3 The phantom's demands

Chapter 3 The phantom's demands "What is the meaning of this?" The new manager of the opera house waved a piece of paper at Madame G.

I demand the sum of 20,000 francs per month. P.S. Carlotta sings like a toad. I want to hear Christine sing every night or else... "It's the phantom," she said nervously. "I tell the girls he isn't real. But the truth is, I've worked here for twenty years and we have always given in to him." She shuddered. "If we don't, he'll make big trouble."

"Phantom? You mean a ghost?" said the manager. "Hah! If some crook who skulks around my opera house thinks he can swindle money out of me, he's got another think coming!"

Suddenly, the door swung open and a stagehand burst in. "It's Pico! He's been taken!" Pico was the manager's beloved pet dog. "My little Pico! What? How?" spluttered the manager.

"I heard Pico barking and saw a man in a cloak in the shadows!" Madame G shivered. "It's the phantom. Mark my words, manager. Pay up quickly or something dreadful will happen."