“Now——”
“I can’t seem to shake it. I’ve tried, but it’s no use.”
She said this sadly, dejectedly, and Frank’s heart was stirred by a great sympathy.
“Are you sure?”
“Well, I’m going to break it off some time—I will if I die!” she declared, fiercely. “I have sworn it! It’s the only thing left for me, and I must do it.”
“Now you are talking right.”
“Oh, I ain’t a fool, Frank Merriwell! I know well enough what I’ve got to do. The thing is to do it. One night I tried to play ‘Topsy’ without using it, but I was so dull and dead that Haley gave me a great call down. It puts life into me, it braces me up long enough to play the part. If I don’t do it, I’ll lose my engagement.”
“Better lose your engagement than your health—your life.”
“But I can’t afford to lay off now,” said Cassie, desperately. “I must go through till the end of the season. Then I’m going to a sanitarium somewhere and get rid of this business—get cured. I’ll do it! All I want is for you to keep still.”
“You can trust me,” assured Merry. “You may be sure I’ll keep still.”