AMERICAN。Youcan’talwaystellfromthat。Itlookskindofover—wrappedup。Maybeithadbetterbeunbound。
GERMAN。’Nein，nein，nein’！
AMERICAN。Ithinkyouareverylikelyright，colonel。Itmightbeapitytounbindthatbaby。Iguesstheladyshouldbeconsultedinthismatter。
ENGLISHWOMAN。Yes，yes，ofcourse————！
ENGLISHMAN。[Touchingher]Letitbe！Littlebeggarseemsallright。
AMERICAN。ThatwouldseemonlyknowntoProvidenceatthismoment。
Ijudgeitmightbeduetohumanitytolookatitsface。
LITTLEMAN。[Gladly]It’ssuckingmy’finger。There，there——nicelittlething——there！
AMERICAN。Iwouldsurmiseinyourleisuremomentsyouhavecreatedbabies，sir？
LITTLEMAN。Oh！no——indeed，no。
AMERICAN。Dearme！——Thatisaloss。[Addressinghimselftothecarriageatlarge]Ithinkwemayesteemourselvesfortunatetohavethislittlestrangerrightherewithus。Demonstrateswhataholdthelittleandweakhaveuponusnowadays。Thecolonelhere——amanofbloodandiron——therehesitsquitecalmnextdoortoit。[Hesniffs]Now，thisbabyisratherchastening——thatisasignofgrace，inthecolonel——thatistrueheroism。
LITTLEMAN。[Faintly]I——Icanseeitsfacealittlenow。
[Allbendforward。]
AMERICAN。Whatsortofaphysiognomyhasit，anyway？
LITTLEMAN。[Stillfaintly]Idon’tseeanythingbut——butspots。
GERMAN。Oh！Ha！Pfui！
[TheDUTCHYOUTHlaughs。]
AMERICAN。Iamtoldthatisnotuncommonamongstbabies。Perhapswecouldhaveyouinformus，ma’am。
ENGLISHWOMAN。Yes，ofcourse——onlywhatsortof————
LITTLEMAN。Theyseemalloverits————[Attheslightrecoilofeveryone]Ifeelsureit’s——it’squiteagoodbabyunderneath。
AMERICAN。Thatwillberatherdifficulttocomeat。I’mjustabitsensitive。I’veverylittleuseforaffectionsoftheepidermis。
GERMAN。Pfui！[Hehasedgedawayasfarashecanget，andislightingabigcigar]
[TheDUTCHYOUTHdrawshislegsback。]
AMERICAN。[Alsotakingoutacigar]Iguessitwouldbewelltofumigatethiscarriage。Doesitsuffer，doyouthink？
LITTLEMAN。[Peering）Really，Idon’t——I’mnotsure——Iknowsolittleaboutbabies。Ithinkitwouldhaveaniceexpression——if——ifitshowed。
AMERICAN。Isitkindofboiledlooking？
LITTLEMAN。Yes——yes，itis。
AMERICAN。[Lookinggravelyround]Ijudgethisbabyhasthemeasles。
[TheGERMANscrewshimselfspasmodicallyagainstthearmoftheENGLISHWOMAN’Sseat。]
ENGLISHWOMAN。Poorlittlething！ShallI————？
[Shehalfrises。]
ENGLISHMAN。[Touchingher]No，no————Dashit！
AMERICAN。Ihonouryouremotion，ma’am。Itdoescredittousall。
ButIsympathizewithyourhusbandtoo。Themeaslesisaveryimportantpestilenceinconnectionwithagrownwoman。
LITTLEMAN。Itlikesmyfingerawfully。Really，it’sratherasweetbaby。
AMERICAN。[Sniffing]Well，thatwouldappeartobequiteaquestion。Aboutthemspots，now？Aretheyrosy？
LITTLEMAN。No—o;they’redark，almostblack。
GERMAN。Gott！Typhus！[HeboundsupontothearmoftheENGLISHWOMAN’SSeat。]
AMERICAN。Typhus！That’squiteanindisposition！
[TheDUTCHYOUTHrisessuddenly，andboltsoutintothecorridor。HeisfollowedbytheGERMAN，puffingcloudsofsmoke。TheENGLISHandAMERICANsitamomentlongerwithoutspeaking。TheENGLISHWOMAN’Sfaceisturnedwithacuriousexpression——halfpity，halffear——towardstheLITTLEMAN。ThentheENGLISHMANgetsup。]
ENGLISHMAN。Bitstuffyforyouhere，dear，isn’tit？
[Heputshisarmthroughhers，raisesher，andalmostpushesherthroughthedoorway。Shegoes，stilllookingback。]
AMERICAN。[Gravely]There’snothingIadmiremore’ncourage。GuessI’llgoandsmokeinthecorridor。
[AshegoesouttheLITTLEMANlooksverywistfullyafterhim。
Screwinguphismouthandnose，heholdstheBABYawayfromhimandwavers;thenrising，heputsitontheseatoppositeandgoesthroughthemotionsoflettingdownthewindow。HavingdonesohelooksattheBABY，whohasbeguntowail。Suddenlyheraiseshishandsandclaspsthem，likeachildpraying。
Since，however，theBABYdoesnotstopwailing，hehoversoveritinindecision;then，pickingitup，sitsdownagaintodandleit，withhisfaceturnedtowardtheopenwindow。Findingthatitstillwails，hebeginstosingtoitinacrackedlittlevoice。Itischarmedatonce。Whileheissinging，theAMERICANappearsinthecorridor。Lettingdownthepassagewindow，hestandsthereinthedoorwaywiththedraughtblowinghishairandthesmokeofhiscigarallabouthim。TheLITTLE
MANstopssingingandshiftstheshawlhighertoprotecttheBABY’Sheadfromthedraught。
AMERICAN。[Gravely]ThisisthemostsublimespectacleIhaveeverenvisaged。Thereoughttobearecordofthis。
[TheLITTLEMANlooksathim，wondering。Youaretypical，sir，ofthesentimentsofmodernChristianity。Youillustratethedeepestfeelingsintheheartofeveryman。]
[TheLITTLEMANriseswiththeBABYandamovementofapproach。]
GuessI’mwantedinthedining—car。
[Hevanishes。TheLITTLEMANsitsdownagain，butbacktotheengine，awayfromthedraught，andlooksoutofthewindow，patientlyjoggingtheBABYOnhisknee。]
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SCENEIII
Anarrivalplatform。TheLITTLEMAN，withtheBABYandthebundle，isstandingdisconsolate，whiletravellerspassandluggageisbeingcarriedby。ASTATIONOFFICIAL，accompaniedbyaPOLICEMAN，appearsfromadoorway，behindhim。
OFFICIAL。[Consultingtelegraminhishand]’DasistderHerr’。
[TheyadvancetotheLITTLEMAN。]
OFFICIAL。’SiehabeneinenBubengestohlen’？
LITTLEMAN。IonlyspeakEnglishandAmerican。
OFFICIAL。’DiesistnichtIhrBube’？
[HetouchestheBaby。]
LITTLEMAN。[Shakinghishead]Takecare——it’sill。
[Themandoesnotunderstand。]
Ill——thebaby————
OFFICIAL。[Shakinghishead]’Verstehenicht’。Disisnodyourbaby？
No？
LITTLEMAN。[Shakinghisheadviolently]No，itisnot。No。
OFFICIAL。[Tappingthetelegram]Gut！Youare’rested。[HesignstothePOLICEMAN，whotakestheLITTLEMAN’sarm。]
LITTLEMAN。Why？Idon’twantthepoorbaby。
OFFICIAL。[Liftingthebundle]’DiesistnichtIhrGepack’——pag？
LITTLEMary。No。
OFFICIAL。Gut！Youare’rested。
LITTLEMAN。Ionlytookitforthepoorwoman。I’mnotathief——
I’m——I’m————
OFFICIAL。[Shakinghead]Verstehenicht。
[TheLITTLEMANtriestotearhishair。ThedisturbedBABY
wails。]
LITTLEMAN。[Dandlingitasbesthecan]There，there——poor，poor！
OFFICIAL。Haltstill！Youare’rested。Itisallright。
LITTLEMAN。Whereisthemother？
OFFICIAL。Shecometbynextdrain。Dastelegramsay:’HalteinenHerrenmitschwarzemBubenandschwarzemGepack’。’Restgentlemanmitblackbabyandblack——pag。
[TheLITTLEMANturnsuphiseyestoheaven。]
OFFICIAL。’Kommmitus’。
[TheytaketheLITTLEMANtowardthedoorfromwhichtheyhavecome。Avoicestopsthem。]
AMERICAN。[Speakingfromasfarawayasmaybe]Justamoment！
[TheOFFICIALstops;theLITTLEMANalsostopsandsitsdownonabenchagainstthewall。ThePOLICEMANstandsstolidlybesidehim。TheAMERICANapproachesasteportwo，beckoning;theOFFICIALgoesuptohim。]
AMERICAN。Guessyou’vegotanangelfromheaventhere！What’sthegentlemaninbuttonsfor？
OFFICIAL。’Wasistdas’？
AMERICAN。IsthereanybodyherethatcanunderstandAmerican？
OFFICIAL。’Verstehenicht’。
AMERICAN。Well，justwatchmygestures。Iwassaying[HepointstotheLITTLEMAN，thenmakesgesturesofflying]youhaveanangelfromheaventhere。YouhavethereamaninwhomGawd[Hepointsupward]takesquiteanamountofstock。Youhavenocalltoarresthim。[Hemakesthegestureofarrest]No，Sir。Providencehasactedprettymean，loadingoffthatbabyonhim。[Hemakesthemotionofdandling]Thelittlemanhasaheartofgold。[Hepointstohisheart，andtakesoutagoldcoin。]
OFFICIAL。[Thinkingheisabouttobebribed]’Aber，dasistzuviel’！
AMERICAN。Now，don’trattleme！[PointingtotheLITTLEMAN]Man[Pointingtohisheart]’Herz’[Pointingtothecoin]’von’Gold。
Thisisaflowerofthefield——hedon’twantnogentlemaninbuttonstopluckhimup。
[Alittlecrowdisgathering，includingtheTwoENGLISH，theGERMAN，andtheDUTCHYOUTH。]
OFFICIAL。’Versteheabsolutnichts’。[Hetapsthetelegram]’Ichmussmein’dutydo。
AMERICAN。ButI’mtellingyou。Thisisawhiteman。ThisisprobablythewhitestmanonGawd’searth。
OFFICIAL。’Dasmachtnichts’——gutornogut，Imussmeindutydo。
[HeturnstogotowardtheLITTLEMAN。]
AMERICAN。Oh！Verywell，arresthim;doyourduty。Thisbabyhastyphus。
[Attheword\"typhus\"theOFFICIALstops。]
AMERICAN。[Makinggestures]First—classtyphus，blacktyphus，schwarzentyphus。Nowyouhaveit。I’mkindo’sorryforyouandthegentlemaninbuttons。Doyourduty！
OFFICIAL。Typhus？DerBub——diebabyhattyphus？
AMERICAN。I’mtellingyou。
OFFICIAL。GottimHimmel！
AMERICAN。[SpottingtheGERMANinthelittlethrong]here’sagentlemanwillcorroborateme。
OFFICIAL。[Muchdisturbed，andsigningtothePOLICEMANtostandclear]Typhus！’Aberdasistgrasslich’！
AMERICAN。Ikindo’thoughtyou’dfeellikethat。
OFFICIAL。’DieSanitatsmachine！Gleich’！
[APORTERgoestogetit。Fromeithersidethebrokenhalf—moonofpersonsstandgazingattheLITTLEMAN，whositsunhappilydandlingtheBABYinthecentre。]
OFFICIAL。[Raisinghishands]’Waszuthun’？
AMERICAN。Guessyou’dbetterisolatethebaby。
[Asilence，duringwhichtheLITTLEMANisheardfaintlywhistlingandcluckingtotheBABY。]
OFFICIAL。[Referringoncemoretohistelegram]
\"’Restgentlemanmitblackbaby。\"[Shakinghishead]Wirmustdegentlemanhold。[TotheGERMAN]’Bitte，meinHerr，sagenSieihm，denBubenzuniedersetzen’。[Hemakesthegestureofdeposit。]
GERMAN。[TotheLITTLEMAN]Hesay:Putdownthebaby。
[TheLITTLEMANshakeshishead，andcontinuestodandletheBABY。]
OFFICIAL。Youmust。
[TheLITTLEMANglowers，insilence。]
ENGLISHMAN。[Inbackground——muttering]Goodman！
GERMAN。Hisspiriteverdenies。
OFFICIAL。[Againmakinghisgesture]’Aberermuss’！
[TheLITTLEMANmakesafaceathim。]
’Sag’Ihm’:Instantlyputdownbaby，andkomm’mitus。
[TheBABYwails。]
LITTLEMAN。Leavethepoorillbabyherealone？Be——be——bed———dtoyou！
AMERICAN。[Jumpingontoatrunk——withenthusiasm]Bully！
[TheENGLISHclaptheirhands;theDUTCHYOUTHlaughs。TheOFFICIALismuttering，greatlyincensed。]
AMERICAN。Whatdoesthatbody—snatchersay？
GERMAN。Hesaythismanusethebabytosavehimselffromarrest。
Verysmarthesay。
AMERICAN。Ijudgeyoudohimaninjustice。[ShowingofftheLITTLE
MANwithasweepofhisarm。]Thisisawhiteman。He’sgotablackbaby，andhewon’leaveitinthelurch。Guesswewouldallactnoblethatway，giveusthechance。
[TheLITTLEMANrises，holdingouttheBABY，andadvancesasteportwo。Thehalf—moonatoncegives，increasingitssize;，theAMERICANclimbsontoahighertrunk。TheLITTLEMANretiresandagainsitsdown。]
AMERICAN。[AddressingtheOFFICIAL]Guessyou’dbettergooutofbusinessandwaitforthemother。
OFFICIAL。[Stampinghisfoot]DieMuttersall’restedbefortakingoutbabymittyphus。Ha！[TotheLITTLEMAN]Putzebabydown！
[TheLITTLEMANsmiles。]
Doyou’ear？
AMERICAN。[AddressingtheOFFICIAL]Now，seehere。’Pearstomeyoudon’tsuspicionjusthowbeautifulthisis。Herewehaveamangivinghislifeforthatoldbabythat’sgotnoclaimonhim。Thisisnotababyofhisownmaking。No，sir，thisisaveryChrist—likepropositioninthegentleman。
OFFICIAL。Putzebabydown，orichwillgommandsomeoneittodo。
AMERICAN。Thatwillbeveryinterestingtowatch。
OFFICIAL。[ToPOLICEMAN]Dakeitvromhim。
[ThePOLICEMANmutters，butdoesnot。]
AMERICAN。[TotheGerman]GuessIlostthat。
GERMAN。Hesayheisnothisofficier。
AMERICAN。Thatjustticklesmetodeath。
OFFICIAL。[Lookinground]VillnobodydakezeBub’？
ENGLISHWOMAN。[Movingastepfaintly]Yes——I————
ENGLISHMAN。[Graspingherarm]。ByJove！Willyou！
OFFICIAL。[GatheringhimselfforagreatefforttotaketheBABY，andadvancingtwosteps]ZenIgoummandyou——[Hestopsandhisvoicediesaway]Zitdere！
AMERICAN。My！That’swonderful。Whatamanthisis！Whatasublimesenseofduty！
[TheDUTCHYOUTHlaughs。TheOFFICIALturnsonhim，butashedoessotheMOTHERoftheBusyisseenhurrying。]
MOTHER。’Ach！Ach！Mei’Bubi’！
[Herfaceisillumined;sheisabouttorushtotheLITTLEMAN。]
OFFICIAL。[TothePOLICEMAN]’NimmdieFrau’！
[ThePOLICEMANcatchesholdoftheWOMAN。]
OFFICIAL。[TothefrightenedWOMAN]’WarumhabenSieeinenBubenmitTyphusmitausgebracht’？
AMERICAN。[Eagerly，fromhisperch]Whatwasthat？Idon’twanttomissany。
GERMAN。Hesay:Whydidyouababywithtyphuswithyoubringout？
AMERICAN。Well，that’squiteaquestion。
[Hetakesoutthefield—glassesslungaroundhimandadjuststhemontheBABY。]
MOTHER。[Bewildered）Mei’Bubi——Typhus——aberTyphus？[Sheshakesherheadviolently]’Nein，nein，nein！Typhus’！
OFFICIAL。ErhatTyphus。
MOTHER。[Shakingherhead]’Nein，nein，nein’！
AMERICAN。[Lookingthroughhisglasses]Guessshe’skindofright1
Ijudgethetyphusiswherethebaby’slobberedontheshawl，andit’scomeoffonhim。
[TheDUTCHYOUTHlaughs。]
OFFICIAL。[Turningonhimfuriously]ErhatTyphus。
AMERICAN。Now，that’swhereyouslopover。Comerighthere。
[TheOFFICIALmounts，andlooksthroughtheglasses。]
AMERICAN。[TotheLITTLEMAN]Skinoutthebaby’sleg。Ifwedon’tlocatespotsonthat，it’llbegoodenoughforme。
[TheLITTLEMANfumblesOuttheBABY’Slittlewhitefoot。]
MOTHER。Mei’Bubi！[Shetriestobreakaway。]
AMERICAN。Whiteasabanana。[TotheOFFICIAL——affably]Guessyou’vemadekindofafoolofuswithyouroldtyphus。
OFFICIAL。LassdieFrau！
[ThePOLICEMANletshergo，andsherushestoherBABY。]
MOTHER。Mei’Bubi！
[TheBABY，exchangingthewarmthoftheLITTLEMANforthemomentarychillofitsMOTHER，wails。]
OFFICIAL。[DescendingandbeckoningtothePOLICEMAN]’SiewollendenHerrnaccusiren’？
[ThePOLICEMANtakestheLITTLEMAN’sarm。]
AMERICAN。What’sthat？Theygoin’topitchhimafterall？
[TheMOTHER，stillhuggingherBABY，whohasstoppedcrying，gazesattheLITTLEMAN，whositsdazedlylookingup。Suddenlyshedropsonherknees，andwithherfreehandliftshisbootedfootandkissesit。
AMERICAN。[Wavinghishat]Ra！Ra！[Hedescendsswiftly，goesuptotheLITTLEMAN，whosearmthePOLICEMANhasdropped，andtakeshishand]Brother;Iamproudtoknowyou。ThisisoneofthegreatestmomentsIhaveeverexperienced。[DisplayingtheLITTLEMANtotheassembledcompany]IthinkIsensethesituationwhenIsaythatweallesteemitanhonourtobreathetheratherinferioratmosphereofthisstationhereAlongwithourlittlefriend。Iguessweshallallgohomeandtreasurethememoryofhisfaceasthewhitestthinginourmuseumofrecollections。Andperhapsthisgoodwomanwillalsogohomeandwashthefaceofourlittlebrotherhere。Iaminspiredwithanewfaithinmankind。Ladiesandgentlemen，Iwishtopresenttoyouasure—enoughsaint——onlywantsahalo，tobetransfigured。
[TotheLITTLEMAN]Standrightup。
[TheLITTLEMANstandsupbewildered。Theycomeabouthim。TheOFFICIALbowstohim，thePOLICEMANsaluteshim。TheDUTCH
YOUTHshakeshisheadandlaughs。TheGERMANdrawshimselfupverystraight，andbowsquicklytwice。TheENGLISHMANandhisWIFEapproachatleasttwosteps，then，thinkingbetterofit，turntoeachotherandrecede。TheMOTHERkisseshishand。ThePORTERreturningwiththeSanitatsmachine，turnsitonfrombehind，anditspinkishshower，goldenedbyarayofsunlight，fallsaroundtheLITTLEMAN’shead，transfiguringitashestandswitheyesupraisedtoseewhencetheportentcomes。
AMERICAN。[Rushingforwardanddroppingonhisknees]Holdonjustaminute！GuessI’lltakeasnapshotofthemiracle。[Headjustshispocketcamera]Thisoughttolookbully！
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