“Please, Ruth, won’t you go to the theatre with Terry tonight? He has a perfect passion for first nights, but as an honest working woman I need my rest and I’m too tired to go tonight,” said Gloria. “I’d like to, but—” Ruth glanced in the direction of Ben Stark. “Oh, don’t mind me,” said that youth. “The fact that you have refused me three times won’t make any difference. I’m accustomed to such treatment from the fair sex.” “Why don’t you come with us?” said Terry. “I have three tickets and intended taking both Gloria and Ruth if they would go.” “Please, Miss Ruth, will you let me go with you? I’ll walk a few paces in the rear and be a good little boy,” said Ben. “You really must be kind to me, because I’m going into rehearsals for another trip to the coast with a company that will probably go at least as far as Buffalo. You’ll miss my cheery smile when I am far away.” “Then we’ll all go together,” agreed Ruth, rather annoyed that Terry should have suggested that Ben go with them. Evidently he considered her too young to be an interesting companion and would be glad to have another man to talk to. It was perhaps for this reason that when they started out she directed most of her smiles and conversation to the erstwhile neglected Ben, making that young man beam with pleasure, while Terry seemed not to observe his neglected state at all. “What’s wrong, old chap? You are as solemn as an owl and you ought to be as happy as larks are supposed to be, with a real, honest-to-goodness show on Broadway,” said Ben. “It’s going off next week,” said Terry. “It’s been nothing but a paper house for a week, and they’re going to try it on the road; I don’t seem to have the trick or the recipe for success.” “I’m so sorry; perhaps it will go well on the road,” said Ruth. “Don’t feel sorry; it doesn’t matter very much; I’ll write another. A man must do something and if I grow very successful I might be tempted to stop.” “Yes, one must play some game; that’s what Professor Pendragon says.” “That’s right, you met Gloria’s husband, didn’t you? What’s he like?” “Very nice; I’ll tell you later all about it.” They were entering the theatre now and Ruth wanted to talk to Terry about Professor Pendragon when no one else was listening. Ben Stark was a jarring note that precluded absolute revealment of her hopes and fears. Nevertheless she forgot to be annoyed at his presence in the theatre for he amused her with his comments about people on and off the stage and Terry was strangely silent. The play was a particularly inane bit of fluff and seemed to be making a great hit. Ruth could imagine the trend of his thoughts, the discouragement attendant upon doing his best and seeing it fail, and watching the success of an inferior endeavour, yet she envied him, for he at least believed in his own work, and the more she studied and compared her work with that of other students, the more a creeping doubt of her own ability filled her brain.