or two--
Of this now guess the hidden sense:

(Scaphio and Phantis consider the question as King continues
dancing
quietly--then give it up.)

It means complete indifference!

Sca. and Phan.: Of course it does--indifference!
It means complete indifference!

(King dancing quietly. Sca. and Phan. dancing furiously.)

Sca. and Phan.: As we've a dance for every mood
With pas de trois we will conclude,
What this may mean you all may guess--
It typifies remorselessness!

King.: It means unruffled cheerfulness!

(King dances off placidly as Scaphio and Phantis dance furiously.)

Phantis: (breathless) He's right--we are helpless! He's no
longer a
human being--he's a Corporation, and so long as he
confines
himself to his Articles of Association we can't touch
him!
What are we to do?

Scaphio: Do? Raise a Revolution, repeal the Act of Sixty-Two,
recon-
vert him into an individual, and insist on his immediate
ex-
plosion! (Tarara enters.) Tarara, come here; you're the
very man we want.

Tarara: Certainly, allow me. (Offers a cracker to each; they
snatch
them away impatiently.) That's rude.

Scaphio: We have no time for idle forms. You wish to succeed to
the
throne?

Tarara: Naturally.

Scaphio: Then you won't unless you join us. The King has defied
us,
and, as matters stand, we are helpless. So are you. We
must devise some plot at once to bring the people about
his
ears.

Tarara: A plot?

Phantis: Yes, a plot of superhuman subtlety. Have you such a
thing
about you?

Tarara: (feeling) No, I think not. No. There's one on my
dressing-table.

Scaphio: We can't wait--we must concoct one at once, and put it
into
execution without delay. There is not a moment to spare!

TRIO -- Scaphio, Phantis, and Tarara.

Ensemble

With wily brain upon the spot
A private plot we'll plan,
The most ingenious private plot
Since private plots began.
That's understood. So far we've got