'A tall young gent—a London man, I should think, by the cut of him, but he left no name.'
'A very pretty ring, anyhow,' said a girl, picking it up.
'Not bad,' said another; 'I got one like it last year at Sheffield,'
'But what shall I do with it?' asked Kate.
'Why, wear it, of course,' answered two or three voices simultaneously.
'Wear it!' she repeated, and feeling very much like one in possession of stolen goods, she hurried on to the stage, intending to ask Dick what she was to do with the ring. She found him disputing with the property man, and it was some time before he could bring himself to forget the annoyance that a scarcity of daggers had occasioned him. At last, however, with a violent effort of will, he took the note from her hand and read it through. When he had mastered the contents a good-natured smile illumined his chub-cheeked face, and he said:
'Well, what do you want to say? I think the ring a very nice one; let's see how it looks on your hand,'
'You don't mean that I'm to wear it?'
'And why not? I think it's a very nice ring,' the manager said unaffectedly. 'Wear it first on one hand and then on the other, dear; that will puzzle him,'
'But supposing he comes to meet me at the stage-door?'