Things had gone wrong at the rehearsal that morning.

The star had demanded the removal of certain lines which gave the leading man an opportunity to shine in the climax of the third act.

He had labored a whole month over this climax, and he revolted at the thought of changing it to suit the whim of a capricious woman.
Everybody had agreed that this climax was the best the young dramatist had yet constructed.

A critic who had been invited to a reading had declared that it lacked little of being great.

And at this late hour the star wanted it changed in order to bring her alone in the lime-light! It was preposterous.