Page:Caine - The Author of Trixie (1924).djvu/129

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THE AUTHOR OF "TRIXIE"
125

in the neighbourhood of seventy thousand quid waiting for me to pick up, and what I say is, why not? Why ever not?"

"Ah!" she said icily. "Another burlesque. Another burlesque, eh?"

"What do you mean, another burlesque, eh?" he retorted. hotly. "Do you mean you don't believe 'Trixie' was one?"

"I don't think I want to tell you what I believe about 'Trixie,'" she said. "I only say that no one I know believes it to be a burlesque. I only say that. Nothing more. But I'll tell you this, Bisham. I was ready to allow you to publish one novel, seeing that it was, as you swore, a joke; but when it comes to your writing another, why, I find that a bit too thick. A reputable writer may be allowed one novel, if it's a pure jeu d'esprit; but a second one and in the same genre—no. That makes him a novelist,