“Why weren’t we told?” asked Miss Eva.

“It was in the papers,” said Bert.  “But they didn’t give Florette no front-page headlines, an’ maybe you don’t read the theatrical news.”

“No,” said Miss Eva.

“Well, not bein’ in the profession,” Mr. Brannigan said as if he were apologizing for her.

He sat down and continued to mop his brow mechanically.  The two sisters stared in dismay at the clown who had brought bad news.

“W’at I don’ know is how to tell the kid,” said Bert.  “He was nutty about Florette; didn’t give a darn for no one else.  I bin on the bill with them two lots of times, an’ I seen how it was.  The money ain’t goin’ to be no comfort to that kid!”

“The money?”

“Florette’s insurance—­made out to him.  Tha’s w’y I come.  She wan’ed him to stay on here, see, till he was all educated.  They’s enough, too.  She was always insured heavy for the kid.  They’s some back money comin’ to you, too.  She tole me.  The reason w’y she didn’t sen’ it on was because she was out of luck an’ broke, see?”

“But why didn’t Miss Le Fay write to us?” asked Miss Nellie.  “If she was in difficulties we——­”

“Naw, Florette wasn’ that kind; nev’ put up any hard-luck story y’ un’erstan’.  But she’d bin outa work, sick.  An’ w’en she come back it looked like her ac’ was a frost.  I run up on her in K.C., an’——­”

“What is K.C.?”

“Why, Kansas City!  We was on the bill there two weeks ago.  Me an’ Florette was ole friends, see?  No foolishness, if you know what I mean.  I’m a married man myse’f—­Bowers there on the card’s my wife—­but me an’ Florette met about five years ago, an’ kep’ on runnin’ on to one another on the bill, first one place an’ then another.  So she was glad to see me again, an’ me her.  ’W’y, w’ere’s Freddy?’ I says, first thing.  An’ then I never seen any person’s face look so sad.  But she begun tellin’ me right off w’at a fine place the kid was at, an’ how the theayter wasn’t no place for a chile.  An’ she says, ‘Bert, I wan’ him to stay w’ere he’s happy an’ safe,’ she says.  ‘Even if I nev’ see him again,’ she says.  Well, it give me the shivers then.  Psychic, I guess.”

Bert paused, staring into space.

“And then?” Miss Nellie asked gently.

“Well, like I was tellin’ you, Florette had been playin’ in hard luck.  Now I don’ know whether you ladies know anything about the vodvil game.  Some ac’s is booked out through the circuit from N’ Yawk; others is booked up by some li’l fly-by-night agent, gettin’ a date here an’ a date there, terrible jumps between stands, see?—­and nev’ knowin’ one week where you’re goin’ the nex’, or whether at all.  Well, Florette was gettin’ her bookin’ that way.  An’ on that you gotta make good with each house you play, get me?  An’ somethin’ had went wrong with the ac’ since I seen it las’.  It useter be A Number I, y’ un’erstan’, but looked like Florette had lost int’rust or