Glogowski did not sit down, but kept walking about in big circles and every time he passed Janina he would whisper some remark at which she laughed quietly, while he continued to pace about, rumple his hair, throw his hat into the air and smoke one cigarette after another, all the time, however, listening attentively to the reading. Outside the rain continued to drizzle and the water dripped monotonously down the drainpipes. The drab, dull daylight streamed in upon the stage. Glas amused himself by throwing cigarette butts at Dobek's nose, while Wladek gently blew at the head of the dozing Mirowska. From the dressing-room came the buzz of a saw cutting wood and the hammering of nails it was the stage mechanician preparing his props for the evening performance. "Mr. Glogowski, we shall have to cut out a little here," remarked Topolski occasionally. "Go ahead!" Glogowski would reply, continuing his promenade. The whispers grew louder. "Kaminska will you go downtown with me? I want to buy some material for a dress." "All right, we shall look over some autumn capes while we're at it." "What is that going to be? . . . an insertion?" Rosinska asked Mrs. Piesh who was busily crocheting something. "Yes, do you see what a nice design it is? I got a sample from the directress." Again there followed a moment of complete silence in which was heard nothing but the even voice of the stage-manager, the dripping of the rain and the buzz of the saw in the dressing-room. "Let me have a cigarette," said Wawrzecki turning to Wladek. "Did you win anything at cards yesterday?" "I lost, as usual, just as I was on the point of making a big haul of three hundred rubles. Some luck, eh? . . . A certain plan has occurred to my mind! . . ." Wladek leaned over toward Wawrzecki and began to whisper secretly into his ear. "What have you done about your living quarters?" Krzykiewicz asked Glas, handing him a cigarette. "Oh, nothing, I'm still living in the same place." "Are you paying your rent?" "Not yet, but soon!" answered the comedian, winking one of his eyes. "Listen Glas! I heard that Cabinski is buying a house on Leszno Street." "What are you trying to tell me! By Gad, I'd immediately move into it to make up for the salary he owes me. Where would he get the money?" "Ciepieszewski saw him with the agents who have the house for sale." "Nurse!" called Cabinska. The nurse hastily entered carrying a letter under her apron. "It wasn't I, it was Felka who broke that looking-glass. She threw a champagne bottle aiming at the chandelier, but struck the mirror instead. Bang! and immediately thirty rubles were added to the bill. That fat guy of hers merely frowned," one of the chorus girls was relating. "Don't lie! I was not drunk and I remember exactly who broke it," retorted Felka. "You remember do you? Do you also remember how you jumped off the table and then took off your shoes and . . . ha! ha! ha! ha!"