第6章
Myfamily，myworks，myfuture！Howdaredye！
CHLOE。Ifyou"dbeenme！——
HORNBLOWER。An"theseHillcrists。Theskingameofit！
CHLOE。[Breathless]Father！
HORNBLOWER。Don"tcallmethat，woman！
CHLOE。[Desperate]I"mgoingtohaveachild。
HORNBLOWER。God！Yeare！
CHLOE。Yourgrandchild。Forthesakeofit，dowhatthesepeoplewant；anddon"ttellanyone——DON"TTELLCHARLIE！
HORNBLOWER。[Againwipinghisforehead]Asecretbetweenus。I
don"tknowthatIcankeepit。It"shorrible。PoorChearlie！
CHLOE。[Suddenlyfierce]Youmustkeepit，youshall！Iwon"thavehimtold。Don"tmakemedesperate！Icanbe——Ididn"tlivethatlifefornothing。
HORNBLOWER。[Staringatherresealedinanewlight]Ay；yelookastrange，wildwoman，asIseeye。Andwethoughttheworldofye！
CHLOE。IloveCharlie；I"mfaithfultohim。Ican"tlivewithouthim。You"llneverforgiveme，Iknow；butCharlie——！[Stretchingoutherhands。]
[HORNBLOWERmakesabewilderedgesturewith-hislargehands。]
HORNBLOWER。I"mallatseahere。Goouttothecarandwaitforme。
[CHLOEpasseshimandgoesout，Left。]
[Mutteringtohimself]SoI"mdown！Meenemiesputtheirheelsuponmehead！Ah！butwe"llseeyet！
[HegoesuptothewindowandbeckonstowardstheRight。]
[MRS。HILLCRISTcomesin。]
Whatd"yewantforthissecret？
MRS。H。Nothing。
HORNBLOWER。Indeed！Wonderful！——thetroubleye"vetakenfor——
nothing。
MRS。H。Ifyouharmusweshallharmyou。AnyusewhateveroftheCentry。
HORNBLOWER。Forwhichyemademepayninethousandfivehundredpounds。
MRS。H。Wewillbuyitfromyou。
HORNBLOWER。Atwhatprice？
MRS。H。TheCentryatthepriceMissMuffinswouldhavetakenatfirst，andLongmeadowatthepriceyou——gaveus——fourthousandfivehundredaltogether。
HORNBLOWER。Afineprice，andmesixthousandoutofpocket。Na，no！I"llkeepitandholditoverye。Yedaren"ttellthissecretsolongasI"vegotit。
MRS。H。No，Mr。Hornblower。Onsecondthoughts，youmustsell。
YoubrokeyourwordovertheJackmans。Wecan"ttrustyou。Wewouldratherhaveourplacehereruinedatonce，thanleaveyouthepowertoruinitasandwhenyoulike。YouwillsellustheCentryandLongmeadownow，oryouknowwhatwillhappen。
HORNBLOWER。[Writhing]I"llnot。It"sblackmail。
MRS。H。Verywellthen！Goyourownwayandwe"llgoours。Thereisnowitnesstothisconversation。
HORNBLOWER。[Venomously]Byheaven，ye"reacleverwoman。WillyeswearbyAlmightyGodthatyouandyourfamily，andthatagentofyours，won"tbreatheawordofthisshockin"thingtomortalsoul。
MRS。H。Yes，ifyousell。
HORNBLOWER。Where"sDawker？
MRS。H。[Goingtothedoor，Right]Mr。Dawker[DAWKERcomesin。]
HORNBLOWER。Isupposeye"vegotyouriniquityready。
[DAWKERgrinsandproducesthedocument。]
It"smightynearconspiracy，this。HaveyegotaTestament？
MRS。H。Mywordwillbeenough，Mr。Hornblower。
HORNBLOWER。Ye"llpardonme——Ican"tmakeitsolemnenoughforyou。
MRS。H。Verywell；hereisaBible。
[ShetakesasmallBiblefromthebookshelf。]
DAWKER。[Spreadingdocumentonbureau]ThisisashortconveyanceoftheCentryandLongmeadow——recitessaletoyoubyMissMulling，ofthefirst，JohnHillcristofthesecond，andwhereasyouhaveagreedforthesaletosaidJohnHillcrist，forthesumoffourthousandfivehundredpounds，inconsiderationofthesaidsum，receiptwhereof，youherebyacknowledgeyoudoconveyallthat，etc。
Signhere。I"llwitness。
HORNBLOWER[ToMRS。HILLCRIST]TakethatBookinyourhand，andswearfirst。IswearbyAlmightyGodnevertobreatheawordofwhatIknow。concerningChloeHornblowertoanylivingsoul。
MRS。H。No，Mr。Hornblower；youwillpleasesignfirst。Wearenotinthehabitofbreakingourword。
[HORNBLOWERafterafuriouslookatthem，seizesapen，runshiseyeagainoverthedeed，andsigns，DAWKERwitnessing。]
Tothatoath，Mr。Hornblower，weshalladdthewords，"SolongastheHornblowerfamilydousnoharm。
HORNBLOWER。[Withasnarl]Takeitinyourhands，bothofye，andtogetherswear。
MRS。H。[TakingtheBook]IswearthatIwillbreathenowordofwhatIknowconcerningChloeHornblowertoanylivingsoul，solongastheHornblowerfamilydousnoharm。
DAWKER。Iswearthattoo。
MRS。H。Iengageformyhusband。
HORNBLOWER。Wherearethosetwofellows？
DAWKER。Gone。It"snobusinessoftheirs。
HORNBLOWER。It"snobusinessofanyofyewhathashappenedtoawomaninthepast。Yeknowthat。Good-day！
[Hegivesthemadeadlylook，andgoesout，left，followedbyDAWKER。]
MRS。H。[WithherhandontheDeed]Safe！
[HILLCRISTentersattheFrenchwindow，followedbyJILL。]
[HoldinguptheDeed]Look！He"sjustgone！Itoldyouitwasonlynecessarytousethethreat。Hecavedinandsignedthis；wearesworntosaynothing。We"vebeatenhim。
[HILLCRISTstudiestheDeed。]
JILL。[Awed]WesawChloeinthecar。Howdidshetakeit，mother？
MRS。H。Denied，thenbrokedownwhenshesawourwitnesses。I"mgladyouwerenothere，Jack。
JILL。[Suddenly]Ishallgoandseeher。
MRS。H。Jill，youwillnot；youdon"tknowwhatshe"sdone。
JILL。Ishall。Shemustbeinanawfulstate。
HILLCRIST。Mydear，youcandohernogood。
JILL。IthinkIcan，Dodo。
MRS。H。Youdon"tunderstandhumannature。We"reenemiesforlifewiththosepeople。You"realittledonkeyifyouthinkanythingelse。
JILL。I"mgoing，allthesame。
MRS。H。Jack，forbidher。
HILLCRIST。[Liftinganeyebrow]Jill，bereasonable。
JILL。SupposeI"dtakenaknocklikethat，Dodo，I"dbegladoffriendlinessfromsomeone。
MRS。H。Younevercouldtakeaknocklikethat。
JILL。Youdon"tknowwhatyoucandotillyoutry，mother。
HILLCRIST。Lethergo，Amy。Imsorryforthatyoungwoman。
MRS。H。You"dbesorryforamanwhopickedyourpocket，Ibelieve。
HILLCRIST。Icertainlyshould！Deucedlittlehe"dgetoutofit，whenI"vepaidfortheCentry。
MRS。H。[Bitterly]MuchgratitudeIgetforsavingyoubothourhome！
JILL。[Disarmed]Oh！Mother，wearegrateful。Dodo，showyourgratitude。
HILLCRIST。Well，mydear，it"sanintenserelief。I"mnotgoodatshowingmyfeelings，asyouknow。Whatd"youwantmetodo？Standononelegandcrow？
JILL。Yes，Dodo，yes！Mother，holdhimwhileI[Suddenlyshestops，andallthefungoesoutofher]No！Ican"t——Ican"thelpthinkingofher。
CURTAINfallsforaminute。
SCENEII
Whenitrisesagain，theroomisemptyanddark，sameformoonlightcominginthroughtheFrenchwindow，whichisopen。
ThefigureofCHLOE，inablackcloak，appearsoutsideinthemoonlight；shepeersin，movespast，comesbank，hesitatinglyenters。Thecloak，fallenback，revealsawhiteeveningdress；
andthatmagpiefigurestandspoisedwatchfullyinthedimlight，thenflapsunhappilyLeftandRight，asifshecouldnotkeepstill。Suddenlyshestandslistening。
ROLF"SVOICE。[Outside]Chloe！Chloe！
[Heappears]
CHLOE。[Goingtothewindow]Whatareyoudoinghere？
ROLF。Whatareyou？Ionlyfollowedyou。
CHLOE。Goaway。
ROLF。What"sthematter？Tellme！
CHLOE。Goaway，anddon"tsayanything。Oh！Theroses！[Shehasputhernoseintosomerosesinabowlonabigstandclosetothewindow]Don"ttheysmelllovely？
ROLF。WhatdidJillwantthisafternoon？
CHLOE。I"lltellyounothing。Goaway！
ROLF。Idon"tlikeleavingyouhereinthisstate。
CHLOE。Whatstate？I"mallright。Waitformedowninthedrive，ifyouwantto。
[ROLFstartstogo，stops，looksather，anddoesgo。CHLOE，withalittlemoaningsound，fluttersagain，magpie-like，upanddown，thenstandsbythewindowlistening。Voicesareheard，Left。ShedartsoutofthewindowandawaytotheRight，asHILLCRISTandJILLcomein。Theyhaveturneduptheelectriclight，andcomedowninfrondofthefireplace，whereHILLCRISTsitsinanarmchair，andJILLonthearmofit。Theyareinundresseveningadore。
HILLCRIST。Now，tellme。
JILL。Thereisn"tmuch，Dodo。IwasinanawfulfunkforfearI
shouldmeetanyoftheothers，andofcourseIdidmeetRolf，butI
toldhimsomelie，andhetookmetoherroom-boudoir，theycallit——isn"tboudoira"dug-out"word？
HILLCRIST。[Meditatively]Thesulkingroom。Well？
JILL。Shewassittinglikethis。[Sheburiesherchininherhands，wideherelbowsonherknees]Andshesaidinasortoffierceway:"Whatdoyouwant？"AndIsaid:"I"mawfullysorry，butIthoughtyoumightlikeit。"
HILLCRIST。Well？
JILL。Shelookedatmehard，andsaid:"Isupposeyouknowallaboutit。"AndISaid:"Onlyvaguely，"becauseofcourseIdon"t。
Andshesaid:"Well，itwasdecentofyoutocome。"Dodo，shelookslikealostsoul。Whathasshedone？
HILLCRIST。ShecommittedherrealcrimewhenshemarriedyoungHornblowerwithouttellinghim。Shecameoutofacertainworldtodoit。
JILL。Oh！[Staringinfrontofher）Isitveryawfulinthatworld，Dodo？
HILLCRIST。[Uneasy]Idon"tknow，Jill。Somecanstandit，I
suppose；somecan"t。Idon"tknowwhichsortsheis。
JILL。OnethingI"msureof:she"sawfullyfondofChearlie。
HILLCRIST。That"sbad；that"sverybad。
JILL。Andshe"sfrightened，horribly。Ithinkshe"sdesperate。
HILLCRIST。Womenlikethatareprettytough，Jill；don"tjudgehertoomuchbyyourownfeelings。
JILL。No；only——Oh！itwasbeastly；andofcourseIdriedup。
HILLCRIST。[Feelingly]H"m！Onealwaysdoes。Butperhapsitwasaswell；you"dhavebeenblunderinginadarkpassage。
JILL。Ijustsaid:"FatherandIfeelawfullysorry；ifthere"sanythingwecando——"
HILLCRIST。Thatwasrisky，Jill。
JILL。（Disconsolately）Ihadtosaysomething。I"mgladIwent，anyway。Ifeelmorehuman。
HILLCRIST。Wehadtofightforourhome。IshouldhavefeltlikeatraitorifIhadn"t。
JILL。I"mnotenjoyinghometonight，Dodo。
HILLCRIST。Inevercouldhateproper；it"saconfoundednuisance。
JILL。Mother"sfearfully"bucked，andDawker"ssimplyoozingtriumph。Idon"ttrusthim。Dodo；he"stoo——notpugilistic——theotheronewithapug-naceous。
HILLCRIST。Heisrather。
JILL。I"msurehewouldn"tcaretuppenceifChloecommittedsuicide。
HILLCRIST。[Risinguneasily）Nonsense！Nonsense！
JILL。Iwonderifmotherwould。
HILLCRIST。[Turninghisfacetowardsthewindow]What"sthat？I
thoughtIheard——[Louder]——Istheseanybodyoutthere？
[Noanswer。JILL，springsupandrunstothewindow。]
JILL。You！
[ShedivesthroughtotheRight，andreturns，holdingCHLOE"S
handanddrawingherforward]
Comein！It"sonlyus！[ToHILLCRIST]Dodo！
HILLCRIST。[Flustered，butmakingashowofcourtesy]Goodevening！Won"tyousitdown？
JILL。Sitdown；you"reallshaky。
[ShemakesCHLOEsitdowninthearmchair，outofwhichtheyhaverisen，thenlocksthedoor，andclosingthewindows，drawsthecurtainshastilyoverthem。]
HILLCRIST。[Awkwardandexpectant]CanIdoanythingforyou？
CHLOE。Icouldn"tbearithe"scomingtoaskyou——
HILLCRIST。Who？
CHLOE。Myhusband。[Shedrawsinherbreathwithalongshudder，thenseemtoseizehercourageinherhands]I"vegottobequick。
Hekeepsonasking——heknowsthere"ssomething。]
HILLCRIST。Makeyourmindeasy。Weshan"ttellhim。
CHLOE。[Appealing]Oh！that"snotenough。Can"tyoutellhimsomethingtoputhimbacktothinkingit"sallright？I"vedonehimsuchawrong。Ididn"trealisetillafter——Ithoughtmeetinghimwasjustapieceofwonderfulgoodluck，afterwhatI"dbeenthrough。I"mnotsuchabadlot——notreally。
[Shestopsfromtheover-quiveringofherlips。JILL，standingbesidethechair，strokeshershoulder。HILLCRISTstandsverystill，painfullybitingatafinger。]
Yousee，myfatherwentbankrupt，andIwasinashop——
HILLCRIST。[Soothingly，andtopreventdisclosures]Yes，yes；Yes，yes！
CHLOE。InevergaveamanawayordidanythingIwasashamedof——atleast——Imean，Ihadtomakemylivinginallsortsofways，andthenImetCharlie。
[Againshestoppedfromthequiveringofherlips。]
JILL。It"sallright。
CHLOE。HethoughtIwasrespectable，andthatwassucharelief，youcan"tthink，so——soIlethim。
JILL。Dodo！It"sawfulHILLCRIST。Itis！
CHLOE。AndafterImarriedhim，yousee，Ifellinlove。IfIhadbefore，perhapsIwouldn"thavedaredonly，Idon"tknow——youneverknow，doyou？Whenthere"sastrawgoing，youcatchatit。
JILL。Ofcourseyoudo。
CHLOE。Andnow，yousee，I"mgoingtohaveachild。
JILL。[Aghast]Oh！Areyou？
HILLCRIST。GoodGod！
CHLOE。[Dully]I"vebeenonhotbricksallthismonth，eversincethatdayhere。Iknewitwasinthewind。Whatgetsinthewindnevergetsout。[Sherisesandthrowsoutherarms]Never！Itjustblowshereandthere[Desolately]andthen——blowshome。[Hervoicechangestoresentment]ButI"vepaidforbeingafool——
"tisn"tfun，thatsortoflife，Icantellyou。I"mnotashamedandrepentant，andallthat。Ifitwasn"tforhim！I"mafraidhe"llneverforgiveme；it"ssuchadisgraceforhim——andthen，tohavehischild！Beingfondofhim，IfeelitmuchworsethananythingI
everfelt，andthat"ssayingagoodbit。Itis。
JILL。[Energetically]Lookhere！Hesimplymustn"tfindout。
CHLOE。That"sit；butit"sstarted，andhe"sboundtokeeponbecauseheknowsthere"ssomething。Amanisn"tgoingtobesatisfiedwhenthere"ssomethinghesuspectsabouthiswife，Charliewouldn"tnever。He"sclever，andhe"sjealous；andhe"scominghere。
[Shestops，andlooksroundwildly，listening。]
JILL。Dodo，whatcanwesaytoputhimcleanoffthescent？
HILLCRIST。Anything——inreason。
CHLOE。[Catchingatthisstraw]Youwill！Yousee，Idon"tknowwhatI"lldo。I"vegotsoft，beinglookedafter——hedoesloveme。
Andifhethrowsmeoff，I"llgounder——that"sall。
HILLCRIST。Haveyouanysuggestion？
CHLOE。[Eagerly]Theonlythingistotellhimsomethingpositive，somethinghe"llbelieve，that"snottoobad——likemyhavingbeenaladyclerkwiththosepeoplewhocamehere，andhavingbeendismissedonsuspicionoftakingmoney。Icouldgethimtobelievethatwasn"ttrue。
JILL。Yes；anditisn"t——that"ssplendid！You"dbeabletoputsuchconvictionintoit。Don"tyouthinkso，Dodo？
HILLCRIST。AnythingIcan。I"mdeeplysorry。
CHLOE。Thankyou。Anddon"tsayI"vebeenhere，willyou？He"sverysuspicious。Yousee，heknowsthathisfatherhasre-soldthatlandtoyou；that"swhathecan"tmakeout——that，andmycomingherethismorning；heknowssomething"sbeingkeptfromhim；andhenoticedthatmanwithDawkeryesterday。Andmymaid"sbeenspyingonme。It"sintheair。Heputstwoandtwotogether。ButI"vetoldhimthere"snothingheneedworryabout；nothingthat"strue。
HILLCRIST。Whatacoil！
CHLOE。I"mveryhonestandcarefulaboutmoney。Sohewon"tbelievethataboutme，andtheoldmanwantstokeepitfromCharlie，Iknow。
HILLCRIST。Thatdoesseemthebestwayout。
CHLOE。[Withatouchofdefiance]I"matruewifetohim。
CHLOE。Ofcourseweknowthat。
HILLCRIST。It"sallunspeakablysad。Deception"shorriblyagainstthegrain——but——
CHLOE。[Eagerly]WhenIdeceivedhim，I"dhavedeceivedGodHimself——Iwassodesperate。You"veneverbeenrightdowninthemud。Youcan"tunderstandwhatI"vebeenthrough。
HILLCRIST。Yes，Yes。IdaresayI"dhavedonethesame。Ishouldbethelasttojudge[CHLOEcovershereyeswithherhands。]
There，there！Cheerup！[Heputshishandonherarm。]
CHLOE。[Toherself]DarlingDodo！
CHLOE。[Starting]There"ssomebodyatthedoor。Imustgo；Imustgo。
[Sherunstothewindowandslipsthroughthecurtains。]
[Thehandleofthedoorisagainturned。]
JILL。[Dismayed]Oh！It"slocked——Iforgot。
[Shespringtothedoor，unlocksandopensit，whileHILLCRIST
goestothebureauandsitsdown。]
It"sallright，Fellows；Iwasonlysayingsomethingratherimportant。
FELLOWS。[Cominginasteportwoandclosingthedoorbehindhim]
Certainly，Miss。Mr。Charles"Ornblowerisinthehall。Wantstoseeyou，sir，orMrs。Hillcrist。
JILL。Whatabore！Canyouseehim，Dodo？
HILLCRIST。Er——yes。Isupposeso。Showhiminhere，Fellows。
[AsFELLOWSgoesout，JILLrunstothewindow，buthasnotimetodomorethanadjustthecurtainsandspringovertostandbyherfather，beforeCHARLEScomesin。Thoughineveningclothes，heiswhiteariddisheveledforsospruceayoungmean。]
CHARLES。Ismywifehere？
HILLCRIST。No，sir。
CHARLES。Hasshebeen？
HILLCRIST。Thismorning，Ibelieve，Jill？
JILL。Yes，shecamethismorning。
CHARLES。[staringather]Iknowthat——now，Imean？
JILL。No。
[HILLCRISTshakeshashead。]
CHARLES。Tellmewhatwassaidthismorning。
HILLCRIST。Iwasnotherethismorning。
CHARLES。Don"ttrytoputmeoff。Iknowtoomuch。[ToJILL]
You。
JILL。ShallI，Dodo？
HILLCRIST。No；Iwill。Won"tyousitdown？
CHARLES。No。Goon。
HILLCRIST。[Moisteninghislips]Itappears，Mr。Hornblower，thatmyagent，Mr。Dawker——
[CHARLES，whoisbreathinghard，uttersasoundofanger。]——
thatmyagenthappenstoknowafirm，whoinolddaysemployedyourwife。Ishouldgreatlyprefernottosayanymore，especiallyaswedon"tbelievethestory。
JILL。No；wedon"t。
CHARLES。Goon！
HILLCRIST。[Gettingup]Come！IfIwereyou，Ishouldrefusetolistentoanythingagainstmywife。
CHARLES。Goon，Itellyou。
HILLCRIST。Youinsist？Well，theysaytherewassomequestionabouttheaccounts，andyourwifeleftthemunderacloud。AsI
toldyou，wedon"tbelieveit。
CHARLES。[Passionately]Liars！
[Hemakesarushforthedoor。]
HILLCRIST。[Starting]Whatdidyousay？
JILL。[Catchinghisarm]Dodo！[Sottovoce]Weare，youknow。
CHARLES。[Turningbacktothem]Whydoyoutellmethatlie？WhenI"vejusthadthetruthoutofthatlittlescoundrel！Mywife"sbeenhere；sheputyouuptoit。
[ThefaceofCHLOEisseentransfixedbetweenthecurtains，partedbyherhands。]
She——sheputyouuptoit。Liarthatsheis——alivinglie。Forthreeyearsalivinglie！
[HILLCRISTwhosefacealoneisturnedtowardsthecurtains，seesthatlisteningface。Hishandgoesupfromuncontrollableemotion。]
Andhasn"tnowtheplucktotellme。I"vedonewithher。Iwon"townachildbysuchawoman。
[WithalittlesighingsoundCHLOEdropsthecurtainandvanishes。]
HILLCRIST。ForGod"ssake，man，thinkofwhatyou"resaying。She"singreatdistress。
CHARLES。AndwhatamI？
JILL。Shelovesyou，youknow。
CHARLES。Prettylove！ThatscoundrelDawkertoldme——toldme——
Horrible！Horrible！
HILLCRIST。Ideeplyregretthatourquarrelshouldhavebroughtthisabout。
CHARLES。[Withintensebitterness]Yes，you"vesmashedmylife。
[Unseenbythem，MRS。HILLCRISThasenteredandstandsbythedoor，Left。]
MRS。H。Wouldyouhavewishedtoliveoninignorance？[Theyallturntolookather。]
CHARLES。[Withawrithingmovement]Idon"tknow。But——you——youdidit。
MRS。H。Youshouldn"thaveattackedus。
CHARLES。Whatdidwedotoyou——comparedwiththis？
MRS。H。Allyoucould。
HILLCRIST。Enough，enough！Whatcanwedotohelpyou？
CHARLES。Tellmewheremywifeis。
[JILLdrawsthecurtainsapart——thewindowisopen——JILLlooksout。Theywaitinsilence。]
JILL。Wedon"tknow。
CHARLES。Thenshewashere？
HILLCRIST。Yes，sir；andsheheardyou。
CHARLES。Allthebetterifshedid。SheknowshowIfeel。
HILLCRIST。Braceup；begentlewithher。
CHARLES。Gentle？Awomanwho——who——
HILLCRIST。Amostunhappycreature。Come！
CHARLES。Damnyoursympathy！
[Hegoesoutintothemoonlight，passingaway。]
JILL。Dodo，weoughttolookforher；I"mawfullyafraid。
HILLCRIST。Isawherthere——listening。Withchild！Whoknowswherethingsendwhentheyandbegin？Tothegravelpit，Jill；I"llgotothepond。No，we"llgotogether。[Theygoout。]
[MRS。HILLCRISTcomesdowntothefireplace，ringsthebellandstandsthere，thinking。FELLOWSenters。]
MRS。H。IwantsomeonetogodowntoMr。Dawker"s。
FELLOWS。Mr。Dawkerishere，ma"am，waitin"toseeyou。
MRS。H。Askhimtocomein。Oh！andFellows，youcantelltheJackmansthattheycangobacktotheircottage。
FELLOWS。Verygood，ma"am。[Hegoesout。]
[MRS。HILLCRISTsearchesatthebureau，findsandtakesoutthedeed。DAWKERScomesin；hehastheappearanceofamanwhosetemperhasbeenbadlyruffled。]
MRS。H。CharlesHornblower——howdidithappen？
DAWKER。Hecametome。IsaidIknewnothing。Hewouldn"ttakeit；wentforme，abusedmeuphillanddowndale；saidhekneweverything，andthenhebegantothreatenme。Well，Ilostmytemper，andItoldhim。
MRS。H。That"sveryserious，Dawker，afterourpromise。Myhusbandismostupset。
DAWKER。[Sullenly]It"snotmyfault，ma"am；heshouldn"thavethreatenedandgoadedmeon。Besides，it"sgotoutthatthere"sascandal；commontalkinthevillage——notthefacts，butquiteenoughtocooktheirgoosehere。They"llhavetogo。Betterhavedonewithit，anyway，thanhaveenemiesatyourdoor。
MRS。H。Perhaps；but——Oh！Dawker，takechargeofthis。[Shehandshimthedeed]Thesepeoplearedesperate——and——I"msotsureofmyhusbandwhenhisfeelingsareworkedon。
[Thesoundofacarstopping。]
DAWKER。[Atthewindow，lookingtotheLeft]Hornblower"s，I
think。Yes，he"sgettingout。
MRS。H。[Bracingherself]You"dbetterwait，then。
DAWKER。Hemustn"tgivemeanyofhissauce；I"vehadenough。
[ThedoorisopenedandHORNBLOWERenters，pressingsoontheheelsofFELLOWSthattheannouncementofhisnameislost。]
HORNBLOWER。Givemethatdeed！Yegotitoutofmebyfalsepretencesandtreachery。Yesworethatnothingshouldbeheardofthis。Why！meownservantsknow。
MRS。H。Thathasnothingtodowithus。YoursoncameandwrenchedtheknowledgeoutofMr。DAWKERbyabuseandthreats；thatisall。
Youwillkindlybehaveyourselfhere，orIshallaskthatyoubeshownout。
HORNBLOWER。Givemethatdeed，Isay！[HesuddenlyturnsonDAWKER]Yelittleruffian，Iseeitinyourpocket。
[TheendindeedisprojectingfromDAWKER"Sbreastpocket。]
DAWKER。[Seeingred]Now，look"ere，"Ornblower，Istoodadealfromyourson，andI"llstandnomore。
HORNBLOWER。[ToMRS。HILLCRIST]I"llruinyourplaceyet！[ToDAWKER]Yegivemethatdeed，orI"llthrottleye。
[HeclosesonDAWKER，andmakesasnatchatthedeed。DAWKER，springsathim，andthetwostandswaying，tryingforagripateachother"sthroats。MRS。HILLCRISTtriestocrossandreachthebell，butisshutoffbytheirswayingstruggle。]
[SuddenlyROLFappearsinthewindow，lookswildlyatthestruggle，andseizesDAWKER"Shands，whichhavereachedHORNBLOWER"Sthroat。JILL，whoisfollowing，rushesuptohimandclutcheshisarm。]
JILL。Rolf！Allofyou！Stop！Look！
[DAWKER"Shandrelaxes，andheisswunground。HORNBLOWER
staggersandrecovershimself，gaspingforbreath。Allturntothewindow，outsidewhichinthemoonlightHILLCRISTandCHARLESHORNBLOWERhaveCHLOE"Smotionlessbodyintheirarms。]
Inthegravelpit。She"sjustbreathing；that"sall。
MRS。H。Bringherin。Thebrandy，Jill！
HORNBLOWER。No。Takehertothecar。Standback，youngwoman！I
wantnohelpfromanyofye。Rolf——Chearlie——takeherup。
[Theyliftandbearheraway，Left。JILLfollows。]
Hillcrist，ye"vegotmebeatenanddisgracedhereabouts，ye"vedestroyedmyson"smarriedlife，andye"vekilledmygrandchild。
I"mnotstayinginthiscursedspot，butifeverIcandoyouoryoursahurt，Iwill。
DAWKER。[Muttering]That"sright。Squealandthreaten。Youbeganit。
HILLCRIST。Dawker，havethegoodness！Hornblower，inthepresenceofwhatmaybedeath，withallmyheartI"msorry。
HORNBLOWER。Yehypocrite！
[Hepassesthemwithacertaindignity，andgoesoutatthewindow，followingtohiscar。]
[HILLCRISTwhohasstoodforamomentstock-still，goesslowlyforwardandsitsinhisswivelchair。]
MRS。H。Dawker，pleasetellFellowstotelephonetoDr。RobinsontogoroundtotheHornblowersatonce。
[DAWKER，fingeringthedeed，andwithanoisethatsoundslike"Thecur！"goesout，Left。[Atthefireplace]
Jack！Doyoublameme？
HILLCRIST。[Motionless]No。
MRS。H。OrDawker？He"sdonehisbest。
HILLCRIST。No。
MRS。H。[Approaching]Whatisit？
HILLCRIST。Hypocrite！
[JILLcomesrunninginatthewindow。]
JILL。Dodo，she"smoved；she"sspoken。Itmaynotbesobad。
HILLCRIST。ThankGodforthat！
[FELLOWSenters，Left。]
FELLOWS。TheJackmans，ma"am。
HILLCRIST。Who？What"sthis？
[TheJACKMANShaveentered，standingclosetothedoor。]
MRS。J。We"resogladwecangoback，sir——ma"am，wejustwantedtothankyou。
[Thereisasilence。Theyseethattheyarenotwelcome。]
Thankyoukindly，sir。Goodnight，ma"am。
[Theyshuffleout。]
HILLCRIST。I"dforgottentheirexistence。[Hegetsup]Whatisitthatgetsloosewhenyoubeginafight，andmakesyouwhatyouthinkyou"renot？Whatblindingevil！Beginasyoumay，itendsinthis-
skingame！Skingame！
JILL。[Rushingtohim]It"snotyou，Dodo；it"snotyou，belovedDodo。
HILLCRIST。Itisme。ForIam，orshouldbe，masterinthishouse！
MRS。H。Idon"tunderstand。
HILLCRIST。Whenwebeganthisfight，wehadcleanhands——aretheyclean"now？What"sgentilityworthifitcan"tstandfire？