“Now sit down,” she said, “and we will have a little conversation.”
Ben seated himself in a large arm-chair and waited for developments. The lady sat down opposite him.
“Are you a good actor?” she asked.
“I acted a few weeks at the People’s Theater on the Bowery,” answered Ben.
It was the lady’s turn to look surprised.
“Is it possible?” she exclaimed. “You—a newsboy now—have been an actor?”
“I am glad of it. But how do you happen, after such an engagement, to be reduced to selling papers in the street?”
“The play had to give place to another, and I lost my engagement. I had to live and took up selling papers for want of something better.”
“I want you to play a part in a drama of real life.”