"Man alive!"
"Director! What's that . . . a rendezvous? In broad daylight, before the eyes of all, and scarcely three flights away from Pepa?"
Such were the bantering remarks hurled at him from every direction after his parting with Janina.
"Who is the charmer?"
"Director, it's rather careless to carry on such an affair right there in the limelight."
"Ha! ha! now we've got you! . . . You posed as a flawless crystal, my muddy amber!" called one of the company, a fleshless individual with habitually contorted lips that seemed to spew gall and malice.
"Go to the devil, my dear! This is the first time I saw her," retorted Cabinski.
"A pretty woman! What does she want?"
"A novice of some kind . . . she's seeking an engagement."
"Take her, Director. There are never too many pretty women on the stage."