Give me a little time. Can you not see that you are
asking me to alter destiny, to upset the teachings and traditions of
ages, and all in one little minute of weakness?"
"We cannot alter destiny," he said stubbornly. "We may upset
tradition, but what does that amount to? We have but one life to live.
I think our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren will be quite as
well pleased with their ancestors as their royal contemporaries will
be with theirs a hundred years from now."
"I cannot promise now," she said gently, and kissed him.
The first performance of "The Duke's Revenge" was incredibly bad. The
little that Barnes saw of it, filled him with dismay. Never had he
witnessed anything so hopeless as the play, unless it was the actors
themselves. But more incredible than anything else in connection with
the performance was the very palpable enjoyment of the audience. He
could hardly believe his ears. The ranting, the shouting, the howling
of the actors sent shivers to the innermost recesses of his being.
Then suddenly he remembered that he was in the heart of the "barn-
stormer's" domain. The audience revelled in "The Duke's Revenge"
because they had never seen anything better!
Between the second and third acts Tommy Gray rushed back with the box-
office statement.
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