obody in that part of the theater after Mme.
Giry had brushed up against him...

Having begun by walking backward in order to bow, Richard continued to
do so from prudence, until he reached the passage leading to the
offices of the management. In this way, he was constantly watched by
Moncharmin from behind and himself kept an eye on any one approaching
from the front. Once more, this novel method of walking behind the
scenes, adopted by the managers of our National Academy of Music,
attracted attention; but the managers themselves thought of nothing but
their twenty-thousand francs.

On reaching the half-dark passage, Richard said to Moncharmin, in a low
voice:

"I am sure that nobody has touched me ... You had now better keep at
some distance from me and watch me till I come to door of the office:
it is better not to arouse suspicion and we can see anything that
happens."

But Moncharmin replied. "No, Richard, no! You walk ahead and I'll
walk immediately behind you! I won't leave you by a step!"

"But, in that case," exclaimed Richard, "they will never steal our
twenty-thousand francs!"

"I should hope not, indeed!" declared Moncharmin.

"Then what we are doing is absurd!"

"We are doing exactly what we did last time ... Last time, I joined
you as you were leaving the stage and followed close behind you down
this passage."

"That's true!" sighed Richard, shaking his head and passively obeying
Moncharmin.

Two minutes later, the joint managers locked themselves into their
office. Moncharmin himself put the key in his pocket:

"We remained locked up like this, last time," he said, "until you left
the Opera to go home."

"That's so. No one came and disturbed us, I suppose?"

"No one."

"Then," said Richard, who was trying to collect his memory, "then I
must certainly have been robbed on my way home from the Opera."

"No," said Moncharmin in a drier tone than ever, "no, that's
impossible. For I dropped you in my cab. The twenty-thousand francs
disappeared at your place: there's not a shadow of a doubt about that."

"It's incredible!" protested Richard. "I am sure of my servants ...
and if one of them had done it, he would have disappeared since."

Moncharmin shrugged his shoulders, as though to say that he did not
wish to enter into details, and Richard began to think that Moncharmin
was treating him in a very insupportable fashion.

"Moncharmin, I've had enough of this!"

"Richard,