“Well, I thought I was rather—rather——”
“Pretty?”
“Yes,” she admitted, in great confusion.
“And did you think that the only requirement for becoming an actress?”
“No, of course not, but——”
“The girl who can act, who has real dramatic ability, is fortunate if she is pretty. That is absolutely true. It requires great talent for a homely girl to win success on the stage. At the same time, a girl who is merely pretty has almost absolutely no show unless she has dramatic ability to some extent, or can sing in a manner to command attention. Are you a fine singer?”
“I can sing a little.”
“A little will not do. Keep off the stage, Miss Dow. Avoid actors. Do not flirt with them. You know nothing about them. They may be honorable men, and they may not be. The chances are that they are not. They are here to-day and gone to-morrow. They live lives which tend to rob them of their fine sense of honor.”
The girl was silent some moments, as they walked along. At last she said:
“Mr. Merriwell, I believe you have told me the truth. I have refused to believe others who have told me things about the stage and actors, but you are an actor, and you know what you are talking about. I realize now that I was very foolish to-night. Oh, I’ll get a scolding from papa, for he told me I could not go to the theater, and I ran away to go, just to see you.”