They did
manual labor in their youth. You girls of the better
class have to overcome that handicap.''
``But so many of the great singers are fat.''
``Yes, and under that fat you'll find great ropes of
muscle--like a blacksmith.''
``What Keith meant,'' she said. ``I wonder--
Why do I catch cold so easily? Why do I almost
always have a slight catch in the throat? Have you
noticed that I nearly always have to clear my throat
just a little?''
Her expression held him. He hesitated, tried to
evade, gave it up. ``Until that passes, you can never
hope to be a thoroughly reliable singer,'' said he.
``That is, I can't hope to make a career?''
His silence was assent.
``But I have the voice?''
``You have the voice.''
``An unusual voice?''
``Yes, but not so unusual as might be thought. As
a matter of fact, there are thousands of fine voices.
The trouble is in reliability. Only a few are reliable.''
She nodded slowly and thoughtfully. ``I begin to
understand what Mr. Keith meant,'' she said.
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