"Don't be fools, gentlemen," said De Haan, his keen sense of humor asserting itself. "Let Mr. Leon sit down."
Raphael, still dazed, took his seat on the editorial chair. "Now, what can I do for you?" he said courteously. The fists dropped at his calm.
"Do for us," said Schlesinger drily. "You've done for the paper. It's not worth twopence."
"Well, bring it out at a penny at once then," laughed little Sampson, reinforced by the arrival of his editor.
Guedalyah the greengrocer glowered at him.
"I am very sorry, gentlemen, I have not been able to satisfy you," said
Raphael. "But in a first number one can't do much."
"Can't they?" said De Haan. "You've done so much damage to orthodoxy that we don't know whether to go on with the paper."
"You're joking," murmured Raphael.
"I wish I was," laughed De Haan bitterly.
"But you astonish me." persisted Raphael. "Would you be so good as to point out where I have gone wrong?"