The Safety Pin Again

M. Richard bowed ... to nobody; bent his back ... before nobody; and
walked backward ... before nobody ... And, a few steps behind him, M.
Moncharmin did the same thing that he was doing in addition to pushing
away M. Remy and begging M. de La Borderie, the ambassador, and the
manager of the Credit Central "not to touch M. le Directeur."

Moncharmin, who had his own ideas, did not want Richard to come to him
presently, when the twenty-thousand francs were gone, and say: "Perhaps it was the ambassador ... or the manager of the Credit Central
... or Remy."

The more so as, at the time of the first scene, as Richard himself
admitted, Richard had met nobody in that part of the theater after Mme.
Giry had brushed up against him...

Having begun by walking backward in order to bow, Richard continued to
do so from prudence, until he reached the passage leading to the
offices of the management. In this way, he was constantly watched by
Moncharmin from behind and himself kept an eye on any one approaching
from the front. Once more, this novel method of walking behind the
scenes, adopted by the managers of our National Academy of Music,
attracted attention; but the managers themselves thought of nothing but
their twenty-thousand francs.

On reaching the half-dark passage, Richard said to Moncharmin, in a low
voice: "I am sure that nobody has touched me ... You had now better keep at
some distance from me and watch me till I come to door of the office:
it is better not to arouse suspicion and we can see anything that
happens."