Then, thinking some one else was wrong, he turned to one of the other people on the stage and demanded, sotto voce:
"What in thunder are you saying, anyway?"
Of course that broke up the actor spoken to for a moment, and he was forced to turn his back on the audience to keep them from seeing that he was laughing.
It was all over at last, and Frank breathed a deep sigh of relief when the final curtain fell.
The audience had not expected too much, and they departed fairly satisfied.
Sargent was not on the stage at the close of the play, and it was found that he had removed his make-up and departed before the piece was over.
"It's a good thing for him!" declared Havener. "I've been getting hotter and hotter, and I'm just longing to punch that fellow. I'll get at him too!"
Then he went away somewhere to look for Sargent.
Two minutes later there came a sudden scream from one of the dressing rooms, followed by the sound of a hoarse, excited voice.