Suddenly came in. He seemed half mad and told me that the body of a man had been found hanging under the stage. By the time I rushed down the stairs, the man was no longer hanging from his rope!
So, a man hangs at the end of a rope; they go to cut him down; the rope has disappeared. Monsieur Moncharmin found a simple explanation:
It was just after the ballet, and destroy the rope if they wanted to avoid any bad luck because they were very superstitious.
Imagine the crops de ballet hurrying down the stairs and dividing the rope among themselves! I think that somebody wanted that rope to disappear as soon as it had done its work.
Sorelli was on her way to give her speech, with all the girls following closely behind, when she ran into Count Chagny, who was coming upstairs.
" I was just going to you," he said, taking off his hat. " Sorelli, what an evening! And Christine Daae: What a triumph!"
" Six months ago, she used to sing like a chicken," said Meg Giy.
" But let us pass, my dear count. We are going to inquire about a poor man who was found hanging by the neck."
Just then Mercier came hurrying past and stopped when he heard this remark. " what? " he asked. " Have you girls heard already? Please, don't let Monsieur Debienne and Monsieur Poligny hear about it. It would upset them too much on their last day."
Count Chagny was right; no performance had ever equaled this one. Christine Daae had shown her true talent for the first time to the surprised and enthusiastic audience. There were many famous pieces beautifully sung by the famous singers of the day, but Christine Daae had been, without exaggeration, the best. Her voice produced divine sounds in the prison scene of