"I have never thought of being famous," was the reply.

"Vell, you tink of it now. If I hire you, I make you de greatest
actor in de vorld. I make it a propaganda picture fer de churches,
dey vould show it to de headens in China and in Zululand. I make you
a contract fer ten years, and I pay you five hunded dollars a veek,
vedder you vork or not, and you vouldn't have to vork so much,
because I don't catch myself makin' a million dollar feature picture
vit gawd amighty and de angels in it for no regular veekly releases.
Maybe you find some cheap skate feller vit some vild cat company vot
promise you more; but he sells de picture and makes over de money to
his vife's brudders, and den he goes bust, and vere you at den, hey?
Mary Magna, here, she tell you, if you git a contract vit old Abey,
it's shoost like you got libbidy bonds. I make dat lovely lady a
check every veek fer tirty-five hunded dollars, an' I gotta sign it
vit my own hand, and I tell you it gives me de cramps to sign so
much money all de time, but I do it, and you see all dem rings and
ribbons and veils and tings vot she buys vit de money, she looks
like a jeweler's shop and a toy-store all rolled into vun goin'
valkin' down de street."

"Mr. Carpenter was just scolding me for that," said Mary. "I've an
idea if you pay him a salary, he'll feed it to the poor."

"If I pay it," said T-S, "it's his, and he can feed it to de
dicky-birds if he vants to. Vot you say, Mr. Carpenter?"

I was waiting with curiosity to hear what he would say; but at that
moment the door from the "maternity-room" was opened, and the voice
of Madame Planchet broke in: "Here she ees!" And the flesh-mountain