You may think in your heart you’ll succeed anyway. I know better.... If you don’t come through for me tonight, I could never bring myself to engage you again. Rumors will creep out on Broadway. Your name will be mud. Stage people have little sympathy for the sort of thing you’re planning to do tonight.... JACK [_Dully_]. I know it, Mr. Lee. I don’t want any mercy. [_Sinks into the settee._] LEE [_Shifts his tactics_]. How sick _is_ your father?... Is he too sick to be talked to?... I should think he’d be proud of you when you tell him what a great opportunity you’re getting.... JACK He couldn’t understand any more than you can understand. LEE Why _are_ you doing this? JACK I don’t know.... I’m doing it.... Isn’t that enough? LEE Well, I’ll _tell_ you why you’re doing it— JACK Don’t give me any more analysis. It gives me a headache. LEE It’s going to give you a much greater headache when the lawyers get after you. JACK Lawyers? LEE You know, my boy, you signed a pay-or-play contract. And you didn’t sign it with me as an individual. You signed it with a corporation of which I am the president. That corporation has stockholders. Those stockholders vote.... JACK When you hired me, did you have to ask the stockholders? LEE No. JACK Then _fire_ me without asking them.... [_He rises, drops into chair by table._] And keep the lawyers away, Mr. Lee. I don’t know anything about law. LEE [_Closes in on_ JACK]. Now listen. This afternoon I broke with my biggest backer on your account. And now my own money—every dollar I have on earth—is at stake.... I hate to bring in the personal element, Jack, but you have it in your hands either to make or break me. JACK [_Head sunk in his hands_]. It’s your money against my father’s life, Mr. Lee. What can I do? LEE I’ll tell you what you can do. You have one hour to get back to the theatre and live up to your contract with me. JACK Why can’t you postpone the opening of the show? LEE I postponed this show twice because of you. The owners of the theatre have a show of their own they want to bring in. They’ll jump at this opportunity to put me out. JACK Why don’t you get another theatre? LEE