After considerable parley, Frank found that was the best he could do with the fellows, and he said:
"I can't make such an agreement without letting the rest of the company know about it. I will tell them, and see what they say."
Then he hastened back behind the scenes, where the other members of the organization were waiting in great suspense to know how matters stood.
Frank called them together and told them just what had happened and what the rebellious actors demanded. He did not urge them to agree to anything, but left the matter for them to decide, explaining just what the result would be if they did not agree to the terms offered by Sargent and Cates.
All denounced the two fellows, but they expressed a willingness to let them have half the money due them from the box-office receipts. Then word was sent out to the rebels, while Frank went before the curtain and informed the audience that there had been an unavoidable delay, but the curtain would go up in a very short time.
Then the pianist banged away on the old piano, which was sadly out of tune, and Sargent and Cates came in behind the scenes and hurried into a dressing room to make up.
CHAPTER XXIII. THE OLD ACTOR'S CURSE.
At last the curtain rolled up and the play began; but there was anything but a good feeling among the actors, and not one of them seemed in first-class form, with the possible exception of Merriwell.
It was remarkable how Frank seemed to cast aside even the remembrance of what had happened and throw himself into the part he was playing.