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The Phantom of the Opera Chapter XIV - The Singular Attitude of a Safety Pin · The Gaston Leroux Library

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  Speaker 1: Chapter fourteen of The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Lebru,
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  Speaker 1: translated by Alexander to Zara Dematos. This LibriVox recording is
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  Speaker 1: in the public domain. Chapter fourteen the singular attitude of
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  Speaker 1: a safety pin. Behind the curtain, there was an indescribable crowd. Artists,
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  Speaker 1: scene shifters, dancers, soupers, choristers, subscribers were all asking questions,
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  Speaker 1: shouting and hustling one another. What became of her? She's
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  Speaker 1: run away with the Vicomte de Cheni, of course, No,
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  Speaker 1: with the count. Ah, here's Carlotta. Carlotta did the trick. No,
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  Speaker 1: it was the ghost. And a few laughed, especially as
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  Speaker 1: a careful examination of the trap doors and boards had
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  Speaker 1: put the idea of an accident out of the question.
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  Speaker 1: Amid this noisy throng, three men stood, talking in a
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  Speaker 1: low voice and with despairing gestures. They were Gabrielle, the
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  Speaker 1: chorus master, Mercier, the acting manager, and Remy the secretary.
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  Speaker 1: They were tired to a corner of the lobby by
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  Speaker 1: which the stage communicates with the wide passage leading to
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  Speaker 1: the foyer of the ballet. Here they stood and argued
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  Speaker 1: behind some enormous properties I knocked at the door, said Remy.
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  Speaker 1: They did not answer. Perhaps they are not in the office.
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  Speaker 1: In any case, it's impossible to find out, for they
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  Speaker 1: took the keys with them. They were obviously the managers
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  Speaker 1: who had given orders during the last Utra Act that
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  Speaker 1: they were not to be disturbed on any pretext whatever.
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  Speaker 1: They were not in to anybody all the same, exclaimed Gabriel.
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  Speaker 1: A singer isn't run away with from the middle of
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  Speaker 1: the stage every day. Did you shout that to them?
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  Speaker 1: Asked Mercier, impatiently, I'll go back again, said Remy, and
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  Speaker 1: disappeared at a run. Thereupon the stage manager arrived. Well,
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  Speaker 1: Monsieur Mercier, are you coming? What are you two doing here?
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  Speaker 1: You're wanted, mister acting manager. I've refused to know or
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  Speaker 1: to do anything before the commissary rives, declared Mercier. I
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  Speaker 1: have sent for me Froy. We shall see when he comes.
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  Speaker 1: And I tell you that you ought to go down
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  Speaker 1: to the organ at once, not before the commissary comes.
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  Speaker 1: I've been down to the organ myself already. Ah, And
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  Speaker 1: what did you see? Well? I saw nobody. Do you
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  Speaker 1: hear nobody? What do you want me to do down there?
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  Speaker 1: You're right, said the stage manager, frantically, pushing his hands
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  Speaker 1: through his rebellious hair. You're right, but there might be
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  Speaker 1: some one at the organ who could tell us how
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  Speaker 1: the stage came to be suddenly darkened. Now Monclair is
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  Speaker 1: nowhere to be found. Do you understand that MoU Claire
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  Speaker 1: was the gas man who dispensed day and night at
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  Speaker 1: will on the stage of the opera? Montclair is not
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  Speaker 1: to be found, repeated Mercier, taken aback. Well, what about
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  Speaker 1: his assistance. There's no mac Claire and no assistance, no
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  Speaker 1: one at the lights, I tell you, you can imagine,
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  Speaker 1: roared the stage manager. That that little girl must have
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  Speaker 1: been carried off by somebody else. She didn't run away
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  Speaker 1: by herself. It was a calculated stroke, and we have
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  Speaker 1: to find out about it. And what are the managers
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  Speaker 1: doing all this time? I gave orders that no one
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  Speaker 1: was to go down to the lights, and I posted
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  Speaker 1: a fireman in front of the gas man's box beside
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  Speaker 1: the organ. Wasn't that right? Yes, yes, quite right, quite right,
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  Speaker 1: And now let's wait for the commissary. The stage manager
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  Speaker 1: walked away, shrugging his shoulders, fuming, muttering insults at those milksops,
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  Speaker 1: who remained quietly squatting in a corner while the whole
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  Speaker 1: theater was topsy turvy. Gabriel and Mercier were not quite
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  Speaker 1: so quiet as all that, only they had received an
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  Speaker 1: order that paralyzed them. The managers were not to be
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  Speaker 1: disturbed on any account. Remi had violated that order and
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  Speaker 1: met with no success. At that moment. He returned from
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  Speaker 1: his new expedition wearing a curiously startled air. Well have
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  Speaker 1: you seen them, asked Mercier. Moncharmine opened the door at last,
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  Speaker 1: his eyes were starting out of his head. I thought
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  Speaker 1: he meant to strike me. I could not get a
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  Speaker 1: word in. And what do you think? He shouted at me,
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  Speaker 1: Have you a safety pin? No? Well, then clear out.
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  Speaker 1: I tried to tell him that an unheard of thing
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  Speaker 1: had happened on the stage, but he roared a safety pin,
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  Speaker 1: Give me a safety pin. At once a boy heard him.
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  Speaker 1: He was bellowing like a bull, ran up with a
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  Speaker 1: safety pin and gave it to him, whereupon Monshomin slammed
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  Speaker 1: the door in my face. And there you are, And
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  Speaker 1: couldn't you have said Christine day, I should like to
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  Speaker 1: have seen you in my place? He was foaming at
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  Speaker 1: the mouth. He thought of nothing but his safety pin.
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  Speaker 1: I believe if they hadn't brought him one on the spot,
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  Speaker 1: he would have fallen down in a fit. Oh all,
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  Speaker 1: this isn't natural, and our managers are going mad. Besides,
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  Speaker 1: it can't one like this. I'm not used to being
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  Speaker 1: treated in that fashion. Suddenly, Gabriel whispered, it's suttin the
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  Speaker 1: trick of o Gee's. Remy gave a grin, Mercier a
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  Speaker 1: sigh and seemed about to speak, but, meeting Gabriel's eye,
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  Speaker 1: said nothing. However, Mercier felt his responsibility increased as the
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  Speaker 1: minute passed without the manager's appearing, and at last he
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  Speaker 1: could stand it no longer. Look here, I'll go and
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  Speaker 1: hunt them out myself. Gabrielle, turning very gloomy and serious,
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  Speaker 1: stopped him. Be careful what you're doing, Mercier. If they're
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  Speaker 1: staying in their office, it's probably because they have to.
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  Speaker 1: O g has more than one trick in his bag.
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  Speaker 1: But mercye shook his head. That's their lookout. I'm going.
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  Speaker 1: If people had listened to me, the police would have
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  Speaker 1: known everything long ago. And he went, what's everything? Asked
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  Speaker 1: Remy what was there to tell the police. Why don't you,
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  Speaker 1: answered gabriel Ah, so you know something, well, you would
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  Speaker 1: do better to tell me too, if you don't want
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  Speaker 1: me to shout out that you are all going mad. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: that's what you are mad. Gabrielle put on a stupid
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  Speaker 1: look and pretended not to understand the Private secretary's unseemly outburst.
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  Speaker 1: What something am I supposed to know? He said, I
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  Speaker 1: don't know what you mean. Remy began to lose his temper.
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  Speaker 1: This evening, Richard and Moncharmin were behaving like lunatics here
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  Speaker 1: between the acts. I never noticed, it, growled Gabrielle, very
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  Speaker 1: much annoyed. Then you're the only one. Do you think
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  Speaker 1: that I didn't see them? And that Monsieur Parry Beaches,
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  Speaker 1: the manager of the Credit Central, noticed nothing, and that
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  Speaker 1: Monsieur de la Bordier, the ambassador, has no eyes to
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  Speaker 1: see with why all the subscribers were pointing at our managers.
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  Speaker 1: But what were our managers doing? Asked Gabrielle, putting on
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  Speaker 1: his most innocent air. What were they doing? You know
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  Speaker 1: better than anyone what they were doing. You were there
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  Speaker 1: and you were watching them. You and Mercie and you
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  Speaker 1: were the only two who didn't like laugh. I don't understand.
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  Speaker 1: Gabriel raised his arms and dropped them to his sides again,
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  Speaker 1: which gesture was meant to convey that the question did
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  Speaker 1: not interest him in the least. Remy continued, what is
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  Speaker 1: the sense of this new mania of theirs? Why won't
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  Speaker 1: they have any one come near them? Now? What won't
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  Speaker 1: they have any one come near them? And they won't
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  Speaker 1: let anyone touch them? Really? Have you noticed that they
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  Speaker 1: won't let anyone touch them? That is certainly odd. Oh
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  Speaker 1: so you admit it, and high time too. And then
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  Speaker 1: they walked backward backward. You have seen our managers walk backward?
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  Speaker 1: Why I thought that only crabs walked backward. Don't laugh, Gabriel,
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  Speaker 1: don't laugh. I'm not laughing, protested Gabriel, looking as solemn
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  Speaker 1: as a judge. Perhaps you can tell me this, gabrielle
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  Speaker 1: as you're an intimate friend of the management. When I
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  Speaker 1: went up to Monsieur Richard outside the foyer during the
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  Speaker 1: garden interval with my hand out before me, why did
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  Speaker 1: Monsieur Moncharmin hurriedly whispered to me, go away, go away.
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  Speaker 1: Whatever you do, don't touch Monsieur lais directeur, am I
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  Speaker 1: supposed to have an infectious disease. It's incredible. And a
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  Speaker 1: little later, when Monsieur de la Bordier went up to
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  Speaker 1: Monsieur Richard, didn't you see Monsieur Moncharmin flinging himself between them,
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  Speaker 1: and hear him exclaim Monsieur l ambassador, I entreat you
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  Speaker 1: not to touch Monsieur leis directeur. It's terrible. And what
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  Speaker 1: was Richard doing? Meanwhile? What was he doing? Why you
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  Speaker 1: sim He turned about, bowed in front of him though
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  Speaker 1: there was nobody in front of him, and withdrew backward backward,
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  Speaker 1: and Monchaumin behind Richard also turned about. That is, he
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  Speaker 1: described a semicircle behind Richard, and also walked backward. And
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  Speaker 1: they went like that to the staircase leading to the
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  Speaker 1: manager's office, backward, backward, backward. Well, if they are not mad,
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  Speaker 1: will you explain what it means? Perhaps they were practicing
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  Speaker 1: a figure in the ballet, suggested Gabrielle, without much conviction
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  Speaker 1: in his voice. The secretary was furious at this wretched
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  Speaker 1: joke made at so dramatic a moment. He knit his
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  Speaker 1: brows and contracted his lips. Then he put his mouth
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  Speaker 1: to Gabrielle's ear. Don't be so sly, Gabrielle, there are
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  Speaker 1: things going on for which you and Mercier are partly responsible.
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  Speaker 1: What do you mean, asked Gabrielle. Christine Day is not
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  Speaker 1: the only one who suddenly disappeared to night. Oh nonsense,
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  Speaker 1: there's no nonsense about it. Perhaps you can tell me why.
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  Speaker 1: When Mother Gerry came down to the foyer just now,
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  Speaker 1: Mercier took her by the hand and hurried her away
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  Speaker 1: with him, really, said Gabrielle, I never saw it. You
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  Speaker 1: did see it, Gabrielle, for you went with Mercier and
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  Speaker 1: Mother Gerry to Mercier's office. Since then, you and Mercier
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  Speaker 1: have been seen, but no one has seen Mother Jerry.
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  Speaker 1: Do you think we've eaten her? No, but you've locked
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  Speaker 1: her up in the office, and any one passing the
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  Speaker 1: office can hear her yelling, Oh the scoundrels, Oh, the scoundrels.
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  Speaker 1: At this point of this singular conversation, Mercier arrived all
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  Speaker 1: out of breath. There he said, in a gloomy voice.
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  Speaker 1: It's worse than ever I shouted. It's a serious matter.
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  Speaker 1: Opened the door. It's I mercye. I heard footsteps. The
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  Speaker 1: door opened, and Monchourmin appeared. He was very pale. He said,
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  Speaker 1: what do you want? I answered, some one has run
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  Speaker 1: away with Christine Day. What do you think? He said,
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  Speaker 1: and a good job too, And he shut the door.
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  Speaker 1: After putting this in my hand. Mercier opened his hand.
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  Speaker 1: Remy and Gabriel looked this safety pin cried Remy. Strange. Strange,
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  Speaker 1: muttered Gabriel, who could not help shivering. Suddenly a voice
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  Speaker 1: made them all three turn round. I beg your pardon, gentlemen,
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  Speaker 1: could you tell me where Christine Day is? In spite
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  Speaker 1: of the seriousness of the circumstances, the absurdity of the
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  Speaker 1: question would have made them roar with laughter if they
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  Speaker 1: had not caught sight of a face so sorrow stricken
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  Speaker 1: that they were at once seized with pity. It was
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  Speaker 1: the Vicomte Raoul de Chonni. End of chapter fourteen.