SCENE: GERALD’S _rooms in Grafton Street. A man’s room, pleasantly furnished, with very comfortable arm-chairs, and prints on the walls. Books are lying about, and smoking utensils._ CHARLES, GERALD HALSTANE’S _servant, opens the door_. MR. WRIGHT _comes in, a dapper young man, smartly dressed_. CHARLES. There, you can see for yourself that Mr. Halstane is not at home. MR. WRIGHT. Very well, I’ll wait for him. CHARLES. You’ll have to wait till midnight, because I don’t expect him in. MR. WRIGHT. Last time I came you said he’d be back in half an hour, and when I returned you said he’d just gone out. You don’t catch me napping a second time. CHARLES. The governor don’t take impertinence lying down, Mr. Wright, and he’ll look upon it as a great liberty your dunning him in this way. MR. WRIGHT. I don’t know about taking impertinence, but he’ll have to take a summons if my account is not settled at once. [_There is a ring at the bell._ CHARLES. [_Ironically._] Make yourself quite at home, won’t you? MR. WRIGHT. Thank you. I will. [CHARLES _goes out and leaves the door open so that the conversation with_ RIXON, _the solicitor, is heard_. RIXON. [_Outside._] Is Mr. Halstane in? CHARLES. No, sir. He’s gone to his club. RIXON. Well, I’ll ring him up. I must see him on a matter of the very greatest importance. You’re on the telephone, aren’t you? CHARLES. Yes, sir. But there’s a person waiting to see him. RIXON. [_Coming in._] Oh, never mind. [RIXON _is a short, rubicund man, with white whiskers and a hearty manner_. MR. WRIGHT. [_Going towards him._] Mr. Rixon. [RIXON _looks at him without recognising him_.] Don’t you remember me, sir? I’m the junior partner in Andrews and Wright. RIXON. Of course I do. I saw your father on business the other day. [_To_ CHARLES.] Where’s the telephone book? CHARLES. I’ll just go and fetch it, sir. Mr. Halstane lent it to the gentleman upstairs. RIXON. Be as quick as you can. [CHARLES _goes out_. RIXON. [_To_ MR. WRIGHT.] What are you doing here? MR. WRIGHT. Well, the fact is, we’ve got a very large account with Halstane, and I’m told he’s in queer street. I want to get the money before the crash comes. RIXON. Queer street? The man’s just come into seven thousand a year. MR. WRIGHT. What! RIXON. That’s why I’m running all over the place to find him. You know he’s a relation of the Hollingtons. I was at her ladyship’s not half an hour ago--the Dowager, you know--my firm has acted for the whole family for the last hundred years. Well, I’d hardly arrived before a message came from the War Office to say that her grandson, the present lord, had been killed in India. So as soon as I could, I bolted round here. Mr. Halstane is the next heir, and he comes into seven thousand a year and the title. MR. WRIGHT. My gracious, that’s a piece of luck. RIXON.