HORNBLOWER。Makeyourmindeasy；itcan\'t。I\'vegotyeinanoose，andI\'mgoin\'tohangye。
MRS。H。[Suddenly]Mr。Hornblower，asyoufightfoul——soshallwe。
HILLCRIST。Amy！
MRS。H。[Payingnoattention]Anditwillnotbefoulplaytowardsyouandyours。Youareoutsidethepale。
HORNBLOWER。That\'sjustwhereIam，outsideyourpaleallroundye。
Ye\'renotlongforDeepwater，ma\'am。Makeyourdispositionstogo；
ye\'llbeoutinsixmonths，Iprophesy。Andgoodriddancetotheneighbourhood。[Theyarealldownonthelevelnow。]
CHLOE。[SuddenlycomingclosertoMRS。HILLCRIST]Hereareyoursalts，thankyou。Father，can\'tyou——？
HORNBLOWER。[Surprised]Can\'tIwhat？
CHLOE。Can\'tyoucometoanarrangement？
MRS。H。Justso，Mr。Hornblower。Can\'tyou？
HORNBLOWER。[Lookingfromonetotheother]Aswe\'respeakin\'out，ma\'am，it\'syourbehaviourtomydaughter-in-law——who\'sasgoodasyou——andbetter，tomythinking——that\'smorethanhalfthereasonwhyI\'veboughtthisproperty。Ye\'vefairgotmydanderup。Nowit\'snousetobandywords。It\'sveryforgivin\'ofye，Chloe，butcomealong！
MRS。H。Quiteseriously，Mr。Hornblower，youhadbettercometoanarrangement。
HORNBLOWER。Mrs。Hillcrist，ladiesshouldkeeptotheirownbusiness。
MRS。H。Iwill。
HILLCRIST。Amy，doleaveittousmen。Youyoungman[HespeakstoROLF]doyousupportyourfather\'strickthisafternoon？
[JILLlooksroundatROLF，whotriestospeak，whenHORNBLOWER
breaksin。]
HORNBLOWER。Mytrick？Andwhatdyecallit，totryandputmeownsonagainstme？
JILL。[ToROLF]Well？
ROLF。Idon\'t，but——
HORNBLOWER。Trick？Yeyoungcub，bequiet。Mr。Hillcristhadanagentbidforhim——Ihadanagentbidforme。Onlyhisagentbidatthebeginnin\'，an\'minebidattheend。What\'sthetrickinthat？
[Helaughs。
HILLCRIST。Hopeless；we\'reindifferentworlds。
HORNBLOWER。IwishtoGodwewere！Comeyou，Chloe。Andyou，Rolf，youfollow。InsixmonthsI\'llhavethosechimneysup，andmelorriesrunnin\'roundye。
MRS。H。Mr。Hornblower，ifyoubuild——
HORNBLOWER。[LookingatMRS。HILLCRIST]Yeknow——it\'slaughable。
Yemakemepayninethousandfivehundredforabito\'1andnotworthfour，andyethinkI\'mnottogetbackonye。I\'mgoin\'onwithaslittleconsiderationasifyewereafamilyofblackbeetles。
Goodafternoon！
ROLF。Father！
JILL。Oh，Dodo！He\'sobscene。
HILLCRIST。Mr。Hornblower，mycompliments。
[HORNBLOWERwithastareatHILLCRIST\'Shalf-smilingface，takesCHLOE\'Sarm，andhalfdragshertowardsthedoorontheLeft。Butthere，intheopeneddoorway，arestandingDAWKER
andaSTRANGER。Theymovejustoutofthewayoftheexit，lookingatCHLOE，whoswaysandverynearlyfalls。]
HORNBLOWER。Why！Chloe！What\'sthematter？
CHLOE。Idon\'tknow；I\'mnotwellto-day。
[Shepullsherselftogetherwithagreat，effort。]
MRS。H。[WhohasexchangedanodwithDAWKERandtheSTRANGER]Mr。
Hornblower，youbuildatyourperil。Iwarnyou。
HORNBLOWER。[Turningroundtospeak]Yethinkyourselfverycoolandverysmart。ButIdoubtthisisthefirsttimeye\'vebeenupagainstrealities。Now，I\'vebeenupagainstthemallmylife。
Don\'ttalktome，ma\'am，aboutperilandthatsortofnonsense；itmakesnoimpression。Yourhusbandcalledmepachydermatous。I
don\'tknowGreek，andLatin，andallthat，butI\'velookeditoutinthe，dictionary，andIfinditmeansthick-skinned。AndI\'mnonetheworseforthatwhenIhavetodealwithfolklikeyou。Goodafternoon。
[HedrawsCHLOEforward，andtheypassthroughthedoor，followedquicklybyROLF。]
MRS。H。Thankyou；Dawker。
[ShemovesuptoDAWKERandtheSTRANGER，Left，andtheytalk。]
JILL。Dodo！It\'sawful！
HILLCRIST。Well，there\'snothingforitnowbuttosmileandpayup。Pooroldhome！Itshallbehiswash-pot。OvertheCentrywillhecasthisshoe。ByGad，Jill，Icouldcry！
JILL。[Pointing]Look！Chloe\'ssittingdown。Shenearlyfaintedjustnow。It\'ssomethingtodowithDawker，Dodo，andthatmanwithhim。Lookatmother！Askthem！
HILLCRIST。Dawker！
[DAWKERcomestohim，followedbyMRS。HILLCRIST。]
What\'sthemysteryaboutyoungMrs。Hornblower？
DAWKER。Nomystery。
HILLCRIST。Well，whatisit？
MRS。H。You\'dbetternotask。
HILLCRIST。Iwishtoknow。
MRS。H。Jill，gooutandwaitforus。
JILL。Nonsense，mother！
MRS。H。It\'snotforagirltohear。
JILL。Bosh！Ireadthepaperseveryday。
DAWKER。It\'snothin\'worsethanyougetthere，anyway。
MRS。H。Doyouwishyourdaughter——
JILL。It\'sridiculous，Dodo；you\'dthinkIwasmotheratmyage。
MRS。H。Iwasnotsoproudofmyknowledge。
JILL。No，butyouhadit，dear。
HILLCRIST。Whatisit——whatisit？Comeoverhere，Dawker。
[DAWKERgoestohim，Right，andspeaksinalowvoice。]
What！[AgainDAWKERspeaksin，alowvoice。]
GoodGod！
MRS。H。Exactly！
JILL。Poorthing——whateveritis！
MRS。H。Poorthing？
JILL。Whatwentbefore，mother？
MRS。H。It\'swhat\'scomingafterthatmatters；luckily。
HILLCRIST。Howdoyouknowthis？
DAWKER。Myfriendhere[HepointstotheSTRANGER]wasoneoftheagents。
HILLCRIST。It\'sshocking。I\'msorryIheardit。
MRS。H。Itoldyounotto。
HILLCRIST。Askyourfriendtocomehere。
[DAWKERbeckons，andtheSTRANGERjoinsthegroup。]
Areyousureofwhatyou\'vesaid，sir？
STRANGER。Perfectly。Irememberherquitewell；hernamethenwas——
HILLCRIST。Idon\'twanttoknow，thankyou。I\'mtrulysorry。I
wouldn\'twishtheknowledgeofthatabouthiswomenfolktomyworstenemy。Thismustn\'tbespokenof。[JILLhugshisarm。]
MRS。H。ItwillnotbeifMr。Hornbloweriswise。Ifheisnotwise，itmustbespokenof。
HILLCRIST。Isayno，Amy。Iwon\'thaveit。It\'sadirtyweapon。
Whotouchespitchshallbedefiled。
MRS。H。Well，whatweaponsdoesheuseagainstus？Don\'tbequixotic。Forallwecantell，theyknowitquitewellalready，andiftheydon\'ttheyoughtto。Anyway，toknowthisisoursalvation，andwemustuseit。
JILL:[Sottovoce]Pitch！Dodo！Pitch！
DAWKER。Thethreat\'senough！J。P——Chapel——Futurememberfortheconstituency。
HILLCRIST。[Alittlemoredoubtfully]Touseapieceofknowledgeaboutawoman——it\'srepugnant。I——Iwon\'tdoit。
[Mrs。H。Ifyouhadasontrickedintomarryingsuchawoman，wouldyouwishtoremainignorantofit？]
HILLCRIST。[Struck]Idon\'tknow——Idon\'tknow。
MRS。H。Atleast，you\'dliketobeinapositiontohelphim，ifyouthoughtitnecessary？
HILLCRIST。Well——thatperhaps。
MRS。H。ThenyouagreethatMr。Hornbloweratleastshouldbetold。
Whathedoeswiththeknowledgeisnotouraffair。
HILLCRIST。[HalftotheSTRANGERandhalftoDAWKER]Doyourealisethatanimputationofthatkindmaybegroundforacriminallibelaction？
STRANGER。Quite。Butthere\'snoshadowofdoubt；notthefaintest。
Yousawherjustnow？
HILLCRIST。Idid。[Revoltingagain]No；Idon\'tlikeit。
[DAWKERhasdrawntheSTRANGERasteportwoaway，andtheytalktogether。]
MRS。H。[Inalowvoice]Andtheruinofourhome？You\'rebetrayingyourfathers，Jack。
HILLCRIST。Ican\'tbearbringingawomanintoit。
MRS。H。Wedon\'t。Ifanyonebringsherin；itwillbeHornblowerhimself。
HILLCRIST。Weusehersecretasalever。
MRS。H。Itellyouquiteplainly:Iwillonlyconsenttoholdingmytongueabouther，ifyouagreetoHornblowerbeingtold。It\'sascandaltohaveawomanlikethatintheneighbourhood。
JILL。Mothermeansthat，father。
HILLCRIST。Jill，keepquiet。Thisisaverybitterposition。I
can\'ttellwhattodo。
MRS。H。Youmustusethisknowledge。Youoweittome——tousall。
You\'llseethatwhenyou\'vethoughtitover。
JILL。[Softly]Pitch，Dodo，pitch！
MRS。H。[Furiously]Jill，bequiet！
HILLCRIST。Iwasbroughtupnevertohurtawoman。Ican\'tdoit，Amy——Ican\'tdoit。Ishouldneverfeellikeagentlemanagain。
MRS。H。[Coldly]Oh！Verywell。
HILLCRIST。Whatd\'youmeanbythat？
MRS。H。Ishallusetheknowledgeinmyownway。
HILLCRIST。[Staringather]Youwould——againstmywishes？
MRS。H。Iconsideritmyduty。
HILLCRIST。IfIagreetoHornblowerbeingtold——
MRS。H。That\'sallIwant。
HILLCRIST。It\'stheutmostI\'llconsentto，Amy；anddon\'tlet\'shaveanyhumbugaboutitsbeing，morallynecessary。Wedoittosaveourskins。
MRS。H。Idon\'tknowwhatyoumeanbyhumbug？
JILL。Hemeanshumbug；mother。
HILLCRIST。ItmuststopatoldHornblower。Doyouquiteunderstand？
MRS。H。Quite。
JILL。Willitstop？
MRS。H。Jill，ifyoucan\'tkeepyourimpertinencetoyourself——
HILLCRIST。Jill，comewithme。
[Heturnstowardsdoor，Back。]
JILL。I\'msorry，mother。Onlyitisaskingame，isn\'tit？
MRS。H。Youprideyourselfonplainspeech，Jill。Ipridemyselfonplainthought。YouwillthankmeafterwardsthatIcanseerealities。IknowwearebetterpeoplethantheseHornblowers。
Herewearegoingtostay，andthey——arenot。
JILL。[Lookingatherwithasortofunwillingadmiration]Mother，you\'rewonderful！
HILLCRIST。Jill！
JILL。Coming，Dodo。
[Sheturnsandrunstothedoor。Theygoout。]
[MRS。HILLCRIST，withalongsigh，drawsherselfup，fineandproud。]
MRS。H。Dawker！[Hecomestoher。]
[Ishallsendhimanoteto-night，andworditsothathewillbeboundtocomeandseeusto-marrowmorning。Willyoubeinthestudyjustbeforeeleveno\'clock，withthisgentleman？]
DAWKER。[Nodding]We\'regoingtowireforhispartner。I\'llbringhimtoo。Can\'tmaketoosure。
[Shegoesfirmlyupthestepsandout。]
DAWKER。[TotheSTRANGER，withawink]TheSquire\'ssqueamish——toomuchofagentleman。Buthedon\'tcount。Thegreymare\'sallright。YouwiretoHenry。I\'mofftooursolicitors。We\'llmakethatoldrhinocerossellusbacktheCentryatadecentprice。
TheseHornblowers——[Layinghisfingeronhisnose]We\'vegot\'emCURTAIN
SCENEII
CHLOE\'sboudoirathalf-pastseventhesameevening。Aprettyroom。Nopicturesonthewalls，buttwomirrors。Ascreenandaluxuriouscouchanthefireplaceside，stageLeft。AdoorratherRightofCentreBack；openinginwards。AFrenchwindow，Rightforward:Awritingtable，RightBack。Electriclightburning。
CHLOE，inatea-gown，isstandingbytheforwardendofthesofa，verystill，andverypale。Herlipsareparted，andherlargeeyesstarestraightbeforethemasifseeingghosts:ThedoorisopenednoiselesslyandaWOMAN\'Sfaceisseen。ItpeersatCHLOE，vanishes，andthedoorisclosed。CHLOEraisesherhands，covershereyeswiththem，dropsthemwithaquickgesture，andlooksroundher。Aknock。Withaswiftmovementsheslidesontothesofa，andliesprostrate，witheyesclosed。
CHLOE。[Feebly]Comein！
[HerMaidenters；atrim，containedfigureofuncertainyears，inablackdress，withthefacewhichwaspeeringin。]
Yes，Anna？
ANNA。Aren\'tyougoingintodinner，ma\'am？
CHLOE。[Withclosedeyes]No。
ANNA。Willyoutakeanythinghere，ma\'am？
CHLOE。I\'dlikeabiscuitandaglassofchampagne。
[TheMAID，whoisstandingbetweensofaanddoor，smiles。
CHLOE，withaswiftlook，catchesthesmile。]
Whydoyousmile？
ANNA。WasI，ma\'am？
CHLOE。Youknowyouwere。[Fiercely]Areyoupaidtosmileatme？
ANNA。[Immovable]No，ma\'am，WouldyoulikesomeeaudeCologneonyourforehead？
CHLOE。Yes——No——What\'sthegood？[Claspingherforehead]Myheadachewon\'tgo。
ANNA。Tokeeplyingdown\'sthebestthingforit。
CHLOE。Ihavebeen——hours。
ANNA。[Withthesmile]Yes，ma\'am。
CHLOE。[Gatheringherselfuponthesofa]Anna！Whydoyoudoit？
ANNA。Dowhat，ma\'am？
CHLOE。Spyonme。
ANNA。I——never！I——！
CHLOE。Tospy！You\'reafool，too。Whatistheretospyon？
ANNA。Nothing，ma\'am。Ofcourse，ifyou\'renotsatisfiedwithme，Imustgivenotice。Only——ifIwerespying，Ishouldexpecttohavenoticegivenme。I\'vebeenaccustomedtoladieswhowouldn\'tstandsuchathingforaminute。
CHLOE:[Intently]Well，you\'lltakeamonth\'swagesandgotomorrow。Andthat\'sall，now。
[ANNAinclinesherheadandgoesout。]
[CHLOE，withasortofmoan，turnsoverandburiesherfaceinthecushion。]
CHLOE。[Sittingup]IfIcouldseethatman——ifonly——orDawker——
[Shespringsupandgoestothedoor，buthesitates，andcomesbacktotheheadofthesofa，asROLFcomesin。Duringthisscenethedoorisagainopenedstealthily，aninchortoo。]
ROLF。How\'sthehead？
CHLOE。Beastly，thanks。I\'mnotgoingintodinner。
ROLF。IsthereanythingIcandoforyou？
CHLOE。No，dearboy。[Suddenlylookingathim]Youdon\'twantthisquarrelwiththeHillcriststogoon，doyou，Rolf？
ROLF。No；Ihateit。
CHLOE。Well，IthinkImightbeabletostopit。WillyousliproundtoDawker\'s——it\'snotfiveminutes——andaskhimtocomeandseeme。
ROLF。FatherandCharliewouldn\'t——
CHLOE。Iknow。Butifhecomestothewindowherewhileyou\'reatdinner，I\'lllethimin，andout，andnobody\'dknow。
ROLF。[Astonished]Yes，butwhatImeanhow——
CHLOE。Don\'taskme。It\'sworththeshotthat\'sall。[Lookingatherwrist-watch]Tothiswindowateighto\'clockexactly。Firstlongwindowontheterrace，tellhim。
ROLF。It\'snothingCharliewouldmind？
CHLOE。No；onlyIcan\'ttellhim——heandfatheraresomadaboutitall。
ROLF。Ifthere\'sarealchance——
CHLOE。[Goingtothewindowandopeningit]Thisway，Rolf。Ifyoudon\'tcomebackIshallknowhe\'scoming。Putyourwatchbymine。[Lookingathiswatch]It\'saminutefast，see！
ROLF。Lookhere，ChloeCHLOE。Don\'twait；goon。
[Shealmostpusheshimoutthroughthewindow，closesitafterhim，drawsthecurtainsagain，standsaminute，thinkinghard；
goestothebellandringsit；then，crossingtothewritingtable，RightBack，shetakesoutachemist\'sprescription。]
[ANNAcomesin。]
CHLOE。Idon\'twantthatchampagne。Takethistothechemistandgethimtomakeupsomeofthesecachetsquick，andbringthembackyourself。
ANNA。Yes，ma\'am；butyouhavesome。
CHLOE。They\'retooold；I\'vetakentwo——thestrength\'soutofthem。
Quick，please；Ican\'tstandthishead。
ANNA。[Takingtheprescription——withhersmile]Yes，ma\'am。It\'lltakesometime——youdon\'twantme？
CHLOE。No；Iwantthecachets。
[ANNAgoesout。]
[CHLOElooksatherwrist-watch，goestothewriting-table，whichisold-fashioned，withasecretdrawer，looksroundher，divesatthesecretdrawer，takesoutarollofnotesandatissuepaperparcel。Shecountsthenotes:\"Threehundred。\"
Slipsthemintoherbreastandunwrapsthelittleparcel。Itcontainspears。Sheslipsthem，too，intoherdress，looksroundstartled，replacesthedrawer，andregainsherplaceonthesofa，lyingprostrateasthedooropens，andHORNBLOWER
comesin。Shedoesnotopenherages，andhestandslookingatheramomentbeforespeaking。
HORNBLOWER。[Almostsoftly]Howareyefeelin\'。Chloe？
CHLOE。Awfulhead！
HORNBLOWER:Canyeattendamoment？I\'vehadanotefromthatwoman。
[CHLOEsitsup。]
HORNBLOWER。[Reading]\"Ihavesomethingoftheutmostimportancetotellyouinregardtoyourdaughter-in-law。Ishallbewaitingtoseeyouateleveno\'clockto-morrowmorning。Thematterissoutterlyvitaltothehappinessofallyourfamily，thatIcannotimagineyouwillfailtocome。\"Now，what\'sthemeaningofit？Isitsheerimpudence，orlunacy，orwhat？
CHLOE。Idon\'tknow。
HORNBLOWER。[Notunkindly]Chloe，ifthere\'sanything——ye\'dbettertellme。Forewarned\'sforearmed。
CHLOE。There\'snothing；unlessit\'s——[Withaquicktookathim，]——
Unlessit\'sthatmyfatherwasa——abankrupt。
HORNBLOWER。Hech！Manyaman\'sbeenthat。Ye\'venevertoldusmuchaboutyourfamily。
CHLOE。Iwasn\'tveryproudofhim。
HORNBLOWER。Well，ye\'renotresponsibleforyourfather。Ifthat\'sall，it\'sarelief。Thebittersnobs！I\'llrememberitintheaccountI\'vegotwiththem。
CHLOE。Father，don\'tsayanythingtoCharlie；it\'llonlyworryhimfornothing。
HORNBLOWER。No，no，I\'llnot。IfIwentbankrupt，it\'dupsetChearlie，I\'venotadoubt。[Helaugh。Lookingathershrewdly]
There\'snothingelse，beforeIanswerher？
[CHLOEshakesherhead。]
Ye\'resure？
CHLOE。[Withanefort]Shemayinventthings，ofcourse。
HORNBLOWER。[Lostinhisfeudfeeling]Ah，！butthere\'ssuchathingasthelawso\'slander。Iftheyplaypranks，I\'llhavethemupforit。
CHLOE。[Timidly]Couldn\'tyoustopthisquarrel；father？Yousaiditwasonmyaccount。ButIdon\'twanttoknowthem。Andtheydolovetheiroldhome。Ilikethegirl。Youdon\'treallyneedtobuildjustthere，doyou？Couldn\'tyoustopit？Do！
HORNBLOWER。Stopit？NowI\'vebought？Na，no！Thesnobsdefiedme，andI\'mgoingtoshowthem。Ihatethelotofthem，andIhatethatlittleDawkerworstofall。
CHLOE。He\'sonlytheiragent。
HORNBLOWER。He\'sapartofthewholedog-in-the-mangersystemthatstandsinmyway。Ye\'reawoman，andyedon\'tunderstandthesethings。Yewouldn\'tbelievethestruggleI\'vehadtomakemymoneyandgetmyposition。Thesecountyfolktalksoftsawder，buttogetanythingfromthem\'slikegettin\'butteroutofadog\'smouth。Iftheycoulddrivemeoutofherebyfairmeansorfoul，wouldtheyhesitateamoment？Notthey！Seewhatthey\'vemademepay；andlookatthisletter。Selfish，meanloto\'hypocrites！
CHLOE。Buttheydidn\'tbeginthequarrel。
HORNBLOWER。Notopenly；butunderneaththeydid——that\'stheirway。
Theybeganitbythwartin\'mehereandthereandeverywhere，justbecauseI\'vecomeintomeownabitlaterthantheydid。Igave\'emtheirchance，andtheywouldn\'ttakeit。Well，I\'llshow\'emwhatamanlikemecandowhenhesetshismindtoit。I\'llnotleavemuchskinonthem。
[Intheintensityofhisfeelinghehaslostsightofherface，alivewithasortofagonyofdoubt，whethertopleadwithhimfurther，orwhattodo。Then，withaswiftglanceatherwristwatch，shefallsbackonthesofaandcloseshereyes。]
It\'llgivemeapowerofenjoymentseein\'mechimneysgoupinfrontoftheirwindies。Thatwasabonniethought——thatlastbido\'mine。
He\'dgotthatrousedup，Ibelieve，he，neverwoulda\'stopped。
[Lookingather]Iforgotyourhead。Well，well，ye\'llbebesttryin\'quiet。[Thegongsounds。]Shallwesendyesomethinginfromdinner？
CHLOE。No；I\'lltrytosleep。PleasetellthemIdon\'twanttobedisturbed。
HORNBLOWER。Allright。I\'lljustanswerthisnote。
[Hesitsdownatherwriting-table。]
[CHLOEstartsupfromthesofafeverishly，lookingatherwatch，atthewindow，atherwatch；thensoftlycrossestothewindowandopensit。]
HORNBLOWER。[Finishing]Listen！[Heturnsroundtowardsthesofa]
Hallo！Whereareye？
CHLOE。[Atthewindow]It\'ssohot。
HORNBLOWER。Here\'swhatI\'vesaid:
\"MADAM，——Youcantellmenothingofmydaughter-in-lawwhichcanaffectthehappinessofmyfamily。Iregardyournoteasanimpertinence，andIshallnotbewithyouateleveno\'clockto-morrowmorning。
\"Yourstruly——\"
CHLOE。[Withasufferingmovementofherhead]Oh！——Well！——[Thegongistouchedasecondtime。]
HORNBLOWER。[Crossingtothedoor]Lieyedown，andgetasleep。
I\'lltellthemnottodisturbye；andIhopeye\'llbeallrightto-
morrow。Good-night，Chloe。
CHLOE。Good-night。[Hegoesout。]
[Afterafeverishturnortwo，CHLOEreturnstotheopenwindowandwaitsthere，halfscreenedbythecurtains。Thedoorisopenedinchbyinch，andANNA\'Sheadpeersround。SeeingwhereCHLOEis，sheslipsinandpassesbehindthescreen，Left。
SuddenlyCHLOEbacksinfromthewindow。]
CHLOE。[Inalowvoice]Comein。
[Shedartstothedoorandlocksit。]
[DAWKERhascomeinthroughthewindowandstandsregardingherwithahalfsmile。]
DAWKER。Well，youngwoman，whatdoyouwantofme？
[Inthepresenceofthismanofherownclass，therecomesadistinctchangeinCHLOE\'Svoiceandmanner；asortoffrankcommonness，adaptedtothemansheisdealingwith，butshekeepshervoicelow。]
CHLOE。You\'remakingamistake，youknow。