第2章

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。