“Thank you, sir; you are very kind. I shall be willing to sing for you the rest of the week, so as to give you time to find some one to fill my place.”
“Will you?” asked the manager, eagerly, seeing at once how he might turn Helen’s accession of fortune to profitable account; “you will indeed confer a great favor upon me by so doing. It will take me some time to fill your place, and I cannot hope to obtain a substitute who will become such a favorite with the public.”
“Thank you, sir,” said Helen, rising to go. “Then I will go to rehearsal.”
“Thank you rather, my dear Miss Ford,” said the manager, rising from his seat and opening the door for her. “I shall not forget your kindness.”
Helen could not help wondering a little at the change in the manager’s manner, and, unversed as she was in the ways of the world, she could not help seeing that it was the result of her change of circumstances.
Meanwhile the manager was not idle. The morning papers contained the following paragraph, the authorship of which may at least be suspected.
Romance in Real Life. We understand that Miss Helen Ford, the young vocalist whose charming melodies have made her such a popular favorite, has just come into possession of a splendid fortune, inherited from her grandfather, Gerald Rand, Esq., the well-known capitalist, whose death was recently noticed in our columns. Miss Ford has kindly agreed to sing as usual through the present week, when she will leave the stage forever.
The effect of this paragraph may be imagined. That evening hundreds were turned away from the theatre, which was crowded to its utmost capacity. Never had such an audience been seen within its walls. When Helen appeared on the stage, quite unaware of the paragraph which had produced this effect, she was received with long-continued applause. The vast audience seemed inspired with a sudden enthusiasm.
Helen was surprised, but did not lose her self-possession. She sang with her usual sweetness, and was immediately encored. Again she sang, and this time was called before the curtain. Several bouquets were thrown her, which she picked up, and hastily withdrew.
If Helen had been older, she would have understood the meaning of this ovation. As it was, she only wondered.