The calm of despair took possession of Edward Henry. He felt that he must act immediately--he knew his own mood, by long experience. Exploring the pockets of the dressing-gown which had aroused the longing of the greatest dramatic poet in the world, he discovered in one of them precisely the piece of apparatus he required--namely, a slip of paper suitable for writing. It was a carbon duplicate of the bill for the dressing-gown, and showed the word "Drook" in massive printed black, and the figures £4, 4s. in faint blue. He drew a pencil from his waistcoat and inscribed on the paper: "Go out, and then come back in a couple of minutes and tell me someone wants to speak to me urgently in the next room." With a minimum of ostentation he gave the document to Joseph, who, evidently well trained under Sir Nicholas, vanished into the next room before attempting to read it. "I hope," said Edward Henry to Carlo Trent, "that this money-making play is reserved for the new theatre?" "Utterly," said Carlo Trent. "With Miss Euclid in the principal part?" "Rather!" sang Mr. Marrier. "Rather!" "I shall never, never appear at any other theatre, Mr. Machin!" said Rose, with tragic emotion, once more feeling with her fingers along the back of her chair. "So I hope the building will begin at once. In less than six months we ought to open." "Easily!" sang the optimist. Joseph returned to the room, and sought his master's attention in a whisper. "What is it?" Edward Henry asked irritably. "Speak up!" "A gentleman wishes to know if he can speak to you in the next room, sir." "Well, he can't." "He said it was urgent, sir." Scowling, Edward Henry rose. "Excuse me," he said. "I won't be a moment. Help yourselves to the liqueurs. You chaps can go, I fancy." The last remark was addressed to the gentlemen-in-waiting. The next room was the vast bedroom with two beds in it. Edward Henry closed the door carefully, and drew the _portière_ across it. Then he listened. No sound penetrated from the scene of the supper. "There _is_ a telephone in this room, isn't there?" he said to Joseph. "Oh, yes, there it is! Well, you can go." "Yes, sir."