"Burned down!" repeated Roland.

"That's what I said, didn't I? The suffragettes did it. They left
copies of 'Votes for Women' about the place. The silly asses set fire
to two other theaters as well, but they happened to be in main
thoroughfares and the fire-brigade got them under control at once.
I suppose they couldn't find the Windsor. Anyhow, it's burned to the
ground and what we want to know is what are you going to do about it?"

Roland was much too busy blessing the good angels of Kingsway to reply
at once. R. P. de Parys, sympathetic soul, placed a wrong construction
on his silence.

"Poor old Roly!" he said. "It's quite broken him up. The best thing we
can do is all to go off and talk it over at the Savoy, over a bit of
lunch."

"Well," said Miss Verepoint, "what are you going to do--rebuild the
Windsor or try and get another theater?"

* * * * *

The authors were all for rebuilding the Windsor. True, it would take
time, but it would be more satisfactory in every way. Besides, at this
time of the year it would be no easy matter to secure another theater
at a moment's notice.

To R. P. de Parys and Bromham Rhodes the destruction of the Windsor
Theater had appeared less in the light of a disaster than as a direct