"Let me take his place."
"You?"
Burnham stared. Then he grinned in a sickly manner.
"What sort of a joke are you cracking?" he asked, harshly.
"No joke," assured Frank. "I am in earnest. I'd like to take his place."
"You can't."
"Why not?"
"Why, you're no magician."
"How do you know?"
"You're simply an advance man, and——"