第4章
HORNBLOWER。Makeyourmindeasy；itcan"t。I"vegotyeinanoose，andI"mgoin"tohangye。
MRS。H。[Suddenly]Mr。Hornblower，asyoufightfoul——soshallwe。
HILLCRIST。Amy！
MRS。H。[Payingnoattention]Anditwillnotbefoulplaytowardsyouandyours。Youareoutsidethepale。
HORNBLOWER。That"sjustwhereIam，outsideyourpaleallroundye。
Ye"renotlongforDeepwater，ma"am。Makeyourdispositionstogo；
ye"llbeoutinsixmonths，Iprophesy。Andgoodriddancetotheneighbourhood。[Theyarealldownonthelevelnow。]
CHLOE。[SuddenlycomingclosertoMRS。HILLCRIST]Hereareyoursalts，thankyou。Father，can"tyou——？
HORNBLOWER。[Surprised]Can"tIwhat？
CHLOE。Can"tyoucometoanarrangement？
MRS。H。Justso，Mr。Hornblower。Can"tyou？
HORNBLOWER。[Lookingfromonetotheother]Aswe"respeakin"out，ma"am，it"syourbehaviourtomydaughter-in-law——who"sasgoodasyou——andbetter，tomythinking——that"smorethanhalfthereasonwhyI"veboughtthisproperty。Ye"vefairgotmydanderup。Nowit"snousetobandywords。It"sveryforgivin"ofye，Chloe，butcomealong！
MRS。H。Quiteseriously，Mr。Hornblower，youhadbettercometoanarrangement。
HORNBLOWER。Mrs。Hillcrist，ladiesshouldkeeptotheirownbusiness。
MRS。H。Iwill。
HILLCRIST。Amy，doleaveittousmen。Youyoungman[HespeakstoROLF]doyousupportyourfather"strickthisafternoon？
[JILLlooksroundatROLF，whotriestospeak，whenHORNBLOWER
breaksin。]
HORNBLOWER。Mytrick？Andwhatdyecallit，totryandputmeownsonagainstme？
JILL。[ToROLF]Well？
ROLF。Idon"t，but——
HORNBLOWER。Trick？Yeyoungcub，bequiet。Mr。Hillcristhadanagentbidforhim——Ihadanagentbidforme。Onlyhisagentbidatthebeginnin"，an"minebidattheend。What"sthetrickinthat？
[Helaughs。
HILLCRIST。Hopeless；we"reindifferentworlds。
HORNBLOWER。IwishtoGodwewere！Comeyou，Chloe。Andyou，Rolf，youfollow。InsixmonthsI"llhavethosechimneysup，andmelorriesrunnin"roundye。
MRS。H。Mr。Hornblower，ifyoubuild——
HORNBLOWER。[LookingatMRS。HILLCRIST]Yeknow——it"slaughable。
Yemakemepayninethousandfivehundredforabito"1andnotworthfour，andyethinkI"mnottogetbackonye。I"mgoin"onwithaslittleconsiderationasifyewereafamilyofblackbeetles。
Goodafternoon！
ROLF。Father！
JILL。Oh，Dodo！He"sobscene。
HILLCRIST。Mr。Hornblower，mycompliments。
[HORNBLOWERwithastareatHILLCRIST"Shalf-smilingface，takesCHLOE"Sarm，andhalfdragshertowardsthedoorontheLeft。Butthere，intheopeneddoorway，arestandingDAWKER
andaSTRANGER。Theymovejustoutofthewayoftheexit，lookingatCHLOE，whoswaysandverynearlyfalls。]
HORNBLOWER。Why！Chloe！What"sthematter？
CHLOE。Idon"tknow；I"mnotwellto-day。
[Shepullsherselftogetherwithagreat，effort。]
MRS。H。[WhohasexchangedanodwithDAWKERandtheSTRANGER]Mr。
Hornblower，youbuildatyourperil。Iwarnyou。
HORNBLOWER。[Turningroundtospeak]Yethinkyourselfverycoolandverysmart。ButIdoubtthisisthefirsttimeye"vebeenupagainstrealities。Now，I"vebeenupagainstthemallmylife。
Don"ttalktome，ma"am，aboutperilandthatsortofnonsense；itmakesnoimpression。Yourhusbandcalledmepachydermatous。I
don"tknowGreek，andLatin，andallthat，butI"velookeditoutinthe，dictionary，andIfinditmeansthick-skinned。AndI"mnonetheworseforthatwhenIhavetodealwithfolklikeyou。Goodafternoon。
[HedrawsCHLOEforward，andtheypassthroughthedoor，followedquicklybyROLF。]
MRS。H。Thankyou；Dawker。
[ShemovesuptoDAWKERandtheSTRANGER，Left，andtheytalk。]
JILL。Dodo！It"sawful！
HILLCRIST。Well，there"snothingforitnowbuttosmileandpayup。Pooroldhome！Itshallbehiswash-pot。OvertheCentrywillhecasthisshoe。ByGad，Jill，Icouldcry！
JILL。[Pointing]Look！Chloe"ssittingdown。Shenearlyfaintedjustnow。It"ssomethingtodowithDawker，Dodo，andthatmanwithhim。Lookatmother！Askthem！
HILLCRIST。Dawker！
[DAWKERcomestohim，followedbyMRS。HILLCRIST。]
What"sthemysteryaboutyoungMrs。Hornblower？
DAWKER。Nomystery。
HILLCRIST。Well，whatisit？
MRS。H。You"dbetternotask。
HILLCRIST。Iwishtoknow。
MRS。H。Jill，gooutandwaitforus。
JILL。Nonsense，mother！
MRS。H。It"snotforagirltohear。
JILL。Bosh！Ireadthepaperseveryday。
DAWKER。It"snothin"worsethanyougetthere，anyway。
MRS。H。Doyouwishyourdaughter——
JILL。It"sridiculous，Dodo；you"dthinkIwasmotheratmyage。
MRS。H。Iwasnotsoproudofmyknowledge。
JILL。No，butyouhadit，dear。
HILLCRIST。Whatisit——whatisit？Comeoverhere，Dawker。
[DAWKERgoestohim，Right，andspeaksinalowvoice。]
What！[AgainDAWKERspeaksin，alowvoice。]
GoodGod！
MRS。H。Exactly！
JILL。Poorthing——whateveritis！
MRS。H。Poorthing？
JILL。Whatwentbefore，mother？
MRS。H。It"swhat"scomingafterthatmatters；luckily。
HILLCRIST。Howdoyouknowthis？
DAWKER。Myfriendhere[HepointstotheSTRANGER]wasoneoftheagents。
HILLCRIST。It"sshocking。I"msorryIheardit。
MRS。H。Itoldyounotto。
HILLCRIST。Askyourfriendtocomehere。
[DAWKERbeckons，andtheSTRANGERjoinsthegroup。]
Areyousureofwhatyou"vesaid，sir？
STRANGER。Perfectly。Irememberherquitewell；hernamethenwas——
HILLCRIST。Idon"twanttoknow，thankyou。I"mtrulysorry。I
wouldn"twishtheknowledgeofthatabouthiswomenfolktomyworstenemy。Thismustn"tbespokenof。[JILLhugshisarm。]
MRS。H。ItwillnotbeifMr。Hornbloweriswise。Ifheisnotwise，itmustbespokenof。
HILLCRIST。Isayno，Amy。Iwon"thaveit。It"sadirtyweapon。
Whotouchespitchshallbedefiled。
MRS。H。Well，whatweaponsdoesheuseagainstus？Don"tbequixotic。Forallwecantell，theyknowitquitewellalready，andiftheydon"ttheyoughtto。Anyway，toknowthisisoursalvation，andwemustuseit。
JILL:[Sottovoce]Pitch！Dodo！Pitch！
DAWKER。Thethreat"senough！J。P——Chapel——Futurememberfortheconstituency。
HILLCRIST。[Alittlemoredoubtfully]Touseapieceofknowledgeaboutawoman——it"srepugnant。I——Iwon"tdoit。
[Mrs。H。Ifyouhadasontrickedintomarryingsuchawoman，wouldyouwishtoremainignorantofit？]
HILLCRIST。[Struck]Idon"tknow——Idon"tknow。
MRS。H。Atleast，you"dliketobeinapositiontohelphim，ifyouthoughtitnecessary？
HILLCRIST。Well——thatperhaps。
MRS。H。ThenyouagreethatMr。Hornbloweratleastshouldbetold。
Whathedoeswiththeknowledgeisnotouraffair。
HILLCRIST。[HalftotheSTRANGERandhalftoDAWKER]Doyourealisethatanimputationofthatkindmaybegroundforacriminallibelaction？
STRANGER。Quite。Butthere"snoshadowofdoubt；notthefaintest。
Yousawherjustnow？
HILLCRIST。Idid。[Revoltingagain]No；Idon"tlikeit。
[DAWKERhasdrawntheSTRANGERasteportwoaway，andtheytalktogether。]
MRS。H。[Inalowvoice]Andtheruinofourhome？You"rebetrayingyourfathers，Jack。
HILLCRIST。Ican"tbearbringingawomanintoit。
MRS。H。Wedon"t。Ifanyonebringsherin；itwillbeHornblowerhimself。
HILLCRIST。Weusehersecretasalever。
MRS。H。Itellyouquiteplainly:Iwillonlyconsenttoholdingmytongueabouther，ifyouagreetoHornblowerbeingtold。It"sascandaltohaveawomanlikethatintheneighbourhood。
JILL。Mothermeansthat，father。
HILLCRIST。Jill，keepquiet。Thisisaverybitterposition。I
can"ttellwhattodo。
MRS。H。Youmustusethisknowledge。Youoweittome——tousall。
You"llseethatwhenyou"vethoughtitover。
JILL。[Softly]Pitch，Dodo，pitch！
MRS。H。[Furiously]Jill，bequiet！
HILLCRIST。Iwasbroughtupnevertohurtawoman。Ican"tdoit，Amy——Ican"tdoit。Ishouldneverfeellikeagentlemanagain。
MRS。H。[Coldly]Oh！Verywell。
HILLCRIST。Whatd"youmeanbythat？
MRS。H。Ishallusetheknowledgeinmyownway。
HILLCRIST。[Staringather]Youwould——againstmywishes？
MRS。H。Iconsideritmyduty。
HILLCRIST。IfIagreetoHornblowerbeingtold——
MRS。H。That"sallIwant。
HILLCRIST。It"stheutmostI"llconsentto，Amy；anddon"tlet"shaveanyhumbugaboutitsbeing，morallynecessary。Wedoittosaveourskins。
MRS。H。Idon"tknowwhatyoumeanbyhumbug？
JILL。Hemeanshumbug；mother。
HILLCRIST。ItmuststopatoldHornblower。Doyouquiteunderstand？
MRS。H。Quite。
JILL。Willitstop？
MRS。H。Jill，ifyoucan"tkeepyourimpertinencetoyourself——
HILLCRIST。Jill，comewithme。
[Heturnstowardsdoor，Back。]
JILL。I"msorry，mother。Onlyitisaskingame，isn"tit？
MRS。H。Youprideyourselfonplainspeech，Jill。Ipridemyselfonplainthought。YouwillthankmeafterwardsthatIcanseerealities。IknowwearebetterpeoplethantheseHornblowers。
Herewearegoingtostay，andthey——arenot。
JILL。[Lookingatherwithasortofunwillingadmiration]Mother，you"rewonderful！
HILLCRIST。Jill！
JILL。Coming，Dodo。
[Sheturnsandrunstothedoor。Theygoout。]
[MRS。HILLCRIST，withalongsigh，drawsherselfup，fineandproud。]
MRS。H。Dawker！[Hecomestoher。]
[Ishallsendhimanoteto-night，andworditsothathewillbeboundtocomeandseeusto-marrowmorning。Willyoubeinthestudyjustbeforeeleveno"clock，withthisgentleman？]
DAWKER。[Nodding]We"regoingtowireforhispartner。I"llbringhimtoo。Can"tmaketoosure。
[Shegoesfirmlyupthestepsandout。]
DAWKER。[TotheSTRANGER，withawink]TheSquire"ssqueamish——toomuchofagentleman。Buthedon"tcount。Thegreymare"sallright。YouwiretoHenry。I"mofftooursolicitors。We"llmakethatoldrhinocerossellusbacktheCentryatadecentprice。
TheseHornblowers——[Layinghisfingeronhisnose]We"vegot"emCURTAIN
SCENEII
CHLOE"sboudoirathalf-pastseventhesameevening。Aprettyroom。Nopicturesonthewalls，buttwomirrors。Ascreenandaluxuriouscouchanthefireplaceside，stageLeft。AdoorratherRightofCentreBack；openinginwards。AFrenchwindow，Rightforward:Awritingtable，RightBack。Electriclightburning。
CHLOE，inatea-gown，isstandingbytheforwardendofthesofa，verystill，andverypale。Herlipsareparted，andherlargeeyesstarestraightbeforethemasifseeingghosts:ThedoorisopenednoiselesslyandaWOMAN"Sfaceisseen。ItpeersatCHLOE，vanishes，andthedoorisclosed。CHLOEraisesherhands，covershereyeswiththem，dropsthemwithaquickgesture，andlooksroundher。Aknock。Withaswiftmovementsheslidesontothesofa，andliesprostrate，witheyesclosed。
CHLOE。[Feebly]Comein！
[HerMaidenters；atrim，containedfigureofuncertainyears，inablackdress，withthefacewhichwaspeeringin。]
Yes，Anna？
ANNA。Aren"tyougoingintodinner，ma"am？
CHLOE。[Withclosedeyes]No。
ANNA。Willyoutakeanythinghere，ma"am？
CHLOE。I"dlikeabiscuitandaglassofchampagne。
[TheMAID，whoisstandingbetweensofaanddoor，smiles。
CHLOE，withaswiftlook，catchesthesmile。]
Whydoyousmile？
ANNA。WasI，ma"am？
CHLOE。Youknowyouwere。[Fiercely]Areyoupaidtosmileatme？
ANNA。[Immovable]No，ma"am，WouldyoulikesomeeaudeCologneonyourforehead？
CHLOE。Yes——No——What"sthegood？[Claspingherforehead]Myheadachewon"tgo。
ANNA。Tokeeplyingdown"sthebestthingforit。
CHLOE。Ihavebeen——hours。
ANNA。[Withthesmile]Yes，ma"am。
CHLOE。[Gatheringherselfuponthesofa]Anna！Whydoyoudoit？
ANNA。Dowhat，ma"am？
CHLOE。Spyonme。
ANNA。I——never！I——！
CHLOE。Tospy！You"reafool，too。Whatistheretospyon？
ANNA。Nothing，ma"am。Ofcourse，ifyou"renotsatisfiedwithme，Imustgivenotice。Only——ifIwerespying，Ishouldexpecttohavenoticegivenme。I"vebeenaccustomedtoladieswhowouldn"tstandsuchathingforaminute。
CHLOE:[Intently]Well，you"lltakeamonth"swagesandgotomorrow。Andthat"sall，now。
[ANNAinclinesherheadandgoesout。]
[CHLOE，withasortofmoan，turnsoverandburiesherfaceinthecushion。]
CHLOE。[Sittingup]IfIcouldseethatman——ifonly——orDawker——
[Shespringsupandgoestothedoor，buthesitates，andcomesbacktotheheadofthesofa，asROLFcomesin。Duringthisscenethedoorisagainopenedstealthily，aninchortoo。]
ROLF。How"sthehead？
CHLOE。Beastly，thanks。I"mnotgoingintodinner。
ROLF。IsthereanythingIcandoforyou？
CHLOE。No，dearboy。[Suddenlylookingathim]Youdon"twantthisquarrelwiththeHillcriststogoon，doyou，Rolf？
ROLF。No；Ihateit。
CHLOE。Well，IthinkImightbeabletostopit。WillyousliproundtoDawker"s——it"snotfiveminutes——andaskhimtocomeandseeme。
ROLF。FatherandCharliewouldn"t——
CHLOE。Iknow。Butifhecomestothewindowherewhileyou"reatdinner，I"lllethimin，andout，andnobody"dknow。
ROLF。[Astonished]Yes，butwhatImeanhow——
CHLOE。Don"taskme。It"sworththeshotthat"sall。[Lookingatherwrist-watch]Tothiswindowateighto"clockexactly。Firstlongwindowontheterrace，tellhim。
ROLF。It"snothingCharliewouldmind？
CHLOE。No；onlyIcan"ttellhim——heandfatheraresomadaboutitall。
ROLF。Ifthere"sarealchance——
CHLOE。[Goingtothewindowandopeningit]Thisway，Rolf。Ifyoudon"tcomebackIshallknowhe"scoming。Putyourwatchbymine。[Lookingathiswatch]It"saminutefast，see！
ROLF。Lookhere，ChloeCHLOE。Don"twait；goon。
[Shealmostpusheshimoutthroughthewindow，closesitafterhim，drawsthecurtainsagain，standsaminute，thinkinghard；
goestothebellandringsit；then，crossingtothewritingtable，RightBack，shetakesoutachemist"sprescription。]
[ANNAcomesin。]
CHLOE。Idon"twantthatchampagne。Takethistothechemistandgethimtomakeupsomeofthesecachetsquick，andbringthembackyourself。
ANNA。Yes，ma"am；butyouhavesome。
CHLOE。They"retooold；I"vetakentwo——thestrength"soutofthem。
Quick，please；Ican"tstandthishead。
ANNA。[Takingtheprescription——withhersmile]Yes，ma"am。It"lltakesometime——youdon"twantme？
CHLOE。No；Iwantthecachets。
[ANNAgoesout。]
[CHLOElooksatherwrist-watch，goestothewriting-table，whichisold-fashioned，withasecretdrawer，looksroundher，divesatthesecretdrawer，takesoutarollofnotesandatissuepaperparcel。Shecountsthenotes:"Threehundred。"
Slipsthemintoherbreastandunwrapsthelittleparcel。Itcontainspears。Sheslipsthem，too，intoherdress，looksroundstartled，replacesthedrawer，andregainsherplaceonthesofa，lyingprostrateasthedooropens，andHORNBLOWER
comesin。Shedoesnotopenherages，andhestandslookingatheramomentbeforespeaking。
HORNBLOWER。[Almostsoftly]Howareyefeelin"。Chloe？
CHLOE。Awfulhead！
HORNBLOWER:Canyeattendamoment？I"vehadanotefromthatwoman。
[CHLOEsitsup。]
HORNBLOWER。[Reading]"Ihavesomethingoftheutmostimportancetotellyouinregardtoyourdaughter-in-law。Ishallbewaitingtoseeyouateleveno"clockto-morrowmorning。Thematterissoutterlyvitaltothehappinessofallyourfamily，thatIcannotimagineyouwillfailtocome。"Now，what"sthemeaningofit？Isitsheerimpudence，orlunacy，orwhat？
CHLOE。Idon"tknow。
HORNBLOWER。[Notunkindly]Chloe，ifthere"sanything——ye"dbettertellme。Forewarned"sforearmed。
CHLOE。There"snothing；unlessit"s——[Withaquicktookathim，]——
Unlessit"sthatmyfatherwasa——abankrupt。
HORNBLOWER。Hech！Manyaman"sbeenthat。Ye"venevertoldusmuchaboutyourfamily。
CHLOE。Iwasn"tveryproudofhim。
HORNBLOWER。Well，ye"renotresponsibleforyourfather。Ifthat"sall，it"sarelief。Thebittersnobs！I"llrememberitintheaccountI"vegotwiththem。
CHLOE。Father，don"tsayanythingtoCharlie；it"llonlyworryhimfornothing。
HORNBLOWER。No，no，I"llnot。IfIwentbankrupt，it"dupsetChearlie，I"venotadoubt。[Helaugh。Lookingathershrewdly]
There"snothingelse，beforeIanswerher？
[CHLOEshakesherhead。]
Ye"resure？
CHLOE。[Withanefort]Shemayinventthings，ofcourse。
HORNBLOWER。[Lostinhisfeudfeeling]Ah，！butthere"ssuchathingasthelawso"slander。Iftheyplaypranks，I"llhavethemupforit。
CHLOE。[Timidly]Couldn"tyoustopthisquarrel；father？Yousaiditwasonmyaccount。ButIdon"twanttoknowthem。Andtheydolovetheiroldhome。Ilikethegirl。Youdon"treallyneedtobuildjustthere，doyou？Couldn"tyoustopit？Do！
HORNBLOWER。Stopit？NowI"vebought？Na，no！Thesnobsdefiedme，andI"mgoingtoshowthem。Ihatethelotofthem，andIhatethatlittleDawkerworstofall。
CHLOE。He"sonlytheiragent。
HORNBLOWER。He"sapartofthewholedog-in-the-mangersystemthatstandsinmyway。Ye"reawoman，andyedon"tunderstandthesethings。Yewouldn"tbelievethestruggleI"vehadtomakemymoneyandgetmyposition。Thesecountyfolktalksoftsawder，buttogetanythingfromthem"slikegettin"butteroutofadog"smouth。Iftheycoulddrivemeoutofherebyfairmeansorfoul，wouldtheyhesitateamoment？Notthey！Seewhatthey"vemademepay；andlookatthisletter。Selfish，meanloto"hypocrites！
CHLOE。Buttheydidn"tbeginthequarrel。
HORNBLOWER。Notopenly；butunderneaththeydid——that"stheirway。
Theybeganitbythwartin"mehereandthereandeverywhere，justbecauseI"vecomeintomeownabitlaterthantheydid。Igave"emtheirchance，andtheywouldn"ttakeit。Well，I"llshow"emwhatamanlikemecandowhenhesetshismindtoit。I"llnotleavemuchskinonthem。
[Intheintensityofhisfeelinghehaslostsightofherface，alivewithasortofagonyofdoubt，whethertopleadwithhimfurther，orwhattodo。Then，withaswiftglanceatherwristwatch，shefallsbackonthesofaandcloseshereyes。]
It"llgivemeapowerofenjoymentseein"mechimneysgoupinfrontoftheirwindies。Thatwasabonniethought——thatlastbido"mine。
He"dgotthatrousedup，Ibelieve，he，neverwoulda"stopped。
[Lookingather]Iforgotyourhead。Well，well，ye"llbebesttryin"quiet。[Thegongsounds。]Shallwesendyesomethinginfromdinner？
CHLOE。No；I"lltrytosleep。PleasetellthemIdon"twanttobedisturbed。
HORNBLOWER。Allright。I"lljustanswerthisnote。
[Hesitsdownatherwriting-table。]
[CHLOEstartsupfromthesofafeverishly，lookingatherwatch，atthewindow，atherwatch；thensoftlycrossestothewindowandopensit。]
HORNBLOWER。[Finishing]Listen！[Heturnsroundtowardsthesofa]
Hallo！Whereareye？
CHLOE。[Atthewindow]It"ssohot。
HORNBLOWER。Here"swhatI"vesaid:
"MADAM，——Youcantellmenothingofmydaughter-in-lawwhichcanaffectthehappinessofmyfamily。Iregardyournoteasanimpertinence，andIshallnotbewithyouateleveno"clockto-morrowmorning。
"Yourstruly——"
CHLOE。[Withasufferingmovementofherhead]Oh！——Well！——[Thegongistouchedasecondtime。]
HORNBLOWER。[Crossingtothedoor]Lieyedown，andgetasleep。
I"lltellthemnottodisturbye；andIhopeye"llbeallrightto-
morrow。Good-night，Chloe。
CHLOE。Good-night。[Hegoesout。]
[Afterafeverishturnortwo，CHLOEreturnstotheopenwindowandwaitsthere，halfscreenedbythecurtains。Thedoorisopenedinchbyinch，andANNA"Sheadpeersround。SeeingwhereCHLOEis，sheslipsinandpassesbehindthescreen，Left。
SuddenlyCHLOEbacksinfromthewindow。]
CHLOE。[Inalowvoice]Comein。
[Shedartstothedoorandlocksit。]
[DAWKERhascomeinthroughthewindowandstandsregardingherwithahalfsmile。]
DAWKER。Well，youngwoman，whatdoyouwantofme？
[Inthepresenceofthismanofherownclass，therecomesadistinctchangeinCHLOE"Svoiceandmanner；asortoffrankcommonness，adaptedtothemansheisdealingwith，butshekeepshervoicelow。]
CHLOE。You"remakingamistake，youknow。