Призрак Оперы
IV Box Five
Maniera’srightear?"askedM.Moncharmin,withagravitywhichhethoughtexceedinglyhumorous.
"No,sir,itwasM.Manierahimself.So——"
"Butyouhavespokentotheghost,mygoodlady?"
"AsI’mspeakingtoyounow,mygoodsir!"Mme.Giryreplied.
"And,whentheghostspeakstoyou,whatdoeshesay?"
"Well,hetellsmetobringhimafootstool!"
Thistime,Richardburstoutlaughing,asdidMoncharminandRemy,thesecretary.Onlytheinspector,warnedbyexperience,wascarefulnottolaugh,whileMme.Giryventuredtoadoptanattitudethatwaspositivelythreatening.
"Insteadoflaughing,"shecriedindignantly,"you’ddobettertodoasM.Polignydid,whofoundoutforhimself."
"Foundoutaboutwhat?"askedMoncharmin,whohadneverbeensomuchamusedinhislife.
"Abouttheghost,ofcourse!...Lookhere..."
Shesuddenlycalmedherself,feelingthatthiswasasolemnmomentinherlife:
"LOOKHERE,"sherepeated."TheywereplayingLaJuive.M.Polignythoughthewouldwatchtheperformancefromtheghost’sbox...Well,whenLeopoldcries,’Letusfly!’—youknow—andEleazerstopsthemandsays,’Whithergoye?’...well,M.Poligny—Iwaswatchinghimfromthebackofthenextbox,whichwasempty—M.Polignygotupandwalkedoutquitestiffly,likeastatue,andbeforeIhadtimetoaskhim,’Whithergoye?’likeEleazer,hewasdownthestaircase,butwithoutbreakinghisleg.
"Still,thatdoesn’tletusknowhowtheOperaghostcametoaskyouforafootstool,"insistedM.Moncharmin.
"Well,fromthatevening,noonetriedtotaketheghost’sprivateboxfromhim.
