“This money,” Edward Henry proceeded, “has to be paid to Slossons, Lord Woldo’s solicitors, to-morrow, Wednesday, rain or shine?” He finished the phrase on a note of interrogation, and as nobody offered any reply, he rapped on the table, and repeated, half-menacingly:  “Rain or shine!”

“Yes,” said Rose Euclid, leaning timidly forward and taking a cigarette from a gold case that lay on the table.  All her movements indicated an earnest desire to be thoroughly business-like.

“So that, Miss Euclid,” Edward Henry continued impressively, but with a wilful touch of incredulity, “you are in a position to pay your share of this money to-morrow?”

“Certainly!” said Miss Euclid.  And it was as if she had said, aggrieved:  “Can you doubt my honour?”

“To-morrow morning?”

“Ye-es.”

“That is to say, to-morrow morning you will have L2250 in actual cash—­coin, notes—­actually in your possession?”

Miss Euclid’s disengaged hand was feeling out behind her again for some surface upon which to express its emotion and hers.

“Well—­” she stopped, flushing.

("These people are astounding,” Edward Henry reflected, like a god.  “She’s not got the money.  I knew it!”)

“It’s like this, Mr. Machin,” Marrier began.

“Excuse me, Mr. Marrier,” Edward Henry turned on him, determined if he could to eliminate the optimism from that beaming face.  “Any friend of Miss Euclid’s is welcome here, but you’ve already talked about this theatre as ‘ours,’ and I just want to know where you come in.”

“Where I come in?” Marrier smiled, absolutely unperturbed.  “Miss Euclid has appointed me general manajah.”

“At what salary, if it isn’t a rude question?”

“Oh!  We haven’t settled details yet.  You see the theatre isn’t built yet.”

“True!” said Edward Henry.  “I was forgetting!  I was thinking for the moment that the theatre was all ready and going to be opened to-morrow night with ‘The Orient Pearl.’  Have you had much experience of managing theatres, Mr. Marrier?  I suppose you have.”

“Eho yes!” exclaimed Mr. Marrier.  “I began life as a lawyah’s clerk, but—­”

“So did I,” Edward Henry interjected.

“How interesting!” Rose Euclid murmured with fervency, after puffing forth a long shaft of smoke.

“However, I threw it up,” Marrier went on.

“I didn’t,” said Edward Henry.  “I got thrown out!”

Strange that in that moment he was positively proud of having been dismissed from his first situation!  Strange that all the company, too, thought the better of him for having been dismissed!  Strange that Marrier regretted that he also had not been dismissed!  But so it was.  The possession of much ready money emits a peculiar effluence in both directions—­back to the past, forward into the future.