第5章
DAWKER。[Withabroadgrin]No。I"vegotamemoryforfaces。
CHLOE。Isayyouare。
DAWKER。[Turningtogo]Ifthat"sall，youneedn"thavetroubledmetocome。
CHLOE。No。Don"tgo！[Withafaintsmile]Youareplayingagamewithme。Aren"tyouashamed？WhatharmhaveIdoneyou？Doyoucallthiscricket？
DAWKER。No，mygirl——business。
CHLOE。[Bitterly]WhathaveItodowiththisquarrel？Icouldn"thelptheirfallingout。
DAWKER。That"syourmisfortune。
CHLOE。[Claspingherhands]You"reacruelfellowifyoucanspoilawoman"slifewhoneverdidyouanounceofharm。
DAWKER。Sotheydon"tknowaboutyou。That"sallright。Now，lookhere，Iservemyemployer。ButI"mfleshandblood，too，andI
alwaysgiveasgoodasIget。Ihatethisfamilyofyours。There"snonametoobadfor"emtocallmethislastmonth，andnolookstooblacktogiveme。Itellyoufrankly，Ihate。
CHLOE。There"sgoodinthemsameasinyou。
DAWKER。[Withagrin]There"snogoodHornblowerbutadeadHornblower。
CHLOE。But——butImnotone。
DAWKER。You"llbethemotherofsome，Ishouldn"twonder。
CHLOE。[Stretchingoutherhand-pathetically]Oh！leavemealone，do！I"mhappyhere。Beasport！Beasport！
DAWKER。[Disconcertedforasecond]Youcan"tgetatme，sodon"ttryiton。
CHLOE。Ihadsuchabadtimeinolddays。
[DAWKERshakeshishead；hisgrinhasdisappearedandhisfaceislikewood。]
CHLOE。[Panting]Ah！do！Youmight！You"vebeenfondofsomewoman，Isuppose。Thinkofher！
DAWKER。[Decisively]Itwon"tdo，Mrs。Chloe。You"reapawninthegame，andI"mgoingtouseyou。
CHLOE。[Despairingly]Whatisittoyou？[Withasuddentouchofthetigress]Lookhere！Don"tyoumakeanenemy，ofme。Ihaven"tdraggedthroughhellfornothing。Womenlikemecanbite，Itellyou。
DAWKER。That"sbetter。I"dratherhaveawomanthreatenthanwhine，anyday。Threatenaway！You"lllet"emknowthatyoumetmeinthePromenadeonenight。Ofcourseyou"lllet"emknowthat，won"tyou？——orthat——
CHLOE。Bequiet！Oh！Bequiet！[Takingfromherbosomthenotesandthepearls]Look！There"smysavings——there"sallI"vegot！
Thepearls"llfetchnearlyathousand。[Holdingitouttohim]
Takeit，anddropmeout——won"tyou？Won"tyou？
DAWKER。[Passinghistongueoverhislipswithahardlittlelaugh]
Youmistakeyourman，missis。I"maplaindog，ifyoulike，butI"mfaithful，andIholdfast。Don"ttrythosegamesonme。
CHLOE。[Losingcontrol]You"reabeast！——abeast！acruel，cowardlybeast！Andhowdareyoubribethatwomanheretospyonme？Oh！yes，youdo；youknowyoudo。Ifyoudrovememad，youwouldn"tcare。Youbeast！
DAWKER。Now，don"tcarryon！Thatwon"thelpyou。
CHLOE。Whatd"youcallit——todogawomandownlikethis，justbecauseyouhappentohaveaquarrelwithaman？
DAWKER。Whomadethequarrel？Notme，missis。Yououghttoknowthatinarowit"stheweakandhelpless——wewon"tsaytheinnocent-
thatgetitintheneck。Thatcan"tbehelped。
CHLOE。[Regardinghimintently]Ihopeyourmotheroryoursister，ifyou"vegotany，maygothroughwhatI"mgoingthrougheversinceyougotonmytrack。Ihopethey"llknowwhatfearmeans。Ihopethey"llloveandfindoutthatit"shangingonathread，and——and——
Oh！youcoward，youpersecutingcoward！Callyourselfaman！
DAWKER。[Withhisgrin]Ah！Youlookquiteprettylikethat。ByGeorge！you"reahandsomewomanwhenyou"reroused。
[CHLOE"Spassionfadesoutasquicklyasitblazedup。Shesinksdownonthesofa，shudders，lookshereandthere，andthenforamomentupathim。]
CHLOE。Isthereanythingyou"lltake，nottospoilmylife？
[Claspingherhandsonherbreast；underherbreath]Me？
DAWKER。[Wipinghisbrow]ByGod！That"sanoffer。[Herecoilstowardsthewindow]You——youtouchedmethere。Lookhere！I"vegottouseyouandI"mgoingtouseyou，butI"lldomybesttoletyoudownaseasyasIcan。No，Idon"twantanythingyoucangiveme——thatis——[Hewipeshisbrowagain]I"dlikeit——butIwon"ttakeit。
[CHLOEburiesherfaceinherhands。]
There！Keepyourpeckerup；don"tcry。Good-night！[Hegoesthroughthewindow。]
CHLOE。[Springingup]Ugh！Ratinatrap！Rat——！
[Shestandslistening；fliestothedoor，unlocksit，and，goingbacktothesofa，liesdownanddoseshereyes。CHARLES
comesinveryquietlyandstandsoverher，lookingtoseeifsheisasleep。Sheopenshereyes。]
CHARLES。Well，Clo！Hadasleep，oldgirl？
CHLOE。Ye-es。
CHARLES。[Sittingonthearmofthesofaandcaressingher]Feelbetter，dear？
CHLOE。Yes，better，Charlie。
CHARLES。That"sright。Wouldyoulikesomesoup？
CHLOE。[Withashudder]No。
CHARLES。Isay-whatgivesyoutheseheads？You"vebeenveryonandoffallthislastmonth。
CHLOE。Idon"tknow。Exceptthat——exceptthatIamgoingtohaveachild，Charlie。
CHARLES。Afterall！ByJove！Sure？
CHLOE。[Nodding]Areyouglad？
CHARLES。Well——IsupposeIam。Theguv"norwillbemightypleased，anyway。
CHLOE。Don"ttellhim——yet。
CHARLES。Allright！[Bendingoveranddrawinghertohim]Mypoorgirl，I"msosorryyou"reseedy。Giveusakiss。
[CHLOEputsupherfaceandkisseshimpassionately。]
Isay，you"relikefire。You"renotfeverish？
CHLOE。[Withalaugh]It"sawonderifI"mnot。Charlie，areyouhappywithme？
CHARLES。Whatdoyouthink？
CHLOE。[Leaningagainsthim]Youwouldn"teasilybelievethingsagainstme，wouldyou？
CHARLES。What！ThinkingofthoseHillcrists？Whatthehellthatwomanmeansbyherattitudetowardsyou——WhenIsawherthereto-
day，Ihadallmyworkcutoutnottogoupandgiveherabitofmymind。
CHLOE。[Watchinghimstealthily]It"snotgoodforme，nowI"mlikethis。It"supsettingme，Charlie。
CHARLES。Yes；andwewon"tforget。We"llmake"empayforit。
CHLOE。It"swretchedinalittleplacelikethis。Isay，mustyougoonspoilingtheirhome？
CHARLES。Thewomancutsyouandinsultsyou。That"senoughforme。
CHLOE。[Timidly]Lether。Idon"tcare；Ican"tbearfeelingenemiesabout，Charlie，I——getnervous——I——
CHARLES。Mydeargirl！Whatisit？
[Helooksatherintently。]
CHLOE。Isupposeit"s——beinglikethis。[Suddenly]But，Charlie，dostopitformysake。Do，do！
CHARLES。[Pattingherarm]Come，come；Isay，Chloe！You"remakingmountains。Seethingsinproportion。Father"spaidninethousandfivehundredtogetthebetterofthosepeople，andyouwanthimtochuckitawaytosaveawomanwho"sinsultedyou。
That"snotsense，andit"snotbusiness。Havesomepride。
CHLOE。[Breathless]I"vegotnopride，Charlie。Iwanttobequiet——that"sall。
CHARLES。Well，iftherowgetsonyournerves，Icantakeyoutothesea。Butyououghttoenjoyafightwithpeoplelikethat。
CHLOE。[Withcalculatedbitterness]No，it"snothing，ofcourse——
whatIwant。
CHARLES。Hello！Hello！Youareonthejump！
CHLOE。Ifyouwantmetobeagoodwifetoyou，makefatherstopit。
CHARLES。[Standingup]Now，lookhere，Chloe，what"sbehindthis？
CHLOE。[Faintly]Behind？
CHARLES。You"recarryingonasif——asifyouwerereallyscared！
We"vegotthesepeople:We"llhavethemoutofDeepwaterinsixmonths。It"sabsoluteruinationtotheirbeastlyoldhouse；we"llputthechimneysontheveryedge，notthreehundredyardsoff，andoursmoke"llbedriftingoverthemhalfthetime。Youwon"thavethisconfoundedstuck-upwomanheremuchlonger。Andthenwecanreallygoaheadandtakeourproperplace。Solongasshe"shere，weshallneverdothat。We"veonlytodriveonnowasfastaswecan。
CHLOE。[Withagesture]Isee。
CHARLES。[Againlookingather]Ifyougoonlikethis，youknow，Ishallbegintothinkthere"ssomethingyou——
CHLOE[softly]Charlie！[Hecomestoher。]Loveme！
CHARLES。[Embracingher]There，oldgirl！Iknowwomenarefunnyatthesetimes。Youwantagoodnight，that"sall。
CHLOE。Youhaven"tfinisheddinner，haveyou？Goback，andI"llgotobedquitesoon。Charlie，don"tstoplovingme。
CHARLES。Stop？Notmuch。
[Whileheisagainembracingher，ANNAstealsfrombehindthescreentothedoor，opensitnoiselessly，andpassesthrough，butitclicksassheshutsit。]
CHLOE。[Startingviolently]Oh-h！
[Hecomestoher。]
CHARLES。Whatisit？Whatisit？Youarenervy，mydear。
CHLOE。[Lookingroundwithalittlelaugh]Idon"tknow。Goon，Charlie。I"llbeallrightwhenthishead"sgone。
CHARLES。[Strokingherforeheadand，lookingatherdoubtfully]
Yougotobed；Iwon"tbelatecomingup。
[Heturn，andgoes，blowingakissfromthedoorway。Whenheisgone，CHLOEgetsupandstandsinpreciselytheattitudeinwhichshestoodatthebeginningoftheAct，thinking，andthinking。Andthedoorisopened，andthefaceoftheMAID
peersroundather。]
CURTAIN
ACTIII
SCENEI
HILLCRIST"Sstudynextmorning。
JILLcomingfromLeft，looksinattheopenFrenchwindow。
JILL。[SpeakingtoROLF，invisible]Comeinhere。There"snoone。
[Shegoesin。ROLFjoinsher，comingfromthegarden。]
ROLF。Jill，Ijustwantedtosay——Needwe？
[JILL。nodes。]
Seeingyouyesterday——itdidseemrotten。
JILL。Wedidn"tbeginit。
ROLF。No；butyoudon"tunderstand。Ifyou"dmadeyourself，asfatherhas——
JILL。IhopeIshouldbesorry。
ROLF。[Reproachfully]Thatisn"tlikeyou。Reallyhecan"thelpthinkinghe"sapublicbenefactor。
JILL。Andwecan"thelpthinkinghe"sapig。Sorry！
ROLF。Ifthesurvivalofthefittestisright——
JILL。Hemaybefitter，buthe"snotgoingtosurvive。
ROLF。[Distracted]Itlookslikeit，though。
JILL。Isthatallyoucametosay？
ROLF。Supposewejoined，couldn"twestopit？
JILL。Idon"tfeellikejoining。
ROLF。Wedidshakehands。
JILL。Onecan"tfightandnotgrowbitter。
ROLF。Idon"tfeelbitter。
JILL。Wait；you"llfeelitsoonenough。
ROLF。Why？[Attentively]AboutChloe？Idothinkyourmother"smannertoheris——
JILL。Well？
ROLF。Snobbish。[JILLlaughs。]
Shemaynotbeyourclass；andthat"sjustwhyit"ssnobbish。
JILL。Ithinkyou"dbettershutup。
ROLF。Whatmyfathersaidwastrue；yourmother"srudenesstoherthatdayshecamehere，hasmadebothhimandCharlieeversomuchmorebitter。
[JILLwhistlestheHabanerafrom"Carmen。"]
[Staringather，ratherangrily]
Isitawhistlingmatter？
JILL。No。
ROLF。Isupposeyouwantmetogo？
JILL。Yes。
ROLF。Allright。Aren"tweevergoingtobefriendsagain？
JILL。[Lookingsteadilyathim]Idon"texpectso。
ROLF。That"svery-horrible。
JILL。Lotsofhorriblethingsintheworld。
ROLF。It"sourbusinesstomakethemfewer，Jill。
JILL。[Fiercely]Don"tbemoral。
ROLF。[Hurt]That"sthelastthingIwanttobe——Ionlywanttobefriendly。
JILL。Betterberealfirst。
ROLF。Fromthebigpointofview——
JILL。Thereisn"tany。We"reallout，forourown。Andwhynot？
ROLF。Byjove，youhavegot——
JILL。Cynical？Yourfather"smotto——"Everymanforhimself。"
That"sthewinner——handsdown。Goodbye！
ROLF。Jill！Jill！
JILL。[Puttingherhandsbehindherback，hums]——
"IfauldacquaintancebeforgotAnddaysofauldlangsyne"——
ROLF。Don"t！
[WithapainedgesturehegoesouttowardsLeft，throughtheFrenchwindow。]
[JILL，whohasbrokenoffthesong，standswithherhandsclenchedandherlipsquivering。]
[FELLOWSentersLeft。]
FELLOWS。Mr。Dawker，Miss，andtwogentlemen。
JILL。Letthethreegentlemenin，andmeout。
[ShepasseshimandgoesoutLeft。Andimmediately。DAWKER
andthetwoSTRANGERScomein。]
FELLOWS。I"llinformMrs。Hillcrist，sir。TheSquireisonhisrounds。[HegoesoutLeft。]
[TheTHREEMENgatherinadiscreetknotatthebigbureau，havingglancedatthetwodoorsandtheopenFrenchwindow。]
DAWKER。NowthismaycomeintoCourt，youknow。Ifthere"sascrewlooseanywhere，bettermentionit。[ToSECONDSTRANGE]Youknewherpersonally？
SECONDS。Whatdoyouthink？Idon"t，takegirlsontrustforthatsortofjob。Shecametoushighlyrecommended，too；anddidherworkverywell。Itwasadoublestunt——tomakesure——wasn"tit，George？
FIRSTS。Yes；wepaidherforthetwovisits。
SECONDS。Ishouldknowherinaminute；strikinglookinggirl；hadsomethinginherface。Daresayshe"dseenhardtimes。
FIRSTS。Wedon"twantpublicity。
DAWKER。NotLikely。Thethreat"lldoit；butthestakesareheavy——andtheman"saslugger；wemustbeabletopushithome。Ifyoucanbothsweartoher，it"lldothetrick。
SECONDS。Andabout——Imean，we"relosingtime，youknow，comingdownhere。
DAWKER。[WithanodatFIRSTSTRANGER]Georgehereknowsme。
That"llbeallright。I"llguaranteeitwellworthyourwhile。
SECONDS。Idon"twanttodothegirlharm，ifshe"smarried。
DAWKER。No，no；nobodywantstohurther。Wejustwantacinchonthisfellowtillhesqueals。
[TheyseparatealittleasMRS。HILLCRISTentersfromRight。]
DAWKER。Goodmorning，ma"am。Myfriend"spartner。Hornblowercoming？
MRS。H。Ateleven。Ihadtosendupasecondnote，Dawker。
DAWKER。Squirenotin？
MRS。H。Ihaven"ttoldhim。
DAWKER。[Nodding]Ourfriendsmightgoinhere[PointingRight]
andwecanuse"emasthewant"em。
MRS。H。[TotheSTRANGERS]Willyoumakeyourselvescomfortable？
[Sheholdsthedooropen，andtheypassherintotheroom，Right。]
DAWKER。[Showingdocument]I"vehadthisdrawnandengrossed。
Prettysharpwork。ConveystheCentry，andLongmeadow；totheSquireatfourthousandfivehundred:Now，ma"am，supposeHornblowerputshishandtothat，hellhavebeendoneintheeye，andsixthousandalltoldouto"pocket——You"llhaveaverynastyneighbourhere。
MRS。H。Butweshallstillhavethepowertodisclosethatsecretatanytime。
DAWKER。Yeh！Butthingsmighthappenhereyoucouldneverbringhometohim。Youcan"ttrustamanlikethat。Heisn"tgoin"toforgiveme，Iknow。
MRS。H。[Regardinghimkeenly]Butifhesigns，wecouldn"thonourably——
DAWKER。No，ma"am，youcouldn"t；andI"msureIdon"twanttodothatgirlahurt。Ijustmentionitbecause，ofcourse，youcan"tguaranteethatitdoesn"tgetout。
MRS。H。Notabsolutely，Isuppose。
[Alookpassesbetweenthem，whichneitherofthemhasquitesanctioned。]
[There"shiscar。Italwaysseemstomakemorenoisethananyother。]
DAWKER。He"llkickandflounder——butyouleavehimtoaskwhatyouwant，ma"am；don"tmentionthis[Heputsthedeedbackintohispocket]。TheCentry"snomortalgoodtohimifhe"snotgoingtoputupworks；Ishouldsayhe"dbegladtosavewhathecan。
[MRS。HILLCRISTinclinesherhead。FELLOWSentersLeft。]
FELLOWS。[Apologetically]Mr。Hornblower，ma"am；byappointment，hesays。
MRS。H。Quiteright，Fellows。
[HORNBLOWERcomesin，andFELLOWSgoesout。]
HORNBLOWER。[Withoutsalutation]I"vecometoaskyepointbleakwhatyemeanbywritingmetheseletters。[Hetakesouttwoletters。Andwe"lldiscusitinthepresenceofnobody，ifye，please。
MRS。H。Mr。DawkerknowsallthatIknow，andmore。
HORNBLOWER。Doeshe？Verywell！Yoursecondnotesaysthatmydaughter-in-lawhasliedtome。Well，I"vebroughther，andwhatye"vegottosay——ifit"snotjustatricktoseemeagain——ye"llsaytoherface。[Hetakesasteptowardsthewindow。]
MRS。H。Mr。Hornblower，youhadbetter，decidethatafterhearingwhatitis——weshallbequitereadytorepeatitinherpresence；
butwewanttodoaslittleharmaspossible。
HORNBLOWER。[Stopping]Oh！yedo！Well，whatlieshaveyebeenhearin"？Orwhathaveyemadeup？YouandMr。Dawker？Ofcourseyeknowthere"salawoflibelandslander。I"m，notthemantostopatthat。
MRS。H。[Calmly]Areyoufamiliarwiththelawofdivorce，Mr。
Hornblower？
HORNBLOWER。[Takenaback]No，I"mnot。Thatis。
MRS。H。Well，youknowthatmisconductisrequired。AndIsupposeyou"veheardthatcasesarearranged。
HORNBLOWER。Iknowit"sallveryshocking——whataboutit？
MRS。H。Whencasesarearranged，Mr。Hornblower，themanwhoistobedivorcedoftenvisitsanhotelwithastrangewoman。Iamextremelysorrytosaythatyourdaughter-in-law，beforehermarriage，wasinthehabitofbeingemployedassuchawoman。
HORNBLOWER。Yedreadfulcreature！
DAWKER。[Quickly]Allproved，uptothehilt！
HORNBLOWER。Idon"tbelieveawordofit。Ye"relyin"tosaveyourskins。Howdareyetellmesuchmonstrosities？Dawker，I"llhaveyeinacriminalcourt。
DAWKER。Rats！Yousawagentwithmeyesterday？Well，he"semployedher。
HORNBLOWER。Aput-upjob！Conspiracy！
MRS。H。Goandgetyourdaughter-in-law。
HORNBLOWER。[Withthefirstsensationofbeinginanet]It"safoulshame——alyingslander！
MRS。H。Ifso，it"seasilydisproved。Goandfetchher。
HORNBLOWER。[Seeingthemunmoved]Iwill。Idon"tbelieveawordofit。
MRS。H。Ihopeyouareright。
[HORNBLOWERgoesoutbytheFrenchwindow，DAWKERslipstothedoorRight，opensit，aridspeakstothosewithin。MRS。
HILLCRISTstandsmoisteningherlips，andpassimherhandkerchiefoverthem。HORNBLOWERreturns，precedingCHLOE，strunguptohardnessanddefiance。]
HORNBLOWER。Nowthen，let"shavethisimpudentstorytorntorags。
CHLOE。Whatstory？
HORNBLOWER。Thatyou，mydear，wereawoman——it"stooshockin——I
don"tknowhowtotellye——
CHLOE。Goon！
HORNBLOWER。Wereawomanthatwentwithmen，togetthemtheirdivorce。
CHLOE。Whosaysthat？
HORNBLOWER。Thatlady[Sneering]there，andherbull-terrierhere。
CHLOE。[FacingMRS。HILLCRIST]That"sacharitablethingtosay，isn"tit？
MRS。H。Isittrue？
CHLOE。No。
HORNBLOWER。[Furiously]There！I"llhaveyebothonyourkneestoher！
DAWKER。[Openingthedoor，Right]Comein。
[TheFIRSTSTRANGERcomesin。CHLOE，withavisibleeffort，turnstofacehim。]
FIRSTS。Howdoyoudo，Mrs。Vane？
CHLOE。Idon"tknowyou。
FIRSTS。Yourmemoryisbad，ma"am:Youknewmeyesterdaywellenough。Onedayisnotalongtime，norarethreeyears。
CHLOE。Whoareyou？
FIRSTS。Come，ma"am，come！TheCastercase。
CHLOE。Idon"tknowyou，Isay。[ToMRS。HILLCRIST]Howcanyoubesovile？
FIRSTS。Letmerefreshyourmemory，ma"am。[Producinganotebook]
Justonthreeyearsago；"Oct。3。TofeeandexpensesMrs。VanewithMr。C——，HotelBeaulieu，Twentypounds。Oct。10，Do。，Twentypounds。"[ToHORNBLOWER]Wouldyouliketoglanceatthisbook，sir？You"llseethey"regenuineentries。
[HORNBLOWERmakesamotiontodoso，butcheckshimselfandlooksatCHLOE。]
CHLOE。[Hysterically]It"salllies——lies！
FIRSTS。Come，ma"am，wewishyounoharm。
CHLOE。Takemeaway。Iwon"tbetreatedlikethis。
MRS。H。[Inalowvoice]Confess。
CHLOE。Lies！
HORNBLOWER。WereyeevercalledVane？
CHLOE。No，never。
[Shemakesamovementtowardsthewindow，butDAWKERisintheway，andshehalts。FIRSTS。[Openingthedoor，Right]
Henry。]
[TheSECONDSTRANGERcomesinquickly。AtsightofhimCHLOE
throwsupherhands，gasps，breaksdown，stageLeft，andstandscoveringherfacewithherhands。ItissocompleteaconfessionthatHORNBLOWERstandsstaggered；and，takingoutacolouredhandkerchief，wipeshisbrow。]
DAWKER。Areyouconvinced？
HORNBLOWER。Takethosemenaway。
DAWKER。Ifyou"renotsatisfied，wecangetotherevidence；plenty。
HORNBLOWER。[LookingatCHLOE]That"senough。Takethemout。
Leavemealonewithher。
[DAWKERtakesthemoutRight。MRS。HILLCRISTpassesHORNBLOWER
andgoesoutatthewindow。HORNBLOWERmovesdownasteportwotowardsCHLOE。]
HORNBLOWER。MyGod！
CHLOE。[Withanoutburst]Don"ttellCharlie！Don"ttellCharlie！
HORNBLOWER。Chearlie！So，thatwasyourmanneroflife。
[CHLOEuttersamoaningsound。]
Sothat"swhatyegotoutofbymarryin"intomyfamily！Shameonye，yeGodlessthing！
CHLOE。Don"ttellCharlie！
HORNBLOWER。Andthat"sallyecansayforthewreckye"vewrought。