ud noise, the thumping of her
heart. The concert had begun. Musa was still invisible--what was he doing
at that instant, somewhere behind?--but the concert had begun. Stars do not
take part in the first item of an orchestral concert. There is a convention
that they shall be preluded; and Musa was preluded by the overture to _Die
Meistersinger_. In the soft second section of the overture, a most
noticeable babble came from a stage-box. "Oh! It's the Foas," muttered Miss
Ingate. "What a lot of people are fussing around them!" "Hsh!" frowned
Audrey, outraged by the interruption. Madame Foa took about fifty bars in
which to settle herself, and Monsieur Foa chattered to people behind him as
freely as if he had been in a cafe Nobody seemed to mind.

The overture was applauded, but Madame Foa, instead of applauding, leaned
gracefully back, smiling, and waved somebody to the seat beside her.

Violent demonstrations from the gallery!... He was there, tripping down the
stepped pathway between the drums. The demonstrations grew general. The
orchestra applauded after its own fashion. He reached the conductor, smiled
at the conductor and bowed very admirably. He seemed to be absolutely at
his ease. Then there was a delay. The conductor's scores had got themselves
mixed up. It was dreadful. It was enough to make a woman shriek.

"I say!" said a voice in Audrey's ear. She turned as if shot. Mr. Cowl's
round face was close to hers. "I suppose you saw the _New York Herald_ this
morning."

"No," answered Audrey impatiently.

The orchestra started the Beethoven violin Concerto. But Mr. Cowl kept his
course.

"Didn't you?" he said. "About the Zacatecas Oil Corporation? It's under a
receivership. It's gone smash. I've had an idea for some time it would.
All due to these Mexican revolutions. I thought you might like to know."

Musa's bow hung firmly over the strings.

CHAPTER XLII

INTERVAL

The most sinister feature of entertainments organised by Xavier was the
intervals. Xavier laid stress on intervals; they gave repose, and in many
cases they saved money. All Paris managers are inclined to give to the
interval the importance of a star turn, and Xavier in this respect
surpassed his rivals, though he perhaps regarded his cloak-rooms, which
were organised to cause the largest possible amount of inconvenience to the
largest possible number of people, as his surest financial buttress. Xavier
could or would never see the clos