CAPT。G。（Aside。）GoodoldJack！（Aloud。）Why，dear？
Mas。G。Hehadputhiscupdownonthegroundthen，andheliterallysteppedintoit。Someoftheteaspirtedovermydress-thegreyone。Imeanttotellyouaboutitbefore。
CAPT。G。（Aside。）TherearethemakingsofastrategistaboutJackthoughhismethodsarecoarse。（Aloud。）You\'dbettergetanewdress，then。（Aside。）Letuspraythatthatwillturnher。
Mas。G。Oh，itisn\'tstainedintheleast。IonlythoughtthatI\'dtellyou。（Returningtoletter。）Whatanextraordinaryperson！（Reads。）
\"ButneedIremindyouthatyouhavetakenuponyourselfachargeofwardship\"-whatintheworldisachargeofwardship？-\"whichasyouyourselfknow，mayendinConsequences\"-
CAPT。G。（Aside。）It\'ssafesttoletemseeeverythingastheycomeacrossit；but\'seemstomethatthereareexceptionstotherule。
（Aloud。）Itoldyouthattherewasnothingtobegainedfromrearrangingmytable。
Mas。G。（Absently。）Whatdoesthewomanmean？ShegoesontalkingaboutConsequences-\'\'almostinevitableConsequences\"
withacapitalC-forhalfapage。（Flushingscarlet。）Oh，goodgracious！Howabominable！
CAPT。G。（Promptly。）Doyouthinkso？Doesn\'titshowasortofmotherlyinterestinus？（Aside。）ThankHeaven。Harryalwayswrappedhermeaningupsafely！（Aloud。）Isitabsolutelynecessarytogoonwiththeletter，darling？
Mas。G。It\'simpertinent-it\'ssimplyhorrid。Whatrighthasthiswomantowriteinthiswaytoyou？Sheoughtn\'tto。
CAPT。G。WhenyouwritetotheDeercourtgirl，Inoticethatyougenerallyfillthreeorfoursheets。Can\'tyouletanoldwomanbabbleonpaperonceinaway？Shemeanswell。
MRS。G。Idon\'tcare。Sheshouldn\'twrite，andifshedid，yououghttohaveshownmeherletter。
CAPT。G。Can\'tyouunderstandwhyIkeptittomyself，ormustI
explainatlength-asIexplainedthefarcybuds？
Mas。G。（Furiously。）PipIhateyou！Thisisasbadasthoseidioticsaddle-bagsonthefloor。Nevermindwhetheritwouldpleasemeornot，yououghttohavegivenittometoread。
CAPT。G。Itcomestothesamething。Youtookityourself。
MRS。G。Yes，butifIhadn\'ttakenit，youwouldn\'thavesaidaword。IthinkthisHarrietHerriott-it\'slikeanameinabook-isaninterferingoldThing。
CAPT。G。（Aside。）Solongasyouthoroughlyunderstandthatsheisold，Idon\'tmuchcarewhatyouthink。（Aloud。）Verygood，dear。
Wouldyouliketowriteandtellherso？She\'sseventhousandmilesaway。
MRS。G。Idon\'twanttohaveany-thingtodowithher，butyououghttohavetoldme。（Turningtolastpageofletter。）Andshepatronizesme，too。I\'veneverseenher！（Reads。）\"Idonotknowhowtheworldstandswithyou；inallhumanprobabilityIshallneverknow；butwhateverImayhavesaidbefore，Iprayforhersakemorethanforyoursthatallmaybewell。Ihavelearnedwhatmiserymeans，andIdarenotwishthatanyonedeartoyoushouldsharemyknowledge。\"
CAPT。G。GoodGod！Can\'tyouleavethatletteralone，or，atleast，can\'tyourefrainfromreadingitaloud？I\'vebeenthroughitonce。Putitbackon\'hedesk。Doyouhearme？
Mas。G。（Irresolutely。）Ish-sha\'n\'t！（LooksatG。\'seyes。）Oh，Pip，please！Ididn\'tmeantomakeyouangry-\'Deed，Ididn\'t。Pip，I\'msosorry。IknowI\'vewastedyourtime-CAPT。G。（Grimly。）Youhave。Now，willyoubegoodenoughtogo-ifthereisnothingmoreinmyroomthatyouareanxioustopryinto？
Mas。G。（Puttingoutherhands。）Oh，Pip，don\'tlookatmelikethat！I\'veneverseenyoulooklikethatbeforeandithu-urtsme！
I\'msorry。Ioughtn\'ttohavebeenhereatall，and-and-and-
（sobbing。）Oh，begoodtome！Begoodtome！There\'sonlyyou-anywhere！Breaksdowninlongchair，hidingfaceincushions。
CAPT。G。（Aside。）Shedoesn\'tknowhowsheflickedmeontheraw。（Aloud，bendingoverchair。）Ididn\'tmeantobeharsh，dear-I
didn\'treally。Youcanstayhereaslongasyouplease，anddowhatyouplease。Don\'tcrylikethat。You\'llmakeyourselfsick。（Aside。）
Whatonearthhascomeoverher？（Aloud。）Darling，what\'sthematterwithyou？
Mrs。G。（Herfacestillhidden。）Letmego-letmegotomyownroom。Only-onlysayyouaren\'tangrywithme。
CAPT。G。Angrywithyou，love！Ofcoursenot。Iwasangrywithmyself。I\'dlostmytemperoverthesaddlery-Don\'thideyourface，Pussy。Iwanttokissit。
Bendslower，Mas。G。slidesrightarmroundhisneck。Severalinterludesandmuchsobbing。
Mas。G。（Inawhisper。）Ididn\'tmeanaboutthejamwhenIcameintotellyou-
CAPT\'。G。Botherthejamandtheequipment！（Interlude。）
Mas。G。（Stillmorefaintly。）Myfingerwasn\'tscaldedatall。I-[
wantedtospeaktoyouabout-about-somethingelse，and-Ididn\'tknowhow。
CAPT。G。Speakaway，then。（Lookingintohereyes。）Eb！
Wha-at？Minnie！Here，don\'tgoaway！Youdon\'tmean？
Mas。G。（Hysterically，backingtoportiereandhidingherfaceinitsfold\'s。）The-theAlmostInevitableConsequences！（FlitsthroughportiereasG。attemptstocatchher，andboltsherselfinherownroom。）
CAPT。G。（Hisarmsfullofportiere。）Oh！（Sittingdownheavilyinchair。）I\'mabruteapig-abully，andablackguard。Mypoor，poorlittledarling！\"Madetobeamusedonly？\"-
THEVALLEYOFTHESHADOW
KnowingGoodandEvil。
SCENE-TheGADSBYS\'bungalowinthePlains，inJune。
Punkah-cooliesasleepinverandawhereCaptainGADBYiswalkingupanddown。DOCTOR\'Strapinporch。JUNIOR
CHAPLAINdriftinggenerallyanduneasilythroughthehouse。
Time，3:4OA。M。Heat94degreesinveranda。
DOCTOR。（ComingintoverandaandtouchingG。ontheshoulder。）Youhadbettergoinandseehernow。
CAPT。G。（Thecolorofgoodcigar-ash。）Eb，wha-at？Oh，yes，ofcourse。Whatdidyousay？
DOCTOR。（Syllablebysyllable。）Go-in-to-the-room-and-see-
her。Shewantstospeaktoyou。（Aside，testily。）Ishallhavehimonmyhandsnext。
JUNIORCHAPLAIN。（Inhalf-lighteddiningroom。）Isn\'tthereany？-
DOCTOR。（Savagely。）Hsb，youlittlefool！
JUNIORCHAPLAIN。Letmedomywork。Gadsby，stopaminuteI（EdgesafterG。）
DOCTOR。Waittillshesendsforyouatleast-atleast。Manalive，he\'llkillyouifyougointhere！Whatareyoubotheringhimfor？
JUNIORCHAPLAIN。（Comingintoveranda。）I\'vegivenhimastiffbrandy-peg。Hewantsit。You\'veforgottenhimforthelasttenhoursand-forgottenyourselftoo。
CAPT。G。entersbedroom，whichislitbyonenight-lamp。Ayakonthefloorpretendingtobeasleep。
VOICE。（Fromthebed。）Alldownthestreet-suchbonfires！Ayah，goandputthemout！（Appealingly。）HowcanIsleepwithaninstallationoftheC。I。E。inmyroom？No-notC。I。E。Somethingelse。Whatwasit？
CAPT。G。（Tryingtocontrolhisvoice。）Minnie，I\'mhere。
（Bendingoverbed。）Don\'tyouknowme，Mmnie？It\'sme-it\'sPhil-it\'syourhusband。
VOICE。（Mechanically。）It\'sme-it\'sPhil-it\'syourhusband。
CAPT。G。Shedoesn\'tknowmel-It\'syourownhusband，darling。
VOICE。Yourownhusband，darling。AYAH。（Withaninspiration。）
MemsahibunderstandingallIsaying。
CAPT。G。Makeherunderstandmethen-quick！
AYAH。（HandonMas。G。\'sfore-head。）Memsahib！CaptainSahibhere。
VOICE。Salaemdo。（Fretfully。）IknowI\'mnotfittobeseen。
AYAH。（AsidetoG。）Say\"marneen\"sameasbreakfash。
CAPT。G。Good-morning，littlewoman。Howareweto-day？
VOICE。That\'sPhil。PooroldPhil。（Viciously。）Phil，youfool，I
can\'tseeyou。Comenearer。
CAPT。G。Minnie！Minnie！It\'sme-youknowme？
VOICE。（Mockingly。）OfcourseIdo。Whodoesnotknowthemanwhowassocrueltohiswife-almosttheonlyoneheeverhad？
CAPT。G。Yes，dear。Yes-ofcourse，ofcourse。Butwon\'tyouspeaktobim？Hewantstospeaktoyousomuch。
VOICE。They\'dneverlethimin。TheDoctorwouldgivedarwazabundevenifhewereinthehouse。He\'llnevercome。
（Despairingly。）OJudas！Judas！Judas！
CAPT。G。（Puttingouthisarms。）Theyhavelethimin，andhealwayswasinthehouseOh，mylove-don\'tyouknowme？
VOrCE。（Inahalfchant。）\"Anditcametopassattheeleventhhourthatthispoorsoulrepented。\"Itknockedatthegates，buttheywereshut-tightasaplaster-agreat，burningplasterTheyhadpastedourmarriagecertificateallacrossthedoor，anditwasmadeofred-hotiron-peoplereallyoughttobemorecareful，youknow。
CAPT。G。WhatamItodo？（Takingherinhisarms。）Minnie！
speaktome-toPhil。
VOICE。WhatshallIsay？Oh，tellmewhattosaybeforeit\'stoolate！TheyareallgoingawayandIcan\'tsayanything。
CAPT。G。Sayyouknowme！Onlysayyouknowme！
DOCTOR。（Whohasenteredquietly。）Forpity\'ssakedon\'ttakeittoomuchtoheart，Gadsby。It\'sthiswaysometimes。Theywon\'trecognize。Theysayallsortsofqueerthings-don\'tyousee？
CAPT。G。Allright！Allright！Goawaynow；she\'llrecognizeme；
you\'rebotheringher。Shemust-mustn\'tshe？
DOCTOR。Shewillbefore-HaveIyourleavetotry？-
CAPT。G。Anythingyouplease，solongasshe\'llknowme。It\'sonlyaquestionof-hours，isn\'tit？
DOCTOR。（Professionally。）Whilethere\'slifethere\'shopey\'know。Butdon\'tbuildonit。
CAPT。G。Idon\'t。Pullhertogetherifit\'spossible。（Aside。）WhathaveIdonetodeservethis？
DOCTOR。（Bendingoverbed。）Now，Mrs。Gadsby！Weshallbeallrighttomorrow。Youmusttakeit，orIsha\'n\'tletPhilseeyou。Itisn\'tnasty，isit？
Voice。Medicines！Alwaysmoremedicines！Can\'tyouleavemealone？
CAPT。G。Oh，leaveherinpeace，Doc！
DOCTOR。（Steppingback，-aside。）MayIbeforgivenifI\'venonewrong。（Aloud。）Inafewminutessheoughttobesensible；butI
daren\'ttellyoutolookforanything。It\'sonly-
CAPT。G。What？Goon，man。
DOCTOR。（Inawhisper。）Forcingthelastrally。
CAPT。G。Thenleaveusalone。
DOCTOR。Don\'tmindwhatshesaysatfirst，ifyoucan。They-they-theyturnagainstthosetheylovemostsometimesinthis-It\'shard，but-
CAPT。G。AmIherhusbandorareyou？Leaveusaloneforwhattimewehavetogether。
VOICE。（Confidentially。）Andwewereengagedquitesuddenly，Emma。IassureyouthatIneverthoughtofitforamoment；but，oh，mylittleMe！-Idon\'tknowwhatIshouldhavedoneifhehadn\'tproposed。
CAPT。G。ShethinksofthatDeercourtgirlbeforeshethinksofme。（Aloud。）Minnie！
VOICE。Notfromtheshops，Mummydear。YoucangettherealleavesfromKaintu，and（laughingweakly）nevermindabouttheblossoms-Deadwhitesilkisonlyfitforwidows，andIwon\'twearit。It\'sasbadasawindingsheet。（Alongpause。）
CAPT。G。Ineveraskedafavoryet。Ifthereisanybodytolistentome，letherknowme-evenifIdietoo！
VOICE。（Veryfaintly。）Pip，Pipdear。
CAPT。G。I\'mhere，darling。
VOICE。Whathashappened？They\'vebeenbotheringmesowithmedicinesandthings，andtheywouldn\'tletyoucomeandseeme。
Iwasneverillbefore。AmIillnow？
CAPT。G。You-youaren\'tquitewell。
VOICE。Howfunny！HaveIbeenilllong？
CAPT。G。Someday；butyou\'llbeallrightinalittletime。
VOICE。Doyouthinkso，Pip？Idon\'tfeelwelland-Oh！whathavetheydonetomyhair？
CAPT。G。Id-d-on\'tknow。
VOICE。They\'vecutitoff。Whatashame！
CAPT。G。Itmusthavebeentomakeyourheadcooler。
VOICE。Justlikeaboy\'swig。Don\'tIlookhorrid？
CAPT。G。Neverlookedprettierinyourlife，dear。（Aside。）HowamItoaskhertosaygood-bye？
VOICE。Idon\'tfeelpretty。Ifeelveryill。Myheartwon\'twork。
It\'snearlydeadinsideme，andthere\'safunnyfeelinginmyeyes。
Everythingseemsthesamedistance-youandthealmirahandthetableinsidemyeyesormilesaway。Whatdoesitmean，Pip？
CAPT。G。You\'realittlefeverish，Sweetheart-veryfeverish。
（Breakingdown。）Mylove！mylove！HowcanIletyougo？
VOICE。Ithoughtso。Whydidn\'tyoutellmethatatfirst？
CAPT。G。What？
VOICE。ThatIamgoingto-die。
CAPT。G。Butyouaren\'t！Yousha\'n\'t。
AYAHtopunkah-coolie。（Steppingintoverandaafteraglanceatthebed。）。Punkahchordo！（Stoppullingthepunkah。）
VOICE。It\'shard，Pip。Sovery，veryhardafteroneyear-justoneyear。
（Wailing。）AndI\'monlytwenty。Mostgirlsaren\'tevenmarriedattwenty。Can\'ttheydoanythingtohelpme？Idon\'twanttodie。
CAPT。G。Hush，dear。Youwon\'t。
VOICE。What\'stheuseoftalking？Helpme！You\'veneverfailedmeyet。Oh，Phil，helpmetokeepalive。（Feverishly。）Idon\'tbelieveyouwishmetolive。Youweren\'tabitsorrywhenthathorridBabythingdied。IwishI\'dkilledit！
CAPT。G。（Drawinghishandacrosshisforehead。）It\'smorethanaman\'smeanttobear-it\'snotright。（Aloud。）Minnie，love，I\'ddieforyouifitwouldhelp。
VOICE。Nomoredeath。There\'senoughalready。Pip，don\'tyoudietoo。
CAPT。G。IwishIdared。
VOICE。Itsays:\"TillDeathdouspart。\"Nothingafterthat-andsoitwouldbenouse。Itstopsatthedying。Whydoesitstopthere？
Onlysuchaveryshortlife，too。Pip，I\'msorrywemarried。
CAPT。G。No！Anythingbutthat，Mm！
VOICE。Becauseyou\'llforgetandI\'llforget。Oh，Pip，don\'tforget！
Ialwayslovedyou，thoughIwascrosssometimes。IfIeverdidanythingthatyoudidn\'tlike，sayyouforgivemenow。
CAPT。G。Youneverdid，darling。Onmysoulandhonoryouneverdid。Ihaven\'tathingtoforgiveyou。
VOICE。Isulkedforawholeweekaboutthosepetunias。（Withalaugh。）WhatalittlewretchIwas，andhowgrievedyouwere！
Forgivemethat，Pp。
CAPT。G。There\'snothingtoforgive。Itwasmyfault。Theyweretoonearthedrive。ForGod\'ssakedon\'ttalkso，Minnie！There\'ssuchalottosayandsolittletimetosayitin。
VOICE。Saythatyou\'llalwaysloveme-untiltheend。
CAPT。G。Untiltheend。（Carriedaway。）It\'salie。Itmustbe，becausewe\'velovedeachother。Thisisn\'ttheend。
VOICE。（Relapsingintosemi-delirium。）MyChurch-servicehasanivory-crossontheback，anditsaysso，soitmustbetrue。\"TillDeathdouspart。\"-butthat\'salie。（WithaparodyofG。\'smanner。）
Adamnedlie！（Recklessly。）Yes，IcanswearaswellasaTrooper，Pip。Ican\'tmakemyheadthink，though。That\'sbecausetheycutoffmyhair。Howcanonethinkwithone\'sheadallfuzzy？
（Pleadingly。）Holdme，Pip！Keepmewithyoualwaysandalways。
（Relapsing。）ButifyoumarrytheThornissgirlwhenI\'mdead，I\'llcomebackandhowlunderourbedroomwindowallnight。Oh，bother！You\'llthinkI\'majackall。Pip，whattimeisit？
CAPT。G。Alittlebeforethedawn，dear。
VOICE。IwonderwhereIshallbethistimeto-morrow？
CAPT。G。WouldyouliketoseethePadre？
VOICE。WhyshouldI？He\'dtellmethatIamgoingtoheaven；
andthatwouldn\'tbetrue，becauseyouarehere。Doyourecollectwhenheupsetthecream-icealloverhistrousersattheGassers\'
tennis？
CAPT。G。Yes，dear。
VOICE。Ioftenwonderedwhetherhegotanotherpairoftrousers；
butthenhisaresoshinyalloverthatyoureallycouldn\'ttellunlessyouweretold。Let\'scallhiminandask。
CAPT。G。（Gravely。）No。Idon\'tthinkhe\'dlikethat。\'Yourheadcomfy，Sweetheart？\'
VOICE。（Faintlywithasighofcontentment。）Yeth！Gracious，Pip，whendidyoushavelast？Yourchin\'sworsethanthebarrelofamusicalbox-No，don\'tliftitup。Ilikeit。（Apause。）Yousaidyou\'venevercriedatall。You\'recryingallovermycheek。
CAPT。G。I-I-Ican\'thelpit，dear。
VOICE。Howfunny！Icouldn\'tcrynowtosavemylife。（G。
shivers。）Iwanttosing。
CAPT。G。Won\'tittireyou？\'Betternot，perhaps。
VOICE。Why？Iwon\'tbebotheredabout。（Beginsinahoarsequaver）
\"Minniebakesoatencake，Minniebrewsale，AllbecauseherJohnnie\'scominghomefromthesea。（That\'sparade，Pip。）Andshegrowsredasarose，whowassopale；And\'Areyousurethechurch-clockgoes？\'saysshe。\"
（Pettishly。）IknewIcouldn\'ttakethelastnote。Howdothebasschordsrun？（Putsoutherhandsandbeginsplayingpianoonthesheet。）
CAPT。G。（Catchinguphands。）Ahh！Don\'tdothat，Pussy，ifyouloveme。
VOICE。Loveyou？OfcourseIdo。Whoelseshoulditbe？（A
pause。）
VOICE。（Veryclearly。）Pip，I\'mgomgnow。Something\'schokingmecruelly。（Indistinctly。）Intothedark-withoutyou，myheart-Butit\'salie，dear-wemustn\'tbelieveit-Foreverandever，livingordead。Don\'tletmego，myhusband-holdmetight-Theycan\'t-
whateverhappens。（Acough。）Pip-myPip！Notforalways-and-
so-soon！（Voiceceases。）
Pauseoftenminutes。G。burieshisfaceinthesideofthebedwhileAYAHbendsoverbedfromoppositesideandfeelsMas。G。\'sbreastandforehead。
CAPT。G。（Rising。）DoctorSahibkosalaamdo。
AYAH。（Stillbybedside，withashriek。）AilAilTuta-phuta！MyMemsahib！Notgetting-nothavegot！-Pusseenaagyal（Thesweathascome。）（FiercelytoG。）TUMjaoDoctorSahibkojaldi！（Yougotothedoctor。）Oh，myMemsahib！
DOCTOR。（Enteringhastily。）Comeaway，Gadsby。（Bendsoverbed。）Eb！TheDev-Whatinspiredyoutostopthepunkab？Getout，man-goaway-waitoutside！Go！Here，Ayab！（OverhisshouldertoG。）MindIpromisenothing。
ThedawnbreaksasG。stumblesintothegarden。
CAPT。M。（Rehungupatthegateonhiswaytoparadeandverysoberly。）Oldman，howgoes？
CAPT。G。（Dazed。）Idon\'tquiteknow。Stayabit。Haveadrinkorsomething。Don\'trunaway。You\'rejustgettingamusing。Ha！
ha！
CAPT。M。（Aside。）WhatamIletinfor？Gaddyhasagedtenyearsinthenight。