HORNBLOWER。No;it\'sarepartee。IfyethinksomuchoftheseJackmans,buildthemacottageyourselves;ye\'vegotthespace。
HILLCRIST。That\'sbesidethepoint。Youpromisedme,andIsoldonthatunderstanding。
HORNBLOWER。AndIboughtontheunderstandin\'thatI\'dgetsomemorelandfromtheDuke。
HILLCRIST。That\'snothingtodowithme。
HORNBLOWER。Ye\'llfindithas;becauseI\'mgoingtohavethosecottages。
HILLCRIST。Well,Icallitsimply——
[Hecheckshimself。]
HORNBLOWER。Lookhere,Hillcrist,ye\'venothadoccasiontounderstandmenlikeme。I\'vegottheguts,andI\'vegotthemoney;
andIdon\'tsitstillonit。I\'mgoingaheadbecauseIbelieveinmeself。I\'venouseforsentimentandthatsortofthing。FortyofyourJackmansaren\'tworthmelittlefinger。
HILLCRIST。[Angry]OfalltheblatantthingsIeverheardsaid!
HORNBLOWER。Well,aswe\'respeakingplainly,I\'vebeenthinkin\'。
Yewantthevillagerunyouroldfashionedway,andIwantitrunmine。Ifancythere\'snotroomforthetwoofushere。
MRS。H。Whenareyougoing?
HORNBLOWER,。Neverfear,I\'mnotgoing。
HILLCRIST。Lookhere,Mr。Hornblower——thisinfernalgoutmakesmeirritable——putsmeatadisadvantage。ButIshouldbegladifyou\'dkindlyexplainyourself。
HORNBLOWER。[Withagreatsmile]Ca\'canny;I\'mfra\'theNorth。
HILLCRIST。I\'mtoldyouwishtobuytheCentryandputmoreofyourchimneysup,there,regardlessofthefact[HePointsthroughthewindow]thatitwouldutterlyruinthehousewe\'vehadforgenerations,andallourpleasurehere。
HORNBLOWER。Howthemantalks!Why!Ye\'dthinkheownedthesky,becausehisfathersbuilthimahousewithaprettyview,wherehe\'snothingtodobutlive。It\'ssheerwantofsomethingtodothatgivesyeyourfinesentiments,Hillcrist。
HILLCRIST。Havethegoodnessnottochargemewithidleness。
Dawker——whereishe?——[Heshowsthebureau]WhenyoudothedrudgeryofyourworksasthoroughlyasIdothatofmyestate——
IsittrueabouttheCentry?
HORNBLOWER。Gospeltrue。Ifyewanttoknow,mysonChearlieisbuyin\'itthisveryminute。
MRS。H。[Turningwithastart]Whatdoyousay?
HORNBLOWER。Ay,he\'swiththeoldladyshewantstosell,an\'
she\'llgetherprice,whateveritis。
HILLCRIST。[Withdeepanger]Ifthatisn\'taskingame,Mr。
Hornblower,Idon\'tknowwhatis。
HORNBLOWER。Ah!Ye\'vegotaveryniceexpressionthere。\"Skingame!\"Well,badwordsbreaknobones,an\'they\'rewonderfulforhardenin\'theheart。Ifitwasn\'tforalady\'spresence,Icouldgiveyeaspecimenortwo。
MRS。H。Oh!Mr。Hornblower,thatneednotstopyou,I\'msure。
HORNBLOWER。Well,andIdon\'tknowthatitneed。Ye\'reanobstruction——thelikeofyou——ye\'reinmypath。Andanyoneinmypathdoesn\'tstaytherelong;or,ifhedoes,hestaysthereonmyterms。AndmytermsarechimneysintheCentrywhereIneed\'em。
It\'lldoyeapowerofgood,too,toknowthatye\'renotalmighty。
HILLCRIST。Andthat\'sbeingneighbourly!
HORNBLOWER。Andhowhaveyetriedbein\'neighbourlytome?IfI
haven\'tawife,I\'vegotadaughter-in-law。HaveYecelledonher,ma\'am?I\'mnew,andye\'reanoldfamily。Yedon\'tlikeme,yethinkI\'mapushin\'man。Igotochapel,an\'yedon\'tlikethat。
ImakethingsandIsellthem,andyedon\'tlikethat。Ibuyland,andyedon\'tlikethat。Itthreatenstheviewfromyourwindies。
Well,Idon\'tlieyou,andI\'mnotgoin\'toputupwithyourattitude。Ye\'vehadthingsyourownwaytoolong,andnowye\'renotgoingtohavethemanylonger。
HILLCRIST。Willyouholdtoyourwordoverthosecottages?
HORNBLOWER。I\'mgoin\'tohavethecottages。Ineedthem,andmorebesides,nowI\'mtoputupmenewworks。
HILLCRIST。That\'sadeclarationofwar。
HORNBLOWER。Yeneversaidatruerword。It\'soneortheotherofus,andIratherthinkit\'sgoin\'tobeme。I\'mtherisin\'andyou\'rethesettin\'sun,asthepoetsays。
HILLCRIST。[Touchingthebell]Weshallseeifyoucanriderough-
shodlikethis。Weusedtohavedecentwaysofgoingaboutthingshere。Youwanttochangeallthat。Well,weshalldoourdamnedesttostopyou。[ToFELLOWSatthedoor]AretheJackmansstillinthehouse?Askthemtobegoodenoughtocomein。
HORNBLOWER。[Withthefirstsignofuneasiness]I\'veseenthesepeople。I\'venothingmoretosaytothem。Itold\'emI\'dgive\'emfivepoundstocovertheirmoving。
HILLCRIST。Itdoesn\'toccurtoyouthatpeople,howeverhumble,liketohavesomesayintheirownfate?
HORNBLOWER。IneverhadanysayinminetillIhadthebrass,andnobodyeverwill。It\'sallhypocrisy。Youcountyfolkarefairawfulhypocrites。Yetalkaboutgoodformandallthatsorto\'
thing。It\'sjustthecomfortabledoctrineofthemaninthesaddle;
sentimentalvarnish。Ye\'reeverybitashardasIam,underneath。
MRS。H。[Whohadbeenstandingverystillallthistime]Youflatterus。
HORNBLOWER。Notatall。Godhelpsthosewho\'elpthemselves——
that\'satthebottomofallreligion。I\'mgoin\'tohelpmeself,andGod\'sgoingtohelpme。
MRS。H。Iadmireyourknowledge。
HILLCRIST。Weareintheright,andGodhelps——
HORNBLOWER。Don\'tyebelieveit;ye\'aven\'tgottheenergy。
MRS。H。Norperhapstheconceit。
HORNBLOWER。[Throwingouthisforefinger]No,no;\'tisn\'tconceittobelieveinyourselfwhenye\'vegotreasonto。[TheJACKMAN\'S
haveentered。]
HILLCRIST。I\'mverysorry,Mrs。Jackman,butIjustwantedyoutorealisethatI\'vedonemybestwiththisgentleman。
MRS。J。[Doubtfully]Yes,sir。Ithoughtifyouspokeforus,he\'dfeeldifferent-like。
HORNBLOWER。Onecottageisthesameasanother,missis。Imadeyeafairofferoffivepoundsforthemoving。
JACKMAN。[Slowly]Wewouldn\'ttakefiftytogooutofthat\'ouse。
Webroughtupthreechildrenthere,an\'buriedtwofromit。
MRS。J。[ToMRS。HILLCRIST]We\'reattachedtoitlike,ma\'am。
HILLCRIST。[ToHORNBLOWER。Howwouldyoulikebeingturnedoutofaplaceyouwerefondof?
HORNBLOWER。Notabit。Butlittleconsiderationshavetogivewaytobigones。Now,missis,I\'llmakeittenpounds,andI\'llsendawagontoshiftyourthings。Ifthatisn\'tfair——!Ye\'dbetteraccept,Ishan\'tkeepitopen。
[TheJACKMANSlookateachother;theirfacesshowdeepanger——
andthequestiontheyaskeachotheriswhichwillspeak。]
MRS。J。Wewon\'ttakeit;eh,George?
JACKMAN。Notafarden。Wecometherewhenwewasmarried。
HORNBLOWER。[Throwingouthisfinger]Ye\'reveryimprovidentfolk。
HILLCRIST。Don\'tlecturethem,Mr。Hornblower;theycomeoutofthismilesaboveyou。
HORNBLOWER。[Angry]Well,Iwasgoingtogiveyeanotherweek,butye\'llgooutnextSaturday;andtakecareye\'renotlate,oryourthings\'llbeputoutintherain。
MRS。H。[ToMRS。JACKMAN]We\'llsenddownforyourthings,andyoucancometousforthetimebeing。
[MRS。JACKMANdropsacurtsey;hereyesstabHORNBLOWERS。]
JACKMAN。[Heavily,clenchinghisfists]You\'renogentleman!
Don\'tputtemptationinmyway,that\'sall,HILLCRIST。[Inalowvoice]Jackman!
HORNBLOWER。[Triumphantly]Yehearthat?That\'syourprotegee!
Keepouto\'myway,meman,orI\'llputthepoliceontoyeforutterin\'threats。
HILLCRIST。You\'dbettergonow,Jackman。
[TheJACKMANSmovetothedoor。]
MRS。J。[Turning]Maybeyou\'llrepentitsomeday,sir。
[Theygoout,MRS。HILLCRISTfollowing。]
HORNBLOWER。We-ell,I\'msorrythey\'resuchunreasonablefolk。I
nevermetpeoplewithlessnotionofwhichsidetheirbreadwasbuttered。
HILLCRIST。AndInevermetanyonesopachydermatous。
HORNBLOWER。What\'sthat,inHeaven\'sname?Yeneedn\'wrapitupinlongwordsnowyourgoodlady\'sgone。
HILLCRIST。[Withdignity]I\'mnotgoinginforaslangingmatch。
Iresentyourconductmuchtoodeeply。
HORNBLOWER。Lookhere,Hillcrist,Idon\'tobjecttoyoupersonally;
yeseemtomeapoorcreaturethat\'sboundtogetleftwithyourgoutandyourdignity;butofcourseyecanmakeyourselfverydisagreeablebeforeye\'redone。NowIwanttobethemovin\'spirithere。I\'mfullofplans。I\'mgoin\'tostandforParliament;I\'mgoin\'tomakethisaprosperousplace。I\'magood-maturedmanifyou\'lltreatmeassuch。Now,youtakemeonasaneighbourandallthat,andI\'11managewithoutchimneysontheCentry。Isitabargain?[Heholdsouthishand。]
HILLCRIST。[Ignoringit]Ithoughtyousaidyoudidn\'tkeepyourwordwhenitsuitedyoutobreakit?
HORNBLOWER。Now,don\'tgetonthehighhorse。Youandmecouldbeverygoodfriends;butIcanbeaverynastyenemy。Thechimneyswillnotlooknicefromthatwindie,yeknow。
HILLCRIST。[Deeplyangry]Mr。Hornblower,ifyouthinkI\'lltakeyourhandafterthisJackmanbusiness,you\'regreatlymistaken。YouareproposingthatIshallstandinwithyouwhileyoutyranniseovertheneighbourhood。Pleaserealisethatunlessyouleavethosetenanciesundisturbedasyousaidyouwould,wedon\'tknoweachother。
HORNBLOWER。Well,thatwon\'ttroublememuch。Now,ye\'dbetterthinkitover;ye\'vegotgoutandthatmakesyehasty。Itellyeagain:I\'mnotthemantomakeanenemyof。Unlessye\'refriendly,sureasIstandhereI\'llruinthelookofyourplace。
[Thetootofacarisheard。]
There\'smycar。IsentChearlieandhiswifeinittobuytheCentry。Andmakenomistake——he\'sgotitinhispacket。It\'syourlastchance,Hillcrist。I\'mnotaversetoyouasaman;Ithinkye\'rethebestofthefossilsroundhere;atleast,Ithinkyecandomethemostharmsocially。Comenow!
[Heholdsouthishandagain。]
HILLCRIST。Notifyou\'dboughttheCentrytentimesover。Yourwaysarenotmine,andI\'llhavenothingtodowithyou。
HORNBLOWER。[Veryangry]Really!Isthatso?Verywell。Nowye\'regoin\'tolearnsomething,an\'it\'stimeyedid。D\'yerealisethatI\'m\'verynearlyroundye?[Hedrawsacircleslowlyintheair]I\'matUphill,theworksarehere,here\'sLongmeadow,here\'stheCentrythatI\'vejustbought,there\'sonlytheCommonlefttogiveyetouchwiththeworld。NowbetweenyouandtheCommonthere\'sthehighroad。
Icomeoutonthehighroadheretoyournorth,andIshallcomeoutonittheretoyourwest。WhenI\'vegotmenewworksupontheCentry,Ishallbemakin\'atrolleytrackbetweentheworksuptotheroadatbothends,soanygoodswillberunningrightroundye。
How\'llyelikethatforacountryplace?
[ForanswerHILLCRIST,whoisangrybeyondthepowerofspeech,walks,forgettingtousehisstick,uptotheFrenchwindow。
Whilehestandsthere,withhisbacktoHORNBLOWER,thedoorL。
isflungopen,andJimenters,precedingCHARLES,hiswifeCHLOE,andROLF。CHARLESisagoodish-looking,moustachedyoungmanofabouttwenty-eight,withawhiterimtothecollarofhiswaistcoat,andspats。HehashishandbehindCHLOE\'S
back,asiftopreventherturningtail。Sheisratherahandsomeyoungwoman,withdarkeyes,fullredlips,andasuspicionofpowder,alittleunder-dressedforthecountry。
ROLF,mhobringsuptherear,isabouttwenty,withanopenfaceandstiffishbutter-colouredhair。JILLrunsovertoherfatheratthewindow。Shehasabottle。
JILL。[Sottovoce]Look,Dodo,I\'vebroughtthelot!Isn\'titatreat,dearPapa?Andhere\'sthestuff。Hallo!
[Theexclamationisinducedbytheapprehensionthattherehasbeenarow。HILLCRISTgivesastifflittlebow,remainingwhereheisinthewindow。JILL,staysclosetohim,staringfromonetotheother,thenblockshimoffandengageshiminconversation。CHARLEShasgoneuptohisfather,whohasremainedmaliciouslystill,wherehedeliveredhislastspeech。
CHLOEandROLFstandawkwardlywaitingbetweenthefireplaceandthedoor。]
HORNBLOWER。Well,Chearlie?
CHARLES。Notgotit。
HORNBLOWER。Not!
CHARLES。I\'dpracticallygothertosayshe\'dsellatthreethousandfivehundred,whenthatfellowDawkerturnedup。
HORNBLOWER。Thatbull-terrierofachap!Why,hewashereawhileago。Oh——ho!Sothat\'sit!
CHARLES。Iheardhimgallopup。Hecamestraightfortheoldlady,andgotheraway。WhathesaidIdon\'tknow;butshecamebacklookingwiserthananowl;saidshe\'dthinkitover,thoughtshehadotherviews。
HORNBLOWER。Didyetellhershemighthaveherprice?
CHARLES。PracticallyIdid。
HORNBLOWER。Well?
CHARLES。Shethoughtitwouldbefairertoputituptoauction。
Therewereotherenquiries。Oh!She\'saleeryoldbird——remindsmeofoneofthosepicturesofFate,don\'tyouknow。
HORNBLOWER。Auction!Well,ifit\'snotgonewe\'llgetityet。
ThatdamnedlittleDawker!I\'vehadarowwithHillcrist。
CHARLES。Ithoughtso。
[TheyareturningcautiouslytolookatHILLCRIST,whenJILL
stepsforward。]
JILL。[Flushedanddetermined]That\'snotabitsportingofyou,Mr。Hornblower。
[AtherwordsROLEcomesforwardtoo。]
HORNBLOWER。Yeshouldhearbothsidesbeforeyesaythat,missy。
JILL。Thereisn\'tanothersidetoturningouttheJackmansafteryou\'dpromised。
HORNBLOWER。Oh!dearme,yes。Theydon\'tmatterarowofgingerbreadtotheschemesI\'vegotforbetterin\'thisneighbourhood。
JILL。Ihadbeenstandingupforyou;nowIwon\'t。
HOUNBLOWER。Dear,dear!What\'llbecomeofme?
JILL。Iwon\'tsayanythingabouttheotherthingbecauseIthinkit\'sbeneath,dignitytonoticeit。Buttoturnpoorpeopleoutoftheircottagesisashame。
HORNBLOWER。Hoityme!
ROLF。[Suddenly]Youhaven\'tbeendoingthat,father?
CHARLES。Shutup,Rolf!
HORNBLOWER。[TurningonROLF]Ha!Here\'saleagueo\'Youth!Myyoungwhipper-snapper,keepyourmouthshutandleaveittoyourelderstoknowwhat\'sright。
[UndertheweightofthisrejoinderROLFstandsbitinghislips。Thenhethrowshisheadup。]
ROLF。Ihateit!
HORNBLOWER。[Withrealvenom]Oh!Yehateit?Yecangetoutofmyhouse,then。
JILL。Freespeech,Mr。Hornblower;don\'tbeviolent。
HORNBLOWER。Ye\'reright,younglady。Yecanstayinmyhouse,Rolf,andlearnmanners。Come,Chearlie!
JILL。[Quitesoftly]Mr。Hornblower!
HILLCRIST。[Fromthewindow]Jill!
JILL。[Impatiently]Well,what\'sthegoodofit?Life\'stooshortforrows,andtoojolly!
ROLF。Bravo!
HORNBLOWER。[Whohasshownasignofweakening]Now,lookhere!
Iwillnothaverevoltinmyfamily。Ye\'lljusthavetolearnthatamanwho\'sworkedasIhave,who\'srisenasIhave,andwhoknowstheworld,istheproperjudgeofwhat\'srightandwrong。I\'llanswertoGodformeactions,andnottoyouyoungpeople。
JILL。PoorGod!
HORNBLOWER。[Genuinelyshocked]Yeblasphemousyoungthing![ToROLF]Andye\'rejustasbad,yeyoungfreethinker。Iwon\'thaveit。
HILLCRIST。[Whohascomedown,Right]Jill,Iwishyouwouldkindlynottalk。
JILL。Ican\'thelpit。
CHARLES。[PuttinghisarmthroughHORNBLOWER\'S]Comealong,father!Deeds,notwords。
HORNBLOWER。Ay!,Deeds!
[MRS。HILLCRISTandDAWKERShaveenteredbytheFrenchwindow。]
MRS。H。Quiteright!
[Theyallturnandlookather。]
HORNBLOWER。Ah!Soyeputyourdogontoit。[HethrowsouthisfingeratDAWKERS]Verysmart,that——Igiveyecredit。
MRS。H。[PointingtoCHLOE,whohasstoodbyherself,forgottenanduncomfortablethroughoutthescene]
MayIaskwhothisladyis?
[CHLOEturnsroundstartled,andhervanitybagslipsdownherdresstothefloor。]
HORNBLOWER。No,ma\'am,yemaynot,foryeknowperfectlywell。
JILL。Ibroughtherin,mother[ShemovestoCHLOE\'sside。]
MRS。H。Willyoutakeheroutagain,then。
HILLCRIST。Amy,havethegoodnesstoremember——
MRS。H。Thatthisismyhousesofarasladiesareconcerned。
JILL。Mother!
[ShelooksastonishedatCHLOE,who,abouttospeak,doesnot,passinghereyes,withaqueer,half-scarredexpression,fromMRS。HILLCRISTtoDAWKER。]
[ToCHLOE]I\'mawfullysorry。Comeon!
[Theygoout,Left。ROLFhurriesafterthem。]
CHARLES。You\'veinsultedmywife。Why?Whatdoyoumeanbyit?
[MRS。HILLCRISTsimplysmiles。]
HILLCRIST。Iapologise。Iregretextremely。Thereisnoreasonwhytheladiesofyourfamilyorofmineshouldbeinvolvedinourquarrel。ForHeaven\'ssake,let\'sfightlikegentlemen。
HORNBLOWER。Catchwords——sneers!No;we\'llplaywhatyecallaskingame,Hillcrist,withoutgloveson;wewon\'tspareeachother。Yelookoutforyourselves,for,begod,afterthismorningImeanbusiness。Andasforyou,Dawker,yeslydog,yethinkyourselfveryclever;butI\'llhavetheCentryyet。Come,Chearlie!
[Theygoout,passingJILL,whoiscominginagain,inthedoorway。]
HILLCRIST。Well,Dawker?
DAWKER。[Grinning]Safeforthemoment。Theoldlady\'llputituptoauction。Couldn\'tgethertobudgefromthat。Saysshedon\'twanttobeunneighbourlytoeither。But,ifyouaskme,it\'smoneyshesmells!
JILL。[Advancing]Now,motherMRS。H。Well?
JILL。Whydidyouinsulther?
MRS。H。IthinkIonlyaskedyoutotakeherout。
JILL。Why?EvenifsheisOldCombustion\'sdaughter-in-law?
MRS。H。MydearJill,allowmetojudgethesortofacquaintancesI
wishtomake。[ShelooksatDAWKER。]
JILL。She\'sallright。Lotsofwomenpowderandtouchuptheirlipsnowadays。Ithinkshe\'sratheragoodsort;shewasawfullyupset。
MRS。H。Tooupset。
JILL。Oh!don\'tbesomysterious,mother。Ifyouknowsomething,dospititout!
MRS。H。Doyouwishmeto——er——\"spititout,\"Jack?
HILLCRIST。Dawker,ifyoudon\'tmind——
[DAWKER,withanod,passesawayoutoftheFrenchwindow。]
Jill,berespectful,anddon\'ttalklikeabargee。
JILL。It\'snogood,Dodo。Itmademeashamed。It\'sjustas——ascaddishtoinsultpeoplewhohaven\'tsaidaword,inyourownhouse,asitistobe——oldHornblower。
MRS。H。Youdon\'tknowwhatyou\'retalkingabout。
HILLCRIST。What\'sthematterwithyoungMrs。Hornblower?
MRS。H。Excuseme,Ishallkeepmythoughtstomyselfatpresent。
[ShelookscoldlyatJILL,andgoesoutthroughtheFrenchwindow。]
HILLCRIST。You\'vethoroughlyupsetyourmother,Jill。
JILL。It\'ssomethingDawker\'stoldher;Isawthem。Idon\'tlikeDawker,father,he\'ssocommon。
HILLCRIST。Mydear,wecan\'tallbeuncommon。He\'sgotlotsofgo,Youmustapologisetoyourmother。
JILL。[Shaking-herclubbedhair]They\'llmakeyoudothingsyoudon\'tapproveof,Dodo,ifyoudon\'tlookout。Mother\'sfearfullybitterwhenshegetsherknifein。IfoldHornblower\'sdisgusting,it\'snoreasonweshouldbe。
HILLCRIST。SoyouthinkI\'mcapable——that\'snice,Jill!
JILL。No,no,darling!Ionlywanttowarnyousolemnlythatmother\'lltellyouyou\'refightingfair,nomatterwhatsheandDawkerdo。
HILLCRIST。[Smiling]Jill,Idon\'tthinkIeversawyousoserious。
JILL。No。Because——[Sheswallowsalumpinherthroat]Well——I
wasjustbeginningtoenjoy,myself;andnow——everything\'sgoingtobebitterandbeastly,withmotherinthatmood。Thathorribleoldman!Oh,Dodo!Don\'tletthemmakeyouhorrid!You\'resuchadarling。How\'syourgout,ducky?
HILLCRIST。Better;lotbetter。
JILL。There,yousee!Thatshows!It\'sgoingtobehalf-
interestingforyou,butnotfor——us。
HILLCRIST。Lookhere,Jill——isthereanythingbetweenyouandyoungwhat\'s-his-name——Rolf?
JILL。[Bitingherlip]No。But——nowit\'sallspoiled。
HILLCRIST。Youcan\'texpectmetoregretthat。
JILL。Idon\'tmeananytoshaboutlove\'syoungdream;butIdolikebeingfriends。Iwanttoenjoythings,Dodo,andyoucan\'tdothatwheneverybody\'sonthehate。You\'regoingtowallowinit,andsoshallI——oh!IknowIshall!——weshallallwallow,andthinkofnothingbut\"oneforhisnob。\"
HILLCRIST。Aren\'tyoufondofyourhome?
JILL。Ofcourse。Iloveit。
HILLCRIST。Well,youwon\'tbeabletoliveinitunlesswestopthatruffian。Chimneysandsmoke,thetreescutdown,pilesofpots。Everykindofabomination。There![Hepoints]Imagine!
[HepointsthroughtheFrenchwindow,asifhecouldseethosechimneysrisingandmarringthebeautyofthefields]Iwasbornhere,andmyfather,andhis,andhis,andhis。Theylovedthosefields,andthoseoldtrees。Andthisbarbarian,withhis\"improvement\"schemes,forsooth!IlearnedtorideintheCentrymeadows——prettiestspringmeadowsintheworld;I\'veclimbedeverytreethere。Whymyfathereversold——!Butwhocouldhaveimaginedthis?Andcomeatabadmoment,whenmoney\'sscarce。
JILL。[Cuddlinghisarm]Dodo!
HILLCRIST。Yes。Butyoudon\'tlovetheplaceasIdo,Jill。Youyoungstersdon\'tloveanything,Isometimesthink。
JILL。Ido,Dodo,Ido!
HILLCRIST。You\'vegotitallbeforeyou。Butyoumayliveyourlifeandneverfindanythingsogoodandsobeautifulasthisoldhome。I\'mnotgoingtohaveitspoiledwithoutafight。
[ConsciousofbattingbetrayedSentiment,hewalksoutattheFrenchwindow,passingawaytotheright。JILLfollowingtothewindow,looks。Thenthrowingbackherhead,sheclaspsherhandsbehindit。]
JILL。Oh——oh-oh!
[Avoicebehindhersays,\"JILL!\"Sheturnsandstartsback,leaningagainsttherightlintelofthewindow。ROLFappearsoutsidethewindowfromLeft。]
Whogoesthere?
ROLE。[ButtressedagainsttheLeftlintel]Enemy——afterChloe\'sbag。
JILL。Pass,enemy!Andall\'sill!
[ROLFpassesthroughthewindow,andretrievesthevanitybagfromthefloorwhereCHLOEdroppedit,thenagaintakeshisstandagainsttheLeftlinteloftheFrenchwindow。]
ROLF。It\'snotgoingtomakeanydifference,isit?
JILL。Youknowitis。
ROLF。Sinsofthefathers。
JILL。Untothethirdandfourthgenerations。Whatsinhasmyfathercommitted?
ROLF。None,inaway;only,I\'veoftentoldyouIdon\'tseewhyyoushouldtreatusasoutsiders。Wedon\'tlikeit。
JILL。Well,youshouldn\'tbe,then;Imean,heshouldn\'tbe。
ROLF。Father\'sjustashumanasyourfather;he\'swrappedupinus,andallhis\"gettingon\"isforus。WouldyouliketobetreatedasyourmothertreatedChloe?Yourmother\'ssetthestrokefortheotherbig-wigsabouthere;nobodycallsonChloe。Andwhynot?Whynot?Ithinkit\'scontemptibletobarpeoplejustbecausethey\'renew,asyoucallit,andhavetomaketheirpositioninsteadofhavingitleftthem。
JILL。It\'snotbecausethey\'renew,it\'sbecause——ifyourfatherbehavedlikeagentleman,he\'dbetreatedlikeone。
ROLF。Wouldhe?Idon\'tbelieveit。Myfather\'saveryableman;
hethinkshe\'sentitledtohaveinfluencehere。Well,everybodytriestokeephimdown。Oh!yes,theydo。Thatmakeshimmadandmoredeterminedthanevertogethisway。Yououghttobejust,Jill。
JILL。Iamjust。
ROLF。No,you\'renot。Besides,what\'sitgottodowithCharlieandChloe?Chloe\'sparticularlyharmless。It\'sprettysickeningforher。Fatherdidn\'texpectpeopletocalluntilCharliemarried,butsince——
JILL。Ithinkit\'sallverypetty。
ROLF。Itis——adog-in-the-mangerbusiness;Ididthinkyouwereaboveit。
JILL。Howwouldyouliketohaveyourhomespoiled?
ROLE。I\'mnotgoingtoargue。Onlythingsdon\'tstandstill。
Homesaren\'tanymoreproofagainstchangethananythingelse。
JILL。Allright!Youcomeandtryandtakeours。
ROLF。Wedon\'twanttotakeyourhome。
JILL。LiketheJackmans\'?
ROLF。Allright。Iseeyou\'rehopelesslyprejudiced。