[Heturnstogo。]
JILL。[Justasheisvanishing——softly]Enemy?
ROLF。[Turning]Yes,enemy。
JILL。Beforethebattle——let\'sshakehands。
[Theymovefromthelintelsandgraspeachother\'shandsinthecentreoftheFrenchwindow。]
CURTAIN
ACTII
SCENEI
Abilliardroominaprovincialhotel,wherethingsareboughtandsold。Thesceneissetwellforward,andisnotverybroad;itrepresentstheauctioneer\'sendoftheroom,having,rathertostageLeft,anarrowtablewithtwochairsfacingtheaudience,wheretheauctioneerwillsitandstand。Thetable,whichissetforwardtothefootlights,islitteredwithgreen-
coveredparticularsofsale。Theaudienceareineffectpublicandbidders。ThereisadoorontheLeft,levelwiththetable。Alongthebackwall,behindthetable,aretworaisedbencheswithtwostepsuptothem,suchasbilliardroomsoftenhave,dividedbyadoorinthemiddleofawall,whichispanelledinoak。LateSeptembersunlightiscomingfromaskylight(notvisible)ontotheseseats。Thestageisemptywhenthecurtaingoesup,butDAWKERS,andMRS。HILLCRISTarejustenteringthroughthedoorattheback。
DAWKER。Beoutoftheirwayhere,ma\'am。SeeoldHornblowerwithChearlie?
[Hepointsdowntotheaudience。]
MRS。H。Itbeginsatthree,doesn\'tit?
DAWKER。Theywon\'tbeover-punctual;there\'sonlytheCentryselling。There\'syoungMrs。Hornblowerwiththeotherboy——
[Pointing]overattheentrance。I\'vegotthatchapItoldyouofdownfromtown。
MRS。H。Ah!makesurequiteofher,Dawker。Anymistakewouldbefatal。
DAWKER。[Nodding]That\'sright,ma\'am。Lotofpeopled——alwayssparetimetowatchanauction——everremarkthat?TheDuke\'sagent\'shere;shouldn\'tbesurprisedifhechippedin。
MRS。H。Wheredidyouleavemyhusband?
DAWKER。WithMissJill,inthecourtyard。He\'scomingtoyou。IncaseImisshim;tellhimwhenIreachhislimittoblowhisnoseifhewantsmetogoon;whenheblowsitasecondtime,I\'llstopforgood。Hopeweshan\'tgettothat。OldHornblowerdoesn\'tthrowhismoneyaway。
MRS。H。Whatlimitdidyousettle?
DAWKER。Sixthousand!
MRS。H。That\'safearfulprice。Well,goodlucktoyou,Dawker!
DAWKER。Goodluck,ma\'am。I\'llgoandseetothatlittlematterofMrs。Chloe。Neverfear,we\'lldothemissomehow。
[Hewinks,layshisfingeronthesideofhisnose,andgoesoutatthedoor。]
[MRS。HILLCRISTmountsthetwosteps,sitsdownRightofthedoor,andputsupapairoflong-handled>gdaases。ThroughthedoorbehindhercomeCHLOEandROLF。Shemakesasignforhimtogo,andshutsthedoor。
CHLOE。[Atthefootofthestepsinthegangway——withaslightlycommonaccent]Mrs。Hillcrist!
MRS。H。[Notquitestarting]Ibegyourpardon?
CHLOE。[Again]Mrs。Hillcrist——
MRS。H。Well?
CHLOE。Ineverdidyouanyharm。
MRS。H。DidIeversayyoudid?
CHLOE。No;butyouactasifIhad。
MRS。H。I\'mnotawarethatI\'veactedatall——asyet。Youarenothingtome,exceptasoneofyourfamily。
CHLOE。\'Tisn\'tIthatwantstospoilyourhome。
MRS。H。Stopthemthen。Iseeyourhusbanddowntherewithhisfather。
CHLOE。I——Ihavetried。
MRS。H。[Lookingather]Oh!Isupposesuchmendon\'tpayattentiontowhatwomenaskthem。
CHLOE。[Withaflashofspirit]I\'mfondofmyhusband。I——
MRS。H。[Lookingathersteadily]Idon\'tquiteknowwhyyouspoketome。
CHLOE。[Withasortofpatheticsullenness]Ionlythoughtperhapsyou\'dliketotreatmeasahumanbeing。
MRS。H。Really,ifyoudon\'tmind,Ishouldliketobeleftalonejustnow。
CHLOE。[Unhappilyacquiescent]Certainly!I\'llgototheotherend。
[ShemovestotheLeft,mountsthestepsandsitsdown。]
[ROLF,lookinginthroughthedoor,andseeingwheresheis,joinsher。MRS。HILLCRISTresettlesherselfalittlefurtherinontheRight。]
ROLF。[BendingovertoCHLOE,afteraglanceatMRS。HILLCRIST。]
Areyouallright?
CHLOE。It\'sawfullyhot。
[Shefansherselfwidetheparticularsofsale。]
ROLF。There\'sDawker。Ihatethatchap!
CHLOE。Where?
ROLF。Downthere;see?
[HepointsdowntostageRightoftheroom。]
CHLOE。[Drawingbackinherseatwithalittlegasp]Oh!
ROLF。[Notnoticing]Who\'sthatnexthim,lookinguphere?
CHLOE。Idon\'tknow。
[Shehasraisedherauctionprogrammesuddenly,andsitsfanningherself,carefullyscreeningherface。]
ROLE。[Lookingather]Don\'tyoufeelwell?ShallIgetyousomewater?[Hegetsupathernod。]
[Ashereachesthedoor,HILLCRISTandJILLcomein。HILLCRIST
passeshimabstractedlywithanod,andsitsdownbesidehiswife。]
JILL。[ToROLF]Cometoseeusturnedout?
ROLF。[Emphatically]No。I\'mlookingafterChloe;she\'snotwell。
JILL。[Glancingather]Sorry。Sheneedn\'thavecome,Isuppose?
[RALFdeignsnoanswer,andgoesout。]
[JILLglancesatCHLOE,thenatherparentstalkinginlowvoices,andsitsdownnextherfather,whomakesroomforher。]
MRS。H。CanDawkerseeyouthere,Jack?
[HILLCRISTnods。]
What\'sthetime?
HILLCRIST。Threeminutestothree。
JILL。Don\'tyoufeelbeastlyalldownthebacksofyourlegs。
Dodo?
HILLCRIST。Yes。
JILL。Doyou,mother?
MRS。H。No。
JILL。AwagonofoldHornblower\'spotspassedwhilewewereintheyard。It\'sanomen。
MRS。H。Don\'tbefoolish,Jill。
JILL。Lookattheoldbrute!Dodo,holdmyhand。
MRS。H。Makesureyou\'vegotahandkerchief,Jack。
HILLCRIST。Ican\'tgobeyondthesixthousand;Ishallhavetoraiseeverypennyonmortgageasitis。Theestatesimplywon\'tstandmore,Amy。
[Hefeelsinhisbreastpocket,andpullsuptheedgeofhishandkerchief。]
JILL。Oh!Look!There\'sMissMullins,attheback;justcomein。
Isn\'tsheaspideryoldchip?
MRS。H。Cometogloat。Really,Ithinkhernotacceptingyourofferisdisgusting。Herimpartialityisallhumbug。
HILLCRIST。Can\'tblameherforgettingwhatshecan——it\'shumannature。Phew!Iusedtofeellikethisbeforea\'vivavoce\'。
Who\'sthatnexttoDawker?
JILL。Whatafish!
MRS。H。[Toherself]Ah!yes。
[HereyesslideroundatCHLOE,siltingmotionlessandrathersunkinherseat,slowlyfanningherselfwiththeyparticularsofthesale。Jack,goandofferhermysmellingsalts。]
HILLCRIST。[Takingthesalts]ThankGodforahumantouch!
MRS。H。[Takenaback]Oh!
JILL。[Withaquicklookathermother,snatchingthesalts]I
will。[ShegoesovertoCHLOEwiththesalts]Haveasniff;youlookawfullywhite。
CHLOE。[Lookingup,startled]Oh!nothanks。I\'mallright。
JILL。No,do!Youmust。[CHLOEtakesthem。]
JILL。D\'youmindlettingmeseethataminute?
[Shetakestheparticularsofthesaleandstudiesit,butCHLOEhasburiedthelowerpartofherfaceinherhandandthesmellingsaltsbottle。]
Beastlyhot,isn\'tit?You\'dbetterkeepthat。
CHLOE。[Herdarkeyeswanderinganduneasy]Rolf\'sgettingmesomewater。
JILL。Whydoyoustay?Youdidn\'twanttocome,didyou?
[CHLOEshakesherhead。]
Allright!Here\'syourwater。
[Shehandsbacktheparticularsandslidesovertoherseat,passingROLFinthegangway,withherchinwellup。]
[MRS。HILLCRIST,whohaswatchedCHLOEandJILLandDAWKER,andhisfriend,makesanenquiringmovementwithherhand,butgetsadisappointinganswer。]
JILL。What\'sthetime,Dodo?
HILLCRIST。[Lookingathiswatch]Threeminutespast。
JILL。[Sighing]Oh,hell!
HILLCRIST。Jill!
JILL。Sorry,Dodo。Iwasonlythinking。Look!Hereheis!
Phew!——isn\'the——?
MRS。H。\'Sh!
TheAUCTIONEERcomesinLeftandgoestothetable。Heisasquare,short,brown-faced,commonlookingman,withclippedgreyhairfittinghimlikeacap,andaclippedgreymoustache。
Hislidscomedownoverhisquickeyes,tillhecanseeyouverysharply,andyoucanhardlyseethathecanseeyou。Hecanbreakintoasmileatanymoment,whichhasnoconnectionwithhim,asitwere。Byacertainhurtlook,however,whenbiddingisslow,hedisclosesthatheisnotmerelyanauctioneer,buthasinhimelementsofthehumanbeing。Hecanwinkwithanyone,andisdressedinasnug-brownsuit,withaperfectlyunbuttonedwaistcoat,alow,turneddowncollar,andsmallblackandwhitesailorknottie。Whileheissettlinghispapers,theHILLCRISTSsettlethemselvestensely。CHLOE
hasdrunkherwaterandleanedbackagain,withthesmellingsaltstohernose。ROLFleansforwardintheseatbesideher,lookingsidewaysatJILL。ASOLICITOR,withagreybeard,hasjoinedtheAUCTIONEER,athistable。
AUCTIONEER。[Tappingthetable]Sorrytodisappointyou,gentlemen,butI\'veonlyonepropertytoofferyouto-day,No。1,TheCentry,Deepwater。Thesecondontheparticularshasbeenwithdrawn。Thethirdthat\'sBidcot,desirablefreeholdmansionandfarmlandsintheParishofKenway——weshallhavetodealwithnextweek。Ishallbehappytosellityouthenwithoutreservation。
[Helooksagainthroughtheparticularsinhishand,givingtheaudiencetimetoreadjustthemselvestohisstatements]Now,gen\'lemen,asIsay,I\'veonlytheonepropertytosell。FreeholdNo。1——allthatverydesirablecornandstock-rearingandparklikeresidentiallandknownastheCentry,Deepwater,uniquepropertyanA。1。chancetoanA。1。audience。[Withhissmile]Oughttomakethepriceofthethreewethoughtwehad。Nowyouwon\'tmindlisteningtotheconditionsofsale;Mr。Blinkard\'llread\'em,andtheywon\'twirryyou,they\'reveryshort。
[Hesitsdownandgivestwolittletapeonthetable。]
[TheSOLICITORrisesandreadstheconditionsofsaleinavoicewhichnoonepracticallycanhear。Justashebeginstoreadtheseconditionsofsale,CHARLESHORNBLOWERentersatback。Hestandsamoment,glancingroundattheHILLCRISTandtwirlinghismoustache,thenmovesalongtohiswifeandtouchesher。]
CHARLES。Chloe,aren\'tyouwell?
[Inthestartwhichshegives,herfaceisfullyrevealedtotheaudience。]
CHARLES。Comealong,outofthewayofthesepeople。
[HejerkshisheadtowardstheHILLCRISTS。CHLOEgivesaswiftlookdowntothestageRightoftheaudience。]
CHLOE。No;I\'mallright;it\'shotterthere。
CHARLES。[ToROLF]Well,lookafterher——Imustgoback。
[ROLFnode。CHARLES,slidesbanktothedoor,withaglanceattheHILLCRISTS,ofwhomMRS。HILLCRISThasbeenwatchinglikealynx。Hegoesout,justastheSOLICITOR,finishing,sitsdown。]
AUCTIONEER。[Risingandtapping]Now,gen\'lemen,it\'snotoftenapieceoflandlikethiscomesintothemarket。What\'sthat?[Toafriendinfrontofhim]NobetterlandinDeepwater——that\'sright,Mr。Spicer。Iknowthevillagewell,andacharmingplaceitis;
perfectlocality,tobesure。NowIdon\'twanttowirryyoubysingingthepraisesofthisproperty;thereitis——well-watered,nicelytimbered——noreservationofthetimber,gen\'lemen——notenancytoholdyouup;freetodowhatyoulikewithitto-morrow。You\'vegotajewelofasitethere,too;perfectpositionforahouse。ItliesbetweentheDuke\'sandSquireHillcrist\'s——anemeraldisle。
[Withhissmile]NoallusiontoIreland,gen\'lemen——perfectpeaceintheCentry。Nothinglikeitinthecounty——agen\'leman\'ssite,andyoudon\'tgetthatofferedyoueveryday。[HelooksdowntowardsHORNBLOWER,stageLeft]Carriesthemineralrights,andasyouknow,perhaps,there\'stheveryvaluableDeepwaterclaythere。
WhatamItostartitat?CanIsaythreethousand?Well,anythingyouliketogiveme。I\'msotparticular。Comenow,you\'vegotmoretimethanme,Iexpect。Twohundredacresoffirst-rategrazin\'andcornland,withasiteforaresidenceunequalledinthecounty;andallthepossibilities!Well,whatshallIsay?
[BidfromSPICER。]
Twothousand?[Withhissmile]Thatwon\'thurtyou,Mr。Spicer。
Why,it\'sworththattooverlooktheDuke。Fortwothousand?
[BidfromHORNBLOWER,stageLeft。]
Andfive。Thankyou,sir。Twothousandfivehundredbid。
[Toafriendjustbelowhim。]
Come,Mr。Sandy,don\'tscratchyourheadoverit。
[BidfromDAWKER,StageRight。]
Andfive。Threethousandbidforthisdesirableproperty。Why,you\'dthinkitwasn\'tdesirable。Comealong,gen\'lemen。Alittlespirit。
[Aalightpause。]
JILL。Whycan\'tIseethebids,Dodo?
HILLCRIST。ThelastwasDawker\'s。
AUCTIONEER。Forthreethousand。[HORNBLOWER]Threethousandfivehundred?MayIsay——four?[Abidfromthecentre]No,I\'mnotparticular;I\'lltakehundreds。Threethousandsixhundredbid。
[HORNBLOWER]Andseven。Threethousandsevenhundred,and——
[Hepauses,quarteringtheaudience。]
JILL。Whowasthat,Dodo?
HILLCRIST。Hornblower。It\'stheDukeinthecentre。
AUCTIONEER。Come,gen\'lemen,don\'tkeepmeallday。FourthousandmayIsay?[DAWKER]Thankyou。We\'rebeginning。Andone?[Abidfromthecentre]Fourthousandonehundred。[HORNBLOWER]Fourthousandtwohundred。MayIhaveyours,sir?[ToDAWKER]Andthree。Fourthousandthreehundredbid。Nosuchsiteinthecounty,gen\'lemen。I\'mgoingtosellthislandforwhatit\'sworth。
Youcan\'tbidtoomuchforme。[Hesmiles][HORNBLOWER]Fourthousandfivehundredbid。[Bidfromthecentre]Andsix。[DAWKER]
Andseven。[HORNBLOWER]Andeight。Nine,mayIsay?[Butthecentrehasdriedup][DAWKER]Andnine。[HORNBLOWER]Fivethousand。Fivethousandbid。That\'sbetter;there\'ssomespiritinit。Forfivethousand。
[Hepauseswhilehespeak&totheSOLICITOR]
HILLCRIST。It\'saduelnow。
AUCTIONEER。Now,gen\'lemen,I\'mnotgoingtogivethispropertyaway。Fivethousandbid。[DAWKER]Andone。[HORNBLOWER]Andtwo。
[DAWKER]Andthree。Fivethousandthreehundredbid。Andfive,didyousay,sir?[HORNBLOWER]Fivethousandfivehundredbid。
[Helooksathipparticulars。]
JILL。[Ratheragonised]Enemy,Dodo。
AUCTIONEER。Thischancemaynevercomeagain。
\"Howyou\'llregretitIfyoudon\'tgetit,\"
asthepoetsays。May,Isayfivethousandsixhundred,sir?
[DAWKER]Fivethousandsixhundredbid。[HORNBLOWER]Andseven。
[DAWKER]Andeight。Forfivethousandeighthundredpounds。We\'regettin\'on,butwehaven\'tgotthevalueyet。
Aslightpause,whilehewipeshisbrowatthesutteesofhisownefforts。
JILL。Us,Dodo?
[HILLCRISTnods。JILLlooksoveratROLF,whosefaceisgrimlyset。CHLOEhasnevermoved。MRS。HILLCRISTwhisperstoherhusband。]
AUCTIONEER。Fivethousandeighthundredbid。Forfivethousandeighthundred。Comealong,gen\'lemen,comealong。We\'renotbeaten。Thankyou,sir。[HORNBLOWER]Fivethousandninehundred。
And——?[DAWKER]Sixthousand。Sixthousandbid。Sixthousandbid。Forsixthousand!TheCentry——mostdesirablespotinthecounty——goingforthelowpriceofsixthousand。
HILLCRIST。[Muttering]Low!Heavens!
AUCTIONEER。Anyadvanceonsixthousand?Come,gen\'lemen,wehaven\'tdriedup?Alittlespirit。Sixthousand?Forsixthousand?Forsixthousandpounds?Verywell,I\'mselling。Forsixthousandonce——[Hetaps]Forsixthousandtwice——[Hetaps]。
JILL。[Low]Oh!we\'vegotit!
AUCTIONEER。Andone,sir?[HORNBLOWER]Sixthousandonehundredbid。
[TheSOLICITORtoucheshisarmandsayssomething,towhichtheAUCTIONEERrespondswithanod。]
MRS。H。Blowyournose,Jack。
[HILLCRISTblowshisnose。]
AUCTIONEER。Forsixthousandonehundred。[DAWKER]Andtwo。
Thankyou。[HORNBLOWER]Andthree。Forsixthousandthreehundred。[DAWKER]Andfour。Forsixthousandfourhundredpounds。
Thiscovetedproperty。Forsixthousandfourhundredpounds。Why,it\'sgivingitaway,gen\'lemen。[Apause。]
MRS。H。Giving!
AUCTIONEER。Sixthousandfourhundredbid。[HORNBLOWER]Andfive。
[DAWKER]Andsix。[HORNBLOWER]Andseven。[DAWKER]Andeight。
[Apause,duringwhich,throughthedoorLeft,someonebeckonstotheSOLICITOR,whorisesandconfers。]
HILLCRIST。[Muttering]I\'vedoneifthatdoesn\'tgetit。
AUCTIONEER。Forsixthousandeighthundred。Forsixthousandeighthundred-once——[Hetaps]twice——[Hetape]Forthelasttime。Thisdominatingsite。[HORNBLOWER]Andnine。Thankyou。Forsixthousandninehundred。
[HILLCRISThastakenouthishandkerchief。]
JILL。Oh!Dodo!
MRS。H。[Quivering]Don\'tgivein!
AUCTIONEER。SeventhousandmayIsay?[DAWKER]Seventhousand。
MRS。H。[Whispers]Keepitdown;don\'tshowhim。
AUCTIONEER。Forseven-thousand——goingforseventhousand——once——
[Taps]twice[Taps][HORNBLOWER]Andone。Thankyou,sir。
[HILLCRISTblowshisnose。JILL,withachoke,leansbackinherseatandfoldsherarmstightlyonherchest。MRS。
HILLCRISTpassesherhandkerchiefoverherlips,sittingperfectlystill。HILLCRIST,too,ismotionless。]
[TheAUCTIONEER,haspaused,andistalkingtotheSOLICITOR,whohasreturnedtohisseat。]
MRS。H。Oh!Jack。
JILL。Stickit,Dodo;stickit!
AUCTIONEER。Now,gen\'lemen,IhaveabidofseventhousandonehundredfortheCentry。AndI\'minstructedtosellifIcan\'tgetmore。It\'safairprice,butnotabigprice。[TohisfriendMR。
SPICER]Athumpin\'price?[Withhissmile]Well,you\'reajudgeofthumpin\',Iadmit。Now,who\'llgivemeseventhousandtwohundred?What,noone?Well,Ican\'tmakeyou,gen\'lemen。Forseventhousandonehundred。Once——[Taps]Twice——[Taps]。
[JILLuttersalittlegroan。]
HILLCRIST。[Suddenly,inaqueervoice)Two。
AUCTIONEER。[TurningwithsurpriseandlookinguptoreceiveHILLCRIST\'Snod]Thankyou,sir。Andtwo。Seventhousandtwohundred。[HescrewshimselfroundsoastocommandbothHILLCRIST
andHORNBLOWER]MayIhaveyours,sir?[HORNBLOWER]Andthree。
[HILLCRIST]Andfour。Seventhousandfourhundred。Forseventhousandfourhundred。[HORNBLOWER]Five。[HILLCRIST]Six。Forseventhousandsixhundred。[Apause]Well,gen\'lemen,thisis。
better,butarecordpropertyshidfetcharecordprice。Thepossibilitiesareenormous。[HORNBLOWER]Eightthousanddidyousay,sir?Eightthousand。Goingforeightthousandpounds。
[HILLCRIST]Andone。[HORNBLOWER]Andtwo。[HILLCRIST]Andthree。[HORNBLOWER]Andfour。[HILLCRIST]Andfive。Foreightthousandfivehundred。Awonderfulpropertyforeightthousandfivehundred。
[Hewipeshisbrow。]
JILL。[Whispering)Oh,Dodo!
MRS。H。That\'senough,Jack,wemuststopsometime。
AUCTIONEER。Foreightthousandfivehundred。Once——[Taps]——twice——
[Taps][HORNBLOWER]Sixhundred。[HILLCRIST]Seven。MayIhaveyours,sir?[HORNBLOWER]Eight。
HILLCRIST。Ninethousand。
[MRS。HILLCRISTlooksathim,bitingherlips,butheisquiteabsorbed。]
AUCTIONEER。Ninethousandforthisastoundingproperty。Why,theDukewouldpaythatifherealisedhe\'dbeoverlooked。Now,Sir?
[ToHORNBLOWER。Noresponse]。Justalittleraiseonthat。[Noresponse。]Forninethousand。TheCentry,Deepwater,forninethousand。Once——[Taps]Twice——[Taps]。
JILL。[Underherbreath]Ours!
AVOICE。[Fromfarbackinthecentre]Andfivehundred。
AUCTIONEER。[Surprisedandthrowingouthisarmstowardsthevoice]
Andfivehundred。Forninethousandfivehundred。MayIhaveyours,sir?[HelooksatHORNBLOWER。Noresponse。]
[TheSOLICITORspeakstohim。MRS。H。[Whispering]ItmustbetheDukeagain。]
HILLCRIST。[Passinghishandoverhisbrow]That\'sstoppedhim,anyway。
AUCTIONEER。[LookingatHILLCRIST]Forninethousandfivehundred?
[HILLCRISTshakeshishead。]Oncemore。TheCentry,Deepwater,forninethousandfivehundred。Once——[Taps]Twice——[Taps][HepausesandlooksagainatHORNBLOWERandHILLCRIST]Forthelasttime——atninethousandfivehundred。[Taps][Withalooktowardsthebidder]Mr。Smalley。Well![Withgreatsatisfaction]That\'sthat!Nomoreto-day,gen\'lemen。
[TheAUCTIONEERandSOLICITORbusythemselves。Theroombeginstoempty。]
MRS。H。Smalley?Smalley?IsthattheDuke\'sagent?Jack!
HILLCRIST。[Comingoutofasortofcoma,aftertheexcitementhehasbeengoingthrough]What!What!
JILL。Oh,Dodo!Howsplendidlyyoustuckit!
HILLCRIST。Phew!Whatasqueak!Iwascleanoutofmydepth。A
mercytheDukechippedinagain。
MRS。H。[LookingatROLFandCHLOE,whoarestandingupasifabouttogo]Takecare;theycanhearyou。FindDAWKER,Jack。
[Below,theAUCTIONEERandSOLICITORtakeuptheirpapers,andmoveoutLeft。]
[HILLCRISTstretcheshimself,standingup,asiftothrowoffthestrain。Thedoorbehindisopened,andHORNBLOWER
appears。]
HORNBLOWER。Yeranmeupaprettyprice。Yebidverypluckily,Hillcrist。Butyedidn\'tquitegetmymeasure。
HILLCRIST。Oh!ItwasmyninethousandtheDukecapped。ThankGod,theCentry\'sgonetoagentleman!
HORNBLOWER。TheDuke?[Helaughs]No,theGentry\'snotgonetoagentleman,nortoafool。It\'sgonetome。
HILLCRIST。What!
HOUNBLOWER。I\'msorryforye;ye\'renotfittomanagethesethings。
Well,it\'samonstrousprice,andI\'vehadtopayitbecauseofyourobstinacy。Ishan\'tforgetthatwhenIcometobuild。
HILLCRIST。D\'youmeantosaythatbidwasforyou?
HORNBLOWER。OfcourseIdo。ItoldyeIwasabadmantobeupagainst。Perhapsye\'llbelievemenow。
HILLCRIST。Adastardlytrick!
HORNBLOWER。[Withvenom]Whatdidyecallit——askingame?
Rememberwe\'replayin\'askingame,Hillcrist。
HILLCRIST。[Clenchinghisfists]Ifwewereyoungermen——
HORNBLOWER。Ay!\'Twouldn\'tLookprettyforustobeatfisticuffs。
We\'llleavethefightin\'totheyoungones。[HeglancesatROLFandJILL;suddenlythrowingouthisfingeratROLF]Nomakin\'uptothatyoungwoman!I\'vewatchedye。Andasforyou,missy,youleavemyboyalone。
JILL。[Withsuppressedpassion]Dodo,mayIspitinhiseyeorsomething?
HILLCRIST。Sitdown。
[JILLsitsdown。HestandsbetweenherandHORNBLOWER。]
[Yu\'vewonthisround,sir,byafoulblow。Weshallseewhetheryoucantakeanyadvantageofit。Ibelievethelawcanstopyouruiningmyproperty。]