their dressing-room, where she assisted in arraying them, and was instructed in the many mysteries of "making-up." She learnt many things--the knack of melting cosmetic in a teaspoon and applying it to the eyelashes with a hairpin--how to fluff out her hair by combing it the wrong way--how to transform a skin of common lard into glorified face-grease, sweetly smelling of essence of bergamot--and a dozen other little tricks of the trade. Either Margaret or Bertie accompanied her on her daily visits to the agents, and on Thursday morning--albeit she had as yet no "sticky-backs"--they helped her study the new number of the _Stage_. Her experienced friends warned her that the approach of summer was not a favourable time to find "a shop." Nevertheless there seemed to Evarne a goodly and various demand in the "Wanted" column. There were openings for pretty attractive chorus girls, soubrettes, a good responsible lady, a powerful leading lady, a pathetic old lady, a show lady, an emotional juvenile lady, and a dashing heavy lady; and if one couldn't place one's self under any of these descriptions, then one could modestly seek to be a "chambermaid." Also there were sweeping invitations for whole companies to "write in." Accordingly Evarne "wrote in"--spent 1s. 3d. on stamps--then waited. At the end of the week she was forced to part from her kind friends. She assured them that for their sakes she would henceforward and forever cherish an affectionate regard for the whole of the theatrical fraternity. Faithful promises of correspondence were exchanged, and then the girl found herself thrown upon her own society. Mrs. Burling had already let her sitting-room for the coming week, but the two men who now occupied it--low comedians--appeared to fastidious Evarne as very low specimens of humanity likewise. So, when one of them--encountering her on the front doorstep--showed a tendency to be affable, she received the poor fellow's effort most coolly. However, her time was now fully occupied. She marketed daily, haunted the theatrical agents, read poetry aloud in her best dramatic style in the privacy of her room, and occasionally expended a shilling on the gallery of some theatre to study acting and find out how it was done.