"But, my dear friend, you must be out of your mind."
"Leave it to me."
"But it is impossible!"
"I see the scene ... just when Richard thinks Jenny has been carried off by Tompson, he finds her hidden in the cupboard of the very room where they are going to sign the contract; at the same moment he hears the steps of Da Sylva and his daughter on the staircase. In order not to be surprised with Jenny, there is but one way out of the difficulty—to throw her out of the window. So he throws her out of the window."
"I must confess you frighten me with your methods of procedure! In the second act, he breaks Jenny's head against the furniture; in the third act he flings her out of the window. . . . Oh! come, come!"
"Listen, let me finish the thing as I like—then, if it is absurd, we will alter it."
"Will you listen to reason?"
"I? Set your mind at rest; when I am convinced, I will, if necessary, reconstruct the whole play from beginning to end."
"When will the first act be ready?"
"What day of the week is this?"