se.

Charmian was almost disappointed by her silence. She had turned over and
over in her mind Claude's words about the verdict in advance. She
continued to dwell upon them mentally after the meeting with Mrs.
Shiffney. By degrees she became almost obsessed by the idea of Mrs.
Shiffney as arbiter of Claude's destiny and hers.

Mrs. Shiffney's position had always fascinated Charmian, because it was
the position she would have loved to occupy. Even in her dislike, her
complete distrust of Mrs. Shiffney, Charmian was attracted by her. Now
she longed with increasing intensity to use Mrs. Shiffney as a test.

Rehearsals of Claude's opera were being hurried on. Crayford was
determined to produce his novelty before the Metropolitan crowd produced
theirs.

"They've fixed the first," he said. "Then it's up to us to be ready by
the twenty-eighth, and that's all there is to it. We'll get time enough
to die all right afterward. But there aren't got to be no dying nor
quitting now. We've fixed the locusts, and now we'll start in to fix all
the rest of the cut-out."

He had begun to call Claude's opera "the cut-out" because he said it was
certain to cut out Sennier's work. The rumors about the weakness of
Sennier's libretto had put the finishing touch to his pride and
enthusiasm. Thenceforth he set no bounds to his expectations.

"We've got a certainty!" he said. "And they know it."

His energy was volcanic. He knew neither rest nor the desire to rest.
His season so far had been successful, much more successful than any
former season of his. He knew that he was making way with the great New
York public, and he was carried on by the vigor which flames up in a
strong and determined man who believes himself to be almost within reach
of the satisfaction of his greatest desire.

Claude, in his new character of the man determined to win a great
popular triumph, appealed forcibly to Crayford.

"I've made him over!" he exclaimed to Charmian, almost with exultation.
"He's a man now. When I lit out on him he was--well, well, little lady,
don't you begin to fire up at me! All I mean is that Claude knows how to
carry things with him now. Look how he's stood up against all the
nonsense about the libretto! Why, he's right down enjoyed it. And the
first night the pressmen started in he was like a man possessed, talked
about his honor, and all that kind of rubbish. Now he says 'Stir it up!
It's all for the good of the opera!' Cane's fairly