MRS。BARTHWICK。MydearJohn，whatareyoutalkingabout？Howcouldtherebeanyalternative？Thinkoftheeffectontheotherservants！
BARTHWICK。Ofcourseinprinciple——Iwasn’tthinkingofthat。
JACK。[Maliciously。]Crackers，please，Dad。
[BARTHWICKiscompelledtopassthecrackers。]
MRS。BARTHWICK。LadyHolyroodtoldme:\"Ihadherup，\"shesaid;\"I
saidtoher，’You’llleavemyhouseatonce;Ithinkyourconductdisgraceful。Ican’ttell，Idon’tknow，andIdon’twishtoknow，whatyouweredoing。Isendyouawayonprinciple;youneednotcometomeforacharacter。’Andthegirlsaid:’Ifyoudon’tgivememynotice，mylady，Iwantamonth’swages。I’mperfectlyrespectable。I’vedonenothing。’\"’——Donenothing！
BARTHWICK。H’m！
MRS。BARTHWICK。Servantshavetoomuchlicense。Theyhangtogethersoterriblyyounevercantellwhatthey’rereallythinking;it’sasiftheywereallinaconspiracytokeepyouinthedark。EvenwithMarlow，youfeelthatheneverletsyouknowwhat’sreallyinhismind。Ihatethatsecretiveness;itdestroysallconfidence。I
feelsometimesIshouldliketoshakehim。
JACK。Marlow’samostdecentchap。It’ssimplybeastlyeveryoneknowingyouraffairs。
BARTHWICK。Thelessyousayaboutthatthebetter！
MRS。BARTHWICK。Itgoesallthroughthelowerclasses。Youcannottellwhentheyarespeakingthetruth。To—daywhenIwasshoppingafterleavingtheHolyroods，oneoftheseunemployedcameupandspoketome。IsupposeIonlyhadtwentyyardsorsotowalktothecarnage，butheseemedtospringupinthestreet。
BARTHWICK。Ah！Youmustbeverycarefulwhomyouspeaktointhesedays。
MRS。BARTHWICK。Ididn’tanswerhim，ofcourse。ButIcouldseeatoncethathewasn’ttellingthetruth。
BARTHWICK。[Crackinganut。]There’soneverygoodrule——lookattheireyes。
JACK。Crackers，please，Dad。
BARTHWICK。[Passingthecrackers。]Iftheireyesarestraight—
forwardIsometimesgivethemsixpence。It’sagainstmyprinciples，butit’smostdifficulttorefuse。Ifyouseethatthey’redesperate，anddull，andshifty—looking，assomanyofthemare，it’scertaintomeandrink，orcrime，orsomethingunsatisfactory。
MRS。BARTHWICK。Thismanhaddreadfuleyes。Helookedasifhecouldcommitamurder。\"I’ve’adnothingtoeatto—day，\"hesaid。
Justlikethat。
BARTHWICK。WhatwasWilliamabout？Heoughttohavebeenwaiting。
JACK。[Raisinghiswine—glasstohisnose。]Isthisthe’63，Dad？
[BARTHWICK，holdinghiswine—glasstohiseye，lowersitandpassesitbeforehisnose。]
MRS。BARTHWICK。Ihatepeoplethatcan’tspeakthetruth。[Fatherandsonexchangealookbehindtheirport。]It’sjustaseasytospeakthetruthasnot。I’vealwaysfounditeasyenough。Itmakesitimpossibletotellwhatisgenuine;onefeelsasifonewerecontinuallybeingtakenin。
BARTHWICK。[Sententiously。]Thelowerclassesaretheirownenemies。Iftheywouldonlytrustus，theywouldgetonsomuchbetter。
MRS。BARTHWICK。Buteventhenit’ssooftentheirownfault。LookatthatMrs。Jonesthismorning。
BARTHWICK。Ionlywanttodowhat’srightinthatmatter。IhadoccasiontoseeRoperthisafternoon。Imentionedittohim。He’scominginthisevening。Italldependsonwhatthedetectivesays。
I’vehadmydoubts。I’vebeenthinkingitover。
MRS。BARTHWICK。Thewomanimpressedmemostunfavourably。Sheseemedtohavenoshame。Thataffairshewastalkingabout——sheandthemanwhentheywereyoung，soimmoral！AndbeforeyouandJack！
Icouldhaveputheroutoftheroom！
BARTHWICK。Oh！Idon’twanttoexcusethem，butinlookingatthesemattersonemustconsider。
MRS。BARTHWICK。Perhapsyou’llsaytheman’semployerwaswrongindismissinghim？
BARTHWICK。Ofcoursenot。It’snottherethatIfeeldoubt。WhatIaskmyselfis。
JACK。Port，please，Dad。
BARTHWICK。[Circulatingthedecanterinreligiousimitationoftherisingandsettingofthesun。]Iaskmyselfwhetherwearesufficientlycarefulinmakinginquiriesaboutpeoplebeforeweengagethem，especiallyasregardsmoralconduct。
JACK。Passthe—port，please，Mother！
MRS。BARTHWICK。[Passingit。]Mydearboy，aren’tyoudrinkingtoomuch？
[JACKfillshisglass。]
MARLOW。[Entering。]DetectiveSnowtoseeyou，Sir。
BARTHWICK。[Uneasily。]Ah！sayI’llbewithhiminaminute。
MRS。BARTHWICK。[Withoutturning。]Lethimcomeinhere，Marlow。
[SNOWentersinanovercoat，hisbowlerhatinhand。]
BARTHWICK。[Half—rising。]Oh！Goodevening！
SNOW。Goodevening，sir;goodevening，ma’am。I’vecalledroundtoreportwhatI’vedone，ratherlate，I’mafraid——anothercasetookmeaway。[Hetakesthesilverboxoutofhispocket，causingasensationintheBARTHWICKfamily。]Thisistheidenticalarticle，Ibelieve。
BARTHWICK。Certainly，certainly。
SNOW。Havin’yourcrestandcypher，asyoudescribedtome，sir，I
’dnohesitationinthematter。
BARTHWICK。Excellent。Willyouhaveaglassof[heglancesatthewaningport]——er——sherry—[poursoutsherry]。Jack，justgiveMr。
Snowthis。
[JACKrisesandgivestheglasstoSNOW;then，lollinginhischair，regardshimindolently。]
SNOW。[Drinkingoffwineandputtingdowntheglass。]AfterseeingyouIwentroundtothiswoman’slodgings，sir。It’salowneighborhood，andIthoughtitaswelltoplaceaconstablebelow——
andnotwithout’ewaswanted，asthingsturnedout。
BARTHWICK。Indeed！
SNOW。Yes，Sir，I’adsometrouble。Iaskedhertoaccountforthepresenceofthearticle。Shecouldgivemenoanswer，excepttodenythetheft;soItookherintocustody;thenherhusbandcameforme，soIwasobligedtotakehim，too，forassault。Hewasveryviolentonthewaytothestation——veryviolent——threatenedyouandyourson，andaltogetherhewasahandful，Icantillyou。
MRS。BARTHWICK。Whataruffianhemustbe！
SNOW。Yes，ma’am，aroughcustomer。
JACK。[Sippinghismine，bemused。]Punchthebeggar’shead。
SNOW。Giventodrink，asIunderstand，sir。
MRS。BARTHWICK。It’stobehopedhewillgetaseverepunishment。
SNOW。Theoddthingis，sir，thathepersistsinsayin’hetooktheboxhimself。
BARTHWICK。Tooktheboxhimself！[Hesmiles。]Whatdoeshethinktogainbythat？
SNOW。Hesaystheyounggentlemanwasintoxicatedlastnight[JACKstopsthecrackingofanut，andlooksatSNOW。]
[BARTHWICK，losinghissmile，hasputhiswine—glassdown;
thereisasilence——SNOW，lookingfromfacetoface，remarks]
——tookhimintothehouseandgavehimwhisky;andundertheinfluenceofanemptystomachthemansayshetookthebox。
MRS。BARTHWICK。Theimpudentwretch！
BARTHWICK。D’youmeanthathe——er——intendstoputthisforwardto—morrow？
SNOW。That’llbehisline，sir;butwhetherhe’sendeavouringtoshieldhiswife，orwhether[helooksatJACK]there’ssomethinginit，willbeforthemagistratetosay。
MRS。BARTHWICK。[Haughtily。]Somethinginwhat？Idon’tunderstandyou。Asifmysonwouldbringamanlikethatintothehouse！
BARTHWICK。[Fromthefireplace，withanefforttobecalm。]Mysoncanspeakforhimself，nodoubt。Well，Jack，whatdoyousay？
MRS。BARTHWICK。[Sharply。]Whatdoeshesay？Why，ofcourse，hesaysthewholestory’sstuff！
JACK。[Embarrassed。]Well，ofcourse，I——ofcourse，Idon’tknowanythingaboutit。
MRS。BARTHWICK。Ishouldthinknot，indeed！[ToSnow。]Themanisanaudaciousruffian！
BARTHWICK。[Suppressingjumps。]Butinviewofmyson’ssayingthere’snothinginthis——thisfable——willitbenecessarytoproceedagainstthemanunderthecircumstances？
SNOW。Weshallhavetochargehimwiththeassault，sir。ItwouldbeaswellforyoursontocomedowntotheCourt。There’llbearemand，nodoubt。Thequeerthingistherewasquiteasumofmoneyfoundonhim，andacrimsonsilkpurse。
[BARTHWICKstarts;JACKrisesandsitsdozenagain。]
Isupposetheladyhasn’tmissedherpurse？
BARTHWICK。[Hastily。]Oh，no！Oh！No！
JACK。No！
MRS。BARTHWICK。[Dreamily。]No！[ToSNOW。]I’vebeeninquiringoftheservants。Thismandoeshangaboutthehouse。Ishallfeelmuchsaferifhegetsagoodlongsentence;Idothinkweoughttobeprotectedagainstsuchruffians。
BARTHWICK。Yes，yes，ofcourse，onprinciplebutinthiscasewehaveanumberofthingstothinkof。[ToSNOW。]Isuppose，asyousay，themanmustbecharged，eh？
SNOW。Noquestionaboutthat，sir。
BARTHWICK。[StaringgloomilyatJACK。]Thisprosecutiongoesverymuchagainstthegrainwithme。Ihavegreatsympathywiththepoor。InmypositionI’mboundtorecognisethedistressthereisamongstthem。Theconditionofthepeopleleavesmuchtobedesired。D’youfollowme？IwishIcouldseemywaytodropit。
MRS。BARTHWICK。[Sharply。]John！it’ssimplynotfairtootherpeople。It’sputtingpropertyatthemercyofanyonewholikestotakeit。
BARTHWICK。[Tryingtomakesignstoheraside。]I’mnotdefendinghim，notatall。I’mtryingtolookatthematterbroadly。
MRS。BARTHWICK。Nonsense，John，there’satimeforeverything。
SNOW。[Rathersardonically。]Imightpointout，sir，thattowithdrawthechargeofstealingwouldnotmakemuchdifference，becausethefactsmustcomeout[helookssignificantlyatJACK]inreferencetotheassault;andasIsaidthatchargewillhavetogoforward。
BARTHWICK。[Hastily。]Yes，oh！exactly！It’sentirelyonthewoman’saccount——entirelyamatterofmyownprivatefeelings。
SNOW。IfIwereyou，sir，Ishouldletthingstaketheircourse。
It’snotlikelythere’llbemuchdifficulty。Thesethingsareveryquicksettled。
BARTHWICK。[Doubtfully。]Youthinkso——youthinkso？
JACK。[Rousinghimself。]Isay，whatshallIhavetoswearto？
SNOW。That’sbestknowntoyourself，sir。[Retreatingtothedoor。]Betteremployasolicitor，sir，incaseanythingshouldarise。Weshallhavethebutlertoprovethelossofthearticle。
You’llexcusemegoing，I’mratherpressedto—night。Thecasemaycomeonanytimeaftereleven。Goodevening，sir;goodevening，ma’am。Ishallhavetoproducetheboxincourtto—morrow，soifyou’llexcuseme，sir，Imayaswelltakeitwithme。
[Hetakesthesilverboxandleavesthemwithalittlebow。]
[BARTHWICKmakesamovetofollowhim，thendashinghishandsbeneathhiscoattails，speakswithdesperation。]
BARTHWICK。Idowishyou’dleavemetomanagethingsmyself。Youwillputyournoseintomattersyouknownothingof。Aprettymessyou’vemadeofthis！
MRS。BARTHWICK。[Coldly。]Idon’tintheleastknowwhatyou’retalkingabout。Ifyoucan’tstandupforyourrights，Ican。I’venopatiencewithyourprinciples，it’ssuchnonsense。
BARTHWICK。Principles！GoodHeavens！Whathaveprinciplestodowithitforgoodnesssake？Don’tyouknowthatJackwasdrunklastnight！
JACK。Dad！
MRS。BARTHWICK。[Inhorrorrising。]Jack！
JACK。Lookhere，Mother——Ihadsupper。Everybodydoes。Imeantosay——youknowwhatImean——it’sabsurdtocallitbeingdrunk。AtOxfordeverybodygetsabit\"on\"sometimes。
MRS。BARTHWICK。Well，Ithinkit’smostdreadful！IfthatisreallywhatyoudoatOxford？
JACK。[Angrily。]Well，whydidyousendmethere？Onemustdoasotherfellowsdo。It’ssuchnonsense，Imean，tocallitbeingdrunk。OfcourseI’mawfullysorry。I’vehadsuchabeastlyheadacheallday。
BARTHWICK。Tcha！Ifyou’donlyhadthecommondecencytorememberwhathappenedwhenyoucamein。Thenweshouldknowwhattruththerewasinwhatthisfellowsays——asitis，it’sallthemostconfoundeddarkness。
JACK。[Staringasthoughathalf—formedvisions。]Ijustgeta——
andthen——it’sgone。
MRS。BARTHWICK。Oh，Jack！doyoumeantosayyouweresotipsyyoucan’tevenremember。
JACK。Lookhere，Mother！OfcourseIrememberIcame——Imusthavecome。
BARTHWICK。[Unguardedly，andwalkingupanddown。]Tcha！——andthatinfernalpurse！GoodHeavens！It’llgetintothepapers。Whoonearthcouldhaveforeseenathinglikethis？Bettertohavelostadozencigarette—boxes，andsaidnothingaboutit。[Tohiswife。]
It’sallyourdoing。Itoldyousofromthefirst。IwishtogoodnessRoperwouldcome！
MRS。BARTHWICK。[Sharply。]Idon’tknowwhatyou’retalkingabout，John。
BARTHWICK。[Turningonher。]No，you——you——youdon’tknowanything！[Sharply。]WherethedevilisRoper？Ifhecanseeawayoutofthishe’sabettermanthanItakehimfor。Idefyanyonetoseeawayoutofit。Ican’t。
JACK。Lookhere，don’texciteDad——IcansimplysayIwastoobeastlytired，anddon’trememberanythingexceptthatIcameinand[inadyingvoice]wenttobedthesameasusual。
BARTHWICK。Wenttobed？Whoknowswhereyouwent——I’velostallconfidence。ForallIknowyousleptonthefloor。
JACK。[Indignantly。]Ididn’t，Isleptonthe。
BARTHWICK。[Sittingonthesofa。]Whocareswhereyouslept;whatdoesitmatterifhementionsthe——the——aperfectdisgrace？
MRS。BARTHWICK。What？[Asilence。]Iinsistonknowing。
JACK。Oh！nothing。
MRS。BARTHWICK。Nothing？Whatdoyoumeanbynothing，Jack？
There’syourfatherinsuchastateaboutit！
JACK。It’sonlymypurse。
MRS。BARTHWICK。Yourpurse！Youknowperfectlywellyouhaven’tgotone。
JACK。Well，itwassomebodyelse’s——itwasallajoke——Ididn’twantthebeastlything。
MRS。BARTHWICK。Doyoumeanthatyouhadanotherperson’spurse，andthatthismantookittoo？
BARTHWICK。Tcha！Ofcoursehetookittoo！AmanlikethatJoneswillmakethemostofit。It’llgetintothepapers。
MRS。BARTHWICK。Idon’tunderstand。Whatonearthisallthefussabout？[BendingoverJACK，andsoftly。]Jacknow，tellmedear！
Don’tbeafraid。Whatisit？Come！
JACK。Oh，don’tMother！
MRS。BARTHWICK。Butdon’twhat，dear？
JACK。Itwaspuresport。Idon’tknowhowIgotthething。OfcourseI’dhadabitofarow——Ididn’tknowwhatIwasdoing——I
was——IWas——well，youknow——IsupposeImusthavepulledthebagoutofherhand。
MRS。BARTHWICK。Outofherhand？Whosehand？Whatbag——whosebag？
JACK。Oh！Idon’tknow——herbag——itbelongedto——[inadesperateandrisingvoice]awoman。
MRS。BARTHWICK。Awoman？Oh！Jack！No！
JACK。[Jumpingup。]Youwouldhaveit。Ididn’twanttotellyou。It’snotmyfault。
[ThedooropensandMARLOWushersinamanofmiddleage，inclinedtocorpulence，ineveningdress。Hehasaruddy，thinmoustache，anddark，quick—movinglittleeyes。HiseyebrowsayeChinese。]
MARLOW。Mr。Roper，Sir。[Heleavestheroom。]
ROPER。[Withaquicklookround。]Howdoyoudo？
[ButneitherJACKnorMRS。BARTHWICKmakeasign。]
BARTHWICK。[Hurrying。]Thankgoodnessyou’vecome，Roper。YourememberwhatItoldyouthisafternoon;we’vejusthadthedetectivehere。
ROPER。Gotthebox？
BARTHWICK。Yes，yes，butlookhere——itwasn’tthecharwomanatall;herdrunkenloaferofahusbandtookthethings——hesaysthatfellowthere[hewaveshishandatJACK，whowithhisshoulderraised，seemstryingtowardoffablow]lethimintothehouselastnight。Canyouimaginesuchathing。
[Roperlaughs。]
BARTHWICK。[Withexcitedemphasis。]。It’snolaughingmatter，Roper。ItoldyouaboutthatbusinessofJack’stoo——don’tyouseethebrutetookboththethings——tookthatinfernalpurse。It’llgetintothepapers。
ROPER。[Raisinghiseyebrows。]H’m！Thepurse！Depravityinhighlife！Whatdoesyoursonsay？
BARTHWICK。Heremembersnothing。D——n！Didyoueverseesuchamess？It’llgetintothepapers。
MRS。BARTHWICK。[Withherhandacrossheyeyes。]Oh！it’snotthat。
[BARTHWICKandROPERturnandlookather。]
BARTHWICK。It’stheideaofthatwoman——she’sjustheard。
[ROPERnods。AndMRS。BARTHWICK，settingherlips，givesaslowlookatJACK，andsitsdownatthetable。]
Whatonearth’stobedone，Roper？AruffianlikethisJoneswillmakeallthecapitalhecanoutofthatpurse。
MRS。BARTHWICK。Idon’tbelievethatJacktookthatpurse。
BARTHWICK。What——whenthewomancamehereforitthismorning？
MRS。BARTHWICK。Here？Shehadtheimpudence？Whywasn’tItold？
[Shelooksroundfromfacetoface——nooneanswershey，thereisapause。]
BARTHWICK。[Suddenly。]What’stobedone，Roper？
ROPER。[QuietlytoJACK。]Isupposeyoudidn’tleaveyourlatch—
keyinthedoor？
JACK。[Sullenly。]Yes，Idid。
BARTHWICK。Goodheavens！Whatnext？
MRS。BARTHWICK。I’mcertainyouneverletthatmanintothehouse，Jack，it’sawildinvention。I’msurethere’snotawordoftruthinit，Mr。Roper。
ROPER。[Verysuddenly。]Wheredidyousleeplastnight？
JACK。[Promptly。]Onthesofa，there——[hesitating]——thatis——I。
BARTHWICK。Onthesofa？D’youmeantosayyoudidn’tgotobed？
JACK。[Sullenly。]No。
BARTHWICK。Ifyoudon’trememberanything，howcanyourememberthat？
JACK。BecauseIwokeupthereinthemorning。
MRS。BARTHWICK。Oh，Jack！
BARTHWICK。GoodGracious！
JACK。AndMrs。Jonessawme。Iwishyouwouldn’tbaitmeso。
ROPER。Doyouremembergivinganyoneadrink？
JACK。ByJove，Idoseemtorememberafellowwith——afellowwith[HelooksatRoper。]Isay，d’youwantme。？
ROPER。[Quickaslightning。]Withadirtyface？
JACK。[Withillumination。]Ido——Idistinctlyrememberhis。
[BARTHWICKmovesabruptly;MRS。BARTHWICKlooksatROPER
angrily，andtouchesherson’sarm。]
MRS。BARTHWICK。Youdon’tremember，it’sridiculous！Idon’tbelievethemanwaseverhereatall。
BARTHWICK。Youmustspeakthetruth，ifitisthetruth。Butifyoudoremembersuchadirtybusiness，Ishallwashmyhandsofyoualtogether。
JACK。[Glaringatthem。]Well，whatthedevil。
MRS。BARTHWICK。Jack！
JACK。Well，Mother，I——Idon’tknowwhatyoudowant。
MRS。BARTHWICK。Wewantyoutospeakthetruthandsayyouneverletthislowmanintothehouse。
BARTHWICK。Ofcourseifyouthinkthatyoureallygavethismanwhiskyinthatdisgracefulway，andlethimseewhatyou’dbeendoing，andwereinsuchadisgustingconditionthatyoudon’trememberawordofit。
ROPER。[Quick。]I’venomemorymyself——neverhad。
BARTHWICK。[Desperately。]Idon’tknowwhatyou’retosay。
ROPER。[ToJACK。]Saynothingatall！Don’tputyourselfinafalseposition。Themanstolethethingsorthewomanstolethethings，youhadnothingtodowithit。Youwereasleeponthesofa。
MRS。BARTHWICK。Yourleavingthelatch—keyinthedoorwasquitebadenough，there’snoneedtomentionanythingelse。[Touchinghisforeheadsoftly。]Mydear，howhotyourheadis！
JACK。ButIwanttoknowwhatI’mtodo。[Passionately。]Iwon’tbebadgeredlikethis。
[MRS。BARTHWICKrecoilsfromhim。]
ROPER。[Veryquickly。]Youforgetallaboutit。Youwereasleep。
JACK。MustIgodowntotheCourtto—morrow？
ROPER。[Shakinghishead。]No。
BARTHWICK。[Inarelievedvoice。]Isthatso？
ROPER。Yes。
BARTHWICK。Butyou’llgo，Roper。
ROPER。Yes。
JACK。[Withwancheerfulness。]Thanks，awfully！SolongasI
don’thavetogo。[Puttinghishanduptohishead。]Ithinkifyou’llexcuseme——I’vehadamostbeastlyday。[Helooksfromhisfathertohismother。]
MRS。BARTHWICK。[Turningquickly。]Goodnight，myboy。
JACK。Good—night，Mother。
[Hegoesout。MRS。BARTHWICKheavesasigh。Thereisasilence。]
BARTHWICK。Hegetsofftooeasily。Butformymoneythatwomanwouldhaveprosecutedhim。
ROPER。Youfindmoneyuseful。
BARTHWICK。I’vemydoubtswhetherweoughttohide’thetruth。
ROPER。There’llbearemand。
BARTHWICK。What！D’youmeanhe’llhavetoappearontheremand。
ROPER。Yes。
BARTHWICK。H’m，Ithoughtyou’dbeableto。Lookhere，Roper，youmustkeepthatpurseoutofthepapers。
[ROPERfixeshislittleeyesonhimandnods。]
MRS。BARTHWICK。Mr。Roper，don’tyouthinkthemagistrateoughttobetoldwhatsortofpeopletheseJones’sare;Imeanabouttheirimmoralitybeforetheyweremarried。Idon’tknowifJohntoldyou。
ROPER。Afraidit’snotmaterial。