DAWKER。[Withabroadgrin]No。I\'vegotamemoryforfaces。
CHLOE。Isayyouare。
DAWKER。[Turningtogo]Ifthat\'sall，youneedn\'thavetroubledmetocome。
CHLOE。No。Don\'tgo！[Withafaintsmile]Youareplayingagamewithme。Aren\'tyouashamed？WhatharmhaveIdoneyou？Doyoucallthiscricket？
DAWKER。No，mygirl——business。
CHLOE。[Bitterly]WhathaveItodowiththisquarrel？Icouldn\'thelptheirfallingout。
DAWKER。That\'syourmisfortune。
CHLOE。[Claspingherhands]You\'reacruelfellowifyoucanspoilawoman\'slifewhoneverdidyouanounceofharm。
DAWKER。Sotheydon\'tknowaboutyou。That\'sallright。Now，lookhere，Iservemyemployer。ButI\'mfleshandblood，too，andI
alwaysgiveasgoodasIget。Ihatethisfamilyofyours。There\'snonametoobadfor\'emtocallmethislastmonth，andnolookstooblacktogiveme。Itellyoufrankly，Ihate。
CHLOE。There\'sgoodinthemsameasinyou。
DAWKER。[Withagrin]There\'snogoodHornblowerbutadeadHornblower。
CHLOE。But——butImnotone。
DAWKER。You\'llbethemotherofsome，Ishouldn\'twonder。
CHLOE。[Stretchingoutherhand-pathetically]Oh！leavemealone，do！I\'mhappyhere。Beasport！Beasport！
DAWKER。[Disconcertedforasecond]Youcan\'tgetatme，sodon\'ttryiton。
CHLOE。Ihadsuchabadtimeinolddays。
[DAWKERshakeshishead；hisgrinhasdisappearedandhisfaceislikewood。]
CHLOE。[Panting]Ah！do！Youmight！You\'vebeenfondofsomewoman，Isuppose。Thinkofher！
DAWKER。[Decisively]Itwon\'tdo，Mrs。Chloe。You\'reapawninthegame，andI\'mgoingtouseyou。
CHLOE。[Despairingly]Whatisittoyou？[Withasuddentouchofthetigress]Lookhere！Don\'tyoumakeanenemy，ofme。Ihaven\'tdraggedthroughhellfornothing。Womenlikemecanbite，Itellyou。
DAWKER。That\'sbetter。I\'dratherhaveawomanthreatenthanwhine，anyday。Threatenaway！You\'lllet\'emknowthatyoumetmeinthePromenadeonenight。Ofcourseyou\'lllet\'emknowthat，won\'tyou？——orthat——
CHLOE。Bequiet！Oh！Bequiet！[Takingfromherbosomthenotesandthepearls]Look！There\'smysavings——there\'sallI\'vegot！
Thepearls\'llfetchnearlyathousand。[Holdingitouttohim]
Takeit，anddropmeout——won\'tyou？Won\'tyou？
DAWKER。[Passinghistongueoverhislipswithahardlittlelaugh]
Youmistakeyourman，missis。I\'maplaindog，ifyoulike，butI\'mfaithful，andIholdfast。Don\'ttrythosegamesonme。
CHLOE。[Losingcontrol]You\'reabeast！——abeast！acruel，cowardlybeast！Andhowdareyoubribethatwomanheretospyonme？Oh！yes，youdo；youknowyoudo。Ifyoudrovememad，youwouldn\'tcare。Youbeast！
DAWKER。Now，don\'tcarryon！Thatwon\'thelpyou。
CHLOE。Whatd\'youcallit——todogawomandownlikethis，justbecauseyouhappentohaveaquarrelwithaman？
DAWKER。Whomadethequarrel？Notme，missis。Yououghttoknowthatinarowit\'stheweakandhelpless——wewon\'tsaytheinnocent-
thatgetitintheneck。Thatcan\'tbehelped。
CHLOE。[Regardinghimintently]Ihopeyourmotheroryoursister，ifyou\'vegotany，maygothroughwhatI\'mgoingthrougheversinceyougotonmytrack。Ihopethey\'llknowwhatfearmeans。Ihopethey\'llloveandfindoutthatit\'shangingonathread，and——and——
Oh！youcoward，youpersecutingcoward！Callyourselfaman！
DAWKER。[Withhisgrin]Ah！Youlookquiteprettylikethat。ByGeorge！you\'reahandsomewomanwhenyou\'reroused。
[CHLOE\'Spassionfadesoutasquicklyasitblazedup。Shesinksdownonthesofa，shudders，lookshereandthere，andthenforamomentupathim。]
CHLOE。Isthereanythingyou\'lltake，nottospoilmylife？
[Claspingherhandsonherbreast；underherbreath]Me？
DAWKER。[Wipinghisbrow]ByGod！That\'sanoffer。[Herecoilstowardsthewindow]You——youtouchedmethere。Lookhere！I\'vegottouseyouandI\'mgoingtouseyou，butI\'lldomybesttoletyoudownaseasyasIcan。No，Idon\'twantanythingyoucangiveme——thatis——[Hewipeshisbrowagain]I\'dlikeit——butIwon\'ttakeit。
[CHLOEburiesherfaceinherhands。]
There！Keepyourpeckerup；don\'tcry。Good-night！[Hegoesthroughthewindow。]
CHLOE。[Springingup]Ugh！Ratinatrap！Rat——！
[Shestandslistening；fliestothedoor，unlocksit，and，goingbacktothesofa，liesdownanddoseshereyes。CHARLES
comesinveryquietlyandstandsoverher，lookingtoseeifsheisasleep。Sheopenshereyes。]
CHARLES。Well，Clo！Hadasleep，oldgirl？
CHLOE。Ye-es。
CHARLES。[Sittingonthearmofthesofaandcaressingher]Feelbetter，dear？
CHLOE。Yes，better，Charlie。
CHARLES。That\'sright。Wouldyoulikesomesoup？
CHLOE。[Withashudder]No。
CHARLES。Isay-whatgivesyoutheseheads？You\'vebeenveryonandoffallthislastmonth。
CHLOE。Idon\'tknow。Exceptthat——exceptthatIamgoingtohaveachild，Charlie。
CHARLES。Afterall！ByJove！Sure？
CHLOE。[Nodding]Areyouglad？
CHARLES。Well——IsupposeIam。Theguv\'norwillbemightypleased，anyway。
CHLOE。Don\'ttellhim——yet。
CHARLES。Allright！[Bendingoveranddrawinghertohim]Mypoorgirl，I\'msosorryyou\'reseedy。Giveusakiss。
[CHLOEputsupherfaceandkisseshimpassionately。]
Isay，you\'relikefire。You\'renotfeverish？
CHLOE。[Withalaugh]It\'sawonderifI\'mnot。Charlie，areyouhappywithme？
CHARLES。Whatdoyouthink？
CHLOE。[Leaningagainsthim]Youwouldn\'teasilybelievethingsagainstme，wouldyou？
CHARLES。What！ThinkingofthoseHillcrists？Whatthehellthatwomanmeansbyherattitudetowardsyou——WhenIsawherthereto-
day，Ihadallmyworkcutoutnottogoupandgiveherabitofmymind。
CHLOE。[Watchinghimstealthily]It\'snotgoodforme，nowI\'mlikethis。It\'supsettingme，Charlie。
CHARLES。Yes；andwewon\'tforget。We\'llmake\'empayforit。
CHLOE。It\'swretchedinalittleplacelikethis。Isay，mustyougoonspoilingtheirhome？
CHARLES。Thewomancutsyouandinsultsyou。That\'senoughforme。
CHLOE。[Timidly]Lether。Idon\'tcare；Ican\'tbearfeelingenemiesabout，Charlie，I——getnervous——I——
CHARLES。Mydeargirl！Whatisit？
[Helooksatherintently。]
CHLOE。Isupposeit\'s——beinglikethis。[Suddenly]But，Charlie，dostopitformysake。Do，do！
CHARLES。[Pattingherarm]Come，come；Isay，Chloe！You\'remakingmountains。Seethingsinproportion。Father\'spaidninethousandfivehundredtogetthebetterofthosepeople，andyouwanthimtochuckitawaytosaveawomanwho\'sinsultedyou。
That\'snotsense，andit\'snotbusiness。Havesomepride。
CHLOE。[Breathless]I\'vegotnopride，Charlie。Iwanttobequiet——that\'sall。
CHARLES。Well，iftherowgetsonyournerves，Icantakeyoutothesea。Butyououghttoenjoyafightwithpeoplelikethat。
CHLOE。[Withcalculatedbitterness]No，it\'snothing，ofcourse——
whatIwant。
CHARLES。Hello！Hello！Youareonthejump！
CHLOE。Ifyouwantmetobeagoodwifetoyou，makefatherstopit。
CHARLES。[Standingup]Now，lookhere，Chloe，what\'sbehindthis？
CHLOE。[Faintly]Behind？
CHARLES。You\'recarryingonasif——asifyouwerereallyscared！
We\'vegotthesepeople:We\'llhavethemoutofDeepwaterinsixmonths。It\'sabsoluteruinationtotheirbeastlyoldhouse；we\'llputthechimneysontheveryedge，notthreehundredyardsoff，andoursmoke\'llbedriftingoverthemhalfthetime。Youwon\'thavethisconfoundedstuck-upwomanheremuchlonger。Andthenwecanreallygoaheadandtakeourproperplace。Solongasshe\'shere，weshallneverdothat。We\'veonlytodriveonnowasfastaswecan。
CHLOE。[Withagesture]Isee。
CHARLES。[Againlookingather]Ifyougoonlikethis，youknow，Ishallbegintothinkthere\'ssomethingyou——
CHLOE[softly]Charlie！[Hecomestoher。]Loveme！
CHARLES。[Embracingher]There，oldgirl！Iknowwomenarefunnyatthesetimes。Youwantagoodnight，that\'sall。
CHLOE。Youhaven\'tfinisheddinner，haveyou？Goback，andI\'llgotobedquitesoon。Charlie，don\'tstoplovingme。
CHARLES。Stop？Notmuch。
[Whileheisagainembracingher，ANNAstealsfrombehindthescreentothedoor，opensitnoiselessly，andpassesthrough，butitclicksassheshutsit。]
CHLOE。[Startingviolently]Oh-h！
[Hecomestoher。]
CHARLES。Whatisit？Whatisit？Youarenervy，mydear。
CHLOE。[Lookingroundwithalittlelaugh]Idon\'tknow。Goon，Charlie。I\'llbeallrightwhenthishead\'sgone。
CHARLES。[Strokingherforeheadand，lookingatherdoubtfully]
Yougotobed；Iwon\'tbelatecomingup。
[Heturn，andgoes，blowingakissfromthedoorway。Whenheisgone，CHLOEgetsupandstandsinpreciselytheattitudeinwhichshestoodatthebeginningoftheAct，thinking，andthinking。Andthedoorisopened，andthefaceoftheMAID
peersroundather。]
CURTAIN
ACTIII
SCENEI
HILLCRIST\'Sstudynextmorning。
JILLcomingfromLeft，looksinattheopenFrenchwindow。
JILL。[SpeakingtoROLF，invisible]Comeinhere。There\'snoone。
[Shegoesin。ROLFjoinsher，comingfromthegarden。]
ROLF。Jill，Ijustwantedtosay——Needwe？
[JILL。nodes。]
Seeingyouyesterday——itdidseemrotten。
JILL。Wedidn\'tbeginit。
ROLF。No；butyoudon\'tunderstand。Ifyou\'dmadeyourself，asfatherhas——
JILL。IhopeIshouldbesorry。
ROLF。[Reproachfully]Thatisn\'tlikeyou。Reallyhecan\'thelpthinkinghe\'sapublicbenefactor。
JILL。Andwecan\'thelpthinkinghe\'sapig。Sorry！
ROLF。Ifthesurvivalofthefittestisright——
JILL。Hemaybefitter，buthe\'snotgoingtosurvive。
ROLF。[Distracted]Itlookslikeit，though。
JILL。Isthatallyoucametosay？
ROLF。Supposewejoined，couldn\'twestopit？
JILL。Idon\'tfeellikejoining。
ROLF。Wedidshakehands。
JILL。Onecan\'tfightandnotgrowbitter。
ROLF。Idon\'tfeelbitter。
JILL。Wait；you\'llfeelitsoonenough。
ROLF。Why？[Attentively]AboutChloe？Idothinkyourmother\'smannertoheris——
JILL。Well？
ROLF。Snobbish。[JILLlaughs。]
Shemaynotbeyourclass；andthat\'sjustwhyit\'ssnobbish。
JILL。Ithinkyou\'dbettershutup。
ROLF。Whatmyfathersaidwastrue；yourmother\'srudenesstoherthatdayshecamehere，hasmadebothhimandCharlieeversomuchmorebitter。
[JILLwhistlestheHabanerafrom\"Carmen。\"]
[Staringather，ratherangrily]
Isitawhistlingmatter？
JILL。No。
ROLF。Isupposeyouwantmetogo？
JILL。Yes。
ROLF。Allright。Aren\'tweevergoingtobefriendsagain？
JILL。[Lookingsteadilyathim]Idon\'texpectso。
ROLF。That\'svery-horrible。
JILL。Lotsofhorriblethingsintheworld。
ROLF。It\'sourbusinesstomakethemfewer，Jill。
JILL。[Fiercely]Don\'tbemoral。
ROLF。[Hurt]That\'sthelastthingIwanttobe——Ionlywanttobefriendly。
JILL。Betterberealfirst。
ROLF。Fromthebigpointofview——
JILL。Thereisn\'tany。We\'reallout，forourown。Andwhynot？
ROLF。Byjove，youhavegot——
JILL。Cynical？Yourfather\'smotto——\"Everymanforhimself。\"
That\'sthewinner——handsdown。Goodbye！
ROLF。Jill！Jill！
JILL。[Puttingherhandsbehindherback，hums]——
\"IfauldacquaintancebeforgotAnddaysofauldlangsyne\"——
ROLF。Don\'t！
[WithapainedgesturehegoesouttowardsLeft，throughtheFrenchwindow。]
[JILL，whohasbrokenoffthesong，standswithherhandsclenchedandherlipsquivering。]
[FELLOWSentersLeft。]
FELLOWS。Mr。Dawker，Miss，andtwogentlemen。
JILL。Letthethreegentlemenin，andmeout。
[ShepasseshimandgoesoutLeft。Andimmediately。DAWKER
andthetwoSTRANGERScomein。]
FELLOWS。I\'llinformMrs。Hillcrist，sir。TheSquireisonhisrounds。[HegoesoutLeft。]
[TheTHREEMENgatherinadiscreetknotatthebigbureau，havingglancedatthetwodoorsandtheopenFrenchwindow。]
DAWKER。NowthismaycomeintoCourt，youknow。Ifthere\'sascrewlooseanywhere，bettermentionit。[ToSECONDSTRANGE]Youknewherpersonally？
SECONDS。Whatdoyouthink？Idon\'t，takegirlsontrustforthatsortofjob。Shecametoushighlyrecommended，too；anddidherworkverywell。Itwasadoublestunt——tomakesure——wasn\'tit，George？
FIRSTS。Yes；wepaidherforthetwovisits。
SECONDS。Ishouldknowherinaminute；strikinglookinggirl；hadsomethinginherface。Daresayshe\'dseenhardtimes。
FIRSTS。Wedon\'twantpublicity。
DAWKER。NotLikely。Thethreat\'lldoit；butthestakesareheavy——andtheman\'saslugger；wemustbeabletopushithome。Ifyoucanbothsweartoher，it\'lldothetrick。
SECONDS。Andabout——Imean，we\'relosingtime，youknow，comingdownhere。
DAWKER。[WithanodatFIRSTSTRANGER]Georgehereknowsme。
That\'llbeallright。I\'llguaranteeitwellworthyourwhile。
SECONDS。Idon\'twanttodothegirlharm，ifshe\'smarried。
DAWKER。No，no；nobodywantstohurther。Wejustwantacinchonthisfellowtillhesqueals。
[TheyseparatealittleasMRS。HILLCRISTentersfromRight。]
DAWKER。Goodmorning，ma\'am。Myfriend\'spartner。Hornblowercoming？
MRS。H。Ateleven。Ihadtosendupasecondnote，Dawker。
DAWKER。Squirenotin？
MRS。H。Ihaven\'ttoldhim。
DAWKER。[Nodding]Ourfriendsmightgoinhere[PointingRight]
andwecanuse\'emasthewant\'em。
MRS。H。[TotheSTRANGERS]Willyoumakeyourselvescomfortable？
[Sheholdsthedooropen，andtheypassherintotheroom，Right。]
DAWKER。[Showingdocument]I\'vehadthisdrawnandengrossed。
Prettysharpwork。ConveystheCentry，andLongmeadow；totheSquireatfourthousandfivehundred:Now，ma\'am，supposeHornblowerputshishandtothat，hellhavebeendoneintheeye，andsixthousandalltoldouto\'pocket——You\'llhaveaverynastyneighbourhere。
MRS。H。Butweshallstillhavethepowertodisclosethatsecretatanytime。
DAWKER。Yeh！Butthingsmighthappenhereyoucouldneverbringhometohim。Youcan\'ttrustamanlikethat。Heisn\'tgoin\'toforgiveme，Iknow。
MRS。H。[Regardinghimkeenly]Butifhesigns，wecouldn\'thonourably——
DAWKER。No，ma\'am，youcouldn\'t；andI\'msureIdon\'twanttodothatgirlahurt。Ijustmentionitbecause，ofcourse，youcan\'tguaranteethatitdoesn\'tgetout。
MRS。H。Notabsolutely，Isuppose。
[Alookpassesbetweenthem，whichneitherofthemhasquitesanctioned。]
[There\'shiscar。Italwaysseemstomakemorenoisethananyother。]
DAWKER。He\'llkickandflounder——butyouleavehimtoaskwhatyouwant，ma\'am；don\'tmentionthis[Heputsthedeedbackintohispocket]。TheCentry\'snomortalgoodtohimifhe\'snotgoingtoputupworks；Ishouldsayhe\'dbegladtosavewhathecan。
[MRS。HILLCRISTinclinesherhead。FELLOWSentersLeft。]
FELLOWS。[Apologetically]Mr。Hornblower，ma\'am；byappointment，hesays。
MRS。H。Quiteright，Fellows。
[HORNBLOWERcomesin，andFELLOWSgoesout。]
HORNBLOWER。[Withoutsalutation]I\'vecometoaskyepointbleakwhatyemeanbywritingmetheseletters。[Hetakesouttwoletters。Andwe\'lldiscusitinthepresenceofnobody，ifye，please。
MRS。H。Mr。DawkerknowsallthatIknow，andmore。
HORNBLOWER。Doeshe？Verywell！Yoursecondnotesaysthatmydaughter-in-lawhasliedtome。Well，I\'vebroughther，andwhatye\'vegottosay——ifit\'snotjustatricktoseemeagain——ye\'llsaytoherface。[Hetakesasteptowardsthewindow。]
MRS。H。Mr。Hornblower，youhadbetter，decidethatafterhearingwhatitis——weshallbequitereadytorepeatitinherpresence；
butwewanttodoaslittleharmaspossible。
HORNBLOWER。[Stopping]Oh！yedo！Well，whatlieshaveyebeenhearin\'？Orwhathaveyemadeup？YouandMr。Dawker？Ofcourseyeknowthere\'salawoflibelandslander。I\'m，notthemantostopatthat。
MRS。H。[Calmly]Areyoufamiliarwiththelawofdivorce，Mr。
Hornblower？
HORNBLOWER。[Takenaback]No，I\'mnot。Thatis。
MRS。H。Well，youknowthatmisconductisrequired。AndIsupposeyou\'veheardthatcasesarearranged。
HORNBLOWER。Iknowit\'sallveryshocking——whataboutit？
MRS。H。Whencasesarearranged，Mr。Hornblower，themanwhoistobedivorcedoftenvisitsanhotelwithastrangewoman。Iamextremelysorrytosaythatyourdaughter-in-law，beforehermarriage，wasinthehabitofbeingemployedassuchawoman。
HORNBLOWER。Yedreadfulcreature！
DAWKER。[Quickly]Allproved，uptothehilt！
HORNBLOWER。Idon\'tbelieveawordofit。Ye\'relyin\'tosaveyourskins。Howdareyetellmesuchmonstrosities？Dawker，I\'llhaveyeinacriminalcourt。
DAWKER。Rats！Yousawagentwithmeyesterday？Well，he\'semployedher。
HORNBLOWER。Aput-upjob！Conspiracy！
MRS。H。Goandgetyourdaughter-in-law。
HORNBLOWER。[Withthefirstsensationofbeinginanet]It\'safoulshame——alyingslander！
MRS。H。Ifso，it\'seasilydisproved。Goandfetchher。
HORNBLOWER。[Seeingthemunmoved]Iwill。Idon\'tbelieveawordofit。
MRS。H。Ihopeyouareright。
[HORNBLOWERgoesoutbytheFrenchwindow，DAWKERslipstothedoorRight，opensit，aridspeakstothosewithin。MRS。
HILLCRISTstandsmoisteningherlips，andpassimherhandkerchiefoverthem。HORNBLOWERreturns，precedingCHLOE，strunguptohardnessanddefiance。]
HORNBLOWER。Nowthen，let\'shavethisimpudentstorytorntorags。
CHLOE。Whatstory？
HORNBLOWER。Thatyou，mydear，wereawoman——it\'stooshockin——I
don\'tknowhowtotellye——
CHLOE。Goon！
HORNBLOWER。Wereawomanthatwentwithmen，togetthemtheirdivorce。
CHLOE。Whosaysthat？
HORNBLOWER。Thatlady[Sneering]there，andherbull-terrierhere。
CHLOE。[FacingMRS。HILLCRIST]That\'sacharitablethingtosay，isn\'tit？
MRS。H。Isittrue？
CHLOE。No。
HORNBLOWER。[Furiously]There！I\'llhaveyebothonyourkneestoher！
DAWKER。[Openingthedoor，Right]Comein。
[TheFIRSTSTRANGERcomesin。CHLOE，withavisibleeffort，turnstofacehim。]
FIRSTS。Howdoyoudo，Mrs。Vane？
CHLOE。Idon\'tknowyou。
FIRSTS。Yourmemoryisbad，ma\'am:Youknewmeyesterdaywellenough。Onedayisnotalongtime，norarethreeyears。
CHLOE。Whoareyou？
FIRSTS。Come，ma\'am，come！TheCastercase。
CHLOE。Idon\'tknowyou，Isay。[ToMRS。HILLCRIST]Howcanyoubesovile？
FIRSTS。Letmerefreshyourmemory，ma\'am。[Producinganotebook]
Justonthreeyearsago；\"Oct。3。TofeeandexpensesMrs。VanewithMr。C——，HotelBeaulieu，Twentypounds。Oct。10，Do。，Twentypounds。\"[ToHORNBLOWER]Wouldyouliketoglanceatthisbook，sir？You\'llseethey\'regenuineentries。
[HORNBLOWERmakesamotiontodoso，butcheckshimselfandlooksatCHLOE。]
CHLOE。[Hysterically]It\'salllies——lies！
FIRSTS。Come，ma\'am，wewishyounoharm。
CHLOE。Takemeaway。Iwon\'tbetreatedlikethis。
MRS。H。[Inalowvoice]Confess。
CHLOE。Lies！
HORNBLOWER。WereyeevercalledVane？
CHLOE。No，never。
[Shemakesamovementtowardsthewindow，butDAWKERisintheway，andshehalts。FIRSTS。[Openingthedoor，Right]
Henry。]
[TheSECONDSTRANGERcomesinquickly。AtsightofhimCHLOE
throwsupherhands，gasps，breaksdown，stageLeft，andstandscoveringherfacewithherhands。ItissocompleteaconfessionthatHORNBLOWERstandsstaggered；and，takingoutacolouredhandkerchief，wipeshisbrow。]
DAWKER。Areyouconvinced？
HORNBLOWER。Takethosemenaway。
DAWKER。Ifyou\'renotsatisfied，wecangetotherevidence；plenty。
HORNBLOWER。[LookingatCHLOE]That\'senough。Takethemout。
Leavemealonewithher。
[DAWKERtakesthemoutRight。MRS。HILLCRISTpassesHORNBLOWER
andgoesoutatthewindow。HORNBLOWERmovesdownasteportwotowardsCHLOE。]
HORNBLOWER。MyGod！
CHLOE。[Withanoutburst]Don\'ttellCharlie！Don\'ttellCharlie！
HORNBLOWER。Chearlie！So，thatwasyourmanneroflife。
[CHLOEuttersamoaningsound。]
Sothat\'swhatyegotoutofbymarryin\'intomyfamily！Shameonye，yeGodlessthing！
CHLOE。Don\'ttellCharlie！
HORNBLOWER。Andthat\'sallyecansayforthewreckye\'vewrought。