"Does what matter—you little ninny!"
"Whether a girl is straight."
"Is that the philosophy you learn in your theatrical agencies?" demanded Athalie fiercely. "What nauseating rot you do talk, Doris!"
"Very well. It may be nauseating. But what is a girl to do in a world run entirely by men?"
"You know well enough what a girl is not to do, don't you? All right then,—leave that undone and do what's left."
"What is left?" demanded Doris with a mirthless laugh. "There's scarcely a job that a girl can hold unless she squares some man to keep it—and keep—her!"
"Shame on you! I held mine for over five years," said Athalie with hot contempt.
"Yes, and then along came the junior partner. You wouldn't square him: you lost your job! There's always a junior partner in every business—when there isn't a senior. There's nothing to it if you stand in with the firm. If you don't—good night!"
"You managed to remain at the Egyptian Garden during the entire season."
"But the fights I had, my dear, and the tricks I employed and the lies I told and the promises I made! Oh, it's sickening—sickening! But—" she