(As it might as well have been.)
Grumpy. "Better put the diamond in the safe, my boy. You'll be ruined if anybody steals it."
Ernest. "Yes, but the play will be ruined if nobody does."
Grumpy. Mr. Cyril Maude.
Ernest Heron. Mr. Edward Combemere.
Act I.—The Crime.
Scene—Mr. "Grumpy" Bullivant's library. Enter his grand-daughter Virginia and Mrs. Maclaren.
Mrs. Maclaren. What a remarkable man Mr. Jarvis seems to be, dear—so amusing at dinner! And he writes for Tiddly Bits, he tells me. Where did you meet him?
Virginia. Quite accidentally in Hyde Park. He told grandfather a long story about a gold brick, and grandfather was so charmed with him he asked him down at once for the week-end.
Mrs. Maclaren. Such a knowledge of character your grandfather has, love.
Virginia. Yes, but you must remember he used to be the cleverest criminal lawyer of his time. He saw directly that Mr. Jarvis was a nice man.
[Exeunt.
Enter Ernest Heron and "Grumpy" by opposite doors.