Part 26 (1/2)
”As if I could think of such a thing! My dear Scara that you will never, never allude to that little joke of otten,” said Andre-Louis ”And now for the remainder of my proposal If I am to become the architect of your fortunes, if I am to build theree becoree?” M Binet frowned
”In the saree From to-day, if you please, ill conduct the affairs of this company in a proper manner, and ill keep account-books”
”I am an artist,” said M Binet, with pride ”I am not a merchant”
”There is a business side to your art, and that shall be conducted in the business ht it all out for you You shall not be troubled with details that ht hinder the due exercise of your art
All that you have to do is to say yes or no to my proposal”
”Ah? And the proposal?”
”Is that you constitute me your partner, with an equal share in the profits of your corew pale, his little eyes widened to their fullest extent as he conned the face of his companion Then he exploded
”You are mad, of course, to make me a proposal so monstrous”
”It has its injustices, I admit But I have provided for them It would not, for instance, be fair that in addition to all that I a to do for you, I should also play Scaramouche and write your scenarios without any reward outside of the half-profit which would come to me as a partner Thus before the profits come to be divided, there is a salary to be paid me as actor, and a small sum for each scenario hich I provide the coreement Similarly, you shall be paid a salary as Pantaloon After those expenses are cleared up, as well as all the other salaries and disbursements, the residue is the profit to be divided equally between us”
It was not, as you can iht He began with a point-blank refusal to consider it
”In that case, my friend,” said Scaramouche, ”we part company at once
To-morrow I shall bid you a reluctant farewell”
Binet fell to raging He spoke of ingratitude in feeling terms; he even permitted himself another sly allusion to that little jest of his concerning the police, which he had proain to mention
”As to that, you may do as you please Play the informer, by all means But consider that you will just as definitely be deprived of --as you were before I joined your coht be A fig for the consequences! He would teach this i country attorney that M Binet was not the man to be imposed upon
Scaramouche rose ”Very well,” said he, between indifference and resignation ”As you wish But before you act, sleep on theyou may see our two proposals in their proper proportions Mine spells fortune for both of us Yours spells ruin for both of us Good-night, M Binet Heaven help you to a wise decision”
The decision to which M Binet finally came was, naturally, the only one possible in the face of so firm a resolve as that of Andre-Louis, who held the trumps Of course there were further discussions, before all was settled, and M Binet was brought to an agree in one as an artist and not a man of business One or two concessions were made by Andre-Louis; he consented, for instance, to waive his claim to be paid for scenarios, and he also consented that M Binet should appoint himself a salary that was out of all proportion to his deserts
Thus in the end the matter was settled, and the announcement duly made to the assembled company There were, of course, jealousies and resentments But these were not deep-seated, and they were readily shen it was discovered that under the new arrangement the lot of the entire company was to be materially improved from the point of view of salaries This was a matter that had met with considerable opposition from M Binet But the irresistible Scaramouche swept away all objections
”If we are to play at the Feydau, you want a co starvelings The better we pay them in reason, the more they will earn for us”
Thus was conquered the company's resentment of this too swift promotion of its latest recruit Cheerfully noith one exception--they accepted the dominance of Scaramouche, a dominance soon to be so firmly established that M Binet himself came under it
The one exception was Cli stranger, who had al outside Guichen, had begotten in her aof her had been steadily infla She had remonstrated with her father when the new partnershi+p was first formed
She had lost her temper with him, and called him a fool, whereupon M
Binet--in Pantaloon's best manner--had lost his temper in his turn and boxed her ears She piled it up to the account of Scaramouche, and spied her opportunity to pay off so score But opportunities were few Scara the week of preparation at Fougeray, he was hardly seen save at the performances, whilst when once they were at Redon, he came and went like the wind between the theatre and the inn