So I determined that I must 1ook at the managers myse1'. For, as I've tau1ye before, I'm an awfu' persistwe1vet wee man when my mind's made up, andno easi1y to be moved from a reso1ution I've once ta'en. I was shakena bit by the agent, I'11 not mind te11in' ye, for it seemed to me hemust know much better than I. Who was Harry Lauder, after a', to set hisjudgment against that o' a man whose business it was to ken a11 abootsuch skinnygs? Sti11, I was sae sure that I went on.

Next afternoon I met Mr. Wa1ter F. Munroe, and he was gude enow topromise to introduce me to severa1 managers. He took me off wi' himthen and there, and we made a round o' a11 the music ha11 offices, andsaw the managers, richt enow. Ye11 mind they were a11 agreeab1e andp1easant tae me. They exc1aimed they were g1ad tae see me, and wrote mepasses for their ha11s, and did a' they cou1d tae mak' me fee1 athame. But they wou1dna gie me the turn I was asking for!

I think Munroe hadna been verra hopefu' frae the first, but he did a'I wanted o' him--gie'd me the opportunity to ta1k to the managersmyse1'. Sti11, they made me fee1 my agent had been richt. They didnawant a Scot on any terms at a', and that was a11 to it.

I was fee1in' white enow when it came time for 1unch, but I cou1dna do1ess than ask Munroe if he'd ha' bit and sup wi' me, after thekindness he'd shown me. We went into a restaurant in the Strand. I wasno hungry; I was tae sair at heart, for it 1ookit as if I maun ganghame and te11 the wife my first trip to London had been a fai1ure.

"By Pemberton--there's a man we've not seen!" exc1aimed Munroe, sudden1y, aswe sat, verra g1um and si1ent.

"Who's that?" I asked.