Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: "and then I'd count for more! I wish I was a whole family!" The man laughed again. " I wish you were," he said. The Imp turned the polo-cap around in his hands. "Would you act the theatre for ten people?" he said. The man shook his head. " I'm afraid not: it wouldn't pay." " Would you act it for twenty people ? " The man hesitated. " That's pretty small," he said, " I don't know." The Imp gasped at his own daring, but persisted. "Would you do it for thirty ? " The man looked at the determined little figure in a blouse and corduroy knee-breeches. "Why, ye-es, I guess they would," he said slowly, " that would pay the fares : I guess they would. Why?" "Then you wait! you just wait! " begged the Imp, with the fire of resolution in his eye. " You just make 'em wait a minute. I'll be back—you just wait! " He nodded encouragingly to the astonished man and fled up the narrow, deserted street. His heart was beating high : his tears were forgotten. He should see the theatre. Now that he knew that the two heads were not all that he had paid twenty-five cents to behold, his hopes rose again. He panted through the drive-way and stopped to get his breath at the hotel steps. The Hungarian Gypsy band was playing on the broad piazza, and everybody was sitting there, laughing and chatting. There were at least a hundred people, and they all sat perfectly still and stared, when a dirty little boy dashed up the steps and cried wildly at them, " Will you please to come to the theatre ? Oh, won't you come to the theatre ? Won't thirty of you come to the theatre with me ? " The Tall Young Man in white tennis flannels advanced and grinned in his kindly way at the Imp. " What's all this ? What's up ? " he inquired. The Imp remembered his manners and took off his red p...