"I fancy you think you need my money far more than you need me, but that's all right. I shall not play the angel and lie dead afterward, be sure of that. If my money goes behind this show, I go at the head of it."
That was plain enough, and Frank had nothing more to say.
After the show that night the actors gathered in the office of the hotel and waited for Havener to appear. Havener had remained at the theater to settle up with the local manager.
After a while Havener came in, looking fairly well satisfied.
"How will we come out of this town?" asked Sargent.
"All right," was the answer. "We'll be able to get out ahead of the game, and we'll have something when we strike the next place, but we are sailing close to the wind. Bad weather will mean bad business, and that will mean bu'sted for us. If we had a little money in reserve, I believe we could keep going to the end of the season."
"Here is Merriwell, who wants to back a company," laughed Lawrence.
"If he's got some money, he'd better keep it in his pocket," declared Havener, much to the astonishment of everyone. "It will be much safer there."
Everyone stared at the speaker. They could not understand a person who would have any scruples about "catching a sucker" whenever the sucker was ready to bite, no matter who the sucker might be. Havener was the last person they had expected would object to letting Frank "blow his boodle" backing the company, if he really desired to do so.
"This is not a very good place to talk it over," said Frank, glancing around. "There are too many ears to hear. Can't we go up to somebody's room?"
"Who do you want to talk it over with?" asked Havener.
"The whole company, if this thing is being run on the commonwealth plan. Bring in the girls, everyone, and I'll tell you just what I'll do."
The manager hesitated. He had a friendly feeling for Frank, as Merry had done him more than one good turn. At one time Havener had been jealous of Merriwell, having discovered that there was some secret between the young man and Cassie, with whom Roscoe was in love; but he had been convinced that there was nothing really wrong in the secret, and he finally came to appreciate Frank's manliness and courage. He had been assured by Cassie that he should know everything about the secret in time, and that satisfied him fairly well, although he sometimes puzzled over it and wondered what it could be.