Myfamily，myworks，myfuture！Howdaredye！
CHLOE。Ifyou\'dbeenme！——
HORNBLOWER。An\'theseHillcrists。Theskingameofit！
CHLOE。[Breathless]Father！
HORNBLOWER。Don\'tcallmethat，woman！
CHLOE。[Desperate]I\'mgoingtohaveachild。
HORNBLOWER。God！Yeare！
CHLOE。Yourgrandchild。Forthesakeofit，dowhatthesepeoplewant；anddon\'ttellanyone——DON\'TTELLCHARLIE！
HORNBLOWER。[Againwipinghisforehead]Asecretbetweenus。I
don\'tknowthatIcankeepit。It\'shorrible。PoorChearlie！
CHLOE。[Suddenlyfierce]Youmustkeepit，youshall！Iwon\'thavehimtold。Don\'tmakemedesperate！Icanbe——Ididn\'tlivethatlifefornothing。
HORNBLOWER。[Staringatherresealedinanewlight]Ay；yelookastrange，wildwoman，asIseeye。Andwethoughttheworldofye！
CHLOE。IloveCharlie；I\'mfaithfultohim。Ican\'tlivewithouthim。You\'llneverforgiveme，Iknow；butCharlie——！[Stretchingoutherhands。]
[HORNBLOWERmakesabewilderedgesturewith-hislargehands。]
HORNBLOWER。I\'mallatseahere。Goouttothecarandwaitforme。
[CHLOEpasseshimandgoesout，Left。]
[Mutteringtohimself]SoI\'mdown！Meenemiesputtheirheelsuponmehead！Ah！butwe\'llseeyet！
[HegoesuptothewindowandbeckonstowardstheRight。]
[MRS。HILLCRISTcomesin。]
Whatd\'yewantforthissecret？
MRS。H。Nothing。
HORNBLOWER。Indeed！Wonderful！——thetroubleye\'vetakenfor——
nothing。
MRS。H。Ifyouharmusweshallharmyou。AnyusewhateveroftheCentry。
HORNBLOWER。Forwhichyemademepayninethousandfivehundredpounds。
MRS。H。Wewillbuyitfromyou。
HORNBLOWER。Atwhatprice？
MRS。H。TheCentryatthepriceMissMuffinswouldhavetakenatfirst，andLongmeadowatthepriceyou——gaveus——fourthousandfivehundredaltogether。
HORNBLOWER。Afineprice，andmesixthousandoutofpocket。Na，no！I\'llkeepitandholditoverye。Yedaren\'ttellthissecretsolongasI\'vegotit。
MRS。H。No，Mr。Hornblower。Onsecondthoughts，youmustsell。
YoubrokeyourwordovertheJackmans。Wecan\'ttrustyou。Wewouldratherhaveourplacehereruinedatonce，thanleaveyouthepowertoruinitasandwhenyoulike。YouwillsellustheCentryandLongmeadownow，oryouknowwhatwillhappen。
HORNBLOWER。[Writhing]I\'llnot。It\'sblackmail。
MRS。H。Verywellthen！Goyourownwayandwe\'llgoours。Thereisnowitnesstothisconversation。
HORNBLOWER。[Venomously]Byheaven，ye\'reacleverwoman。WillyeswearbyAlmightyGodthatyouandyourfamily，andthatagentofyours，won\'tbreatheawordofthisshockin\'thingtomortalsoul。
MRS。H。Yes，ifyousell。
HORNBLOWER。Where\'sDawker？
MRS。H。[Goingtothedoor，Right]Mr。Dawker[DAWKERcomesin。]
HORNBLOWER。Isupposeye\'vegotyouriniquityready。
[DAWKERgrinsandproducesthedocument。]
It\'smightynearconspiracy，this。HaveyegotaTestament？
MRS。H。Mywordwillbeenough，Mr。Hornblower。
HORNBLOWER。Ye\'llpardonme——Ican\'tmakeitsolemnenoughforyou。
MRS。H。Verywell；hereisaBible。
[ShetakesasmallBiblefromthebookshelf。]
DAWKER。[Spreadingdocumentonbureau]ThisisashortconveyanceoftheCentryandLongmeadow——recitessaletoyoubyMissMulling，ofthefirst，JohnHillcristofthesecond，andwhereasyouhaveagreedforthesaletosaidJohnHillcrist，forthesumoffourthousandfivehundredpounds，inconsiderationofthesaidsum，receiptwhereof，youherebyacknowledgeyoudoconveyallthat，etc。
Signhere。I\'llwitness。
HORNBLOWER[ToMRS。HILLCRIST]TakethatBookinyourhand，andswearfirst。IswearbyAlmightyGodnevertobreatheawordofwhatIknow。concerningChloeHornblowertoanylivingsoul。
MRS。H。No，Mr。Hornblower；youwillpleasesignfirst。Wearenotinthehabitofbreakingourword。
[HORNBLOWERafterafuriouslookatthem，seizesapen，runshiseyeagainoverthedeed，andsigns，DAWKERwitnessing。]
Tothatoath，Mr。Hornblower，weshalladdthewords，\"SolongastheHornblowerfamilydousnoharm。
HORNBLOWER。[Withasnarl]Takeitinyourhands，bothofye，andtogetherswear。
MRS。H。[TakingtheBook]IswearthatIwillbreathenowordofwhatIknowconcerningChloeHornblowertoanylivingsoul，solongastheHornblowerfamilydousnoharm。
DAWKER。Iswearthattoo。
MRS。H。Iengageformyhusband。
HORNBLOWER。Wherearethosetwofellows？
DAWKER。Gone。It\'snobusinessoftheirs。
HORNBLOWER。It\'snobusinessofanyofyewhathashappenedtoawomaninthepast。Yeknowthat。Good-day！
[Hegivesthemadeadlylook，andgoesout，left，followedbyDAWKER。]
MRS。H。[WithherhandontheDeed]Safe！
[HILLCRISTentersattheFrenchwindow，followedbyJILL。]
[HoldinguptheDeed]Look！He\'sjustgone！Itoldyouitwasonlynecessarytousethethreat。Hecavedinandsignedthis；wearesworntosaynothing。We\'vebeatenhim。
[HILLCRISTstudiestheDeed。]
JILL。[Awed]WesawChloeinthecar。Howdidshetakeit，mother？
MRS。H。Denied，thenbrokedownwhenshesawourwitnesses。I\'mgladyouwerenothere，Jack。
JILL。[Suddenly]Ishallgoandseeher。
MRS。H。Jill，youwillnot；youdon\'tknowwhatshe\'sdone。
JILL。Ishall。Shemustbeinanawfulstate。
HILLCRIST。Mydear，youcandohernogood。
JILL。IthinkIcan，Dodo。
MRS。H。Youdon\'tunderstandhumannature。We\'reenemiesforlifewiththosepeople。You\'realittledonkeyifyouthinkanythingelse。
JILL。I\'mgoing，allthesame。
MRS。H。Jack，forbidher。
HILLCRIST。[Liftinganeyebrow]Jill，bereasonable。
JILL。SupposeI\'dtakenaknocklikethat，Dodo，I\'dbegladoffriendlinessfromsomeone。
MRS。H。Younevercouldtakeaknocklikethat。
JILL。Youdon\'tknowwhatyoucandotillyoutry，mother。
HILLCRIST。Lethergo，Amy。Imsorryforthatyoungwoman。
MRS。H。You\'dbesorryforamanwhopickedyourpocket，Ibelieve。
HILLCRIST。Icertainlyshould！Deucedlittlehe\'dgetoutofit，whenI\'vepaidfortheCentry。
MRS。H。[Bitterly]MuchgratitudeIgetforsavingyoubothourhome！
JILL。[Disarmed]Oh！Mother，wearegrateful。Dodo，showyourgratitude。
HILLCRIST。Well，mydear，it\'sanintenserelief。I\'mnotgoodatshowingmyfeelings，asyouknow。Whatd\'youwantmetodo？Standononelegandcrow？
JILL。Yes，Dodo，yes！Mother，holdhimwhileI[Suddenlyshestops，andallthefungoesoutofher]No！Ican\'t——Ican\'thelpthinkingofher。
CURTAINfallsforaminute。
SCENEII
Whenitrisesagain，theroomisemptyanddark，sameformoonlightcominginthroughtheFrenchwindow，whichisopen。
ThefigureofCHLOE，inablackcloak，appearsoutsideinthemoonlight；shepeersin，movespast，comesbank，hesitatinglyenters。Thecloak，fallenback，revealsawhiteeveningdress；
andthatmagpiefigurestandspoisedwatchfullyinthedimlight，thenflapsunhappilyLeftandRight，asifshecouldnotkeepstill。Suddenlyshestandslistening。
ROLF\'SVOICE。[Outside]Chloe！Chloe！
[Heappears]
CHLOE。[Goingtothewindow]Whatareyoudoinghere？
ROLF。Whatareyou？Ionlyfollowedyou。
CHLOE。Goaway。
ROLF。What\'sthematter？Tellme！
CHLOE。Goaway，anddon\'tsayanything。Oh！Theroses！[Shehasputhernoseintosomerosesinabowlonabigstandclosetothewindow]Don\'ttheysmelllovely？
ROLF。WhatdidJillwantthisafternoon？
CHLOE。I\'lltellyounothing。Goaway！
ROLF。Idon\'tlikeleavingyouhereinthisstate。
CHLOE。Whatstate？I\'mallright。Waitformedowninthedrive，ifyouwantto。
[ROLFstartstogo，stops，looksather，anddoesgo。CHLOE，withalittlemoaningsound，fluttersagain，magpie-like，upanddown，thenstandsbythewindowlistening。Voicesareheard，Left。ShedartsoutofthewindowandawaytotheRight，asHILLCRISTandJILLcomein。Theyhaveturneduptheelectriclight，andcomedowninfrondofthefireplace，whereHILLCRISTsitsinanarmchair，andJILLonthearmofit。Theyareinundresseveningadore。
HILLCRIST。Now，tellme。
JILL。Thereisn\'tmuch，Dodo。IwasinanawfulfunkforfearI
shouldmeetanyoftheothers，andofcourseIdidmeetRolf，butI
toldhimsomelie，andhetookmetoherroom-boudoir，theycallit——isn\'tboudoira\"dug-out\"word？
HILLCRIST。[Meditatively]Thesulkingroom。Well？
JILL。Shewassittinglikethis。[Sheburiesherchininherhands，wideherelbowsonherknees]Andshesaidinasortoffierceway:\"Whatdoyouwant？\"AndIsaid:\"I\'mawfullysorry，butIthoughtyoumightlikeit。\"
HILLCRIST。Well？
JILL。Shelookedatmehard，andsaid:\"Isupposeyouknowallaboutit。\"AndISaid:\"Onlyvaguely，\"becauseofcourseIdon\'t。
Andshesaid:\"Well，itwasdecentofyoutocome。\"Dodo，shelookslikealostsoul。Whathasshedone？
HILLCRIST。ShecommittedherrealcrimewhenshemarriedyoungHornblowerwithouttellinghim。Shecameoutofacertainworldtodoit。
JILL。Oh！[Staringinfrontofher）Isitveryawfulinthatworld，Dodo？
HILLCRIST。[Uneasy]Idon\'tknow，Jill。Somecanstandit，I
suppose；somecan\'t。Idon\'tknowwhichsortsheis。
JILL。OnethingI\'msureof:she\'sawfullyfondofChearlie。
HILLCRIST。That\'sbad；that\'sverybad。
JILL。Andshe\'sfrightened，horribly。Ithinkshe\'sdesperate。
HILLCRIST。Womenlikethatareprettytough，Jill；don\'tjudgehertoomuchbyyourownfeelings。
JILL。No；only——Oh！itwasbeastly；andofcourseIdriedup。
HILLCRIST。[Feelingly]H\'m！Onealwaysdoes。Butperhapsitwasaswell；you\'dhavebeenblunderinginadarkpassage。
JILL。Ijustsaid:\"FatherandIfeelawfullysorry；ifthere\'sanythingwecando——\"
HILLCRIST。Thatwasrisky，Jill。
JILL。（Disconsolately）Ihadtosaysomething。I\'mgladIwent，anyway。Ifeelmorehuman。
HILLCRIST。Wehadtofightforourhome。IshouldhavefeltlikeatraitorifIhadn\'t。
JILL。I\'mnotenjoyinghometonight，Dodo。
HILLCRIST。Inevercouldhateproper；it\'saconfoundednuisance。
JILL。Mother\'sfearfully\'bucked，andDawker\'ssimplyoozingtriumph。Idon\'ttrusthim。Dodo；he\'stoo——notpugilistic——theotheronewithapug-naceous。
HILLCRIST。Heisrather。
JILL。I\'msurehewouldn\'tcaretuppenceifChloecommittedsuicide。
HILLCRIST。[Risinguneasily）Nonsense！Nonsense！
JILL。Iwonderifmotherwould。
HILLCRIST。[Turninghisfacetowardsthewindow]What\'sthat？I
thoughtIheard——[Louder]——Istheseanybodyoutthere？
[Noanswer。JILL，springsupandrunstothewindow。]
JILL。You！
[ShedivesthroughtotheRight，andreturns，holdingCHLOE\'S
handanddrawingherforward]
Comein！It\'sonlyus！[ToHILLCRIST]Dodo！
HILLCRIST。[Flustered，butmakingashowofcourtesy]Goodevening！Won\'tyousitdown？
JILL。Sitdown；you\'reallshaky。
[ShemakesCHLOEsitdowninthearmchair，outofwhichtheyhaverisen，thenlocksthedoor，andclosingthewindows，drawsthecurtainshastilyoverthem。]
HILLCRIST。[Awkwardandexpectant]CanIdoanythingforyou？
CHLOE。Icouldn\'tbearithe\'scomingtoaskyou——
HILLCRIST。Who？
CHLOE。Myhusband。[Shedrawsinherbreathwithalongshudder，thenseemtoseizehercourageinherhands]I\'vegottobequick。
Hekeepsonasking——heknowsthere\'ssomething。]
HILLCRIST。Makeyourmindeasy。Weshan\'ttellhim。
CHLOE。[Appealing]Oh！that\'snotenough。Can\'tyoutellhimsomethingtoputhimbacktothinkingit\'sallright？I\'vedonehimsuchawrong。Ididn\'trealisetillafter——Ithoughtmeetinghimwasjustapieceofwonderfulgoodluck，afterwhatI\'dbeenthrough。I\'mnotsuchabadlot——notreally。
[Shestopsfromtheover-quiveringofherlips。JILL，standingbesidethechair，strokeshershoulder。HILLCRISTstandsverystill，painfullybitingatafinger。]
Yousee，myfatherwentbankrupt，andIwasinashop——
HILLCRIST。[Soothingly，andtopreventdisclosures]Yes，yes；Yes，yes！
CHLOE。InevergaveamanawayordidanythingIwasashamedof——atleast——Imean，Ihadtomakemylivinginallsortsofways，andthenImetCharlie。
[Againshestoppedfromthequiveringofherlips。]
JILL。It\'sallright。
CHLOE。HethoughtIwasrespectable，andthatwassucharelief，youcan\'tthink，so——soIlethim。
JILL。Dodo！It\'sawfulHILLCRIST。Itis！
CHLOE。AndafterImarriedhim，yousee，Ifellinlove。IfIhadbefore，perhapsIwouldn\'thavedaredonly，Idon\'tknow——youneverknow，doyou？Whenthere\'sastrawgoing，youcatchatit。
JILL。Ofcourseyoudo。
CHLOE。Andnow，yousee，I\'mgoingtohaveachild。
JILL。[Aghast]Oh！Areyou？
HILLCRIST。GoodGod！
CHLOE。[Dully]I\'vebeenonhotbricksallthismonth，eversincethatdayhere。Iknewitwasinthewind。Whatgetsinthewindnevergetsout。[Sherisesandthrowsoutherarms]Never！Itjustblowshereandthere[Desolately]andthen——blowshome。[Hervoicechangestoresentment]ButI\'vepaidforbeingafool——
\'tisn\'tfun，thatsortoflife，Icantellyou。I\'mnotashamedandrepentant，andallthat。Ifitwasn\'tforhim！I\'mafraidhe\'llneverforgiveme；it\'ssuchadisgraceforhim——andthen，tohavehischild！Beingfondofhim，IfeelitmuchworsethananythingI
everfelt，andthat\'ssayingagoodbit。Itis。
JILL。[Energetically]Lookhere！Hesimplymustn\'tfindout。
CHLOE。That\'sit；butit\'sstarted，andhe\'sboundtokeeponbecauseheknowsthere\'ssomething。Amanisn\'tgoingtobesatisfiedwhenthere\'ssomethinghesuspectsabouthiswife，Charliewouldn\'tnever。He\'sclever，andhe\'sjealous；andhe\'scominghere。
[Shestops，andlooksroundwildly，listening。]
JILL。Dodo，whatcanwesaytoputhimcleanoffthescent？
HILLCRIST。Anything——inreason。
CHLOE。[Catchingatthisstraw]Youwill！Yousee，Idon\'tknowwhatI\'lldo。I\'vegotsoft，beinglookedafter——hedoesloveme。
Andifhethrowsmeoff，I\'llgounder——that\'sall。
HILLCRIST。Haveyouanysuggestion？
CHLOE。[Eagerly]Theonlythingistotellhimsomethingpositive，somethinghe\'llbelieve，that\'snottoobad——likemyhavingbeenaladyclerkwiththosepeoplewhocamehere，andhavingbeendismissedonsuspicionoftakingmoney。Icouldgethimtobelievethatwasn\'ttrue。
JILL。Yes；anditisn\'t——that\'ssplendid！You\'dbeabletoputsuchconvictionintoit。Don\'tyouthinkso，Dodo？
HILLCRIST。AnythingIcan。I\'mdeeplysorry。
CHLOE。Thankyou。Anddon\'tsayI\'vebeenhere，willyou？He\'sverysuspicious。Yousee，heknowsthathisfatherhasre-soldthatlandtoyou；that\'swhathecan\'tmakeout——that，andmycomingherethismorning；heknowssomething\'sbeingkeptfromhim；andhenoticedthatmanwithDawkeryesterday。Andmymaid\'sbeenspyingonme。It\'sintheair。Heputstwoandtwotogether。ButI\'vetoldhimthere\'snothingheneedworryabout；nothingthat\'strue。
HILLCRIST。Whatacoil！
CHLOE。I\'mveryhonestandcarefulaboutmoney。Sohewon\'tbelievethataboutme，andtheoldmanwantstokeepitfromCharlie，Iknow。
HILLCRIST。Thatdoesseemthebestwayout。
CHLOE。[Withatouchofdefiance]I\'matruewifetohim。
CHLOE。Ofcourseweknowthat。
HILLCRIST。It\'sallunspeakablysad。Deception\'shorriblyagainstthegrain——but——
CHLOE。[Eagerly]WhenIdeceivedhim，I\'dhavedeceivedGodHimself——Iwassodesperate。You\'veneverbeenrightdowninthemud。Youcan\'tunderstandwhatI\'vebeenthrough。
HILLCRIST。Yes，Yes。IdaresayI\'dhavedonethesame。Ishouldbethelasttojudge[CHLOEcovershereyeswithherhands。]
There，there！Cheerup！[Heputshishandonherarm。]
CHLOE。[Toherself]DarlingDodo！
CHLOE。[Starting]There\'ssomebodyatthedoor。Imustgo；Imustgo。
[Sherunstothewindowandslipsthroughthecurtains。]
[Thehandleofthedoorisagainturned。]
JILL。[Dismayed]Oh！It\'slocked——Iforgot。
[Shespringtothedoor，unlocksandopensit，whileHILLCRIST
goestothebureauandsitsdown。]
It\'sallright，Fellows；Iwasonlysayingsomethingratherimportant。
FELLOWS。[Cominginasteportwoandclosingthedoorbehindhim]
Certainly，Miss。Mr。Charles\'Ornblowerisinthehall。Wantstoseeyou，sir，orMrs。Hillcrist。
JILL。Whatabore！Canyouseehim，Dodo？
HILLCRIST。Er——yes。Isupposeso。Showhiminhere，Fellows。
[AsFELLOWSgoesout，JILLrunstothewindow，buthasnotimetodomorethanadjustthecurtainsandspringovertostandbyherfather，beforeCHARLEScomesin。Thoughineveningclothes，heiswhiteariddisheveledforsospruceayoungmean。]
CHARLES。Ismywifehere？
HILLCRIST。No，sir。
CHARLES。Hasshebeen？
HILLCRIST。Thismorning，Ibelieve，Jill？
JILL。Yes，shecamethismorning。
CHARLES。[staringather]Iknowthat——now，Imean？
JILL。No。
[HILLCRISTshakeshashead。]
CHARLES。Tellmewhatwassaidthismorning。
HILLCRIST。Iwasnotherethismorning。
CHARLES。Don\'ttrytoputmeoff。Iknowtoomuch。[ToJILL]
You。
JILL。ShallI，Dodo？
HILLCRIST。No；Iwill。Won\'tyousitdown？
CHARLES。No。Goon。
HILLCRIST。[Moisteninghislips]Itappears，Mr。Hornblower，thatmyagent，Mr。Dawker——
[CHARLES，whoisbreathinghard，uttersasoundofanger。]——
thatmyagenthappenstoknowafirm，whoinolddaysemployedyourwife。Ishouldgreatlyprefernottosayanymore，especiallyaswedon\'tbelievethestory。
JILL。No；wedon\'t。
CHARLES。Goon！
HILLCRIST。[Gettingup]Come！IfIwereyou，Ishouldrefusetolistentoanythingagainstmywife。
CHARLES。Goon，Itellyou。
HILLCRIST。Youinsist？Well，theysaytherewassomequestionabouttheaccounts，andyourwifeleftthemunderacloud。AsI
toldyou，wedon\'tbelieveit。
CHARLES。[Passionately]Liars！
[Hemakesarushforthedoor。]
HILLCRIST。[Starting]Whatdidyousay？
JILL。[Catchinghisarm]Dodo！[Sottovoce]Weare，youknow。
CHARLES。[Turningbacktothem]Whydoyoutellmethatlie？WhenI\'vejusthadthetruthoutofthatlittlescoundrel！Mywife\'sbeenhere；sheputyouuptoit。
[ThefaceofCHLOEisseentransfixedbetweenthecurtains，partedbyherhands。]
She——sheputyouuptoit。Liarthatsheis——alivinglie。Forthreeyearsalivinglie！
[HILLCRISTwhosefacealoneisturnedtowardsthecurtains，seesthatlisteningface。Hishandgoesupfromuncontrollableemotion。]
Andhasn\'tnowtheplucktotellme。I\'vedonewithher。Iwon\'townachildbysuchawoman。
[WithalittlesighingsoundCHLOEdropsthecurtainandvanishes。]
HILLCRIST。ForGod\'ssake，man，thinkofwhatyou\'resaying。She\'singreatdistress。
CHARLES。AndwhatamI？
JILL。Shelovesyou，youknow。
CHARLES。Prettylove！ThatscoundrelDawkertoldme——toldme——
Horrible！Horrible！
HILLCRIST。Ideeplyregretthatourquarrelshouldhavebroughtthisabout。
CHARLES。[Withintensebitterness]Yes，you\'vesmashedmylife。
[Unseenbythem，MRS。HILLCRISThasenteredandstandsbythedoor，Left。]
MRS。H。Wouldyouhavewishedtoliveoninignorance？[Theyallturntolookather。]
CHARLES。[Withawrithingmovement]Idon\'tknow。But——you——youdidit。
MRS。H。Youshouldn\'thaveattackedus。
CHARLES。Whatdidwedotoyou——comparedwiththis？
MRS。H。Allyoucould。
HILLCRIST。Enough，enough！Whatcanwedotohelpyou？
CHARLES。Tellmewheremywifeis。
[JILLdrawsthecurtainsapart——thewindowisopen——JILLlooksout。Theywaitinsilence。]
JILL。Wedon\'tknow。
CHARLES。Thenshewashere？
HILLCRIST。Yes，sir；andsheheardyou。
CHARLES。Allthebetterifshedid。SheknowshowIfeel。
HILLCRIST。Braceup；begentlewithher。
CHARLES。Gentle？Awomanwho——who——
HILLCRIST。Amostunhappycreature。Come！
CHARLES。Damnyoursympathy！
[Hegoesoutintothemoonlight，passingaway。]
JILL。Dodo，weoughttolookforher；I\'mawfullyafraid。
HILLCRIST。Isawherthere——listening。Withchild！Whoknowswherethingsendwhentheyandbegin？Tothegravelpit，Jill；I\'llgotothepond。No，we\'llgotogether。[Theygoout。]
[MRS。HILLCRISTcomesdowntothefireplace，ringsthebellandstandsthere，thinking。FELLOWSenters。]
MRS。H。IwantsomeonetogodowntoMr。Dawker\'s。
FELLOWS。Mr。Dawkerishere，ma\'am，waitin\'toseeyou。
MRS。H。Askhimtocomein。Oh！andFellows，youcantelltheJackmansthattheycangobacktotheircottage。
FELLOWS。Verygood，ma\'am。[Hegoesout。]
[MRS。HILLCRISTsearchesatthebureau，findsandtakesoutthedeed。DAWKERScomesin；hehastheappearanceofamanwhosetemperhasbeenbadlyruffled。]
MRS。H。CharlesHornblower——howdidithappen？
DAWKER。Hecametome。IsaidIknewnothing。Hewouldn\'ttakeit；wentforme，abusedmeuphillanddowndale；saidhekneweverything，andthenhebegantothreatenme。Well，Ilostmytemper，andItoldhim。
MRS。H。That\'sveryserious，Dawker，afterourpromise。Myhusbandismostupset。
DAWKER。[Sullenly]It\'snotmyfault，ma\'am；heshouldn\'thavethreatenedandgoadedmeon。Besides，it\'sgotoutthatthere\'sascandal；commontalkinthevillage——notthefacts，butquiteenoughtocooktheirgoosehere。They\'llhavetogo。Betterhavedonewithit，anyway，thanhaveenemiesatyourdoor。
MRS。H。Perhaps；but——Oh！Dawker，takechargeofthis。[Shehandshimthedeed]Thesepeoplearedesperate——and——I\'msotsureofmyhusbandwhenhisfeelingsareworkedon。
[Thesoundofacarstopping。]
DAWKER。[Atthewindow，lookingtotheLeft]Hornblower\'s，I
think。Yes，he\'sgettingout。
MRS。H。[Bracingherself]You\'dbetterwait，then。
DAWKER。Hemustn\'tgivemeanyofhissauce；I\'vehadenough。
[ThedoorisopenedandHORNBLOWERenters，pressingsoontheheelsofFELLOWSthattheannouncementofhisnameislost。]
HORNBLOWER。Givemethatdeed！Yegotitoutofmebyfalsepretencesandtreachery。Yesworethatnothingshouldbeheardofthis。Why！meownservantsknow。
MRS。H。Thathasnothingtodowithus。YoursoncameandwrenchedtheknowledgeoutofMr。DAWKERbyabuseandthreats；thatisall。
Youwillkindlybehaveyourselfhere，orIshallaskthatyoubeshownout。
HORNBLOWER。Givemethatdeed，Isay！[HesuddenlyturnsonDAWKER]Yelittleruffian，Iseeitinyourpocket。
[TheendindeedisprojectingfromDAWKER\'Sbreastpocket。]
DAWKER。[Seeingred]Now，look\'ere，\'Ornblower，Istoodadealfromyourson，andI\'llstandnomore。
HORNBLOWER。[ToMRS。HILLCRIST]I\'llruinyourplaceyet！[ToDAWKER]Yegivemethatdeed，orI\'llthrottleye。
[HeclosesonDAWKER，andmakesasnatchatthedeed。DAWKER，springsathim，andthetwostandswaying，tryingforagripateachother\'sthroats。MRS。HILLCRISTtriestocrossandreachthebell，butisshutoffbytheirswayingstruggle。]
[SuddenlyROLFappearsinthewindow，lookswildlyatthestruggle，andseizesDAWKER\'Shands，whichhavereachedHORNBLOWER\'Sthroat。JILL，whoisfollowing，rushesuptohimandclutcheshisarm。]
JILL。Rolf！Allofyou！Stop！Look！
[DAWKER\'Shandrelaxes，andheisswunground。HORNBLOWER
staggersandrecovershimself，gaspingforbreath。Allturntothewindow，outsidewhichinthemoonlightHILLCRISTandCHARLESHORNBLOWERhaveCHLOE\'Smotionlessbodyintheirarms。]
Inthegravelpit。She\'sjustbreathing；that\'sall。
MRS。H。Bringherin。Thebrandy，Jill！
HORNBLOWER。No。Takehertothecar。Standback，youngwoman！I
wantnohelpfromanyofye。Rolf——Chearlie——takeherup。
[Theyliftandbearheraway，Left。JILLfollows。]
Hillcrist，ye\'vegotmebeatenanddisgracedhereabouts，ye\'vedestroyedmyson\'smarriedlife，andye\'vekilledmygrandchild。
I\'mnotstayinginthiscursedspot，butifeverIcandoyouoryoursahurt，Iwill。
DAWKER。[Muttering]That\'sright。Squealandthreaten。Youbeganit。
HILLCRIST。Dawker，havethegoodness！Hornblower，inthepresenceofwhatmaybedeath，withallmyheartI\'msorry。
HORNBLOWER。Yehypocrite！
[Hepassesthemwithacertaindignity，andgoesoutatthewindow，followingtohiscar。]
[HILLCRISTwhohasstoodforamomentstock-still，goesslowlyforwardandsitsinhisswivelchair。]
MRS。H。Dawker，pleasetellFellowstotelephonetoDr。RobinsontogoroundtotheHornblowersatonce。
[DAWKER，fingeringthedeed，andwithanoisethatsoundslike\"Thecur！\"goesout，Left。[Atthefireplace]
Jack！Doyoublameme？
HILLCRIST。[Motionless]No。
MRS。H。OrDawker？He\'sdonehisbest。
HILLCRIST。No。
MRS。H。[Approaching]Whatisit？
HILLCRIST。Hypocrite！
[JILLcomesrunninginatthewindow。]
JILL。Dodo，she\'smoved；she\'sspoken。Itmaynotbesobad。
HILLCRIST。ThankGodforthat！
[FELLOWSenters，Left。]
FELLOWS。TheJackmans，ma\'am。
HILLCRIST。Who？What\'sthis？
[TheJACKMANShaveentered，standingclosetothedoor。]
MRS。J。We\'resogladwecangoback，sir——ma\'am，wejustwantedtothankyou。
[Thereisasilence。Theyseethattheyarenotwelcome。]
Thankyoukindly，sir。Goodnight，ma\'am。
[Theyshuffleout。]
HILLCRIST。I\'dforgottentheirexistence。[Hegetsup]Whatisitthatgetsloosewhenyoubeginafight，andmakesyouwhatyouthinkyou\'renot？Whatblindingevil！Beginasyoumay，itendsinthis-
skingame！Skingame！
JILL。[Rushingtohim]It\'snotyou，Dodo；it\'snotyou，belovedDodo。
HILLCRIST。Itisme。ForIam，orshouldbe，masterinthishouse！
MRS。H。Idon\'tunderstand。
HILLCRIST。Whenwebeganthisfight，wehadcleanhands——aretheyclean\'now？What\'sgentilityworthifitcan\'tstandfire？