“Yes—yes—I see. I beg your pardon, Mr. Cardomay. I apologise. Good afternoon, and thank you very, very much.” After ten days the second version of “A Man’s Way” was delivered, and Eliphalet started to read it in great excitement. When he had finished, he was possessed with the curious conviction that he was mad. Accordingly he sent for Manning, and fluttered round while the stage-manager snorted through the manuscript. “Well, Manning?” “It’s all wrong. Parsons don’t act like that.” Eliphalet nodded. “And they don’t talk like that,” he added. Manning whisked over some pages. “Look at this bit, Guv’nor. ‘Get some grub and a good sleep.’” (Odd he should have chosen that line.) “People wouldn’t stick it.” “Yes, yes—absurd! He should be soothing—inspired!” “Then, again, this stage direction: ‘Takes Pauline by the shoulders and pushes her through the French window into the night, saying, “As you can’t be mentally cauterised, you’d better be mentally cooled.”’” “Shocking!” “They’d throw things.” “And, curiously enough, in the first version I thought that scene was good. He has made a mistake in keeping that hard note in the character. Besides, now that the Pauline has been sweetened, there is no longer any occasion for such drastic measures. And the Comic Relief, Manning?” “Horrible, Guv’nor. Out of place.” “I felt the same. Send Lennard a wire, Manning.” “Saying it’s all off?” “No, no—but I want to talk to him.” On his way to the Post Office, Manning almost ran into Theodore Lennard, who had followed in the wake of his play. The stage-manager buttonholed him at once. “You’ve fairly done it,” he opened fire. “Your play’s like a bit of bad joinery where the joints don’t fit, and rattle. It’s a hash, old man, a hash!” “But what I cannot understand,” Eliphalet was saying five minutes later, “is how you could put such words into the mouth of a clergyman.” “I didn’t,” came the plaintive reply. “I only left them in.” “But no cleric would say such things.” “Think for yourself—would he, o’ man? ‘Mentally cauterised,’ and all that kind of stuff! Bad form!” “But Mr. Cardomay expressly asked me to keep the spirit of the play.”