The first few days which Moncharmin and Richard spent at the Opera were given over to the delight of finding themselves the head of so magnificent an enterprise;and they had forgotten all about that curious, fantastic story of the ghost. Then an incident occurred that proved to them that the joke—if joke it were—was not over.

M. Firmin Richard reached his office that morning at eleven o'clock. His secretary, Mr. Remy, showed him half a dozen letters, which he had not opened because they were marked “ private ”. One of the letters had at once attracted Richard's attention not only because the envelope was addressed in red ink, but because he seemed to have seen the writing before.He soon remembered that it was the red handwriting in which the contract had been so curiously completed. He opened the letter and read:

Dear Mr. Manager,

I am sorry to have to trouble you at a time when you must be so very busy, renewing important engagements , signing fresh ones and generally displaying your excellent taste.

In tonight's performance, I should like to hear Ms. Daae in the part of Siebel, as that of Margarita has been forbidden her since her triumph the other evening; and I will ask you not to dispose of my box today nor on the following days, for I cannot end this letter without telling you how disagreeably surprised I have been once or twice, to hear, on arriving at the Opera, that my box had been sold, at the box-ofice, by your orders.

I am fully aware that Debienne and Poligny informed you of my contract with the theater. Consequently, I view you as treating me with outrageous contempt . If you wish to live in peace, you must not begin by taking away my private box.

Your Most Humble and Obedient Servant, OPERA GHOST

M. Firmin Richard had hardly finished reading this letter when Mr. Armand Moncharmin entered, carrying one exactly similar. They looked at each other and burst out laughing.

Thinking this a continuation of the joke begun by the two former managers, Mr. Firmin Richard told his secretary to send invitations for Box Five to the addresses of Debienne and Poligny.

The rest of their day was spent in discussing, negotiating , signing or cancelling contracts with the theater's various artists; and the two overworked managers went to bed early,without so much as casting a glance at Box Five to see whether Mr. Debienne and Mr. Poligny were enjoying the performance.

Next morning, the managers received a card of thanks from the ghost:

Dear Mr. Manager,

Thanks. Charming evening. Daae exquisite . Carlotta a wonderfully common instrument. Will write you soon for the 240,000 francs.

Kind regards, O. G.

On the other hand, there was a letter from Debienne and Poligny,

Gentlemen,

We are much obliged for your kind thought of us, but we have no right to occupy Box Five, which is the exclusive property of him of whom we spoke to you when we went through the contract with you for the last time.

“Oh, those fellows are beginning to annoy me!” shouted Firmin Richard, snatching up the letter. And that evening Box Five was sold.

The next morning, Richard and Moncharmin, on reaching their office, found a report by the box-keeper relating to an incident that had happened the night before, in Box Five. I give the essential part of the report:

I was obliged to call in a municipal guard twice, this evening, to clear Box Five, once at the beginning and once in the middle of the second act . The occupants created a regular scandal by their laughter and their ridiculous observations. There were cries of “ Hush ! ” all around them and the whole house was beginning to protest. I had a municipal guard turn them out.

The box-keeper was immediately sent for. When she soon appeared in the office, Richard asked rather impolitely, “What's your name?”

“Madame Giry. I'm the mother of little Giry, little Meg!”

“Never heard of her!” the manager declared. “What happened last night to make you call a municipal guard?”

“It's all in my report, except that when I first came to their door to ask the guests to quiet down, they mentioned hearing a mysterious voice tell them that the box was not available . I knew when I heard this that the ghost was annoyed again!”

“Ah! That damned ghost again! Yes, what of him?”

She then explained that nobody could see the ghost in his box, but everybody could hear him. She had often heard him.

“And have you spoken to the ghost, my good lady?” asked Richard sarcastically .

“As I'm speaking to you now, my good sir!” Madame Giry replied.

“And what did your conversation consist of?”

“He wanted me to bring him a footstool .”

This time, Richard burst out laughing, as did Moncharmin and Remy, the secretary, while Madame Giry ventured to adopt an attitude that was positively threatening. “Instead of laughing,” she cried indignantly , “you'd do better to do as Mr.Poligny did, who found out for himself.”

“Found out about what?” asked Moncharmin, who had never been so amused in his life.

“About the ghost, of course! Look here, during one of the performances, Mr. Poligny thought he would watch from the ghost's box. Well, right in the middle of it, Mr. Poligny got up and walked out quite stiffly, like a statue, and before I had time to ask him where he was going, he was down the staircase.”

“Still, that doesn't let us know how the Opera ghost came to ask you for a footstool,” insisted Mr. Moncharmin.

“Well, from that evening, no one tried to take the ghost's private box from him. The manager gave orders that he was to have it at each performance. And, whenever he came, he asked me for a footstool. Of course, it wasn't for himself, but for his lady! But I never heard her nor saw her.”

“ Eh ? What? So now the ghost is married!” said the two managers, giving one another a glance.

“Some evenings, I find flowers in the box, a rose that must have dropped from his lady's dress. One day, they left a fan behind them.”

“Oh, the ghost left a fan, did he? And what did you do with it?”

“Well, I brought it back to the box the next night.”

“And then?”

“Well, then, they took it away with them, sir; it was not there at the end of the performance; and in its place they left me a box of English sweets , which I'm very fond of. That's one of the ghost's pretty thoughts.”

“That will do, Madame Giry. You can go.”

When Madame Giry had bowed herself out , with the dignity that never deserted her, the managers decided to dispense with that old madwoman's services. They then determined to look into that little matter of Box Five themselves.

be given over to... 沉溺于……

private /ˈpraɪvɪt/ adj. 亲启；个体的；私人的

engagement /ɪnˈɡeɪdʒmənt/ n. 聘用的事宜，雇用的行动

dispose of 去掉；清除；销毁

disagreeably / ˌ dɪsəˈɡrɪəblɪ/ adv. 令人不快地，讨厌地

outrageous /aʊtˈreɪdʒəs/ adj. 不寻常的

contempt /kənˈtempt/ n. 轻视，藐视

obedient /əˈbi:dɪənt/ adj. 顺从的，服从的

have hardly(done) ... w hen(did) ... 刚……，就……

continuation / k ə n ˌ tɪnjʊˈeɪʃən/ n. 继续，延续

negotiate /nɪˈɡəʊʃɪeɪt/ vi. 商谈，协商，谈判

sign or cancel contracts with sb. 与某人签署或废止合同

exquisite /ˈekskwɪzɪt/ adj. 优美的，雅致的

O.G. Opera Ghost 的缩写

be obliged for ... 因受恩惠而感激……

relateto 关于……，有关于……，设计……

municipal /mju:ˈnɪsɪpəl/ adj. 市的，市政的

act /ækt/ n. （戏剧中的）一幕

occupant /ˈɒkjʊpənt/ n. 占有者；居住者

hush /hʌʃ/ int. 嘘，别作声

available / ə ˈ veɪ l ə b l / a dj. （指物）可用的，可得到的

sarcastically / s ɑ : ˈkæstɪklɪ/ a dv. 讥讽地，挖苦地

footstool 脚凳

indignantly /ɪnˈdɪɡnəntlɪ/ adv. 愤怒地，愤慨地（尤指对不公正或冤屈的事）

eh /eɪ/ int. （口） 用以表示惊奇或怀疑、征求同意或请求重复某事

sweet /swi:t/ n. 糖果，尤指巧克力糖

bow oneself out 西方礼节，下级退出上级的房间时，须先鞠一躬，面向上级，低头后退，到门口时，转身开门走出

dispense with sb./sth. 用不着某人、某物；摆脱某人、某物 bswoJ/WoQeKr95NSAih0TmV13BZEPx8PTHYAhQW6TmhsZcGWL4OAb8RhGXShd2dd