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+This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements,
+metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be
+in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES.
+
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+Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for
+eBook #60523 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60523)
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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Torch-Bearers, by George Kelly
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
-of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll
-have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using
-this ebook.
-
-
-
-Title: The Torch-Bearers
-       A Satirical Comedy in Three Acts
-
-Author: George Kelly
-
-Release Date: October 19, 2019 [EBook #60523]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TORCH-BEARERS ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Tim Lindell, David E. Brown, Buley Library
-(Southern Connecticut State University) and the Online
-Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
-book was produced from images made available by the
-HathiTrust Digital Library.)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-THE TORCH-BEARERS
-
-
-
-
-  “There will be actresses when husbands are a thing of the past.”
-
-                                                    --_Mrs. Pampinelli._
-
-
-
-
-  THE TORCH-BEARERS
-
-  _A Satirical Comedy
-  in_
-  THREE ACTS
-
-
-  _By_ GEORGE KELLY
-
-  [Illustration]
-
-  _Preface by_
-  KENNETH MACGOWAN
-
-
-  [Illustration]
-
-
-  NEW YORK
-  AMERICAN LIBRARY SERVICE
-  1923
-
-
-
-
-  _Copyright 1923_
-  AMERICAN LIBRARY SERVICE
-  _All Rights Reserved._
-
-
-
-
-“The Torch-Bearers,” by George Kelly, was presented by Stewart and
-French for the first time on any stage at the Savoy Theatre, Asbury
-Park, New Jersey, on the night of Monday, August 14, 1922, with the
-following cast:
-
-
-  MR. FREDERICK RITTER          MR. ARTHUR SHAW
-  MR. HUXLEY HOSSEFROSSE        MR. DOUGLAS GARDEN
-  MR. SPINDLER                  MR. EDWARD REESE
-  MR. RALPH TWILLER             MR. BOOTH HOWARD
-  TEDDY SPEARING                MR. WILLIAM CASTLE
-  MR. STAGE MANAGER             MR. J. A. CURTIS
-  MRS. PAULA RITTER             MISS MARY BOLAND
-  MRS. J. DURO PAMPINELLI       MISS ALISON SKIPWORTH
-  MRS. NELLY FELL               MISS HELEN LOWELL
-  MISS FLORENCE MCCRICKETT      MISS ROSE MARY KING
-  MRS. CLARA SHEPPARD           MISS DAISY ATHERTON
-  JENNY                         MISS MARY GILDEA
-
-Play staged by the Author
-
-
-  NOTE--
-
-  The form of the present manuscript is exactly that in which this play
-  was presented during its run at the Vanderbilt Theatre, New York
-  City, New York.
-
-                                                         --_The Author._
-
-
-
-
-  THE TORCH-BEARERS
-
-
-  CAST
-
-  MR. FREDERICK RITTER
-  MR. HUXLEY HOSSEFROSSE
-  MR. SPINDLER
-  MR. RALPH TWILLER
-  TEDDY SPEARING
-  MR. STAGE MANAGER
-  MRS. PAULA RITTER (_Ritter’s wife_)
-  MRS. J. DURO PAMPINELLI
-  MRS. NELLY FELL
-  MISS FLORENCE MCCRICKETT
-  MRS. CLARA SHEPPARD
-  JENNY (_a housemaid at Ritter’s_)
-
-
-  SCENE
-
-  ACT I--A kind of drawing-room in the home of Frederick Ritter, on an
-  evening in October, about 8 o’clock.
-
-  ACT II--Behind the scenes at Horticultural Hall, the following
-  evening at 8:30.
-
-  ACT III--The drawing-room at Ritter’s, two hours later.
-
-
-
-
-Stage, screen and amateur rights for the production of this play
-are controlled by the author, George Kelly, 3665 Midvale Avenue,
-Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. No public readings or performances may be
-given without his written consent.
-
-
-
-
-PREFACE
-
-
-I cannot remember if it was one of those torrid and terrible nights of
-August when the chain-gang of New York’s critics was tolled off to the
-Forty-Eighth Street Theatre for the première of _The Torch-Bearers_.
-But I do know that the general atmosphere of oppression--physical,
-mental, professional--was a little denser than usual. In the first
-twenty-eight days of August, 1922, managements too daring or too
-resourceless to wait for September had deluged us with a steady stream
-of inanity, and here was another dousing in prospect. If it wasn’t
-the heat, it was certainly the humidity of theatrical August. Unknown
-play, new producers, author’s name vaguely connected with vaudeville;
-altogether a production so little esteemed by the booking powers that
-it had to slip into a few weeks before the Equity Players began their
-season at this theatre. It could have been a night of Elysian coolness,
-and still we would have been expecting the worst. It could have been
-mid-April, and still we should have found an almost ineffable freshness
-in the breeze of George Kelly’s little comedy.
-
-The cold, historical fact is that at about 9:15 o’clock on the evening
-of August 29th, 1922, five or six hundred average New Yorkers, two or
-three hundred friends of the management, and about fifty sophisticated
-first-nighters were in grave danger of rolling off their seats in
-hysteria because of _The Torch-Bearers_.
-
-The intermissions were filled with three questions which more or less
-concern the reader of the published play. Who was George Kelly? Where
-did he get the comedy? How would it go?
-
-On August 29th, 1922, George Kelly was a perfectly good Philadelphian
-in his late twenties who was much better known to vaudeville than to
-fame. He had written, directed, and played in about a dozen one-act
-comedies and dramas on Keith and Orpheum time. He had begun by quitting
-his family’s private tutor to try acting in a playlet by the late Paul
-Armstrong. Then--with no more preparation, apparently--he had begun
-to write his own vehicles. A certain drama in France absorbed his
-attentions for a while. After that more “sketches”--as the vaudeville
-powers call any effort above vocal or bodily acrobatics--and suddenly a
-play.
-
-The origin of _The Torch-Bearers_ was simple enough. Kelly wrote the
-kind of tight, effective short plays that amateur actors and little
-theatre directors are always looking for. He had a perfectly good
-Philadelphia family behind him. And so he was being invited to lunch
-every now and then by the Pampinellis of the cities in which he played.
-To hear them was enough. They had to live a wider life.
-
-_The Torch-Bearers_ passed a prosperous term on Broadway, and I think
-it will go far in the little theatres which it satirizes. But upon the
-opening night I remember much dubious debate about its chances. We
-had laughed ourselves almost literally sick, and at the end of the
-second intermission we had not yet seen the rather prosy last act.
-Yet--conscious of our personal superiority--we wondered.... Brander
-Matthews and Aristotle would scoff at it, George M. Cohan and Professor
-Baker would scowl. _The Torch-Bearers_ broke all the rules, and it had
-no plot. Obviously, by all the rules, it ought to fail.
-
-There may be a good many reasons why it didn’t, and some may lead you
-far into aesthetic explorations of the present breakdown of dramatic
-form all over the world. But the reader will find more cogent reasons
-in the pages that follow this introduction. Personally, I should put
-it down to the fact that the character-study of the first act and the
-hokum of the second are irresistible. We have all met our Pampinellis,
-and we have all seen the lady prompter take a curtain call, or had
-our mustache fall off in the big scene. We can never resist some
-characterization on the stage, and as for such hokum as this record of
-all the mishaps of the amateur actor, ill luck is the heart of broad
-comedy and when ill luck comes where it is most painful--in personal
-display--Cassandra herself must smile.
-
-There were other things to make the death-watch wonder whether _The
-Torch Bearers_ could live. It was satire. Satire is not ordinarily a
-popular commodity in the theatre. It defeats sympathy, and sympathy is
-necessary to emotion, and emotion to theatrical success.
-
-Satire has had its great moments, however, in the history of the drama.
-Aristophanes made merry over the fashions, foibles, and philosophies of
-Athens. Satire was Molière’s stock in trade. Shaw has done very well by
-poking a finger at society. Every nation has at least one outstanding
-theatrical satire to its credit. But for the war, the wise of Paris
-might still be laughing at the French Academy because of de Flers and
-de Caillavet’s _L’Habit Vert_. England has _The School for Scandal_,
-as Ireland has _The Playboy_ and _John Bull’s Other Island_. Germany,
-though a little heavy in the theatre, can still point to Schnitzler’s
-_Literature_.
-
-Just at the moment America is beginning to display a surprising
-fondness for theatrical satire. Beginning is hardly the word, perhaps,
-for the first American drama, _The Contrast_, lampooned society with
-a large “S”; _Fashion_, our first play by a woman, spoke out smartly
-against the smart world, and from _Our American Cousin_ down to date,
-so many of our playwrights have spoofed the alien and the aristocratic
-for the benefit of the homespun, that it is only by a hair that I can
-risk the statement that it is a “surprising fondness” which we now
-display for satire. America has always enjoyed its irreverent moments
-in the theatre, but it has seldom gone in for whole plays devoted to
-almost nothing but lampooning.
-
-In the last three seasons, however, the distinctly satirical play has
-climbed noticeably in favour. In 1919-20 there was nothing of the
-kind to be seen on Broadway. In 1920-21 came Porter Emerson Browne’s
-Mexican melodrama, _The Bad Man_, with most of its success due to sly
-digs at both sides of the international line, and George M. Cohan’s
-joke at the expense of audiences as well as playwrights, _The Tavern_.
-Last season, playgoers good-humoredly made a satire out of the deadly
-serious absurdities of the British melodrama, _Bulldog Drummond_; the
-_Chauve-Souris_ twitted Russian drama a little--in Russian; and the
-firm of Kaufman and Connelly began in _Dulcy_ and _To the Ladies!_ to
-vend biting wit at the expense of scenario writers and advertisers,
-efficiency experts and after-dinner speakers.
-
-This season a perfect flood of satire broke upon us, most of it very
-good indeed, and some of it destined to be successful with a large
-public. Besides _The Torch-Bearers_, there have been _R. U. R._, grim
-sarcasm upon labour and capital, and a new bill of the _Chauve-Souris_,
-the Kaufman-Connelly version of Henry Leon Wilson’s _Merton of the
-Movies_, _Six Characters in Search of an Author_, from the Italian, and
-_The World We Live In_, the insect comedy from the Czecho-Slovak.
-
-The future of _The Torch-Bearers_, now that its Broadway career is
-over, brings us up against the little theatre movement. I am very much
-in favor of that odd and amazing phenomenon. I believe a great deal of
-the promise of the American stage outside New York and a surprising
-amount of its present accomplishment in that metropolis, is due to the
-uncontrollable desire of people not so very unlike Mrs. Pampinelli to
-produce plays. Kelly’s satire touches the lower fringes of what Mrs.
-P. calls “the movement,” but it might be directed at Maurice Browne,
-Sam Hume, and Irving Pichel and the little theatre would still go on,
-and _The Torch-Bearers_ would become--as I am sure it will--one of the
-most popular pieces in the repertory of the amateur actor. Many a Mrs.
-Pampinelli, safe in the sense of her own self-importance, will do for
-_The Torch-Bearers_ all that Mrs. P. did--which is, as Kelly observes,
-to “tell the players where to go on the stage, so they won’t be running
-into each other.”
-
-But there is art in this play--not mere observation--and I am afraid
-none of the Pampinellis who are to be concerned with its future will
-ever quite equal the person that the author and Alison Skipworth,
-the actress, created between them. I do not look for any moment so
-extraordinary as when Mrs. Pampinelli, discussing the fatalities
-invariably connected with these amateur performances, reaches her
-peroration: “We are not dismayed; we have the lessons of history to
-fortify us: for whenever the torch of essential culture has been
-raised, (_she raises the lead-pencil as though it were a torch_) there
-has unfailingly been the concomitant exactment of a human life.” For
-one cannot expect to find a cuckoo-clock always present with its
-sapient comment at such a moment.
-
-The reader will find the cuckoo-clock, the satire, and the hokum
-for himself. He will also detect, I think, a strain of divine and
-devilish madness in Kelly which promises something of genius for
-the American drama. The reader may note, too, in Kelly’s script
-the kind of practical qualification for the theatre of which Mr.
-Ritter speaks feelingly on page 56. This qualification has produced
-extraordinarily effective humor and something else. This is a sense
-for stage management. It makes Kelly a rare and precious figure in
-our theatre, and gives you a script to read--or to produce--that is
-liberally supplied with every bit of business and direction necessary
-for putting on the play--either in the Cohoes Little Theatre or your
-own imagination.
-
-                                                       KENNETH MACGOWAN.
-
-  Pelham Manor, N. Y., February 25, 1923.
-
-
-
-
-NOTE: The drawing-room at Ritter’s, in which the first and last
-acts are laid, is a comfortable-looking room, suggestive of good
-circumstance. Toward the back there is a fancy wooden partition
-separating the hallway from the room proper. This partition begins
-rather high up on the side walls and curves deeply down to two
-ornamental columns, five feet high and set about five feet apart,
-forming the entrance from the hallway to the room. Straight out through
-this entrance, and paralleling the partition, is the staircase, running
-up to the left and through an arched doorway. The foot of the staircase
-is just to the right of the center-door; and then the hallway continues
-on out to the front door. On the left, there is a passageway between
-the staircase and the partition, running through an arched doorway
-to the body of the house. In the room proper, breaking the angle of
-the right wall and the partition, is a door, opening out, and below
-this door, a casement-window. On the left, breaking the angle of
-the left wall and the partition, is the mantelpiece, and below it a
-door, opening out. Just inside the partition, on either side of the
-center-door, is a built-in seat.
-
-The entire room and hallway is done in a scheme of silver and the
-lighter shades of green. All the woodwork and furniture, including the
-piano and mantelpiece, is finished in silver-green, and the walls and
-ceiling are in blended tones of orchid, gray and green, decorated with
-tapestried panel-effects. The carpet is gray-green, and the vases and
-clock on the mantelpiece, as well as the little cuckoo-clock over the
-door at the left, are green. The drapes on the casement-window and the
-doorways, at the head of the stairs and in the left hallway, are in
-rose-colored brocaded satin; and the pads on the partition-seats are
-covered with the same material. The piano-throw is a garishly subdued
-blend of old-rose, Nile green and canary-colored silk.
-
-Right out between the little wooden columns of the center-door, set
-flat against the staircase, is a small console-table, holding a most
-beautiful rose-colored vase filled with wisteria; and on the piano
-there is a similar vase filled with white and yellow blossoms. On
-either side of the console-table there is a tall torchiere with a
-rose-colored shade; and the shades on the wall-lights, and the one on
-the lovely rose-colored vase-lamp on the table down at the right below
-the casement-window, are all rose-colored.
-
-There’s a brilliant array of cushions about the room, all shapes and
-sizes, and every color of the rainbow,--and many books and magazines.
-The piano, up at the right, is littered with music, cigarettes, in a
-fancy container, flowers and candy--in a pretty box made of pink satin.
-
-The two arm-chairs in the room, one just to the left of the table below
-the window, and the other at the left side of the table over at the
-left, are over-stuffed in green-and-silver brocade.
-
-There is a small table below the piano, with a light little chair
-beside it, the left side, and there is a similar chair over at the
-extreme left, below the door.
-
-The keyboard of the piano parallels the right wall, with enough room,
-of course, between the piano-stool and wall to permit of easy use
-of the door. There must also be room enough above the piano for a
-passageway between it and the partition-seat.
-
-The rights and lefts employed in the foregoing descriptions are, of
-course, the player’s rights and lefts.
-
-
-
-
-ACT ONE.
-
-
-_After a slight pause, a door out at the right is heard to close, and
-immediately Mr. Ritter comes along the hallway beyond the partition
-and into the room. He is a brisk, rather stocky type of man, in his
-early forties, wearing a brown suit and overcoat, a derby hat, and
-carrying a suit-case. He sets the suit-case down on the partition-seat
-at the right, and, with a glance around the room, at the unusual
-arrangement of the furniture, starts out into the hallway again,
-removing his gloves and overcoat. He glances along the hallway to the
-left and up the stairs as he goes. Jenny comes along the hallway from
-the left carrying a small, light chair. As she is about to come into
-the drawing-room proper from the hallway, she becomes conscious of Mr.
-Ritter out at the hall-rack at the right. She stops and peers in that
-direction. She is a pleasant little English person, plump and trim,
-dressed in the regulation parlor-maid’s black and white._
-
-JENNY. Is that you, Mr. Ritter?
-
-RITTER. That’s who it is, Jenny! How are you?
-
-JENNY. [_Bringing the little chair forward and placing it above the
-little table at the left_] Pretty well, thanks, Mr. Ritter, how are
-_you_?
-
-RITTER. [_Coming along the hallway from the right_] I’m whatever you
-are, Jenny. [_Jenny gives a faint little laugh and proceeds with her
-arrangements, and Ritter picks up several telegrams from the stand in
-the hallway, just to the left of the center entrance._]
-
-JENNY. Ain’t you back a bit soon?
-
-RITTER. [_Coming forward to the small table at the right, below the
-piano_] Yes, I thought I’d have to go down to Cincinnati for a week or
-two, but I didn’t.
-
-JENNY. Mrs. Ritter ain’t expectin’ you, is she?
-
-RITTER. [_Glancing thru the telegrams_] No, she isn’t, Jenny.
-
-JENNY. I thought I didn’t remember hearin’ her sayin’ nothin’.
-
-RITTER. Where is she?
-
-JENNY. [_Starting for the hallway_] She’s upstairs, sir, I’ll call her.
-
-RITTER. [_With a glance at the furniture_] What are you doing around
-here, Jenny, housecleaning?
-
-JENNY. [_Turning and coming back_] No, sir, there’s a rehearsal here
-tonight. [_Ritter stops reading and looks at her quizzically for a
-second._]
-
-RITTER. What kind of a rehearsal?
-
-JENNY. Why, a rehearsal for a show that Mrs. Ritter’s takin’ part in
-tomorrow night. They done it at the Civic Club the week after you went
-away, and they liked it so well they’re doin’ it again tomorrow night.
-
-RITTER. _Who_ liked it?
-
-JENNY. Sir?
-
-RITTER. I say, who liked it so well that they’re doing it again?
-
-JENNY. Why, everybody seemed to like it, Mr. Ritter, from what the
-papers said.
-
-RITTER. What kind of a show is it?
-
-JENNY. Why, I think it’s a tragedy, from what I gather.
-
-RITTER. Did you see it, Jenny?
-
-JENNY. No, sir, _I_ didn’t get to see it, I’m sorry to say; but I heard
-everybody connected with it sayin’ it was a _great success_. [_Ritter
-resumes his telegrams, then looks at Jenny suddenly._]
-
-RITTER. How did Mrs. Ritter get into it?
-
-JENNY. Why, I think somebody died, Mr. Ritter, if I’m not mistaken.
-
-RITTER. [_Shaking his head conclusively, and resuming his telegram_] I
-assumed it was an extremity of _some_ kind.
-
-MRS. R. [_At the top of the stairs at the back_] Fred Ritter! don’t
-tell me that’s you down there! [_Jenny turns quickly and goes to the
-foot of the stairs._]
-
-RITTER. No, I’m still out in Chicago!
-
-MRS. R. Is it, Jenny?
-
-JENNY. Yes, mam, I was just comin’ to tell you.
-
-MRS. R. [_Starting down the stairs_] I _thought_ I heard his voice!
-[_Jenny laughs._] I’ve been standing up here for the last _five_
-minutes saying to myself, “Who can that _be_ that has a voice so
-much like Fred’s!” [_Coming into the room from the hallway_] Why,
-Fred, darling, what are you doing here! [_He has moved up towards the
-center-door._]
-
-RITTER. [_Laughing a little_] How is the old kid! [_Kisses her_]
-
-MRS. R. I thought you wouldn’t be back till the first! [_Jenny passes
-along the hallway to the left._]
-
-RITTER. Why, that Cincinnati thing’s been postponed till after
-Thanksgiving.
-
-MRS. R. [_Turning away from him and stepping out into the hallway
-again_] Well, why didn’t you wire or something?
-
-RITTER. I was afraid of giving you a shock.
-
-MRS. R. Oh, Jenny!
-
-RITTER. You’re such a frail little flower.
-
-MRS. R. [_Turning back to him_] Now stop, Fred! I’ve really lost a lot
-since you went away.
-
-RITTER. How do you know? [_Jenny comes along the hallway from the
-left._]
-
-MRS. R. Why, my dear, I can tell by my clothes. [_She turns to Jenny._]
-Jenny, will you get me a glass of water, please.
-
-JENNY. [_Starting out_] Yes, mam.
-
-RITTER. You’re not going to faint, are you?
-
-MRS. R. [_Turning back to him again with a flip of her hand at him_]
-No, I’m not.
-
-RITTER. [_Slipping his arm around her waist and coming forward_] Any
-mail here for me?
-
-MRS. R. Not a single thing, Fred; I sent everything right on to
-Chicago as soon as it came: there must be several letters there for you
-now.
-
-RITTER. [_Disengaging himself and taking her hands and looking at her_]
-I’ll get them all right. How have you been treating yourself while I’ve
-been away?
-
-MRS. R. All right; only I’m glad to see you back.
-
-RITTER. Kiss me.
-
-MRS. R. The house seemed awfully lonesome.
-
-RITTER. Kiss me. [_She kisses him._]
-
-MRS. R. [_Passing above him to the piano at the right_] Crazy thing.
-[_He moves over to the little table at the left, rummaging in his
-pocket for a cigar, and Mrs. Ritter commences to rummage in a
-sewing-basket on the piano. This basket is Mrs. Ritter at a glance, all
-green and yellow satin, fraught with meaningless bows and weird-looking
-knots. She undoubtedly made it herself, and it must have taken her
-months. But she’s a practical woman; at least she thinks she is; and
-the sewing-basket helps in a way to sustain the conviction. Poor Paula!
-As one looks at her and listens to her he appreciates the fortune of
-the circumstance that there is some sane and capable person between her
-and the world; and as he more closely observes the sewing-basket, he
-rejoices in the blessing of the sane and capable person’s ability to
-spare her the necessity of having to make her own clothes. Although,
-as a matter of fact, she would look lovely in anything; for Paula
-is pretty--charmingly so. And her hair is marvelous. So gold--and
-satiny. She is wearing a dress now of lime-green silk with a standing
-collar edged with black fur, and gold-colored slippers._] Did you have
-anything to eat, Fred?
-
-RITTER. Yes, I ate on the train. What’s this Jenny was saying?
-Something about a show you’re in?
-
-MRS. R. Oh,--[_Looking at him_] did she tell you?
-
-RITTER. I wondered what had happened to the furniture when I came in.
-
-MRS. R. [_Coming around and forward towards the little table below the
-piano_] Yes, there’s a rehearsal here tonight. We have it every Tuesday
-and Thursday. Of course, it’s just to run over the lines, because we’ve
-done it already at the Civic Club on the fourteenth. And, my dear, it
-was perfectly marvelous.
-
-RITTER. What kind of a show is it?
-
-MRS. R. [_Standing back of the table_] Oh, it’s just a one-act
-play,--in one act, you know. And it was really _quite_ wonderful. [_She
-gives an inane laugh._] I had no idea. [_She touches her hair and turns
-towards the back of the room again._]
-
-RITTER. How did _you_ happen to get into it? [_Jenny comes along the
-hallway from the left carrying a glass of water on a small tray._]
-
-MRS. R. [_Turning to him_] Well now, wait till I tell you--[_She sees
-Jenny._] Oh, thanks, Jenny. [_Jenny starts out again._] Jenny, will you
-go to the top of the stairs and see if I left the lights burning in my
-room.
-
-JENNY. [_Turning and starting towards the foot of the stairs in the
-right hallway; and setting the tray on the little stand as she goes_]
-Yes, mam.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Coming forward holding the glass of water_] I think I
-did. [_She sips._]
-
-JENNY. [_As she crosses the center-door_] Do you want that suit-case
-taken up, Mr. Ritter? [_Mrs. Ritter turns round to the right and
-watches Jenny._]
-
-RITTER. Yes, you can take it up if you will, Jenny, thanks. [_Jenny
-lifts the suit-case from the partition-seat and goes out and up the
-stairs._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Turning to Ritter_] You know, I wrote you about poor
-Jimmy Sheppard--
-
-RITTER. Yes, what was that, had he been sick?
-
-MRS. RITTER. Why, not a day, my dear! that’s the reason it was all so
-dreadful. Of course, he’d always had more or less of a weak heart; but
-nothing to threaten anything of that kind. And just three days before
-the performance, mind you:--couldn’t happen any other time. And _poor_
-Mrs. Sheppard playing one of the _leading_ parts. [_She turns to her
-left and goes up to the center-door, where she looks out toward the
-right hallway expectantly._]
-
-RITTER. [_Casually depositing the band from his cigar on the tray at
-his left_] Did he _know_ she was to play one of the leading parts?
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Turning at the center-door and looking at him_]
-Who,--Mr. Sheppard?
-
-RITTER. Yes.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Coming forward again_] Why, of course he did--She’d
-just finished telling him when he fell over. [_Ritter appears to be
-unduly occupied with his cigar, and Mrs. Ritter takes advantage of the
-circumstance to refresh herself with another sip from the glass._] My
-dear, poor Clara Sheppard is a _wreck_--You want to write her a note,
-Fred, when you get time. And he never spoke--not a solitary word. But,
-she says--just as he was dying,--he gave her the funniest look. Oh, she
-says--if she lives to be a thousand, she’ll _never_ forget the way he
-looked at her. [_She goes up to the center-door and sets the glass down
-on the tray._]
-
-RITTER. [_Still busy with his cigar_] Had he ever seen her act?
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Turning to him, thoughtfully_] _I_ don’t know,--whether
-he ever had or not. [_Jenny comes down the stairs._] Oh, yes he had,
-too! for I saw him myself at the Century Drawing Rooms last Easter
-Monday night, and she was in that play there that night, you remember.
-[_She moves to the piano and starts looking for something in the
-sewing-basket; he moves to the mantelpiece, up at the left, apparently
-looking for a match._]
-
-RITTER. No, I wasn’t there.
-
-MRS. R. Oh, weren’t you! I thought you were.
-
-RITTER. No. [_He feels in his pockets._]
-
-MRS. R. There are matches there on that little table there, Fred. [_She
-indicates the table below the mantelpiece._]
-
-RITTER. [_Discovering some in his pocket_] I have some here. [_He moves
-to the arm-chair at the left of table and sits down._]
-
-MRS. R. [_As Jenny passes along the hallway towards the left_] Oh,
-Jenny!
-
-JENNY. Yes, mam?
-
-MRS. R. Jenny, will you ask Mrs. Brock if she’ll make some of that
-drink that she made the last time?
-
-JENNY. I think she ’as made it already, Mrs. Ritter.
-
-MRS. R. Well, will you see, Jenny, please?
-
-JENNY. [_Starting away_] Yes, mam.
-
-MRS. R. [_To Ritter_] The folks liked it so much the last time. [_She
-picks up her sewing-basket._]
-
-JENNY. All right, Mrs. Ritter. [_She disappears at the left._]
-
-MRS. R. [_Stepping out into the hallway_] Oh, and, Jenny!
-
-JENNY. [_Out at the left_] Yes, mam?
-
-MRS. R. Tell her to put a little of that _gin_ in it, the way she did
-before.
-
-JENNY. All right, mam.
-
-MRS. R. Tell her she’ll find some gin in the little buffet in the big
-dining-room.
-
-RITTER. She probably knows where it is.
-
-MRS. R. [_Coming forward carrying her sewing-basket_] Well, anyway,
-that’s how I happened to get into it. [_She sits on the chair at the
-left of the small table below the piano._] Mrs. Pampinelli called me
-up the first thing in the morning, and she said--
-
-RITTER. Is she in it, too?
-
-MRS. R. [_Looking up from the arrangement of a couple of strips of lace
-which she has taken from the sewing-basket_] Who? Mrs. Pampinelli?
-
-RITTER. Yes.
-
-MRS. R. No, she doesn’t take any part; she’s just in charge of
-everything.
-
-RITTER. That suits her better.
-
-MRS. R. Kind of directress, I suppose you’d call her. [_He has some
-difficulty keeping his face straight._] Tells us where to go, you
-know, on the stage,--so we won’t be running into each other. [_Ritter
-laughs._] Really, Fred, you have no idea how easy it is to run into
-somebody on the stage. You’ve got to know where you’re going every time
-you move. [_He laughs louder._] Why, what are you laughing at?
-
-RITTER. I was just thinking of a few of the things I’ve heard Mrs.
-Pampinelli called.
-
-MRS. R. [_Looking over at him reproachfully_] Oh--now, that isn’t a bit
-nice of you, Fred Ritter. I know you don’t like her.
-
-RITTER. I like her all right.
-
-MRS. R. No, you do not, now, Fred,--so _don’t_ say you do.
-
-RITTER. I think she’s marvelous.
-
-MRS. R. Well, she’s tremendously clever at this stage business, I don’t
-care what you say. You just ought to hear her talk about it sometime.
-Now, the last rehearsal we had,--over at her house,--she spoke on
-“Technique in Acting as Distinguished from Method;” and you’ve no idea
-how interesting it was. [_Ritter glances over at her as he deposits
-some ashes from his cigar on the little table-tray._]
-
-RITTER. You say you’ve given this show before?
-
-MRS. R. Oh yes! We gave it on the fourteenth at the Civic Club. And, my
-dear, that audience just loved it. And you’d be surprised too, for it’s
-a terrifically serious thing. In fact, in a way, it’s too serious--for
-the general public--that’s the reason several of the people who saw it
-suggested that, if we give it again, we should give a dance right after
-it. [_She looks closely at her needle and Ritter looks discreetly at
-the end of his cigar._] But, as Mrs. Pampinelli says, it’s an absolute
-impossibility to give a dance at either the Civic Club or the Century
-Drawing Rooms, so that’s how we’re giving it this time down at Hutchy
-Kutchy. [_Ritter looks over at her with a quizzical squint._]
-
-RITTER. Where?
-
-MRS. R. [_Looking over at him_] Horticultural Hall--there at Broad and
-Spruce, you know.
-
-RITTER. Yes, I know;--what did _you_ call it?
-
-MRS. R. Hutchy Kutchy. [_She laughs inanely._] Mrs. Pampinelli always
-calls it that,--I suppose I’ve gotten into the habit too, from hearing
-her. [_She gives another little laugh, then finishes with an amused
-sigh._]
-
-RITTER. What’s the show for, a charity of some kind?
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Turning to him suddenly, and with a shade of
-practicality_] It’s for the Seamen’s Institute. Kind of a refuge
-for them, you know, while they’re in port; so the sailors won’t be
-wandering around the streets getting into bad company. [_Ritter
-disposes of more ashes, with an unusual precision, and Mrs.
-Ritter resumes her sewing. Then, suddenly, she glances toward the
-casement-window at the right._] It was Mrs. Pampinelli’s idea, [_She
-gathers her things into the sewing-basket and gets up, swinging round
-to her left and talking as she goes._] so of course she _didn’t_ want
-anything to happen. [_She sets the sewing-basket down on the piano,
-and, with another glance thru the window at the right, crosses to the
-little table at the left where Ritter is sitting._] So she called me up
-the first thing in the morning, and she said, “Paula darling, _have_
-you heard the news?” So, of course, I said “No;” because up to that
-time I _hadn’t_, and, naturally, I _wasn’t_ going to say that I had.
-
-RITTER. Certainly _not_.
-
-MRS. R. “Well,” she said, “_poor_ Jimmy Sheppard has _just_ passed on.”
-Well, luckily, I was sitting down at the time, or I _positively_ think
-I should have passed on myself.
-
-RITTER. [_Raising his hand from the table as though distressed by the
-extremity of her remarks_] Don’t say such things.
-
-MRS. R. [_Mistaking his attitude_] No, really, Fred, you’ve no idea
-the _feeling_ that came over me when she said that. “Well,” I said,
-“Betty, what on earth are we going to do!” Because the tickets were
-all sold, you know. “Well,” she said, “Paula,--the only thing _I_ see
-to do, is to have _you_ step right into Clara Sheppard’s role.” “Me!”
-I said. “Yes,” she said; “you are the only person in _my_ opinion who
-is qualified to play the part.” “But, my dear,” I said, “I’ve never
-stepped on a stage in my _life_!” “That is absolutely inconsequential,”
-she said, “it is entirely a matter of dramatic instinct. And,” she
-said, [_She simpers a bit here and moves around from the right of the
-little table where she has been standing to the back of her husband’s
-chair, at the left of the table._] “_you_ have _that_--to a far
-greater degree than you’ve _any_ idea of.” [_He makes a sound of dry
-amusement._] No, really, Fred, everyone was saying it was a positive
-tragedy that you couldn’t have been there to see me--I never forgot
-myself once. [_She rests her hand on his left shoulder, and he reaches
-up and takes her hand._]
-
-RITTER. What are you going to do now, become an actress?
-
-MRS. R. No, but it surprised me so, the way everybody enthused; because
-I didn’t think I’d done anything so extraordinary--I just walked
-onto the stage, and said what I’d been told to say, and walked off
-again. [_She emphasizes this last phrase by an indefinite gesture
-of nonchalance in the direction of the door at her left._] And yet
-everybody seemed to think it was wonderful. Why, Nelly Fell said she’d
-never seen even a _professional actress_ so absolutely unconscious.
-[_He makes a sound of amusement._] Really, Fred, you ought to have
-heard them. Why, they said if they didn’t know, they never in the
-_world_ would have believed that it was my first offense.
-
-RITTER. You mustn’t believe everything these women tell you; they’ll
-tell you anything to get their names in the paper.
-
-MRS. R. Well, it wasn’t only they that said it;--people that I didn’t
-even _know_ said it. Why, Mrs. Pampinelli had a letter from a woman
-away out at Glenside that happened to see the performance, and she said
-that, at times, my repose was _positively_ uncanny. And the papers
-simply raved; especially “The Evening Breeze.” I have it upstairs, I
-must show it to you. It said that it didn’t understand _how_ I had
-escaped the public eye so long. [_She glances at the cuckoo-clock
-over the door at the left, and, in doing so, notices a book that has
-been left lying on the chair below the door: she steps over and picks
-it up._] I was awfully sorry you couldn’t have been there, Fred. I
-was going to write you about it when Mrs. Pampinelli first spoke to
-me about going on, but there was so little time, you see. And then,
-I didn’t think you’d mind;--especially on account of its being for
-charity. [_He is very carefully putting ashes on the little tray. She
-stands holding the book, looking at him. And there is a slight pause._]
-You _don’t_ mind my going on, do you, Fred?
-
-RITTER. [_Rather slowly_] No,--I don’t mind, if you’re able to get away
-with it.
-
-MRS. R. [_Trailing across back of his chair_] I didn’t think you would.
-
-RITTER. [_Raising his hand from the table quietly_] But a--[_She comes
-to a stop and regards him over her left shoulder._] I don’t want any of
-these women exploiting you for their own vanity. [_She doesn’t quite
-encompass his meaning, and stands looking at him for a second. Then she
-abstractedly lays the book down on the table beside him. There is a
-very definite ring at the front door-bell._] I guess that’s some of the
-people. [_She starts towards the hallway._]
-
-RITTER. [_Preparing to rise_] Where do you do this thing, here?
-
-MRS. R. [_Turning to him and indicating the general arrangement_]
-Yes--just the way we have it fixed.
-
-RITTER. [_Rising briskly and crossing to the table below the piano
-at the right, while Mrs. R. continues to the center-door and stands
-looking toward the front door. Jenny appears in the left hallway._] I
-think I’ll beat it upstairs.
-
-MRS. R. [_Turning to Jenny_] I guess that’s some of the people, Jenny.
-[_She comes forward towards Ritter again._]
-
-JENNY. Yes, mam. [_She passes back of Mrs. Ritter and along out into
-the right hallway to answer the door._]
-
-MRS. R. Won’t you wait and see the rehearsal, Fred? [_He is gathering
-up the telegrams from the table, where he left them earlier._]
-
-RITTER. [_Turning and going up towards the center-door, thrusting the
-telegrams into his inside pocket_] No, I think I’d rather wait and see
-the show. [_He passes her, to her left._]
-
-MRS. R. [_Turning and trailing up towards the center-door after him_]
-It’s really _very_ interesting.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Out at the front door_] You see how considerate I
-am of you, Jenny, letting myself in? [_Mr. and Mrs. Ritter stop in the
-center-door and look toward the front door._]
-
-JENNY. [_At the front door_] Oh, that’s all right, Mrs. Pampinelli.
-
-MRS. R. [_Turning quickly to Ritter at her left_] You can’t go up now,
-Fred, she’ll see you.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI and RITTER, together.
-
-  MRS. P. Well, I daresay you’ll have to open this door quite often
-  enough tonight without my troubling you.
-
-  RITTER. [_Coming back into the room with a slight gesture of
-  annoyance_] I don’t want to have to listen to her gab. [_He goes over
-  to the mantelpiece at the left and takes up his position there, while
-  Mrs. Ritter, with a movement to him to be silent, drifts down beside
-  the piano at the right._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Coming into view from the right hallway_] Well, I
-suppose I’m still the shining example of punctuality. [_She sweeps
-thru the center-door, carrying a large black-bear muff, a fan of black
-ostrich-plumes, and a note-book and pencil._] How do you do, Mr.
-Ritter,--[_She goes towards Mrs. Ritter._]
-
-RITTER. [_Nodding_] How do you do.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I’m glad to see you.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Moving towards Mrs. P._] Hello, Betty.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Hello, Paula child,--[_Kisses her_] how are you,
-dear? [_Mr. Spindler hurries in from the right hallway, carrying
-several books. Mrs. P. steps to the table below the piano._] Will you
-give those things to Mrs. Ritter, Mr. Spindler, she’ll set them down
-somewhere. [_She sets her own encumbrances down on the table, and Mrs.
-Ritter passes back of her to Spindler._]
-
-SPINDLER. [_Standing in the middle of the room, toward the back_]
-Certainly, certainly.
-
-MRS. RITTER. Good evening, Mr. Spindler.
-
-SPINDLER. Good evening, good evening. [_Jenny comes in from the right
-hallway, takes the tray and glass from the hall table, and goes out the
-left hallway._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. I’ll just take these.
-
-SPINDLER. [_Giving her the books and a manuscript_] If you please.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Crossing directly to Ritter_] Florence McCrickett
-told me you were back; she saw you getting into a taxicab at the
-station. [_Giving him her hand_] I’m glad to see you.
-
-RITTER. I just got in.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. And I suppose you’ve already heard about the great
-event?
-
-RITTER. Yes, she’s just been telling me. [_They laugh together._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Well, my dear, you may count that day lost that
-you missed it. [_She half turns to Mrs. Ritter, who is engaged in
-conversation with Spindler._] Mayn’t he, Paula? [_But Paula hasn’t
-heard what she’s been saying, so she just looks at her and gives an
-inane little laugh. Mrs. Pampinelli continues to Ritter._] Although
-you’ll have an opportunity tomorrow night; unless you’re going to run
-away again before that.
-
-RITTER. No, I’ll be here now till after Thanksgiving. [_Mrs. Ritter
-leaves Spindler and goes over to a small table at the extreme right,
-below the casement-window, where she sets the books and manuscript
-down._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning from Ritter and crossing back again to the
-table at the right below the piano_] Wonderful! Did you hear that,
-Paula?
-
-MRS. R. What is it, dear?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Mr. Ritter says he will be here for the performance
-tomorrow night.
-
-MRS. R. Yes.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Unfastening her fur neckpiece_] So you will have
-an opportunity after all of revealing to him what gems of talent the
-unfathomed caves of matrimony bear. [_They both laugh._]
-
-MRS. R. [_Picking up Mrs. Pampinelli’s muff from the table and taking
-the neckpiece_] I’ll just take these, Betty.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Settling her beads_] Anywhere at all, dear. [_Mrs.
-R. starts to the right._] Oh, and by the way, Paula--[_Mrs. Ritter
-stops and turns to her._]
-
-MRS. R. Yes?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Indicating the books on the table below the window_]
-There’s a remarkable article in one of those books I brought, on
-a--gesture.
-
-MRS. R. [_Looking at the books_] Yes?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. The little gray book I think it is, if I’m not
-mistaken. [_She turns to her left and acknowledges Mr. Spindler with a
-touch of state._] Mr. Spindler--[_He returns a smiling and very snappy
-little bow._] brought it to my attention,--[_She turns back again
-to Paula, who has gone up at the right of the piano and is putting
-the furs on the partition-seat, while Spindler, becoming suddenly
-conscious that Ritter is looking at him, stiffens abruptly, glances at
-Ritter, and turns back again to Mrs. Pampinelli._] and it really is
-remarkable. So many of my own ideas--things that I have been advocating
-for years. I brought it especially for _you_, Paula,--so you must read
-it when you have time. [_She picks up her lead-pencil from the little
-table and, tapping it against her right temple, thinks profoundly._]
-What is that wonderful line of Emerson’s that I’m so fond of--something
-about our unexpressed thoughts coming back to accuse us--[_Turning to
-Spindler_] You know all those things, Mr. Spindler.
-
-SPINDLER. [_Pedantically_] Coming back to us “with an alienated
-majesty.”
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. That is the one I mean. [_She turns back again to
-Paula, who has, by this time, come forward again at the right of
-the piano, while Mr. Spindler, again becoming conscious that Ritter
-is looking at him, gives him another glance, this time with a shade
-of resentment in it, and, coughing briefly, as an emphasis of his
-dignity, which Ritter’s general attitude somehow suggests is not being
-sufficiently esteemed, turns back to Mrs. Pampinelli._] Well, that is
-exactly what occurred to me when I read that article--My own thoughts
-returning to me from an alienated majesty. [_She finishes her version
-of the quotation to Spindler and Mr. Ritter._] Oh, by the way,--[_She
-gives a little mirthless laugh._] I’m afraid I’ve neglected to
-introduce Mr. Spindler [_Indicating Ritter with a very casual gesture
-of her left hand, and picking up her lead-pencil from the little
-table_] This is Mrs. Ritter’s husband, Mr. Spindler. [_Spindler strides
-towards Ritter and extends his hand with that vigor which usually
-characterizes the greetings of unimportant persons._]
-
-SPINDLER. Glad!
-
-RITTER. [_Tonelessly_] How are you?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Addressing Ritter directly_] Mr. Spindler is a
-young man who has made quite an exhaustive study of the Little Theatre
-Movement throughout the country; [_Spindler moves back towards his
-former position, and Paula, over at the right, takes a piece of fudge
-from a box on the little table below the casement-window._] and is
-working very hard to bring about something of the same kind here.
-[_Ritter inclines his head, and Spindler listens to Mrs. Pampinelli,
-wreathed in smiles._] And is going to succeed, too, aren’t you, Mr.
-Spindler?
-
-SPINDLER. [_With a kind of pert assurance_] Never fell down on a big
-job yet. [_He gives a self-conscious little laugh and glances at
-Ritter, under whose coldly-appraising eye the laugh freezes instantly
-into a short, hollow cough. Then he turns away._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I’m sure he has all the qualifications.
-
-SPINDLER. [_With a wooden smile, and saluting_] Thank you, thank you.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Hasn’t he, Paula?
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Nibbling at the fudge_] Yes indeed, Mr. Spindler’s quite
-indispensable. [_Spindler gives her a pert little nod, by way of
-acknowledgment._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_To Mrs. Ritter_] I think that’s what I shall have
-to call him hereafter,--[_Turning to Spindler_] the indispensable Mr.
-Spindler. [_They all laugh,--a trifle more than the brilliancy of the
-remark should reasonably occasion, and Mr. Spindler accounts it even
-worthy a salute._]
-
-SPINDLER. Bouquets were falling [_Here the front door-bell gives two
-sharp little staccato rings._] thick and fast. [_He starts towards the
-center-door._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Well, it’s true--
-
-SPINDLER. [_Speaking directly to Mrs. Ritter_] I’ll answer it. [_He
-hurries out into the right hallway._]
-
-MRS. P. and MRS. R., speaking together.
-
-  MRS. P. I know I don’t know what on earth I should do without him.
-
-  MRS. R. [_Addressing Spindler as he hurries out the hallway_] All
-  right, if you will, Mr. Spindler.
-
-SPINDLER. [_Calling back_] Sure!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. He is one of those rare persons who never forsakes one
-in the hour of quotation. [_She turns to Mrs. Ritter, who is chewing
-fudge at her right._] What are you eating, Paula?
-
-MRS. RITTER. A bit of fudge. Would you like some, Betty?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Very definitely_] No, thank you, dear.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Indicating the table below the casement-window_] There’s
-some here.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Raising her hand in a gesture of finality, and
-speaking with conviction_] I never eat immediately before using my
-voice. And you should not, either, Paula,--particularly candy. [_She
-moves across to the left to Mr. Ritter. She is an imposing woman, in
-her late fifties, with a wealth of false hair, perfectly done, and a
-martial bearing. She is one of those matrons who is frequently referred
-to in the suburban weeklies as a “leading spirit”; and this particular
-description has always so flattered Mrs. Pampinelli’s particular
-vanity, that she overlooks no opportunity of justifying it: an effort
-that has resulted in a certain grandeur of voice and manner; which,
-rather fortunately, becomes the distinction of her person. She is
-gowned in sapphire-blue velvet, close-fitting, with an independent,
-triangular train, from the waist, probably four yards long. Her
-necklace, comb, the buckles on her black-velvet slippers, and her
-rings, are all touched with sapphire._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Looking vaguely at the fudge-box_] There’s so much of it
-here. [_Jenny appears from the left hallway._]
-
-MRS. P. and MRS. R., speaking together.
-
-  MRS. P. [_Coming to Ritter’s right_] Very tragic about poor Sheppard,
-  wasn’t it, Mr. Ritter?
-
-  MRS. R. [_Going up to the center-door, and speaking to Jenny as she
-  goes_] Mr. Spindler is answering the door, Jenny, you needn’t bother.
-
-RITTER and JENNY, speaking together.
-
-  RITTER. [_To Mrs. Pampinelli_] Yes, it _was_--too bad.
-
-  JENNY. [_To Mrs. Ritter_] Oh, all right, then. [_She withdraws, and
-  Mrs. Ritter stands looking out into the right hallway._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I suppose Paula wrote you.
-
-RITTER. Yes.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Dear me--I don’t know when anything has so upset me.
-[_Ritter stands looking at the end of his cigar and Mrs. Pampinelli
-looks straight ahead._] I don’t believe I closed an eye the entire
-night,--wondering where on earth I should find someone to play his
-wife’s part. [_Ritter glances at her, as he places the cigar in his
-mouth, and Mrs. Pampinelli looks at him quickly._] Because, of course,
-you know that Mrs. Sheppard was to have played the part that Paula
-plays.
-
-RITTER. Yes, so she told me. [_Mrs. Ritter, still nibbling at the
-fudge, wanders down and stands in the middle of the room._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. But we only had three days to get someone; and it
-didn’t seem possible to me that anyone could memorize that part in
-that length of time. [_Mrs. Ritter touches her hair and makes a little
-sound of amusement,--a kind of modest acknowledgment of the brilliancy
-of her achievement._] So I thought at first--of having Clara Sheppard
-go on anyway, and I should make an announcement; but, you see, Mr.
-Sheppard was buried on the fourteenth, and that was the night of the
-performance; and as I thought the matter over, it seemed to me that
-perhaps it was just a little too much to expect of her--[_Ritter gives
-her another glance._] Considering her experience as an actress, I mean.
-
-RITTER. [_Taking the cigar from his mouth and speaking with a shade of
-deliberation_] Couldn’t she have kept his death a secret,--until after
-the performance?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Well, I thought of that, too; [_Ritter looks
-at her steadily._] but, you see, it was three days,--[_He nods,
-understandingly._] and he was so very well known. [_She moves back
-across the room towards the table below the piano, and Ritter stands
-looking after her. Simultaneously, there is a frantic giggle from the
-right hallway. Mrs. Ritter goes up to the center-door, looks in the
-direction of the laughter, and waves her handkerchief, while Mrs.
-Pampinelli, passing below the table, gathers up her note-book and
-pencil and continues to the table below the casement-window, where she
-secures the manuscript. Ritter steps forward from his position before
-the mantelpiece, and disposes of some ashes on the little table-tray._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Out in the right hallway_] Paula, that’s a very dangerous
-young man you have on that door tonight.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Calling to her_] I think it’s very kind of Mr. Spindler.
-[_Mrs. Pampinelli comes around in front of the big arm-chair below the
-casement-window._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Coming into view, with considerable flourish_] Kind!
-My dear, I haven’t heard anything like it since I was twenty! [_She
-gives a little wave of her gorgeous, single white ostrich-plume fan at
-Mrs. Pampinelli._] Hello, Betty! [_Then to Mrs. Ritter_] How are you,
-darling?
-
-MRS. RITTER. Hello, Nelly. [_Nelly kisses her._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Enthroning herself in the arm-chair at the right_]
-Is it _really_ possible!
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Turning from Mrs. Ritter and hurrying through the
-center-door_] You’re a sweet child! [_Extending the fan towards Mrs.
-Pampinelli, and coming quickly forward to the table at the right below
-the piano_] Yes, and I should have been here every night at this hour
-if it weren’t for that dreadful officer up at the parkway! [_She sets
-her fan and black-velvet bag on the table. Spindler comes in from
-the right hallway and engages in conversation with Mrs. Ritter in
-the centre-door._] He seems to take a fiendish delight in selecting
-_my_ car, of all the _millions_ that pass there at this hour, to do
-_this_! [_She extends her right arm and hand, after the fashion of
-traffic-officers._] So I told him yesterday afternoon, I said, “Look
-here, young man!” [_She points her forefinger as though reproving
-the officer._] “You needn’t expect any Christmas-present from _me_
-next Christmas, for you just--won’t--get it. Not till you change your
-tactics.” So he says, after this, he’s just going to let me go ahead
-and run into a trolley-car;--see how I like that. [_Mrs. Pampinelli,
-making marginal notes in the manuscript, laughs faintly._] “Well,” I
-said, “it’d be a change, anyway,--from being stopped all the time.”
-[_She abstractedly picks up her fan again._] I don’t think he likes my
-chauffeur. And I don’t blame him; I don’t like him myself. He drives
-too slow--[_She starts for the center-door._] He’s like an old woman.
-[_She sees Ritter, peering at her, and starts abruptly._] Well, for
-Mercy’s sake, Frederick Ritter, you don’t mean to tell me that’s you!
-
-RITTER. I was here a minute ago.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Laughing flightily_] Well, I declare! I don’t know what’s
-happening to my eyes! [_Turning to Mrs. Pampinelli_] I saw him standing
-there, [_Turning back again and starting towards Ritter, with her hand
-extended_] but I thought it was one of the other gentlemen! How are
-you, dear boy? [_He takes her hand and stoops over as though to kiss
-her. She turns her head away quickly._] Stop it! Frederick Ritter!
-[_Mrs. Pampinelli glances over, then resumes her notes. Mrs. Fell
-half-turns to Mrs. Ritter, who is still talking to Mr. Spindler up at
-the center-door._] Paula!--do you see what this bad boy of yours is
-doing? [_Paula just looks and laughs meaninglessly, and resumes her
-conversation with Spindler._] What brought you back so soon?
-
-RITTER. [_Assuming the attitude and tone of a lover_] I got thinking of
-you.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Touching her hair_] I thought you were out in Seattle or
-South Carolina or one of those funny places.
-
-RITTER. [_Leaning a bit closer and speaking more softly_] I couldn’t
-keep away from you any longer. [_Nelly darts a swift glance at him._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Starting towards the right_] Don’t play with fire,
-Frederick--[_He laughs hard. She pauses in the middle of the room and
-turns and looks at him._] You know what they say about widows, and I’ve
-been all kinds. [_She continues over towards Mrs. Pampinelli._] Oh,
-Professor Pampinelli! [_Turning and addressing Ritter directly_] I call
-her Professor, she knows so much. [_Turning back to Mrs. Pampinelli_]
-Mrs. P.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Looking up suddenly_] I beg your pardon, Nelly
-dear--I didn’t know you were speaking to me.
-
-MRS. FELL. I want to know if you can take me home in your car tonight?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Why, certainly, dear.
-
-MRS. FELL. My chauffeur has been deviling me for the past two days
-about some boxing-bee,--or wrestling-match or something that he wants
-to see; and I told him he could go if there were someone here to take
-me home.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I can take you, of course.
-
-MRS. FELL. All right, then, I can chase him; [_She turns to the left._]
-I won’t hear any more about that. Oh, Mr. Spindler!
-
-SPINDLER. Yes, mam? [_Excuses himself to Mrs. Ritter, who steps into
-the left hallway and beckons with her finger for Jenny._]
-
-MRS. FELL. Would you mind doing a favor for a very old lady?
-
-SPINDLER. [_Who has hurried forward and is standing in the middle of
-the room, at attention._] You know what I told you out at the door?
-[_Nelly gives a shriek, and giggles._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Looking coyly over Spindler’s shoulder at Ritter_] Oh,
-you hear that, Frederick Ritter? You have a rival on the premises. Mr.
-Spindler told me out at the door tonight,--that _my_ will was _his_
-pleasure.
-
-RITTER. [_Looking at the tip of his cigar_] San Juan is never dead
-while Mr. Spindler lives. [_There is a general laugh._]
-
-SPINDLER. [_Turning to Ritter_] Say, that’s pretty good!
-
-MRS. FELL. Yes, I was afraid he was something of a gay deceiver.
-
-SPINDLER. [_Speaking directly to Mrs. Fell_] Only one way to find out.
-[_Mrs. Fell laughs deprecatingly and sweeps the tip of her fan across
-his nose._]
-
-MRS. FELL. Naughty boy. [_She giggles a little more, then becomes
-practical._] Well then, I’ll tell you what you may do for me, Mr.
-Spindler, if you don’t mind. [_Jenny appears in the left hallway and
-Mrs. Ritter gives her an order of some sort, which appears to require
-a bit of explanation._] Go out to my chauffeur, [_She turns him round
-by the shoulder and they move up towards the center-door._] you’ll
-probably find him asleep in the car, and tell him I said it’s all
-right,--he can go along--that Mrs. Pampinelli will take me home in
-_her_ car.
-
-SPINDLER. [_Hurrying out the right hallway_] Righto! [_Jenny
-withdraws._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Standing in the center-door and calling after him_]
-Like a good boy. [_She turns, to find Mrs. Ritter at her left in the
-center-door. She takes her arm and they come forward._] Come in here,
-Paula Ritter, and explain to me _why_ [_They stop in the middle of the
-room, just above the line on which Ritter is standing._] you didn’t
-tell me my--lover [_She peers around in front of Paula’s shoulder at
-Ritter._] was coming back today?
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Laughing faintly_] My dear, I didn’t know it myself
-until twenty minutes ago.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Becoming instantly rigid, and piercing Mrs. Ritter with a
-look_] You don’t mean to tell me he returned unexpectedly?
-
-MRS. RITTER. He never even sent a wire.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Moving over to the right, to the little table below the
-piano_] I’m surprised at you, Frederick. I consider that the supreme
-indiscretion in a husband--[_She lays her fan down on the table._] to
-return unexpectedly. Isn’t it, Paula? [_She commences to unfasten her
-cloak._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Moving over to help her_] I never got such a surprise in
-my life.
-
-MRS. FELL. It has probably wrecked more perfectly good homes than
-any other one thing in the calendar. [_She slips her cloak off her
-shoulders, and Mrs. Ritter, who has passed back of her, takes it. It is
-a flowing affair in black and silver, with voluminous kimona sleeves
-edged with black fur, and a deep circular collar of silver-cloth and
-fur._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. I love your cape, Nelly.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Settling her ornaments_] Do you really?
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Examining it_] Beautiful.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Reaching for it_] Let me see it, Paula.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Handing it to her_] Where’s your seal, Nelly?
-
-MRS. FELL. I thought I wouldn’t take it out this winter; I got so tired
-looking at it last year. I want to have that collar and cuffs taken
-off, anyway, before I wear it again;--there’s too much skunk there.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. This is perfectly gorgeous, dear. [_To Mrs. Ritter_]
-Isn’t it?
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Picking up Nelly’s fan from the table_] Lovely. And
-isn’t this sweet? [_Mrs. Pampinelli takes the fan from Mrs. Ritter and
-returns the wrap._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Charming.
-
-MRS. FELL. I’m so glad you like it;--I was afraid at first perhaps it
-might make me look a little too much like a bride.
-
-RITTER. [_With mock derision_] Ha! [_Nelly snaps her head toward him
-and pins him with a narrow glare._]
-
-MRS. FELL. Don’t be peevish, Frederick--
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_To Mrs. Pampinelli, as she takes the fan from her and
-replaces it on the table_] Isn’t he terrible!
-
-MRS. FELL. It isn’t my fault that your wife is a great actress. [_She
-gives a comic nod and wink at Mrs. Ritter. Ritter laughs._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Starting towards the door up above the casement-window,
-at the right, with Mrs. Fell’s cape_] Now, Fred Ritter, you just stop
-that!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Never mind him, Paula--[_Paula goes out with the
-cape._] He’ll probably change his tune after tomorrow night. [_Mrs.
-Fell picks up her fan and commences to fan herself._]
-
-RITTER. [_Standing over above the table at the left, smoking_] I’m
-thinking of what happened to poor Jimmy Sheppard. [_Jenny comes in at
-the left hallway, carrying a small punch-bowl filled with claret, which
-she sets down carefully on the little stand in the hallway. Mrs. Ritter
-re-enters from the door on the right and crosses over to Jenny, whom
-she assists._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Strolling across towards Ritter, fanning herself_] Oh, I
-suppose it must be very difficult for the marvelous male, to suddenly
-find himself obliged to bask in the reflected glory of a mere wife.
-[_Mrs. Pampinelli laughs, over her notes._] For I’ve never known one
-yet who was able to do it gracefully. [_She flips the tip of the fan
-at Ritter’s nose. Mrs. Ritter gives Jenny a direction of some kind and
-Jenny goes out again at the left hallway._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_As Mrs. Fell saunters back again across the room_]
-Well, perhaps Mr. Ritter will show himself consistently _masculine_
-in this instance, and do the exceptional thing. [_Mrs. Ritter follows
-Jenny out._]
-
-RITTER. I suppose that’s what you’d call _veiled_ sarcasm, isn’t it?
-[_Mrs. Pampinelli laughs and rises._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Standing in the middle of the room_] I shouldn’t say it
-was veiled at _all_. [_Moving towards the table below the piano_] I
-don’t think it’s even _draped_.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Laughing still, and coming to the little table_]
-Here’s the manuscript, Nelly.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Stepping closer to the table_] Yes, dear.
-
-RITTER. What are you going to do now, keep _on_ giving this show?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Well, not this particular one, Mr. Ritter, no; but we
-are going to continue giving shows.
-
-RITTER. What’s the idea?
-
-MRS. FELL. They’re to be for different charities.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. And then they will afford the boys and girls an
-opportunity of developing themselves as artists.
-
-RITTER. What are they going to do, all go on the stage?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Well, hardly all of them will go;--but those that we
-feel have sufficient talent we will encourage to go on, by all means.
-
-RITTER. Do you think Mrs. Ritter has sufficient talent?
-
-MRS. FELL. She’s wonderful, Fred, really.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Yes, I should say that Paula had a very remarkable
-talent.
-
-RITTER. Well, what will you do about _her_?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. How do you mean, Mr. Ritter, what will we _do_ about
-her?
-
-RITTER. Why, I mean,--you’d hardly encourage _her_ to go on the stage,
-would you?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. And why not?
-
-RITTER. Why, what about her home? [_Nelly Fell touches her hair and
-gives Mrs. Pampinelli a look of amused impatience._] She couldn’t very
-well walk away and leave that, could she?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Well, personally, Mr. Ritter, I have always felt that,
-where it is a question of talent, one should not allow himself to be
-deterred by purely personal considerations.
-
-MRS. FELL. She’s really awfully good, Fred! You wait till you
-see--You’ll want her to go yourself.
-
-RITTER. [_Stepping quietly to the table at the left and disposing of
-some cigar-ashes_] She’ll have to be pretty good.
-
-MRS. FELL. Won’t he, Betty?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Well, as far as that is concerned, I think that the
-question of whether to be or or not to be an actress, is one that every
-woman must, at some time or other in her life, decide for herself.
-[_Spindler hurries in from the right hallway and down to Mrs. Fell’s
-left, where he stands at attention, saluting, of course, as usual. Mr.
-Spindler is full of salutes. He was in the army;--drafted ten weeks
-before the armistice; and subjected throughout the long term of his
-service to the dangers and exposure of a clerkship in the Personnel at
-Upton. And he’s never gotten over it; being of that immature type of
-mind upon which the letter of the Military makes a profound impression.
-He’s a peppy person, thin and stilted,--in dinner clothes,--with sleek
-hair and goggle glasses: one of that distressing student-order that is
-inevitably to be found in the retinue of some Mrs. Pampinelli,--her
-social status and constant championship of so-called artistic movements
-affording him a legitimate indulgence of his particular weaknesses. So
-he becomes a kind of lead-pencil-bearer extraordinary to her ladyship;
-and her ladyship tolerates him,--for a variety of reasons; not the
-least of which is his unfailing attitude of acquiescence in all her
-opinions. And she has so many opinions,--and on so many different
-subjects, that this feature of Mr. Spindler’s disposition is far from
-inconsiderable. Then, he has a most highly developed faculty for small
-correctnesses,--an especially valuable asset, in view of the enormous
-amount of detail work incidental to Mrs. Pampinelli’s vast activities.
-He reminds her of things, or, “brings them to her attention,” as she
-puts it. For Mr. Spindler is one of those--fortunately few--people who
-remembers things--word for word--even the things he’s read--And he
-appears to have read most everything. And he quotes incessantly. As
-Mrs. Pampinelli has already observed of him, “he is one of those rare
-persons who never forsakes one in the hour of quotation.”_] Look here,
-Nelly.
-
-MRS. FELL. Yes, dear. [_Mrs. Ritter comes in from the left hallway
-carrying several punch-glasses, which she puts down on the hallway
-table._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Indicating a certain line in the manuscript with
-her lead-pencil_] There are a couple of little changes here on page
-twelve--[_Mrs. Fell opens her lorgnon and looks at the manuscript._] I
-have them marked.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Becoming conscious of Spindler at her left_] Pardon me,
-Betty. [_Turning to Spindler_] Did you tell him, Mr. Spindler?
-
-SPINDLER. Yes, mam; he’s gone on his way rejoicing.
-
-MRS. FELL. You’re a sweet child.
-
-SPINDLER. [_Snapping his salute_] Thank you. [_He does an about-face
-and goes up to Mrs. Ritter,--Ritter watching him with an expression
-susceptible of infinite interpretation._]
-
-MRS. FELL. The only man I’ve met in a long time that has made me wish I
-were--ten years younger.
-
-RITTER. Ha!
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Pertly_] Outside of you, of course.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_With a touch of wearied impatience_] Look here, dear.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Stepping quickly to the table again and re-adjusting her
-lorgnon_] Yes, I beg your pardon.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. You see, in this line here,--the author has employed a
-defective verb in the perfect tense. [_Mrs. Fell looks suddenly at her
-and then right back to the manuscript again. Ritter is watching them
-closely._] Would you come here for a moment, Mr. Spindler?
-
-SPINDLER. Certainly, certainly. [_Excuses himself to Mrs. Ritter, with
-whom he has been chatting, and comes down briskly to Mrs. Fell’s left._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. If you please.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Appearing to have some difficulty locating the defective
-verb_] Where is that, now, that you were saying, Betty?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Indicating with the point of the pencil_] Right
-there, dear. [_Nelly just looks at the spot, through her lorgnon._]
-This is the point I was speaking to you about last night, Mr. Spindler.
-
-SPINDLER. [_Securing his goggles_] Oh, yes, yes! [_Ritter draws Mrs.
-Ritter’s attention to the group down at the table. She reproves him
-with a steady stare. He smiles and shakes his head hopelessly._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. You see, this author has employed a defective here, in
-the perfect tense.
-
-SPINDLER. [_Looking closely_] Ah, yes, I see.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Looking at him directly_] So I have changed it. [_He
-straightens up and looks at her, and Mrs. Fell looks from one to the
-other._]
-
-SPINDLER. A very good change. [_He nods and crosses over to the left,
-passing below the table at the left. Ritter watches him until he takes
-up his position just below the mantelpiece, rather ill at ease under
-Ritter’s gaze._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I think so. So, if you’ll just watch that Nelly. [_She
-picks up the manuscript._]
-
-MRS. FELL. All right, I’ll watch it. [_She reaches for her bag and
-takes out a lip-stick. Jenny appears from the left hallway with a tray
-of cakes, which Mrs. Ritter assists her in making room for on the hall
-table._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Starting for the center-door_] I must show it to
-Paula, it’s her line. [_The door-bell rings._] Paula child. [_Jenny
-passes back of Mrs. Ritter and goes out into the right hallway to
-answer the door-bell._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Eating a cake_] Yes, dear? [_Mrs. Pampinelli calls her
-attention to the change in the manuscript. Mrs. Fell is making up
-her lips down at the table below the piano. Ritter is watching her,
-and Spindler is watching Ritter, and trying to assume his general
-deportment._]
-
-RITTER. Are _you_ in the show, Nelly?
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Without turning, and applying the lip-stick, with the aid
-of the little mirror in her hand-bag_] Who, me?
-
-RITTER. Yes.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Half-turning, and giving him a melting look_] Yes;--I play
-a chicken. [_She returns to her mirror._]
-
-RITTER. [_Casually_] In the last act, I suppose. [_Nelly snaps her head
-around and pierces him with one of her looks._]
-
-MRS. FELL. No, and not in the last stages, either. [_She resumes her
-make-up. Nelly is forever making up. But, she does know how to do it.
-Of course, she should, considering the years of her experience in the
-art. For Nelly Fell’s age amounts to an achievement; one of those
-attainments so absolutely undisputed that it is perfectly permissible
-to refer to it in any gathering. She says she’ll “soon be sixty”; but
-the short and simple annals of society record flutterings of the lady
-as far back as the first term of President Grant. And she’s still
-fluttering--a perennial ingenue, full of brittle moves and staccato
-vocalisms. She looks like a little French marquise, so chic, and
-twittery--and rich. For, of course, Nelly is wealthy--enormously so;
-it would be utterly impossible to have her hair and not have money;
-the feature is financial in itself; so silver-white, with a lovely
-bandau of small, pale-pink leaves, tipped with diamond dewdrops; all
-heightened tremendously by the creation in black velvet she is wearing.
-This gown is heavily trimmed with silver, and quite sleeveless, with
-two panels of the goods fastened at the waist on either side and
-trailing at least a yard. She has a preference for diamonds and pearls,
-obviously, for her ear-rings, dog-collar, bracelets and rings are all
-of those gems, and her long, triple-string necklace is of pearls.
-Altogether, Nelly is a very gorgeous little old lady--from the topmost
-ringlet of her aristocratic hair, to the pearl buckles on her tiny
-black-velvet slippers._]
-
-SPINDLER. Mrs. Fell is the official promptress.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Turning her head and looking at Ritter_] I _prompt_
-everybody. [_She replaces her lip-stick in the hand-bag._]
-
-RITTER. Yes?
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Putting the hand-bag down again on the table_] As well as
-lending my moral support.
-
-RITTER. Yes? [_Spindler laughs._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_To Ritter_] You bold thing!
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Coming into view from the right hallway_] Good evening,
-everybody!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning to him, from Mrs. Ritter, with whom she has
-been discussing the change in the manuscript_] Oh, good evening, Mr.
-Hossefrosse. [_They shake hands._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. Mr. Hossefrosse. [_Mrs. Pampinelli comes forward into the
-room again, bringing the manuscript with her._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Mrs. Ritter--good evening. [_Mrs. Ritter asks him if he
-will have a glass of claret and he says yes, so she proceeds to fill
-him out one._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I hope the rest of the people aren’t far behind you.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Are we late?
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Waving to him_] Hello, Huxley.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Not very.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Hello, Nelly. How are you? [_Mrs. Ritter gives him the
-claret, and he stands up at the center-door with her, drinking it.
-Teddy Spearing wanders in from the right hallway._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Passing below the little table below the piano and
-laying the manuscript on it_] Here’s the manuscript, Nelly. [_She
-continues to the arm-chair below the casement-window, and, picking
-up her note-book from the little table at her right, sits down and
-commences to make notes._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Seeing Teddy Spearing, and starting towards the right
-partition_] Oh, Teddy Spearing!
-
-TEDDY. Hello, Nelly.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Beckoning him with her fan_] Come here, dear, I’ve got
-something to tell you. [_Teddy leans over the partition at the right
-and Nelly kneels on the partition-seat and whispers something to him.
-Hossefrosse and Mrs. Ritter are conversing in the center-door, Mrs.
-Pampinelli is making notes down at the right, Ritter is standing over
-in front of the mantelpiece, smoking, and Spindler is standing just
-below him, to his left, watching him._]
-
-SPINDLER. [_In a sudden surge of courage, and taking a rather
-nonchalant step towards Ritter_] Could you spare one of those cigars,
-please? [_Ritter looks at him keenly, then reaches in his vest-pocket
-for a cigar._]
-
-RITTER. Do you smoke?
-
-SPINDLER. Semi-occasionally, yes. [_Ritter hands him the cigar and he
-steps nonchalantly back to his former position, Ritter keeping one eye
-on him. He examines the cigar curiously, and, being apparently very
-near-sighted, seems to have considerable difficulty in deciphering the
-band-inscription._]
-
-RITTER. You can light _either_ end of it.
-
-SPINDLER. [_Very self-conscious_] Yes,--I was just looking at this
-label here: it’s rather keen. [_He puts the cigar in his mouth, and
-attempts an attitude of careless detachment._]
-
-RITTER. Have you got a match?
-
-SPINDLER. I don’t--[_As he opens his mouth to speak the cigar falls on
-the floor, and he scrambles after it._]
-
-TEDDY. [_Laughing incredulously and turning away from Nelly_] Oh, Nelly!
-
-MRS. FELL. Upon my word, dear! Come here till I tell you. [_Teddy
-returns to the partition and Nelly proceeds with her gossip._]
-
-SPINDLER. [_Straightening up, and attempting another man-of-the-world
-attitude_] I don’t care to smoke just now, thank you. [_He holds the
-cigar in his fingers._]
-
-RITTER. [_As things settle again_] You’ve been in the army, haven’t you?
-
-SPINDLER. [_Turning to Ritter with a suggestion of military erectness_]
-Yes; I put in the better part of three months down at Upton, in the
-Personnel.
-
-RITTER. I imagined from your salute you’d been around one of the camps.
-
-SPINDLER. Yes,--I was Third Lieutenant down there--[_Ritter looks at
-him sharply; then Spindler turns and meets the look._] Regimental
-Sergeant Major.
-
-RITTER. Rest.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Coming away from the partition_] So I’m going to ask
-him right out the very next time I meet him. [_She comes down to the
-little table below the piano again. Mr. Hossefrosse comes through the
-center-door towards Ritter, rubbing his hands, and Teddy moves over
-towards Mrs. Ritter, who is still officiating at the punch-bowl._]
-
-TEDDY and HOSSEFROSSE, speaking together.
-
-  TEDDY. [_Speaking to Mrs. Fell_] Maybe he doesn’t know it himself.
-
-  HOSSEFROSSE. [_Addressing Ritter_] Ah, Mr. Ritter! How do you do, sir?
-  [_They shake hands._]
-
-RITTER. How do you do?
-
-MRS. FELL and HOSSEFROSSE, together.
-
-  MRS. FELL. Well, I’m going to find out, whether he does or not.
-
-  HOSSEFROSSE. [_To Ritter_] Decided there was no place like home, eh?
-  [_He laughs, with a mirthless effusiveness._]
-
-RITTER. Are you in the show, too? [_Mrs. Ritter fills out a glass of
-claret for Teddy._]
-
-MRS. FELL and HOSSEFROSSE, together.
-
-  MRS. FELL. I should say he is in it.
-
-  HOSSEFROSSE. We’re all in it.
-
-MRS. FELL. He’s the leading man. [_Hossefrosse raises his right
-hand toward Nelly and laughs deprecatingly._] Unfortunately, there
-isn’t a place in the play where he can use that perfectly gorgeous
-singing-voice of his. [_Hossefrosse is quite overcome, and crosses,
-with hand extended, to Spindler._] It’s true.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Good evening, Mr. Spindler.
-
-SPINDLER. Good evening, good evening. [_In shifting the cigar from his
-right hand to his left he drops it._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Uh! I beg your pardon! [_Mrs. Ritter laughs at something
-Teddy has said to her, then hands him a glass of claret. Mr.
-Hossefrosse stoops to pick up Spindler’s cigar._]
-
-SPINDLER. [_Stooping also, after the cigar_] That’s all right.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE and SPINDLER, together.
-
-  HOSSEFROSSE. I’ll get it. [_He picks it up and hands it to Spindler._]
-
-  SPINDLER. It isn’t lit.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. There we are.
-
-SPINDLER. Thank you very much.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Don’t mention it. [_He crosses down to Nelly, who is
-looking through the manuscript at the table below the piano._]
-
-TEDDY. [_Coming through the center-door and speaking to Ritter_] How do
-you do, Mr. Ritter?
-
-RITTER. [_Shaking hands with him_] How are you?
-
-TEDDY. [_Nodding to Spindler_] Good evening.
-
-SPINDLER. Good evening, sir; good evening.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Teddy!
-
-TEDDY. [_Crossing towards the piano_] Yes?
-
-MRS. RITTER, MRS. PAMPINELLI and HOSSEFROSSE, together.
-
-  MRS. RITTER. [_Waving her handkerchief toward the right hallway_]
-  Hello, Florence!
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Addressing Teddy_] Did you telephone that man about
-  those tickets?
-
-  HOSSEFROSSE. [_Standing at Mrs. Fell’s left shoulder_] What are you
-  doing, Nelly?
-
-FLORENCE, MRS. FELL and TEDDY, together.
-
-  FLORENCE. [_Out in the right hallway_] Am I the last? [_She hurries
-  into view and whispers something to Paula at the center-door which
-  sends Paula into a fit of laughing._]
-
-  MRS. FELL. [_To Hossefrosse_] Making more changes. [_He crosses over
-  to the right in front of Nelly and sits on the piano-stool, back of
-  Mrs. Pampinelli._]
-
-  TEDDY. [_Answering Mrs. Pampinelli_] Yes, I did, Mrs.
-  Pampinelli, he said he’d have them there all right.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Thank you so much. [_Teddy goes up and crosses above
-the piano, where he engages Mr. Hossefrosse in conversation._] Hello,
-Florence! [_Jenny comes into view from the right hallway._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Coming straight forward from the center-door_] Am I the
-last? [_The front door-bell rings again, and Jenny turns and goes back
-into the right hallway again._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. No, but you’re very close to it. How are you, dear?
-
-FLORENCE. Rushed like mad. [_Flipping her lynx muff_] Hello, everybody.
-Hello, Nelly. [_She swings round to her left._]
-
-MRS. FELL. Hello, Flossie.
-
-FLORENCE. How do you do, Mr. Spindler? [_Hossefrosse gets up and
-whispers something to Mrs. Pampinelli, in which she agrees._]
-
-SPINDLER. How do you do? [_Ritter bows very graciously to Florence, and
-Mrs. Ritter comes forward to her husband’s right, eating a piece of
-cake._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Extending the muff at arms-length at Ritter_] No, I don’t
-speak to you at all. [_She removes her stole._]
-
-RITTER. What’s the matter?
-
-FLORENCE. Paula, did you know your husband is becoming very snooty?
-[_Hossefrosse resumes his seat on the piano-stool._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Sliding her hand through Ritter’s right arm_] Why didn’t
-you speak to Florence at the station today, Fred?
-
-RITTER. I didn’t see you today.
-
-FLORENCE. Well, my dear, you _must_ be getting old; for Irene Colter
-and I did everything but stand on our heads to attract your attention.
-[_On the last word of this sentence she flips one of the tails of
-the stole at him, and he ducks, as though afraid of getting hurt._]
-Where shall I put these, Paula? [_Mrs. Pampinelli rises quietly from
-her chair at the right, and, lost in thought, proceeds slowly and
-majestically across in front of Mrs. Fell to the middle of the room,
-tapping her lead-pencil on the note-book._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. I’ll take them. [_She takes the muff and stole from
-Florence and goes up and out into the right hallway with them._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Espying Teddy up back of the piano, shading his eyes with
-his hand, as though trying to see her from a great distance_] Hello,
-Teddy dear! [_Goes towards him_] What are you doing away back here in
-the corner? [_She makes a sudden move as though to tickle him in the
-ribs, but he laughs and jumps away. Mrs. Pampinelli has by this time
-reached the center of the room, where she stands turning from side
-to side in a profound indecision as to the relationship of certain
-positions. She indicates her line of thought by divers pointings and
-flippings of the lead-pencil. Ritter watches her with narrow amusement;
-and, presently, Mrs. Fell, who is still occupied with the manuscript
-at the little table, looks up, distracted by the gyrations of the
-lead-pencil._]
-
-MRS. FELL. What’s the matter, Betty?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I was just wondering about a little piece of business
-here.
-
-SPINDLER. [_Stepping to the back of the arm-chair at the left and
-leaning over it towards Mrs. Pampinelli_] Can I help you, Mrs. P.?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Without turning to him_] No, thank you; it’s
-purely technical. [_He resumes his position at the left corner of
-the mantelpiece and glances at Ritter, who is obliged to use his
-handkerchief to hide his amusement. Mrs. Ritter comes in through the
-door at the right, above the piano._]
-
-MRS. FELL. Betty, did I tell you I saw Clara Sheppard today? [_But Mrs.
-Pampinelli is still deep in technical profundities, and simply silences
-her with a gesture of her right hand._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Coming forward at the right of the piano_] Where did you
-see her, Nelly?
-
-MRS. FELL. Darlington’s, at the mourning counter.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Coming suddenly out of her abstraction, and turning
-to Mrs. Fell_] Is she going in black?
-
-MRS. FELL. My dear, she’s _in_ it already.
-
-TWILLER. [_Coming in the right hallway_] Good evening!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. She’s very foolish, under the circumstances.
-
-MRS. FELL. That’s just what I told her today.
-
-TWILLER. [_Coming through the center-door and forward at the left of
-the piano_] Good evening, Mrs. Ritter.
-
-MRS. RITTER. Good evening, Mr. Twiller.
-
-TWILLER. [_To Hossefrosse, casually_] Huxley.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Shifting from the piano-stool to the arm-chair, which
-Mrs. Pampinelli has just vacated, and proceeding to study his part,
-which he has taken from his pocket_] Hello, Ralph.
-
-MRS. FELL. Hello, Ralph.
-
-TWILLER. Nelly!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Still in the middle of the room_] You’re the ten
-o’clock scholar again tonight, Mr. Twiller. [_Jenny crosses from the
-right hallway to the left, and goes out._]
-
-TWILLER. I’m awfully sorry, Mrs. P., really; but the fates seem to be
-against me. [_Teddy gives a little whistle at him. He turns and sees
-him, standing with Florence, up back of the piano._] Hello, Teddy!
-[_He goes towards him, and Teddy shoots at him with his thumb and
-forefinger, by way of reply. Florence smiles and extends her left arm
-and hand towards him._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI and TWILLER, together.
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Moving over from the middle of the room to the left
-  of Mrs. Fell, who is still at the table below the piano_] What was
-  that you were saying, Nelly, about Clara Sheppard?
-
-  TWILLER. Flossie, dear, I didn’t see you two up here! [_He takes
-  Florence’s hand and kisses it. Then he crosses to the left and shakes
-  hands with Ritter; then over to Spindler, and then starts back towards
-  Florence, at the piano. As he passes Ritter, Ritter taps him on the
-  right shoulder; he turns, and Ritter asks him something. He replies,
-  and they stand chatting for a moment; then Ritter indicates the
-  partition-seat behind them and they sit down, to talk it over._]
-
-MRS. FELL. Why, I simply told her--I said, “Don’t be spectacular, dear;
-it’ll only make it more difficult for you when you want to marry again.
-And,” I said, “you probably _will_ marry again,”--[_Spindler sits on the
-chair below the door at the left._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Of course she will.
-
-MRS. FELL. “For you’re a comparatively young woman. So,” I said, “just
-get through the next few months as undramatically as possible. [_Jenny
-enters in the left hallway and takes empty glasses off._] I know he
-was your _first_ husband, and all that; but, after all,” I said, “he
-was _only_ your husband: it isn’t as though you’d lost someone who was
-very _close_ to you”--[_She turns her head and speaks directly to Mrs.
-Pampinelli._] Like one of your own people, [_Turning to Mrs. Ritter,
-who is standing at her right_] or something like that, I mean. “And,” I
-said, “another thing, darling,--_always remember_--he’d have very soon
-put another in _your_ place if it had been you.” [_She finishes the
-remark to Mrs. Pampinelli._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Knowingly, and with conviction_] I should say he
-would.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Reaching for her hand-bag_] And I felt like saying, “And I
-could give you the names and addresses right now of _several_ that he
-would have put in your place _long ago_, only for the law.”
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_With a shade of confidence_] She must have known it.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Reflecting the tone_] Of _course_, she knew it. [_Florence
-leaves Teddy, up at the piano, and crosses to Ritter and Twiller, to
-show them a piece of music. They rise, and she indicates a certain
-point on the sheet; then she continues down to Spindler, who rises at
-her approach, and shows it to him._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. How is she, Nelly?
-
-MRS. FELL. My dear, she looks a perfect wreck. [_Florence sits on the
-arm of the arm-chair at the left and Spindler resumes the little chair
-below the left door, and drawing it a bit closer to the arm-chair. He
-appears to be telling Florence something very interesting._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. Poor soul.
-
-MRS. FELL. She says no one will _ever_ know how she feels--about losing
-that part. And she says she simply cannot _wait_ until tomorrow night,
-[_She turns to Mrs. Pampinelli._] to see Paula’s interpretation of it.
-[_Mrs. Ritter gives an inane little laugh, and Mrs. Fell turns quickly
-to her._] She’s heard so much about it. [_Jenny comes in from the left
-hallway again with fresh glasses. She sets them down on the hallway
-table and proceeds to arrange them._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Is she coming to the performance tomorrow night?
-
-MRS. FELL. She says she’ll see that performance, if she has to disguise
-herself.
-
-MRS. RITTER. Doesn’t that sound just like her? [_Nelly nods agreement._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Yes,--she’s so full of dramatic instinct.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_With a touch of bitterness_] He never appreciated it
-though.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. My dear, has _any_ artist _ever_ been adequately
-appreciated?
-
-MRS. RITTER. I understand he was very heavily insured.
-
-MRS. FELL. Oh, yes!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. She _seemed_ very optimistic when I spoke to her on
-the telephone.
-
-MRS. FELL. I believe your husband’s company had him insured for quite a
-lot, didn’t they, Paula?
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Lowering her tone_] I believe they did, Nelly,--but I
-couldn’t say for just how much.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Quietly detaching herself_] I must find that out. [_She
-passes back of Mrs. Pampinelli and across towards Ritter. Mrs. Ritter
-and Mrs. Pampinelli continue in conversation._] Frederick, I want to
-ask you something. [_He steps forward, excusing himself to Twiller._]
-Pardon me, Ralph.
-
-TWILLER. That’s all right, Nelly. [_He crosses again to Teddy._]
-
-MRS. FELL. Frederick, what did you think when you heard Jimmy Sheppard
-was dead?
-
-RITTER. Why, I thought he was dead, of course. [_Mrs. Ritter leaves
-Mrs. Pampinelli, passing back of her, and goes up to assist Jenny with
-her arrangements. Mrs. Pampinelli busies herself with making notations
-on the margin of the manuscript, at the little table._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Flipping the tip of her fan in his face_] Oh, did
-you, Smarty! [_Ritter raises his right hand, as though to ward off
-the blow._] Well, listen, Frederick. [_He attends, and she becomes
-confidential._] He left quite a bit of insurance, didn’t he?
-
-RITTER. Yes--about three hundred thousand, I believe.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Becoming generally stoney_] Is there a will, do you know?
-
-RITTER. I don’t know; I suppose there is.
-
-MRS. FELL. Well, I hope she was sharp enough to see that there is.
-Because if there isn’t, you know, she’s only entitled to a third
-in this state. That’s all the widow’s entitled to. And, you know,
-Frederick, Clara Sheppard could never in this world get along on a bare
-hundred thousand dollars; you know that as well as I do.
-
-RITTER. Well, she has quite a bit of money of her own, hasn’t she?
-
-MRS. FELL. Oh, tons of it, yes; but there’s no sense in using her
-own if she can use his. [_Ritter glances at her, but she has turned
-away slightly to cough, behind her fan. Jenny goes out at the left
-hallway._] Was sudden, wasn’t it?
-
-RITTER. Yes, it was.
-
-MRS. FELL. We were terribly inconvenienced. Because I’d simply
-_deluged_ my friends with tickets. [_Mrs. Ritter is up at the
-punch-bowl, sampling the punch and nibbling at the cakes._]
-
-RITTER. I can’t understand why you didn’t postpone the show.
-
-MRS. FELL. That’s what _I_ wanted to do; but Mrs. P. here was
-superstitious.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Catching her name, and straightening up from the
-manuscript, imperiously_] What are you saying about Mrs. P., Nelly Fell?
-
-MRS. FELL. Why, Frederick was wondering why we didn’t postpone the
-performance when Jimmy Sheppard died,--and _I_ told him you were
-superstitious about a postponement.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. No, Nelly, I was not superstitious, so please don’t
-say that I was; I shouldn’t care to have such an impression get abroad.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Touching her hair_] Well, you were something, Betty.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Yes, Nelly, I admit that I was something,--but it
-was not superstitious. I was,--[_She looks out and away off, and feels
-for the word._] intuitive. [_She turns her head and looks directly
-at Ritter, who drops his eyes to the tip of his cigar. Nelly Fell,
-following Mrs. Pampinelli’s eyes, looks at Ritter also. Then everyone’s
-eyes shift to Mrs. Pampinelli. Florence turns languidly and looks; and
-Mrs. Ritter, with a glass of punch in one hand, and a small cake in the
-other, moves forward, in the middle of the room, and stands looking
-and listening--and chewing. Hossefrosse steps over to the table behind
-which Mrs. Pampinelli is standing, and takes the manuscript,--returning
-with it to the arm-chair, and becoming absorbed in a comparison of a
-certain page of it with his individual part._] I have struggled so long
-to inaugurate a Little Theatre Movement in this community, that I had
-intuitively anticipated the occurrence of some obstacle to thwart me;
-so that, when the telephone-bell rang, on the night of Mr. Sheppard’s
-death, I said to myself, before I even took down the receiver, [_She
-plants her lead-pencil on the table and assumes something of the aspect
-of a crusader._] “_This_ is my event. Something has happened--that is
-going to put my sincerity in this movement to the test. And I must
-remember, as Mr. Lincoln said at Gettysburg, ‘It is better that we
-should perish, than that those ideals for which we struggle should
-perish.’” [_She turns her gaze in the direction of Ritter, but Mrs.
-Ritter is first in the line of vision, with her eyes full of the
-coast of Greenland, and her mouth full of cake. As she becomes
-suddenly conscious that Mrs. Pampinelli has stopped talking and is
-looking directly at her, she meets the look and breaks into an utterly
-irrelevant little laugh._]
-
-RITTER. It’s a singular thing, but I’ve noticed that invariably there’s
-a _fatality_ connected with these amateur performances.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Unfortunately, that is true, Mr. Ritter, I agree with
-you. But then, we are not dismayed; we have the lessons of history
-to fortify us; for whenever the torch of essential culture has been
-raised, [_She raises the lead-pencil as though it were a torch._] there
-has unfailingly been the concomitant exactment of a human life. [_She
-stands holding the torch aloft until the little cuckoo-clock over the
-door at the left cuckoos the half-hour. Ritter looks at it, and Nelly
-Fell gives it a glance. Florence, too, turns and looks up. Then Mrs.
-Pampinelli turns her eyes slowly upon it and withers it with a look._]
-Well, children, it’s eight-thirty,--[_She gathers up her train and
-tosses it across her left arm, then comes around to the right in front
-of the table where she has been standing. Mrs. Ritter returns to the
-table in the hallway and sets down her empty glass. Ritter goes up
-after her and she fills him out a drink. Florence rises from the arm of
-the chair, and, passing in front of the table at the left, goes up and
-across back of the piano and out the door, at the right. As she passes
-above the piano she says something to Teddy, who has come down at the
-right of the piano, from his late position up near the door, and is
-crossing below it. Twiller turns and goes out through the center-door
-and stands leaning over the partition in the right hallway. Hossefrosse
-rises, settles his clothes and clears his throat. Mr. Spindler, also,
-has risen, and is replacing his chair back against the wall, below the
-door._] Time we went “unto the breach” once more.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Stepping forward a little to the center of the room, and
-stretching her hand towards Mr. Hossefrosse_] You have my props, Huxley.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Crossing below the table, to give her the manuscript_] I
-beg your pardon, Nelly; I was just looking at something here.
-
-MRS. FELL. Thanks. [_She pulls him towards her and whispers something._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Standing at the left of the little table_] Have you
-my other pencil, Mr. Spindler?
-
-SPINDLER. [_Hurrying across towards her_] I believe you left it over
-here on this little table. [_He passes below Teddy, who is just
-crossing to the left, and continues on between the piano and the table
-to the little table below the casement-window. Nelly Fell breaks into a
-shrill giggle, pushes Hossefrosse towards the center-door, and crosses
-to the left, passing below the table. She is in a violent state of
-laughter. Hossefrosse goes on up to the center-door, and, excusing
-himself to Ritter, who is standing there drinking, passes out into the
-right hallway. Teddy comes around back of the arm-chair at the left
-and sits in the arm-chair. Mrs. Pampinelli has moved to the right of
-the table below the piano, where she stands reviewing her notes._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_To Teddy, confidentially, as she takes up her position on
-the chair below the door at the left_] I’ll tell you later. [_She sits
-down._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Tapping her lead-pencil on the table and addressing
-them generally_] Now, folks,--[_Ritter sets his glass on the table and
-steps into the right hallway, where he converses with Twiller for a
-second, then stands listening; while Mrs. Ritter hurries in and settles
-herself on the partition-seat at the left and listens attentively._]
-you understand, of course, that the setting will be just as it was
-at the Civic Club on the fourteenth; only, of course, as you know,
-the stage at Hutchy Kutchy is considerably larger. That, however,
-need not concern us particularly, as the entrances and exits will be
-relatively the same. [_She finishes this speech to Mr. Spindler, who
-is standing at her right, waiting for her to take the lead-pencil._]
-Oh, thank you, Mr. Spindler. [_She gives him the one she has--simply an
-exchange of pencils, and he salutes and returns to a position below the
-casement-window. Florence comes in at the right door again, wearing her
-furs, and comes down at the right of the piano. Mrs. Pampinelli moves a
-little towards the center-door._] Are you going to watch the rehearsal,
-Mr. Ritter?
-
-MRS. FELL. Of course, he is!
-
-RITTER. [_Coming through the center-door_] If I wouldn’t be in the way.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Not at all,--very glad to have you.
-
-MRS. FELL. He can sit over here with the promptress. [_He crosses
-towards Nelly, picking up the little chair above the table at the left,
-as he passes. Hossefrosse emerges from the right hallway carrying a
-light, soft hat, a cane and gloves, and stands in the center-door.
-Florence steps across below the piano and asks Mrs. Pampinelli
-something._] If you can behave yourself. [_Florence returns to the
-corner of the piano nearest the window and drapes herself on it. She’s
-a very gorgeous-looking thing, in a sleeveless gown of canary-colored
-metallic silk, made quite daringly severe, to exploit the long, lithe
-lines of her greyhound figure. There’s a chain-effect girdle with the
-dress, of vivid jade, worn loose, and an ornament of the same jade on
-the left shoulder, from which the goods falls in a plain drape down in
-front of the arm to the bottom of the skirt. She has a perfect shock of
-hair,--rather striking,--a kind of suspicious auburn; and she has it
-bobbed. Her slippers and stockings are white._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. You needn’t sit there yet, Teddy, I’m going to run
-through the last scene first,--
-
-TEDDY. [_Rising_] Oh, all right.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. For Mr. Hossefrosse’s lines. [_Teddy passes in front
-of the table at the left and goes up to the center-door and out into
-the right hallway, where he chats with Twiller and watches the
-proceedings over the partition. Spindler comes over and asks Mrs.
-Pampinelli something. Ritter places his chair beside Nelly’s, above it,
-and sits down, assuming the attitude of a lover._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Pushing Ritter’s arm away_] Stop it, Frederick Ritter!
-Paula! [_Spindler returns to his post._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Inanely_] Behave yourself, Fred.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Now, folks,--[_She moves slowly down and across
-towards the table at the left._] Mr. Spindler will attend to the
-various cues tonight, and at the performance tomorrow night as well.
-[_Speaking directly to Nelly_] So we won’t have to bother about that.
-[_Turning round to her left and addressing the others_] He will do all
-the rapping. [_She raps a little._] And he has a little telephone-bell
-of his own, [_She moves across again towards the back of the table at
-the right._] which he has very kindly tendered the use of. Have you
-that bell with you tonight, Mr. Spindler? [_He holds out a bell and
-battery arrangement on a piece of wood, having taken it from his pocket
-immediately she referred to it, and rings it twice._] Splendid. [_She
-passes above the table and comes forward at the right of it, very
-thoughtfully._] That’s splendid. [_Spindler replaces the battery._]
-Now, children,--[_She crosses in front of the table._] I think,
-first, I should like to take that scene at the finish, between Doctor
-Arlington and his wife; [_She is standing at the left of the table,
-speaking directly to Hossefrosse, who is standing in the center-door,
-with his hat on, at a rather absurd angle, and holding his cane in
-one hand and his gloves in the other, in a very stilted fashion.
-Hossefrosse is a terribly well-fed-looking person in dinner clothes,
-perhaps, thirty-eight years of age,--flamingly florid of complexion,
-and with an effusiveness of manner that is probably only saved from
-absolute effervescence by the ponderous counterpoise of his dignity._]
-there are a few little things in there I want to correct. [_Crossing
-over back of the table at the left towards Mrs. Fell_] Page eighteen or
-nineteen, I think it is, Nelly. It’s the scene at the finish between
-Mr. Hossefrosse and Miss McCrickett. [_Nelly looks for the place,
-through her lorgnon._] Oh! [_Mrs. Pampinelli turns back to the others
-again._] and one thing more I want to mention, boys and girls, before
-I forget it. [_She takes a funny little coughing spell._] Pardon me.
-[_She coughs again._] Oh, dear me! [_She closes her eyes tight and
-shivers her head._]
-
-MRS. FELL. Page eighteen did you say it was, Betty?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Eighteen or nineteen, yes. It’s somewhere right in
-there.
-
-MRS. FELL. Oh, yes, here it is, I have it.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning back to the people, and speaking with
-careful emphasis_] When you are going on and off the stage, be
-very careful of those little wooden strips that they have across
-the bottoms of the doors, and don’t trip. [_Mrs. Ritter laughs
-self-consciously and Hossefrosse leans over and says something to her.
-Florence laughs, and turns and says something to Spindler, and Teddy
-and Twiller laugh and look toward Mrs. Ritter._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Looking out around Mrs. Pampinelli to see Mrs. Ritter_]
-Paula! [_Then she sits back, laughing, and says something to Ritter._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I really think that was what made some of you so
-nervous at the Civic Club the last time. So, watch it, all of you,
-for they will probably have just the same thing down at Hutchy
-Kutchy.--There is perhaps nothing quite so disconcerting as to trip--as
-one comes on a stage. Going off--is not so bad; but--coming on, I have
-found that it requires a _tremendous_ artist to rise above it. [_She
-starts down towards the table at the right, below the piano._] So,
-watch it, all of you. Now, is everybody in his place? [_She stops below
-the table and picks up her note-book._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Handing Ritter the manuscript and getting up suddenly_]
-Oh, just one moment, Betty! [_She teeters across to the table at the
-right._] I want to get my other glasses--they’re right here in my bag.
-[_She picks up the bag and starts back to her place._] I beg pardon,
-everybody, but I can’t tell one letter from another without these
-glasses. [_This last sentence culminates in a flighty giggle, for no
-reason at all, and then she sits down, and heaves a deep sigh of
-amusement._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Who has been looking at her steadily_] _Now_, is
-everybody ready? [_Mrs. Fell simply lifts her eyes and looks at her;
-then proceeds to get her glasses out of the bag._] Use your voices,
-children, and try to do it tonight just as you are going to do it
-tomorrow night at Hutchy Kutchy. [_She moves a step or two nearer the
-middle of the room._] Doctor Arlington is still in his office.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Yes.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Mr. Rush--
-
-TWILLER. [_Coming in through the center-door_] Yes.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Is just about to make his exit. [_He crosses above
-the piano and stands waiting at the right door. He’s a bald-headed
-youth, between thirty and thirty-five, in dinner clothes, excessively
-well-groomed but utterly nondescript._] And Mrs. Arlington is putting
-on the deadlatch. [_Florence straightens up._] All ready, now? [_She
-holds up her hands for a second, then claps them once._] All right.
-[_Twiller goes out through the right door and Mrs. Pampinelli moves
-over towards the right, watching Florence._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Pretending to put on a deadlatch_] Deadlatch.
-
-SPINDLER. [_Standing in rigid military fashion_] Click--click.
-[_Florence turns and starts across towards the middle of the room,
-passing between the piano and the table below it._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Glancing toward the center-door_] You can come out now,
-Clyde, they’ve gone. [_She continues to the table at the left and
-stands resting one hand upon it._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Bustling forward from the center-door, removing his
-hat as he comes_] Anybody here, David? [_Spindler whistles shrilly,
-takes a step forward and tries to attract Hossefrosse’s attention, by
-holding up his right arm and flicking his fingers at him. Teddy laughs
-and turns to tell Twiller, who is just rejoining him from the right
-hallway, what has happened. Florence turns and looks at Hossefrosse,
-then at Mrs. Pampinelli, who is standing at the right of the table
-below the piano. Mrs. Ritter gets up and simply staggers laughing
-through the center-door and out to Teddy and Twiller._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Speaking to Mrs. Pampinelli_] That isn’t right, is it?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning to Spindler at her right and holding up her
-hand_] Please don’t whistle, Mr. Spindler! I can’t stand whistling.
-
-FLORENCE. I thought we were going to take the _last_ scene first.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI and MRS. FELL, together.
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Moving around in front of the table and going
-  near to Hossefrosse_] We are taking the _last_ scene _first_, Mr.
-  Hossefrosse, that is the _first_ scene.
-
-  MRS. FELL. [_Holding up her hand_] Wait a moment, wait one moment,
-  just one moment, somebody’s off the track! [_Twiller and Teddy laugh
-  again and Hossefrosse turns and looks at them. Twiller shakes his
-  head, flips his hand at him and walks away into the right hallway, as
-  though deploring his stupidity. Ritter begins to laugh._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I thought I had made that sufficiently clear.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI, MRS. FELL, SPINDLER and TWILLER, together.
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. We are taking the scene at the finish, Mr.
-  Hossefrosse, between you and Miss McCrickett.
-
-  MRS. FELL. [_Rising_] That’s the first scene, Huxley, and we are
-  taking the last scene, between you and Florence, on page nineteen,
-  right here, [_She indicates the place in the manuscript_].
-
-  SPINDLER. [_Addressing Teddy_] I hope he doesn’t pull anything like
-  that tomorrow night. [_He returns to his place below the window._]
-
-  TWILLER. [_Coming back into view from the hallway_] Don’t weaken,
-  Huxley, you know what they say about a bad rehearsal.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Topping them all_] Please, children, please!
-
-MRS. FELL. Down at the bottom of the page. [_Mrs. Ritter comes through
-the center-door again and sits down on the left partition-seat._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Speaking directly to Mrs. Fell_] Please--[_Mrs. Fell
-sits down again, slowly, Mrs. Pampinelli looking at her stonily._]
-Let us have one director, if you please. [_She withdraws her eyes
-slowly, and Nelly darts a bitter look at her._] Now, don’t let us have
-everybody talking at once; it only confuses people, and wastes a lot of
-time. [_Hossefrosse stands bewildered in the middle of the room. Mrs.
-Pampinelli addresses him directly, speaking with measured emphasis._]
-We are taking the _last_ scene _first_, Mr. Hossefrosse: it is the
-scene at the finish, between you and Miss McCrickett, just before Paula
-comes on,--
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Oh, I beg your pardon!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. And _after_ Mr. Rush has left the stage.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. I thought we were beginning right from the beginning.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. No, I’d like to run through the _last_ scene _first_,
-if you don’t mind; there are a few little things in it I’d like to
-correct.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Turning and starting for the center-door_] This was the
-wrong entrance for that line, anyway.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. And you won’t need your hat and cane in this scene.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. That’s so, too.
-
-TWILLER. [_Who is standing out just at the right of the center-door_]
-I’ll take them, Hux.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Handing him the hat, gloves and cane_] Thanks. [_Turning
-to Mrs. Ritter_] I’ll get straightened out after while. [_Paula
-laughs._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Now, Florence dear, will you go back?
-
-FLORENCE. [_Crossing back again to the window_] Certainly.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Crossing back to the right, in front of the table_]
-And take it right from Mr. Rush’s exit.
-
-FLORENCE. [_Looking round at Hossefrosse_] Ready?
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_In the center-door_] Yes, I’m ready.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_To Florence_] Go on.
-
-FLORENCE. [_Repeating her former business of putting on a deadlatch_]
-Deadlatch.
-
-SPINDLER. [_Having again assumed his rigid military attitude_]
-Click--click. [_Florence turns and crosses again between the piano and
-the table._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_With a glance at the center-door_] You can come out now,
-Clyde, they’ve gone. [_She continues to her former position at the
-right of the little table at the left. Hossefrosse steps resolutely
-through the center-door, gives her a wicked look, glances toward the
-door at the right, then strides forward and plants himself directly
-opposite her, his head thrown back, his eyes ablaze, and his arms
-akimbo._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Did you come here to make a scene!
-
-FLORENCE. [_Languidly, and without turning_] Have I made one?
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Getting loud_] What are you doing here?
-
-FLORENCE. [_Raising her hand to enjoin silence_] Sh-sh--[_He turns
-abruptly and looks toward the door at the right; then back to her
-again._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. I want an explanation of this!
-
-FLORENCE. [_Turning to him, and rather casually_] So do I.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Standing at the right of the table below the piano_]
-Oh, more imperious, Florence dear! [_Florence and Hossefrosse look at
-her._] More of this. [_She lifts her shoulders, eyebrows and chin, to
-illustrate her idea of the general hauteur of the line._] Much more.
-
-FLORENCE. [_Vaguely_] Don’t you think she would cry there? [_Mrs.
-Pampinelli looks at her steadily for a pause and thinks: then she rests
-her lead-pencil on the table and tilts her head a bit to one side._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Do you want to cry there, dear?
-
-FLORENCE. No, but I can if you want me to.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. No,--personally, I think she’s speaking more in anger
-than in sorrow. You see, dear, you are impersonating a wronged wife.
-Now, you yourself, Florence darling, are an unmarried girl:--it is
-difficult for you to realize how excessively annoyed with her husband
-a married woman can become. I think I would take it with more _lift_.
-More of this, you know. [_She repeats her former illustration._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Endeavoring to imitate the manner of delivery, and speaking
-in a deep, tragic tone_] So do I.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Perfect.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Turning to Mrs. Pampinelli_] Go on?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Yes, go on.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Clearing his throat and trying to summon his attack_]
-What is your reason for sneaking into my office at this hour?
-
-FLORENCE. Is it necessary that your wife have a reason for coming to
-your office?
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. You wanted to embarrass Mrs. Rush, that was it, wasn’t it?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Waving her hand toward them with an upward
-movement_] Tempo, children!
-
-FLORENCE. I wanted to meet my rival.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. You could have met Mrs. Rush under more candid
-circumstances.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Moving around towards them, in front of the table_]
-Tempo, children!
-
-FLORENCE. The present ones suited my purposes better.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Turning away impatiently_] Naturally!--You wanted
-a scene! [_He starts over to the right, but Mrs. Pampinelli is
-standing right in his way, so he stops short, but maintains the
-physical tautness of his character. Florence, too, has turned away,
-to the left, and is moving across in front of the table towards the
-arm-chair._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Oblivious of Hossefrosse, and still making her
-upward waving gesture over his shoulder_] Tempo, Florence! [_Suddenly
-becoming conscious that she is obstructing Hossefrosse’s cross, and
-stepping below him_] I beg your pardon.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Bowing stiffly_] Not at all. [_He continues over to the
-right and stops, right in front of Spindler, and they stand looking
-into each other’s eyes; while Mrs. Pampinelli comes up at the left of
-the table to the piano._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Sitting down in the arm-chair_] I think if I were a scenic
-woman I’ve had ample opportunity during the last fifteen minutes to
-indulge myself.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Still looking into Spindler’s eyes_] You did I think;--
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Beckoning to Spindler_] Mr. Spindler.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. I had the pleasure of hearing you.
-
-FLORENCE. Was it a pleasure, Clyde?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI and HOSSEFROSSE, together.
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Still beckoning to Spindler_] Mr. Spindler!
-
-  HOSSEFROSSE. [_Whirling around and glaring at Florence_] It appears to
-  amuse you! [_Spindler steps below Hossefrosse and passes up in front
-  of him to Mrs. Pampinelli, who whispers something to him._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Unfastening her neckpiece_] I have an inopportune sense of
-humor.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. You should be able to appreciate the situation, you
-created it!
-
-FLORENCE. [_Looking over at him_] I didn’t create her husband.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Making a little gesture of annoyance_] I’m afraid I’m
-stuck! [_He tries hard to think, and Mrs. Pampinelli makes a gesture
-toward Mrs. Fell to give him the line, but Nelly is occupied in telling
-Ritter a story._] But, don’t tell me! [_He feels for the line again,
-and Mrs. Pampinelli tries to attract Nelly’s attention._] I guess I’m
-gone. [_Suddenly Nelly bursts into a fit of laughing, having made the
-point of the story._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. What is the line, Nelly? [_Ritter nudges her._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Stopping suddenly in her laughter and hitting him with her
-fan_] Stop that!
-
-RITTER. Get on your job, you’re holding up the show. [_Nelly looks
-excitedly toward Mrs. Pampinelli._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. What is the line, Nelly, please.
-
-MRS. FELL. What! Oh, I beg your pardon, is somebody stuck?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Mr. Hossefrosse.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Got another mind-blank.
-
-MRS. FELL. Oh, well, now, just wait one minute, please, till I see
-where I’m at. [_She searches frantically through the manuscript._] Oh,
-yes, here it is! [_Ritter indicates a place on the page. She pushes his
-arm out of the way._] I didn’t create her husband. [_Teddy and Twiller
-laugh._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI, FLORENCE and HOSSEFROSSE, together.
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. No, dear, we’ve just passed that.
-
-  FLORENCE. I’ve already said that, Nelly.
-
-  HOSSEFROSSE. It’s the next line.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Vaguely, and looking through her lorgnon and spectacles at
-the manuscript_] Oh, have we passed that!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. The next line after the one you just read.
-
-MRS. FELL. Oh, I see now where we are! The next line after that is,
-“You’ve all been listening to a lot of damned, cheap gossip.”
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI and HOSSEFROSSE, together.
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. That’s it.
-
-  HOSSEFROSSE. [_To Mrs. Pampinelli_] That certainly is my Jonah line.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. You’ve all been list--[_Spindler goes around to the
-right and sits on the piano-stool, looking near-sightedly at the
-music._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Turning to Florence, and assuming his character again_]
-You’ve all been listening to a lot of damned, cheap gossip! [_He starts
-to cross towards the left, passing between the piano and the table,
-but Mrs. Pampinelli is right in his way again, so he is obliged to
-stop short and wait._]
-
-FLORENCE. Which should show you that people are talking. [_Mrs.
-Pampinelli turns to see why Hossefrosse is not picking up his line._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Stepping out of his way_] I beg your pardon. [_She
-circles down at the left of the table again._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Continuing over towards the mantelpiece_] My fault. One
-or two old women, perhaps.
-
-FLORENCE. Will it confine itself to those?
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Turning at the mantelpiece and coming back to the middle
-of the room_] Well, I can’t control that.
-
-FLORENCE. Have you tried?
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Whirling upon her, and literally shouting_] No!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Standing at the right of the table below the piano_]
-Excellent.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Turning and bowing briefly to her_] Thank you very much.
-[_Resuming the scene with Florence_] And I don’t intend to. People will
-always talk; it may as well be at my expense as anybody else’s.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Leaning towards him across the table, and speaking
-with poisonous sweetness_] Anybody’s _else_, dear.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Beg pardon?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Would you say anybody’s else; it sounds better.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Turning back again to Florence_] It may as well be at
-my expense as anybody else’s. [_Mr. Spindler’s elbow slips off the
-piano onto the keyboard, striking a perfectly villainous chord, and
-causing everybody to turn and look in that direction._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Mr. Spindler, please.
-
-SPINDLER. [_Adjusting his goggles, which have been slightly dislodged
-by the incident_] I’m sorry. [_Mrs. Pampinelli turns back to
-Hossefrosse._] Never mind, Mr. Hossefrosse, it will come.
-
-FLORENCE. Your position can’t afford it.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Taking a step towards the right_] I’ve given them
-nothing to talk about.
-
-FLORENCE. No? [_He stops abruptly and turns and looks at her._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. What? [_He takes a couple of steps towards her._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Rising_] Please, Clyde!--[_She crosses in front of the
-table at the left and goes towards him. Mrs. Ritter gets up from the
-partition-seat and comes down to the table at the right, below the
-piano._] You’re not talking to your office-boy--[_Mrs. Ritter picks
-up the little chair from the left of the table and starts back again
-towards the center-door._] Let us get to the point.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Very well.
-
-MRS. RITTER and HOSSEFROSSE, together.
-
-  MRS. RITTER.--Excuse me, Florence. [_Florence bows and smiles._] And
-  you, too, Mr. Hossefrosse.
-
-  HOSSEFROSSE. What brought you here tonight? [_He turns to see the
-  cause of the movement behind him._] Don’t mention it. [_Mrs. Ritter
-  places the chair in front of the partition where she has been sitting,
-  then crosses to the piano and gets her sewing-basket, returning with
-  it to the chair and sitting down to sew._]
-
-FLORENCE. Not to quarrel with you, for one thing.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. You wanted to embarrass Mrs. Rush, that was it, wasn’t it?
-
-FLORENCE. Not at all,--you misunderstood me; I said, “I wanted to
-_meet_ Mrs. Rush.” [_Teddy comes in through the center-door from the
-right hallway and sits down on the partition-seat at the right. Teddy
-is a frail little wisp of a youth around twenty, in dinner clothes. He
-has big eyes and good teeth, and laughs on the slightest provocation.
-His forehead is defectively high, and his thin hair is plastered back
-and brilliantined. His type is always to be found draped upon the
-banisters or across the pianos in the houses of the rich,--a kind of
-social annoyance, created by wealthy connections and the usual lack of
-available men._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. What did you want to meet her for? [_Twiller steps through
-the center-door from the right hallway and whispers something to Mrs.
-Ritter. She answers him, and he steps out into the hallway and fills
-himself out a glass of claret from the bowl, then goes up and sits on
-the landing of the stairway and watches the rehearsal._]
-
-FLORENCE. Why, I thought that we three might--reason together, [_He
-holds her eye for a second, then turns away, and reaches in his
-various pockets for his cigarettes._] concerning our respective futures.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_In a lowered tone, to Mrs. Pampinelli_] Forgot my
-cigarettes.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Never mind, I only want lines. Go on, Florence.
-[_Hossefrosse takes an imaginary cigarette from an imaginary case,
-replaces the case, taps the cigarette on the back of his hand, puts it
-in his mouth, strikes an imaginary match on his shoe, and lights the
-cigarette._]
-
-FLORENCE. I’ve deferred the discussion for a long time, but it may as
-well be today as tomorrow.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Your plan didn’t work out very well, did it?
-
-FLORENCE. Oh, yes, very well indeed; although hardly as I had
-anticipated; thanks to _her_ husband and _your_ lies. [_He blows out
-the imaginary match and tosses it onto the floor at the right; then
-snaps his head around and glares at Florence. Mrs. Pampinelli glances
-down onto the floor, as though to assure herself that Mr. Hossefrosse
-hasn’t really thrown a lighted match onto the carpet._] You’ve
-evidently told this boy here that Mrs. Rush is your wife.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. I’ve told him nothing of the kind! [_He starts to cross
-again to the right, but Mrs. Pampinelli is again right in his pathway,
-standing in front of the table below the piano._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Stepping below him, and going a step or two nearer
-Florence_] I beg your pardon.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. I beg your pardon. [_He continues over to the table below
-the window at the right and stands there, pretending to smoke._]
-
-FLORENCE. Then, you’ve allowed him to think so.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Looking straight ahead_] That’s business.
-
-FLORENCE. Perhaps it is. It has at least allowed you to be present
-at the passing of Mrs. Rush. [_She turns and goes towards the back.
-Mrs. Ritter calls her to her and they start discussing the hang of
-Florence’s skirt._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Whirling around_] You are deliberately misinterpreting
-this situation! [_He starts to move across towards her, passing between
-the piano and table._] Yes you are! It’s perfectly ridiculous that a
-physician cannot take a woman patient without being subjected to the
-whisperings of a lot of vulgar scandal-mongers! [_Nelly Fell goes
-into violent laughter at something Ritter has just finished telling
-her. Florence and Mrs. Ritter continue their discussion of the dress,
-and Mrs. Pampinelli tries by dint of gesturing to attract Florence’s
-attention._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Florence dear, please.
-
-FLORENCE. [_Turning suddenly, and continuing her lines_] Oh, I beg your
-pardon! [_She moves slowly towards the mantelpiece._] This is not a
-romantic age, Clyde.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Mrs. Rush is a patient of mine!
-
-FLORENCE. [_Moving down at the left towards Ritter and Mrs. Fell_] She
-may have been originally. [_Mrs. Fell bursts out afresh over something
-else that Ritter whispers._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Flicking her finger at Nelly_] Sh-sh-Nelly.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_To Florence, who is standing looking at her_] I beg your
-pardon.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Standing in the middle of the room_] She is _now_!
-
-FLORENCE. [_Resting one hand on the arm-chair_] I’m not disputing it.
-[_He turns away, and stands at the left of the table below the piano._]
-But she must have a very persistent malady--
-
-MRS. FELL. Just one minute, Flossie--one minute--
-
-FLORENCE. That hasn’t responded to a treatment of more than six years--
-
-MRS. FELL. Flossie, Flossie, Flossie! [_Florence stops and looks at
-her._] Just a minute. [_She looks sharply at her manuscript._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. What is the matter, Nelly?
-
-MRS. FELL. Oh, I beg your pardon, I thought she’d omitted a line. [_To
-Florence_] I beg your pardon.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Go on, Florence. [_Ritter says something to Nelly and
-she hits him with the manuscript._]
-
-FLORENCE. Not to speak of the innumerable changes of air that she’s
-enjoyed--[_Mrs. Pampinelli, standing over at the right below the piano,
-takes quite a little coughing spell, and Mrs. Ritter promptly gets up
-and goes to the punch-bowl to fill her out a glass of punch._] at
-your expense; and under your personal escort. [_Hossefrosse looks over
-at her. She raises her hand understandingly, and starts slowly across
-in front of the table towards him._] I have the day and date of the
-majority of them. So, you see, your chivalry is a bit trying, under the
-circumstances. [_He looks straight ahead and tries to look sullen and
-defeated._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Up in the center-door, holding aloft a glass of punch_]
-Betty!
-
-FLORENCE. But, I haven’t come here to reproach you, or to plead for
-your return. Not at all. I think you _love_ this woman.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Coming a little further forward_] Betty! [_Mrs.
-Pampinelli has another coughing spell._]
-
-FLORENCE. And in that case, I want to offer you your freedom--
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Careful, now, children. [_Mrs. Ritter comes forward to
-the table at the left and tries to attract Mrs. Pampinelli’s attention
-to the glass of punch._]
-
-FLORENCE. If you want it.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Holding up her forefinger_] One, two, three.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Snapping his head around and shouting at Florence_]
-Well, I don’t want it!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Good!
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. And I see absolutely no occasion for any such talk. [_Mrs.
-Fell drops her bag and reaches for it._]
-
-FLORENCE. You are probably more broad-minded than I. [_Nelly Fell
-utters a piercing little shriek, having almost fallen off the chair
-in reaching to pick up her bag. Everyone turns and looks, and Teddy
-laughs, as usual._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. What’s the matter, Nelly?
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Straightening up, with Ritter’s assistance, and laughing_]
-I nearly fell off the chair. [_Mrs. Ritter laughs and returns to the
-center-door and stands._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Go on, Florence.
-
-FLORENCE. And, really, I don’t think your freedom would be a very
-good thing for you. You have a form of respectability that requires
-a certain anchorage in the conventions. But unless you can reconcile
-yourself in the future to a more literal observance of those
-conventions, I shall be obliged to insist that you _take_ your freedom.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Look at her, Mr. Hossefrosse.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Beg pardon?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_With a touch of impatience_] Look at her! [_She
-begins to cough again._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Oh, yes, yes! [_He turns and glares at Florence, who is
-standing just a couple of feet away from him._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Holding the glass of punch aloft again_] Betty!
-
-FLORENCE. I have a couple of growing boys,--[_Mrs. Pampinelli passes
-right up between Florence and Hossefrosse to Mrs. Ritter, and takes the
-glass of claret._] who are beginning to ask me questions which I find
-too difficult to answer: and I will neither lie to them--nor allow
-them to pity me.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. What do you want me to do?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Handing the claret-glass back to Paula, who goes to
-the bowl and refills it, and the note-book and pencil to Teddy_] Just
-a moment. [_She turns and comes forward in the middle of the room.
-Florence turns and moves over to the table at the left, and Hossefrosse
-remains standing at the table at the right._] Just one moment. Listen,
-Florence dear. [_She uses her handkerchief, then stuffs it into the
-bosom of her dress._] I want you, if you can, to make just a little
-bit more of that last line. Within the limits of the characterization,
-of course; but if you can _feel_ it, I’d like you to give me just the
-barest suggestion of a tear. Not too much; but just enough to show
-that,--under all her courage--and her threatening, she is still a
-woman--and a Mother. You see what I mean, dear?
-
-FLORENCE. More emotion.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. In that last line. You are doing splendidly, darling,
-[_Turning to Hossefrosse_] both of you; [_He acknowledges his
-excellence with a short bow._] but I have always _felt_ that that last
-line--was really the _big_ moment--of the play. It seems to me--[_She
-toys with her necklace, narrows her eyes and looks away off._] that it
-is there--that she makes her big plea, for her boys, for her home,--for
-every woman’s home. And even though that plea _is_ made in the form of
-a threat,--somehow or other--I seem to hear her saying, sub-vocally,
-of course, “In God’s _name, don’t_ make it necessary for me to do
-this thing!” [_She concludes this speech rather dramatically, her arms
-outstretched. Mr. Spindler, at this point, engaged in a too curious
-examination of the keyboard, accidentally touches D flat above High
-C. Everybody turns and looks at him, but his consciousness of guilt
-does not permit of his meeting their eyes, so he remains bent over the
-keyboard in precisely the attitude he was in when he struck the note._]
-
-MRS. FELL. Oh, go away from that piano, Mr. Spindler! [_Mrs. Ritter
-comes forward at the left with a dish of cakes and a glass of claret._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Withdrawing her eyes witheringly from Spindler and
-turning back to Florence_] Do you see what I mean, dear?
-
-FLORENCE. I think I do. Do you want me to go back?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. No, that’s quite all right. We’ll take it right from
-Mr. Hossefrosse’s line, [_She turns toward Hossefrosse. And Mrs. Ritter
-takes advantage of the circumstance to offer Florence a cake; which, of
-course, is declined with thanks. Then she turns to Mrs. Pampinelli and
-waits till the lady has finished directing Hossefrosse._] “What do you
-want me to do?” [_Mrs. P. turns back, to be confronted with the cakes
-and claret; and she takes both. Then she and Paula move back towards
-the center-door._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Clearing his throat_] What do you want me to do? [_Paula
-gives a shriek of laughter, at something Mrs. Pampinelli whispers to
-her. Then Paula goes out through the center-door and offers Twiller,
-who is still sitting half-way up the stairs, some cake, which he
-accepts, and then Teddy, who declines, and finally, after taking
-another one herself, sets the plate down on the hallway table and
-resumes her chair up at the left; while Mrs. Pampinelli, cake and
-claret in hand, wanders forward at the right, passing over between the
-piano and the table below it._]
-
-FLORENCE. I’ve already told you.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Then, I suppose I’m simply to decline all women patients
-in the future, [_She makes a little sound of amusement._] or else
-submit them for general approval. [_He now presses the imaginary fire
-out of the cigarette on the imaginary tray on the table._]
-
-FLORENCE. Stick to your guns, Clyde.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. That’s the only thing I see to do. [_Mrs. Pampinelli
-stands over at the right watching the scene, and eating and drinking._]
-
-FLORENCE. Your tenacity is commendable, but it’s a lost cause.
-[_Looking at him steadily_] I appreciate your embarrassment--
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Turning to her, thrusting his hands into his
-coat-pockets, tilting his chin, and looking at her with an absurdly
-perky expression_] I’m not embarrassed.
-
-FLORENCE. Desolation, then.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Snapping his fingers at her_] Ha! [_He swings rather
-jauntily across and up towards the mantelpiece._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. More nonchalance in the cross, Mr. Hossefrosse.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Turning to her suddenly_] Me?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. More savoir faire, as we say in French. [_She
-illustrates the idea with a kind of floating gesture of the hand._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. I see. [_He continues over to the left and down towards
-Ritter and Mrs. Fell, endeavoring to execute Mrs. Pampinelli’s idea
-by raising his shoulders, stiffening his arms, throwing his head back
-and swinging his legs, as he walks. Nelly Fell is whispering something
-to Ritter behind her fan, so that, when Hossefrosse reaches them, he
-is obliged to touch Ritter on the shoulder and suggest with a nod and
-a smile that the exigencies of the play require that he shall sit
-where Ritter is sitting. So Ritter jumps up and tiptoes across in
-front of the table and up to the piano, where he stands leaning--and
-watching--particularly Mrs. Pampinelli._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Moving to the table below the piano_] But, I shall be
-magnanimous; having loved and lost myself. So that, really, it may not
-be nearly so difficult as you imagine.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Sitting on the chair vacated by Ritter_] Well, I can’t
-say that I relish the prospect, with any such misunderstanding as this
-between us.
-
-FLORENCE. [_Crossing to the table at the left_] It’s the portion of
-half the world, Clyde. [_Twiller gets up from the stairs and comes down
-into the right hallway, where he stands watching._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Trying to look sullen, by resting one elbow on his knee
-and hunching his shoulders_] It certainly isn’t a very inviting one.
-[_Nelly Fell starts to whisper something in his ear._]
-
-FLORENCE. But it has its compensations. [_Mrs. Pampinelli, having
-finished her cake and claret, sets the empty glass down on the table
-below the piano and uses her handkerchief._] You’ll have your memories,
-and I shall have the wisdom of disillusionment;--[_The telephone-bell
-rings, up in the left hallway. Mrs. Ritter jumps up, places her
-sewing-basket on the chair, and, touching her hair, comes forward
-quickly at the right to the table below the piano._] as well as the
-consciousness of lots of company.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Speaking directly to Mrs. Pampinelli_] Is that my cue?
-[_Florence stops and turns and looks at her._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Which cue, dear?
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Taking a step towards Florence, and with a little
-questioning, bewildered gesture_] The telephone is my cue, isn’t it?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_With a touch of impatience_] No, darling, you’re not
-on in this scene at all. Go on, Florence. [_Mrs. Ritter puts her hand
-to her cheek and looks from one to the other in puzzled embarrassment._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Turning and resuming her lines to Hossefrosse, who, by this
-time, is deep in conversation with Mrs. Fell_] For there are a million
-women exactly like me. [_Mrs. Ritter bursts out laughing. So does
-Teddy. Twiller reaches over the partition and flips Teddy on the head
-with his handkerchief. Jenny appears in the left hallway to answer the
-telephone._]
-
-MRS. RITTER and FLORENCE, together.
-
-  MRS. RITTER. [_Turning to Mrs. Pampinelli_] Oh, I beg your pardon!
-  [_She leans across the table explaining to Mrs. Pampinelli, who tries
-  politely to silence her by suggestion that the scene is in progress._]
-  I thought that was my cue.
-
-  FLORENCE--Secondary women. [_She moves around above the table and
-  stands just above Hossefrosse._] So don’t look so tragic; you haven’t
-  lost anything but a lot of time;
-
-JENNY. [_At the telephone_] Hello?
-
-MRS. RITTER, FLORENCE and MRS. FELL, together.
-
-  MRS. RITTER.--I was thinking of something else, you know, and when I
-  heard the telephone, I thought it was for me.
-
-  FLORENCE.--And that’s always lost when it’s spent on things that are
-  insusceptible of conclusion.
-
-  MRS. FELL. [_Bursting into a perfect shriek of laughter at something
-  Hossefrosse has just finished telling her, and pushing him away from
-  her_] Huxley Hossefrosse, you are perfectly dreadful! [_He laughs,
-  too, and attempts to tell her something else, but she turns away and
-  waves him aside._] No, No, No.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. No dear, that is your own telephone.
-
-JENNY. [_At the telephone still_] Just a minute. [_Mrs. Ritter turns
-towards the back of the room._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. Oh, so it is! [_Directly to Ritter_] I knew I had one
-telephone cue. [_She goes laughing through the center-door and on out
-into the right hallway._]
-
-JENNY. [_Trying to attract Ritter’s attention_] MR. RITTER! [_But
-Ritter is absorbed in watching Hossefrosse. Florence stands waiting
-for Hossefrosse and Nelly to stop laughing, but as it doesn’t look as
-though they will ever stop, she gives Hossefrosse a little dig in the
-shoulder with her finger. He straightens up abruptly._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Prompting him_] I’ve lost her.
-
-JENNY. Mr. Ritter!
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. I’ve lost her.
-
-FLORENCE. That was inevitable in your case, Clyde; you have a
-conventional soul. [_Jenny asks Teddy in pantomime to attract Ritter’s
-attention._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_In a tone intended to express abysmal despair_] I’ve
-lost you. [_Ritter bursts out laughing. Teddy reaches out and indicates
-that he is wanted on the telephone. Jenny holds the telephone up, and
-he steps quickly out into the hallway to take it from her._]
-
-FLORENCE. That was incidental, eh?
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. But, it seems to me there should be some other way.
-
-FLORENCE. [_Moving to the right, above the table_] There is, my dear
-boy,--for lots of people----
-
-RITTER. [_at the telephone_] Hello? [_Jenny goes out._]
-
-FLORENCE. But not for you.
-
-RITTER. Yes.
-
-FLORENCE. You’re too respectable--Physically, I mean. [_She laughs a
-little, and stands above the table looking at him._]
-
-RITTER. Well, wait a minute, I’ll talk to you upstairs. [_He sets the
-telephone down and starts towards the right to go upstairs. As he
-passes the center-door he speaks to Teddy, who is still sitting just
-inside the center-door on the right partition-seat._] Hang that up
-when I get on, will you, Teddy? [_Teddy jumps up and goes out to the
-telephone, and holds it, waiting till Ritter gets on the extension
-upstairs._]
-
-FLORENCE. And Mrs. Rush has what it appears to me to be a
-rather--primitive husband--[_Hossefrosse gives her a narrow look._] and
-you have a very modern wife. So be wise, Clyde; you know what usually
-happens to him who “loves the danger.” [_There is a loud knock at the
-right door. Hossefrosse jumps to his feet and stands looking fearfully
-toward it. Florence assumes all the dignity at her command, drawing
-herself up, placing her right hand upon her throat, her left on her
-hip, and waiting,--the proud but outraged wife. Mrs. Pampinelli holds
-up both hands and looks in the direction of the door, to impress
-everybody with the dramatic value of the situation. Teddy hangs up the
-receiver and stands watching her. Nelly Fell straightens up briskly and
-sits watching the door, in expectant attention. Then Mrs. Pampinelli
-makes a gesture to Florence to go on with her lines._] Go into your
-office, I’ll talk to this woman. [_Hossefrosse drops his head and
-shoulders and slinks across in front of the table, a beaten man. He
-continues up to the center-door and out, into the right hallway.
-The knock is repeated at the right door. Mrs. Pampinelli motions
-to Teddy that that is his cue to open the door. He comes through
-the center-door and crosses above the piano to the right door, Mrs.
-Pampinelli at the same time moving over to the arm-chair at the right
-and enshrining herself. Teddy opens the door; and Mrs. Ritter swishes
-in self-consciously. Nelly Fell and Mr. Twiller give a little ripple
-of applause, but Mrs. Pampinelli holds one finger up toward Nelly and
-shushes her. Mrs. Ritter is wearing a rather bizarre-looking hat,
-set at something of a challenging angle, and as she comes forward at
-the right of the piano, she bursts into a self-conscious giggle. But
-Mrs. Pampinelli reproves her with a look. So she controls herself and
-crosses below the piano, Teddy, simultaneously, crossing above the
-piano. She stops at the corner of the piano and rests her left hand
-upon it. Then she places her right hand upon her hip, and, tilting her
-head back, looks at Teddy, who has stopped directly above her. Ritter
-appears on the stairway, and moves down a step or two, watching his
-wife, narrowly._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Flipping her left hand at Teddy, in an attempt to give a
-fly impression_] Hello, kid.
-
-TEDDY. Hello, Mrs. Arlington. [_Mrs. Ritter swishes down towards the
-left, shaking her head from side to side and holding her arms akimbo.
-She turns around to her left, gives Florence a look, supposed to be a
-very contemptuous look, and stands in the middle of the room again,
-facing Teddy._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Speaking directly to Teddy_] Is my sweetie in? [_Ritter
-moves slowly down to the landing of the stairs, watching his wife as
-though she were some baffling phenomenon._]
-
-TEDDY. No, mam, he ain’t.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Drawing her shoulders up, and speaking in a high
-unnatural key_] What!
-
-TEDDY. He went about six o’clock.
-
-MRS. RITTER. Why, I had an appointment with _him_!
-
-TEDDY. He might be back, maybe.
-
-MRS. RITTER. But, I can’t wait unless I’m _certain_ that he’s coming
-back.
-
-TEDDY. He was expecting you.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Still shaking her head and trying generally to appear
-bold_] Yes, I know he was. [_Turning to the table at the left, back of
-which Florence is standing_] I suppose I’d better leave a note for him.
-[_She indicates the table with a waving gesture of her left hand._]
-
-TEDDY. You’ll find that green one is the best pen.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Stepping to the table_] Thanks. [_She looks at Florence,
-who gives her a withering look over her right shoulder and turns away
-to the mantelpiece at the left. Then Mrs. Ritter gives her idea of a
-scornful laugh._] Ha! Ha! Ha!
-
-RITTER. [_Sweeping his hand across his brow, groaning, and falling down
-the stairs, into the right hallway_] Oh my God!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Seeing him fall, and jumping up_] Oh, my dear!
-[_Everybody turns._]
-
-TWILLER. [_Trying to catch him_] Hold it! [_Spindler rushes past Mrs.
-Pampinelli and out the center-door into the right hallway. Teddy jumps
-into a kneeling position on the right partition-seat and looks over the
-partition. Florence and Mrs. Fell rush up to the center-door and try
-to see what’s going on, Nelly dodging from one side of Florence to the
-other, and peering through her lorgnon._] Are you hurt, old man?
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Handing his cane and gloves to Spindler_] Hold those,
-please. [_Spindler takes them, and Hossefrosse prepares to assist
-Twiller to lift Ritter from the floor._]
-
-TWILLER. Get some water, somebody! [_Spindler rushes out the left
-hallway. Mrs. Pampinelli sweeps up from below the table at the right to
-the center-door._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Bewildered, in the middle of the room, as Mrs.
-Pampinelli passes her_] What is it, Betty?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Now, don’t get excited, Paula. [_Mrs. Ritter steps
-frantically across to the piano and turns, leaning against it, looking
-wide-eyed at Nelly Fell._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Lift up his head.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Looking eagerly out into the right hallway_] Is he
-hurt, boys?
-
-TWILLER. I want to get him under the arms. [_They lift Ritter onto a
-bench in the hallway. Nelly Fell turns away from the center-door with
-an exclamation of distress._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. We’d better lay him right here.
-
-MRS. RITTER. Is it Fred, Nelly?
-
-MRS. FELL. I don’t know, dear.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI and MRS. FELL, together.
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Addressing Hossefrosse and Twiller_] You can lay
-  him right here, boys, I think it’ll be as good as any.
-
-  MRS. FELL. What is it, Florence, did Mr. Ritter fall downstairs?
-
-FLORENCE. I think so.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Covering her eyes and swaying_] Oh, dear child, don’t!
-[_Florence puts her arm around her and guides her towards the arm-chair
-at the left._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Give me one of those pillows, Teddy. [_He hands her a
-pillow from the partition-seat where he’s kneeling._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Sinking into the arm-chair at the left_] Betty, I think
-I’m going to faint!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning to her_] Sit down, dear, I’ll get you some
-water. [_Calling and beckoning out into the left hallway_] Jenny dear!
-come here, please!
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Rushing across from the right to the left hallway_] I
-think I’d better call Dr. Wentworth. [_He snatches up the telephone and
-works the hook violently._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Yes, I would. [_She turns around to her left and
-stands looking questioningly at Mrs. Ritter._] Go on with your lines,
-Paula.
-
-MRS. RITTER. Well, is he _dead_, Betty?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_With a definite little gesture of her right hand_]
-Never mind! [_The curtain commences to descend, and she sweeps
-forward._] We will go right on from where Mr. Ritter fell downstairs.
-
-
-THE CURTAIN IS DOWN
-
-AS IT RISES AGAIN FOR THE PICTURE
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_At the telephone_] Landsdowne 8, please,--right away!
-[_Spindler rushes in from the left hallway carrying a glass of water,
-and followed immediately by Jenny. Twiller is ministering to Ritter.
-Mrs. Pampinelli is standing in the middle of the room, facing the
-center-door, and holding up both her hands, as a signal to the various
-artists that the rehearsal is about to be resumed; so they quickly
-step to the various positions in which they respectively were when Mr.
-Ritter fell._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Addressing Teddy_] Yes, I know he was. I s’pose I’d
-better leave a note for him.
-
-
-END OF THE ACT
-
-
-
-
-THE TORCH-BEARERS--ACT II.
-
-
-NOTE:
-
-The setting for this act consists simply of three wings set in the
-middle of the stage about four feet from the footlights, and parallel
-to the footlights, the wing in the middle, a plain one, and the one on
-either side of it, a door-wing. These doors open toward the footlights,
-and the one on the right is hinged to the right, and the one on the
-left, to the left. From these door-wings, regular plain wings oblique
-off to the back wall; and the whole thing is lashed and stage-screwed
-after the fashion of regulation stage-setting. As the doors in the back
-flat open, there can be had a glimpse of footlights, and just beyond
-them, a neutral drop, in grayish black, to represent an auditorium.
-Between the back flat and the stage footlights, (as distinguished from
-the regular footlights) the miniature stage is set to represent the
-interior of a doctor’s waiting-room. Through the door at the right
-can be seen a desk and revolving chair, and a couple of plain chairs
-against the wall; and through the left door, a table, littered with
-magazines, a cabinet, a revolving bookcase and two more chairs. There
-is a bright rug on the floor. Between the back flat and the regular
-footlights, over toward the left, there is a stage-screw sticking right
-up out of the floor; and between the two doors there is a plain chair
-with its back against the flat. Over the door on the right, there is
-a row of six electric bulbs with a cord and button depending from it;
-and further right, half-way back, there is a wood-wing, set as though
-it were the exterior backing for a window in the miniature set. Over at
-the left, away back, fastened about head-high against the back wall,
-there is a small switchboard-arrangement. Just below this there is an
-old chair, without a back, with a newspaper lying upon it.
-
-
-THE TORCH-BEARERS--ACT II.
-
-_A waltz is being played somewhere off at the right. Florence and Mrs.
-Ritter are standing in the middle of the stage, facing the flats,
-talking. Florence is wearing a fawn-colored, one-piece coat-dress,
-buttoned high at the throat, military fashion, and a toque made of
-wine-colored velvet leaves. She wears fawn-colored slippers and
-stockings, and carries a fitch muff. Mrs. Ritter is wearing a very
-rich-looking coat-suit in blue serge, trimmed at the collar and cuffs
-with white monkey-fur. Her hat is dark-blue felt, quite large, with
-a bird of paradise set at a decidedly rakish tilt. Her slippers and
-stockings are black, and she carries an umbrella. Over at the extreme
-left, and forward, Mrs. Fell is hearing Mr. Twiller read his lines
-from the manuscript. Mrs. Fell is gowned in a brilliant creation of
-silver-cloth trimmed with sea-green satin. There are numerous strings
-of crystal beads hanging in the front from the waist to the bottom of
-the skirt, and she has a spreading poinsetta in scarlet velvet fastened
-at her waist. There is a long, fish-tail train to the gown, lined with
-the green satin, and she has a heavy rope of pearls and sea-green beads
-around her neck, from which her lorgnon depends. There are diamonds in
-her hair, diamonds galore upon her arms and hands, and she’s wearing
-her diamond dog-collar. Her slippers and stockings are of pale green.
-Mr. Twiller has on a double-breasted blue-serge suit, a black derby,
-black shoes and fawn-colored spats, and a perfectly villainous-looking
-black mustache, absurdly large, and obviously artificial. He stands
-leaning upon a cane, reciting his lines to Mrs. Fell. Mr. Spindler,
-in a dinner-suit, is trying desperately to unfasten the stage-screw
-from the floor at the left, while Mr. Hossefrosse, wearing a light
-business-suit, a light, soft hat, tan shoes and spats, and carrying a
-cane and gloves, is pacing back and forth between the left door and the
-extreme left, reciting his lines to himself. He is atrociously made up,
-with the carmine smeared heavily on his cheek-bones. The stage manager,
-in a tan jumper and army shirt, dirty white running-pumps, a battered
-old cap adorned with many tobacco-tags, and carrying a hammer, wanders
-on from the right and crosses the stage, passing below Florence and
-Mrs. Ritter, who turn and look at him curiously, and continues on up
-at the left to the switch-board, where he picks up the newspaper from
-the broken chair, and, after lighting his pipe, sits down to read. He
-is apparently disgusted with the world and utterly oblivious of his
-surroundings. The waltz-music stops, and Mr. Hossefrosse comes to a
-halt in his pacing, right outside the left door. It is instantly flung
-open, knocking him toward the left, and disarranging his hat, and Mrs.
-Pampinelli sweeps out--in a princess-gown of ruby-colored velvet, with
-a long train, and heavily trimmed about the upper part of the bodice
-with ornaments of ruby-colored beads. Her shoulders and arms are bare,
-and she has a small string of rubies about her throat;--a bracelet and
-several rings of rubies; as well as a high Spanish comb studded with
-rubies. Her slippers are of black velvet. Mrs. Ritter gives a little
-cry as Mr. Hossefrosse is struck by the door._
-
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Holding the door ajar_] Oh, did I hit you, Mr.
-Hossefrosse! I’m so sorry.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Settling his hat_] That’s all right.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_To the ladies_] The setting looks splendid, girls!
-[_Crossing quickly below Hossefrosse towards the left_] Will you come
-here for a moment, Mr. Spindler?
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Turning away to the right_] I don’t want to see it till
-I go on.
-
-FLORENCE. [_As Hossefrosse comes towards her_] You’d better keep away
-from that door, Mr. Hossefrosse. [_She and Mrs. Ritter laugh._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE and MRS. PAMPINELLI, together.
-
-  HOSSEFROSSE. Yes, I think I had.
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Up at the left, addressing the stage manager_] Are
-  you ready, Mr. Stage Manager? [_He continues to read._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE and MRS. PAMPINELLI, together.
-
-  HOSSEFROSSE. [_Brushing his clothes_] I don’t think a whisk-broom’d be
-  out of place on this stage, either.
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning to Spindler, who is still occupied with the
-  stage-screw_] Mr. Spindler, will you come here, please? [_Turning back
-  to the stage manager_] Mr. Stage Manager! [_Spindler goes towards her,
-  and Hossefrosse goes through the left door._]
-
-STAGE MANAGER. [_Looking up from his paper, very peevishly_] Yes?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Are you all ready?
-
-STAGE MANAGER and TWILLER, together.
-
-  STAGE MANAGER. Yes, sure, I’m all ready. [_He resumes his newspaper._]
-
-  TWILLER. [_Turning sharply to Spindler, who has stopped on his way to
-  Mrs. Pampinelli to call Mrs. Fell’s attention to the stage-screw, and
-  to warn her to be careful of it_] Oh, go away! Can’t you see we’re
-  busy.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Mr. Spindler!
-
-SPINDLER. [_Stepping briskly to her side_] Yes, mam?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Come here, please. [_Turning to the stage manager_]
-Mr. Stage Manager--[_He looks up._] This young man will give you the
-cue for the curtain, in case I am not here.
-
-STAGE MANAGER. All right. [_He resumes his newspaper._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning and coming forward again, holding her skirt
-up off the floor_] You stand right here, Mr. Spindler, and I’ll give
-you the signal when I’m ready.
-
-SPINDLER. All right.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Hurrying towards the left door_] Now, is everybody
-all right?
-
-FLORENCE. Yes.
-
-MRS. RITTER. I think so.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. How are _you_, Paula?
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Giggling_] All right.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Where’s Mr. Hossefrosse? [_She glances frantically
-about._]
-
-FLORENCE and MRS. RITTER, together.
-
-  FLORENCE. He’s just stepped on the stage.
-
-  MRS. RITTER. He was here a minute ago.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Mr. Hossefrosse, where are you! [_She opens the left
-door._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Calling_] Mr. Hossefrosse! [_He opens the right door and
-comes out._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Yes?
-
-TEDDY and MRS. PAMPINELLI, together.
-
-  TEDDY. [_Sitting at the desk over at the right, in the miniature set
-  beyond the flats, to Mrs. Pampinelli, as she comes through the left
-  door_] There he is.
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_To Teddy, as she steps into the miniature set,
-  through the left door_] Where’s Mr. Hossefrosse?
-
-FLORENCE and MRS. RITTER, together.
-
-  FLORENCE. [_To Hossefrosse_] Mrs. Pampinelli’s looking for you.
-
-  MRS. RITTER. [_Calling_] Here he is, Mrs. Pampinelli! [_Hossefrosse
-  steps quickly to the left door and starts in, just as Mrs. Pampinelli
-  comes out through the right door. Florence steps over to the left door
-  and catches Hossefrosse by the arm, and pulls him back._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Coming through the right door_] Where _is_ he?
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Pointing to Hossefrosse_] There he is! [_She laughs._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Drawing Hossefrosse back_] Mrs. Pampinelli wants you!
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_To Mrs. Pampinelli_] I beg your pardon.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Oh, Mr. Hossefrosse!
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Crossing to the right towards her_] Yes?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Are you all right?
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. I think so, yes.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. How is your make-up?
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. All right, I think.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Indicating the right door_] Would you stand here for
-a moment under this light until I see it?
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Certainly. [_He goes to the right door and stands with
-his back against it. The light from the row of electric bulbs over the
-door shines down on his face. Mrs. Pampinelli stands off to his right,
-surveying his make-up critically._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Very good.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Not too much red?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. No, I shouldn’t say so.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Indicating his right cheek_] Up here, I mean.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. No, I think the contour of your face requires it. It
-heightens the expression. [_She starts across towards the left._] It’s
-very good. [_Hossefrosse comes over and chats with the ladies about his
-make-up._] Mr. Twiller! [_Twiller turns from Mrs. Fell._]
-
-TWILLER. Yes? [_Turning back to Mrs. Fell_] Excuse me, Nelly.
-
-MRS. FELL. Certainly.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. How is your mustache?
-
-TWILLER. [_Touching it gingerly_] All right, I think.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Is it quite secure?
-
-TWILLER. I think so. [_Mrs. Ritter, Florence and Hossefrosse turn and
-look._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Stepping back a step from him and looking at the
-mustache, with her head tilted a bit to the left side_] You’ve made it
-a little smaller, haven’t you?
-
-TWILLER. [_Touching the left side of his mustache_] I cut it down a bit
-on this side.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I thought you had.
-
-TWILLER. I was a little conscious of it.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Well,--I don’t know but that it’s better for the
-characterization.
-
-TWILLER. And how are my eyes? [_He turns and looks out and away off,
-widening his eyes as though he were having his picture taken._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_After looking keenly at his eyes for a second_] Very
-effective. [_She turns quickly away towards the right, and Twiller
-turns back to his left to Mrs. Fell._] Now, is everybody ready? [_They
-all smile and nod._] Your gloves and cane, Mr. Hossefrosse?
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Crossing above Florence and Mrs. Ritter towards Mrs.
-Pampinelli, extending his cane and gloves_] Yes.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning towards Mrs. Fell_] Places, Nelly! Get
-ready, Mr. Spindler!
-
-SPINDLER. I’m all ready. [_Mrs. Fell closes the manuscript, excuses
-herself to Twiller, and crosses, above him, towards the right. He goes
-back at the left and says something to Spindler, then comes forward
-again._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Calling through the left door_] Are you all right,
-Teddy?
-
-TEDDY. [_Beyond the flats, over at the right_] All right. [_As Mrs.
-Fell passes above Florence and Mrs. Ritter, on her way over to
-the right, she whispers something to them which causes a general
-laugh:--then she continues on over to the door at the right and takes
-up her official position, as promptress._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning and addressing them generally_] Now, is
-everybody all right? [_They all nod._] You both all right, girls?
-[_Mrs. Ritter nods._]
-
-FLORENCE. All right.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning around to the left to Mr. Spindler, and with
-an authoritative gesture_] All right, then--take up the curtain!
-
-SPINDLER. [_Waving his hand to the stage manager_] All right, Stage
-Manager!
-
-STAGE MANAGER. [_Getting up, very reluctantly_] Are you ready?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI and SPINDLER, together.
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. Yes, all ready.
-
-  SPINDLER. Let her go!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_With a kind of ceremonious flourish of the hand_]
-Take up the curtain! [_The stage manager tosses his newspaper onto
-the chair and steps out of sight, to the left. There is an anxious
-pause. Then Mrs. Pampinelli starts violently and grabs the knob of the
-left door._] Oh, wait one moment! [_Spindler rushes back at the left,
-whistling._]
-
-FLORENCE, MRS. RITTER, TWILLER and HOSSEFROSSE, together, [_as Mrs.
-Pampinelli pulls open the left door._]
-
-  FLORENCE. Wait a minute!
-
-  MRS. RITTER. Oh, wait!
-
-  TWILLER. Hold it!
-
-  HOSSEFROSSE. [_Grabbing the door and holding it open_] Not yet!
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Calling to the stage manager_] Just a minute!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Going in through the left door_] One moment, please!
-[_She vanishes to the right, and there is a slight pause, during which
-the curtain, which had been raised four feet, can be seen through the
-door to descend again. They all exchange looks of distress and amused
-annoyance. Then Mrs. Pampinelli hurries out through the door again._]
-All right!
-
-SPINDLER. [_Who has come forward at the left_] Is it all right?
-[_Hossefrosse releases the door and it closes._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Yes, it’s all right. [_Spindler goes towards the back
-at the left and she follows him half-way._]
-
-SPINDLER. All right, Mr. Stage Manager!
-
-STAGE MANAGER. [_Off at the left_] Are you ready?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI and SPINDLER, together.
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. Yes, all ready, Mr. Stage Manager!
-
-  SPINDLER. Let her go!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning and coming forward at the left_] Take it
-up! [_She stands just to the left of the left door, peering through
-the flats. Spindler is farther back at the left, peering, also; and
-Mrs. Fell is over at the right door, peering. There is a pause. Mr.
-Hossefrosse takes up his position outside the left door, preparatory to
-making his entrance. He settles his clothes generally, and clears his
-throat._] The curtain is going up, Mr. Hossefrosse, go on.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Is it up?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Yes, yes, go on! [_He opens the door, rather
-magnificently, and swings in. There is a ripple of applause, and the
-door closes after him; and they all try to find a crevice between the
-flats that will afford a glimpse of the stage beyond. The stage manager
-appears from the left carrying a regulation door-slam, which he brings
-forward and drops, with a bang, just to the left of the left door. They
-all turn and look at him, in resentful astonishment, but he simply
-gives them a look of infinite disdain and returns to his chair at the
-back to read._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Beyond the flats_] Anybody here, David?
-
-TEDDY. [_Beyond the flats, over toward the right_] No, sir.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Beyond the flats, moving towards the right_] No
-telephones?
-
-TEDDY. No, sir.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Coming through the right door, without his hat_] Nothing
-at all, eh? [_Mrs. Ritter is standing right in front of the door._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Get away from the door, Paula! [_Paula jumps to the
-left. Mrs. Fell takes advantage of the crevice caused by the door
-being open, to try to see the audience._]
-
-TEDDY. [_Who can be seen through the open door standing at the desk_]
-No, sir.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Leaning over and laying his cane and gloves on the chair
-between the doors_] All right, sir. [_The door begins to swing to
-behind him._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Keep that door open, Mr. Hossefrosse! [_Spindler comes
-forward at the left to see what’s the matter. Hossefrosse thrusts his
-foot back and kicks the door open._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. And I think that will do very nicely for this day. [_The
-door begins slowly to swing to again._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. There it goes again, Mr. Hossefrosse!
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. It won’t _stay_ open! [_Mrs. Fell looks around the door._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Take hold of that door, Nelly! [_Nelly puts one foot
-around it, and stands looking at her manuscript. Spindler goes back at
-the left and looks through the wings again, at the stage._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_In a frantic whisper_] Telephone!
-
-MRS. FELL. Telephone, somebody!
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Good Lord!
-
-FLORENCE. Mr. Spindler, telephone! [_Spindler rushes forward at the
-left._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Where is he?
-
-SPINDLER. What?
-
-FLORENCE. The telephone-bell!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Where’s your bell?
-
-SPINDLER. [_Pulling the battery-arrangement out of his pocket_] Has the
-cue been given?
-
-TEDDY. [_Picking up the telephone on the desk beyond the flats_] Hello?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Ring it! Of course it’s been given! [_He rings the
-bell, and Hossefrosse steps through the right door and watches Teddy
-anxiously._]
-
-SPINDLER. I didn’t hear it!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Annihilating him with a look, and starting over
-towards the right door_] Well, why aren’t you over here when your cue’s
-given and then you would hear it! [_Spindler trails over after her._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Over his shoulder, to Mrs. Pampinelli_] Shush!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning sharply back towards the left, and directly
-to Spindler, who is right behind her_] Shush! [_She passes below him
-and continues towards the left._] Keep away from that door, they’ll see
-you! [_In attempting to keep out of the way of the door, Spindler turns
-sharply and trips over the screw of a stage-brace, falling his length
-across the open door. Mrs. Ritter gives a little scream, and Mrs.
-Pampinelli whirls round and glares at him. He scrambles to his feet,
-and Mrs. Ritter giggles and pulls him to the left, away from the door._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Standing in the open door, addressing Teddy_] Mrs.
-A.? [_Teddy nods, and Hossefrosse pretends to pick up an imaginary
-telephone from a desk just to the left of the right door._] Yes? All
-right. [_He pretends to hang up and set the telephone down on the desk
-again._] You can clear out of here now, David, any time you like,--Mrs.
-Arlington is on her way up.
-
-TEDDY. [_Rising, and settling the various papers on the desk_] All
-right.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Helping Mr. Spindler to brush off his clothes_] Did
-you hurt yourself, Mr. Spindler? [_Mrs. Pampinelli tries to attract
-Spindler’s attention to the door-slam._]
-
-SPINDLER. No. [_He hurries over to the door-slam at the left and picks
-it up._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. I’ll let you off early Monday. [_Florence stands anxiously
-outside the left door._]
-
-TEDDY. Oh, that’s all right.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. And don’t forget to leave that list with the Robinson
-people on your way down Monday.
-
-TEDDY. No, sir, I won’t; I have it right here in me pocket. [_Florence
-puts her lips against the left door and coughs hard. Then she shuffles
-her feet; so does Spindler. Hossefrosse steps through the right door
-and looks over toward the left door._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Addressing Teddy, in a subdued tone_] Is that someone
-coming?
-
-TEDDY. [_Looking toward the left door_] I think so. [_There is a slight
-pause, then Mrs. Pampinelli makes a decisive movement to Spindler and
-he brings the door-slam down with a thunderous bang. Mrs. Pampinelli
-starts violently._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. That’s too loud, Mr. Spindler!
-
-SPINDLER. There’s too much wood in it! [_He starts across to the
-right._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Stepping down to Teddy’s desk and picking up his hat_]
-That can’t be Mrs. Arlington already. I won’t see anyone else. [_He
-starts back towards the door._] Tell them I’ve gone; and don’t let
-anybody wait. [_He takes hold of the door as he steps through._] Say
-you’re just locking up the office. [_He comes through the door and
-tries to close it, but Nelly’s foot is still around it, and she is lost
-in the manuscript. He pulls at the door, but she is oblivious._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. Nelly! [_Spindler gives a little whistle to attract her
-attention._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Let go of the door, Nelly!
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Jumping out of the way, to the right_] Oh, I beg your
-pardon! [_Hossefrosse scowls at her and closes the door. Spindler jumps
-to the door and turns a key, which he has in his hand, in the lock,
-then touches the button at the end of the cord, extinguishing the row
-of lights over the door, then rushes back towards the left door. Mrs.
-Ritter is right in his way as he rushes back, and they dodge each other
-twice before Mr. Spindler can get past. When he reaches the left door,
-he raps violently, Mrs. Pampinelli directing his activities with little
-nervous gestures. There is a pause: then the left door is opened by
-Teddy. Mrs. Ritter is right in front of it._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Standing to the left of the door_] Get out of the
-way, Paula! [_Mrs. Ritter jumps out of the way, to the right, then
-looks back at Mrs. Pampinelli and giggles, but Mrs. Pampinelli puts her
-finger on her lips._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Passing through the left door_] Good evening, son.
-
-TEDDY. [_Reaching out and closing the door_] Good evening. [_There
-is prolonged applause from beyond the flats, and everybody, having
-seen Florence safely through the door, rushes to his favorite crevice
-between the wings, or rip in the scenery, to see how she is being
-received by the audience._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Beyond the flats_] Isn’t the Doctor in?
-
-TEDDY. No, mam, he ain’t; he went about six o’clock.
-
-FLORENCE. That’s unfortunate, I wanted to see him. [_Hossefrosse turns
-away from the right door, where he’s been peeking, and mops his brow:
-then he turns and puts his hat down on the chair._]
-
-SPINDLER. [_Stepping towards him from the left door_] How do you feel?
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. All right; but that door and that telephone got me kind of
-rattled.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Looking over from the extreme left of the back flat,
-where she has been peeking_] Shush, boys! [_Hossefrosse turns away and
-tiptoes towards the right, and the others resume their peeking._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Turning to Hossefrosse, as he passes below her_] What’s
-the matter, Huxley, did something go wrong? [_Mrs. Pampinelli looks
-over again to see who’s talking._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Indicating the right door_] That door kind of got me
-rattled for a minute.
-
-MRS. FELL. I don’t think the audience noticed it.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Shush! [_Nelly consults her manuscript, listening at
-the same time to the dialogue beyond the flats, and Mr. Hossefrosse
-continues to the extreme right and forward, trying to make the squeak
-of his new shoes as inaudible as possible. Mrs. Pampinelli puts her ear
-to the flat and listens keenly._]
-
-TEDDY. [_Faintly, beyond the flats_] Why, he always asts me to wait
-whenever he’s expectin’ his wife downtown. [_Spindler suddenly turns
-from the wing where he has been peeking, and, breaking into quite
-a jaunty little whistle, starts across towards the left; but Mrs.
-Pampinelli turns abruptly and glares him into silence. He clasps his
-hand over his mouth and apologizes with an obsequious little gesture._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Beyond the flats_] I see. And he was expecting her this
-evening?
-
-TEDDY. Yes, mam.
-
-FLORENCE. Do you know her? [_Spindler trips and almost falls over the
-stage-screw in the floor at the left. Twiller, who has been standing
-down at the extreme left, makes an impatient move and goes up towards
-the back._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Oh, Mr. Spindler, for Pity’s sake do keep still for
-one moment!
-
-SPINDLER. [_Squatting down and attempting to remove the screw_] We’d
-better get this thing out of here, before somebody gets hurt.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Now, don’t take that out of there, Mr. Spindler! You
-might loosen the scenery.
-
-SPINDLER. This isn’t connected with the scenery.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. You don’t know whether it is or not! Leave it where it
-is.
-
-SPINDLER. [_Getting up and moving over towards the right_] Somebody’s
-going to get their neck broken, the first thing you know.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Very well, then, that will be their misfortune! We’ve
-simply got to be careful, that’s all. Get ready, Paula. [_Mrs. Ritter
-giggles and takes up her position outside the left door._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_As Spindler comes towards her_] What’s the matter, Mr.
-Spindler?
-
-SPINDLER. [_In quite a temper, and indicating the stage-screw over at
-the left_] Why, that thing there is sticking right up in the middle of
-the floor, and the first thing you--
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Shush!--[_He turns and scowls at her, and she glares
-at him. He passes below Mrs. Fell and over to Hossefrosse, at the
-extreme right and forward, where he whispers his grievance._]
-
-MRS. FELL. You all right, Paula? [_Paula nods yes._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Don’t be nervous, now, Paula. [_Twiller comes forward
-at the left._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. I’m not the least bit, dear, really.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Well, that’s splendid, dear. I’ll open the door for
-you. [_She takes hold of the knob of the left door._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. All right, thank you. [_They stand listening, keenly._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Beyond the flats_] Do you mind if I wait a few minutes, in
-case he comes?
-
-TEDDY. [_Beyond the flats_] Why, I was just going home.
-
-FLORENCE. Oh, were you? [_Twiller lifts his hat and gives it a little
-wave at Mrs. Ritter, and she waves her hand back at him._]
-
-TEDDY. Yes, mam; and I have to lock up the office before I go.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Suddenly_] There it is now, dear. [_She opens
-the door, and Mrs. Ritter steps back a bit, in order to make a more
-effective entrance._] Good luck, darling.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Turning to her_] Thank you, dear. [_She steps through
-the door, tripping awkwardly over the door-strip. Mrs. Pampinelli makes
-a gesture of extreme annoyance. There is an outburst of applause;
-then Mrs. Pampinelli closes the door, and they all step to the flats
-and peek through, Mrs. Pampinelli at the left door, Mrs. Fell at the
-right, Mr. Spindler between them, and Hossefrosse and Twiller about
-half-way back at the right and left, respectively. There is a pause;
-and then Mrs. Ritter can be heard beyond the flats._] Hello, kid!
-
-TEDDY. Hello, Mrs. Arlington.
-
-MRS. RITTER. Is my sweetie in?
-
-TEDDY. No, mam, he ain’t.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_With an unnatural inflection_] What!
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Calling over in a whisper to Mrs. Pampinelli_] Betty!
-[_Mrs. Pampinelli doesn’t hear her, so she tiptoes over towards her._]
-Betty!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. What?
-
-MRS. FELL. Did Paula trip?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Coming away from the flat, and moving down to Mrs.
-Fell_] Yes. [_Mrs. Fell gives an annoyed shake of her head._] But I
-don’t see how anyone can get onto _that_ stage _without_ tripping.
-
-MRS. FELL. I don’t either.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. It seems an utter impossibility to me for anyone,
-especially a woman, to get through those doors without catching her
-heel or her skirt or something. [_Spindler crosses to the left, back of
-the ladies, and speaks to Twiller._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Returning to the right door_] It’s dreadful!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning to her left and going back again to the
-left door_] I don’t see the necessity of it.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Opening her manuscript_] I don’t either.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Listening keenly_] I’m afraid they’re not hearing
-Paula at all.
-
-MRS. FELL. What?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I say, I’m afraid Paula isn’t loud enough.
-
-MRS. FELL. Well, why don’t you speak to her, Betty, she’s sitting right
-here. [_She indicates the point right inside the right door, and Mrs.
-Pampinelli, picking up her skirt, hurries over. Mrs. Fell steps out of
-the way, to the right._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Putting her lips to the joining of the door-wing and
-the side wing_] Speak a little louder, Paula! I’m afraid they’re not
-hearing you!
-
-MRS. FELL. Can she hear you?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. A little louder, dear! [_The right door is thrust open
-by Teddy._]
-
-TEDDY. [_In a frantic whisper_] There’s no pen and ink on the desk!
-[_Spindler rushes over from the left._]
-
-SPINDLER. What? [_Mrs. Pampinelli, Mrs. Fell and Mr. Hossefrosse rush
-round to him from the right._]
-
-TEDDY. No pen and ink!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. What is it, Teddy?
-
-TEDDY and SPINDLER, together.
-
-  TEDDY. No pen and ink on the desk!
-
-  SPINDLER. No pen and ink!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. My God!
-
-MRS. FELL. Tell her to use a lead-pencil!
-
-TEDDY and MRS. PAMPINELLI, together.
-
-  TEDDY.--[_To Mrs. Fell_] There’s none on there!
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. Give him a lead-pencil, Mr. Spindler!
-
-SPINDLER. [_Whirling and springing towards the left_] Haven’t got one!
-[_Teddy, Mrs. Pampinelli and Mrs. Fell rush after him._]
-
-SPINDLER and MRS. PAMPINELLI, together.
-
-  SPINDLER. Twiller!
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. Oh, dear, dear!
-
-TWILLER. [_Rushing towards them from the left_] What’s the matter?
-
-SPINDLER and TEDDY, together.
-
-  SPINDLER. Got a lead-pencil?
-
-  TEDDY. Give him a lead-pencil, Ralph!
-
-TWILLER. [_Dropping his cane_] No! [_They fling him out of the way, to
-the left, and rush on back to the stage manager._] What are you trying
-to do, knock me off my feet!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Haven’t you got one, Mr. Twiller?
-
-SPINDLER and MRS. FELL, together.
-
-  SPINDLER. [_To the stage manager_] Got a lead-pencil, old man?
-
-  MRS. FELL. [_At Mrs. Pampinelli’s heels_] There’s one in my bag
-  somewhere!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI, SPINDLER and TEDDY, together.
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning to Mrs. Fell_] See what they’re doing out
-  there, Nelly!
-
-  SPINDLER. [_To the stage manager_] Or a fountain-pen!
-
-  TEDDY. [_To the stage manager_] They need it on the stage!
-
-MRS. FELL and STAGE MANAGER, together.
-
-  MRS. FELL. [_Turning and rushing back towards the right door_]
-  Certainly, darling!
-
-  STAGE MANAGER. [_Feeling in his shirt-pockets_] Well, now, wait a
-  minute, wait a minute!
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Turning with a despairing gesture, after having opened the
-right door and looked in_] My dear, they’re not doing a thing, they’re
-just sitting there!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning to the left_] Hurry, boys! [_Turning to the
-right_] Tell them to say something, Nelly! Anything at all! Something
-about the weather! [_Nelly runs to the extreme right end of the flat.
-Teddy and Spindler come rushing forward at the left._] Did you get it,
-Teddy?
-
-TEDDY and SPINDLER, together.
-
-  TEDDY. Yes!
-
-  SPINDLER. Yes, he’s got it!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Indicating the left door_] Go on here, Teddy! [_He
-grabs the knob of the door, but it won’t open._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Calling through the flats_] Say something, Paula!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. You should never leave the stage during a scene, Teddy!
-
-TEDDY and MRS. FELL, together.
-
-  TEDDY. [_Wrestling with the door_] Damn these doors!
-
-  MRS. FELL. [_Calling through the flats_] Something about the weather!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Take hold of this, Mr. Spindler! [_He grabs the knob
-of the door and Teddy runs across to the right door._]
-
-TEDDY. I’ll go on here!
-
-MRS. FELL. [_As Teddy goes through the right door_] If you can’t
-use one door, use the other! [_The door closes after him; and Mrs.
-Pampinelli turns and looks upon Spindler, who is still trying to get
-the left door open._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. You know, this is _all your fault_, Mr. Spindler. [_He
-doesn’t look up._] You said you’d attend to all those properties!
-
-MRS. FELL. What’s the matter with the door, Betty?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_To Spindler_] Never mind it now. [_She moves towards
-the center of the stage._]
-
-SPINDLER. We’d better get it open before somebody has to use it again.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Go away from it, I tell you! [_He walks away towards
-the left, sulking._] It will probably open all right from the other
-side. [_She comes forward slowly, touching her hair and relaxing
-generally, then, suddenly, stands stock-still, and listens, wide-eyed.
-She looks quickly at Mrs. Fell, who is carefully settling her necklace,
-at the right door._] What’s wrong out there, Nelly? [_Nelly turns and
-looks through the flats, then turns quickly to Mrs. Pampinelli._]
-
-MRS. FELL. I think he’s up!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Frozen to the spot_] Who? [_Nelly looks again, and
-then back to Mrs. Pampinelli._]
-
-MRS. FELL. All of them!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Picking up her skirt and rushing towards the right
-door_] Let me see! [_Nelly jumps out of the way, to the right, and
-Twiller and Spindler rush to the left door and peek through. Mrs.
-Pampinelli peeks through, and then speaks through the flats._] What’s
-the matter, Teddy? Go over and get your hat and coat! [_Turning
-frantically to Mrs. Fell_] He’s up in his lines! What is it?
-
-MRS. FELL. [_In a panic_] Up in his lines!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI and MRS. FELL, together.
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Speaking through the flats_] Go over and get your
-  hat and coat, Teddy! Don’t stand there like a jack!
-
-  MRS. FELL. [_Handing the manuscript to Hossefrosse, who is at her
-  right_] Oh, find that for me, will you, Huxley! [_He takes the
-  manuscript from her and turns it over furiously, while Nelly opens
-  her lorgnon._] About page eleven, I think it is! [_She assists him in
-  finding the place._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. What was the last line, Nelly? This is dreadful!
-
-MRS. FELL. Now, wait a moment, darling! Don’t get me nervous, or I’ll
-_never_ be able to find it! [_Twiller and Spindler are in a panic of
-suspense over at the left door._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Here’s page eleven.
-
-MRS. FELL. Is that eleven? Well, now, here it is, right here-- Why, a--
-I’ll get you an envelope!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. What’s the next?
-
-MRS. FELL. The next is--a--why a--I’ve got to go now--
-
-MRS. FELL and MRS. PAMPINELLI, together.
-
-  MRS. FELL. It takes me nearly an hour to get home!
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Calling through the flats_] I’ve got to go now!
-
-TEDDY and MRS. PAMPINELLI, together.
-
-  TEDDY. [_Beyond the flats_] I’ve got to go now!
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Calling through the flats_] It takes me nearly an
-  hour to get home.
-
-TEDDY. It takes me an hour to get home!
-
-MRS. FELL. Are they all right?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Coming away from the flats_] Yes, they’re all right
-now. But you’d better stand right here, I’m afraid of Paula. [_She
-moves towards the left._]
-
-SPINDLER. [_Coming towards her_] You know, I could have _sworn_ I put a
-pen and ink on that desk!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Imperiously_] Please, Mr. Spindler, don’t explain
-anything! I am interested in results. [_She turns and moves back
-again towards the right, and Spindler goes over to the left. Just as
-he passes beyond the left door, the entire lock and knob fall to the
-floor. He turns nervously, only to find Mrs. Pampinelli, who has turned
-quite as nervously, looking at him dangerously._]
-
-SPINDLER. I didn’t _touch_ it!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Will you go away, before you ruin the entire
-performance! [_He snaps around and goes over to the left and up towards
-the back._]
-
-TEDDY. [_Opening the left door and swaying through_] Good night. [_He
-is dressed in a brown sack-suit and wears tan shoes._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Beyond the flats_] Good night, son.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Beyond the flats_] Good night, kid.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Going towards him_] You should _never_ walk off the
-stage, Teddy, in the middle of a scene! [_He closes the door behind
-him, and, pressing his hand to his brow, starts towards the left._] Do
-something, no matter what it is! [_He falls backward in a full-length
-faint. She catches him._] Oh, dear child! Mr. Spindler! Come here, Mr.
-Twiller, Teddy’s fainted! [_Twiller, who has been standing over at
-the left, and forward, rushes towards her; and Mrs. Fell, followed by
-Hossefrosse, comes rushing from the right._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_In a panic_] What’s the matter, Betty!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Take Teddy over to the door, Mr. Twiller, he’s fainted!
-
-TWILLER. [_Dropping his cane, in his excitement_] I _can’t_ take him
-now, I’ve got a cue coming right here in a minute! [_Spindler comes
-rushing down from the left._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Here, Mr. Spindler, take Teddy over to the door, where
-he’ll get some air! He’s sick. Look at the color of him. [_She hands
-him to Spindler, who half carries him up at the left; and she and
-Twiller follow on behind them._] Hold on to him, now, Mr. Spindler.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Turning back towards the right door, and addressing
-Hossefrosse, who has returned to his former position down at the
-right_] I always said he wasn’t strong enough for that part! [_She just
-gets past the right door when it is frantically opened and Mrs. Ritter
-thrusts her head out._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Breathlessly_] Mr. Twiller! [_The door closes again._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Running towards the left_] Mr. Twiller! They’re waiting
-for you!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Rushing forward at the left_] What is it?
-
-MRS. FELL. [_In a perfect frenzy_] They’re waiting for Mr. Twiller!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Mr. Twiller! [_He snatches up his cane from the floor,
-but the hook of it catches in the stage-brace, and he has considerable
-yanking to do to get it loose. Mrs. Fell raps on the left door._] Go
-on, Mr. Twiller, for Heaven’s sake! the stage is waiting! [_She pulls
-the door open for him. He straightens his hat and then raps on the
-wing beside the door._] Oh, go on! never mind rapping! that’s been
-done! [_He steps through the door and she slams it after him, catching
-his left arm and hand. The cane is in his left hand, and it falls at
-Mrs. Pampinelli’s feet. She pulls the door open again to release his
-arm; then gives the door a definite slam. A burst of applause greets
-Twiller’s entrance. Mrs. Pampinelli is in a perfect wrath. She sweeps
-across towards the right, and back again all the way across to the
-left; then turns and starts back towards the right. As she passes the
-left door she sees Twiller’s cane, and, realizing in a flash that he
-will have need of it in his scene, she picks it up, opens the left
-door slightly, and flings it in onto the stage. Then she continues on
-towards the right, turns and crosses back again to the left, holding up
-her skirt and bristling with temper._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Back at the right door, speaking to Hossefrosse, down at
-the right_] How are my eyes? Instead of paying attention to his part!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Coming across to the right_] People rehearsing
-their cues a thousand times, and then don’t know them when they hear
-them! It’s positively disgusting! [_She turns and goes back again to
-the left, turns, and starts back to the right. Hossefrosse tiptoes
-towards her._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. What happened to Teddy, did he get sick out there?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. No, just a little reaction. [_Hossefrosse nods
-comprehendingly._] He gives too much to the scene. He doesn’t
-understand emotional conservation yet. [_Hossefrosse shakes his head
-knowingly and returns to the right, and Mrs. Pampinelli steps to the
-left door and listens._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Just audibly, beyond the flats_] She’s waiting for my
-very unpunctual husband. In fact, we are both waiting for him, to be
-precise. But I’ve just been telling her I’m afraid we may as well give
-it up, for he’s never kept an appointment in his life. I’m sorry he
-isn’t here, if you wanted to see him.
-
-TWILLER. [_Beyond the flats_] I don’t know whether I wanted to see him
-or not; it depends.
-
-FLORENCE. I don’t understand you.
-
-TWILLER. I don’t fully understand myself! [_There is a very general
-laugh from beyond the flats. Mrs. Pampinelli looks anxiously at Nelly,
-and Nelly looks up at her from the manuscript._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. What was _that_?
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Not having caught what she said_] What?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. What was that the audience was laughing at? [_Mrs.
-Fell peeks through at the door where she is standing, then turns
-desperately to Mrs. Pampinelli._]
-
-MRS. FELL. Half of Mr. Twiller’s mustache fell off! [_She looks through
-the peek again. Mrs. Pampinelli puts her hand against her brow and
-leans upon the stage-brace, the picture of tragedy. Mrs. Fell turns to
-her again._] I don’t think the audience noticed it, he stuck it right
-on again!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. That doesn’t matter, there is absolutely no excuse for
-it! He’s been here since four o’clock this afternoon! [_She crosses
-towards the left and back again._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Beyond the flats_] What sort of a rumor was it, Mr. Rush,
-if I may ask?
-
-TWILLER. [_Beyond the flats_] The usual kind. [_There’s another laugh
-from beyond the flats, and Mrs. Pampinelli stands petrified, just below
-the left door. Mrs. Fell turns quickly and peeks, then turns to Mrs.
-Pampinelli._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Despairingly_] It fell off again! [_Mrs. Pampinelli raises
-her fists and shakes them._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Well, why on earth hasn’t he brains enough to leave it
-off!
-
-MRS. FELL. He has his hat on, too! [_Mrs. Pampinelli steps to the left
-door and speaks through it._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Leave your mustache _off_, Mr. Twiller! Leave it
-_off_!--And take off your _hat_, you’re inside. [_Hossefrosse tiptoes
-over from the right._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. What’s the matter, did his mustache fall off?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Yes, twice; and he keeps sticking it on again. [_He
-shakes his head regretfully and tiptoes back to the right._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Beyond the flats_] It’s perfectly ridiculous!
-
-FLORENCE. [_Beyond the flats_] Too bad my husband isn’t here.
-
-TWILLER. [_Beyond the flats_] Yes, it is; I had counted upon seeing him.
-
-FLORENCE. I’m sure he’d be able to explain.
-
-TWILLER. Well, I hope he would!--the thing is damned annoying! [_Mrs.
-Ritter gives an unearthly laugh, which is supposed to express derision.
-Mrs. Fell looks up from her manuscript, and Mrs. Pampinelli smiles and
-nods approvingly at her._] Even if _you don’t_ appreciate it!
-
-MRS. FELL. Wonderful. [_She turns and smiles and nods at Hossefrosse;
-then they all listen again. The stage manager, who has arisen from his
-chair at the sound of Mrs. Ritter’s disdainful laughter, comes forward
-at the left, with his pipe in one hand and his newspaper in the other.
-He has a puzzled, inquiring expression, and looks from one to the other
-quizzically; but Mrs. Pampinelli has her back to him, Mrs. Fell is
-looking at her manuscript, and Mr. Hossefrosse’s face is, as usual,
-utterly expressionless, so he steps to the juncture of the back flats
-with the side wings and peeks through, curiously. Then he returns to
-his chair up at the left, shaking his head from side to side._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Beyond the flats_] I don’t know what it is, yet!
-
-TWILLER. [_Beyond the flats_] You know very well what it is!
-
-MRS. RITTER. You haven’t told us.
-
-TWILLER. You’re here, aren’t you!
-
-MRS. RITTER. Yes.
-
-TWILLER. Well, that’s it, exactly! [_Mrs. Pampinelli smiles
-approvingly, and moves towards the right._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Calling Hossefrosse, who is engaged in studying his
-lines from a paper, over at the right_] Mr. Hossefrosse.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Turning to him_] Huxley! [_He looks up, and tiptoes
-towards Mrs. Pampinelli._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. How is this hall to speak in?
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Why, I shouldn’t say it was good.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I thought not.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. It’s too big for the speaking voice.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_With a gesture_] You have to _project_ the tone, do
-you not?
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Oh, yes, absolutely.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Taking a step towards the back flat, and listening_]
-I’m afraid they’re not hearing Paula at all.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Putting his fingers to his throat_] I’m using my upper
-register almost entirely.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Glancing at him_] You’re very fortunate to know how
-to do it.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Did it sound all right from back here?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Oh, splendid, yes, Mr. Hossefrosse!--your voice is
-beautiful. [_He raises his hand deprecatingly._] Really,--I was just
-saying to Mrs. Fell, I’m so sorry there isn’t another act, that you
-might sing a solo between them. [_He beams and deprecates again,
-profusely, and turns to the right. Spindler comes down at the left and
-towards Mrs. Pampinelli._] Really! Splendid. [_She sees Spindler._]
-Where’s Teddy?
-
-SPINDLER. He’s gone over to the drug store.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. With his make-up on?
-
-SPINDLER. He said he wanted to get some aromatic spirits of ammonia.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. You have a cue right here soon, haven’t you?
-
-SPINDLER. [_Taking the telephone-arrangement from his pocket, and
-crossing towards the right door_] Where are they?
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Suddenly looking up from her manuscript_] Telephone, Mr.
-Spindler!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. There it is now, ring it!
-
-SPINDLER. [_Shaking it desperately_] It won’t ring! [_Mrs. Fell turns
-to Hossefrosse in desperation._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI, MRS. FELL and HOSSEFROSSE, together.
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. Shake it harder, it rang before!
-
-  MRS. FELL. What’s the matter with the fool thing!
-
-  HOSSEFROSSE. Hit it against something, Mr. Spindler!
-
-SPINDLER. There’s something the matter with the battery!
-
-FLORENCE. [_Audibly, from beyond the flats_] Hello!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Relaxing_] Let it go,--it’s too late now. [_Spindler
-continues to tinker with it._] You’ve missed every other cue, [_She
-moves towards the left._] you may as well be consistent for the rest of
-the evening.
-
-SPINDLER. [_Following her_] Well, good night! I can’t help it if the
-electricity won’t work, can I?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning upon him furiously_] You should have
-attended to it beforehand and then it _would_ work! [_Mrs. Fell waves
-her hand at them, to be quiet._]
-
-SPINDLER. Well, My God! I can’t be in a half-a-dozen places at the same
-time!
-
-MRS. FELL. Shush! [_Hossefrosse tiptoes up to her and deplores the
-noise that Mrs. Pampinelli and Spindler are making._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. No one is asking you to be in half-a-dozen places at
-the same time! You’ve simply been asked to attend to your cues; and
-you’ve missed every one you’ve had!
-
-MRS. FELL and HOSSEFROSSE, together. Shush!
-
-SPINDLER. You told me to take care of Teddy, didn’t you?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I told you to take him to the door! I _didn’t_ say to
-take him all the way to the drug store!
-
-SPINDLER. Did you want me to let the man wander off somewhere by
-himself, and maybe die!
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Waving her manuscript at them_] Shus--sh!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI and SPINDLER, together.
-
-  SPINDLER. Just for the sake of not missing a cue!
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_With bitter amusement_] There is very little danger
-  of his dying! And even if he did die, your duty is here! [_She points
-  to the floor with an imperative gesture. The right door is quietly
-  pushed open, and Twiller, with one-half of his mustache gone, pokes
-  his head out._]
-
-TWILLER. Shush! [_He glances from one side to the other, withdraws
-his head, and quietly closes the door. Spindler crosses below Mrs.
-Pampinelli, to the left, then turns and looks at her angrily._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Turning to Hossefrosse_] What did I tell you! Making more
-noise out here than they are out there!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Still holding her gesture, but following Spindler
-with her eyes_] Performances are never interrupted simply because one
-of the artists happens to die! If you were a professional you’d know
-that; but you’re not! [_She turns away from him, towards the right,
-and, simultaneously, the left door is opened, almost striking her.
-She raises her arm to protect herself. Mrs. Ritter is standing in the
-doorway._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Speaking to Twiller, who is still beyond the flats_]
-Look and see. [_The telephone-arrangement in Spindler’s hands suddenly
-rings wildly._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning to him frantically_] Oh, stop that thing!
-[_Mrs. Ritter glances furtively over her left shoulder at Mrs.
-Pampinelli. Mrs. Fell comes rushing over, motioning to Spindler to stop
-the bell._]
-
-SPINDLER. [_Struggling with the bell_] I can’t stop it! [_Mrs. Ritter
-hastily steps back through the door and pulls it to after her._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Well, then, take it outside, where they can’t hear it!
-[_Spindler scrambles towards the back and out of sight at the left.
-Mrs. Pampinelli starts back towards the right._]
-
-MRS. FELL. What’s the matter with that Spindler man, anyway!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I don’t know what’s the matter with him! I’ve given up
-thinking about him.
-
-MRS. FELL. He acts to me like a person that wouldn’t be in his right
-mind! [_She goes back towards the right door._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Standing in the middle of the stage_] He’s simply
-not a professional, that’s all. [_The left door opens again and Mrs.
-Ritter is standing in it. Mrs. Pampinelli turns suddenly and looks at
-her. Mrs. Ritter repeats her unearthly laugh, which again arouses the
-curiosity of the stage manager, to the extent that he rises and comes
-forward again at the left to get a look at her. Then he returns to
-his chair, taking the door-slam with him, and standing it against the
-wing._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Addressing Twiller, beyond the flats_] What about the
-gentlemen?
-
-FLORENCE. [_Beyond the flats_] Jealous husbands, chiefly, aren’t they?
-[_Twiller comes out through the left door, past Mrs. Ritter._] Didn’t
-you want to leave a message for the Doctor, Mr. Rush? [_Twiller turns
-right round and goes back to the door._]
-
-TWILLER. Who, me?
-
-FLORENCE. If you wish.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Having some difficulty seeing Florence over Twiller’s
-right shoulder_] He might leave an apology.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Very much annoyed, and stepping close to the flat,
-just to the right of the door_] Get out of the doorway, Mr. Twiller!
-
-FLORENCE. [_Beyond the flats_] Perhaps we haven’t convinced him of his
-mistake.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI and MRS. RITTER, together.
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Trying desperately to attract Twiller’s attention,
-  and becoming more emphatic_] Get out of the doorway, Mr. Twiller,
-  you’re covering Paula up!
-
-  MRS. RITTER. [_Trying to talk to Florence over Twiller’s shoulder_]
-  Well, he’ll apologize to me, whether we’ve convinced him or not.
-  [_Mrs. Fell and Hossefrosse come over to see if they can be of any
-  assistance._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI and TWILLER, together.
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Becoming desperate_] Paula! [_Paula gives her a
-  nervous glance._] Will one of you go farther in! Mr. Twiller!
-
-  TWILLER. [_Addressing Florence_] Have you convinced yourselves? [_He
-  gives Mrs. Pampinelli an irritated look over his left shoulder._]
-
-FLORENCE. That there has been a mistake?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Go farther in, one of you! [_Twiller gives her another
-look, then speaks to Florence._]
-
-TWILLER. Yes! [_Mrs. Pampinelli can contain herself no longer, so,
-picking up her skirt, and holding her hand against the left side of
-her head, she darts across the open door, to the left, and speaks to
-them around the edge of the door. Mrs. Fell, taking advantage of the
-circumstance of Mrs. Pampinelli’s crossing, tiptoes up to Twiller
-and strikes him on the left arm, quite viciously, with the rolled
-manuscript. As a polite remonstrance, he shakes his left hand and foot
-at her. But, she is not dismayed, and repeats the attack, even more
-viciously. Then he turns and glares at her, and she turns away towards
-the right, desperately._]
-
-FLORENCE. A great mistake.
-
-MRS. RITTER. Disappointed? Because, you know, we can _invent_ a
-scandal, if you insist.
-
-MRS. FELL. Oh, what a man! What a man!
-
-FLORENCE and MRS. PAMPINELLI, together.
-
-  FLORENCE. I’m afraid _my_ presence here would be a bit incongruous,
-  even for that.
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. Go farther in, Mr. Twiller, don’t both of you stand
-  wedged in the doorway that way, it looks dreadful!
-
-TWILLER. [_Raising his right arm and resting his hand against the jamb
-of the door, completely cutting off Mrs. Ritter’s view of Florence_]
-That’s the rub. [_Mrs. Ritter stands on her tiptoes to try and see over
-his arm, but being unsuccessful in this effort, stoops a bit, and tries
-to look under his arm._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Take your arm down, Mr. Twiller! [_Mrs. Ritter reaches
-up and quietly but firmly draws Twiller’s arm down. Mrs. Pampinelli
-turns away to the left, disgusted._] My God! I never gave any such
-direction as that!
-
-FLORENCE. Be at ease, Mr. Rush; if you were not mistaken I should have
-known it,--and so should you; I’m not a tragic woman. Did you want to
-leave any message for the Doctor, Mrs. Rush?
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_At Twiller’s right_] Yes,--[_Twiller turns his head
-sharply and looks right into her eyes. She steps around back of him
-and speaks to Florence over his left shoulder._] I wish you’d say that
-my husband called--[_Twiller turns and looks into her eyes again, and
-she steps around back of him again, to his right._] for my bill. [_She
-reaches out and starts to draw the door to. Twiller, very ill at ease,
-and awkwardly looking from side to side, not knowing just how to get
-out gracefully, makes a full turn round to his right._]
-
-TWILLER. [_Raising his hat to Florence_] Good evening, Mrs. Arlington.
-[_Mrs. Ritter closes the door, causing him to drop his cane; but he’s
-too excited to notice it._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Standing at the right door, extending his hand_] Great,
-old man!
-
-TWILLER. [_Dropping his gloves, as he shakes hands_] Thanks. [_He
-continues to the right._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_As he passes below her_] Splendid, Ralph! What happened to
-your mustache? [_She laughs._]
-
-TWILLER. Can you beat that, Nelly! I couldn’t _coax_ that thing off
-before I went on!
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Holding the knob of the right door_] Shush!
-
-MRS. FELL. I don’t think the audience noticed it.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Turning to them_] Shush! [_Twiller goes down to the
-right, and Mrs. Fell returns to her manuscript. The left door is flung
-open. They all watch eagerly._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Inside the left door_] If you will, please?
-
-FLORENCE. Certainly.
-
-MRS. RITTER. Thanks.
-
-FLORENCE. Don’t mention it.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Trying to appear very bold_] Good bye.
-
-FLORENCE. Good bye. [_Mrs. Ritter gives another famous laugh, sways
-through the door, tripping over the door-strip, closes the door,
-looks at Mrs. Pampinelli, who is standing at the left, and bursts out
-laughing. There is prolonged applause from beyond the flats._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Splendid, Paula!
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Listening intently for his cue, from beyond the flats_]
-Shush-shush! [_Mrs. Ritter looks at him, still laughing foolishly._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Waving at Paula_] Lovely, dear!
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Turning to Mrs. Pampinelli_] I forgot my umbrella.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Where is it?
-
-MRS. RITTER. I left it on the stage.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. That doesn’t matter. [_Hossefrosse tries to silence
-them by dint of impatient gesturing with his right hand._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. Oh, Betty, I think I saw Clara Sheppard out there!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Not really?
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Shush!
-
-FLORENCE. [_From beyond the flats_] You can come out now, Clyde,
-they’ve gone. [_Hossefrosse yanks the right door open, causing the
-wood-wing at the right to topple and fall forward._]
-
-TWILLER. [_Leaping to catch it, before it hits Mrs. Fell_] Hold it!
-[_Mrs. Fell hunches her arms and shoulders and screams._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Rushing over from the left_] What is it?
-
-TWILLER. [_Struggling to set the wing up in place again_] This thing
-nearly fell! Just got it in time! [_Mrs. Fell moves out of the way,
-over to the left, and Mrs. Pampinelli tries to assist Twiller._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Is it all right now?
-
-TWILLER. [_Brushing his hands and clothes, and coming forward at the
-right_] Yes, it’s all right now. Just got it in time.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Rushing up to Mrs. Ritter, who is coming towards her
-from the left, and shaking her by the arms_] Oh, you were marvelous,
-darling! [_Mrs. Ritter giggles foolishly._] I could just hug you!
-
-MRS. RITTER. I forgot my umbrella.
-
-MRS. FELL. Wonderful performance! [_She steps to the right door and
-opens her manuscript. Mrs. Ritter moves a little to the right and
-stands looking at the wood-wing._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning from a more precise adjustment of the
-wood-wing_] Oh, Mr. Twiller!
-
-TWILLER. Yes?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. How did you and Paula get wedged in that door that
-way, over there a moment ago?
-
-TWILLER. [_On Mrs. Pampinelli’s right_] Oh, I’m awfully sorry about
-that! I got a little twisted on-- [_Mrs. Ritter comes to Mrs.
-Pampinelli’s left._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning to Mrs. Ritter_] I was just asking Mr.
-Twiller about that business in the door.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI, MRS. RITTER and TWILLER, together.
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. Of course, it really didn’t matter very much.
-
-  MRS. RITTER. Oh, my dear, wasn’t that just too dreadful! But I didn’t
-  know what to do! I knew there was something wrong, but I didn’t know
-  what it was!
-
-  TWILLER. It was _my_ fault. I got a little twisted there in my
-  business-cues. I got up to the door a couple of speeches too soon.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I don’t think the audience noticed it.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Frantically searching in the manuscript_] Shush!
-
-MRS. RITTER. Don’t you think they did, Betty?
-
-MRS. FELL. Shush! [_They all turn and look at her. Mrs. Pampinelli
-steps towards her._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Is somebody up? [_Nelly simply silences her with a
-gesture, and opens the door slightly._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Prompting through the door_] You’ve all been listening to
-a lot of damned, cheap gossip!
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_From beyond the flats_] You’ve all been listening to a
-lot of damned, cheap gossip!
-
-FLORENCE. [_Beyond the flats_] Which should show you that people are
-talking.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Somebody up? [_Nelly just shakes her head and
-relaxes._] Mr. Hossefrosse?
-
-MRS. FELL. The “damned, cheap gossip” line.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Listening keenly_] Is he all right again?
-
-MRS. FELL. Yes, he’s all right now;--but it’s funny how that line has
-sent him up at every performance.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning to rejoin Mrs. Ritter and Twiller_] It’s
-purely mental.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_From beyond the flats, violently_] No! [_The stage
-manager, over at the left, jumps to his feet, causing the hammer to
-fall from his pocket. The door-slam also falls, with a bang. The stage
-manager has been dozing, and the thunder of Mr. Hossefrosse’s outburst
-has considerably startled him. He comes forward at the left and looks
-over at Mrs. Fell, to inquire the cause of the disturbance._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Motioning to him with her manuscript_] Shush! [_He looks
-about and then goes back and picks up the hammer and door-slam. As he
-resumes his seat he takes another glance around._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_As Mrs. Pampinelli comes forward again at the right,
-between her and Twiller_] You know, I felt like a perfect fool standing
-there in that door, but I couldn’t catch what you were saying.
-[_Twiller laughs._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Well, dear, I _really_ don’t think the audience
-noticed it.
-
-TWILLER. I hope they didn’t.
-
-MRS. RITTER. It must have looked awful.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. No, dear, it didn’t, really; you both covered it up
-very nicely.
-
-TWILLER. I _tried_ to cover it up when my mustache fell off, too;--but
-I had so many _lines_ right in there. I held it on as long as I could,
-but I was afraid the audience was beginning to notice it.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I was so glad you had the presence of mind not to
-attempt to stick it on again when it fell off the _second_ time.
-
-TWILLER. I was afraid to take the time. I had a cue right there; so
-when it fell off the second time, I just--let it lie there. [_He makes
-a casual gesture with his right hand._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. That was quite right.
-
-TWILLER. [_Laughing a little_] It’s out there yet.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Giggling_] So is my umbrella. [_They all laugh._] Oh,
-listen, Betty dear! I think I’ll just run upstairs for a minute and use
-that telephone--see how Fred is. [_She starts towards the left._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Following her_] Yes, do, Paula.
-
-MRS. RITTER. I’m kind of worried about him.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. See if he’s regained consciousness yet.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Regardless of the fact that a play is in progress_]
-Excuse me!
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Looking up from her manuscript_] Shush!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Certainly, dear. [_Twiller raises his hat towards
-her, and she waves back at him. Then he goes up at the right and peeks
-through the side wings._] Oh, Paula!
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Turning_] Yes, dear?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Be sure and get down in time for the curtains.
-
-MRS. RITTER. Oh, yes.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I imagine there’ll be a lot of flowers come over.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Starting up at the left_] I’ll be right down as soon as
-I telephone.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Yes, do, dear. [_Mrs. Ritter goes out at the left, and
-Mrs. Pampinelli turns, touching her hair, and starts back towards the
-right. Something falls beyond the flats. She stops dead, and listens.
-Mrs. Fell turns quickly and peeks through the right door. Twiller comes
-forward at the right and looks inquiringly._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Just audible beyond the flats_] Then, you’ve allowed him to
-think so.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. What’s that?
-
-FLORENCE. [_Beyond the flats_] Perhaps it is.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Turning to Mrs. Pampinelli, and quite casually_] He
-knocked the ash-tray over. [_Mrs. Pampinelli relaxes, and proceeds to
-arrange the beaded ornaments on her dress, while Mrs. Fell moves a bit
-farther over to the right and stands listening, manuscript and lorgnon
-in hand. Twiller crosses to the left, below Mrs. Fell, and gathers up
-his gloves and cane._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Beyond the flats_] You are deliberately misinterpreting
-this situation! Yes you are! It’s perfectly ridiculous that a physician
-cannot take a woman patient without being subjected to the whisperings
-of a lot of vulgar scandal-mongers.
-
-FLORENCE. This is not a romantic age, Clyde.
-
-TWILLER. [_Coming to Mrs. Pampinelli’s right_] Was that inflection of
-mine any better tonight on that line, “I’m puzzled.”?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Oh, very much better, I was listening for it.
-
-TWILLER. [_Thoughtfully_] I never seemed to get the sense of that line
-until tonight. It just seemed to--come to me, out there on the stage.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Oh, that is a very significant line, Mr. Twiller,
-coming where it does. [_Spindler comes wandering on from the left,
-comes forward, looks about, and goes up to the side wing and looks
-through._]
-
-TWILLER. I felt a great deal easier in that new business of
-turning--down at the bookcase that you gave me last night.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_With a touch of smugness_] Much better.
-
-TWILLER. Did you notice it?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Well, of course, I couldn’t see it, I was here; but I
-could sense it; and I could tell from the _tone_ of the scene that it
-was better. [_Spindler moves over to the extreme left, about half-way
-back, and, taking the refractory telephone-bell-arrangement from his
-pocket, starts to tinker with it._]
-
-TWILLER. I just turned my head _this_ way, [_He turns his head sharply
-to the right, keeping his body and shoulders perfectly rigid._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Excellent.
-
-TWILLER. [_Turning back to her_] Without moving my body.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Very good.
-
-TWILLER. Instead of making the full swing around, [_He makes a complete
-swing around on his right foot._] the way I had been doing. [_Mrs. Fell
-raises her lorgnon and looks over, curiously._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. A very good change.
-
-TWILLER. [_Very seriously_] I _felt_ that it got them.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Well, you see, it gave them the full benefit of your
-expression. [_They nod agreement._]
-
-TWILLER. There’s a great deal of light and shade in that part, right in
-there.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Deprecatingly_] Ho! my dear,--it is _all_ light
-and shade;--even to the gestures. [_She makes a Delsartian movement
-with her arms and hands. Mrs. Fell comes forward a little further and
-observes the gesture keenly, through her lorgnon._] ....
-
-TWILLER. [_Rather troubled, and shaking his head a bit_] I’ve got to
-put in a lot of work on _my_ gestures,--they’re bad, I know.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Well, I shouldn’t exactly say that your gestures were
-bad; but I think, perhaps----
-
-TWILLER. [_Leaning heavily on his cane_] I--ah--I think I try too hard
-to be natural.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Smiling, biting her lip, and rolling her eyes_]
-That’s exactly what I was going to say. Your gestures are, in a way,
-_too_ natural. [_She gives a little mirthless laugh, and, out of
-courtesy, he joins her._] Of course, that is a very virtuous fault; but
-it isn’t pretty, is it? [_She laughs again._]
-
-TWILLER. No, it isn’t. [_The stage manager gets up, stretches himself,
-and comes forward at the left._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. And, after all, the function of art is to be pretty,
-is it not? [_She repeats the floating gesture._]
-
-TWILLER. [_Trying to imitate her_] I don’t seem to be able--to _do_
-that, the way you do. [_Mrs. Fell feels the call, and, putting the
-manuscript under her arm, tries rather unsuccessfully to copy the
-movement._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Oh, it is purely a matter of experience, Mr. Twiller.
-But when you’ve been in the work as long as I have,--you’ll realize
-that the bird’s-wing gesture is the _only_ gesture. [_She illustrates
-again, for the edification of her disciples; and they attempt rather
-faithfully to imitate her. The stage manager stands looking at them._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Beyond the flats_] But it has its compensations--You’ll
-have your memories, [_There is a confusion of voices from beyond the
-flats, and cries of “Sit down!”_]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Startled_] What’s that? [_Mrs. Fell rushes to the
-right door and peeks through, Twiller goes over to the right and up,
-and the stage manager rushes back to his post and disappears at the
-left._] What is it, Nelly?
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Turning suddenly to Mrs. Pampinelli_] They’re carrying a
-man out of the audience! [_She looks back again through the peek, and
-Mrs. Pampinelli steps to the left door and peeks. Mrs. Sheppard sweeps
-on up at the left, and comes forward. She is a slim brunette, in her
-thirties, very attractive, and wearing the very last whisper in widow’s
-weeds. She looks around, rather dramatically, then sees the ladies.
-Mrs. Fell looks away from the peek-hole and sees her._] Betty, there’s
-Clara!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Looking at Nelly_] What?
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Not wishing to be heard_] Clara Sheppard. [_Mrs.
-Pampinelli turns quickly._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Oh, Clara! [_She goes towards her, and Clara advances
-a little._] I’m so glad to see you! [_Clara breaks down and weeps._]
-Now, don’t do that, dear. You know Jimmy wouldn’t for anything in the
-world want you to feel that way. So be brave, honey. It was splendid of
-you to come here at all. And you look wonderful.
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. I must look perfectly dreadful.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. You don’t look anything of the kind, darling, you look
-perfectly beautiful.
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. All I’ve done is cry.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I know just how you feel.
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. But I didn’t want you to think I’d entirely forsaken the
-cause.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Oh, my dear, we understood perfectly.
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. But I just felt I _had_ to come here tonight.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Have you been out in front, Clara?
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. Yes, I just _had_ to see it. I don’t think anybody saw
-me; I came in late, and stood way at the back.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. They’d hardly see you.
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. I don’t think so; I kept my veil lowered. Of course, I
-should _love_ to have been right down in front, where I could get all
-those _wonderful_ little subtleties. But, you know how it is,--I was
-afraid people might not understand my being here at all. It’s only
-three weeks, you know.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. They wouldn’t, either.
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. That’s what I thought.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I don’t suppose there’s one person in _ten thousand_
-that has dramatic instinct enough to appreciate the way you feel. [_She
-turns to the left door and listens._]
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. [_Beginning to cry again_] The flowers in the lobby are
-perfectly beautiful.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Still listening_] Yes, but I’m not having them
-passed over the footlights tonight.
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. [_Drying her eyes_] No?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Except one bouquet for each of the ladies. It took up
-too much time the last time.
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. [_Glancing about_] Where’s Paula?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. She’s upstairs, telephoning. She’s rather annoyed
-about Fred, you know.
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. What about him? [_Mrs. Pampinelli turns from the door
-suddenly and looks at her._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Beyond the flats_] There is, my dear boy,--for lots of
-people----
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Why, my dear, didn’t you hear?--about him falling
-downstairs last night?
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. Oh, not really!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Coming towards her_] He fell almost the entire
-flight.
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. Oh, dear me!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Poor Paula’s terribly upset.
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. What was he doing, coming down the stairs?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. No, he was watching our rehearsal. You know, we held
-the final rehearsal at Paula’s house last night--we couldn’t get this
-place.
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. [_Solicitously_] Well, did he break any _bones_, Betty?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. No,--Doctor Wentworth said--he was unconscious before
-he hit the floor. He said the fall was the result of a collapse; and
-that he would have fallen no matter where he had been. Unfortunately,
-he just happened to be on the stairs. [_She turns back again to the
-left door._]
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. [_Retrospectively_] I _thought_ he looked pale when I
-saw him out there tonight. [_Mrs. Pampinelli turns suddenly and looks
-at her._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Beyond the flats_] And you have a very modern wife.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. When you saw him out here, you mean? [_She indicates
-the audience beyond the flats._]
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. Yes; he was standing out there at the back, right near
-_me_.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Coming towards her again_] You _must_ be mistaken,
-Clara.
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. No, Betty, I’m quite _sure_ I saw him.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Well, the only thing _I_ know is that Paula said he
-hadn’t regained consciousness when she left the house this evening at
-seven-thirty. [_Mrs. Ritter comes on up at the back, from the left, and
-comes forward._] Here’s Paula now!
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. [_Turning round to her left_] Poor dear, she must be
-terribly upset.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Extending her arms_] Clara, dear! [_Mrs. Sheppard bursts
-into tears again._] This is so nice of you! [_They embrace each other,
-and Mrs. Ritter starts to cry._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Isn’t she the sweet thing! [_The door at the right
-opens._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_To the ladies_] Shush! [_They all turn and look toward the
-right door._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_With a gesture to Mrs. Ritter and Mrs. Sheppard_]
-Shush! [_Hossefrosse comes out the right door._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Beyond the flats_] It’s gotten very chilly.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Picking up his hat, cane and gloves from the chair_]
-Yes, I know it has; I just came in a few minutes ago.
-
-FLORENCE. You had tickets for the theatre, didn’t you?
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Stepping back through the right door again_] Yes.
-
-FLORENCE. Why not take me?--for a change. [_The door closes._] You used
-to--years ago.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning to Mrs. Ritter and Mrs. Sheppard_] Paula,
-Clara says she thinks she saw Mr. Ritter out there tonight.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Standing at the left_] My dear, Jenny just told me over
-the telephone that he regained consciousness a half-hour after I left
-the house, and went out. Said she thought from the way he talked he was
-coming here.
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. [_In the center_] Yes, I was _sure_ I saw him standing
-out there-- [_Turning to Mrs. Ritter_] I was just telling Betty.
-
-MRS. RITTER. I wonder if he’s out there yet.
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. I don’t know, dear.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. How much of the play did you see, Clara?
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. Why, I stayed just as long as I could, Betty. But when
-Paula came on, and I heard those lines of mine again, I just couldn’t
-stand it. [_She breaks down, and buries her face in her handkerchief._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Laying her hand on her arm_] I know, Clara--you’re
-such an artist.
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. [_Pressing her hands against her bosom_] Everything just
-seemed to come back on me.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I know how it is, dear.
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. [_Speaking directly to Mrs. Pampinelli_] I got thinking
-how Jimmy would feel, if he could know, that _he_ was the cause of
-standing in the way of my first _real_ opportunity. [_She cries
-again._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Raising her eyes to Heaven_] Perhaps he does know,
-dear.
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. [_Turning to her again_] I mean, you know, he was always
-so anxious about my getting into the work. And, somehow or other, I
-always _felt_--that I could have done so much with that part. [_Mrs.
-Ritter gives a vague little laugh, and Mrs. Sheppard turns to her
-quickly._] Oh, of course, you were perfectly _adorable_ in it, darling,
-I don’t mean that-- [_The left door opens, and Florence is standing in
-it, about to come out._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_To Mrs. Pampinelli, Mrs. Ritter and Mrs. Sheppard_] Shush!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning and going closer to the left door_] Excuse
-me, Clara.
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. Certainly, dear. [_Twiller comes forward at the right._]
-
-FLORENCE. [_Stepping through the door_] By the way, there was a Mr.
-Robinson telephoned this morning, after you’d left the house-- [_Mrs.
-Sheppard waves her handkerchief at Florence, and Florence replies
-by quietly flicking her fingers at her. Then, still keeping in her
-character, she moves slowly towards the right, leaving the door open
-behind her._] He said something about a list being correct.
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Appearing in the doorway, carrying his hat, cane and
-gloves_] Yes, I know. [_He reaches towards the left, beyond the flats,
-as though he were pushing an electric-light button, then thrusts his
-head through the door and says in a fierce whisper._] Lights.
-
-FLORENCE. Lights out!
-
-MRS. FELL and MRS. PAMPINELLI, together.
-
-  MRS. FELL. Put out the lights, somebody!
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. Lights, Mr. Stage Manager! [_The stage manager
-  appears from the left, at the back._]
-
-SPINDLER. [_Springing from the left, where he has been engaged in
-trying to repair the telephone-battery_] Lights out!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Where are you! [_The stage manager reaches up and
-pulls one of the switches on the switch-board at the back, and the
-lights beyond the flats go out; then he disappears again at the left._]
-
-SPINDLER and HOSSEFROSSE, together.
-
-  SPINDLER. I was right here!
-
-  HOSSEFROSSE. [_Coming through the door_] Yes, I know,-- [_Closing the
-  door behind him_] I talked to him. [_Puts his hat on_]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Well, why aren’t you right _here_, where you should
-be! Stand by for the curtain, now,--see if you can do that much right.
-Surely, it’s the old story of the lark,--if you want a thing done, do
-it yourself! Curtain!
-
-SPINDLER. [_Shouting_] Curtain! [_The curtain, beyond the flats, begins
-to roll down, and there is thunderous applause._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_To Florence_] Marvelous, darling! [_Florence waves at
-her, turns, and rushes back towards the left._] Just lovely, Huxley!
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Thanks. [_He turns to the left._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Lights up! Splendid, children!
-
-FLORENCE. I’m awfully glad to see you, Clara!
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD, MRS. PAMPINELLI, HOSSEFROSSE and SPINDLER, together.
-
-  MRS. SHEPPARD. [_Shaking hands with Florence_] You were wonderful,
-  Flossie!
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. Take up the curtain, Mr. Stage Manager!
-
-  HOSSEFROSSE. Thank you very much.
-
-  SPINDLER. Lights up! [_The stage manager appears from the left and
-  pulls the switch again, and the lights beyond the flats go on._]
-
-SPINDLER. Take it up! [_The stage manager darts off again to the left.
-The waltz-music on the piano, beyond the flats, begins again._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Lifting his hat and beaming_] Hello, Clara!
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. Wonderful! [_He deprecates profusely. The curtain rises
-again._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Go on, Mr. Hossefrosse! [_He opens the right door,
-removing his hat._] Wait a moment, Mr. Hossefrosse! Come on, Florence!
-[_Hossefrosse stops uncertainly in the doorway and looks at Mrs.
-Pampinelli._] It’s all right! Go on! [_She opens the left door._] Here,
-go on here, Florence! [_They go on, bowing, and there is prolonged
-applause._] Come on, Paula! go on here! [_The curtain descends again.
-Paula scurries to the left door, giggling._] Where’s Mr. Twiller!
-
-TWILLER. [_Springing over from the right, where he has been talking and
-laughing with Mrs. Fell_] Here I am!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning to the left_] Take it up again, Mr. Stage
-Manager! [_Turning back to Twiller, and opening the door_] Here, Mr.
-Twiller, take Paula on! [_The curtain can be seen through the left
-door rising again._] Come on, Paula! [_Twiller drops his cane, in
-shifting it from his right hand to his left._] Hurry up! [_He snatches
-the cane up, and, taking Paula by the arm, escorts her through the
-door. But she trips over the door-strip, nevertheless. And there is
-sustained applause. Mrs. Fell, over at the right, begins to preen
-herself feverishly. Mrs. Pampinelli closes the door slowly, and stands
-listening, smiling. Teddy appears up at the left and comes forward,
-pressing his violet handkerchief to his brow, and looking very wan.
-Mrs. Pampinelli turns to him._] Come on, Teddy, hurry up! They’re just
-going on! How do you feel? [_The curtain descends._]
-
-TEDDY. Only fair.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Taking him by the right arm and urging him towards
-the right_] Here, Nelly, go on for a bow with Teddy! [_Rushing back
-towards the left_] Take it up again, Mr. Stage Manager!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI, TEDDY and SPINDLER, together.
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. Mr. Spindler!
-
-  TEDDY. [_Opening the right door_] Come on, Nelly!
-
-  SPINDLER. [_Half-way back, at the left_] Take it up! [_Rushing forward
-  at the left_] Yes?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI and MRS. FELL, together.
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_To Spindler_] Keep it going up and down till I tell
-  you to stop! And keep it up the next time till the gentlemen get the
-  flowers!
-
-  MRS. FELL. [_Shrinking away a little more to the right of the door,
-  but still preening herself, almost hysterically, and breaking into a
-  little nervous laugh_] Oh, no, really, dear! I wouldn’t _think_ of it!
-  [_Teddy goes through the right door. The curtain can be seen rising
-  again; then the door closes after him; and Mrs. Fell continues
-  talking, to herself._] Why, what have I done that I should go on. I
-  wouldn’t mind if I’d taken some part in the play,--but I certainly
-  don’t see--
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Rushing back to the right_] Go on, Nelly! what are
-you waiting for? [_The curtain descends again. Mrs. Fell rushes towards
-Mrs. Pampinelli._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Handing Mrs. Pampinelli the rolled manuscript_] Hold this!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Hurry, dear! [_Mrs. Fell rushes to the right door,
-settles herself finally, and flings the door open. The curtain is just
-rising. And, placing one hand upon her bosom, dropping her eyes and
-smiling, Nelly sways through the door, acknowledging the plaudits.
-Mrs. Pampinelli, standing in the middle of the stage, applauds, also,
-hitting the manuscript against her hand. The door closes after Mrs.
-Fell. Mrs. Sheppard, over at the left, suddenly bursts into tears and
-buries her face in her handkerchief. Mrs. Pampinelli turns quickly and
-looks at her, then crosses towards her._] Do you want to take a bow,
-Clara?
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. Oh, no, thank you! [_Mrs. Pampinelli turns back to the
-left door._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Get those flowers, boys! Keep it up, Mr. Stage
-Manager! Come on, Clara! go on for a bow! [_Reaches for Mrs. Sheppard’s
-hand_]
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. [_Giving Mrs. Pampinelli her hand, and allowing herself
-to be drawn towards the right_] Do you think they’d understand, Betty?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Of course, they would, my dear! They know it isn’t
-your fault that you’re not appearing! [_Mrs. Fell thrusts open the
-right door. She has a basket of roses in her hand._]
-
-MRS. FELL. They’re _calling_ for you, Betty! [_Someone in the audience
-can be heard calling Mrs. Pampinelli’s name._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Here, Nelly, take Clara on for a bow!
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Impatiently_] They’re calling for you, dear! [_Mrs.
-Sheppard hastily throws her veil back, dramatically._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I’ll take one alone, afterwards! [_The applause swells
-again._] Go on, Clara!
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Extending her right hand_] Come on, dear!
-
-MRS. SHEPPARD. [_Giving Mrs. Fell her left hand_] Oh, I don’t feel that
-I should! [_Mrs. Fell keeps the door open, and Clara droops through,
-bowing. Then Mrs. Fell closes the door and Mrs. Pampinelli turns to the
-left._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Keep it up, Mr. Spindler!
-
-SPINDLER. Keep it up!
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. [_Thrusting open the left door_] Mrs. Pampinelli! [_There
-is a vision through the door of the various artists bowing towards the
-back wall, all the ladies laden with flowers._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. All right, dear! I’m coming! [_Hossefrosse closes the
-door, and Mrs. Pampinelli deftly touches her hair and flings her train
-out to its full length behind her. Then she speaks in a loud voice,
-so that she may be heard by those on the other side of the flats._]
-Everybody stand to one side! Stand to one side, everybody! [_She pulls
-open the left door and stands, smiling: then she steps through the
-door; and, instantly, the curtain falls with a deafening crash. The
-door closes after her. Nelly Fell gives a piercing scream. Spindler
-comes rushing down from the left to the left door._]
-
-TEDDY. [_Shouting, beyond the flats_] Curtain!
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. Take up the curtain!
-
-TWILLER. Take it up! [_There is a babel of voices beyond the flats.
-Then the left door is thrust violently open, and Mrs. Pampinelli looks
-out._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Harshly, to Spindler_] What’s the matter with the
-curtain?
-
-SPINDLER. [_In a panic of excitement_] Something’s broke! [_The stage
-manager rushes on from the left and comes forward._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Coming out through the door and calling to the stage
-manager, whom she hasn’t seen yet_] Take up the curtain, Mr. Stage
-Manager!
-
-STAGE MANAGER. I can’t take it up, the guy-rope’s broken! [_He goes up
-at the left._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. What? [_Mrs. Fell comes running through the right
-door, carrying her basket of flowers, and crosses towards the left._]
-
-MRS. FELL and SPINDLER, together.
-
-  MRS. FELL. What is it, Betty?
-
-  SPINDLER. [_To Mrs. Pampinelli_] He says the guy-rope’s broken!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Brushing him aside, to the left, and rushing up at
-the left_] My God! did anyone ever hear of such stupidity!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI, MRS. FELL and SPINDLER, together.
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. I’ll go on at the side here!
-
-  MRS. FELL. What’s the matter, Mr. Spindler?
-
-  SPINDLER. [_Shouting after Mrs. Pampinelli_] He says he can’t get it
-  up! [_Mrs. Sheppard comes through the right doorway with an armload
-  of American Beauty roses, and stands looking anxiously from side to
-  side. Teddy follows her out and stands at her right, discussing the
-  incident. Florence opens the left door and comes out. Her arms are
-  full of tiger-lilies. She moves to the right and speaks to Mrs.
-  Sheppard, nervously._]
-
-STAGE MANAGER. You can’t get through there, lady! [_Twiller comes out
-the left door._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI and STAGE MANAGER, together;
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. I must get through somewhere!
-
-  STAGE MANAGER. That tormentor’s too narrow there!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI, STAGE MANAGER and MRS. FELL, together.
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning frantically and rushing forward again at
-  the left_] I’ll try the other side! He says it’s too narrow there!
-
-  STAGE MANAGER. I don’t know how you’re going to do it!
-
-  MRS. FELL. [_As Mrs. Pampinelli sweeps between her and Spindler_] What
-  is it he says is broken, Betty? [_Mrs. Pampinelli rushes over towards
-  the right. She literally sweeps Twiller, who is in her path, out of
-  the way, and he falls backward over a stage-brace, onto the floor.
-  Mrs. Fell picks up her dress and runs after Mrs. Pampinelli._]
-
-SPINDLER. [_Outrunning Mrs. Fell_] The guy-rope!
-
-MRS. FELL. Well, why doesn’t he fix it! Betty! Betty dear! [_Mrs.
-Pampinelli rushes up at the extreme right and tries desperately to find
-a way of getting through; but everything is solidly masked. Hossefrosse
-comes out the left door, and the stage manager comes forward at the
-left and stands looking after Mrs. Pampinelli._]
-
-HOSSEFROSSE. What’s the matter, can’t Mrs. Pampinelli get her bow?
-
-STAGE MANAGER. She can’t get on any more from that side than she can
-from this! [_Hossefrosse steps out through the door and looks toward
-the right. The door closes after him._] There’s the same opening over
-there as there is here! [_The applause beyond the flats, which has
-kept up throughout the debacle, begins to die. Mrs. Pampinelli comes
-sweeping back from the right with fire in her eye,--Nelly Fell and
-Spindler still at her heels. She plants herself in the middle of the
-stage and glares at the stage manager._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_In a voice shrill with anger_] My God! what’s the
-matter with your curtain!
-
-STAGE MANAGER. [_Losing his temper_] The guy-rope’s broken! I’ve told
-you that about a dozen times! [_He turns doggedly away to the left, as
-though he were going up to his chair; but he stops short and finishes
-his remarks to her over his left shoulder._] What do you want me to do,
-write you a letter! [_The left door is pushed quietly open; and Mrs.
-Ritter, with her face just visible above a perfect screen of roses,
-looks blankly at the stage manager._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Vaguely_] There’s something the matter with the curtain.
-[_The real stage curtain commences to descend._]
-
-STAGE MANAGER. [_Leaning towards her, assuming her general manner and
-tone, and flipping his hand at her_] Y-E-E-S! [_He goes up towards his
-chair, and Mrs. Ritter stands in wide-eyed astonishment._]
-
-
-END OF THE ACT.
-
-
-
-
-THE TORCH-BEARERS.
-
-ACT III.
-
-
-NOTE:
-
-The setting for Act III is the same as for Act I except that the small
-chair which Jenny brings on at the opening of the play is eliminated.
-
-
-_Jenny is seated at the table below the piano, reading the Pictorial
-Review. The door closes out at the right. She stops reading and
-listens. Then resumes. Ritter wanders in from the right hallway,
-wearing a black overcoat and a derby. The derby is a bit over one
-eye and his cigar is at a comic angle. Jenny sees him and rises
-immediately, circling around to the left to the middle of the room._
-
-
-JENNY. Oh, Mr. Ritter! [_He comes into the center-door and stands
-there, looking at nothing._] I didn’t hear you come in, sir. Is the
-show over?
-
-RITTER. [_Removing his gloves_] It’s all over town by this time.
-
-JENNY. [_Standing slightly left of the center of the room, facing him_]
-Mrs. Ritter just telephoned a minute ago.
-
-RITTER. Is she alive?
-
-JENNY. Alive, Mr. Ritter?
-
-RITTER. [_Moving down to the table below the piano, and thrusting
-his gloves into his overcoat pocket_] Because if she is, she’s got
-a charmed life. [_Commencing to unfasten his coat_] The Seamen’s
-Institute! God help them on a night like this.
-
-JENNY. She was anxious to know if you were still unconscious.
-
-RITTER. [_Taking off his overcoat_] If she telephones again, tell her
-yes. [_He is in a tuxedo-suit._]
-
-JENNY. [_Crossing to him and helping him with the coat_] Ain’t you
-feelin’ well again, Mr. Ritter?
-
-RITTER. No, Jenny, I’m not. [_He hands her his derby._]
-
-JENNY. [_Taking the hat and coat to the partition-seat above the
-piano_] Well, I’m sure I’m sorry, sir.
-
-RITTER. [_Removing his scarf_] And after that exhibition tonight,--I
-don’t think I ever shall feel exactly well again.
-
-JENNY. [_Coming down at his left and passing back of him_] Was it a sad
-play?
-
-RITTER. [_Handing her his scarf, and speaking with measured
-conviction_] The saddest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.
-
-JENNY. I allus cry when a show is sad.
-
-RITTER. Is that so?
-
-JENNY. Yes, sir; and a funny thing about me is--the sadder it is the
-more I cry.
-
-RITTER. You’d have had a big night if you’d been with me. [_She passes
-back of him with the scarf, to put it with the other things._] You’d
-better leave those things here, Jenny, I may leave town again tonight.
-
-JENNY. I’ll leave them right here. [_She turns from an arrangement of
-the things and comes forward to the middle of the room._] Did they clap
-much when Mrs. Ritter finished?
-
-RITTER. [_Still standing above the table near the piano, clipping the
-tip of a cigar which he has taken from his pocket_] I didn’t wait for
-the finish; they carried me out.
-
-JENNY. I’m dyin’ till she gets home, for I know exactly how she felt.
-[_He looks at her keenly--she is looking straight ahead._]
-
-RITTER. Have you been on the stage, too, Jenny?
-
-JENNY. [_Turning to him_] No, sir, I haven’t, Mr. Ritter, not lately.
-But when I was at home in England I used to go on every once in a
-while. For a bit of a change, you know.
-
-RITTER. Yes, I know.
-
-JENNY. We had a little club in the town I lived in, and we used to give
-a show twice a year. [_Ritter nods slowly and comprehendingly._] I
-always took off the comical parts.
-
-RITTER. How is it they didn’t get you into this show tonight?
-
-JENNY. Oh, I haven’t been on for a long time now, Mr. Ritter. My
-husband put a stop to it. [_She looks away off._]
-
-RITTER. [_Turning to her_] What was the matter?
-
-JENNY. [_Turning to him, suddenly_] He died.
-
-RITTER. [_Replacing his penknife_] I see.
-
-JENNY. And I never felt much like cuttin’ up after that. [_The
-telephone-bell rings. She turns quickly and starts for the
-center-door._]
-
-RITTER. [_Moving over towards the mantelpiece_] See who that is, Jenny.
-
-JENNY. [_Hurrying out into the left hallway_] Yes, sir.
-
-RITTER. [_Getting a match from the table below the mantelpiece_]
-Anybody for me, I’ve gone into permanent retirement.
-
-JENNY. [_At the telephone_] Yes? [_He listens narrowly._] Mr. Ritta?
-[_He makes a rapid movement towards her._] Oh, Mrs. Ritta?
-
-RITTER. [_In a subdued tone_] Who do they want?
-
-JENNY. [_Into the telephone_] No, mam, she hasn’t got home yet.
-[_Lowering the telephone and speaking to Ritter_] Mrs. Ritter.
-
-RITTER. [_Casually_] Who is it, the police? [_He lights his cigar._]
-
-JENNY. [_Into the telephone_] All right, Mrs. Livingston, I’ll give
-her your message as soon as she comes in. You’re more than welcome I’m
-sure. [_She hangs up and comes to the center-door._]
-
-RITTER. [_Looking at her_] Mrs. Livingston?
-
-JENNY. Yes, sir.
-
-RITTER. What did she want?
-
-JENNY. She sez she wanted to congratulate Mrs. Ritter on her perfect
-performance tonight.
-
-RITTER. Did she see the show?
-
-JENNY. She didn’t say, sir.
-
-RITTER. [_Conclusively, and crossing in front of her down to the window
-at the right_] She didn’t see it. If any of those women come back here
-with Mrs. Ritter, Jenny,--say that I’m not home yet, do you understand.
-
-JENNY. [_Settling the overcoat on the partition-seat_] Yes, sir.
-
-RITTER. [_Looking through the window_] And that you haven’t seen
-anything _of_ me.
-
-JENNY. Yes, sir, Mr. Ritter, all right.
-
-RITTER. If my wife’s alone, let me know as soon as she comes in.
-
-JENNY. Yes, sir, I will. [_The telephone-bell rings, and she hurries
-out to answer it._]
-
-RITTER. [_Half turning from the window_] You haven’t seen anything of
-me, remember.
-
-JENNY. No, sir. [_Into the telephone_] Yes, sir? [_He listens, without
-turning._] No, sir, she hasn’t got home yet. [_She lowers the telephone
-and looks at him, wide-eyed. He feels that she’s looking at him and
-turns suddenly._]
-
-RITTER. [_Taking a step towards her, below the piano_] What is it?
-
-JENNY. [_Into the telephone_] No, sir, _he_ hasn’t got home yet neither.
-
-RITTER. [_Apprehensively_] Do they want me? [_She nods yes._] Who is
-it? [_She nods that she doesn’t know._] Police Headquarters I’ll bet
-a ten dollar note! [_He crosses down below the table at the left and
-around up to the mantelpiece._] Tell them that I had absolutely nothing
-to do with her going on! That I didn’t hear about it until last night!
-[_He crosses back again down towards the table below the piano._] And
-that I’ve been unconscious ever since.
-
-JENNY. [_Into the telephone_] The Times?
-
-RITTER. [_Stopping above the table_] My God, the newspapers have got
-hold of it!
-
-JENNY. [_Into the telephone_] Well, just a minute, please.
-
-RITTER. [_Turning suddenly to her_] Tell them she did it on a bet!
-
-JENNY. The Times newspaper wants to know if Mrs. Ritter has a
-full-length photograph of herself for the morning paper.
-
-RITTER. [_Emphatically, and going out through the center-door into the
-right hallway and up the stairs_] Tell them NO!
-
-JENNY. [_Into the telephone_] Hello.
-
-RITTER. But that she’ll have some taken as soon as she gets out of
-jail. [_He goes through the arched doorway at the head of the stairs._]
-
-JENNY. [_Into the telephone_] Why, I couldn’t say, sir, whether Mrs.
-Ritter has a photograph of herself or not, sir; but I’ll give her your
-message as soon as she comes in.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_In the right hallway_] Hurry, Theodore.
-
-JENNY. [_Still at the telephone_] You’re more than welcome I’m sure.
-[_She hangs up and hurries in through the center-door, glancing out the
-right hallway as she comes and, gathering up Mr. Ritter’s overcoat,
-derby and scarf, hurries over above the table at the left and out._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_In the right hallway_] Be careful of those jonquils.
-Now, be careful, Theodore! Now go back and fetch the others. [_Coming
-into view, and seeing Jenny coming in again at the left door_] Oh,
-you’re up, Jenny, aren’t you! [_She comes through the center-door,
-carrying her fan and an armload of orchids and red chrysanthemums, and
-wearing an enormous flowing cape of ruffled black lace, touched all
-over with tiny circular sequins in gold. Her dress, of course, is the
-ruby-velvet one of the preceding act._]
-
-JENNY. Yes, mam, I’m up.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Hastening to the table below the piano_] I’m so
-glad; I hope I haven’t roused you. [_She puts her fan on the piano and
-sets all the flowers down on the table._] Will you go out and get those
-flowers from my chauffeur, Jenny?
-
-JENNY. [_Going out through the center-door into the right hallway_]
-Yes, mam.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Arranging the flowers on the table_] He’s set them
-right down there in the hallway. I came right on in when I found the
-door unlocked; I was afraid you’d be asleep.
-
-JENNY. No, mam, I was waitin’ up.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Sweeping around to her left and up to the
-center-door_] Well, that’s perfectly angelic of you I’m sure. [_She
-stands on the left side of the center-door and looks out into the right
-hallway._] Can you manage, dear?
-
-JENNY. [_Appearing from the right_] I think so. [_She struggles through
-the center-door carrying an enormous horseshoe, made of red and white
-carnations and ferns. It is at least four feet high, set upon an easel,
-and across the front of it is a strip of white-satin ribbon ten inches
-wide with the word “SUCCESS” inscribed upon it in blue-velvet letters.
-She is also carrying a huge basket of jonquils, and a star made of
-white pansies. This last touch is fastened upon a violet easel._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Let me help you, child. [_She takes the basket of
-jonquils and the star of pansies from Jenny._] Now, set that right down
-there. [_She indicates a point in front of the mantelpiece for the
-horseshoe, and Jenny crosses in front of her with it._] I want Mrs.
-Ritter to see it _first_, when she comes in,--it’s so appropriate.
-[_She sets the basket of jonquils on the piano._] I suppose we can put
-these down anywhere here until she comes, can’t we? [_She sets the
-easel of pansies down on the floor at the right of the table below the
-piano._]
-
-JENNY. [_Having set the horseshoe down in front of the mantelpiece_]
-This way, Mrs. Pampinelli?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. No, dear, _facing_ the door.
-
-JENNY. Oh, I see. [_She turns it round facing the center-door._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. That’s it. I want it to catch her eye as she comes in.
-And now will you go back and fetch the others, Jenny?
-
-JENNY. [_Hurrying out through the center-door_] Yes, mam.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Gathering up the chrysanthemums from the table_]
-And these chrysanthemums, [_She sweeps across towards the mantelpiece
-and turns to her left, strewing the chrysanthemums through the
-center-door and down toward the table at the left._] I’ll just strew
-in her pathway. [_Jenny comes in from the right hallway carrying a
-huge anchor of vivid red roses, with a broad band of navy-blue ribbon
-running diagonally across it, and the words “SEAMEN’S INSTITUTE” in
-white-velvet letters. She stands right in the center-door, holding it,
-waiting for instructions as to its disposition from Mrs. Pampinelli.
-But Mrs. Pampinelli is lost in admiration of it, standing just to
-the left of the center-door._] Now, set that right down here, Jenny.
-[_She indicates a point at the extreme left, below the door, and Jenny
-hastens to place it there, setting it down half-facing the center-door;
-and Mrs. Pampinelli stands up at the center-door admiring it._] Hope!
-[_Jenny turns to her and gives a faint little laugh._] Hope, for
-the success [_She indicates the horseshoe with a gesture._] of our
-enterprise. [_They both laugh, and Mrs. Pampinelli steps quickly down
-to the table below the piano and picks up the orchids._] And these
-orchids, I think I shall just put right here on this table. [_She
-crosses to the table below the casement-window and puts them down; then
-straightens up and sighs._] Ho, dear me, I’m warm! [_She crosses back
-between the piano and the table below it, picking up her fan as she
-goes._]
-
-JENNY. [_Moving up and across back of the table at the left, towards
-the center of the room_] ’Tis a bit warm.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Fanning herself, as she moves towards the middle of
-the room_] And then I hurried so,--foolishly.
-
-JENNY. Did everything go along all right?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Magnificently, my dear child! And Mrs. Ritter was a
-positive sensation.
-
-JENNY. Did she get all these flowers?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Deprecatingly_] Ho! This isn’t the half of them! We
-sent three automobiles full to the various hospitals. And Mrs. Fell’s
-car was still taking them when I left. [_Jenny shakes her head from
-side to side in wonderment._] These are just a few that we rescued for
-Mrs. Ritter. [_She moves towards the center-door._] Sort of a little
-surprise for her, you know, when she gets home. [_She stands looking
-out into the right hallway, expectantly._]
-
-JENNY. They’re certainly ’andsome.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. She doesn’t even know that I’ve brought them.
-
-JENNY. Is she comin’ right home, do you know, Mrs. Pampinelli?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning to Jenny_] Why, I _expect_ her, yes. I was
-afraid she’d get here ahead of me. She was waiting for Mr. Ritter.
-[_Coming forward a little_] We heard at the hall that he was there, and
-she thought probably he’d come back and pick her up. He hasn’t _come_
-home, has he?
-
-JENNY. No, mam, I haven’t seen anything of him.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Laughing a little, indulgently, securing a hair-pin,
-and moving over towards the right_] Poor man! His wife’s success has
-very likely gone to his head. [_She glances out the window._]
-
-JENNY. He went out of here about eight o’clock.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning and coming back towards Jenny_] Yes, we were
-so surprised to hear that he was there at all. Because Mrs. Ritter had
-said that he hadn’t regained consciousness up to the time she left the
-house.
-
-JENNY. He hadn’t, neither. I thought I ’ad two ’eads on me when I came
-in and saw him puttin’ on ’is ’at and coat.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Well, did he seem all right?
-
-JENNY. Yes, he seemed right enough; but he was awful pale-lookin’. And
-a couple a times I spoke to ’im, he gave me kind of a funny answer.
-So I got a bit frightened, you know; and I asked ’im if he knew where
-he was goin’. And he said, “Yes,” that he was goin’ to see “The
-Torch-Bearers.” Kind a flightly, you know.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Well, he would be, naturally.
-
-JENNY. So then,--when he got to the door, he turned around--and he sez
-to me--“Jenny!--if you never see me again,--I want you to know I _died_
-in the cause of Art.”--And he went out.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. He was probably rambling a bit.
-
-JENNY. But, he walked straight enough.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning suddenly to the center-door_] I think I hear
-a machine, Jenny.
-
-JENNY. [_Stepping across quickly below the table to the
-casement-window_] I’ll see.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Do quickly, dear.
-
-JENNY. Is Mrs. Fell comin’ back tonight?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Looking out eagerly into the right hallway_] Yes,
-she’s bringing the rest of the flowers. I’ve sent my car back for her.
-
-JENNY. [_Turning abruptly from the window and hurrying across below the
-piano towards the center-door_] Here’s Mrs. Ritta now!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Is Mr. Ritter with her? [_Intercepting Jenny_] No,
-don’t go out, Jenny! I want to hear what they say when they see the
-flowers. [_Turning her round by the shoulder and indicating the door
-down at the left_] You go into the other room there, and I’ll hide
-here-- [_She moves forward at the right and across below the piano._]
-in this window.
-
-JENNY. [_Hurrying towards the door at the left_] All right, mam.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Stopping near the window and turning to Jenny_] And,
-Jenny dear!
-
-JENNY. [_Turning at the left door_] Yes, mam?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Don’t come out--until you hear _me_ say “SURPRISE!”
-
-JENNY. All right, Mrs. Pampinelli, I won’t. [_Mrs. Pampinelli steps
-into the alcove of the window, then turns again to Jenny._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Now, remember, Jenny,--“SURPRISE!”
-
-JENNY. Yes, I know. [_She closes the door, and Mrs. Pampinelli conceals
-herself behind the window-drapery. There is a slight pause; then Mrs.
-Ritter hurries in from the right hallway, carrying a marvelous bouquet
-of American Beauty roses. She comes in through the center-door and
-stands, looking, with a touch of astonishment, at the horseshoe. Then
-her eyes wander down to the anchor; and then over to the easel at the
-right. She is gowned in a very pale shade of gray lace, with gray-silk
-slippers and stockings; and around her head she is wearing a wreath
-of laurel in gold, touched with brilliants. Her cloak is of black
-chiffon-velvet, with a cape collar of black fox. She slides this cloak
-from her shoulders onto the partition-seat at the right, and starts
-across towards the door at the left._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Opening the door_] Are you up, Jenny?--Jenny! [_She
-closes the door again and crosses above the table at the left and over
-to the one below the piano. Here she sets down a few of the roses, then
-decides there is not sufficient room for all of them, and starts across
-to the table at the left. Ritter appears at the head of the stairs and
-starts down slowly. She sees him, and stops dead._] Fred! [_She moves
-up towards the left of the center-door._] You don’t mean to tell me
-you’ve been home here,--and there I’ve been waiting at the hall since
-before ten o’clock. [_He wanders in through the center-door and leans
-against the piano, holding a lighted cigar in his hand._] Why didn’t
-you come back for me? Irene Colter had to bring me home. [_She starts
-to cry._] Clara Sheppard _told_ me she saw you there, so, naturally, I
-waited for you. And when you didn’t come back, why, of course, right
-away--I thought something had happened to you. [_She cries into her
-handkerchief._]
-
-RITTER. [_Without moving, and in a toneless voice_] Something _has_
-happened to me. [_She looks at him apprehensively._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. What happened to you, Fred?
-
-RITTER. [_Stonily, and moving down and across below the piano_] I’ve
-seen you act.
-
-MRS. RITTER. What? [_He raises his left hand solemnly and continues to
-the corner of the piano nearest the window, where he leans. She moves
-down a bit after him._] What’s the matter, Fred,--did you have another
-of those spells that you had last night?
-
-RITTER. Yes; only a great deal worse.
-
-MRS. RITTER. Oh, isn’t that dreadful! What do you think it is, dear?
-
-RITTER. [_Turning slightly, and glancing at the violet easel and over
-at the anchor_] I don’t know what it is. It looks like a _wake_ to me.
-Who’s dead?
-
-MRS. RITTER. Dead?
-
-RITTER. What are all these flowers doing here?
-
-MRS. RITTER. Why, I imagine some of the ladies have been here from the
-show--to fix up a little surprise for _me_.
-
-RITTER. They should have lighted a few candles, and completed the
-effect.
-
-MRS. RITTER. But, these are just presents, Fred, from friends of ours.
-
-RITTER. [_Straightening up, and moving across below the table_] They
-are tokens of sympathy, that’s what they are. [_He crosses up and over
-above the table at the left._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Following him over_] But, there’s nobody _dead_, dear!
-
-RITTER. [_Raising his left hand solemnly again_] Oh, yes there is! Oh
-yes!
-
-MRS. RITTER. _Really_, dear! [_He turns, just back of the arm-chair,
-and pins her with a look._]
-
-RITTER. You’re dead. [_She stands perfectly still, looking at
-him, wide-eyed._] You died tonight,--down there on that stage at
-Horticultural Hall. And so did everybody that was up there with you.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_With a troubled, uncomprehending expression_] Why, how
-could I be dead, dear,--when I’m here,--talking to you? [_He stands
-looking straight ahead, smoking. She bursts out crying, and turns to
-the partition-seat at the right of the center-door._] Oh, Fred! it’s
-terrible to see you this way!
-
-RITTER. [_Sweeping his hand across his brow and starting across below
-the table towards the right_] The human brain can only stand so much.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Setting her roses down on the partition-seat_] You’ve
-just been working yourself to death! But nobody could tell you
-anything! [_She starts out into the left hallway for the telephone._]
-
-RITTER. [_Stopping over near the window and turning_] What are you
-going to do?
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Turning to him_] Why, I’m going to call Doctor Wentworth
-of course.
-
-RITTER. What for?
-
-MRS. RITTER. Why, because you _need_ him!
-
-RITTER. [_Taking a step or two towards her, between the piano and the
-table below it_] I won’t see any doctor, now!
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Coming back through the center-door_] Now,--listen,
-Fred--
-
-RITTER. [_Raising his hand, and crossing to the left_] I won’t see any
-doctor, I tell you--there’s nothing he can do for me: [_He stops above
-the arm-chair at the left and rests his hand upon the back of it._]
-it’s all been done. There’s nothing left for me but to get out of town.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Following him over_] Well, just let him come over and
-_see_ you, dear.
-
-RITTER. What would I let him come over and _see_ me for? There’s
-nothing the matter with me.
-
-MRS. RITTER. Why, you’re as pale as a ghost!
-
-RITTER. That’s nothing--I’ve had a scare.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Solicitously_] What scared you, dear? [_He turns and
-looks at her._]
-
-RITTER. I was afraid every minute somebody was going to shoot _you_.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_After a bewildered pause_] But, why should anybody shoot
-_me_, darling?
-
-RITTER. For trying to act. [_He moves forward and across in front
-of the table, to the right,--she watching him blankly._] Making a
-laughing-stock of yourselves in front of the community.
-
-MRS. RITTER. Didn’t you like me, Fred?
-
-RITTER. [_Casually, as he nears the window_] I did till I saw you act.
-[_He turns around to his right and leans on the piano. She moves over
-towards the table below the piano._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Rather helplessly, as the situation dawns upon her_]
-Why, Mrs. Pampinelli said I was a great artist.
-
-RITTER. [_With vast amusement_] Ha! [_Then he looks at his wife and
-speaks very exactly._] Mrs. Pampinelli is perhaps the world’s greatest
-_NUT_. [_Mrs. Pampinelli, standing back in the widow-alcove at the
-right, in a state of puzzled irresolution, reacts, physically, to
-this last observation, causing an abrupt movement of the drapery.
-But, neither Ritter nor his wife are looking in that direction at the
-moment._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Laying the remaining roses on the table_] She says I
-ought to go on with the work.
-
-RITTER. [_Dryly_] She meant the housework. [_He replaces his cigar in
-his mouth._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Looking at him with a touch of resentment_] No, she
-didn’t mean anything of the kind. She says I ought to go to New York.
-[_He takes the cigar from his mouth and looks at her keenly._]
-
-RITTER. And what would you do when you’d _get_ there?
-
-MRS. RITTER. Why, I’d go on the stage, of course.
-
-RITTER. [_Very level_] How?
-
-MRS. RITTER. Why, I’d go to the people that have charge of it.
-
-RITTER. And, do you think they’d put you on the stage simply because
-you wanted to _go_ on it?
-
-MRS. RITTER. Well, Mrs. Pampinelli could give me a letter--
-
-RITTER. Hum!
-
-MRS. RITTER. So that I’d have it when I’d _get_ there.
-
-RITTER. That’d do you a lot of good. You’d find a _thousand_ there
-ahead of you, with letters from Mrs. Pampinellis. Nobody in New York
-knows Mrs. Pampinelli; and if they did, it’d probably _kill_ any
-chance that a person _might_ have otherwise. [_Mrs. Pampinelli can
-contain herself no longer. She flips the window-drapery aside with
-a deft movement and stands looking at Ritter, from a great height.
-Mrs. Ritter, who is facing the window, utters an abrupt shriek of
-astonishment. Then Ritter turns, rather casually, to see the cause of
-his wife’s agitation, and finds himself looking into the frozen eyes of
-Mrs. Pampinelli. He regards her rather impersonally, and then quietly
-reaches up and secures his collar and tie. She steps majestically from
-the window-alcove and moves a bit nearer to him, still holding him with
-an icy stare._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_After a devastating pause_] You creature.
-
-RITTER. [_Turning smoothly away, to his left, as though he had been
-suddenly struck by something, in the right eye_] Another _actress_.
-[_He moves along a few steps to the left, in front of the table, then
-turns and speaks to Mrs. Pampinelli over his left shoulder._] What did
-you do, come through the window?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I’ve been _hiding_ here.
-
-RITTER. [_Resuming his walk over to the left_] I don’t blame
-you,--after that show; I’ve been doing the same thing myself. [_He sits
-in the arm-chair over at the left._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Who has been standing in a panic in the middle of the
-room, staring wide-eyed at Mrs. Pampinelli_] Oh, Mrs. Pampinelli,--you
-_didn’t_ hear what he’s been saying?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Every word. [_She very regally deposits her fan upon
-the piano, and Mrs. Ritter, turning to Ritter, makes a long, moaning
-sound._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. Now, Fred Ritter, you see what you’ve done! [_She bursts
-into tears, and comes down to the chair at the left of the table below
-the piano and sits down._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Moving to a point above the table_] And I wouldn’t
-have missed it. I’ll know how to regard this gentleman in the future. I
-came home hurriedly with these few flowers as a little acknowledgment
-of the appreciation your work deserved; and all I hear is abuse; and a
-very crude, but very venomous attempt at satire. [_Mrs. Ritter weeps
-aloud._] Control yourself, darling, I wouldn’t please him.
-
-RITTER. [_Quietly_] She’s acting again.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Withering him with a glance_] You barbarian! [_To
-Mrs. Ritter_] Pull yourself together, dear.
-
-MRS. RITTER. Oh, I just _can’t_, Mrs. Pampinelli.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Addressing Ritter directly, and indicating Mrs.
-Ritter_] Look at the state of emotion you’ve got this poor girl into!
-
-RITTER. She’s an emotional actress. [_Mrs. Ritter bursts forth again._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Savage! [_To Mrs. Ritter_] Let me get you something,
-darling.
-
-MRS. RITTER. Call Jenny.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Yes, dear. [_She crosses to a point just to the left
-of the middle of the room, then stops and calls toward the door at
-the left._] Jenny dear, _SURPRISE_! [_Ritter listens, with a puzzled
-expression._] Come here, Jenny,--SURPRISE! [_Ritter turns around in the
-chair, to his right, and looks at her curiously. She meets his eyes
-with steady bitterness. Then he shifts his gaze to his wife._]
-
-RITTER. Why didn’t you take your make-up off?
-
-MRS. RITTER. I forgot it,--I was so worried about you.
-
-RITTER. You look like a Dutch squaw. [_She bursts into tears again._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Hastening over to her_] Let her alone! Don’t mind
-him, Paula.
-
-RITTER. She’s all made up! and it’s coming off.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Well, what if it is?
-
-RITTER. [_Settling back into the arm-chair_] I don’t want to be
-reminded of that show. [_Jenny enters hurriedly from the door at the
-left._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Mrs. Ritter is ill, Jenny. [_Jenny comes quickly
-across, above the table at the left._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Half turning to her_] My smelling-salts, Jenny.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Standing back of Mrs. Ritter_] Her smelling-salts,
-dear.
-
-JENNY. [_Hurrying out through the center-door_] Yes, mam.
-
-MRS. RITTER. They’re in my bureau-basket.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning and calling after Jenny_] In her
-bureau-basket, Jenny.
-
-JENNY. [_Running up the stairs_] Yes, mam, I know where they are.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Gathering up the roses from the table_] Let me take
-these flowers out of your way, dear. You’ve been treated abominably.
-Although your husband’s attitude is entirely consistent with that
-of the average husband’s, after his wife has distinguished herself.
-[_Ritter makes a little sound of amusement, and she glares at him._]
-And any observations of Mr. Ritter’s to the contrary, you _did_
-distinguish yourself tonight, Paula. [_She turns to her right and puts
-the roses on the piano._]
-
-RITTER. [_Sitting away down in the arm-chair, smoking_] So did the
-Cherry Sisters. [_Mrs. Ritter weeps again._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning back again from the piano to Mrs. Ritter_]
-We are not talking to you at all, sir. [_Mrs. Ritter has a slight
-coughing spell._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. Will you get me a drink of water, please?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Certainly, darling, where is it?
-
-MRS. RITTER. You’ll find it just inside the breakfast-room. [_Mrs.
-Pampinelli sails across the room towards the left door. Just as she
-is passing back of Ritter’s chair, he turns and looks at her, and the
-excessive grandeur of her manner causes him to burst out laughing. But
-she simply freezes him with a look and goes out through the left door.
-He continues to laugh; and Mrs. Ritter, not having seen the cause of
-his laughter, stops crying and turns and looks at him, very troubled._]
-Fred Ritter, you’re acting to me tonight--just like a man that’d be
-losing his mind! [_He looks over at her._] I really thought that was
-what was the matter with you when I first came in!
-
-RITTER. [_Very confidentially_] Listen--When I didn’t lose my mind
-watching that show tonight, I couldn’t go nutty if I tried.
-
-MRS. RITTER. Well, if anybody else comes here tonight, you just keep
-that kind of talk to yourself. There were lots of people there that
-thought it was wonderful. Look at all these flowers.
-
-RITTER. These flowers were all paid for long before anybody saw that
-show. [_There is a staccato tap at the front door-bell. Jenny is
-hurrying down the stairs with the smelling-salts._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Rising, and trying to fix herself up a bit_] Well,
-that’s only your opinion. [_She starts for the center-door._] This
-is very likely Nelly Fell. [_Turning back to him as she nears the
-center-door_] Now, don’t you say anything to _her_, remember! She likes
-you.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_In the right hallway_] No, I think I can manage, Theodore.
-[_Jenny hands Mrs. Ritter the smelling-salts, at the center-door._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. Thanks, Jenny.
-
-JENNY. You’re welcome. [_She hurries out into the right hallway, and
-Mrs. Ritter comes forward to the chair below the piano, sniffing the
-salts. Ritter rises and saunters around and up to the left of the
-arm-chair._]
-
-MRS. FELL. You can close that door, if you will! Couldn’t wait for you,
-Jenny! [_She rushes in from the right hallway._] I’m too much excited!
-[_She plants herself in the center-door, holding aloft in her right
-hand a beautiful basket of tulips, and in her left, a huge bouquet of
-violets._] Well, here _I_ am, with _my_ frankincense and myrrh! [_She
-gives an hysterical giggle and teeters forward towards Mrs. Ritter._]
-Oh, there you are, Frederick Ritter! We thought something had happened
-to you! Pauline, dear child, I’ve come to worship at your shrine. [_She
-places the basket of tulips down on the floor to the left of Mrs.
-Ritter, then straightens up, regards Mrs. Ritter, giggles frantically,
-and looks over at Ritter._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Laughing wanly, and trying generally not to appear as
-though she’d been crying_] You’ve been very sweet.
-
-MRS. FELL. Not half so sweet as you were on that stage tonight!
-[_Speaking confidentially, and with great conviction_] Dear child,
-you’re made! Absolutely made! [_Turning to Ritter_] Isn’t she,
-Frederick? [_But he’s busy getting rid of some ashes in the fireplace,
-so she returns to Mrs. Ritter._] It’s one of those overnight things
-that one reads about! [_She picks up the basket of tulips from the
-floor and teeters around above the table._] Dear me, look at this
-wilderness of flowers! [_She sets the basket on the table._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Trying not to cry_] Yes, yes, aren’t they beautiful!
-[_She darts a look at Ritter._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Rapturously_] Not another word until I’ve kissed you!
-[_She kisses her on the left side of the head._] Oh, you sweet child!
-[_She shakes Mrs. Ritter by the shoulders._] what can I _say_ to
-you! [_Then she teeters to the middle of the room, addressing Ritter
-directly._] See here, young man! Why aren’t you just _pelting_ your
-wife with these flowers? [_He tries to hide his appreciation of the
-situation by turning away his head._] Answer me! [_He bursts out
-laughing, and Nelly teeters back towards Mrs. Ritter._] My dear, the
-man is so pleased he can’t talk! [_Ritter laughs a little more._]
-And if you were any other woman but his wife, Paula, he’d be sending
-you mash-notes! [_Ritter begins to laugh again, and Nelly teeters
-towards him._] Oh, you can laugh all you like, Frederick Ritter,
-but you can’t fool Nelly Fell! [_She comes back towards Mrs. Ritter,
-addressing her._] I’ve had three husbands,--I know their tricks. [_She
-places her finger on Mrs. Ritter’s shoulder._] Pauline, dear child,
-you may be sure that that young man is proud of you tonight if he
-never was before. [_Mrs. Ritter tries to laugh._] And when he gets you
-alone--[_Mrs. Ritter’s attempt at laughter is instantly abandoned, and
-she gives a startled glance toward Ritter, who turns away to his left
-and goes up towards the mantelpiece._] Oh, when he gets you alone!
-[_Mrs. Fell turns slowly and looks toward Ritter, with a roguish
-expression and a measured shaking of her finger at him._] He’s going
-to tell you you were the loveliest thing that ever stepped on a stage.
-If he hasn’t done so already. Have you, Frederick? [_She looks at him
-with a mischievous eye._] Have you? [_He laughs, at the irony of the
-situation. She crosses towards him._] Come on, ’fess up!--I know the
-position is difficult! [_He laughs hard, and she laughs with him; then
-turns back to Mrs. Ritter. Jenny comes in from the right hallway._] You
-see, my dear, the man is so pleased he can’t talk! [_She sees Jenny
-passing along the hallway and steps quickly up to the center-door._]
-Oh, Jenny dear! Will you take these violets out and put them in some
-water.
-
-JENNY. [_Taking the violets_] Yes, mam. [_Mrs. Pampinelli enters at the
-left door, with a glass of water._]
-
-MRS. FELL. I’m afraid they’ll be all withered. [_Jenny continues on
-into the left hallway. Mrs. Fell turns around into the room again._]
-Where’s Mrs. P.? [_Sees Mrs. Pampinelli_] Oh, there you are! I was just
-wondering where you were.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Crossing above the table at the left, towards Mrs.
-Ritter_] Did you get the smelling-salts, Jenny?
-
-JENNY. Yes, mam, I gave them to Mrs. Ritter. [_She goes out at the left
-hallway._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. Yes, Betty, I have them.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Coming a step or two forward_] Well, Betty, you see we
-managed to get them all here.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Back of the table below the piano, and at Mrs.
-Ritter’s left_] Here, try and drink this, Paula. [_Mrs. Ritter takes
-the water and tries to drink it; and Mrs. Pampinelli leans solicitously
-over her. There is a pause._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Coming anxiously down at Mrs. Ritter’s left_] What’s the
-matter?--[_She looks at Mrs. Pampinelli._] Is Paula sick?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Straightening up, and very imperiously_] The
-_critic_--has been giving his impressions of our play.
-
-MRS. FELL. Who? [_She turns towards Ritter._] This critic here, you
-mean? [_She indicates Ritter and then looks at Mrs. Pampinelli. Mrs.
-Pampinelli inclines her head, with the suggestion of a derisive smile,
-and passes up to the center-door. Mrs. Fell crosses quickly towards
-Ritter._] What have you been saying, Frederick Ritter?--Huh?
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Laying the glass of water down on the table_] Oh, what
-does it matter, Nelly, what he’s been saying!
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Turning sharply to Mrs. Ritter_] What?
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Trying not to cry_] I say--I say [_She bursts into
-tears._] I say what does it matter what he’s been saying!
-
-MRS. FELL. It doesn’t matter in the least, as far as I’m
-concerned--[_Mrs. Pampinelli turns at the center-door and comes forward
-slowly in the middle of the room._] there’s only one thing he _could_
-say, if he told the truth.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Laying her hand on Mrs. Fell’s left arm_] Eleanor,
-dear child,--husbands are not always particular about telling the
-truth--where the abilities of their wives are concerned. If _I_ had
-listened to the promptings of my own soul, instead of to my husband,
-when I was a younger woman, I should in all probability be one of the
-leading figures in the American Theatre today. But I was fool enough,
-like a lot of other women, to believe that my husband had my welfare
-at heart,--when the fact of the matter was, as I see it now, when
-it’s too late,--he was simply jealous of my artistic promise. [_The
-cuckoo-clock strikes the midnight hour. Ritter turns and looks up at
-it, then glances at Mrs. Pampinelli. She is looking up at the clock
-distrustfully. Mrs. Fell raises her eyes discreetly to it, then drops
-them to the floor._] Why, the night I played Hazel Kirke, I had my best
-friends in tears: yet, when I returned from the hall, and the entire
-town of Cohoes ringing with my name,--my husband had the effrontery to
-tell me that I was so terrific he was obliged to leave the hall before
-the end of the first act. So,--[_She turns to Mrs. Ritter._] if this
-gentleman here has set himself up as your critic, Paula,--remember _my_
-story,--the actress without honor in her own house. [_She sweeps across
-below the piano to the window._] Is my car out here, Nelly?
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Moving over a bit towards Mrs. Ritter_] Yes, it’s there. I
-told Matthew he needn’t bother coming back for me, that you’d take me
-home. [_Mrs. Ritter begins to cry softly, and Mrs. Fell steps to her
-left and puts her hand on her shoulder._] Don’t do that, Paula. [_She
-turns sharply and goes towards Ritter._] What was the matter with that
-performance, Frederick Ritter?
-
-RITTER. [_Over at the left, below the mantelpiece_] Why, they didn’t
-even know their lines!
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Straightening up abruptly and looking at him,
-reproachfully_] Oh!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning sharply from the window_] That is a
-falsehood! They ran over every line last night, right here in this
-room,--and they knew--practically all of them.
-
-RITTER. What good was that, if they couldn’t remember them on the stage.
-
-MRS. RITTER and MRS. PAMPINELLI, together.
-
-  MRS. RITTER. [_To Ritter_] I _could_ remember them on the stage!
-  [_Turning to Mrs. Pampinelli_] I never missed _one_ line!
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_To Ritter_] They _could_ remember them on the
-  stage!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_To Mrs. Ritter_] Not a line.
-
-RITTER. She and that other woman sat there blinking at the audience
-like a couple of sparrow-hawks.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. They did nothing of the kind.
-
-MRS. FELL. Of course they didn’t!
-
-RITTER. [_Speaking directly to Mrs. Fell_] How do you know? _You_
-weren’t out there.
-
-MRS. FELL. I could see them through the scenery, couldn’t I? And they
-didn’t look anything _like_ a couple of sparrow-hawks,--as you say.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Contemptuously_] Well, as I have never seen a couple
-of sparrow-hawks, I cannot appreciate the comparison.
-
-RITTER. Well, you’d have seen a couple tonight, if you’d been with me.
-
-MRS. RITTER. Oh, don’t argue with him, Betty! He’s only trying to be
-smart.
-
-RITTER. Why didn’t one of them _say_ something?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. What could they have said?
-
-RITTER. Why, any commonplace! It’d have been better than just sitting
-there blinking. [_Mrs. Ritter weeps._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. One can’t be commonplace in high comedy.
-
-RITTER. Was that what it was?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Bitterly_] What did you _think_ it was?
-
-RITTER. [_Turning and going up to the center-door_] _You_ tell her,
-Nelly; I haven’t got the heart.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Moving a little towards the right_] You bold thing.
-[_Nelly is wearing the gown she wore in the preceding act, and a heavy
-cloak of old-rose-colored velvet. She lays her hand on Mrs. Ritter’s
-left shoulder._] Don’t let him upset you this way, Paula. [_There is a
-little pause. Ritter turns at the center-door and comes forward again
-at the left._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Picking up her fan from the piano_] I suppose _you_
-would have eclipsed Edwin Booth, if _you_ had been up there.
-
-RITTER. Well, I’d have known better than to sit there blinking at the
-audience.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Turning sharply to him_] I didn’t _blink_ at the
-audience.
-
-MRS. FELL. Don’t answer him, honey.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. What could they have done under the circumstances?
-
-RITTER. Why, they could have covered it up!--if they’d had any brains.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Covered it up with _what_?
-
-RITTER. Why, with anything! Impromptu conversation! [_Mrs. Fell looks
-at Mrs. Pampinelli and smiles pityingly._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. And have the audience _laugh_ at them?
-
-RITTER. They laughed anyhow, didn’t they?
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Taking a step or two towards him_] That was not their
-fault!
-
-RITTER. [_To Nelly_] Whose fault _was it_?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Imperiously, and moving over to a point above the
-table at which Mrs. Ritter is sitting_] It was Mr. Spindler’s fault.
-
-RITTER. Mr. Spindler.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. He promised to attend to the various properties and he
-did _not_ attend to them.--There was supposed to be a pen and ink on
-the desk for Mrs. Rush to leave a note for Doctor Arlington;--and when
-Paula sat down to write the note, there was no pen--and no ink. So she
-simply had to go on sitting there until Mr. Spearing went off and got
-them.
-
-RITTER. I thought he’d left town.
-
-MRS. FELL. Oh, he wasn’t gone so very long, Frederick Ritter!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Bitterly, to Mrs. Fell_] Not five minutes.
-
-RITTER. I thought the show’ud be over before he’d get back.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. The door wouldn’t open when he attempted to go back,
-so he was obliged to go around to the other side. [_She illustrates the
-circumstance by waving her fan in a circular gesture about the table.
-Ritter bursts out laughing. Nelly glares at him, then looks to Mrs.
-Pampinelli, who, with a deadly, level look, turns and moves haughtily
-up towards the center-door._]
-
-RITTER. What happened to the skinny guy’s mustache, that it kept
-falling off every other line?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning to him, up near the center-door_] It only
-fell off twice, don’t exaggerate. [_Ritter laughs again._]
-
-MRS. FELL. You bold thing!
-
-RITTER. How many times was it _supposed_ to fall off?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Well, what if it fell off a dozen times,--everybody
-knew it wasn’t real! [_He roars._]
-
-MRS. FELL. It’s a lucky thing for you, Frederick Ritter, that you’re
-not _my_ husband!
-
-RITTER. [_Quietly_] That goes both ways, Nelly.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Moving across towards him_] Well,--when you do something
-that you’ll get so many flowers that my limousine will have to make
-three trips to get them to the various hospitals,--we may pay more
-attention to what you have to say. [_She turns away and moves back
-towards the center of the room, where Mrs. Pampinelli is just moving
-forward from the center-door._]
-
-RITTER. I suppose most of the audience have gone with the flowers,
-haven’t they? [_Nelly whirls round to retort, but Mrs. Pampinelli lays
-a restraining hand upon her right arm._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_With immortal authority_] Don’t answer him,
-Eleanor--“Envy loves a lofty mark.” The next time we have a part that
-calls for a very limited intelligence, we’ll engage Mr. Ritter for it.
-[_She moves a little down to the right towards Mrs. Ritter._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Looking at Ritter_] Now!
-
-RITTER. [_Casually_] Well, if you do, he’ll know how to walk across the
-stage without tripping every other step.
-
-MRS. FELL. Who tripped every other step?
-
-RITTER. [_Indicating his wife_] The weeping-willow there. [_Mrs. Ritter
-begins to weep afresh._]
-
-MRS. FELL. It’s a wonder to me you’re not afraid to lie so!
-
-RITTER. She tripped when she first came through the door! I was looking
-right at her.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning to him_] She didn’t _fall_, did she?
-
-RITTER. No, but it looked for a while there as though she were going
-to. [_Mrs. Ritter’s weeping becomes audible again._] I very nearly had
-heart failure.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Laying her hand on Paula’s shoulder_] Don’t mind
-him, Paula.
-
-RITTER. She tripped when she came _on_ the stage, she tripped when she
-went _off_, and she tripped over the rug when she went over to the desk!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_With measured finality_] She didn’t trip any oftener
-than anybody else. [_He laughs._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Directly to Ritter_] No, nor half so often as some of the
-others,--[_Turning towards Mrs. Pampinelli_] now that you speak of it!
-[_She turns and goes up to the hallway._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I will admit that Mr. Hossefrosse is a bit
-unsteady,--but that is due to his weak ankles.
-
-RITTER. What was the star’s unsteadiness due to?
-
-MRS. RITTER. The rugs!
-
-RITTER. [_Looking at her keenly_] What?
-
-MRS. RITTER and MRS. PAMPINELLI, together.
-
-  MRS. RITTER. The rugs.
-
-  MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Moving to the center of the room_] The rugs!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Those funny rugs--that they have down there. We didn’t
-use them at the rehearsals,--and, naturally, when it came to the
-performance,--Paula wasn’t accustomed to them.
-
-RITTER. She was accustomed to rugs at home, wasn’t she?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Tersely_] Well, she wasn’t at home on the stage.
-
-RITTER. [_With a gesture of complete acquiesence, and moving up towards
-the center-door_] That’s my argument in a nutshell. [_Mrs. Pampinelli
-stands frozen in the middle of the room, with an expression very much
-as though she were trying mentally to assassinate him. He comes back
-down again at the left, to his former position._] Why, I couldn’t hear
-_two-thirds_ of what she said.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Well, evidently there were many people there who
-_could_ hear what she said, for they laughed at all her points. [_She
-turns and goes to the piano, where she picks up several roses. Mrs.
-Fell comes forward through the center-door and down towards the piano._]
-
-RITTER. I wanted to laugh, too, but I was afraid somebody’d turn around
-and _see_ me.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning to Mrs. Ritter_] Are you ready, Nelly?
-
-MRS. FELL. Yes, I’m ready.
-
-MRS. RITTER. Are you going, Betty?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Yes, I must, darling, it’s getting late. [_She places
-her hand on Mrs. Ritter s shoulder._] Good night, dear. [_She passes up
-towards the center-door._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. Good night, Betty.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Laying her hand on Mrs. Ritter’s shoulder_] Good night,
-Paula child.
-
-MRS. RITTER. Good night, Nelly. [_Nelly follows Mrs. Pampinelli._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Stopping in the center-door and turning to Ritter_]
-Perhaps, at our _next_ performance,--Mr. Ritter will favor us with the
-benefit of some of his suggestions. [_She regards him with a touch of
-lofty amusement. He turns his head towards her and looks at her with a
-kind of mischievous squint._]
-
-RITTER. [_Quite pleasantly_] There aren’t going to be any more
-performances, Mrs. Pampinelli, as far as anybody in _this_ house is
-concerned.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_After a steady pause_] No? [_He inclines his head in
-quiet emphasis._]
-
-RITTER. Not until there’s a change in the management. [_There is
-another taut pause._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Coldly_] Really? [_He inclines his head again._]
-Then, I’m afraid we sha’n’t have you with us, Mr. Ritter.
-
-RITTER. [_Smiling_] I know very well you won’t have _me_ with you.
-And as far as Mrs. Ritter’s concerned,--she’s got a very good home
-here--and I love her; and any time she feels any dramatic instinct
-coming on, there’s a very nice roomy attic upstairs, and she can
-go up there and lock the door, and nobody’ll ever see or hear her.
-But if she ever gets mixed up again in anything like that atrocity
-I saw tonight,--I’m through. [_He speaks the last words with quiet
-definiteness, and turns towards the door at the left._] And she’ll get
-killed in the bargain. [_He hits the door open with the palm of his
-hand and goes out. There is a slight pause: then Nelly Fell crosses
-quickly towards the mantelpiece, addressing Ritter as she goes._]
-
-MRS. FELL. Why, Fred Ritter!--I’ve heard you say yourself that you
-were in _favor_ of a Little Theatre in this city!
-
-RITTER. [_Coming in again through the door at the left, carrying his
-overcoat, derby and scarf_] So I am! I say so again. [_He stops inside
-the door._] But in the light of that cataclysm tonight, you’ll pardon
-me if I add, that I do not see the connection.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Stepping forward to the middle of the room and
-challenging him with a lift of her head and brows_] What did you
-_expect_ to _see_, Mr. Ritter,--a finished performance from a group of
-comparative amateurs?
-
-RITTER. I expected to see something almost as bad as what I
-saw;--that’s the reason I _fainted_ last night and was unconscious for
-twenty-four hours at the prospect of it. [_He turns to Mrs. Fell and
-speaks quite colloquially._] And that’s the first time in my life I’ve
-ever fainted. [_Nelly just gives him a look and turns her head away._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. Don’t mind him, Betty,--he’s only trying to show off.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_With bitter amusement_] No, but I’m a bit
-_curious_--to know just _how_ Mr. Ritter would expect to _accomplish_
-the establishment of a Little Theatre here, unless through the medium
-of such performances as this one this evening. How else is our local
-talent to be discovered--or developed?
-
-RITTER. Well, I’m equally curious, Mrs. Pampinelli, as to your exact
-_qualifications_--as a discoverer or developer of talent for the
-theatre.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. That is a very familiar attitude. People who _do_
-things--are constantly having their ability to do them called into
-question. [_She moves a step further forward and towards Mrs. Ritter._]
-
-RITTER. I’m afraid that’s something you’ve read somewhere. [_She glares
-at him._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. The theatre is a matter of instinct.
-
-RITTER. The theatre is a matter of qualifications,--the same as any
-other profession; and it will only be _through_ those particular
-qualifications that your Little Theatre will ever be brought
-about. [_He crosses over in front of Mrs. Fell and up towards the
-center-door._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Well, perhaps you will come to the rescue;--you
-seem so familiar with the various necessities of the Little Theatre.
-[_He stops, just to the left of the center-door, and looks at Mrs.
-Pampinelli straight._]
-
-RITTER. [_Quietly_] I am also familiar, Mrs. Pampinelli, with a little
-remark that Mr. Napoleon made on one occasion, a long time ago;--about
-the immorality of assuming a position for which one is unqualified.
-[_There is a pause,--he settles his coat on his arm, then moves slowly
-out through the center-door into the hallway: while Mrs. Pampinelli,
-with an expression of eternal exclusion, moves over between the piano
-and the table towards the window._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Turning_] Fred Ritter, where are you going?
-
-RITTER. [_Lighting his cigar in the hallway, just outside the
-center-door_] I haven’t the faintest idea. But I shouldn’t be surprised
-if I’d go on the stage.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Standing back of the arm-chair at the left_] One star is
-enough in the family.
-
-RITTER. [_Bowing very graciously to her_] Applause--[_She turns away
-and looks straight ahead. Then Ritter bows towards Mrs. Pampinelli._]
-and great laughter--[_Mrs. Pampinelli isn’t looking at him, but she
-knows that that is meant for her, so she simply moves another step
-or two towards the window. Mrs. Ritter turns to see what Ritter is
-doing. He takes a step and leans forward towards her, speaking rather
-confidentially._] followed by booing. [_She turns back again and
-starts to cry, while he continues out into the right hallway and up
-the stairs. As he mounts the stairs, he holds aloft his lighted cigar,
-after the fashion of a zealous bearer of the torch._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Picking up the orchids from the table below the
-window_] Paula, you should have Jenny put these orchids in water; they
-keep ever so long in a cool place. [_She comes across towards the left,
-below the piano._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. Will you call her, Nelly?
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Crossing to meet Mrs. Pampinelli_] Give them to me,
-Betty, I’ll take them out to her. [_Mrs. Pampinelli gives her the
-orchids._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Tell her to put them in a cool place. [_Nelly starts
-up for the center-door. The telephone-bell rings._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. Will you answer that, Nelly?
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Setting the orchids down on the chair in the left
-hallway_] Certainly, darling.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Standing back of Mrs. Ritter’s chair_] If it’s
-anything concerning the play, I shall be at home on Tuesday at two.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_At the telephone_] Yes?--Yes?--Who?--Oh,--well, wait just
-one moment, please.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. What is it?
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Holding the transmitter against her bosom and leaning over
-the partition towards Mrs. Pampinelli_] It’s the Star Moving Picture
-Company.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. What do they want?
-
-MRS. FELL. They want the address of Mrs. Ritter’s manager. [_Mrs.
-Pampinelli gives a quick look at Mrs. Ritter._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_To Mrs. Ritter_] I anticipated this. [_She goes
-quickly towards the center-door, laying her fan and roses on the left
-partition-seat, as she passes out into the hallway._] Give it to me,
-Nelly. [_Nelly hands her the telephone, and, picking up the orchids
-from the chair, tiptoes back of Mrs. Pampinelli and in through the
-center-door._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_In an excited whisper to Mrs. Ritter_] What did I tell
-you! [_She giggles nervously, shakes her finger at Mrs. Ritter, and
-then watches Mrs. Pampinelli eagerly._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Into the telephone_] Hello-hello--This is Mrs.
-Ritter’s manager speaking. Mrs. Pampinelli. Pampinelli. Mrs. J. _Duro_
-Pampinelli. Capital P--a--m, p--i--n, e--double l--i.--Correct. Yes--I
-see--I see.--Well, how do you mean, a thousand dollars, a thousand
-dollars a day, or a thous--I see. Well, just one moment, please. [_She
-lowers the telephone and leans towards Mrs. Ritter, speaking in a
-subdued tone._] The Star Moving Picture Company wants to know if Mrs.
-Ritter will appear in a special production of tonight’s play before the
-camera.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Narrowing her left eye_] What’s the figure?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. One thousand dollars per week.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Definitely_] Fifteen hundred.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Into the telephone_] Hello-hello!
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Rising_] Maybe I’d better talk to them.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Suggesting with a gesture that she be quiet and resume her
-chair_] Please, dear. [_Mrs. Ritter meekly sits down again._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Into the telephone_] Why, I’m sorry,--but Mrs.
-Ritter does not appear under fifteen hundred dollars per week.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Watching her shrewdly_] Net! [_Mrs. Pampinelli turns and
-looks at her sharply, and Nelly emphasizes what she said by inclining
-her head: then Mrs. Pampinelli speaks into the telephone again._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Net.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_To Mrs. Pampinelli_] It’s a bargain at that. [_She nods
-towards Mrs. Ritter._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Into telephone_] Twelve-fifty?
-
-MRS. FELL. No compromise.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Into telephone_] Well, just one moment. [_Covering
-the transmitter and speaking to Mrs. Fell_] Twelve-fifty is offered.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Definitely_] Fifteen hundred dollars. They’ll lift it.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Turning back to the telephone_] Why, I’m very
-sorry,--but Mrs. Ritter positively does not appear under fifteen
-hundred dollars. [_Nelly inclines her head towards her._] Net. Well,
-how do you mean satisfactory? Satisfactory at our figure? [_Mrs.
-Pampinelli glances at Mrs. Fell and Mrs. Fell glances at Mrs. Ritter._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_To Mrs. Pampinelli_] Sign!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Into the telephone_] Very well, then,--signed at
-fifteen hundred dollars per week,--
-
-MRS. FELL. Net!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Into the telephone_] Net! And Mrs. Ritter appears.
-[_She stands holding the telephone and listening._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Whirling round and teetering down to Paula_] Our STAR! I
-always said it! [_She shakes Mrs. Ritter by the shoulders._] I always
-said it! [_She whirls round and teeters up towards the center-door._]
-Haven’t I always said it, Betty? [_Mrs. Pampinelli is listening on
-the telephone, and tries, by dint of thrusting the telephone towards
-Nelly, to silence her. But Nelly is irrepressible._] That it was only
-a question of time? [_She turns and flies down towards Mrs. Ritter
-again._] We must telephone Mrs. Livingston at once, Paula!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Be quiet, Nelly, be quiet!
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Rushing up towards the center-door again_] She’ll be so
-interested! We must call up Mrs. Livingston right away, Betty!
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Please, Nelly! [_Nelly is silenced. Mrs. Pampinelli
-listens sharply, Nelly and Mrs. Ritter watching her; and there is a
-dead pause._] Beg pardon? [_There is another slight pause; and then
-Mrs. Pampinelli utters an abrupt shriek and sets down the telephone._]
-
-MRS. FELL. What is it, Betty? [_Mrs. Pampinelli looks at her, then
-straight ahead._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_With venomous enunciation_] It’s Ritter! [_Mrs.
-Ritter rises slowly._]
-
-MRS. FELL. Ritter? [_Mrs. Pampinelli doesn’t stir._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Addressing Mrs. Pampinelli_] Fred?
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I recognized his voice. [_She moves along the left
-hallway and comes in through the center-door and forward, a little to
-the left of the center of the room._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Up just to the right of the center-door_] Why, where is he?
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Beginning to cry_] He must be on the extension upstairs.
-[_Nelly listens keenly._]
-
-MRS. FELL. It is he; I hear him laughing. [_She crosses down to the
-door at the left._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Taking a step towards Mrs. Ritter_] Sit down,
-Paula. [_Mrs. Ritter sits down, rests her elbows on the table and weeps
-bitterly. Nelly stops over at the door and turns._]
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Positively_] Paula,--if he were _my_ husband, I should
-lose no time in having him arrested. [_She goes out, at the left door._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. [_Standing back of Mrs. Ritter’s chair_] Paula dear,
-I do hope that you are not going to allow Mr. Ritter’s flippancies to
-discourage you. [_Paula clasps her hands in her lap and looks tearfully
-at the backs of them._] The way of the essential artist is always hard;
-and so very frequently the most serious obstacles are those to be
-encountered at home.
-
-MRS. RITTER. But, I feel so unsuccessful.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. I know, dear--I know exactly how you feel. But you
-must _go on_. Just remember that art is the highest expression of
-truth,--and you cannot fail. For you have everything in your favor,
-Paula.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Weakly_] Thank you.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. And the masses need you, dear; you are an altogether
-_new note_ in the theatre.
-
-MRS. RITTER. But--I don’t know whether Fred’ll _want_ me to go on any
-more--[_Mrs. Pampinelli suddenly becomes very still and stoney, and
-looks down at Mrs. Ritter with merciless inquiry. Mrs. Ritter senses
-the change and turns hastily to explain._] the way he spoke.
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. And, do you mean that you will allow him to _stop_
-you, Paula?
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Breaking down under Mrs. Pampinelli’s frozen amusement_]
-Well, of course, he’s my _husband_, Betty. [_She cries. Mrs. Pampinelli
-regards her with a kind of pained toleration; and settles her cloak,
-preparatory to going._]
-
-MRS. PAMPINELLI. Very well, then, Paula--if you feel that way about
-it, I should advise you to keep him; and I shan’t waste any more of my
-time encouraging you. [_She sweeps around to her left and up towards
-the center-door._] There are far too many who are only too _willing_ to
-make the necessary sacrifices without being urged. [_She picks up her
-fan and roses from the partition-seat, lays them across her left arm,
-and turns regnantly to Mrs. Ritter._] Only remember this, Paula,--there
-will be actresses when husbands are a thing of the past. [_She sweeps
-out through the center-door and out into the right hallway. There is
-a slight pause; then Nelly Fell comes in at the left door. She misses
-Mrs. Pampinelli._]
-
-MRS. FELL. Where is Mrs. P., Paula?
-
-MRS. RITTER. She’s just gone out to the car, Nelly.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Stooping to pick up one of the chrysanthemums from the
-floor_] Do you mind if I take one of these flowers, Paula? [_She stands
-in the middle of the room, holding it, and looking at Mrs. Ritter._] I
-want it for my dramatic shrine.
-
-MRS. RITTER. You can take them all if you like.
-
-MRS. FELL. Why, what would _you_ do, dear?
-
-MRS. RITTER. I don’t want them.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Crossing towards her_] Now, you mustn’t feel like that,
-Paula Ritter.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Having all she can do to keep from crying_] I just can’t
-help it.
-
-MRS. FELL. I see in your husband’s attitude--nothing but a desperate
-attempt to save his home;--for he _must_ know what your performance
-tonight will inevitably lead to. [_Mrs. Ritter turns with a puzzled
-expression and looks at her._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. I don’t understand what you mean, Nelly.
-
-MRS. FELL. Why, you must go to New York, dear; you can do nothing
-dramatically here.
-
-MRS. RITTER. But, I have a husband.
-
-MRS. FELL. [_Very casually_] Every married woman has that cross,
-darling. But you mustn’t let it stand in the way of your career; he
-would very soon eliminate _you_, if you stood in the way of _his_.
-
-MRS. RITTER. But, I don’t like the thought of breaking up his home,
-Nelly. [_Nelly gives a hard, knowing little laugh._]
-
-MRS. FELL. Don’t be unnecessarily sacrificial, darling. I made that
-mistake with my first _two_ husbands; but I was _wiser_ with the third.
-And I said to him, immediately we returned from the church, I said,
-“Now, Leonard, you and I have just been made one; and _I_ am that one.”
-[_She touches herself on the breastbone with her forefinger, then
-touches Paula on the left shoulder._] And it worked out beautifully.
-So be sensible, darling. [_She skips up towards the hallway._] I must
-run along, Mrs. Pampinelli’s waiting! [_She teeters out through the
-center-door into the right hallway._] Cheerio, Paula darling!
-
-MRS. RITTER. Good night.
-
-MRS. FELL. Cheerio! [_She giggles and vanishes into the right hallway.
-Mrs. Ritter sits still for a second, looking from side to side,
-at nothing, particularly, and presently gets up. The horseshoe of
-“SUCCESS” over in front of the mantelpiece catches her eye, and she
-wanders slowly towards it. But the irony of it all overcomes her and
-she commences to cry again. Ritter appears at the head of the stairs
-and starts down. She turns and looks at him, as he comes through the
-center-door._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. Fred Ritter, those women will never come inside that door
-again, the way you talked to them. [_He moves to the piano and leans
-against it._]
-
-RITTER. Well, I don’t suppose that’ll make very much difference.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Looking straight ahead_] Well, it _should_ make a
-difference.
-
-RITTER. They’d hardly come here to see _me_, anyway.
-
-MRS. RITTER. Well, they’d come to see me.
-
-RITTER. But _you_ won’t be here. [_She turns and looks at him blankly._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. Why,--what--what do you mean, I won’t be here?
-
-RITTER. [_With a touch of delicacy_] Why, aren’t you going on with _The
-Work_?
-
-MRS. RITTER. Well, I don’t want to go unless you _want_ me to.
-
-RITTER. But, I _do_ want you to. I don’t think a talent like yours
-should be hidden; [_He looks straight out, thoughtfully._] it’s too
-unique.
-
-MRS. RITTER. I thought you said a while ago you didn’t like me?
-
-RITTER. [_Raising his left hand and crossing over and down in front of
-her towards the arm-chair at the left_] You mustn’t hold me responsible
-for what I said a while ago--[_He stops back of the arm-chair and rests
-his hand upon the back of it._] I was panic-stricken at the thought of
-having my home broken up. [_She moves down to the center of the room._]
-But I’ve been thinking it over upstairs, and I’ve concluded that it’s
-more important that the world should see you act, than that I should
-have a home to come to.
-
-MRS. RITTER. But, I don’t like the thought of breaking up your home,
-Fred.
-
-RITTER. [_Raising his right hand to her with a touch of solemnity_] You
-mustn’t consider me in the matter at all, dear. Every great gift has
-its victim--and I am, in a way, rather happy--to find myself chosen the
-victim of yours.
-
-MRS. RITTER. What would _you_ do, if I were to go?
-
-RITTER. [_With the faintest shade of classic pose_] I’d go with you;
-you’d need someone to look after the flowers--see that they got to the
-various hospitals all right.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Looking away out_] I might not like it, after I’d get
-there.
-
-RITTER. Maybe not. I suppose fame becomes monotonous like everything
-else. But, I wouldn’t want you in the future, to look back and feel
-that I had stood in your way.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Carefully_] No, Fred,--I really don’t _know_ whether I
-want to be a great actress or not.
-
-RITTER. But, you are a great actress, dear.
-
-MRS. RITTER. Thank you.
-
-RITTER. [_Indicating the anchor of roses down at the left_] Look at
-this anchor,--of hope. [_He steps back and picks up the horseshoe._]
-And this horseshoe of “SUCCESS.” [_He brings it forward and sets it
-down just to Mrs. Ritter’s left. Then he steps across in front of
-it, takes her hand and slips his right arm around her waist._] And I
-think, Paula, it might be a very sensible move, to just let the public
-_remember_ you as a great actress--as they saw you _tonight_--_at your
-best_.
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Looking wistfully straight ahead_] Do you think they
-_will_ remember, Fred?
-
-RITTER. [_Inclining his head, with a suggestion of the obsequious_]
-Yes, I _think_ they will. [_Curtain._]
-
-MRS. RITTER. [_Turning and sinking into his arms_] You’re awfully
-sweet, Fred.
-
-
-THE END OF THE PLAY
-
-
-
-
-TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:
-
-
-  Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.
-
-  Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
-
-  Inconsistencies in typesetting have been standardized.
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Torch-Bearers, by George Kelly
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-
-<pre>
-
-The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Torch-Bearers, by George Kelly
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
-most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
-of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org.  If you are not located in the United States, you'll
-have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using
-this ebook.
-
-
-
-Title: The Torch-Bearers
-       A Satirical Comedy in Three Acts
-
-Author: George Kelly
-
-Release Date: October 19, 2019 [EBook #60523]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TORCH-BEARERS ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Tim Lindell, David E. Brown, Buley Library
-(Southern Connecticut State University) and the Online
-Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
-book was produced from images made available by the
-HathiTrust Digital Library.)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-</pre>
-
-
-
-<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="" /></div>
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-
-<h1>THE TORCH-BEARERS</h1>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-
-
-
-<p class="center">&#8220;There will be actresses when husbands
-are a thing of the past.&#8221;</p>
-
-<p class="center"><span class="gap">
-&mdash;<i>Mrs. Pampinelli.</i></span></p>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_title.jpg" alt="" /></div>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<div class="titlepage">
-
-<p><span class="xxlarge">THE TORCH-BEARERS</span></p>
-
-<p><span class="xlarge"><i>A Satirical Comedy</i></span><br />
-<i>in</i><br />
-THREE ACTS</p>
-
-
-<p><span class="large"><i>By</i> GEORGE KELLY</span></p>
-
-<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_titledeco.jpg" alt="" /></div>
-
-<p><small><i>Preface by</i></small><br />
-KENNETH MACGOWAN</p>
-
-
-<div class="figcenter"><img src="images/i_titlelogo.jpg" alt="" /></div>
-
-<p><small>NEW YORK</small><br />
-AMERICAN LIBRARY SERVICE<br />
-<small>1923</small></p>
-</div>
-
-<hr class="tb" />
-
-<p class="center">
-<i>Copyright 1923</i><br />
-AMERICAN LIBRARY SERVICE<br />
-<i>All Rights Reserved.</i></p>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-
-<p>&#8220;The Torch-Bearers,&#8221; by George Kelly, was
-presented by Stewart and French for the first
-time on any stage at the Savoy Theatre, Asbury
-Park, New Jersey, on the night of Monday,
-August 14, 1922, with the following cast:</p>
-
-
-<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2" summary="table">
-
-
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Mr. Frederick Ritter</span> </td><td>         <span class="smcap">Mr. Arthur Shaw</span></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Mr. Huxley Hossefrosse</span> </td><td>        <span class="smcap">Mr. Douglas Garden</span></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Mr. Spindler</span> </td><td>                  <span class="smcap">Mr. Edward Reese</span></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Mr. Ralph Twiller</span> </td><td>             <span class="smcap">Mr. Booth Howard</span></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Teddy Spearing</span> </td><td>                <span class="smcap">Mr. William Castle</span></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Mr. Stage Manager</span> </td><td>             <span class="smcap">Mr. J. A. Curtis</span></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Mrs. Paula Ritter</span> </td><td>             <span class="smcap">Miss Mary Boland</span></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Mrs. J. Duro Pampinelli</span> </td><td>       <span class="smcap">Miss Alison Skipworth</span></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Mrs. Nelly Fell</span> </td><td>               <span class="smcap">Miss Helen Lowell</span></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Miss Florence McCrickett</span> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </td><td>      <span class="smcap">Miss Rose Mary King</span></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Mrs. Clara Sheppard</span> </td><td>           <span class="smcap">Miss Daisy Atherton</span></td></tr>
-<tr><td><span class="smcap">Jenny</span></td><td>                          <span class="smcap">Miss Mary Gildea</span></td></tr>
-</table>
-
-<p class="center">Play staged by the Author</p>
-
-
-
-
-<p>NOTE&mdash;</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-
-<p>The form of the present manuscript is exactly that
-in which this play was presented during its run at
-the Vanderbilt Theatre, New York City, New York.</p>
-
-<p class="right">
-&mdash;<i>The Author.</i></p></blockquote>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<div class="chapter">
-
-
-
-<p class="ph1">THE TORCH-BEARERS</p>
-
-<hr class="tiny" />
-
-<h2 class="nobreak">CAST</h2></div>
-
-<div class="poetry-container">
-<div class="poetry">
-
-<div class="verse"><span class="smcap">Mr. Frederick Ritter</span></div>
-<div class="verse"><span class="smcap">Mr. Huxley Hossefrosse</span></div>
-<div class="verse"><span class="smcap">Mr. Spindler</span></div>
-<div class="verse"><span class="smcap">Mr. Ralph Twiller</span></div>
-<div class="verse"><span class="smcap">Teddy Spearing</span></div>
-<div class="verse"><span class="smcap">Mr. Stage Manager</span></div>
-<div class="verse"><span class="smcap">Mrs. Paula Ritter</span> (<i>Ritter&#8217;s wife</i>)</div>
-<div class="verse"><span class="smcap">Mrs. J. Duro Pampinelli</span></div>
-<div class="verse"><span class="smcap">Mrs. Nelly Fell</span></div>
-<div class="verse"><span class="smcap">Miss Florence McCrickett</span></div>
-<div class="verse"><span class="smcap">Mrs. Clara Sheppard</span></div>
-<div class="verse"><span class="smcap">Jenny</span> (<i>a housemaid at Ritter&#8217;s</i>)</div>
-</div></div>
-
-
-<hr class="tiny" />
-
-<h2>SCENE</h2>
-
-
-
-<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="table">
-
-<tr><td>ACT &nbsp;&nbsp;I&mdash;</td><td>A kind of drawing-room in the home of
-Frederick Ritter, on an evening in October,
-about 8 o&#8217;clock.</td></tr>
-<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
-<tr><td>ACT &nbsp;II&mdash;</td><td>Behind the scenes at Horticultural Hall, the
-following evening at 8:30.</td></tr>
-<tr><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
-<tr><td>ACT III&mdash;</td><td>The drawing-room at Ritter&#8217;s, two hours
-later.</td></tr>
-</table>
-
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<blockquote>
-
-<p>Stage, screen and amateur rights for the
-production of this play are controlled by
-the author, George Kelly, 3665 Midvale
-Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
-No public readings or performances may
-be given without his written consent.</p>
-</blockquote>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[xiii]</a></span>
-<h2 class="nobreak">PREFACE</h2></div>
-
-
-<p>I cannot remember if it was one of those torrid and
-terrible nights of August when the chain-gang of New
-York&#8217;s critics was tolled off to the Forty-Eighth Street
-Theatre for the premi�re of <i>The Torch-Bearers</i>. But
-I do know that the general atmosphere of oppression&mdash;physical,
-mental, professional&mdash;was a little denser than
-usual. In the first twenty-eight days of August, 1922,
-managements too daring or too resourceless to wait for
-September had deluged us with a steady stream of inanity,
-and here was another dousing in prospect. If it
-wasn&#8217;t the heat, it was certainly the humidity of theatrical
-August. Unknown play, new producers, author&#8217;s
-name vaguely connected with vaudeville; altogether a
-production so little esteemed by the booking powers
-that it had to slip into a few weeks before the Equity
-Players began their season at this theatre. It could
-have been a night of Elysian coolness, and still we
-would have been expecting the worst. It could have
-been mid-April, and still we should have found an almost
-ineffable freshness in the breeze of George Kelly&#8217;s
-little comedy.</p>
-
-<p>The cold, historical fact is that at about 9:15 o&#8217;clock
-on the evening of August 29th, 1922, five or six hundred
-average New Yorkers, two or three hundred
-friends of the management, and about fifty sophisticated
-first-nighters were in grave danger of rolling off their
-seats in hysteria because of <i>The Torch-Bearers</i>.</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[xiv]</a></span>The intermissions were filled with three questions
-which more or less concern the reader of the published
-play. Who was George Kelly? Where did he get
-the comedy? How would it go?</p>
-
-<p>On August 29th, 1922, George Kelly was a perfectly
-good Philadelphian in his late twenties who was
-much better known to vaudeville than to fame. He
-had written, directed, and played in about a dozen one-act
-comedies and dramas on Keith and Orpheum time.
-He had begun by quitting his family&#8217;s private tutor to
-try acting in a playlet by the late Paul Armstrong.
-Then&mdash;with no more preparation, apparently&mdash;he had
-begun to write his own vehicles. A certain drama in
-France absorbed his attentions for a while. After that
-more &#8220;sketches&#8221;&mdash;as the vaudeville powers call any effort
-above vocal or bodily acrobatics&mdash;and suddenly a
-play.</p>
-
-<p>The origin of <i>The Torch-Bearers</i> was simple enough.
-Kelly wrote the kind of tight, effective short plays that
-amateur actors and little theatre directors are always
-looking for. He had a perfectly good Philadelphia
-family behind him. And so he was being invited to
-lunch every now and then by the Pampinellis of the
-cities in which he played. To hear them was enough.
-They had to live a wider life.</p>
-
-<p><i>The Torch-Bearers</i> passed a prosperous term on
-Broadway, and I think it will go far in the little theatres
-which it satirizes. But upon the opening night I
-remember much dubious debate about its chances. We<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">[xv]</a></span>
-had laughed ourselves almost literally sick, and at the
-end of the second intermission we had not yet seen the
-rather prosy last act. Yet&mdash;conscious of our personal
-superiority&mdash;we wondered.... Brander Matthews
-and Aristotle would scoff at it, George M. Cohan and
-Professor Baker would scowl. <i>The Torch-Bearers</i>
-broke all the rules, and it had no plot. Obviously, by
-all the rules, it ought to fail.</p>
-
-<p>There may be a good many reasons why it didn&#8217;t,
-and some may lead you far into aesthetic explorations
-of the present breakdown of dramatic form all over the
-world. But the reader will find more cogent reasons
-in the pages that follow this introduction. Personally, I
-should put it down to the fact that the character-study
-of the first act and the hokum of the second are irresistible.
-We have all met our Pampinellis, and we have
-all seen the lady prompter take a curtain call, or had
-our mustache fall off in the big scene. We can never
-resist some characterization on the stage, and as for
-such hokum as this record of all the mishaps of the
-amateur actor, ill luck is the heart of broad comedy
-and when ill luck comes where it is most painful&mdash;in
-personal display&mdash;Cassandra herself must smile.</p>
-
-<p>There were other things to make the death-watch
-wonder whether <i>The Torch Bearers</i> could live. It
-was satire. Satire is not ordinarily a popular commodity
-in the theatre. It defeats sympathy, and sympathy
-is necessary to emotion, and emotion to theatrical success.</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvi" id="Page_xvi">[xvi]</a></span>Satire has had its great moments, however, in the
-history of the drama. Aristophanes made merry over
-the fashions, foibles, and philosophies of Athens. Satire
-was Moli�re&#8217;s stock in trade. Shaw has done very
-well by poking a finger at society. Every nation has
-at least one outstanding theatrical satire to its credit.
-But for the war, the wise of Paris might still be laughing
-at the French Academy because of de Flers and de
-Caillavet&#8217;s <i>L&#8217;Habit Vert</i>. England has <i>The School
-for Scandal</i>, as Ireland has <i>The Playboy</i> and <i>John
-Bull&#8217;s Other Island</i>. Germany, though a little heavy
-in the theatre, can still point to Schnitzler&#8217;s <i>Literature</i>.</p>
-
-<p>Just at the moment America is beginning to display
-a surprising fondness for theatrical satire. Beginning
-is hardly the word, perhaps, for the first American drama,
-<i>The Contrast</i>, lampooned society with a large &#8220;S&#8221;;
-<i>Fashion</i>, our first play by a woman, spoke out smartly
-against the smart world, and from <i>Our American Cousin</i>
-down to date, so many of our playwrights have
-spoofed the alien and the aristocratic for the benefit of
-the homespun, that it is only by a hair that I can risk
-the statement that it is a &#8220;surprising fondness&#8221; which
-we now display for satire. America has always enjoyed
-its irreverent moments in the theatre, but it has
-seldom gone in for whole plays devoted to almost nothing
-but lampooning.</p>
-
-<p>In the last three seasons, however, the distinctly satirical
-play has climbed noticeably in favour. In 1919-20
-there was nothing of the kind to be seen on Broadway.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvii" id="Page_xvii">[xvii]</a></span>
-In 1920-21 came Porter Emerson Browne&#8217;s
-Mexican melodrama, <i>The Bad Man</i>, with most of its
-success due to sly digs at both sides of the international
-line, and George M. Cohan&#8217;s joke at the expense of
-audiences as well as playwrights, <i>The Tavern</i>. Last
-season, playgoers good-humoredly made a satire out of
-the deadly serious absurdities of the British melodrama,
-<i>Bulldog Drummond</i>; the <i>Chauve-Souris</i> twitted Russian
-drama a little&mdash;in Russian; and the firm of Kaufman
-and Connelly began in <i>Dulcy</i> and <i>To the Ladies!</i>
-to vend biting wit at the expense of scenario writers
-and advertisers, efficiency experts and after-dinner
-speakers.</p>
-
-<p>This season a perfect flood of satire broke upon us,
-most of it very good indeed, and some of it destined to
-be successful with a large public. Besides <i>The Torch-Bearers</i>,
-there have been <i>R. U. R.</i>, grim sarcasm upon
-labour and capital, and a new bill of the <i>Chauve-Souris</i>,
-the Kaufman-Connelly version of Henry Leon Wilson&#8217;s
-<i>Merton of the Movies</i>, <i>Six Characters in Search
-of an Author</i>, from the Italian, and <i>The World We
-Live In</i>, the insect comedy from the Czecho-Slovak.</p>
-
-<p>The future of <i>The Torch-Bearers</i>, now that its
-Broadway career is over, brings us up against the little
-theatre movement. I am very much in favor of that
-odd and amazing phenomenon. I believe a great deal
-of the promise of the American stage outside New York
-and a surprising amount of its present accomplishment
-in that metropolis, is due to the uncontrollable desire<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xviii" id="Page_xviii">[xviii]</a></span>
-of people not so very unlike Mrs. Pampinelli to produce
-plays. Kelly&#8217;s satire touches the lower fringes of what
-Mrs. P. calls &#8220;the movement,&#8221; but it might be directed
-at Maurice Browne, Sam Hume, and Irving
-Pichel and the little theatre would still go on, and
-<i>The Torch-Bearers</i> would become&mdash;as I am sure it
-will&mdash;one of the most popular pieces in the repertory
-of the amateur actor. Many a Mrs. Pampinelli, safe
-in the sense of her own self-importance, will do for
-<i>The Torch-Bearers</i> all that Mrs. P. did&mdash;which is,
-as Kelly observes, to &#8220;tell the players where to go on
-the stage, so they won&#8217;t be running into each other.&#8221;</p>
-
-<p>But there is art in this play&mdash;not mere observation&mdash;and
-I am afraid none of the Pampinellis who are to
-be concerned with its future will ever quite equal the
-person that the author and Alison Skipworth, the actress,
-created between them. I do not look for any
-moment so extraordinary as when Mrs. Pampinelli,
-discussing the fatalities invariably connected with these
-amateur performances, reaches her peroration: &#8220;We
-are not dismayed; we have the lessons of history to fortify
-us: for whenever the torch of essential culture has
-been raised, (<i>she raises the lead-pencil as though it
-were a torch</i>) there has unfailingly been the concomitant
-exactment of a human life.&#8221; For one cannot
-expect to find a cuckoo-clock always present with its
-sapient comment at such a moment.</p>
-
-<p>The reader will find the cuckoo-clock, the satire,
-and the hokum for himself. He will also detect, I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xix" id="Page_xix">[xix]</a></span>
-think, a strain of divine and devilish madness in Kelly
-which promises something of genius for the American
-drama. The reader may note, too, in Kelly&#8217;s script
-the kind of practical qualification for the theatre of
-which Mr. Ritter speaks feelingly on page 56. This
-qualification has produced extraordinarily effective humor
-and something else. This is a sense for stage
-management. It makes Kelly a rare and precious figure
-in our theatre, and gives you a script to read&mdash;or
-to produce&mdash;that is liberally supplied with every bit
-of business and direction necessary for putting on the
-play&mdash;either in the Cohoes Little Theatre or your own
-imagination.</p>
-
-<p class="right"><span class="smcap">Kenneth Macgowan.</span></p>
-
-
-
-<p>Pelham Manor, N. Y., February 25, 1923.</p>
-
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xx" id="Page_xx">[xx]</a></span></p>
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxi" id="Page_xxi">[xxi]</a></span></p>
-
-
-
-<p>NOTE: The drawing-room at Ritter&#8217;s, in which
-the first and last acts are laid, is a comfortable-looking
-room, suggestive of good circumstance. Toward the
-back there is a fancy wooden partition separating the
-hallway from the room proper. This partition begins
-rather high up on the side walls and curves deeply
-down to two ornamental columns, five feet high and
-set about five feet apart, forming the entrance from
-the hallway to the room. Straight out through this
-entrance, and paralleling the partition, is the staircase,
-running up to the left and through an arched
-doorway. The foot of the staircase is just to the right
-of the center-door; and then the hallway continues on
-out to the front door. On the left, there is a passageway
-between the staircase and the partition, running
-through an arched doorway to the body of the
-house. In the room proper, breaking the angle of the
-right wall and the partition, is a door, opening out, and
-below this door, a casement-window. On the left,
-breaking the angle of the left wall and the partition,
-is the mantelpiece, and below it a door, opening out.
-Just inside the partition, on either side of the center-door,
-is a built-in seat.</p>
-
-<p>The entire room and hallway is done in a scheme of
-silver and the lighter shades of green. All the woodwork
-and furniture, including the piano and mantelpiece,
-is finished in silver-green, and the walls and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxii" id="Page_xxii">[xxii]</a></span>
-ceiling are in blended tones of orchid, gray and green,
-decorated with tapestried panel-effects. The carpet is
-gray-green, and the vases and clock on the mantelpiece,
-as well as the little cuckoo-clock over the door at
-the left, are green. The drapes on the casement-window
-and the doorways, at the head of the stairs and
-in the left hallway, are in rose-colored brocaded satin;
-and the pads on the partition-seats are covered with the
-same material. The piano-throw is a garishly subdued
-blend of old-rose, Nile green and canary-colored
-silk.</p>
-
-<p>Right out between the little wooden columns of the
-center-door, set flat against the staircase, is a small
-console-table, holding a most beautiful rose-colored
-vase filled with wisteria; and on the piano there is a
-similar vase filled with white and yellow blossoms. On
-either side of the console-table there is a tall torchiere
-with a rose-colored shade; and the shades on the wall-lights,
-and the one on the lovely rose-colored vase-lamp
-on the table down at the right below the casement-window,
-are all rose-colored.</p>
-
-<p>There&#8217;s a brilliant array of cushions about the room,
-all shapes and sizes, and every color of the rainbow,&mdash;and
-many books and magazines. The piano, up at the
-right, is littered with music, cigarettes, in a fancy container,
-flowers and candy&mdash;in a pretty box made of
-pink satin.</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxiii" id="Page_xxiii">[xxiii]</a></span>The two arm-chairs in the room, one just to the
-left of the table below the window, and the other at the
-left side of the table over at the left, are over-stuffed
-in green-and-silver brocade.</p>
-
-<p>There is a small table below the piano, with a light
-little chair beside it, the left side, and there is a similar
-chair over at the extreme left, below the door.</p>
-
-<p>The keyboard of the piano parallels the right wall,
-with enough room, of course, between the piano-stool
-and wall to permit of easy use of the door. There
-must also be room enough above the piano for a passageway
-between it and the partition-seat.</p>
-
-<p>The rights and lefts employed in the foregoing descriptions
-are, of course, the player&#8217;s rights and lefts.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-
-
-
-
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span>
-<h2 class="nobreak">ACT ONE.</h2></div>
-
-
-<p><i>After a slight pause, a door out at the right is heard
-to close, and immediately Mr. Ritter comes along the
-hallway beyond the partition and into the room. He
-is a brisk, rather stocky type of man, in his early forties,
-wearing a brown suit and overcoat, a derby hat,
-and carrying a suit-case. He sets the suit-case down
-on the partition-seat at the right, and, with a glance
-around the room, at the unusual arrangement of the
-furniture, starts out into the hallway again, removing
-his gloves and overcoat. He glances along the hallway
-to the left and up the stairs as he goes. Jenny
-comes along the hallway from the left carrying a small,
-light chair. As she is about to come into the drawing-room
-proper from the hallway, she becomes conscious
-of Mr. Ritter out at the hall-rack at the right. She
-stops and peers in that direction. She is a pleasant
-little English person, plump and trim, dressed in the
-regulation parlor-maid&#8217;s black and white.</i></p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Is that you, Mr. Ritter?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> That&#8217;s who it is, Jenny! How are you?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Bringing the little chair forward and
-placing it above the little table at the left</i>] Pretty
-well, thanks, Mr. Ritter, how are <i>you</i>?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Coming along the hallway from the
-right</i>] I&#8217;m whatever you are, Jenny. [<i>Jenny gives a</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span>
-<i>faint little laugh and proceeds with her arrangements,
-and Ritter picks up several telegrams from the stand in
-the hallway, just to the left of the center entrance.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Ain&#8217;t you back a bit soon?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Coming forward to the small table at
-the right, below the piano</i>] Yes, I thought I&#8217;d have
-to go down to Cincinnati for a week or two, but I
-didn&#8217;t.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Mrs. Ritter ain&#8217;t expectin&#8217; you, is she?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Glancing thru the telegrams</i>] No, she
-isn&#8217;t, Jenny.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> I thought I didn&#8217;t remember hearin&#8217; her
-sayin&#8217; nothin&#8217;.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Where is she?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Starting for the hallway</i>] She&#8217;s upstairs,
-sir, I&#8217;ll call her.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>With a glance at the furniture</i>] What
-are you doing around here, Jenny, housecleaning?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Turning and coming back</i>] No, sir,
-there&#8217;s a rehearsal here tonight. [<i>Ritter stops reading
-and looks at her quizzically for a second.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> What kind of a rehearsal?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Why, a rehearsal for a show that Mrs.
-Ritter&#8217;s takin&#8217; part in tomorrow night. They done it
-at the Civic Club the week after you went away, and
-they liked it so well they&#8217;re doin&#8217; it again tomorrow
-night.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> <i>Who</i> liked it?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Sir?</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> I say, who liked it so well that they&#8217;re
-doing it again?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Why, everybody seemed to like it, Mr.
-Ritter, from what the papers said.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> What kind of a show is it?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Why, I think it&#8217;s a tragedy, from what I
-gather.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Did you see it, Jenny?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> No, sir, <i>I</i> didn&#8217;t get to see it, I&#8217;m sorry to
-say; but I heard everybody connected with it sayin&#8217; it
-was a <i>great success</i>. [<i>Ritter resumes his telegrams, then
-looks at Jenny suddenly.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> How did Mrs. Ritter get into it?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Why, I think somebody died, Mr. Ritter,
-if I&#8217;m not mistaken.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Shaking his head conclusively, and resuming
-his telegram</i>] I assumed it was an extremity of
-<i>some</i> kind.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>At the top of the stairs at the back</i>]
-Fred Ritter! don&#8217;t tell me that&#8217;s you down there!
-[<i>Jenny turns quickly and goes to the foot of the
-stairs.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> No, I&#8217;m still out in Chicago!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> Is it, Jenny?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Yes, mam, I was just comin&#8217; to tell you.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>Starting down the stairs</i>] I <i>thought</i> I
-heard his voice! [<i>Jenny laughs.</i>] I&#8217;ve been standing up
-here for the last <i>five</i> minutes saying to myself, &#8220;Who
-can that <i>be</i> that has a voice so much like Fred&#8217;s!&#8221;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span>
-[<i>Coming into the room from the hallway</i>] Why, Fred,
-darling, what are you doing here! [<i>He has moved up
-towards the center-door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Laughing a little</i>] How is the old kid!
-[<i>Kisses her</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> I thought you wouldn&#8217;t be back till the
-first! [<i>Jenny passes along the hallway to the left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Why, that Cincinnati thing&#8217;s been postponed
-till after Thanksgiving.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>Turning away from him and stepping
-out into the hallway again</i>] Well, why didn&#8217;t you wire
-or something?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> I was afraid of giving you a shock.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> Oh, Jenny!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> You&#8217;re such a frail little flower.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>Turning back to him</i>] Now stop, Fred!
-I&#8217;ve really lost a lot since you went away.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> How do you know? [<i>Jenny comes along
-the hallway from the left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> Why, my dear, I can tell by my clothes.
-[<i>She turns to Jenny.</i>] Jenny, will you get me a glass
-of water, please.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Starting out</i>] Yes, mam.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> You&#8217;re not going to faint, are you?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>Turning back to him again with a flip
-of her hand at him</i>] No, I&#8217;m not.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Slipping his arm around her waist and
-coming forward</i>] Any mail here for me?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> Not a single thing, Fred; I sent everything<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span>
-right on to Chicago as soon as it came: there
-must be several letters there for you now.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Disengaging himself and taking her
-hands and looking at her</i>] I&#8217;ll get them all right. How
-have you been treating yourself while I&#8217;ve been away?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> All right; only I&#8217;m glad to see you back.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Kiss me.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> The house seemed awfully lonesome.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Kiss me. [<i>She kisses him.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>Passing above him to the piano at the
-right</i>] Crazy thing. [<i>He moves over to the little
-table at the left, rummaging in his pocket for a cigar,
-and Mrs. Ritter commences to rummage in a sewing-basket
-on the piano. This basket is Mrs. Ritter at a
-glance, all green and yellow satin, fraught with meaningless
-bows and weird-looking knots. She undoubtedly
-made it herself, and it must have taken her
-months. But she&#8217;s a practical woman; at least she
-thinks she is; and the sewing-basket helps in a way to
-sustain the conviction. Poor Paula! As one looks at
-her and listens to her he appreciates the fortune of the
-circumstance that there is some sane and capable person
-between her and the world; and as he more closely
-observes the sewing-basket, he rejoices in the blessing
-of the sane and capable person&#8217;s ability to spare her the
-necessity of having to make her own clothes. Although,
-as a matter of fact, she would look lovely in anything;
-for Paula is pretty&mdash;charmingly so. And her hair is
-marvelous. So gold&mdash;and satiny. She is wearing a</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span>
-<i>dress now of lime-green silk with a standing collar
-edged with black fur, and gold-colored slippers.</i>] Did
-you have anything to eat, Fred?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Yes, I ate on the train. What&#8217;s this
-Jenny was saying? Something about a show you&#8217;re in?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> Oh,&mdash;[<i>Looking at him</i>] did she tell you?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> I wondered what had happened to the
-furniture when I came in.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>Coming around and forward towards
-the little table below the piano</i>] Yes, there&#8217;s a rehearsal
-here tonight. We have it every Tuesday and
-Thursday. Of course, it&#8217;s just to run over the lines,
-because we&#8217;ve done it already at the Civic Club on the
-fourteenth. And, my dear, it was perfectly marvelous.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> What kind of a show is it?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>Standing back of the table</i>] Oh, it&#8217;s just
-a one-act play,&mdash;in one act, you know. And it was
-really <i>quite</i> wonderful. [<i>She gives an inane laugh.</i>]
-I had no idea. [<i>She touches her hair and turns towards
-the back of the room again.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> How did <i>you</i> happen to get into it? [<i>Jenny
-comes along the hallway from the left carrying a
-glass of water on a small tray.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>Turning to him</i>] Well now, wait till I
-tell you&mdash;[<i>She sees Jenny.</i>] Oh, thanks, Jenny. [<i>Jenny
-starts out again.</i>] Jenny, will you go to the top of the
-stairs and see if I left the lights burning in my room.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Turning and starting towards the foot of</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span>
-<i>the stairs in the right hallway; and setting the tray on
-the little stand as she goes</i>] Yes, mam.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Coming forward holding the glass
-of water</i>] I think I did. [<i>She sips.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>As she crosses the center-door</i>] Do you
-want that suit-case taken up, Mr. Ritter? [<i>Mrs.
-Ritter turns round to the right and watches Jenny.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Yes, you can take it up if you will, Jenny,
-thanks. [<i>Jenny lifts the suit-case from the partition-seat
-and goes out and up the stairs.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Turning to Ritter</i>] You know, I
-wrote you about poor Jimmy Sheppard&mdash;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Yes, what was that, had he been sick?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Why, not a day, my dear! that&#8217;s the
-reason it was all so dreadful. Of course, he&#8217;d always
-had more or less of a weak heart; but nothing to
-threaten anything of that kind. And just three days
-before the performance, mind you:&mdash;couldn&#8217;t happen
-any other time. And <i>poor</i> Mrs. Sheppard playing one
-of the <i>leading</i> parts. [<i>She turns to her left and goes
-up to the center-door, where she looks out toward the
-right hallway expectantly.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Casually depositing the band from his
-cigar on the tray at his left</i>] Did he <i>know</i> she was to
-play one of the leading parts?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Turning at the center-door and
-looking at him</i>] Who,&mdash;Mr. Sheppard?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Yes.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Coming forward again</i>] Why, of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>
-course he did&mdash;She&#8217;d just finished telling him when he
-fell over. [<i>Ritter appears to be unduly occupied with
-his cigar, and Mrs. Ritter takes advantage of the circumstance
-to refresh herself with another sip from the
-glass.</i>] My dear, poor Clara Sheppard is a <i>wreck</i>&mdash;You
-want to write her a note, Fred, when you get time.
-And he never spoke&mdash;not a solitary word. But, she
-says&mdash;just as he was dying,&mdash;he gave her the funniest
-look. Oh, she says&mdash;if she lives to be a thousand,
-she&#8217;ll <i>never</i> forget the way he looked at her. [<i>She goes
-up to the center-door and sets the glass down on the
-tray.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Still busy with his cigar</i>] Had he ever
-seen her act?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Turning to him, thoughtfully</i>] <i>I</i>
-don&#8217;t know,&mdash;whether he ever had or not. [<i>Jenny
-comes down the stairs.</i>] Oh, yes he had, too! for I saw
-him myself at the Century Drawing Rooms last Easter
-Monday night, and she was in that play there that
-night, you remember. [<i>She moves to the piano and
-starts looking for something in the sewing-basket; he
-moves to the mantelpiece, up at the left, apparently
-looking for a match.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> No, I wasn&#8217;t there.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> Oh, weren&#8217;t you! I thought you were.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> No. [<i>He feels in his pockets.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> There are matches there on that little
-table there, Fred. [<i>She indicates the table below the
-mantelpiece.</i>]</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Discovering some in his pocket</i>] I have
-some here. [<i>He moves to the arm-chair at the left of
-table and sits down.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>As Jenny passes along the hallway towards
-the left</i>] Oh, Jenny!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Yes, mam?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> Jenny, will you ask Mrs. Brock if she&#8217;ll
-make some of that drink that she made the last time?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> I think she &#8217;as made it already, Mrs.
-Ritter.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> Well, will you see, Jenny, please?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Starting away</i>] Yes, mam.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>To Ritter</i>] The folks liked it so much
-the last time. [<i>She picks up her sewing-basket.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> All right, Mrs. Ritter. [<i>She disappears at
-the left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>Stepping out into the hallway</i>] Oh, and,
-Jenny!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Out at the left</i>] Yes, mam?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> Tell her to put a little of that <i>gin</i> in it,
-the way she did before.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> All right, mam.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> Tell her she&#8217;ll find some gin in the little
-buffet in the big dining-room.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> She probably knows where it is.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>Coming forward carrying her sewing-basket</i>]
-Well, anyway, that&#8217;s how I happened to get
-into it. [<i>She sits on the chair at the left of the small</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span>
-<i>table below the piano.</i>] Mrs. Pampinelli called me up
-the first thing in the morning, and she said&mdash;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Is she in it, too?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>Looking up from the arrangement of a
-couple of strips of lace which she has taken from the
-sewing-basket</i>] Who? Mrs. Pampinelli?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Yes.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> No, she doesn&#8217;t take any part; she&#8217;s just
-in charge of everything.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> That suits her better.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> Kind of directress, I suppose you&#8217;d call
-her. [<i>He has some difficulty keeping his face straight.</i>]
-Tells us where to go, you know, on the stage,&mdash;so we
-won&#8217;t be running into each other. [<i>Ritter laughs.</i>] Really,
-Fred, you have no idea how easy it is to run into
-somebody on the stage. You&#8217;ve got to know where
-you&#8217;re going every time you move. [<i>He laughs louder.</i>]
-Why, what are you laughing at?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> I was just thinking of a few of the things
-I&#8217;ve heard Mrs. Pampinelli called.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>Looking over at him reproachfully</i>] Oh&mdash;now,
-that isn&#8217;t a bit nice of you, Fred Ritter. I
-know you don&#8217;t like her.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> I like her all right.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> No, you do not, now, Fred,&mdash;so <i>don&#8217;t</i>
-say you do.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> I think she&#8217;s marvelous.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> Well, she&#8217;s tremendously clever at this
-stage business, I don&#8217;t care what you say. You just<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>
-ought to hear her talk about it sometime. Now, the
-last rehearsal we had,&mdash;over at her house,&mdash;she spoke
-on &#8220;Technique in Acting as Distinguished from
-Method;&#8221; and you&#8217;ve no idea how interesting it was.
-[<i>Ritter glances over at her as he deposits some ashes
-from his cigar on the little table-tray.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> You say you&#8217;ve given this show before?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> Oh yes! We gave it on the fourteenth at
-the Civic Club. And, my dear, that audience just
-loved it. And you&#8217;d be surprised too, for it&#8217;s a terrifically
-serious thing. In fact, in a way, it&#8217;s too serious&mdash;for
-the general public&mdash;that&#8217;s the reason several
-of the people who saw it suggested that, if we give
-it again, we should give a dance right after it. [<i>She
-looks closely at her needle and Ritter looks discreetly
-at the end of his cigar.</i>] But, as Mrs. Pampinelli says,
-it&#8217;s an absolute impossibility to give a dance at either
-the Civic Club or the Century Drawing Rooms, so
-that&#8217;s how we&#8217;re giving it this time down at Hutchy
-Kutchy. [<i>Ritter looks over at her with a quizzical
-squint.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Where?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>Looking over at him</i>] Horticultural
-Hall&mdash;there at Broad and Spruce, you know.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Yes, I know;&mdash;what did <i>you</i> call it?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> Hutchy Kutchy. [<i>She laughs inanely.</i>]
-Mrs. Pampinelli always calls it that,&mdash;I suppose I&#8217;ve
-gotten into the habit too, from hearing her. [<i>She gives</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>
-<i>another little laugh, then finishes with an amused
-sigh.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> What&#8217;s the show for, a charity of some
-kind?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Turning to him suddenly, and
-with a shade of practicality</i>] It&#8217;s for the Seamen&#8217;s Institute.
-Kind of a refuge for them, you know, while
-they&#8217;re in port; so the sailors won&#8217;t be wandering
-around the streets getting into bad company. [<i>Ritter
-disposes of more ashes, with an unusual precision, and
-Mrs. Ritter resumes her sewing. Then, suddenly, she
-glances toward the casement-window at the right.</i>] It
-was Mrs. Pampinelli&#8217;s idea, [<i>She gathers her things
-into the sewing-basket and gets up, swinging round to
-her left and talking as she goes.</i>] so of course she <i>didn&#8217;t</i>
-want anything to happen. [<i>She sets the sewing-basket
-down on the piano, and, with another glance thru the
-window at the right, crosses to the little table at the
-left where Ritter is sitting.</i>] So she called me up the
-first thing in the morning, and she said, &#8220;Paula darling,
-<i>have</i> you heard the news?&#8221; So, of course, I said
-&#8220;No;&#8221; because up to that time I <i>hadn&#8217;t</i>, and, naturally,
-I <i>wasn&#8217;t</i> going to say that I had.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Certainly <i>not</i>.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> &#8220;Well,&#8221; she said, &#8220;<i>poor</i> Jimmy Sheppard
-has <i>just</i> passed on.&#8221; Well, luckily, I was sitting down
-at the time, or I <i>positively</i> think I should have passed
-on myself.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Raising his hand from the table as</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span>
-<i>though distressed by the extremity of her remarks</i>]
-Don&#8217;t say such things.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>Mistaking his attitude</i>] No, really,
-Fred, you&#8217;ve no idea the <i>feeling</i> that came over me
-when she said that. &#8220;Well,&#8221; I said, &#8220;Betty, what on
-earth are we going to do!&#8221; Because the tickets were all
-sold, you know. &#8220;Well,&#8221; she said, &#8220;Paula,&mdash;the only
-thing <i>I</i> see to do, is to have <i>you</i> step right into Clara
-Sheppard&#8217;s role.&#8221; &#8220;Me!&#8221; I said. &#8220;Yes,&#8221; she said;
-&#8220;you are the only person in <i>my</i> opinion who is qualified
-to play the part.&#8221; &#8220;But, my dear,&#8221; I said, &#8220;I&#8217;ve never
-stepped on a stage in my <i>life</i>!&#8221; &#8220;That is absolutely
-inconsequential,&#8221; she said, &#8220;it is entirely a matter of
-dramatic instinct. And,&#8221; she said, [<i>She simpers a bit
-here and moves around from the right of the little
-table where she has been standing to the back of her
-husband&#8217;s chair, at the left of the table.</i>] &#8220;<i>you</i> have
-<i>that</i>&mdash;to a far greater degree than you&#8217;ve <i>any</i> idea of.&#8221;
-[<i>He makes a sound of dry amusement.</i>] No, really,
-Fred, everyone was saying it was a positive tragedy
-that you couldn&#8217;t have been there to see me&mdash;I never
-forgot myself once. [<i>She rests her hand on his left
-shoulder, and he reaches up and takes her hand.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> What are you going to do now, become
-an actress?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> No, but it surprised me so, the way everybody
-enthused; because I didn&#8217;t think I&#8217;d done anything
-so extraordinary&mdash;I just walked onto the stage,
-and said what I&#8217;d been told to say, and walked off<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>
-again. [<i>She emphasizes this last phrase by an indefinite
-gesture of nonchalance in the direction of the door
-at her left.</i>] And yet everybody seemed to think it was
-wonderful. Why, Nelly Fell said she&#8217;d never seen
-even a <i>professional actress</i> so absolutely unconscious.
-[<i>He makes a sound of amusement.</i>] Really, Fred, you
-ought to have heard them. Why, they said if they
-didn&#8217;t know, they never in the <i>world</i> would have believed
-that it was my first offense.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> You mustn&#8217;t believe everything these
-women tell you; they&#8217;ll tell you anything to get their
-names in the paper.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> Well, it wasn&#8217;t only they that said it;&mdash;people
-that I didn&#8217;t even <i>know</i> said it. Why, Mrs.
-Pampinelli had a letter from a woman away out at
-Glenside that happened to see the performance, and
-she said that, at times, my repose was <i>positively</i> uncanny.
-And the papers simply raved; especially &#8220;The
-Evening Breeze.&#8221; I have it upstairs, I must show it to
-you. It said that it didn&#8217;t understand <i>how</i> I had escaped
-the public eye so long. [<i>She glances at the
-cuckoo-clock over the door at the left, and, in doing
-so, notices a book that has been left lying on the chair
-below the door: she steps over and picks it up.</i>] I was
-awfully sorry you couldn&#8217;t have been there, Fred. I
-was going to write you about it when Mrs. Pampinelli
-first spoke to me about going on, but there was so little
-time, you see. And then, I didn&#8217;t think you&#8217;d
-mind;&mdash;especially on account of its being for charity.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span>
-[<i>He is very carefully putting ashes on the little tray.
-She stands holding the book, looking at him. And
-there is a slight pause.</i>] You <i>don&#8217;t</i> mind my going on,
-do you, Fred?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Rather slowly</i>] No,&mdash;I don&#8217;t mind, if
-you&#8217;re able to get away with it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>Trailing across back of his chair</i>] I
-didn&#8217;t think you would.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Raising his hand from the table quietly</i>]
-But a&mdash;[<i>She comes to a stop and regards him over her
-left shoulder.</i>] I don&#8217;t want any of these women exploiting
-you for their own vanity. [<i>She doesn&#8217;t quite
-encompass his meaning, and stands looking at him for
-a second. Then she abstractedly lays the book down
-on the table beside him. There is a very definite ring
-at the front door-bell.</i>] I guess that&#8217;s some of the people.
-[<i>She starts towards the hallway.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Preparing to rise</i>] Where do you do this
-thing, here?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>Turning to him and indicating the general
-arrangement</i>] Yes&mdash;just the way we have it fixed.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Rising briskly and crossing to the table below
-the piano at the right, while Mrs. R. continues to
-the center-door and stands looking toward the front
-door. Jenny appears in the left hallway.</i>] I think I&#8217;ll
-beat it upstairs.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>Turning to Jenny</i>] I guess that&#8217;s some of
-the people, Jenny. [<i>She comes forward towards Ritter
-again.</i>]</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Yes, mam. [<i>She passes back of Mrs. Ritter
-and along out into the right hallway to answer the
-door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> Won&#8217;t you wait and see the rehearsal,
-Fred? [<i>He is gathering up the telegrams from the
-table, where he left them earlier.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Turning and going up towards the center-door,
-thrusting the telegrams into his inside pocket</i>]
-No, I think I&#8217;d rather wait and see the show. [<i>He
-passes her, to her left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>Turning and trailing up towards the center-door
-after him</i>] It&#8217;s really <i>very</i> interesting.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Out at the front door</i>] You
-see how considerate I am of you, Jenny, letting myself
-in? [<i>Mr. and Mrs. Ritter stop in the center-door and
-look toward the front door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>At the front door</i>] Oh, that&#8217;s all right,
-Mrs. Pampinelli.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>Turning quickly to Ritter at her left</i>]
-You can&#8217;t go up now, Fred, she&#8217;ll see you.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span> and <span class="smcap">Ritter</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. P.</span> Well, I daresay you&#8217;ll have to open this
-door quite often enough tonight without my troubling
-you.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Coming back into the room with a slight
-gesture of annoyance</i>] I don&#8217;t want to have to listen
-to her gab. [<i>He goes over to the mantelpiece at the
-left and takes up his position there, while Mrs. Ritter,</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span>
-<i>with a movement to him to be silent, drifts down beside
-the piano at the right.</i>]</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Coming into view from the
-right hallway</i>] Well, I suppose I&#8217;m still the shining
-example of punctuality. [<i>She sweeps thru the center-door,
-carrying a large black-bear muff, a fan of black
-ostrich-plumes, and a note-book and pencil.</i>] How do
-you do, Mr. Ritter,&mdash;[<i>She goes towards Mrs. Ritter.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Nodding</i>] How do you do.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I&#8217;m glad to see you.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Moving towards Mrs. P.</i>] Hello,
-Betty.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Hello, Paula child,&mdash;[<i>Kisses
-her</i>] how are you, dear? [<i>Mr. Spindler hurries in
-from the right hallway, carrying several books. Mrs.
-P. steps to the table below the piano.</i>] Will you give
-those things to Mrs. Ritter, Mr. Spindler, she&#8217;ll set
-them down somewhere. [<i>She sets her own encumbrances
-down on the table, and Mrs. Ritter passes back
-of her to Spindler.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Standing in the middle of the room, toward
-the back</i>] Certainly, certainly.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Good evening, Mr. Spindler.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> Good evening, good evening. [<i>Jenny
-comes in from the right hallway, takes the tray and
-glass from the hall table, and goes out the left hallway.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> I&#8217;ll just take these.</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Giving her the books and a manuscript</i>]
-If you please.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Crossing directly to Ritter</i>]
-Florence McCrickett told me you were back; she saw
-you getting into a taxicab at the station. [<i>Giving him
-her hand</i>] I&#8217;m glad to see you.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> I just got in.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> And I suppose you&#8217;ve already
-heard about the great event?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Yes, she&#8217;s just been telling me. [<i>They
-laugh together.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Well, my dear, you may count
-that day lost that you missed it. [<i>She half turns to
-Mrs. Ritter, who is engaged in conversation with
-Spindler.</i>] Mayn&#8217;t he, Paula? [<i>But Paula hasn&#8217;t heard
-what she&#8217;s been saying, so she just looks at her and
-gives an inane little laugh. Mrs. Pampinelli continues
-to Ritter.</i>] Although you&#8217;ll have an opportunity tomorrow
-night; unless you&#8217;re going to run away again
-before that.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> No, I&#8217;ll be here now till after Thanksgiving.
-[<i>Mrs. Ritter leaves Spindler and goes over to
-a small table at the extreme right, below the casement-window,
-where she sets the books and manuscript
-down.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning from Ritter and crossing
-back again to the table at the right below the piano</i>]
-Wonderful! Did you hear that, Paula?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> What is it, dear?</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Mr. Ritter says he will be here
-for the performance tomorrow night.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> Yes.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Unfastening her fur neckpiece</i>]
-So you will have an opportunity after all of revealing
-to him what gems of talent the unfathomed caves of
-matrimony bear. [<i>They both laugh.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>Picking up Mrs. Pampinelli&#8217;s muff from
-the table and taking the neckpiece</i>] I&#8217;ll just take these,
-Betty.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Settling her beads</i>] Anywhere
-at all, dear. [<i>Mrs. R. starts to the right.</i>] Oh, and
-by the way, Paula&mdash;[<i>Mrs. Ritter stops and turns to
-her.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> Yes?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Indicating the books on the
-table below the window</i>] There&#8217;s a remarkable article
-in one of those books I brought, on a&mdash;gesture.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>Looking at the books</i>] Yes?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> The little gray book I think it
-is, if I&#8217;m not mistaken. [<i>She turns to her left and
-acknowledges Mr. Spindler with a touch of state.</i>] Mr.
-Spindler&mdash;[<i>He returns a smiling and very snappy
-little bow.</i>] brought it to my attention,&mdash;[<i>She turns
-back again to Paula, who has gone up at the right of
-the piano and is putting the furs on the partition-seat,
-while Spindler, becoming suddenly conscious that Ritter
-is looking at him, stiffens abruptly, glances at Ritter,
-and turns back again to Mrs. Pampinelli.</i>] and it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span>
-really is remarkable. So many of my own ideas&mdash;things
-that I have been advocating for years. I brought
-it especially for <i>you</i>, Paula,&mdash;so you must read it when
-you have time. [<i>She picks up her lead-pencil from the
-little table and, tapping it against her right temple,
-thinks profoundly.</i>] What is that wonderful line of
-Emerson&#8217;s that I&#8217;m so fond of&mdash;something about our
-unexpressed thoughts coming back to accuse us&mdash;[<i>Turning
-to Spindler</i>] You know all those things, Mr. Spindler.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Pedantically</i>] Coming back to us &#8220;with
-an alienated majesty.&#8221;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> That is the one I mean. [<i>She
-turns back again to Paula, who has, by this time, come
-forward again at the right of the piano, while Mr.
-Spindler, again becoming conscious that Ritter is looking
-at him, gives him another glance, this time with a
-shade of resentment in it, and, coughing briefly, as an
-emphasis of his dignity, which Ritter&#8217;s general attitude
-somehow suggests is not being sufficiently esteemed,
-turns back to Mrs. Pampinelli.</i>] Well, that is
-exactly what occurred to me when I read that
-article&mdash;My own thoughts returning to me from
-an alienated majesty. [<i>She finishes her version
-of the quotation to Spindler and Mr. Ritter.</i>] Oh,
-by the way,&mdash;[<i>She gives a little mirthless laugh.</i>]
-I&#8217;m afraid I&#8217;ve neglected to introduce Mr.
-Spindler [<i>Indicating Ritter with a very casual gesture
-of her left hand, and picking up her lead-pencil from</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span>
-<i>the little table</i>] This is Mrs. Ritter&#8217;s husband, Mr.
-Spindler. [<i>Spindler strides towards Ritter and extends
-his hand with that vigor which usually characterizes
-the greetings of unimportant persons.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> Glad!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Tonelessly</i>] How are you?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Addressing Ritter directly</i>] Mr.
-Spindler is a young man who has made quite an exhaustive
-study of the Little Theatre Movement
-throughout the country; [<i>Spindler moves back towards
-his former position, and Paula, over at the right, takes
-a piece of fudge from a box on the little table below
-the casement-window.</i>] and is working very hard to
-bring about something of the same kind here. [<i>Ritter
-inclines his head, and Spindler listens to Mrs. Pampinelli,
-wreathed in smiles.</i>] And is going to succeed,
-too, aren&#8217;t you, Mr. Spindler?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>With a kind of pert assurance</i>] Never
-fell down on a big job yet. [<i>He gives a self-conscious
-little laugh and glances at Ritter, under whose coldly-appraising
-eye the laugh freezes instantly into a short,
-hollow cough. Then he turns away.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I&#8217;m sure he has all the qualifications.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>With a wooden smile, and saluting</i>]
-Thank you, thank you.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Hasn&#8217;t he, Paula?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Nibbling at the fudge</i>] Yes indeed,
-Mr. Spindler&#8217;s quite indispensable. [<i>Spindler</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span>
-<i>gives her a pert little nod, by way of acknowledgment.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>To Mrs. Ritter</i>] I think that&#8217;s
-what I shall have to call him hereafter,&mdash;[<i>Turning to
-Spindler</i>] the indispensable Mr. Spindler. [<i>They all
-laugh,&mdash;a trifle more than the brilliancy of the remark
-should reasonably occasion, and Mr. Spindler accounts
-it even worthy a salute.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> Bouquets were falling [<i>Here the front
-door-bell gives two sharp little staccato rings.</i>] thick
-and fast. [<i>He starts towards the center-door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Well, it&#8217;s true&mdash;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Speaking directly to Mrs. Ritter</i>] I&#8217;ll
-answer it. [<i>He hurries out into the right hallway.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. P.</span> and <span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span>, speaking together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. P.</span> I know I don&#8217;t know what on earth I
-should do without him.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>Addressing Spindler as he hurries out
-the hallway</i>] All right, if you will, Mr. Spindler.</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Calling back</i>] Sure!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> He is one of those rare persons
-who never forsakes one in the hour of quotation.
-[<i>She turns to Mrs. Ritter, who is chewing fudge at
-her right.</i>] What are you eating, Paula?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> A bit of fudge. Would you like
-some, Betty?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Very definitely</i>] No, thank
-you, dear.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Indicating the table below the
-casement-window</i>] There&#8217;s some here.</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Raising her hand in a gesture
-of finality, and speaking with conviction</i>] I never eat
-immediately before using my voice. And you should
-not, either, Paula,&mdash;particularly candy. [<i>She moves
-across to the left to Mr. Ritter. She is an imposing
-woman, in her late fifties, with a wealth of false hair,
-perfectly done, and a martial bearing. She is one of
-those matrons who is frequently referred to in the
-suburban weeklies as a &#8220;leading spirit&#8221;; and this particular
-description has always so flattered Mrs. Pampinelli&#8217;s
-particular vanity, that she overlooks no opportunity
-of justifying it: an effort that has resulted in a
-certain grandeur of voice and manner; which, rather
-fortunately, becomes the distinction of her person. She
-is gowned in sapphire-blue velvet, close-fitting, with
-an independent, triangular train, from the waist, probably
-four yards long. Her necklace, comb, the buckles
-on her black-velvet slippers, and her rings, are all
-touched with sapphire.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Looking vaguely at the fudge-box</i>]
-There&#8217;s so much of it here. [<i>Jenny appears from
-the left hallway.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. P.</span> and <span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span>, speaking together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. P.</span> [<i>Coming to Ritter&#8217;s right</i>] Very tragic
-about poor Sheppard, wasn&#8217;t it, Mr. Ritter?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. R.</span> [<i>Going up to the center-door, and speaking
-to Jenny as she goes</i>] Mr. Spindler is answering
-the door, Jenny, you needn&#8217;t bother.</p>
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter</span> and <span class="smcap">Jenny</span>, speaking together.</p>
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span></p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>To Mrs. Pampinelli</i>] Yes, it <i>was</i>&mdash;too
-bad.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>To Mrs. Ritter</i>] Oh, all right, then.
-[<i>She withdraws, and Mrs. Ritter stands looking out
-into the right hallway.</i>]</p>
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I suppose Paula wrote you.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Yes.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Dear me&mdash;I don&#8217;t know when
-anything has so upset me. [<i>Ritter stands looking at
-the end of his cigar and Mrs. Pampinelli looks straight
-ahead.</i>] I don&#8217;t believe I closed an eye the entire night,&mdash;wondering
-where on earth I should find someone to
-play his wife&#8217;s part. [<i>Ritter glances at her, as he
-places the cigar in his mouth, and Mrs. Pampinelli
-looks at him quickly.</i>] Because, of course, you know
-that Mrs. Sheppard was to have played the part that
-Paula plays.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Yes, so she told me. [<i>Mrs. Ritter, still
-nibbling at the fudge, wanders down and stands in the
-middle of the room.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> But we only had three days
-to get someone; and it didn&#8217;t seem possible to me that
-anyone could memorize that part in that length of
-time. [<i>Mrs. Ritter touches her hair and makes a little
-sound of amusement,&mdash;a kind of modest acknowledgment
-of the brilliancy of her achievement.</i>] So I
-thought at first&mdash;of having Clara Sheppard go on anyway,
-and I should make an announcement; but, you
-see, Mr. Sheppard was buried on the fourteenth, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span>
-that was the night of the performance; and as I
-thought the matter over, it seemed to me that perhaps
-it was just a little too much to expect of her&mdash;[<i>Ritter
-gives her another glance.</i>] Considering her experience
-as an actress, I mean.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Taking the cigar from his mouth and
-speaking with a shade of deliberation</i>] Couldn&#8217;t she
-have kept his death a secret,&mdash;until after the performance?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Well, I thought of that, too;
-[<i>Ritter looks at her steadily.</i>] but, you see, it was three
-days,&mdash;[<i>He nods, understandingly.</i>] and he was so very
-well known. [<i>She moves back across the room towards
-the table below the piano, and Ritter stands
-looking after her. Simultaneously, there is a frantic
-giggle from the right hallway. Mrs. Ritter goes up
-to the center-door, looks in the direction of the laughter,
-and waves her handkerchief, while Mrs. Pampinelli,
-passing below the table, gathers up her note-book
-and pencil and continues to the table below the casement-window,
-where she secures the manuscript. Ritter
-steps forward from his position before the mantelpiece,
-and disposes of some ashes on the little table-tray.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Out in the right hallway</i>] Paula,
-that&#8217;s a very dangerous young man you have on that
-door tonight.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Calling to her</i>] I think it&#8217;s very
-kind of Mr. Spindler. [<i>Mrs. Pampinelli comes around</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>
-<i>in front of the big arm-chair below the casement-window.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Coming into view, with considerable
-flourish</i>] Kind! My dear, I haven&#8217;t heard anything
-like it since I was twenty! [<i>She gives a little wave of
-her gorgeous, single white ostrich-plume fan at Mrs.
-Pampinelli.</i>] Hello, Betty! [<i>Then to Mrs. Ritter</i>]
-How are you, darling?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Hello, Nelly. [<i>Nelly kisses her.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Enthroning herself in the
-arm-chair at the right</i>] Is it <i>really</i> possible!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Turning from Mrs. Ritter and hurrying
-through the center-door</i>] You&#8217;re a sweet child!
-[<i>Extending the fan towards Mrs. Pampinelli, and
-coming quickly forward to the table at the right below
-the piano</i>] Yes, and I should have been here every
-night at this hour if it weren&#8217;t for that dreadful officer
-up at the parkway! [<i>She sets her fan and black-velvet
-bag on the table. Spindler comes in from the right
-hallway and engages in conversation with Mrs. Ritter
-in the centre-door.</i>] He seems to take a fiendish delight
-in selecting <i>my</i> car, of all the <i>millions</i> that pass there
-at this hour, to do <i>this</i>! [<i>She extends her right arm
-and hand, after the fashion of traffic-officers.</i>] So I
-told him yesterday afternoon, I said, &#8220;Look here,
-young man!&#8221; [<i>She points her forefinger as though reproving
-the officer.</i>] &#8220;You needn&#8217;t expect any Christmas-present
-from <i>me</i> next Christmas, for you just&mdash;won&#8217;t&mdash;get
-it. Not till you change your tactics.&#8221; So<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>
-he says, after this, he&#8217;s just going to let me go ahead
-and run into a trolley-car;&mdash;see how I like that. [<i>Mrs.
-Pampinelli, making marginal notes in the manuscript,
-laughs faintly.</i>] &#8220;Well,&#8221; I said, &#8220;it&#8217;d be a change, anyway,&mdash;from
-being stopped all the time.&#8221; [<i>She abstractedly
-picks up her fan again.</i>] I don&#8217;t think he
-likes my chauffeur. And I don&#8217;t blame him; I don&#8217;t
-like him myself. He drives too slow&mdash;[<i>She starts for
-the center-door.</i>] He&#8217;s like an old woman. [<i>She sees
-Ritter, peering at her, and starts abruptly.</i>] Well, for
-Mercy&#8217;s sake, Frederick Ritter, you don&#8217;t mean to tell
-me that&#8217;s you!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> I was here a minute ago.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Laughing flightily</i>] Well, I declare!
-I don&#8217;t know what&#8217;s happening to my eyes! [<i>Turning
-to Mrs. Pampinelli</i>] I saw him standing there, [<i>Turning
-back again and starting towards Ritter, with her
-hand extended</i>] but I thought it was one of the other
-gentlemen! How are you, dear boy? [<i>He takes her
-hand and stoops over as though to kiss her. She turns
-her head away quickly.</i>] Stop it! Frederick Ritter!
-[<i>Mrs. Pampinelli glances over, then resumes her notes.
-Mrs. Fell half-turns to Mrs. Ritter, who is still talking
-to Mr. Spindler up at the center-door.</i>] Paula!&mdash;do
-you see what this bad boy of yours is doing?
-[<i>Paula just looks and laughs meaninglessly, and resumes
-her conversation with Spindler.</i>] What brought
-you back so soon?</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Assuming the attitude and tone of a
-lover</i>] I got thinking of you.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Touching her hair</i>] I thought you
-were out in Seattle or South Carolina or one of those
-funny places.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Leaning a bit closer and speaking more
-softly</i>] I couldn&#8217;t keep away from you any longer.
-[<i>Nelly darts a swift glance at him.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Starting towards the right</i>] Don&#8217;t
-play with fire, Frederick&mdash;[<i>He laughs hard. She
-pauses in the middle of the room and turns and looks
-at him.</i>] You know what they say about widows, and
-I&#8217;ve been all kinds. [<i>She continues over towards Mrs.
-Pampinelli.</i>] Oh, Professor Pampinelli! [<i>Turning and
-addressing Ritter directly</i>] I call her Professor, she
-knows so much. [<i>Turning back to Mrs. Pampinelli</i>]
-Mrs. P.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Looking up suddenly</i>] I beg
-your pardon, Nelly dear&mdash;I didn&#8217;t know you were
-speaking to me.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> I want to know if you can take me
-home in your car tonight?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Why, certainly, dear.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> My chauffeur has been deviling me
-for the past two days about some boxing-bee,&mdash;or
-wrestling-match or something that he wants to see;
-and I told him he could go if there were someone
-here to take me home.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I can take you, of course.</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> All right, then, I can chase him;
-[<i>She turns to the left.</i>] I won&#8217;t hear any more about
-that. Oh, Mr. Spindler!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> Yes, mam? [<i>Excuses himself to Mrs.
-Ritter, who steps into the left hallway and beckons
-with her finger for Jenny.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Would you mind doing a favor for a
-very old lady?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Who has hurried forward and is
-standing in the middle of the room, at attention.</i>] You
-know what I told you out at the door? [<i>Nelly gives a
-shriek, and giggles.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Looking coyly over Spindler&#8217;s shoulder
-at Ritter</i>] Oh, you hear that, Frederick Ritter?
-You have a rival on the premises. Mr. Spindler told
-me out at the door tonight,&mdash;that <i>my</i> will was <i>his</i>
-pleasure.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Looking at the tip of his cigar</i>] San
-Juan is never dead while Mr. Spindler lives. [<i>There
-is a general laugh.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Turning to Ritter</i>] Say, that&#8217;s pretty
-good!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Yes, I was afraid he was something
-of a gay deceiver.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Speaking directly to Mrs. Fell</i>] Only
-one way to find out. [<i>Mrs. Fell laughs deprecatingly
-and sweeps the tip of her fan across his nose.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Naughty boy. [<i>She giggles a little
-more, then becomes practical.</i>] Well then, I&#8217;ll tell you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>
-what you may do for me, Mr. Spindler, if you don&#8217;t
-mind. [<i>Jenny appears in the left hallway and Mrs.
-Ritter gives her an order of some sort, which appears
-to require a bit of explanation.</i>] Go out to my chauffeur,
-[<i>She turns him round by the shoulder and they
-move up towards the center-door.</i>] you&#8217;ll probably find
-him asleep in the car, and tell him I said it&#8217;s all right,&mdash;he
-can go along&mdash;that Mrs. Pampinelli will take
-me home in <i>her</i> car.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Hurrying out the right hallway</i>]
-Righto! [<i>Jenny withdraws.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Standing in the center-door and calling
-after him</i>] Like a good boy. [<i>She turns, to find
-Mrs. Ritter at her left in the center-door. She takes
-her arm and they come forward.</i>] Come in here, Paula
-Ritter, and explain to me <i>why</i> [<i>They stop in the middle
-of the room, just above the line on which Ritter is
-standing.</i>] you didn&#8217;t tell me my&mdash;lover [<i>She peers
-around in front of Paula&#8217;s shoulder at Ritter.</i>] was
-coming back today?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Laughing faintly</i>] My dear, I
-didn&#8217;t know it myself until twenty minutes ago.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Becoming instantly rigid, and piercing
-Mrs. Ritter with a look</i>] You don&#8217;t mean to tell
-me he returned unexpectedly?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> He never even sent a wire.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Moving over to the right, to the
-little table below the piano</i>] I&#8217;m surprised at you,
-Frederick. I consider that the supreme indiscretion<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>
-in a husband&mdash;[<i>She lays her fan down on the table.</i>]
-to return unexpectedly. Isn&#8217;t it, Paula? [<i>She commences
-to unfasten her cloak.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Moving over to help her</i>] I never
-got such a surprise in my life.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> It has probably wrecked more perfectly
-good homes than any other one thing in the
-calendar. [<i>She slips her cloak off her shoulders, and
-Mrs. Ritter, who has passed back of her, takes it. It
-is a flowing affair in black and silver, with voluminous
-kimona sleeves edged with black fur, and a deep circular
-collar of silver-cloth and fur.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> I love your cape, Nelly.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Settling her ornaments</i>] Do you
-really?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Examining it</i>] Beautiful.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Reaching for it</i>] Let me see
-it, Paula.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Handing it to her</i>] Where&#8217;s your
-seal, Nelly?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> I thought I wouldn&#8217;t take it out
-this winter; I got so tired looking at it last year. I
-want to have that collar and cuffs taken off, anyway,
-before I wear it again;&mdash;there&#8217;s too much skunk there.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> This is perfectly gorgeous,
-dear. [<i>To Mrs. Ritter</i>] Isn&#8217;t it?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Picking up Nelly&#8217;s fan from the
-table</i>] Lovely. And isn&#8217;t this sweet? [<i>Mrs. Pampinelli</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span>
-<i>takes the fan from Mrs. Ritter and returns the
-wrap.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Charming.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> I&#8217;m so glad you like it;&mdash;I was afraid
-at first perhaps it might make me look a little too much
-like a bride.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>With mock derision</i>] Ha! [<i>Nelly snaps
-her head toward him and pins him with a narrow
-glare.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Don&#8217;t be peevish, Frederick&mdash;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>To Mrs. Pampinelli, as she takes
-the fan from her and replaces it on the table</i>] Isn&#8217;t he
-terrible!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> It isn&#8217;t my fault that your wife is a
-great actress. [<i>She gives a comic nod and wink at Mrs.
-Ritter. Ritter laughs.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Starting towards the door up
-above the casement-window, at the right, with Mrs.
-Fell&#8217;s cape</i>] Now, Fred Ritter, you just stop that!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Never mind him, Paula&mdash;[<i>Paula
-goes out with the cape.</i>] He&#8217;ll probably change
-his tune after tomorrow night. [<i>Mrs. Fell picks
-up her fan and commences to fan herself.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Standing over above the table at the left,
-smoking</i>] I&#8217;m thinking of what happened to poor
-Jimmy Sheppard. [<i>Jenny comes in at the left hallway,
-carrying a small punch-bowl filled with claret, which
-she sets down carefully on the little stand in the hallway.
-Mrs. Ritter re-enters from the door on the</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>
-<i>right and crosses over to Jenny, whom she assists.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Strolling across towards Ritter, fanning
-herself</i>] Oh, I suppose it must be very difficult
-for the marvelous male, to suddenly find himself
-obliged to bask in the reflected glory of a mere wife.
-[<i>Mrs. Pampinelli laughs, over her notes.</i>] For I&#8217;ve
-never known one yet who was able to do it gracefully.
-[<i>She flips the tip of the fan at Ritter&#8217;s nose. Mrs.
-Ritter gives Jenny a direction of some kind and Jenny
-goes out again at the left hallway.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>As Mrs. Fell saunters back
-again across the room</i>] Well, perhaps Mr. Ritter will
-show himself consistently <i>masculine</i> in this instance,
-and do the exceptional thing. [<i>Mrs. Ritter follows
-Jenny out.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> I suppose that&#8217;s what you&#8217;d call <i>veiled</i>
-sarcasm, isn&#8217;t it? [<i>Mrs. Pampinelli laughs and rises.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Standing in the middle of the room</i>]
-I shouldn&#8217;t say it was veiled at <i>all</i>. [<i>Moving towards
-the table below the piano</i>] I don&#8217;t think it&#8217;s even
-<i>draped</i>.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Laughing still, and coming
-to the little table</i>] Here&#8217;s the manuscript, Nelly.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Stepping closer to the table</i>] Yes,
-dear.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> What are you going to do now, keep <i>on</i>
-giving this show?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Well, not this particular one,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span>
-Mr. Ritter, no; but we are going to continue giving
-shows.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> What&#8217;s the idea?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> They&#8217;re to be for different charities.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> And then they will afford the
-boys and girls an opportunity of developing themselves
-as artists.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> What are they going to do, all go on the
-stage?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Well, hardly all of them will
-go;&mdash;but those that we feel have sufficient talent we
-will encourage to go on, by all means.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Do you think Mrs. Ritter has sufficient
-talent?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> She&#8217;s wonderful, Fred, really.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Yes, I should say that Paula
-had a very remarkable talent.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Well, what will you do about <i>her</i>?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> How do you mean, Mr. Ritter,
-what will we <i>do</i> about her?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Why, I mean,&mdash;you&#8217;d hardly encourage
-<i>her</i> to go on the stage, would you?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> And why not?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Why, what about her home? [<i>Nelly Fell
-touches her hair and gives Mrs. Pampinelli a look of
-amused impatience.</i>] She couldn&#8217;t very well walk
-away and leave that, could she?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Well, personally, Mr. Ritter,
-I have always felt that, where it is a question of talent,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span>
-one should not allow himself to be deterred by purely
-personal considerations.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> She&#8217;s really awfully good, Fred! You
-wait till you see&mdash;You&#8217;ll want her to go yourself.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Stepping quietly to the table at the left
-and disposing of some cigar-ashes</i>] She&#8217;ll have to be
-pretty good.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Won&#8217;t he, Betty?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Well, as far as that is concerned,
-I think that the question of whether to be or
-or not to be an actress, is one that every woman must,
-at some time or other in her life, decide for herself.
-[<i>Spindler hurries in from the right hallway and down
-to Mrs. Fell&#8217;s left, where he stands at attention, saluting,
-of course, as usual. Mr. Spindler is full of salutes.
-He was in the army;&mdash;drafted ten weeks before
-the armistice; and subjected throughout the long
-term of his service to the dangers and exposure of a
-clerkship in the Personnel at Upton. And he&#8217;s never
-gotten over it; being of that immature type of mind
-upon which the letter of the Military makes a profound
-impression. He&#8217;s a peppy person, thin and stilted,&mdash;in
-dinner clothes,&mdash;with sleek hair and goggle
-glasses: one of that distressing student-order that is
-inevitably to be found in the retinue of some Mrs.
-Pampinelli,&mdash;her social status and constant championship
-of so-called artistic movements affording him a
-legitimate indulgence of his particular weaknesses. So
-he becomes a kind of lead-pencil-bearer extraordinary</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>
-<i>to her ladyship; and her ladyship tolerates him,&mdash;for
-a variety of reasons; not the least of which is his unfailing
-attitude of acquiescence in all her opinions. And
-she has so many opinions,&mdash;and on so many different
-subjects, that this feature of Mr. Spindler&#8217;s disposition
-is far from inconsiderable. Then, he has a most highly
-developed faculty for small correctnesses,&mdash;an especially
-valuable asset, in view of the enormous
-amount of detail work incidental to Mrs. Pampinelli&#8217;s
-vast activities. He reminds her of things, or, &#8220;brings
-them to her attention,&#8221; as she puts it. For Mr. Spindler
-is one of those&mdash;fortunately few&mdash;people who remembers
-things&mdash;word for word&mdash;even the things he&#8217;s
-read&mdash;And he appears to have read most everything.
-And he quotes incessantly. As Mrs. Pampinelli has
-already observed of him, &#8220;he is one of those rare persons
-who never forsakes one in the hour of quotation.&#8221;</i>]
-Look here, Nelly.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Yes, dear. [<i>Mrs. Ritter comes in
-from the left hallway carrying several punch-glasses,
-which she puts down on the hallway table.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Indicating a certain line in
-the manuscript with her lead-pencil</i>] There are a
-couple of little changes here on page twelve&mdash;[<i>Mrs.
-Fell opens her lorgnon and looks at the manuscript.</i>]
-I have them marked.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Becoming conscious of Spindler at
-her left</i>] Pardon me, Betty. [<i>Turning to Spindler</i>]
-Did you tell him, Mr. Spindler?</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> Yes, mam; he&#8217;s gone on his way rejoicing.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> You&#8217;re a sweet child.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Snapping his salute</i>] Thank you. [<i>He
-does an about-face and goes up to Mrs. Ritter,&mdash;Ritter
-watching him with an expression susceptible of infinite
-interpretation.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> The only man I&#8217;ve met in a long time
-that has made me wish I were&mdash;ten years younger.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Ha!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Pertly</i>] Outside of you, of course.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>With a touch of wearied
-impatience</i>] Look here, dear.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Stepping quickly to the table again
-and re-adjusting her lorgnon</i>] Yes, I beg your pardon.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> You see, in this line here,&mdash;the
-author has employed a defective verb in the perfect
-tense. [<i>Mrs. Fell looks suddenly at her and then
-right back to the manuscript again. Ritter is watching
-them closely.</i>] Would you come here for a moment,
-Mr. Spindler?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> Certainly, certainly. [<i>Excuses himself
-to Mrs. Ritter, with whom he has been chatting, and
-comes down briskly to Mrs. Fell&#8217;s left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> If you please.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Appearing to have some difficulty
-locating the defective verb</i>] Where is that, now, that
-you were saying, Betty?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Indicating with the point of</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span>
-<i>the pencil</i>] Right there, dear. [<i>Nelly just looks at the
-spot, through her lorgnon.</i>] This is the point I was
-speaking to you about last night, Mr. Spindler.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Securing his goggles</i>] Oh, yes, yes!
-[<i>Ritter draws Mrs. Ritter&#8217;s attention to the group
-down at the table. She reproves him with a steady
-stare. He smiles and shakes his head hopelessly.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> You see, this author has employed
-a defective here, in the perfect tense.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Looking closely</i>] Ah, yes, I see.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Looking at him directly</i>] So
-I have changed it. [<i>He straightens up and looks at her,
-and Mrs. Fell looks from one to the other.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> A very good change. [<i>He nods and
-crosses over to the left, passing below the table at the
-left. Ritter watches him until he takes up his position
-just below the mantelpiece, rather ill at ease under
-Ritter&#8217;s gaze.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I think so. So, if you&#8217;ll just
-watch that Nelly. [<i>She picks up the manuscript.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> All right, I&#8217;ll watch it. [<i>She reaches
-for her bag and takes out a lip-stick. Jenny appears
-from the left hallway with a tray of cakes, which Mrs.
-Ritter assists her in making room for on the hall table.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Starting for the center-door</i>]
-I must show it to Paula, it&#8217;s her line. [<i>The door-bell
-rings.</i>] Paula child. [<i>Jenny passes back of Mrs. Ritter
-and goes out into the right hallway to answer the
-door-bell.</i>]</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Eating a cake</i>] Yes, dear? [<i>Mrs.
-Pampinelli calls her attention to the change in the
-manuscript. Mrs. Fell is making up her lips down
-at the table below the piano. Ritter is watching her,
-and Spindler is watching Ritter, and trying to assume
-his general deportment.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Are <i>you</i> in the show, Nelly?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Without turning, and applying the
-lip-stick, with the aid of the little mirror in her hand-bag</i>]
-Who, me?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Yes.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Half-turning, and giving him a
-melting look</i>] Yes;&mdash;I play a chicken. [<i>She returns to
-her mirror.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Casually</i>] In the last act, I suppose.
-[<i>Nelly snaps her head around and pierces him with
-one of her looks.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> No, and not in the last stages, either.
-[<i>She resumes her make-up. Nelly is forever making
-up. But, she does know how to do it. Of course, she
-should, considering the years of her experience in the
-art. For Nelly Fell&#8217;s age amounts to an achievement;
-one of those attainments so absolutely undisputed that
-it is perfectly permissible to refer to it in any gathering.
-She says she&#8217;ll &#8220;soon be sixty&#8221;; but the short and
-simple annals of society record flutterings of the lady
-as far back as the first term of President Grant. And
-she&#8217;s still fluttering&mdash;a perennial ingenue, full of brittle
-moves and staccato vocalisms. She looks like a little</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>
-<i>French marquise, so chic, and twittery&mdash;and rich. For,
-of course, Nelly is wealthy&mdash;enormously so; it would
-be utterly impossible to have her hair and not have
-money; the feature is financial in itself; so silver-white,
-with a lovely bandau of small, pale-pink leaves, tipped
-with diamond dewdrops; all heightened tremendously
-by the creation in black velvet she is wearing. This
-gown is heavily trimmed with silver, and quite sleeveless,
-with two panels of the goods fastened at the waist
-on either side and trailing at least a yard. She has a
-preference for diamonds and pearls, obviously, for her
-ear-rings, dog-collar, bracelets and rings are all of
-those gems, and her long, triple-string necklace is of
-pearls. Altogether, Nelly is a very gorgeous little old
-lady&mdash;from the topmost ringlet of her aristocratic hair,
-to the pearl buckles on her tiny black-velvet slippers.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> Mrs. Fell is the official promptress.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Turning her head and looking at Ritter</i>]
-I <i>prompt</i> everybody. [<i>She replaces her lip-stick
-in the hand-bag.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Yes?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Putting the hand-bag down again on
-the table</i>] As well as lending my moral support.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Yes? [<i>Spindler laughs.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>To Ritter</i>] You bold thing!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Coming into view from the right
-hallway</i>] Good evening, everybody!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning to him, from Mrs.
-Ritter, with whom she has been discussing the change</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span>
-<i>in the manuscript</i>] Oh, good evening, Mr. Hossefrosse.
-[<i>They shake hands.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Mr. Hossefrosse. [<i>Mrs. Pampinelli
-comes forward into the room again, bringing the
-manuscript with her.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Mrs. Ritter&mdash;good evening. [<i>Mrs.
-Ritter asks him if he will have a glass of claret and he
-says yes, so she proceeds to fill him out one.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I hope the rest of the people
-aren&#8217;t far behind you.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Are we late?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Waving to him</i>] Hello, Huxley.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Not very.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Hello, Nelly. How are you? [<i>Mrs.
-Ritter gives him the claret, and he stands up at the
-center-door with her, drinking it. Teddy Spearing
-wanders in from the right hallway.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Passing below the little table
-below the piano and laying the manuscript on it</i>]
-Here&#8217;s the manuscript, Nelly. [<i>She continues to the
-arm-chair below the casement-window, and, picking
-up her note-book from the little table at her right,
-sits down and commences to make notes.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Seeing Teddy Spearing, and starting
-towards the right partition</i>] Oh, Teddy Spearing!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> Hello, Nelly.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Beckoning him with her fan</i>] Come
-here, dear, I&#8217;ve got something to tell you. [<i>Teddy
-leans over the partition at the right and Nelly kneels</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span>
-<i>on the partition-seat and whispers something to him.
-Hossefrosse and Mrs. Ritter are conversing in the
-center-door, Mrs. Pampinelli is making notes down at
-the right, Ritter is standing over in front of the mantelpiece,
-smoking, and Spindler is standing just below
-him, to his left, watching him.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>In a sudden surge of courage, and taking
-a rather nonchalant step towards Ritter</i>] Could you
-spare one of those cigars, please? [<i>Ritter looks at him
-keenly, then reaches in his vest-pocket for a cigar.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Do you smoke?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> Semi-occasionally, yes. [<i>Ritter hands
-him the cigar and he steps nonchalantly back to his
-former position, Ritter keeping one eye on him. He
-examines the cigar curiously, and, being apparently
-very near-sighted, seems to have considerable difficulty
-in deciphering the band-inscription.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> You can light <i>either</i> end of it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Very self-conscious</i>] Yes,&mdash;I was just
-looking at this label here: it&#8217;s rather keen. [<i>He puts
-the cigar in his mouth, and attempts an attitude of
-careless detachment.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Have you got a match?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> I don&#8217;t&mdash;[<i>As he opens his mouth to
-speak the cigar falls on the floor, and he scrambles
-after it.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> [<i>Laughing incredulously and turning away
-from Nelly</i>] Oh, Nelly!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Upon my word, dear! Come here<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>
-till I tell you. [<i>Teddy returns to the partition and
-Nelly proceeds with her gossip.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Straightening up, and attempting another
-man-of-the-world attitude</i>] I don&#8217;t care to
-smoke just now, thank you. [<i>He holds the cigar in his
-fingers.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>As things settle again</i>] You&#8217;ve been in the
-army, haven&#8217;t you?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Turning to Ritter with a suggestion of
-military erectness</i>] Yes; I put in the better part of
-three months down at Upton, in the Personnel.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> I imagined from your salute you&#8217;d been
-around one of the camps.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> Yes,&mdash;I was Third Lieutenant down
-there&mdash;[<i>Ritter looks at him sharply; then Spindler
-turns and meets the look.</i>] Regimental Sergeant Major.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Rest.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Coming away from the partition</i>] So
-I&#8217;m going to ask him right out the very next time
-I meet him. [<i>She comes down to the little table below
-the piano again. Mr. Hossefrosse comes through
-the center-door towards Ritter, rubbing his hands, and
-Teddy moves over towards Mrs. Ritter, who is still
-officiating at the punch-bowl.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy</span> and <span class="smcap">Hossefrosse</span>, speaking together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> [<i>Speaking to Mrs. Fell</i>] Maybe he doesn&#8217;t
-know it himself.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Addressing Ritter</i>]<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span>
-Ah, Mr. Ritter! How do you do, sir? [<i>They shake
-hands.</i>]</p></blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> How do you do?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell</span> and <span class="smcap">Hossefrosse</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Well, I&#8217;m going to find out, whether he does or not.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>To Ritter</i>] Decided there was no place
-like home, eh? [<i>He laughs, with a mirthless effusiveness.</i>]</p>
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Are you in the show, too? [<i>Mrs. Ritter
-fills out a glass of claret for Teddy.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell</span> and <span class="smcap">Hossefrosse</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> I should say he is in it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> We&#8217;re all in it.</p>
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> He&#8217;s the leading man. [<i>Hossefrosse
-raises his right hand toward Nelly and laughs deprecatingly.</i>]
-Unfortunately, there isn&#8217;t a place in the
-play where he can use that perfectly gorgeous singing-voice
-of his. [<i>Hossefrosse is quite overcome, and
-crosses, with hand extended, to Spindler.</i>] It&#8217;s true.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Good evening, Mr. Spindler.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> Good evening, good evening. [<i>In shifting
-the cigar from his right hand to his left he drops
-it.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Uh! I beg your pardon! [<i>Mrs. Ritter
-laughs at something Teddy has said to her, then
-hands him a glass of claret. Mr. Hossefrosse stoops
-to pick up Spindler&#8217;s cigar.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Stooping also, after the cigar</i>] That&#8217;s
-all right.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span></p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse</span> and <span class="smcap">Spindler</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> I&#8217;ll get it. [<i>He picks it up and hands it to
-Spindler.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> It isn&#8217;t lit.</p>
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> There we are.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> Thank you very much.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Don&#8217;t mention it. [<i>He crosses down
-to Nelly, who is looking through the manuscript at the
-table below the piano.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> [<i>Coming through the center-door and speaking
-to Ritter</i>] How do you do, Mr. Ritter?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Shaking hands with him</i>] How are you?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> [<i>Nodding to Spindler</i>] Good evening.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> Good evening, sir; good evening.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Teddy!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> [<i>Crossing towards the piano</i>] Yes?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter</span>, <span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span> and <span class="smcap">Hossefrosse</span>,
-together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Waving her handkerchief
-toward the right hallway</i>] Hello, Florence!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Addressing Teddy</i>] Did you telephone
-that man about those tickets?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Standing
-at Mrs. Fell&#8217;s left shoulder</i>] What are you doing,
-Nelly?</p>
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence</span>, <span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell</span> and <span class="smcap">Teddy</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Out in the right hallway</i>] Am I the last?
-[<i>She hurries into view and whispers something to
-Paula at the center-door which sends Paula into a fit
-of laughing.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>To Hossefrosse</i>] Making
-more changes. [<i>He crosses over to the right in front
-of Nelly and sits on the piano-stool, back of Mrs.</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>
-<i>Pampinelli.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> [<i>Answering Mrs. Pampinelli</i>]
-Yes, I did, Mrs. Pampinelli, he said he&#8217;d have them
-there all right.</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Thank you so much. [<i>Teddy
-goes up and crosses above the piano, where he engages
-Mr. Hossefrosse in conversation.</i>] Hello, Florence!
-[<i>Jenny comes into view from the right hallway.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Coming straight forward from the center-door</i>]
-Am I the last? [<i>The front door-bell rings
-again, and Jenny turns and goes back into the right
-hallway again.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> No, but you&#8217;re very close to it.
-How are you, dear?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Rushed like mad. [<i>Flipping her lynx
-muff</i>] Hello, everybody. Hello, Nelly. [<i>She swings
-round to her left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Hello, Flossie.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> How do you do, Mr. Spindler? [<i>Hossefrosse
-gets up and whispers something to Mrs. Pampinelli,
-in which she agrees.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> How do you do? [<i>Ritter bows very graciously
-to Florence, and Mrs. Ritter comes forward to
-her husband&#8217;s right, eating a piece of cake.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Extending the muff at arms-length at
-Ritter</i>] No, I don&#8217;t speak to you at all. [<i>She removes
-her stole.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> What&#8217;s the matter?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Paula, did you know your husband is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>
-becoming very snooty? [<i>Hossefrosse resumes his seat
-on the piano-stool.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Sliding her hand through Ritter&#8217;s
-right arm</i>] Why didn&#8217;t you speak to Florence at the
-station today, Fred?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> I didn&#8217;t see you today.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Well, my dear, you <i>must</i> be getting
-old; for Irene Colter and I did everything but stand
-on our heads to attract your attention. [<i>On the last
-word of this sentence she flips one of the tails of the
-stole at him, and he ducks, as though afraid of getting
-hurt.</i>] Where shall I put these, Paula? [<i>Mrs. Pampinelli
-rises quietly from her chair at the right, and,
-lost in thought, proceeds slowly and majestically across
-in front of Mrs. Fell to the middle of the room, tapping
-her lead-pencil on the note-book.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> I&#8217;ll take them. [<i>She takes the muff
-and stole from Florence and goes up and out into the
-right hallway with them.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Espying Teddy up back of the piano,
-shading his eyes with his hand, as though trying to see
-her from a great distance</i>] Hello, Teddy dear! [<i>Goes
-towards him</i>] What are you doing away back here
-in the corner? [<i>She makes a sudden move as though to
-tickle him in the ribs, but he laughs and jumps away.
-Mrs. Pampinelli has by this time reached the center of
-the room, where she stands turning from side to side
-in a profound indecision as to the relationship of certain
-positions. She indicates her line of thought by divers</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>
-<i>pointings and flippings of the lead-pencil. Ritter
-watches her with narrow amusement; and, presently,
-Mrs. Fell, who is still occupied with the manuscript
-at the little table, looks up, distracted by the gyrations
-of the lead-pencil.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> What&#8217;s the matter, Betty?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I was just wondering about a
-little piece of business here.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Stepping to the back of the arm-chair at
-the left and leaning over it towards Mrs. Pampinelli</i>]
-Can I help you, Mrs. P.?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Without turning to him</i>] No,
-thank you; it&#8217;s purely technical. [<i>He resumes his position
-at the left corner of the mantelpiece and glances
-at Ritter, who is obliged to use his handkerchief to
-hide his amusement. Mrs. Ritter comes in through
-the door at the right, above the piano.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Betty, did I tell you I saw Clara
-Sheppard today? [<i>But Mrs. Pampinelli is still deep
-in technical profundities, and simply silences her with
-a gesture of her right hand.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Coming forward at the right of the
-piano</i>] Where did you see her, Nelly?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Darlington&#8217;s, at the mourning counter.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Coming suddenly out of her
-abstraction, and turning to Mrs. Fell</i>] Is she going in
-black?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> My dear, she&#8217;s <i>in</i> it already.</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Coming in the right hallway</i>] Good
-evening!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> She&#8217;s very foolish, under the
-circumstances.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> That&#8217;s just what I told her today.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Coming through the center-door and forward
-at the left of the piano</i>] Good evening, Mrs. Ritter.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Good evening, Mr. Twiller.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>To Hossefrosse, casually</i>] Huxley.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Shifting from the piano-stool to the
-arm-chair, which Mrs. Pampinelli has just vacated, and
-proceeding to study his part, which he has taken from
-his pocket</i>] Hello, Ralph.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Hello, Ralph.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> Nelly!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Still in the middle of the room</i>]
-You&#8217;re the ten o&#8217;clock scholar again tonight, Mr. Twiller.
-[<i>Jenny crosses from the right hallway to the left,
-and goes out.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> I&#8217;m awfully sorry, Mrs. P., really; but
-the fates seem to be against me. [<i>Teddy gives a little
-whistle at him. He turns and sees him, standing with
-Florence, up back of the piano.</i>] Hello, Teddy! [<i>He
-goes towards him, and Teddy shoots at him with his
-thumb and forefinger, by way of reply. Florence smiles
-and extends her left arm and hand towards him.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span> and <span class="smcap">Twiller</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs.
-Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Moving over from the middle of the</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>
-<i>room to the left of Mrs. Fell, who is still at the table
-below the piano</i>] What was that you were saying,
-Nelly, about Clara Sheppard?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> Flossie,
-dear, I didn&#8217;t see you two up here! [<i>He takes Florence&#8217;s
-hand and kisses it. Then he crosses to the left
-and shakes hands with Ritter; then over to Spindler,
-and then starts back towards Florence, at the piano.
-As he passes Ritter, Ritter taps him on the right shoulder;
-he turns, and Ritter asks him something. He replies,
-and they stand chatting for a moment; then Ritter
-indicates the partition-seat behind them and they
-sit down, to talk it over.</i>]</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Why, I simply told her&mdash;I said, &#8220;Don&#8217;t
-be spectacular, dear; it&#8217;ll only make it more difficult
-for you when you want to marry again. And,&#8221; I
-said, &#8220;you probably <i>will</i> marry again,&#8221;&mdash;[<i>Spindler sits
-on the chair below the door at the left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Of course she will.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> &#8220;For you&#8217;re a comparatively young
-woman. So,&#8221; I said, &#8220;just get through the next few
-months as undramatically as possible. [<i>Jenny enters
-in the left hallway and takes empty glasses off.</i>] I know
-he was your <i>first</i> husband, and all that; but, after all,&#8221;
-I said, &#8220;he was <i>only</i> your husband: it isn&#8217;t as though
-you&#8217;d lost someone who was very <i>close</i> to you&#8221;&mdash;[<i>She
-turns her head and speaks directly to Mrs. Pampinelli.</i>]
-Like one of your own people, [<i>Turning to Mrs. Ritter,
-who is standing at her right</i>] or something like
-that, I mean. &#8220;And,&#8221; I said, &#8220;another thing, darling,&mdash;<i>always</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>
-<i>remember</i>&mdash;he&#8217;d have very soon put another
-in <i>your</i> place if it had been you.&#8221; [<i>She finishes the remark
-to Mrs. Pampinelli.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Knowingly, and with conviction</i>]
-I should say he would.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Reaching for her hand-bag</i>] And I felt
-like saying, &#8220;And I could give you the names and addresses
-right now of <i>several</i> that he would have put in
-your place <i>long ago</i>, only for the law.&#8221;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>With a shade of confidence</i>]
-She must have known it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Reflecting the tone</i>] Of <i>course</i>, she
-knew it. [<i>Florence leaves Teddy, up at the piano, and
-crosses to Ritter and Twiller, to show them a piece
-of music. They rise, and she indicates a certain point
-on the sheet; then she continues down to Spindler, who
-rises at her approach, and shows it to him.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> How is she, Nelly?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> My dear, she looks a perfect wreck.
-[<i>Florence sits on the arm of the arm-chair at the left
-and Spindler resumes the little chair below the left
-door, and drawing it a bit closer to the arm-chair. He
-appears to be telling Florence something very interesting.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Poor soul.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> She says no one will <i>ever</i> know how she
-feels&mdash;about losing that part. And she says she simply
-cannot <i>wait</i> until tomorrow night, [<i>She turns to Mrs.
-Pampinelli.</i>] to see Paula&#8217;s interpretation of it. [<i>Mrs.</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span>
-<i>Ritter gives an inane little laugh, and Mrs. Fell turns
-quickly to her.</i>] She&#8217;s heard so much about it. [<i>Jenny
-comes in from the left hallway again with fresh glasses.
-She sets them down on the hallway table and proceeds
-to arrange them.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Is she coming to the performance
-tomorrow night?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> She says she&#8217;ll see that performance, if
-she has to disguise herself.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Doesn&#8217;t that sound just like her?
-[<i>Nelly nods agreement.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Yes,&mdash;she&#8217;s so full of dramatic
-instinct.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>With a touch of bitterness</i>] He never
-appreciated it though.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> My dear, has <i>any</i> artist <i>ever</i>
-been adequately appreciated?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> I understand he was very heavily
-insured.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Oh, yes!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> She <i>seemed</i> very optimistic when
-I spoke to her on the telephone.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> I believe your husband&#8217;s company had
-him insured for quite a lot, didn&#8217;t they, Paula?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Lowering her tone</i>] I believe they
-did, Nelly,&mdash;but I couldn&#8217;t say for just how much.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Quietly detaching herself</i>] I must find
-that out. [<i>She passes back of Mrs. Pampinelli and
-across towards Ritter. Mrs. Ritter and Mrs. Pampinelli</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>
-<i>continue in conversation.</i>] Frederick, I want to
-ask you something. [<i>He steps forward, excusing himself
-to Twiller.</i>] Pardon me, Ralph.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> That&#8217;s all right, Nelly. [<i>He crosses
-again to Teddy.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Frederick, what did you think when
-you heard Jimmy Sheppard was dead?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Why, I thought he was dead, of course.
-[<i>Mrs. Ritter leaves Mrs. Pampinelli, passing back of
-her, and goes up to assist Jenny with her arrangements.
-Mrs. Pampinelli busies herself with making notations
-on the margin of the manuscript, at the little table.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Flipping the tip of her fan in his face</i>]
-Oh, did you, Smarty! [<i>Ritter raises his right hand, as
-though to ward off the blow.</i>] Well, listen, Frederick.
-[<i>He attends, and she becomes confidential.</i>] He left
-quite a bit of insurance, didn&#8217;t he?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Yes&mdash;about three hundred thousand, I believe.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Becoming generally stoney</i>] Is there a
-will, do you know?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> I don&#8217;t know; I suppose there is.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Well, I hope she was sharp enough to
-see that there is. Because if there isn&#8217;t, you know,
-she&#8217;s only entitled to a third in this state. That&#8217;s all
-the widow&#8217;s entitled to. And, you know, Frederick,
-Clara Sheppard could never in this world get along
-on a bare hundred thousand dollars; you know that
-as well as I do.</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Well, she has quite a bit of money of her
-own, hasn&#8217;t she?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Oh, tons of it, yes; but there&#8217;s no sense
-in using her own if she can use his. [<i>Ritter glances at
-her, but she has turned away slightly to cough, behind
-her fan. Jenny goes out at the left hallway.</i>] Was
-sudden, wasn&#8217;t it?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Yes, it was.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> We were terribly inconvenienced. Because
-I&#8217;d simply <i>deluged</i> my friends with tickets. [<i>Mrs.
-Ritter is up at the punch-bowl, sampling the punch
-and nibbling at the cakes.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> I can&#8217;t understand why you didn&#8217;t postpone
-the show.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> That&#8217;s what <i>I</i> wanted to do; but Mrs.
-P. here was superstitious.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Catching her name, and
-straightening up from the manuscript, imperiously</i>]
-What are you saying about Mrs. P., Nelly Fell?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Why, Frederick was wondering why
-we didn&#8217;t postpone the performance when Jimmy
-Sheppard died,&mdash;and <i>I</i> told him you were superstitious
-about a postponement.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> No, Nelly, I was not superstitious,
-so please don&#8217;t say that I was; I shouldn&#8217;t
-care to have such an impression get abroad.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Touching her hair</i>] Well, you were
-something, Betty.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Yes, Nelly, I admit that I was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span>
-something,&mdash;but it was not superstitious. I was,&mdash;[<i>She
-looks out and away off, and feels for the word.</i>]
-intuitive. [<i>She turns her head and looks directly at
-Ritter, who drops his eyes to the tip of his cigar. Nelly
-Fell, following Mrs. Pampinelli&#8217;s eyes, looks at Ritter
-also. Then everyone&#8217;s eyes shift to Mrs. Pampinelli.
-Florence turns languidly and looks; and Mrs.
-Ritter, with a glass of punch in one hand, and a small
-cake in the other, moves forward, in the middle of the
-room, and stands looking and listening&mdash;and chewing.
-Hossefrosse steps over to the table behind which Mrs.
-Pampinelli is standing, and takes the manuscript,&mdash;returning
-with it to the arm-chair, and becoming absorbed
-in a comparison of a certain page of it with his
-individual part.</i>] I have struggled so long to inaugurate
-a Little Theatre Movement in this community, that I
-had intuitively anticipated the occurrence of some obstacle
-to thwart me; so that, when the telephone-bell
-rang, on the night of Mr. Sheppard&#8217;s death, I said
-to myself, before I even took down the receiver, [<i>She
-plants her lead-pencil on the table and assumes something
-of the aspect of a crusader.</i>] &#8220;<i>This</i> is my event.
-Something has happened&mdash;that is going to put my sincerity
-in this movement to the test. And I must remember,
-as Mr. Lincoln said at Gettysburg, &#8216;It is better that
-we should perish, than that those ideals for which we
-struggle should perish.&#8217;&#8221; [<i>She turns her gaze in the
-direction of Ritter, but Mrs. Ritter is first in the line
-of vision, with her eyes full of the coast of Greenland,</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>
-<i>and her mouth full of cake. As she becomes suddenly
-conscious that Mrs. Pampinelli has stopped talking and
-is looking directly at her, she meets the look and breaks
-into an utterly irrelevant little laugh.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> It&#8217;s a singular thing, but I&#8217;ve noticed that
-invariably there&#8217;s a <i>fatality</i> connected with these amateur
-performances.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Unfortunately, that is true,
-Mr. Ritter, I agree with you. But then, we are not
-dismayed; we have the lessons of history to fortify us;
-for whenever the torch of essential culture has been
-raised, [<i>She raises the lead-pencil as though it were a
-torch.</i>] there has unfailingly been the concomitant exactment
-of a human life. [<i>She stands holding the torch
-aloft until the little cuckoo-clock over the door at the
-left cuckoos the half-hour. Ritter looks at it, and
-Nelly Fell gives it a glance. Florence, too, turns and
-looks up. Then Mrs. Pampinelli turns her eyes slowly
-upon it and withers it with a look.</i>] Well, children,
-it&#8217;s eight-thirty,&mdash;[<i>She gathers up her train and tosses
-it across her left arm, then comes around to the right in
-front of the table where she has been standing. Mrs.
-Ritter returns to the table in the hallway and sets down
-her empty glass. Ritter goes up after her and she fills
-him out a drink. Florence rises from the arm of the
-chair, and, passing in front of the table at the left,
-goes up and across back of the piano and out the door,
-at the right. As she passes above the piano she says
-something to Teddy, who has come down at the right</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span>
-<i>of the piano, from his late position up near the door,
-and is crossing below it. Twiller turns and goes out
-through the center-door and stands leaning over the
-partition in the right hallway. Hossefrosse rises, settles
-his clothes and clears his throat. Mr. Spindler,
-also, has risen, and is replacing his chair back against
-the wall, below the door.</i>] Time we went &#8220;unto the
-breach&#8221; once more.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Stepping forward a little to the center
-of the room, and stretching her hand towards Mr.
-Hossefrosse</i>] You have my props, Huxley.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Crossing below the table, to give her
-the manuscript</i>] I beg your pardon, Nelly; I was just
-looking at something here.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Thanks. [<i>She pulls him towards her
-and whispers something.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Standing at the left of the little
-table</i>] Have you my other pencil, Mr. Spindler?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Hurrying across towards her</i>] I believe
-you left it over here on this little table. [<i>He passes
-below Teddy, who is just crossing to the left, and
-continues on between the piano and the table to the
-little table below the casement-window. Nelly Fell
-breaks into a shrill giggle, pushes Hossefrosse towards
-the center-door, and crosses to the left, passing below
-the table. She is in a violent state of laughter. Hossefrosse
-goes on up to the center-door, and, excusing himself
-to Ritter, who is standing there drinking, passes
-out into the right hallway. Teddy comes around back</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>
-<i>of the arm-chair at the left and sits in the arm-chair.
-Mrs. Pampinelli has moved to the right of the table
-below the piano, where she stands reviewing her notes.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>To Teddy, confidentially, as she takes
-up her position on the chair below the door at the
-left</i>] I&#8217;ll tell you later. [<i>She sits down.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Tapping her lead-pencil on the
-table and addressing them generally</i>] Now, folks,&mdash;[<i>Ritter
-sets his glass on the table and steps into the
-right hallway, where he converses with Twiller for a
-second, then stands listening; while Mrs. Ritter hurries
-in and settles herself on the partition-seat at the
-left and listens attentively.</i>] you understand, of course,
-that the setting will be just as it was at the Civic Club
-on the fourteenth; only, of course, as you know, the
-stage at Hutchy Kutchy is considerably larger. That,
-however, need not concern us particularly, as the entrances
-and exits will be relatively the same. [<i>She
-finishes this speech to Mr. Spindler, who is standing
-at her right, waiting for her to take the lead-pencil.</i>]
-Oh, thank you, Mr. Spindler. [<i>She gives him the one
-she has&mdash;simply an exchange of pencils, and he salutes
-and returns to a position below the casement-window.
-Florence comes in at the right door again, wearing her
-furs, and comes down at the right of the piano. Mrs.
-Pampinelli moves a little towards the center-door.</i>]
-Are you going to watch the rehearsal, Mr. Ritter?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Of course, he is!</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Coming through the center-door</i>] If I
-wouldn&#8217;t be in the way.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Not at all,&mdash;very glad to have
-you.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> He can sit over here with the promptress.
-[<i>He crosses towards Nelly, picking up the little
-chair above the table at the left, as he passes. Hossefrosse
-emerges from the right hallway carrying a light,
-soft hat, a cane and gloves, and stands in the center-door.
-Florence steps across below the piano and asks
-Mrs. Pampinelli something.</i>] If you can behave yourself.
-[<i>Florence returns to the corner of the piano nearest
-the window and drapes herself on it. She&#8217;s a very
-gorgeous-looking thing, in a sleeveless gown of canary-colored
-metallic silk, made quite daringly severe, to
-exploit the long, lithe lines of her greyhound figure.
-There&#8217;s a chain-effect girdle with the dress, of vivid
-jade, worn loose, and an ornament of the same jade on
-the left shoulder, from which the goods falls in a plain
-drape down in front of the arm to the bottom of the
-skirt. She has a perfect shock of hair,&mdash;rather striking,&mdash;a
-kind of suspicious auburn; and she has it
-bobbed. Her slippers and stockings are white.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> You needn&#8217;t sit there yet, Teddy,
-I&#8217;m going to run through the last scene first,&mdash;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> [<i>Rising</i>] Oh, all right.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> For Mr. Hossefrosse&#8217;s lines.
-[<i>Teddy passes in front of the table at the left and
-goes up to the center-door and out into the right hallway,</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span>
-<i>where he chats with Twiller and watches the
-proceedings over the partition. Spindler comes over
-and asks Mrs. Pampinelli something. Ritter places
-his chair beside Nelly&#8217;s, above it, and sits down, assuming
-the attitude of a lover.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Pushing Ritter&#8217;s arm away</i>] Stop it,
-Frederick Ritter! Paula! [<i>Spindler returns to his
-post.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Inanely</i>] Behave yourself, Fred.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Now, folks,&mdash;[<i>She moves slowly
-down and across towards the table at the left.</i>] Mr.
-Spindler will attend to the various cues tonight, and
-at the performance tomorrow night as well. [<i>Speaking
-directly to Nelly</i>] So we won&#8217;t have to bother
-about that. [<i>Turning round to her left and addressing
-the others</i>] He will do all the rapping. [<i>She raps
-a little.</i>] And he has a little telephone-bell of his own,
-[<i>She moves across again towards the back of the table
-at the right.</i>] which he has very kindly tendered the use
-of. Have you that bell with you tonight, Mr. Spindler?
-[<i>He holds out a bell and battery arrangement
-on a piece of wood, having taken it from his pocket immediately
-she referred to it, and rings it twice.</i>] Splendid.
-[<i>She passes above the table and comes forward at
-the right of it, very thoughtfully.</i>] That&#8217;s splendid.
-[<i>Spindler replaces the battery.</i>] Now, children,&mdash;[<i>She
-crosses in front of the table.</i>] I think, first, I should
-like to take that scene at the finish, between Doctor
-Arlington and his wife; [<i>She is standing at the left</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>
-<i>of the table, speaking directly to Hossefrosse, who is
-standing in the center-door, with his hat on, at a rather
-absurd angle, and holding his cane in one hand and
-his gloves in the other, in a very stilted fashion. Hossefrosse
-is a terribly well-fed-looking person in dinner
-clothes, perhaps, thirty-eight years of age,&mdash;flamingly
-florid of complexion, and with an effusiveness of manner
-that is probably only saved from absolute effervescence
-by the ponderous counterpoise of his dignity.</i>]
-there are a few little things in there I want to correct.
-[<i>Crossing over back of the table at the left towards
-Mrs. Fell</i>] Page eighteen or nineteen, I think it is,
-Nelly. It&#8217;s the scene at the finish between Mr. Hossefrosse
-and Miss McCrickett. [<i>Nelly looks for the
-place, through her lorgnon.</i>] Oh! [<i>Mrs. Pampinelli
-turns back to the others again.</i>] and one thing more I
-want to mention, boys and girls, before I forget it.
-[<i>She takes a funny little coughing spell.</i>] Pardon me.
-[<i>She coughs again.</i>] Oh, dear me! [<i>She closes her eyes
-tight and shivers her head.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Page eighteen did you say it was,
-Betty?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Eighteen or nineteen, yes. It&#8217;s
-somewhere right in there.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Oh, yes, here it is, I have it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning back to the people,
-and speaking with careful emphasis</i>] When you are
-going on and off the stage, be very careful of those
-little wooden strips that they have across the bottoms<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>
-of the doors, and don&#8217;t trip. [<i>Mrs. Ritter laughs self-consciously
-and Hossefrosse leans over and says something
-to her. Florence laughs, and turns and says
-something to Spindler, and Teddy and Twiller laugh
-and look toward Mrs. Ritter.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Looking out around Mrs. Pampinelli
-to see Mrs. Ritter</i>] Paula! [<i>Then she sits back, laughing,
-and says something to Ritter.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I really think that was what
-made some of you so nervous at the Civic Club the
-last time. So, watch it, all of you, for they will
-probably have just the same thing down at Hutchy
-Kutchy.&mdash;There is perhaps nothing quite so disconcerting
-as to trip&mdash;as one comes on a stage. Going
-off&mdash;is not so bad; but&mdash;coming on, I have found that
-it requires a <i>tremendous</i> artist to rise above it. [<i>She
-starts down towards the table at the right, below the
-piano.</i>] So, watch it, all of you. Now, is everybody
-in his place? [<i>She stops below the table and picks up
-her note-book.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Handing Ritter the manuscript and
-getting up suddenly</i>] Oh, just one moment, Betty!
-[<i>She teeters across to the table at the right.</i>] I want to
-get my other glasses&mdash;they&#8217;re right here in my bag.
-[<i>She picks up the bag and starts back to her place.</i>]
-I beg pardon, everybody, but I can&#8217;t tell one letter
-from another without these glasses. [<i>This last sentence
-culminates in a flighty giggle, for no reason at all, and</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>
-<i>then she sits down, and heaves a deep sigh of amusement.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Who has been looking at her
-steadily</i>] <i>Now</i>, is everybody ready? [<i>Mrs. Fell simply
-lifts her eyes and looks at her; then proceeds to get her
-glasses out of the bag.</i>] Use your voices, children, and
-try to do it tonight just as you are going to do it tomorrow
-night at Hutchy Kutchy. [<i>She moves a step
-or two nearer the middle of the room.</i>] Doctor Arlington
-is still in his office.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Yes.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Mr. Rush&mdash;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Coming in through the center-door</i>]
-Yes.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Is just about to make his exit.
-[<i>He crosses above the piano and stands waiting at the
-right door. He&#8217;s a bald-headed youth, between thirty
-and thirty-five, in dinner clothes, excessively well-groomed
-but utterly nondescript.</i>] And Mrs. Arlington
-is putting on the deadlatch. [<i>Florence straightens
-up.</i>] All ready, now? [<i>She holds up her hands for a
-second, then claps them once.</i>] All right. [<i>Twiller goes
-out through the right door and Mrs. Pampinelli moves
-over towards the right, watching Florence.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Pretending to put on a deadlatch</i>]
-Deadlatch.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Standing in rigid military fashion</i>]
-Click&mdash;click. [<i>Florence turns and starts across towards</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>
-<i>the middle of the room, passing between the piano and
-the table below it.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Glancing toward the center-door</i>] You
-can come out now, Clyde, they&#8217;ve gone. [<i>She continues
-to the table at the left and stands resting one hand
-upon it.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Bustling forward from the center-door,
-removing his hat as he comes</i>] Anybody here,
-David? [<i>Spindler whistles shrilly, takes a step forward
-and tries to attract Hossefrosse&#8217;s attention, by
-holding up his right arm and flicking his fingers at
-him. Teddy laughs and turns to tell Twiller, who
-is just rejoining him from the right hallway, what
-has happened. Florence turns and looks at Hossefrosse,
-then at Mrs. Pampinelli, who is standing at
-the right of the table below the piano. Mrs. Ritter
-gets up and simply staggers laughing through the center-door
-and out to Teddy and Twiller.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Speaking to Mrs. Pampinelli</i>] That
-isn&#8217;t right, is it?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning to Spindler at her
-right and holding up her hand</i>] Please don&#8217;t whistle,
-Mr. Spindler! I can&#8217;t stand whistling.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> I thought we were going to take the
-<i>last</i> scene first.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span> and <span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Moving around in front of the
-table and going near to Hossefrosse</i>] We are taking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>
-the <i>last</i> scene <i>first</i>, Mr. Hossefrosse, that is the <i>first</i>
-scene.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Holding up her hand</i>] Wait a moment,
-wait one moment, just one moment, somebody&#8217;s off
-the track! [<i>Twiller and Teddy laugh again and
-Hossefrosse turns and looks at them. Twiller shakes
-his head, flips his hand at him and walks away into the
-right hallway, as though deploring his stupidity. Ritter
-begins to laugh.</i>]</p>
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I thought I had made that sufficiently
-clear.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span>, <span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell</span>, <span class="smcap">Spindler</span> and
-<span class="smcap">Twiller</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> We are taking the scene at
-the finish, Mr. Hossefrosse, between you and Miss
-McCrickett.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Rising</i>] That&#8217;s the first scene, Huxley,
-and we are taking the last scene, between you and
-Florence, on page nineteen, right here, [<i>She indicates
-the place in the manuscript</i>].</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Addressing Teddy</i>] I hope he doesn&#8217;t
-pull anything like that tomorrow night. [<i>He returns
-to his place below the window.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Coming back into view from the hallway</i>]
-Don&#8217;t weaken, Huxley, you know what they
-say about a bad rehearsal.</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Topping them all</i>] Please,
-children, please!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Down at the bottom of the page.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span>
-[<i>Mrs. Ritter comes through the center-door again
-and sits down on the left partition-seat.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Speaking directly to Mrs. Fell</i>]
-Please&mdash;[<i>Mrs. Fell sits down again, slowly, Mrs. Pampinelli
-looking at her stonily.</i>] Let us have one director,
-if you please. [<i>She withdraws her eyes slowly, and
-Nelly darts a bitter look at her.</i>] Now, don&#8217;t let
-us have everybody talking at once; it only confuses
-people, and wastes a lot of time. [<i>Hossefrosse stands
-bewildered in the middle of the room. Mrs. Pampinelli
-addresses him directly, speaking with measured
-emphasis.</i>] We are taking the <i>last</i> scene <i>first</i>, Mr.
-Hossefrosse: it is the scene at the finish, between you
-and Miss McCrickett, just before Paula comes on,&mdash;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Oh, I beg your pardon!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> And <i>after</i> Mr. Rush has left
-the stage.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> I thought we were beginning right
-from the beginning.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> No, I&#8217;d like to run through
-the <i>last</i> scene <i>first</i>, if you don&#8217;t mind; there are a few
-little things in it I&#8217;d like to correct.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Turning and starting for the center-door</i>]
-This was the wrong entrance for that line,
-anyway.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> And you won&#8217;t need your hat
-and cane in this scene.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> That&#8217;s so, too.</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Who is standing out just at the right of
-the center-door</i>] I&#8217;ll take them, Hux.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Handing him the hat, gloves and
-cane</i>] Thanks. [<i>Turning to Mrs. Ritter</i>] I&#8217;ll get
-straightened out after while. [<i>Paula laughs.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Now, Florence dear, will you
-go back?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Crossing back again to the window</i>]
-Certainly.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Crossing back to the right, in
-front of the table</i>] And take it right from Mr. Rush&#8217;s
-exit.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Looking round at Hossefrosse</i>] Ready?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>In the center-door</i>] Yes, I&#8217;m ready.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>To Florence</i>] Go on.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Repeating her former business of putting
-on a deadlatch</i>] Deadlatch.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Having again assumed his rigid military
-attitude</i>] Click&mdash;click. [<i>Florence turns and crosses
-again between the piano and the table.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>With a glance at the center-door</i>] You
-can come out now, Clyde, they&#8217;ve gone. [<i>She continues
-to her former position at the right of the little
-table at the left. Hossefrosse steps resolutely through
-the center-door, gives her a wicked look, glances toward
-the door at the right, then strides forward and
-plants himself directly opposite her, his head thrown
-back, his eyes ablaze, and his arms akimbo.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Did you come here to make a scene!</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Languidly, and without turning</i>] Have
-I made one?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Getting loud</i>] What are you doing
-here?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Raising her hand to enjoin silence</i>]
-Sh-sh&mdash;[<i>He turns abruptly and looks toward the door
-at the right; then back to her again.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> I want an explanation of this!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Turning to him, and rather casually</i>]
-So do I.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Standing at the right of the
-table below the piano</i>] Oh, more imperious, Florence
-dear! [<i>Florence and Hossefrosse look at her.</i>] More
-of this. [<i>She lifts her shoulders, eyebrows and chin,
-to illustrate her idea of the general hauteur of the
-line.</i>] Much more.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Vaguely</i>] Don&#8217;t you think she would
-cry there? [<i>Mrs. Pampinelli looks at her steadily
-for a pause and thinks: then she rests her lead-pencil
-on the table and tilts her head a bit to one side.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Do you want to cry there,
-dear?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> No, but I can if you want me to.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> No,&mdash;personally, I think she&#8217;s
-speaking more in anger than in sorrow. You see,
-dear, you are impersonating a wronged wife. Now,
-you yourself, Florence darling, are an unmarried girl:&mdash;it
-is difficult for you to realize how excessively annoyed
-with her husband a married woman can become.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span>
-I think I would take it with more <i>lift</i>. More of this,
-you know. [<i>She repeats her former illustration.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Endeavoring to imitate the manner of
-delivery, and speaking in a deep, tragic tone</i>] So do I.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Perfect.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Turning to Mrs. Pampinelli</i>] Go
-on?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Yes, go on.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Clearing his throat and trying to
-summon his attack</i>] What is your reason for sneaking
-into my office at this hour?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Is it necessary that your wife have a
-reason for coming to your office?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> You wanted to embarrass Mrs. Rush,
-that was it, wasn&#8217;t it?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Waving her hand toward them
-with an upward movement</i>] Tempo, children!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> I wanted to meet my rival.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> You could have met Mrs. Rush under
-more candid circumstances.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Moving around towards them,
-in front of the table</i>] Tempo, children!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> The present ones suited my purposes
-better.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Turning away impatiently</i>] Naturally!&mdash;You
-wanted a scene! [<i>He starts over to the right,
-but Mrs. Pampinelli is standing right in his way, so
-he stops short, but maintains the physical tautness of
-his character. Florence, too, has turned away, to the</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>
-<i>left, and is moving across in front of the table towards
-the arm-chair.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Oblivious of Hossefrosse, and
-still making her upward waving gesture over his shoulder</i>]
-Tempo, Florence! [<i>Suddenly becoming conscious
-that she is obstructing Hossefrosse&#8217;s cross, and stepping
-below him</i>] I beg your pardon.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Bowing stiffly</i>] Not at all. [<i>He
-continues over to the right and stops, right in front
-of Spindler, and they stand looking into each other&#8217;s
-eyes; while Mrs. Pampinelli comes up at the left of
-the table to the piano.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Sitting down in the arm-chair</i>] I think
-if I were a scenic woman I&#8217;ve had ample opportunity
-during the last fifteen minutes to indulge myself.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Still looking into Spindler&#8217;s eyes</i>]
-You did I think;&mdash;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Beckoning to Spindler</i>] Mr.
-Spindler.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> I had the pleasure of hearing you.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Was it a pleasure, Clyde?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span> and <span class="smcap">Hossefrosse</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Still beckoning to Spindler</i>]
-Mr. Spindler!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Whirling around and glaring at Florence</i>]
-It appears to amuse you! [<i>Spindler steps below
-Hossefrosse and passes up in front of him to Mrs.
-Pampinelli, who whispers something to him.</i>]</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Unfastening her neckpiece</i>] I have an
-inopportune sense of humor.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> You should be able to appreciate the
-situation, you created it!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Looking over at him</i>] I didn&#8217;t create
-her husband.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Making a little gesture of annoyance</i>]
-I&#8217;m afraid I&#8217;m stuck! [<i>He tries hard to think, and
-Mrs. Pampinelli makes a gesture toward Mrs. Fell
-to give him the line, but Nelly is occupied in telling
-Ritter a story.</i>] But, don&#8217;t tell me! [<i>He feels for the
-line again, and Mrs. Pampinelli tries to attract Nelly&#8217;s
-attention.</i>] I guess I&#8217;m gone. [<i>Suddenly Nelly bursts
-into a fit of laughing, having made the point of the
-story.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> What is the line, Nelly? [<i>Ritter
-nudges her.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Stopping suddenly in her laughter and
-hitting him with her fan</i>] Stop that!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Get on your job, you&#8217;re holding up the
-show. [<i>Nelly looks excitedly toward Mrs. Pampinelli.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> What is the line, Nelly, please.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> What! Oh, I beg your pardon, is somebody
-stuck?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Mr. Hossefrosse.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Got another mind-blank.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Oh, well, now, just wait one minute,
-please, till I see where I&#8217;m at. [<i>She searches frantically</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>
-<i>through the manuscript.</i>] Oh, yes, here it is!
-[<i>Ritter indicates a place on the page. She pushes his
-arm out of the way.</i>] I didn&#8217;t create her husband.
-[<i>Teddy and Twiller laugh.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span>, <span class="smcap">Florence</span> and <span class="smcap">Hossefrosse</span>,
-together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> No, dear, we&#8217;ve just passed
-that.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> I&#8217;ve already said that, Nelly.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> It&#8217;s the next line.</p>
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Vaguely, and looking through her
-lorgnon and spectacles at the manuscript</i>] Oh, have
-we passed that!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> The next line after the one
-you just read.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Oh, I see now where we are! The
-next line after that is, &#8220;You&#8217;ve all been listening to
-a lot of damned, cheap gossip.&#8221;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span> and <span class="smcap">Hossefrosse</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> That&#8217;s it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>To Mrs. Pampinelli</i>] That certainly
-is my Jonah line.</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> You&#8217;ve all been list&mdash;[<i>Spindler
-goes around to the right and sits on the piano-stool,
-looking near-sightedly at the music.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Turning to Florence, and assuming
-his character again</i>] You&#8217;ve all been listening to a lot
-of damned, cheap gossip! [<i>He starts to cross towards
-the left, passing between the piano and the table, but</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>
-<i>Mrs. Pampinelli is right in his way again, so he is
-obliged to stop short and wait.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Which should show you that people are
-talking. [<i>Mrs. Pampinelli turns to see why Hossefrosse
-is not picking up his line.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Stepping out of his way</i>] I
-beg your pardon. [<i>She circles down at the left of the
-table again.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Continuing over towards the mantelpiece</i>]
-My fault. One or two old women, perhaps.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Will it confine itself to those?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Turning at the mantelpiece and
-coming back to the middle of the room</i>] Well, I can&#8217;t
-control that.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Have you tried?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Whirling upon her, and literally
-shouting</i>] No!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Standing at the right of the
-table below the piano</i>] Excellent.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Turning and bowing briefly to her</i>]
-Thank you very much. [<i>Resuming the scene with
-Florence</i>] And I don&#8217;t intend to. People will always
-talk; it may as well be at my expense as anybody else&#8217;s.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Leaning towards him across the
-table, and speaking with poisonous sweetness</i>] Anybody&#8217;s
-<i>else</i>, dear.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Beg pardon?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Would you say anybody&#8217;s else;
-it sounds better.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Turning back again to Florence</i>]<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>
-It may as well be at my expense as anybody else&#8217;s.
-[<i>Mr. Spindler&#8217;s elbow slips off the piano onto the keyboard,
-striking a perfectly villainous chord, and causing
-everybody to turn and look in that direction.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Mr. Spindler, please.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Adjusting his goggles, which have been
-slightly dislodged by the incident</i>] I&#8217;m sorry. [<i>Mrs.
-Pampinelli turns back to Hossefrosse.</i>] Never mind, Mr.
-Hossefrosse, it will come.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Your position can&#8217;t afford it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Taking a step towards the right</i>]
-I&#8217;ve given them nothing to talk about.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> No? [<i>He stops abruptly and turns and
-looks at her.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> What? [<i>He takes a couple of steps
-towards her.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Rising</i>] Please, Clyde!&mdash;[<i>She crosses
-in front of the table at the left and goes towards him.
-Mrs. Ritter gets up from the partition-seat and comes
-down to the table at the right, below the piano.</i>] You&#8217;re
-not talking to your office-boy&mdash;[<i>Mrs. Ritter picks up
-the little chair from the left of the table and starts
-back again towards the center-door.</i>] Let us get to the
-point.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Very well.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter</span> and <span class="smcap">Hossefrosse</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs.
-Ritter.</span>&mdash;Excuse me, Florence. [<i>Florence bows and
-smiles.</i>] And you, too, Mr. Hossefrosse.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> What brought you here tonight?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>
-[<i>He turns to see the cause of the movement behind him.</i>]
-Don&#8217;t mention it. [<i>Mrs. Ritter places the chair in
-front of the partition where she has been sitting, then
-crosses to the piano and gets her sewing-basket, returning
-with it to the chair and sitting down to sew.</i>]</p>
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Not to quarrel with you, for one thing.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> You wanted to embarrass Mrs.
-Rush, that was it, wasn&#8217;t it?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Not at all,&mdash;you misunderstood me;
-I said, &#8220;I wanted to <i>meet</i> Mrs. Rush.&#8221; [<i>Teddy comes
-in through the center-door from the right hallway and
-sits down on the partition-seat at the right. Teddy is
-a frail little wisp of a youth around twenty, in dinner
-clothes. He has big eyes and good teeth, and laughs
-on the slightest provocation. His forehead is defectively
-high, and his thin hair is plastered back and brilliantined.
-His type is always to be found draped upon
-the banisters or across the pianos in the houses of the
-rich,&mdash;a kind of social annoyance, created by wealthy
-connections and the usual lack of available men.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> What did you want to meet her for?
-[<i>Twiller steps through the center-door from the right
-hallway and whispers something to Mrs. Ritter. She
-answers him, and he steps out into the hallway and fills
-himself out a glass of claret from the bowl, then goes
-up and sits on the landing of the stairway and watches
-the rehearsal.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Why, I thought that we three might&mdash;reason
-together, [<i>He holds her eye for a second, then</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>
-<i>turns away, and reaches in his various pockets for his
-cigarettes.</i>] concerning our respective futures.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>In a lowered tone, to Mrs. Pampinelli</i>]
-Forgot my cigarettes.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Never mind, I only want lines.
-Go on, Florence. [<i>Hossefrosse takes an imaginary
-cigarette from an imaginary case, replaces the case,
-taps the cigarette on the back of his hand, puts it in
-his mouth, strikes an imaginary match on his shoe, and
-lights the cigarette.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> I&#8217;ve deferred the discussion for a long
-time, but it may as well be today as tomorrow.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Your plan didn&#8217;t work out very
-well, did it?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Oh, yes, very well indeed; although
-hardly as I had anticipated; thanks to <i>her</i> husband and
-<i>your</i> lies. [<i>He blows out the imaginary match and
-tosses it onto the floor at the right; then snaps his head
-around and glares at Florence. Mrs. Pampinelli glances
-down onto the floor, as though to assure herself that
-Mr. Hossefrosse hasn&#8217;t really thrown a lighted match
-onto the carpet.</i>] You&#8217;ve evidently told this boy here
-that Mrs. Rush is your wife.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> I&#8217;ve told him nothing of the kind!
-[<i>He starts to cross again to the right, but Mrs. Pampinelli
-is again right in his pathway, standing in front
-of the table below the piano.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Stepping below him, and going
-a step or two nearer Florence</i>] I beg your pardon.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> I beg your pardon. [<i>He continues</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>
-<i>over to the table below the window at the right and
-stands there, pretending to smoke.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Then, you&#8217;ve allowed him to think so.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Looking straight ahead</i>] That&#8217;s
-business.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Perhaps it is. It has at least allowed
-you to be present at the passing of Mrs. Rush. [<i>She
-turns and goes towards the back. Mrs. Ritter calls
-her to her and they start discussing the hang of Florence&#8217;s
-skirt.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Whirling around</i>] You are deliberately
-misinterpreting this situation! [<i>He starts to
-move across towards her, passing between the piano and
-table.</i>] Yes you are! It&#8217;s perfectly ridiculous that a
-physician cannot take a woman patient without being
-subjected to the whisperings of a lot of vulgar scandal-mongers!
-[<i>Nelly Fell goes into violent laughter at
-something Ritter has just finished telling her. Florence
-and Mrs. Ritter continue their discussion of the dress,
-and Mrs. Pampinelli tries by dint of gesturing to attract
-Florence&#8217;s attention.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Florence dear, please.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Turning suddenly, and continuing her
-lines</i>] Oh, I beg your pardon! [<i>She moves slowly
-towards the mantelpiece.</i>] This is not a romantic age,
-Clyde.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Mrs. Rush is a patient of mine!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Moving down at the left towards
-Ritter and Mrs. Fell</i>] She may have been originally.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>
-[<i>Mrs. Fell bursts out afresh over something else that
-Ritter whispers.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Flicking her finger at Nelly</i>]
-Sh-sh-Nelly.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>To Florence, who is standing looking
-at her</i>] I beg your pardon.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Standing in the middle of the room</i>]
-She is <i>now</i>!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Resting one hand on the arm-chair</i>]
-I&#8217;m not disputing it. [<i>He turns away, and stands at
-the left of the table below the piano.</i>] But she must
-have a very persistent malady&mdash;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Just one minute, Flossie&mdash;one minute&mdash;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> That hasn&#8217;t responded to a treatment
-of more than six years&mdash;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Flossie, Flossie, Flossie! [<i>Florence
-stops and looks at her.</i>] Just a minute. [<i>She looks
-sharply at her manuscript.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> What is the matter, Nelly?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Oh, I beg your pardon, I thought
-she&#8217;d omitted a line. [<i>To Florence</i>] I beg your pardon.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Go on, Florence. [<i>Ritter
-says something to Nelly and she hits him with the manuscript.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Not to speak of the innumerable changes
-of air that she&#8217;s enjoyed&mdash;[<i>Mrs. Pampinelli, standing
-over at the right below the piano, takes quite a little
-coughing spell, and Mrs. Ritter promptly gets up and
-goes to the punch-bowl to fill her out a glass of punch.</i>]<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>
-at your expense; and under your personal escort.
-[<i>Hossefrosse looks over at her. She raises her hand
-understandingly, and starts slowly across in front of the
-table towards him.</i>] I have the day and date of the majority
-of them. So, you see, your chivalry is a bit trying,
-under the circumstances. [<i>He looks straight ahead
-and tries to look sullen and defeated.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Up in the center-door, holding aloft
-a glass of punch</i>] Betty!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> But, I haven&#8217;t come here to reproach
-you, or to plead for your return. Not at all. I think
-you <i>love</i> this woman.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Coming a little further forward</i>]
-Betty! [<i>Mrs. Pampinelli has another coughing spell.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> And in that case, I want to offer you
-your freedom&mdash;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Careful, now, children. [<i>Mrs.
-Ritter comes forward to the table at the left and tries
-to attract Mrs. Pampinelli&#8217;s attention to the glass of
-punch.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> If you want it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Holding up her forefinger</i>]
-One, two, three.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Snapping his head around and
-shouting at Florence</i>] Well, I don&#8217;t want it!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Good!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> And I see absolutely no occasion for
-any such talk. [<i>Mrs. Fell drops her bag and reaches
-for it.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> You are probably more broad-minded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>
-than I. [<i>Nelly Fell utters a piercing little shriek,
-having almost fallen off the chair in reaching to pick
-up her bag. Everyone turns and looks, and Teddy
-laughs, as usual.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> What&#8217;s the matter, Nelly?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Straightening up, with Ritter&#8217;s assistance,
-and laughing</i>] I nearly fell off the chair.
-[<i>Mrs. Ritter laughs and returns to the center-door and
-stands.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Go on, Florence.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> And, really, I don&#8217;t think your freedom
-would be a very good thing for you. You have a
-form of respectability that requires a certain anchorage
-in the conventions. But unless you can reconcile yourself
-in the future to a more literal observance of those
-conventions, I shall be obliged to insist that you <i>take</i>
-your freedom.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Look at her, Mr. Hossefrosse.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Beg pardon?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>With a touch of impatience</i>]
-Look at her! [<i>She begins to cough again.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Oh, yes, yes! [<i>He turns and glares
-at Florence, who is standing just a couple of feet away
-from him.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Holding the glass of punch aloft
-again</i>] Betty!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> I have a couple of growing boys,&mdash;[<i>Mrs.
-Pampinelli passes right up between Florence and
-Hossefrosse to Mrs. Ritter, and takes the glass of claret.</i>]
-who are beginning to ask me questions which I find too<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>
-difficult to answer: and I will neither lie to them&mdash;nor
-allow them to pity me.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> What do you want me to do?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Handing the claret-glass back
-to Paula, who goes to the bowl and refills it, and the
-note-book and pencil to Teddy</i>] Just a moment. [<i>She
-turns and comes forward in the middle of the room.
-Florence turns and moves over to the table at the left,
-and Hossefrosse remains standing at the table at the
-right.</i>] Just one moment. Listen, Florence dear. [<i>She
-uses her handkerchief, then stuffs it into the bosom of
-her dress.</i>] I want you, if you can, to make just a little
-bit more of that last line. Within the limits of the
-characterization, of course; but if you can <i>feel</i> it, I&#8217;d
-like you to give me just the barest suggestion of a tear.
-Not too much; but just enough to show that,&mdash;under
-all her courage&mdash;and her threatening, she is still a
-woman&mdash;and a Mother. You see what I mean, dear?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> More emotion.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> In that last line. You are
-doing splendidly, darling, [<i>Turning to Hossefrosse</i>]
-both of you; [<i>He acknowledges his excellence with a
-short bow.</i>] but I have always <i>felt</i> that that last line&mdash;was
-really the <i>big</i> moment&mdash;of the play. It seems to me&mdash;[<i>She
-toys with her necklace, narrows her eyes and
-looks away off.</i>] that it is there&mdash;that she makes her
-big plea, for her boys, for her home,&mdash;for every woman&#8217;s
-home. And even though that plea <i>is</i> made in the form
-of a threat,&mdash;somehow or other&mdash;I seem to hear her
-saying, sub-vocally, of course, &#8220;In God&#8217;s <i>name, don&#8217;t</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>
-make it necessary for me to do this thing!&#8221; [<i>She concludes
-this speech rather dramatically, her arms outstretched.
-Mr. Spindler, at this point, engaged in a
-too curious examination of the keyboard, accidentally
-touches D flat above High C. Everybody turns and
-looks at him, but his consciousness of guilt does not permit
-of his meeting their eyes, so he remains bent over
-the keyboard in precisely the attitude he was in when
-he struck the note.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Oh, go away from that piano, Mr.
-Spindler! [<i>Mrs. Ritter comes forward at the left
-with a dish of cakes and a glass of claret.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Withdrawing her eyes witheringly
-from Spindler and turning back to Florence</i>]
-Do you see what I mean, dear?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> I think I do. Do you want me to go
-back?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> No, that&#8217;s quite all right. We&#8217;ll
-take it right from Mr. Hossefrosse&#8217;s line, [<i>She turns
-toward Hossefrosse. And Mrs. Ritter takes advantage
-of the circumstance to offer Florence a cake; which,
-of course, is declined with thanks. Then she turns to
-Mrs. Pampinelli and waits till the lady has finished
-directing Hossefrosse.</i>] &#8220;What do you want me to do?&#8221;
-[<i>Mrs. P. turns back, to be confronted with the cakes
-and claret; and she takes both. Then she and Paula
-move back towards the center-door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Clearing his throat</i>] What do you
-want me to do? [<i>Paula gives a shriek of laughter, at
-something Mrs. Pampinelli whispers to her. Then</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>
-<i>Paula goes out through the center-door and offers Twiller,
-who is still sitting half-way up the stairs, some cake,
-which he accepts, and then Teddy, who declines, and
-finally, after taking another one herself, sets the plate
-down on the hallway table and resumes her chair up
-at the left; while Mrs. Pampinelli, cake and claret in
-hand, wanders forward at the right, passing over between
-the piano and the table below it.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> I&#8217;ve already told you.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Then, I suppose I&#8217;m simply to decline
-all women patients in the future, [<i>She makes a little
-sound of amusement.</i>] or else submit them for general
-approval. [<i>He now presses the imaginary fire out of
-the cigarette on the imaginary tray on the table.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Stick to your guns, Clyde.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> That&#8217;s the only thing I see to do.
-[<i>Mrs. Pampinelli stands over at the right watching
-the scene, and eating and drinking.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Your tenacity is commendable, but it&#8217;s
-a lost cause. [<i>Looking at him steadily</i>] I appreciate
-your embarrassment&mdash;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Turning to her, thrusting his hands
-into his coat-pockets, tilting his chin, and looking at
-her with an absurdly perky expression</i>] I&#8217;m not embarrassed.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Desolation, then.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Snapping his fingers at her</i>] Ha!
-[<i>He swings rather jauntily across and up towards the
-mantelpiece.</i>]</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> More nonchalance in the cross,
-Mr. Hossefrosse.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Turning to her suddenly</i>] Me?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> More savoir faire, as we say
-in French. [<i>She illustrates the idea with a kind of
-floating gesture of the hand.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> I see. [<i>He continues over to the
-left and down towards Ritter and Mrs. Fell, endeavoring
-to execute Mrs. Pampinelli&#8217;s idea by raising his
-shoulders, stiffening his arms, throwing his head back
-and swinging his legs, as he walks. Nelly Fell is whispering
-something to Ritter behind her fan, so that, when
-Hossefrosse reaches them, he is obliged to touch Ritter
-on the shoulder and suggest with a nod and a smile
-that the exigencies of the play require that he shall
-sit where Ritter is sitting. So Ritter jumps up and
-tiptoes across in front of the table and up to the piano,
-where he stands leaning&mdash;and watching&mdash;particularly
-Mrs. Pampinelli.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Moving to the table below the piano</i>]
-But, I shall be magnanimous; having loved and lost
-myself. So that, really, it may not be nearly so difficult
-as you imagine.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Sitting on the chair vacated by
-Ritter</i>] Well, I can&#8217;t say that I relish the prospect,
-with any such misunderstanding as this between us.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Crossing to the table at the left</i>]
-It&#8217;s the portion of half the world, Clyde. [<i>Twiller
-gets up from the stairs and comes down into the right
-hallway, where he stands watching.</i>]</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Trying to look sullen, by resting
-one elbow on his knee and hunching his shoulders</i>]
-It certainly isn&#8217;t a very inviting one. [<i>Nelly Fell
-starts to whisper something in his ear.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> But it has its compensations. [<i>Mrs.
-Pampinelli, having finished her cake and claret, sets
-the empty glass down on the table below the piano and
-uses her handkerchief.</i>] You&#8217;ll have your memories,
-and I shall have the wisdom of disillusionment;&mdash;[<i>The
-telephone-bell rings, up in the left hallway. Mrs.
-Ritter jumps up, places her sewing-basket on the chair,
-and, touching her hair, comes forward quickly at the
-right to the table below the piano.</i>] as well as the consciousness
-of lots of company.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Speaking directly to Mrs. Pampinelli</i>]
-Is that my cue? [<i>Florence stops and turns
-and looks at her.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Which cue, dear?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Taking a step towards Florence,
-and with a little questioning, bewildered gesture</i>] The
-telephone is my cue, isn&#8217;t it?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>With a touch of impatience</i>]
-No, darling, you&#8217;re not on in this scene at all. Go on,
-Florence. [<i>Mrs. Ritter puts her hand to her cheek
-and looks from one to the other in puzzled embarrassment.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Turning and resuming her lines to
-Hossefrosse, who, by this time, is deep in conversation
-with Mrs. Fell</i>] For there are a million women exactly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>
-like me. [<i>Mrs. Ritter bursts out laughing. So
-does Teddy. Twiller reaches over the partition and
-flips Teddy on the head with his handkerchief. Jenny
-appears in the left hallway to answer the telephone.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter</span> and <span class="smcap">Florence</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Turning to Mrs. Pampinelli</i>] Oh,
-I beg your pardon! [<i>She leans across the table explaining
-to Mrs. Pampinelli, who tries politely to silence
-her by suggestion that the scene is in progress.</i>] I
-thought that was my cue.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence</span>&mdash;Secondary women. [<i>She moves around
-above the table and stands just above Hossefrosse.</i>] So
-don&#8217;t look so tragic; you haven&#8217;t lost anything but a
-lot of time;</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>At the telephone</i>] Hello?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter</span>, <span class="smcap">Florence</span> and <span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span>&mdash;I was thinking of something else,
-you know, and when I heard the telephone, I thought
-it was for me.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span>&mdash;And that&#8217;s always lost when it&#8217;s spent
-on things that are insusceptible of conclusion.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Bursting into a perfect shriek of
-laughter at something Hossefrosse has just finished
-telling her, and pushing him away from her</i>] Huxley
-Hossefrosse, you are perfectly dreadful! [<i>He laughs,
-too, and attempts to tell her something else, but she
-turns away and waves him aside.</i>] No, No, No.</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> No dear, that is your own
-telephone.</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>At the telephone still</i>] Just a minute.
-[<i>Mrs. Ritter turns towards the back of the room.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Oh, so it is! [<i>Directly to Ritter</i>]
-I knew I had one telephone cue. [<i>She goes laughing
-through the center-door and on out into the right hallway.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Trying to attract Ritter&#8217;s attention</i>]
-<span class="smcap">Mr. Ritter!</span> [<i>But Ritter is absorbed in watching
-Hossefrosse. Florence stands waiting for Hossefrosse
-and Nelly to stop laughing, but as it doesn&#8217;t look as
-though they will ever stop, she gives Hossefrosse a
-little dig in the shoulder with her finger. He straightens
-up abruptly.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Prompting him</i>] I&#8217;ve lost her.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Mr. Ritter!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> I&#8217;ve lost her.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> That was inevitable in your case, Clyde;
-you have a conventional soul. [<i>Jenny asks Teddy in
-pantomime to attract Ritter&#8217;s attention.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>In a tone intended to express abysmal
-despair</i>] I&#8217;ve lost you. [<i>Ritter bursts out laughing.
-Teddy reaches out and indicates that he is wanted
-on the telephone. Jenny holds the telephone up, and
-he steps quickly out into the hallway to take it from
-her.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> That was incidental, eh?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> But, it seems to me there should be
-some other way.</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Moving to the right, above the table</i>]
-There is, my dear boy,&mdash;for lots of people&mdash;&mdash;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>at the telephone</i>] Hello? [<i>Jenny goes
-out.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> But not for you.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Yes.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> You&#8217;re too respectable&mdash;Physically, I
-mean. [<i>She laughs a little, and stands above the table
-looking at him.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Well, wait a minute, I&#8217;ll talk to you upstairs.
-[<i>He sets the telephone down and starts towards
-the right to go upstairs. As he passes the center-door
-he speaks to Teddy, who is still sitting just inside the
-center-door on the right partition-seat.</i>] Hang that up
-when I get on, will you, Teddy? [<i>Teddy jumps up
-and goes out to the telephone, and holds it, waiting
-till Ritter gets on the extension upstairs.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> And Mrs. Rush has what it appears to
-me to be a rather&mdash;primitive husband&mdash;[<i>Hossefrosse
-gives her a narrow look.</i>] and you have a very modern
-wife. So be wise, Clyde; you know what usually
-happens to him who &#8220;loves the danger.&#8221; [<i>There is a
-loud knock at the right door. Hossefrosse jumps to
-his feet and stands looking fearfully toward it. Florence
-assumes all the dignity at her command, drawing
-herself up, placing her right hand upon her throat,
-her left on her hip, and waiting,&mdash;the proud but outraged
-wife. Mrs. Pampinelli holds up both hands
-and looks in the direction of the door, to impress</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>
-<i>everybody with the dramatic value of the situation.
-Teddy hangs up the receiver and stands watching her.
-Nelly Fell straightens up briskly and sits watching the
-door, in expectant attention. Then Mrs. Pampinelli
-makes a gesture to Florence to go on with her lines.</i>]
-Go into your office, I&#8217;ll talk to this woman. [<i>Hossefrosse
-drops his head and shoulders and slinks across
-in front of the table, a beaten man. He continues up
-to the center-door and out, into the right hallway. The
-knock is repeated at the right door. Mrs. Pampinelli
-motions to Teddy that that is his cue to open the door.
-He comes through the center-door and crosses above
-the piano to the right door, Mrs. Pampinelli at the
-same time moving over to the arm-chair at the right
-and enshrining herself. Teddy opens the door; and
-Mrs. Ritter swishes in self-consciously. Nelly Fell
-and Mr. Twiller give a little ripple of applause, but
-Mrs. Pampinelli holds one finger up toward Nelly and
-shushes her. Mrs. Ritter is wearing a rather bizarre-looking
-hat, set at something of a challenging angle,
-and as she comes forward at the right of the piano,
-she bursts into a self-conscious giggle. But Mrs. Pampinelli
-reproves her with a look. So she controls herself
-and crosses below the piano, Teddy, simultaneously,
-crossing above the piano. She stops at the
-corner of the piano and rests her left hand upon it.
-Then she places her right hand upon her hip, and,
-tilting her head back, looks at Teddy, who has stopped
-directly above her. Ritter appears on the stairway,</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>
-<i>and moves down a step or two, watching his wife,
-narrowly.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Flipping her left hand at Teddy,
-in an attempt to give a fly impression</i>] Hello, kid.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> Hello, Mrs. Arlington. [<i>Mrs. Ritter
-swishes down towards the left, shaking her head from
-side to side and holding her arms akimbo. She turns
-around to her left, gives Florence a look, supposed to
-be a very contemptuous look, and stands in the middle
-of the room again, facing Teddy.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Speaking directly to Teddy</i>] Is
-my sweetie in? [<i>Ritter moves slowly down to the
-landing of the stairs, watching his wife as though she
-were some baffling phenomenon.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> No, mam, he ain&#8217;t.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Drawing her shoulders up, and
-speaking in a high unnatural key</i>] What!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> He went about six o&#8217;clock.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Why, I had an appointment with
-<i>him</i>!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> He might be back, maybe.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> But, I can&#8217;t wait unless I&#8217;m <i>certain</i>
-that he&#8217;s coming back.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> He was expecting you.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Still shaking her head and trying
-generally to appear bold</i>] Yes, I know he was.
-[<i>Turning to the table at the left, back of which Florence
-is standing</i>] I suppose I&#8217;d better leave a note
-for him. [<i>She indicates the table with a waving gesture
-of her left hand.</i>]</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> You&#8217;ll find that green one is the best pen.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Stepping to the table</i>] Thanks.
-[<i>She looks at Florence, who gives her a withering
-look over her right shoulder and turns away to the
-mantelpiece at the left. Then Mrs. Ritter gives her
-idea of a scornful laugh.</i>] Ha! Ha! Ha!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Sweeping his hand across his brow,
-groaning, and falling down the stairs, into the right
-hallway</i>] Oh my God!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Seeing him fall, and jumping
-up</i>] Oh, my dear! [<i>Everybody turns.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Trying to catch him</i>] Hold it!
-[<i>Spindler rushes past Mrs. Pampinelli and out the
-center-door into the right hallway. Teddy jumps
-into a kneeling position on the right partition-seat and
-looks over the partition. Florence and Mrs. Fell rush
-up to the center-door and try to see what&#8217;s going on,
-Nelly dodging from one side of Florence to the other,
-and peering through her lorgnon.</i>] Are you hurt, old
-man?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Handing his cane and gloves to
-Spindler</i>] Hold those, please. [<i>Spindler takes them,
-and Hossefrosse prepares to assist Twiller to lift Ritter
-from the floor.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> Get some water, somebody! [<i>Spindler
-rushes out the left hallway. Mrs. Pampinelli sweeps
-up from below the table at the right to the center-door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Bewildered, in the middle of the</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span>
-<i>room, as Mrs. Pampinelli passes her</i>] What is it,
-Betty?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Now, don&#8217;t get excited, Paula.
-[<i>Mrs. Ritter steps frantically across to the piano and
-turns, leaning against it, looking wide-eyed at Nelly
-Fell.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Lift up his head.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Looking eagerly out into the
-right hallway</i>] Is he hurt, boys?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> I want to get him under the arms.
-[<i>They lift Ritter onto a bench in the hallway. Nelly
-Fell turns away from the center-door with an exclamation
-of distress.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> We&#8217;d better lay him right here.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Is it Fred, Nelly?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> I don&#8217;t know, dear.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span> and <span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Addressing Hossefrosse and
-Twiller</i>] You can lay him right here, boys, I think
-it&#8217;ll be as good as any.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> What is it, Florence, did Mr. Ritter
-fall downstairs?</p>
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> I think so.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Covering her eyes and swaying</i>] Oh,
-dear child, don&#8217;t! [<i>Florence puts her arm around
-her and guides her towards the arm-chair at the left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Give me one of those pillows,
-Teddy. [<i>He hands her a pillow from the partition-seat
-where he&#8217;s kneeling.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Sinking into the arm-chair at the
-left</i>] Betty, I think I&#8217;m going to faint!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning to her</i>] Sit down,
-dear, I&#8217;ll get you some water. [<i>Calling and beckoning
-out into the left hallway</i>] Jenny dear! come here,
-please!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Rushing across from the right to
-the left hallway</i>] I think I&#8217;d better call Dr. Wentworth.
-[<i>He snatches up the telephone and works the
-hook violently.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Yes, I would. [<i>She turns
-around to her left and stands looking questioningly
-at Mrs. Ritter.</i>] Go on with your lines, Paula.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Well, is he <i>dead</i>, Betty?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>With a definite little gesture
-of her right hand</i>] Never mind! [<i>The curtain commences
-to descend, and she sweeps forward.</i>] We will
-go right on from where Mr. Ritter fell downstairs.</p>
-
-
-<p class="center">THE CURTAIN IS DOWN</p>
-
-<p class="center"><span class="smcap">As it Rises Again for the Picture</span></p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>At the telephone</i>] Landsdowne 8,
-please,&mdash;right away! [<i>Spindler rushes in from the
-left hallway carrying a glass of water, and followed
-immediately by Jenny. Twiller is ministering to Ritter.
-Mrs. Pampinelli is standing in the middle of the
-room, facing the center-door, and holding up both her
-hands, as a signal to the various artists that the rehearsal
-is about to be resumed; so they quickly step</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>
-<i>to the various positions in which they respectively were
-when Mr. Ritter fell.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Addressing Teddy</i>] Yes, I know
-he was. I s&#8217;pose I&#8217;d better leave a note for him.</p>
-
-
-<p class="center">END OF THE ACT</p>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-
-
-
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>
-<h2 class="nobreak">THE TORCH-BEARERS&mdash;ACT II.</h2></div>
-
-
-<p>NOTE:</p>
-
-<p>The setting for this act consists simply of three
-wings set in the middle of the stage about four feet
-from the footlights, and parallel to the footlights, the
-wing in the middle, a plain one, and the one on
-either side of it, a door-wing. These doors open toward
-the footlights, and the one on the right is hinged
-to the right, and the one on the left, to the left.
-From these door-wings, regular plain wings oblique
-off to the back wall; and the whole thing is lashed
-and stage-screwed after the fashion of regulation stage-setting.
-As the doors in the back flat open, there
-can be had a glimpse of footlights, and just beyond
-them, a neutral drop, in grayish black, to represent
-an auditorium. Between the back flat and the stage
-footlights, (as distinguished from the regular footlights)
-the miniature stage is set to represent the interior
-of a doctor&#8217;s waiting-room. Through the door
-at the right can be seen a desk and revolving chair,
-and a couple of plain chairs against the wall; and
-through the left door, a table, littered with magazines,
-a cabinet, a revolving bookcase and two more chairs.
-There is a bright rug on the floor. Between the
-back flat and the regular footlights, over toward the
-left, there is a stage-screw sticking right up out of
-the floor; and between the two doors there is a plain
-chair with its back against the flat. Over the door<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>
-on the right, there is a row of six electric bulbs with
-a cord and button depending from it; and further
-right, half-way back, there is a wood-wing, set as
-though it were the exterior backing for a window in
-the miniature set. Over at the left, away back,
-fastened about head-high against the back wall, there
-is a small switchboard-arrangement. Just below this
-there is an old chair, without a back, with a newspaper
-lying upon it.</p>
-
-
-<p class="ph2">THE TORCH-BEARERS&mdash;ACT II.</p>
-
-<p><i>A waltz is being played somewhere off at the right.
-Florence and Mrs. Ritter are standing in the middle
-of the stage, facing the flats, talking. Florence is
-wearing a fawn-colored, one-piece coat-dress, buttoned
-high at the throat, military fashion, and a toque made
-of wine-colored velvet leaves. She wears fawn-colored
-slippers and stockings, and carries a fitch muff.
-Mrs. Ritter is wearing a very rich-looking coat-suit
-in blue serge, trimmed at the collar and cuffs
-with white monkey-fur. Her hat is dark-blue felt,
-quite large, with a bird of paradise set at a decidedly
-rakish tilt. Her slippers and stockings are black,
-and she carries an umbrella. Over at the extreme
-left, and forward, Mrs. Fell is hearing Mr. Twiller
-read his lines from the manuscript. Mrs. Fell is gowned
-in a brilliant creation of silver-cloth trimmed with</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span>
-<i>sea-green satin. There are numerous strings of crystal
-beads hanging in the front from the waist to the
-bottom of the skirt, and she has a spreading poinsetta
-in scarlet velvet fastened at her waist. There is a
-long, fish-tail train to the gown, lined with the green
-satin, and she has a heavy rope of pearls and sea-green
-beads around her neck, from which her lorgnon
-depends. There are diamonds in her hair, diamonds
-galore upon her arms and hands, and she&#8217;s wearing
-her diamond dog-collar. Her slippers and stockings
-are of pale green. Mr. Twiller has on a double-breasted
-blue-serge suit, a black derby, black shoes and
-fawn-colored spats, and a perfectly villainous-looking
-black mustache, absurdly large, and obviously artificial.
-He stands leaning upon a cane, reciting his lines
-to Mrs. Fell. Mr. Spindler, in a dinner-suit, is trying
-desperately to unfasten the stage-screw from the
-floor at the left, while Mr. Hossefrosse, wearing a
-light business-suit, a light, soft hat, tan shoes and spats,
-and carrying a cane and gloves, is pacing back and
-forth between the left door and the extreme left, reciting
-his lines to himself. He is atrociously made up,
-with the carmine smeared heavily on his cheek-bones.
-The stage manager, in a tan jumper and army shirt,
-dirty white running-pumps, a battered old cap adorned
-with many tobacco-tags, and carrying a hammer, wanders
-on from the right and crosses the stage, passing
-below Florence and Mrs. Ritter, who turn and look
-at him curiously, and continues on up at the left to</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span>
-<i>the switch-board, where he picks up the newspaper from
-the broken chair, and, after lighting his pipe, sits down
-to read. He is apparently disgusted with the world
-and utterly oblivious of his surroundings. The waltz-music
-stops, and Mr. Hossefrosse comes to a halt in
-his pacing, right outside the left door. It is instantly
-flung open, knocking him toward the left, and disarranging
-his hat, and Mrs. Pampinelli sweeps out&mdash;in
-a princess-gown of ruby-colored velvet, with a long
-train, and heavily trimmed about the upper part of
-the bodice with ornaments of ruby-colored beads. Her
-shoulders and arms are bare, and she has a small string
-of rubies about her throat;&mdash;a bracelet and several
-rings of rubies; as well as a high Spanish comb studded
-with rubies. Her slippers are of black velvet.
-Mrs. Ritter gives a little cry as Mr. Hossefrosse is
-struck by the door.</i></p>
-
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Holding the door ajar</i>] Oh,
-did I hit you, Mr. Hossefrosse! I&#8217;m so sorry.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Settling his hat</i>] That&#8217;s all right.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>To the ladies</i>] The setting
-looks splendid, girls! [<i>Crossing quickly below Hossefrosse
-towards the left</i>] Will you come here for a moment,
-Mr. Spindler?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Turning away to the right</i>] I don&#8217;t
-want to see it till I go on.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>As Hossefrosse comes towards her</i>]
-You&#8217;d better keep away from that door, Mr. Hossefrosse.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span>
-[<i>She and Mrs. Ritter laugh.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse</span> and <span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Yes, I think I had.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Up at the left, addressing the
-stage manager</i>] Are you ready, Mr. Stage Manager?
-[<i>He continues to read.</i>]</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse</span> and <span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Brushing his clothes</i>] I don&#8217;t think
-a whisk-broom&#8217;d be out of place on this stage, either.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning to Spindler, who is
-still occupied with the stage-screw</i>] Mr. Spindler, will
-you come here, please? [<i>Turning back to the stage
-manager</i>] Mr. Stage Manager! [<i>Spindler goes towards
-her, and Hossefrosse goes through the left door.</i>]</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Stage Manager.</span> [<i>Looking up from his paper, very
-peevishly</i>] Yes?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Are you all ready?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Stage Manager</span> and <span class="smcap">Twiller</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Stage Manager.</span> Yes, sure, I&#8217;m all ready. [<i>He
-resumes his newspaper.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Turning sharply to Spindler, who has
-stopped on his way to Mrs. Pampinelli to call Mrs.
-Fell&#8217;s attention to the stage-screw, and to warn her
-to be careful of it</i>] Oh, go away! Can&#8217;t you see we&#8217;re
-busy.</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Mr. Spindler!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Stepping briskly to her side</i>] Yes, mam?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Come here, please. [<i>Turning
-to the stage manager</i>] Mr. Stage Manager&mdash;[<i>He looks</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>
-<i>up.</i>] This young man will give you the cue for the
-curtain, in case I am not here.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Stage Manager.</span> All right. [<i>He resumes his
-newspaper.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning and coming forward
-again, holding her skirt up off the floor</i>] You stand
-right here, Mr. Spindler, and I&#8217;ll give you the signal
-when I&#8217;m ready.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> All right.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Hurrying towards the left door</i>]
-Now, is everybody all right?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Yes.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> I think so.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> How are <i>you</i>, Paula?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Giggling</i>] All right.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Where&#8217;s Mr. Hossefrosse?
-[<i>She glances frantically about.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence</span> and <span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> He&#8217;s just stepped on the stage.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> He was here a minute ago.</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Mr. Hossefrosse, where are you!
-[<i>She opens the left door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Calling</i>] Mr. Hossefrosse! [<i>He
-opens the right door and comes out.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Yes?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy</span> and <span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> [<i>Sitting at the desk over at the right, in
-the miniature set beyond the flats, to Mrs. Pampinelli,
-as she comes through the left door</i>] There he is.</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>To Teddy, as she steps into
-the miniature set, through the left door</i>] Where&#8217;s Mr.
-Hossefrosse?</p>
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence</span> and <span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>To Hossefrosse</i>] Mrs. Pampinelli&#8217;s
-looking for you.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Calling</i>] Here he is, Mrs. Pampinelli!
-[<i>Hossefrosse steps quickly to the left door and
-starts in, just as Mrs. Pampinelli comes out through
-the right door. Florence steps over to the left door
-and catches Hossefrosse by the arm, and pulls him back.</i>]</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Coming through the right
-door</i>] Where <i>is</i> he?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Pointing to Hossefrosse</i>] There he
-is! [<i>She laughs.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Drawing Hossefrosse back</i>] Mrs. Pampinelli
-wants you!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>To Mrs. Pampinelli</i>] I beg your
-pardon.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Oh, Mr. Hossefrosse!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Crossing to the right towards her</i>]
-Yes?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Are you all right?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> I think so, yes.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> How is your make-up?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> All right, I think.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Indicating the right door</i>]
-Would you stand here for a moment under this light
-until I see it?</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Certainly. [<i>He goes to the right door
-and stands with his back against it. The light from
-the row of electric bulbs over the door shines down on
-his face. Mrs. Pampinelli stands off to his right, surveying
-his make-up critically.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Very good.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Not too much red?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> No, I shouldn&#8217;t say so.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Indicating his right cheek</i>] Up here,
-I mean.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> No, I think the contour of your
-face requires it. It heightens the expression. [<i>She
-starts across towards the left.</i>] It&#8217;s very good. [<i>Hossefrosse
-comes over and chats with the ladies about his
-make-up.</i>] Mr. Twiller! [<i>Twiller turns from Mrs.
-Fell.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> Yes? [<i>Turning back to Mrs. Fell</i>] Excuse
-me, Nelly.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Certainly.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> How is your mustache?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Touching it gingerly</i>] All right, I
-think.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Is it quite secure?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> I think so. [<i>Mrs. Ritter, Florence and
-Hossefrosse turn and look.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Stepping back a step from him
-and looking at the mustache, with her head tilted a bit
-to the left side</i>] You&#8217;ve made it a little smaller, haven&#8217;t
-you?</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Touching the left side of his mustache</i>]
-I cut it down a bit on this side.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I thought you had.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> I was a little conscious of it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Well,&mdash;I don&#8217;t know but that
-it&#8217;s better for the characterization.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> And how are my eyes? [<i>He turns and
-looks out and away off, widening his eyes as though
-he were having his picture taken.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>After looking keenly at his eyes
-for a second</i>] Very effective. [<i>She turns quickly away
-towards the right, and Twiller turns back to his left
-to Mrs. Fell.</i>] Now, is everybody ready? [<i>They all
-smile and nod.</i>] Your gloves and cane, Mr. Hossefrosse?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Crossing above Florence and Mrs.
-Ritter towards Mrs. Pampinelli, extending his cane
-and gloves</i>] Yes.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning towards Mrs. Fell</i>]
-Places, Nelly! Get ready, Mr. Spindler!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> I&#8217;m all ready. [<i>Mrs. Fell closes the manuscript,
-excuses herself to Twiller, and crosses, above
-him, towards the right. He goes back at the left and
-says something to Spindler, then comes forward again.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Calling through the left door</i>]
-Are you all right, Teddy?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats, over at the right</i>] All
-right. [<i>As Mrs. Fell passes above Florence and Mrs.
-Ritter, on her way over to the right, she whispers something</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span>
-<i>to them which causes a general laugh:&mdash;then she
-continues on over to the door at the right and takes
-up her official position, as promptress.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning and addressing them
-generally</i>] Now, is everybody all right? [<i>They all
-nod.</i>] You both all right, girls? [<i>Mrs. Ritter nods.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> All right.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning around to the left to
-Mr. Spindler, and with an authoritative gesture</i>] All
-right, then&mdash;take up the curtain!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Waving his hand to the stage manager</i>]
-All right, Stage Manager!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Stage Manager.</span> [<i>Getting up, very reluctantly</i>]
-Are you ready?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span> and <span class="smcap">Spindler</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Yes, all ready.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> Let her go!</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>With a kind of ceremonious
-flourish of the hand</i>] Take up the curtain! [<i>The
-stage manager tosses his newspaper onto the chair and
-steps out of sight, to the left. There is an anxious
-pause. Then Mrs. Pampinelli starts violently and
-grabs the knob of the left door.</i>] Oh, wait one moment!
-[<i>Spindler rushes back at the left, whistling.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence</span>, <span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter</span>, <span class="smcap">Twiller</span> and <span class="smcap">Hossefrosse</span>,
-together, [<i>as Mrs. Pampinelli pulls open the
-left door.</i>]</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Wait a minute!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Oh, wait!</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> Hold it!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Grabbing the door and holding it
-open</i>] Not yet!</p>
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Calling to the stage manager</i>] Just
-a minute!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Going in through the left
-door</i>] One moment, please! [<i>She vanishes to the
-right, and there is a slight pause, during which the
-curtain, which had been raised four feet, can be seen
-through the door to descend again. They all exchange
-looks of distress and amused annoyance. Then Mrs.
-Pampinelli hurries out through the door again.</i>] All
-right!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Who has come forward at the left</i>] Is
-it all right? [<i>Hossefrosse releases the door and it
-closes.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Yes, it&#8217;s all right. [<i>Spindler
-goes towards the back at the left and she follows him
-half-way.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> All right, Mr. Stage Manager!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Stage Manager.</span> [<i>Off at the left</i>] Are you ready?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span> and <span class="smcap">Spindler</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Yes, all ready, Mr. Stage Manager!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> Let her go!</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning and coming forward
-at the left</i>] Take it up! [<i>She stands just to the left
-of the left door, peering through the flats. Spindler
-is farther back at the left, peering, also; and Mrs. Fell</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span>
-<i>is over at the right door, peering. There is a pause.
-Mr. Hossefrosse takes up his position outside the left
-door, preparatory to making his entrance. He settles
-his clothes generally, and clears his throat.</i>] The curtain
-is going up, Mr. Hossefrosse, go on.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Is it up?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Yes, yes, go on! [<i>He opens
-the door, rather magnificently, and swings in. There
-is a ripple of applause, and the door closes after him;
-and they all try to find a crevice between the flats that
-will afford a glimpse of the stage beyond. The stage
-manager appears from the left carrying a regulation
-door-slam, which he brings forward and drops, with
-a bang, just to the left of the left door. They all
-turn and look at him, in resentful astonishment, but
-he simply gives them a look of infinite disdain and returns
-to his chair at the back to read.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] Anybody here,
-David?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats, over toward the right</i>]
-No, sir.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats, moving towards
-the right</i>] No telephones?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> No, sir.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Coming through the right door,
-without his hat</i>] Nothing at all, eh? [<i>Mrs. Ritter
-is standing right in front of the door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Get away from the door, Paula!
-[<i>Paula jumps to the left. Mrs. Fell takes advantage</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span>
-<i>of the crevice caused by the door being open, to try to
-see the audience.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> [<i>Who can be seen through the open door
-standing at the desk</i>] No, sir.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Leaning over and laying his cane
-and gloves on the chair between the doors</i>] All right,
-sir. [<i>The door begins to swing to behind him.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Keep that door open, Mr.
-Hossefrosse! [<i>Spindler comes forward at the left to
-see what&#8217;s the matter. Hossefrosse thrusts his foot back
-and kicks the door open.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> And I think that will do very nicely
-for this day. [<i>The door begins slowly to swing to
-again.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> There it goes again, Mr.
-Hossefrosse!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> It won&#8217;t <i>stay</i> open! [<i>Mrs. Fell looks
-around the door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Take hold of that door, Nelly!
-[<i>Nelly puts one foot around it, and stands looking
-at her manuscript. Spindler goes back at the left and
-looks through the wings again, at the stage.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>In a frantic whisper</i>] Telephone!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Telephone, somebody!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Good Lord!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Mr. Spindler, telephone! [<i>Spindler
-rushes forward at the left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Where is he?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> What?</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> The telephone-bell!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Where&#8217;s your bell?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Pulling the battery-arrangement out of
-his pocket</i>] Has the cue been given?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> [<i>Picking up the telephone on the desk beyond
-the flats</i>] Hello?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Ring it! Of course it&#8217;s been
-given! [<i>He rings the bell, and Hossefrosse steps
-through the right door and watches Teddy anxiously.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> I didn&#8217;t hear it!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Annihilating him with a look,
-and starting over towards the right door</i>] Well, why
-aren&#8217;t you over here when your cue&#8217;s given and then
-you would hear it! [<i>Spindler trails over after her.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Over his shoulder, to Mrs. Pampinelli</i>]
-Shush!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning sharply back towards
-the left, and directly to Spindler, who is right behind
-her</i>] Shush! [<i>She passes below him and continues
-towards the left.</i>] Keep away from that door, they&#8217;ll
-see you! [<i>In attempting to keep out of the way of the
-door, Spindler turns sharply and trips over the screw
-of a stage-brace, falling his length across the open door.
-Mrs. Ritter gives a little scream, and Mrs. Pampinelli
-whirls round and glares at him. He scrambles to his
-feet, and Mrs. Ritter giggles and pulls him to the left,
-away from the door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Standing in the open door, addressing
-Teddy</i>] Mrs. A.? [<i>Teddy nods, and Hossefrosse</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>
-<i>pretends to pick up an imaginary telephone from
-a desk just to the left of the right door.</i>] Yes? All
-right. [<i>He pretends to hang up and set the telephone
-down on the desk again.</i>] You can clear out of here
-now, David, any time you like,&mdash;Mrs. Arlington is on
-her way up.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> [<i>Rising, and settling the various papers on
-the desk</i>] All right.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Helping Mr. Spindler to brush off
-his clothes</i>] Did you hurt yourself, Mr. Spindler?
-[<i>Mrs. Pampinelli tries to attract Spindler&#8217;s attention
-to the door-slam.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> No. [<i>He hurries over to the door-slam
-at the left and picks it up.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> I&#8217;ll let you off early Monday. [<i>Florence
-stands anxiously outside the left door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> Oh, that&#8217;s all right.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> And don&#8217;t forget to leave that list
-with the Robinson people on your way down Monday.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> No, sir, I won&#8217;t; I have it right here in me
-pocket. [<i>Florence puts her lips against the left door
-and coughs hard. Then she shuffles her feet; so does
-Spindler. Hossefrosse steps through the right door and
-looks over toward the left door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Addressing Teddy, in a subdued
-tone</i>] Is that someone coming?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> [<i>Looking toward the left door</i>] I think so.
-[<i>There is a slight pause, then Mrs. Pampinelli makes
-a decisive movement to Spindler and he brings the</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span>
-<i>door-slam down with a thunderous bang. Mrs. Pampinelli
-starts violently.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> That&#8217;s too loud, Mr. Spindler!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> There&#8217;s too much wood in it! [<i>He
-starts across to the right.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Stepping down to Teddy&#8217;s desk and
-picking up his hat</i>] That can&#8217;t be Mrs. Arlington
-already. I won&#8217;t see anyone else. [<i>He starts back towards
-the door.</i>] Tell them I&#8217;ve gone; and don&#8217;t let
-anybody wait. [<i>He takes hold of the door as he steps
-through.</i>] Say you&#8217;re just locking up the office. [<i>He
-comes through the door and tries to close it, but Nelly&#8217;s
-foot is still around it, and she is lost in the manuscript.
-He pulls at the door, but she is oblivious.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Nelly! [<i>Spindler gives a little
-whistle to attract her attention.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Let go of the door, Nelly!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Jumping out of the way, to the right</i>]
-Oh, I beg your pardon! [<i>Hossefrosse scowls at her
-and closes the door. Spindler jumps to the door and
-turns a key, which he has in his hand, in the lock, then
-touches the button at the end of the cord, extinguishing
-the row of lights over the door, then rushes back towards
-the left door. Mrs. Ritter is right in his way
-as he rushes back, and they dodge each other twice
-before Mr. Spindler can get past. When he reaches
-the left door, he raps violently, Mrs. Pampinelli directing
-his activities with little nervous gestures. There</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span>
-<i>is a pause: then the left door is opened by Teddy.
-Mrs. Ritter is right in front of it.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Standing to the left of the
-door</i>] Get out of the way, Paula! [<i>Mrs. Ritter
-jumps out of the way, to the right, then looks back
-at Mrs. Pampinelli and giggles, but Mrs. Pampinelli
-puts her finger on her lips.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Passing through the left door</i>] Good
-evening, son.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> [<i>Reaching out and closing the door</i>] Good
-evening. [<i>There is prolonged applause from beyond
-the flats, and everybody, having seen Florence safely
-through the door, rushes to his favorite crevice between
-the wings, or rip in the scenery, to see how she is being
-received by the audience.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] Isn&#8217;t the Doctor in?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> No, mam, he ain&#8217;t; he went about six
-o&#8217;clock.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> That&#8217;s unfortunate, I wanted to see
-him. [<i>Hossefrosse turns away from the right door,
-where he&#8217;s been peeking, and mops his brow: then he
-turns and puts his hat down on the chair.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Stepping towards him from the left
-door</i>] How do you feel?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> All right; but that door and that
-telephone got me kind of rattled.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Looking over from the extreme
-left of the back flat, where she has been peeking</i>]
-Shush, boys! [<i>Hossefrosse turns away and tiptoes towards</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span>
-<i>the right, and the others resume their peeking.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Turning to Hossefrosse, as he passes
-below her</i>] What&#8217;s the matter, Huxley, did something
-go wrong? [<i>Mrs. Pampinelli looks over again to see
-who&#8217;s talking.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Indicating the right door</i>] That
-door kind of got me rattled for a minute.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> I don&#8217;t think the audience noticed it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Shush! [<i>Nelly consults her manuscript,
-listening at the same time to the dialogue beyond
-the flats, and Mr. Hossefrosse continues to the
-extreme right and forward, trying to make the squeak
-of his new shoes as inaudible as possible. Mrs. Pampinelli
-puts her ear to the flat and listens keenly.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> [<i>Faintly, beyond the flats</i>] Why, he always
-asts me to wait whenever he&#8217;s expectin&#8217; his wife downtown.
-[<i>Spindler suddenly turns from the wing where
-he has been peeking, and, breaking into quite a jaunty
-little whistle, starts across towards the left; but Mrs.
-Pampinelli turns abruptly and glares him into silence.
-He clasps his hand over his mouth and apologizes with
-an obsequious little gesture.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] I see. And he was
-expecting her this evening?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> Yes, mam.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Do you know her? [<i>Spindler trips and
-almost falls over the stage-screw in the floor at the
-left. Twiller, who has been standing down at the extreme</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>
-<i>left, makes an impatient move and goes up towards
-the back.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Oh, Mr. Spindler, for Pity&#8217;s
-sake do keep still for one moment!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Squatting down and attempting to remove
-the screw</i>] We&#8217;d better get this thing out of
-here, before somebody gets hurt.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Now, don&#8217;t take that out of
-there, Mr. Spindler! You might loosen the scenery.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> This isn&#8217;t connected with the scenery.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> You don&#8217;t know whether it is
-or not! Leave it where it is.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Getting up and moving over towards
-the right</i>] Somebody&#8217;s going to get their neck broken,
-the first thing you know.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Very well, then, that will be
-their misfortune! We&#8217;ve simply got to be careful,
-that&#8217;s all. Get ready, Paula. [<i>Mrs. Ritter giggles
-and takes up her position outside the left door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>As Spindler comes towards her</i>]
-What&#8217;s the matter, Mr. Spindler?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>In quite a temper, and indicating the
-stage-screw over at the left</i>] Why, that thing there is
-sticking right up in the middle of the floor, and the
-first thing you&mdash;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Shush!&mdash;[<i>He turns and scowls
-at her, and she glares at him. He passes below Mrs.
-Fell and over to Hossefrosse, at the extreme right and
-forward, where he whispers his grievance.</i>]</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> You all right, Paula? [<i>Paula nods
-yes.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Don&#8217;t be nervous, now, Paula.
-[<i>Twiller comes forward at the left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> I&#8217;m not the least bit, dear, really.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Well, that&#8217;s splendid, dear.
-I&#8217;ll open the door for you. [<i>She takes hold of the knob
-of the left door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> All right, thank you. [<i>They stand
-listening, keenly.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] Do you mind if I
-wait a few minutes, in case he comes?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] Why, I was just going
-home.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Oh, were you? [<i>Twiller lifts his hat
-and gives it a little wave at Mrs. Ritter, and she waves
-her hand back at him.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> Yes, mam; and I have to lock up the office
-before I go.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Suddenly</i>] There it is now,
-dear. [<i>She opens the door, and Mrs. Ritter steps back
-a bit, in order to make a more effective entrance.</i>]
-Good luck, darling.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Turning to her</i>] Thank you, dear.
-[<i>She steps through the door, tripping awkwardly over
-the door-strip. Mrs. Pampinelli makes a gesture of extreme
-annoyance. There is an outburst of applause;
-then Mrs. Pampinelli closes the door, and they all step
-to the flats and peek through, Mrs. Pampinelli at the</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>
-<i>left door, Mrs. Fell at the right, Mr. Spindler between
-them, and Hossefrosse and Twiller about half-way
-back at the right and left, respectively. There is a
-pause; and then Mrs. Ritter can be heard beyond the
-flats.</i>] Hello, kid!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> Hello, Mrs. Arlington.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Is my sweetie in?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> No, mam, he ain&#8217;t.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>With an unnatural inflection</i>]
-What!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Calling over in a whisper to Mrs.
-Pampinelli</i>] Betty! [<i>Mrs. Pampinelli doesn&#8217;t hear her,
-so she tiptoes over towards her.</i>] Betty!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> What?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Did Paula trip?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Coming away from the flat,
-and moving down to Mrs. Fell</i>] Yes. [<i>Mrs. Fell
-gives an annoyed shake of her head.</i>] But I don&#8217;t see
-how anyone can get onto <i>that</i> stage <i>without</i> tripping.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> I don&#8217;t either.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> It seems an utter impossibility
-to me for anyone, especially a woman, to get through
-those doors without catching her heel or her skirt or
-something. [<i>Spindler crosses to the left, back of the
-ladies, and speaks to Twiller.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Returning to the right door</i>] It&#8217;s
-dreadful!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning to her left and going</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span>
-<i>back again to the left door</i>] I don&#8217;t see the necessity
-of it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Opening her manuscript</i>] I don&#8217;t
-either.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Listening keenly</i>] I&#8217;m afraid
-they&#8217;re not hearing Paula at all.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> What?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I say, I&#8217;m afraid Paula isn&#8217;t
-loud enough.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Well, why don&#8217;t you speak to her,
-Betty, she&#8217;s sitting right here. [<i>She indicates the point
-right inside the right door, and Mrs. Pampinelli, picking
-up her skirt, hurries over. Mrs. Fell steps out of
-the way, to the right.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Putting her lips to the joining
-of the door-wing and the side wing</i>] Speak a little
-louder, Paula! I&#8217;m afraid they&#8217;re not hearing you!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Can she hear you?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> A little louder, dear! [<i>The
-right door is thrust open by Teddy.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> [<i>In a frantic whisper</i>] There&#8217;s no pen and
-ink on the desk! [<i>Spindler rushes over from the left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> What? [<i>Mrs. Pampinelli, Mrs. Fell
-and Mr. Hossefrosse rush round to him from the
-right.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> No pen and ink!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> What is it, Teddy?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy</span> and <span class="smcap">Spindler</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> No pen and ink on the desk!</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> No pen and ink!</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> My God!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Tell her to use a lead-pencil!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy</span> and <span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span>&mdash;[<i>To Mrs. Fell</i>] There&#8217;s none on there!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Give him a lead-pencil, Mr.
-Spindler!</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Whirling and springing towards the
-left</i>] Haven&#8217;t got one! [<i>Teddy, Mrs. Pampinelli and
-Mrs. Fell rush after him.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler</span> and <span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> Twiller!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Oh, dear, dear!</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Rushing towards them from the left</i>]
-What&#8217;s the matter?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler</span> and <span class="smcap">Teddy</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> Got a lead-pencil?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> Give him a lead-pencil, Ralph!</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Dropping his cane</i>] No! [<i>They fling
-him out of the way, to the left, and rush on back to
-the stage manager.</i>] What are you trying to do, knock
-me off my feet!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Haven&#8217;t you got one, Mr.
-Twiller?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler</span> and <span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>To the stage manager</i>] Got a lead-pencil,
-old man?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>At Mrs. Pampinelli&#8217;s heels</i>] There&#8217;s
-one in my bag somewhere!</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span>, <span class="smcap">Spindler</span> and <span class="smcap">Teddy</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning to Mrs. Fell</i>] See
-what they&#8217;re doing out there, Nelly!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>To the stage manager</i>] Or a fountain-pen!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> [<i>To the stage manager</i>] They need it on the
-stage!</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell</span> and <span class="smcap">Stage Manager</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Turning and rushing back towards the
-right door</i>] Certainly, darling!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Stage Manager.</span> [<i>Feeling in his shirt-pockets</i>]
-Well, now, wait a minute, wait a minute!</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Turning with a despairing gesture, after
-having opened the right door and looked in</i>] My
-dear, they&#8217;re not doing a thing, they&#8217;re just sitting
-there!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning to the left</i>] Hurry,
-boys! [<i>Turning to the right</i>] Tell them to say something,
-Nelly! Anything at all! Something about the
-weather! [<i>Nelly runs to the extreme right end of the
-flat. Teddy and Spindler come rushing forward at
-the left.</i>] Did you get it, Teddy?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy</span> and <span class="smcap">Spindler</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> Yes!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> Yes, he&#8217;s got it!</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Indicating the left door</i>] Go
-on here, Teddy! [<i>He grabs the knob of the door,
-but it won&#8217;t open.</i>]</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Calling through the flats</i>] Say something,
-Paula!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> You should never leave the
-stage during a scene, Teddy!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy</span> and <span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> [<i>Wrestling with the door</i>] Damn these
-doors!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Calling through the flats</i>] Something
-about the weather!</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Take hold of this, Mr. Spindler!
-[<i>He grabs the knob of the door and Teddy runs
-across to the right door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> I&#8217;ll go on here!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>As Teddy goes through the right door</i>]
-If you can&#8217;t use one door, use the other! [<i>The door
-closes after him; and Mrs. Pampinelli turns and looks
-upon Spindler, who is still trying to get the left door
-open.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> You know, this is <i>all your
-fault</i>, Mr. Spindler. [<i>He doesn&#8217;t look up.</i>] You
-said you&#8217;d attend to all those properties!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> What&#8217;s the matter with the door,
-Betty?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>To Spindler</i>] Never mind it
-now. [<i>She moves towards the center of the stage.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> We&#8217;d better get it open before somebody
-has to use it again.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Go away from it, I tell you!
-[<i>He walks away towards the left, sulking.</i>] It will<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>
-probably open all right from the other side. [<i>She
-comes forward slowly, touching her hair and relaxing
-generally, then, suddenly, stands stock-still, and listens,
-wide-eyed. She looks quickly at Mrs. Fell, who is carefully
-settling her necklace, at the right door.</i>] What&#8217;s
-wrong out there, Nelly? [<i>Nelly turns and looks
-through the flats, then turns quickly to Mrs. Pampinelli.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> I think he&#8217;s up!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Frozen to the spot</i>] Who?
-[<i>Nelly looks again, and then back to Mrs. Pampinelli.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> All of them!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Picking up her skirt and rushing
-towards the right door</i>] Let me see! [<i>Nelly
-jumps out of the way, to the right, and Twiller and
-Spindler rush to the left door and peek through. Mrs.
-Pampinelli peeks through, and then speaks through the
-flats.</i>] What&#8217;s the matter, Teddy? Go over and get
-your hat and coat! [<i>Turning frantically to Mrs. Fell</i>]
-He&#8217;s up in his lines! What is it?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>In a panic</i>] Up in his lines!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span> and <span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Speaking through the flats</i>] Go
-over and get your hat and coat, Teddy! Don&#8217;t stand
-there like a jack!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Handing the manuscript to Hossefrosse,
-who is at her right</i>] Oh, find that for me, will
-you, Huxley! [<i>He takes the manuscript from her and</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>
-<i>turns it over furiously, while Nelly opens her lorgnon.</i>]
-About page eleven, I think it is! [<i>She assists him in
-finding the place.</i>]</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> What was the last line, Nelly?
-This is dreadful!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Now, wait a moment, darling! Don&#8217;t
-get me nervous, or I&#8217;ll <i>never</i> be able to find it! [<i>Twiller
-and Spindler are in a panic of suspense over at the
-left door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Here&#8217;s page eleven.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Is that eleven? Well, now, here it is,
-right here&mdash; Why, a&mdash; I&#8217;ll get you an envelope!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> What&#8217;s the next?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> The next is&mdash;a&mdash;why a&mdash;I&#8217;ve got to
-go now&mdash;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell</span> and <span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> It takes me nearly an hour to get
-home!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Calling through the flats</i>] I&#8217;ve
-got to go now!</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy</span> and <span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] I&#8217;ve got to go now!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Calling through the flats</i>] It
-takes me nearly an hour to get home.</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> It takes me an hour to get home!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Are they all right?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Coming away from the flats</i>]
-Yes, they&#8217;re all right now. But you&#8217;d better stand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span>
-right here, I&#8217;m afraid of Paula. [<i>She moves towards
-the left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Coming towards her</i>] You know, I
-could have <i>sworn</i> I put a pen and ink on that desk!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Imperiously</i>] Please, Mr.
-Spindler, don&#8217;t explain anything! I am interested in
-results. [<i>She turns and moves back again towards the
-right, and Spindler goes over to the left. Just as he
-passes beyond the left door, the entire lock and knob
-fall to the floor. He turns nervously, only to find
-Mrs. Pampinelli, who has turned quite as nervously,
-looking at him dangerously.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> I didn&#8217;t <i>touch</i> it!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Will you go away, before you
-ruin the entire performance! [<i>He snaps around and
-goes over to the left and up towards the back.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> [<i>Opening the left door and swaying
-through</i>] Good night. [<i>He is dressed in a brown
-sack-suit and wears tan shoes.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] Good night, son.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] Good night, kid.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Going towards him</i>] You
-should <i>never</i> walk off the stage, Teddy, in the middle
-of a scene! [<i>He closes the door behind him, and,
-pressing his hand to his brow, starts towards the left.</i>]
-Do something, no matter what it is! [<i>He falls backward
-in a full-length faint. She catches him.</i>] Oh,
-dear child! Mr. Spindler! Come here, Mr. Twiller,
-Teddy&#8217;s fainted! [<i>Twiller, who has been standing</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span>
-<i>over at the left, and forward, rushes towards her; and
-Mrs. Fell, followed by Hossefrosse, comes rushing
-from the right.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>In a panic</i>] What&#8217;s the matter, Betty!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Take Teddy over to the door,
-Mr. Twiller, he&#8217;s fainted!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Dropping his cane, in his excitement</i>]
-I <i>can&#8217;t</i> take him now, I&#8217;ve got a cue coming right
-here in a minute! [<i>Spindler comes rushing down from
-the left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Here, Mr. Spindler, take
-Teddy over to the door, where he&#8217;ll get some air!
-He&#8217;s sick. Look at the color of him. [<i>She hands him
-to Spindler, who half carries him up at the left; and
-she and Twiller follow on behind them.</i>] Hold on to
-him, now, Mr. Spindler.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Turning back towards the right door,
-and addressing Hossefrosse, who has returned to his
-former position down at the right</i>] I always said he
-wasn&#8217;t strong enough for that part! [<i>She just gets
-past the right door when it is frantically opened and
-Mrs. Ritter thrusts her head out.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Breathlessly</i>] Mr. Twiller! [<i>The
-door closes again.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Running towards the left</i>] Mr.
-Twiller! They&#8217;re waiting for you!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Rushing forward at the left</i>]
-What is it?</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>In a perfect frenzy</i>] They&#8217;re waiting
-for Mr. Twiller!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Mr. Twiller! [<i>He snatches
-up his cane from the floor, but the hook of it catches
-in the stage-brace, and he has considerable yanking to
-do to get it loose. Mrs. Fell raps on the left door.</i>]
-Go on, Mr. Twiller, for Heaven&#8217;s sake! the stage is
-waiting! [<i>She pulls the door open for him. He
-straightens his hat and then raps on the wing beside
-the door.</i>] Oh, go on! never mind rapping! that&#8217;s been
-done! [<i>He steps through the door and she slams it
-after him, catching his left arm and hand. The cane
-is in his left hand, and it falls at Mrs. Pampinelli&#8217;s
-feet. She pulls the door open again to release his arm;
-then gives the door a definite slam. A burst of applause
-greets Twiller&#8217;s entrance. Mrs. Pampinelli is in a perfect
-wrath. She sweeps across towards the right, and
-back again all the way across to the left; then turns
-and starts back towards the right. As she passes the
-left door she sees Twiller&#8217;s cane, and, realizing in a
-flash that he will have need of it in his scene, she picks
-it up, opens the left door slightly, and flings it in onto
-the stage. Then she continues on towards the right,
-turns and crosses back again to the left, holding up her
-skirt and bristling with temper.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Back at the right door, speaking to
-Hossefrosse, down at the right</i>] How are my eyes?
-Instead of paying attention to his part!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Coming across to the right</i>]<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>
-People rehearsing their cues a thousand times, and then
-don&#8217;t know them when they hear them! It&#8217;s positively
-disgusting! [<i>She turns and goes back again to the left,
-turns, and starts back to the right. Hossefrosse tiptoes
-towards her.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> What happened to Teddy, did he
-get sick out there?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> No, just a little reaction.
-[<i>Hossefrosse nods comprehendingly.</i>] He gives too
-much to the scene. He doesn&#8217;t understand emotional
-conservation yet. [<i>Hossefrosse shakes his head knowingly
-and returns to the right, and Mrs. Pampinelli
-steps to the left door and listens.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Just audibly, beyond the flats</i>] She&#8217;s
-waiting for my very unpunctual husband. In fact,
-we are both waiting for him, to be precise. But I&#8217;ve
-just been telling her I&#8217;m afraid we may as well give
-it up, for he&#8217;s never kept an appointment in his life.
-I&#8217;m sorry he isn&#8217;t here, if you wanted to see him.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] I don&#8217;t know whether
-I wanted to see him or not; it depends.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> I don&#8217;t understand you.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> I don&#8217;t fully understand myself! [<i>There
-is a very general laugh from beyond the flats. Mrs.
-Pampinelli looks anxiously at Nelly, and Nelly looks
-up at her from the manuscript.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> What was <i>that</i>?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Not having caught what she said</i>]
-What?</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> What was that the audience
-was laughing at? [<i>Mrs. Fell peeks through at the
-door where she is standing, then turns desperately to
-Mrs. Pampinelli.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Half of Mr. Twiller&#8217;s mustache fell
-off! [<i>She looks through the peek again. Mrs. Pampinelli
-puts her hand against her brow and leans upon
-the stage-brace, the picture of tragedy. Mrs. Fell turns
-to her again.</i>] I don&#8217;t think the audience noticed it, he
-stuck it right on again!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> That doesn&#8217;t matter, there is
-absolutely no excuse for it! He&#8217;s been here since four
-o&#8217;clock this afternoon! [<i>She crosses towards the left
-and back again.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] What sort of a rumor
-was it, Mr. Rush, if I may ask?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] The usual kind.
-[<i>There&#8217;s another laugh from beyond the flats, and
-Mrs. Pampinelli stands petrified, just below the left
-door. Mrs. Fell turns quickly and peeks, then turns
-to Mrs. Pampinelli.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Despairingly</i>] It fell off again! [<i>Mrs.
-Pampinelli raises her fists and shakes them.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Well, why on earth hasn&#8217;t he
-brains enough to leave it off!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> He has his hat on, too! [<i>Mrs. Pampinelli
-steps to the left door and speaks through it.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Leave your mustache <i>off</i>, Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span>
-Twiller! Leave it <i>off</i>!&mdash;And take off your <i>hat</i>, you&#8217;re
-inside. [<i>Hossefrosse tiptoes over from the right.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> What&#8217;s the matter, did his mustache
-fall off?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Yes, twice; and he keeps sticking
-it on again. [<i>He shakes his head regretfully and
-tiptoes back to the right.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] It&#8217;s perfectly ridiculous!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] Too bad my husband
-isn&#8217;t here.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] Yes, it is; I had counted
-upon seeing him.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> I&#8217;m sure he&#8217;d be able to explain.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> Well, I hope he would!&mdash;the thing is
-damned annoying! [<i>Mrs. Ritter gives an unearthly
-laugh, which is supposed to express derision. Mrs.
-Fell looks up from her manuscript, and Mrs. Pampinelli
-smiles and nods approvingly at her.</i>] Even if <i>you
-don&#8217;t</i> appreciate it!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Wonderful. [<i>She turns and smiles
-and nods at Hossefrosse; then they all listen again.
-The stage manager, who has arisen from his chair at
-the sound of Mrs. Ritter&#8217;s disdainful laughter, comes
-forward at the left, with his pipe in one hand and his
-newspaper in the other. He has a puzzled, inquiring
-expression, and looks from one to the other quizzically;
-but Mrs. Pampinelli has her back to him, Mrs. Fell
-is looking at her manuscript, and Mr. Hossefrosse&#8217;s</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span>
-<i>face is, as usual, utterly expressionless, so he steps to
-the juncture of the back flats with the side wings and
-peeks through, curiously. Then he returns to his chair
-up at the left, shaking his head from side to side.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] I don&#8217;t know what
-it is, yet!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] You know very well
-what it is!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> You haven&#8217;t told us.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> You&#8217;re here, aren&#8217;t you!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Yes.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> Well, that&#8217;s it, exactly! [<i>Mrs. Pampinelli
-smiles approvingly, and moves towards the
-right.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Calling Hossefrosse, who is engaged
-in studying his lines from a paper, over at the
-right</i>] Mr. Hossefrosse.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Turning to him</i>] Huxley! [<i>He looks
-up, and tiptoes towards Mrs. Pampinelli.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> How is this hall to speak in?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Why, I shouldn&#8217;t say it was good.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I thought not.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> It&#8217;s too big for the speaking voice.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>With a gesture</i>] You have to
-<i>project</i> the tone, do you not?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Oh, yes, absolutely.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Taking a step towards the back
-flat, and listening</i>] I&#8217;m afraid they&#8217;re not hearing
-Paula at all.</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Putting his fingers to his throat</i>] I&#8217;m
-using my upper register almost entirely.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Glancing at him</i>] You&#8217;re very
-fortunate to know how to do it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Did it sound all right from back
-here?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Oh, splendid, yes, Mr. Hossefrosse!&mdash;your
-voice is beautiful. [<i>He raises his hand
-deprecatingly.</i>] Really,&mdash;I was just saying to Mrs.
-Fell, I&#8217;m so sorry there isn&#8217;t another act, that you
-might sing a solo between them. [<i>He beams and deprecates
-again, profusely, and turns to the right. Spindler
-comes down at the left and towards Mrs. Pampinelli.</i>]
-Really! Splendid. [<i>She sees Spindler.</i>] Where&#8217;s
-Teddy?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> He&#8217;s gone over to the drug store.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> With his make-up on?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> He said he wanted to get some aromatic
-spirits of ammonia.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> You have a cue right here soon,
-haven&#8217;t you?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Taking the telephone-arrangement from
-his pocket, and crossing towards the right door</i>] Where
-are they?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Suddenly looking up from her manuscript</i>]
-Telephone, Mr. Spindler!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> There it is now, ring it!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Shaking it desperately</i>] It won&#8217;t ring!
-[<i>Mrs. Fell turns to Hossefrosse in desperation.</i>]</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span>, <span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell</span> and <span class="smcap">Hossefrosse</span>,
-together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Shake it harder, it rang before!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> What&#8217;s the matter with the fool thing!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Hit it against something, Mr. Spindler!</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> There&#8217;s something the matter with the
-battery!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Audibly, from beyond the flats</i>] Hello!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Relaxing</i>] Let it go,&mdash;it&#8217;s too
-late now. [<i>Spindler continues to tinker with it.</i>]
-You&#8217;ve missed every other cue, [<i>She moves towards
-the left.</i>] you may as well be consistent for the rest of
-the evening.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Following her</i>] Well, good night! I
-can&#8217;t help it if the electricity won&#8217;t work, can I?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning upon him furiously</i>]
-You should have attended to it beforehand and then it
-<i>would</i> work! [<i>Mrs. Fell waves her hand at them, to
-be quiet.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> Well, My God! I can&#8217;t be in a half-a-dozen
-places at the same time!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Shush! [<i>Hossefrosse tiptoes up to her
-and deplores the noise that Mrs. Pampinelli and Spindler
-are making.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> No one is asking you to be in
-half-a-dozen places at the same time! You&#8217;ve simply
-been asked to attend to your cues; and you&#8217;ve missed
-every one you&#8217;ve had!</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell</span> and <span class="smcap">Hossefrosse</span>, together. Shush!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> You told me to take care of Teddy,
-didn&#8217;t you?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I told you to take him to the
-door! I <i>didn&#8217;t</i> say to take him all the way to the drug
-store!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> Did you want me to let the man wander
-off somewhere by himself, and maybe die!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Waving her manuscript at them</i>]
-Shus&mdash;sh!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span> and <span class="smcap">Spindler</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> Just for the sake of not missing a cue!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>With bitter amusement</i>] There
-is very little danger of his dying! And even if he did
-die, your duty is here! [<i>She points to the floor with
-an imperative gesture. The right door is quietly pushed
-open, and Twiller, with one-half of his mustache gone,
-pokes his head out.</i>]</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> Shush! [<i>He glances from one side to the
-other, withdraws his head, and quietly closes the door.
-Spindler crosses below Mrs. Pampinelli, to the left,
-then turns and looks at her angrily.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Turning to Hossefrosse</i>] What did I
-tell you! Making more noise out here than they are
-out there!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Still holding her gesture, but following
-Spindler with her eyes</i>] Performances are never
-interrupted simply because one of the artists happens
-to die! If you were a professional you&#8217;d know that;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span>
-but you&#8217;re not! [<i>She turns away from him, towards
-the right, and, simultaneously, the left door is opened,
-almost striking her. She raises her arm to protect herself.
-Mrs. Ritter is standing in the doorway.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Speaking to Twiller, who is still beyond
-the flats</i>] Look and see. [<i>The telephone-arrangement
-in Spindler&#8217;s hands suddenly rings wildly.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning to him frantically</i>]
-Oh, stop that thing! [<i>Mrs. Ritter glances furtively
-over her left shoulder at Mrs. Pampinelli. Mrs. Fell
-comes rushing over, motioning to Spindler to stop the
-bell.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Struggling with the bell</i>] I can&#8217;t stop it!
-[<i>Mrs. Ritter hastily steps back through the door and
-pulls it to after her.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Well, then, take it outside,
-where they can&#8217;t hear it! [<i>Spindler scrambles towards
-the back and out of sight at the left. Mrs. Pampinelli
-starts back towards the right.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> What&#8217;s the matter with that Spindler
-man, anyway!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I don&#8217;t know what&#8217;s the matter
-with him! I&#8217;ve given up thinking about him.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> He acts to me like a person that
-wouldn&#8217;t be in his right mind! [<i>She goes back towards
-the right door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Standing in the middle of the
-stage</i>] He&#8217;s simply not a professional, that&#8217;s all. [<i>The
-left door opens again and Mrs. Ritter is standing in it.</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span>
-<i>Mrs. Pampinelli turns suddenly and looks at her. Mrs.
-Ritter repeats her unearthly laugh, which again arouses
-the curiosity of the stage manager, to the extent that
-he rises and comes forward again at the left to get a
-look at her. Then he returns to his chair, taking the
-door-slam with him, and standing it against the wing.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Addressing Twiller, beyond the
-flats</i>] What about the gentlemen?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] Jealous husbands,
-chiefly, aren&#8217;t they? [<i>Twiller comes out through the
-left door, past Mrs. Ritter.</i>] Didn&#8217;t you want to leave
-a message for the Doctor, Mr. Rush? [<i>Twiller turns
-right round and goes back to the door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> Who, me?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> If you wish.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Having some difficulty seeing Florence
-over Twiller&#8217;s right shoulder</i>] He might leave
-an apology.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Very much annoyed, and stepping
-close to the flat, just to the right of the door</i>]
-Get out of the doorway, Mr. Twiller!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] Perhaps we haven&#8217;t
-convinced him of his mistake.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span> and <span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Trying desperately to attract
-Twiller&#8217;s attention, and becoming more emphatic</i>] Get
-out of the doorway, Mr. Twiller, you&#8217;re covering
-Paula up!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Trying to talk to Florence over</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span>
-<i>Twiller&#8217;s shoulder</i>] Well, he&#8217;ll apologize to me,
-whether we&#8217;ve convinced him or not. [<i>Mrs. Fell and
-Hossefrosse come over to see if they can be of any assistance.</i>]</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span> and <span class="smcap">Twiller</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Becoming desperate</i>] Paula!
-[<i>Paula gives her a nervous glance.</i>] Will one of you go
-farther in! Mr. Twiller!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Addressing Florence</i>] Have you convinced
-yourselves? [<i>He gives Mrs. Pampinelli an irritated
-look over his left shoulder.</i>]</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> That there has been a mistake?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Go farther in, one of you!
-[<i>Twiller gives her another look, then speaks to Florence.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> Yes! [<i>Mrs. Pampinelli can contain herself
-no longer, so, picking up her skirt, and holding her
-hand against the left side of her head, she darts across
-the open door, to the left, and speaks to them around
-the edge of the door. Mrs. Fell, taking advantage of
-the circumstance of Mrs. Pampinelli&#8217;s crossing, tiptoes
-up to Twiller and strikes him on the left arm,
-quite viciously, with the rolled manuscript. As a polite
-remonstrance, he shakes his left hand and foot at
-her. But, she is not dismayed, and repeats the attack,
-even more viciously. Then he turns and glares at her,
-and she turns away towards the right, desperately.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> A great mistake.</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Disappointed? Because, you know,
-we can <i>invent</i> a scandal, if you insist.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Oh, what a man! What a man!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence</span> and <span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> I&#8217;m afraid <i>my</i> presence here would be
-a bit incongruous, even for that.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Go farther in, Mr. Twiller,
-don&#8217;t both of you stand wedged in the doorway that
-way, it looks dreadful!</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Raising his right arm and resting his
-hand against the jamb of the door, completely cutting
-off Mrs. Ritter&#8217;s view of Florence</i>] That&#8217;s the rub.
-[<i>Mrs. Ritter stands on her tiptoes to try and see over
-his arm, but being unsuccessful in this effort, stoops
-a bit, and tries to look under his arm.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Take your arm down, Mr.
-Twiller! [<i>Mrs. Ritter reaches up and quietly but
-firmly draws Twiller&#8217;s arm down. Mrs. Pampinelli
-turns away to the left, disgusted.</i>] My God! I never
-gave any such direction as that!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Be at ease, Mr. Rush; if you were not
-mistaken I should have known it,&mdash;and so should you;
-I&#8217;m not a tragic woman. Did you want to leave any
-message for the Doctor, Mrs. Rush?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>At Twiller&#8217;s right</i>] Yes,&mdash;[<i>Twiller
-turns his head sharply and looks right into her
-eyes. She steps around back of him and speaks to Florence
-over his left shoulder.</i>] I wish you&#8217;d say that my
-husband called&mdash;[<i>Twiller turns and looks into her</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>
-<i>eyes again, and she steps around back of him again, to
-his right.</i>] for my bill. [<i>She reaches out and starts to
-draw the door to. Twiller, very ill at ease, and awkwardly
-looking from side to side, not knowing just how
-to get out gracefully, makes a full turn round to his
-right.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Raising his hat to Florence</i>] Good evening,
-Mrs. Arlington. [<i>Mrs. Ritter closes the door,
-causing him to drop his cane; but he&#8217;s too excited to
-notice it.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Standing at the right door, extending
-his hand</i>] Great, old man!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Dropping his gloves, as he shakes hands</i>]
-Thanks. [<i>He continues to the right.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>As he passes below her</i>] Splendid,
-Ralph! What happened to your mustache? [<i>She
-laughs.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> Can you beat that, Nelly! I couldn&#8217;t
-<i>coax</i> that thing off before I went on!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Holding the knob of the right door</i>]
-Shush!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> I don&#8217;t think the audience noticed it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Turning to them</i>] Shush! [<i>Twiller
-goes down to the right, and Mrs. Fell returns to her
-manuscript. The left door is flung open. They all
-watch eagerly.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Inside the left door</i>] If you will,
-please?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Certainly.</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Thanks.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Don&#8217;t mention it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Trying to appear very bold</i>] Good
-bye.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Good bye. [<i>Mrs. Ritter gives another
-famous laugh, sways through the door, tripping over
-the door-strip, closes the door, looks at Mrs. Pampinelli,
-who is standing at the left, and bursts out laughing.
-There is prolonged applause from beyond the
-flats.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Splendid, Paula!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Listening intently for his cue, from
-beyond the flats</i>] Shush-shush! [<i>Mrs. Ritter looks
-at him, still laughing foolishly.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Waving at Paula</i>] Lovely, dear!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Turning to Mrs. Pampinelli</i>] I
-forgot my umbrella.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Where is it?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> I left it on the stage.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> That doesn&#8217;t matter. [<i>Hossefrosse
-tries to silence them by dint of impatient gesturing
-with his right hand.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Oh, Betty, I think I saw Clara Sheppard
-out there!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Not really?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Shush!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>From beyond the flats</i>] You can come
-out now, Clyde, they&#8217;ve gone. [<i>Hossefrosse yanks the</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>
-<i>right door open, causing the wood-wing at the right
-to topple and fall forward.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Leaping to catch it, before it hits Mrs.
-Fell</i>] Hold it! [<i>Mrs. Fell hunches her arms and
-shoulders and screams.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Rushing over from the left</i>]
-What is it?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Struggling to set the wing up in place
-again</i>] This thing nearly fell! Just got it in time!
-[<i>Mrs. Fell moves out of the way, over to the left, and
-Mrs. Pampinelli tries to assist Twiller.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Is it all right now?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Brushing his hands and clothes, and
-coming forward at the right</i>] Yes, it&#8217;s all right now.
-Just got it in time.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Rushing up to Mrs. Ritter, who is
-coming towards her from the left, and shaking her by
-the arms</i>] Oh, you were marvelous, darling! [<i>Mrs.
-Ritter giggles foolishly.</i>] I could just hug you!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> I forgot my umbrella.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Wonderful performance! [<i>She steps
-to the right door and opens her manuscript. Mrs.
-Ritter moves a little to the right and stands looking
-at the wood-wing.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning from a more precise
-adjustment of the wood-wing</i>] Oh, Mr. Twiller!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> Yes?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> How did you and Paula get<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span>
-wedged in that door that way, over there a moment
-ago?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>On Mrs. Pampinelli&#8217;s right</i>] Oh, I&#8217;m
-awfully sorry about that! I got a little twisted on&mdash;
-[<i>Mrs. Ritter comes to Mrs. Pampinelli&#8217;s left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning to Mrs. Ritter</i>] I
-was just asking Mr. Twiller about that business in the
-door.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span>, <span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter</span> and <span class="smcap">Twiller</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Of course, it really didn&#8217;t
-matter very much.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Oh, my dear, wasn&#8217;t that just too
-dreadful! But I didn&#8217;t know what to do! I knew
-there was something wrong, but I didn&#8217;t know what
-it was!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> It was <i>my</i> fault. I got a little twisted
-there in my business-cues. I got up to the door a
-couple of speeches too soon.</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I don&#8217;t think the audience noticed
-it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Frantically searching in the manuscript</i>]
-Shush!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Don&#8217;t you think they did, Betty?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Shush! [<i>They all turn and look at
-her. Mrs. Pampinelli steps towards her.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Is somebody up? [<i>Nelly
-simply silences her with a gesture, and opens the door
-slightly.</i>]</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Prompting through the door</i>]
-You&#8217;ve all been listening to a lot of damned, cheap
-gossip!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>From beyond the flats</i>] You&#8217;ve all
-been listening to a lot of damned, cheap gossip!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] Which should show
-you that people are talking.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Somebody up? [<i>Nelly just
-shakes her head and relaxes.</i>] Mr. Hossefrosse?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> The &#8220;damned, cheap gossip&#8221; line.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Listening keenly</i>] Is he all
-right again?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Yes, he&#8217;s all right now;&mdash;but it&#8217;s
-funny how that line has sent him up at every performance.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning to rejoin Mrs. Ritter
-and Twiller</i>] It&#8217;s purely mental.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>From beyond the flats, violently</i>]
-No! [<i>The stage manager, over at the left, jumps to
-his feet, causing the hammer to fall from his pocket.
-The door-slam also falls, with a bang. The stage
-manager has been dozing, and the thunder of Mr.
-Hossefrosse&#8217;s outburst has considerably startled him.
-He comes forward at the left and looks over at Mrs.
-Fell, to inquire the cause of the disturbance.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Motioning to him with her manuscript</i>]
-Shush! [<i>He looks about and then goes back
-and picks up the hammer and door-slam. As he resumes
-his seat he takes another glance around.</i>]</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>As Mrs. Pampinelli comes forward
-again at the right, between her and Twiller</i>] You
-know, I felt like a perfect fool standing there in that
-door, but I couldn&#8217;t catch what you were saying.
-[<i>Twiller laughs.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Well, dear, I <i>really</i> don&#8217;t think
-the audience noticed it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> I hope they didn&#8217;t.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> It must have looked awful.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> No, dear, it didn&#8217;t, really; you
-both covered it up very nicely.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> I <i>tried</i> to cover it up when my mustache
-fell off, too;&mdash;but I had so many <i>lines</i> right in there.
-I held it on as long as I could, but I was afraid the
-audience was beginning to notice it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I was so glad you had the presence
-of mind not to attempt to stick it on again when
-it fell off the <i>second</i> time.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> I was afraid to take the time. I had
-a cue right there; so when it fell off the second time,
-I just&mdash;let it lie there. [<i>He makes a casual gesture
-with his right hand.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> That was quite right.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Laughing a little</i>] It&#8217;s out there yet.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Giggling</i>] So is my umbrella.
-[<i>They all laugh.</i>] Oh, listen, Betty dear! I think
-I&#8217;ll just run upstairs for a minute and use that telephone&mdash;see
-how Fred is. [<i>She starts towards the left.</i>]</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Following her</i>] Yes, do,
-Paula.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> I&#8217;m kind of worried about him.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> See if he&#8217;s regained consciousness
-yet.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Regardless of the fact that a play
-is in progress</i>] Excuse me!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Looking up from her manuscript</i>]
-Shush!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Certainly, dear. [<i>Twiller
-raises his hat towards her, and she waves back at him.
-Then he goes up at the right and peeks through the
-side wings.</i>] Oh, Paula!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Turning</i>] Yes, dear?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Be sure and get down in time
-for the curtains.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Oh, yes.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I imagine there&#8217;ll be a lot of
-flowers come over.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Starting up at the left</i>] I&#8217;ll be
-right down as soon as I telephone.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Yes, do, dear. [<i>Mrs. Ritter
-goes out at the left, and Mrs. Pampinelli turns, touching
-her hair, and starts back towards the right. Something
-falls beyond the flats. She stops dead, and listens.
-Mrs. Fell turns quickly and peeks through the right
-door. Twiller comes forward at the right and looks
-inquiringly.</i>]</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Just audible beyond the flats</i>] Then,
-you&#8217;ve allowed him to think so.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> What&#8217;s that?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] Perhaps it is.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Turning to Mrs. Pampinelli, and
-quite casually</i>] He knocked the ash-tray over. [<i>Mrs.
-Pampinelli relaxes, and proceeds to arrange the beaded
-ornaments on her dress, while Mrs. Fell moves a bit
-farther over to the right and stands listening, manuscript
-and lorgnon in hand. Twiller crosses to the
-left, below Mrs. Fell, and gathers up his gloves and
-cane.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] You are deliberately
-misinterpreting this situation! Yes you are!
-It&#8217;s perfectly ridiculous that a physician cannot take
-a woman patient without being subjected to the whisperings
-of a lot of vulgar scandal-mongers.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> This is not a romantic age, Clyde.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Coming to Mrs. Pampinelli&#8217;s right</i>]
-Was that inflection of mine any better tonight on that
-line, &#8220;I&#8217;m puzzled.&#8221;?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Oh, very much better, I was
-listening for it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Thoughtfully</i>] I never seemed to get
-the sense of that line until tonight. It just seemed
-to&mdash;come to me, out there on the stage.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Oh, that is a very significant
-line, Mr. Twiller, coming where it does. [<i>Spindler
-comes wandering on from the left, comes forward,</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span>
-<i>looks about, and goes up to the side wing and looks
-through.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> I felt a great deal easier in that new
-business of turning&mdash;down at the bookcase that you
-gave me last night.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>With a touch of smugness</i>]
-Much better.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> Did you notice it?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Well, of course, I couldn&#8217;t see
-it, I was here; but I could sense it; and I could tell
-from the <i>tone</i> of the scene that it was better. [<i>Spindler
-moves over to the extreme left, about half-way
-back, and, taking the refractory telephone-bell-arrangement
-from his pocket, starts to tinker with it.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> I just turned my head <i>this</i> way, [<i>He
-turns his head sharply to the right, keeping his body
-and shoulders perfectly rigid.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Excellent.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Turning back to her</i>] Without moving
-my body.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Very good.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> Instead of making the full swing around,
-[<i>He makes a complete swing around on his right foot.</i>]
-the way I had been doing. [<i>Mrs. Fell raises her lorgnon
-and looks over, curiously.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> A very good change.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Very seriously</i>] I <i>felt</i> that it got them.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Well, you see, it gave them<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span>
-the full benefit of your expression. [<i>They nod agreement.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> There&#8217;s a great deal of light and shade
-in that part, right in there.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Deprecatingly</i>] Ho! my dear,&mdash;it
-is <i>all</i> light and shade;&mdash;even to the gestures. [<i>She
-makes a Delsartian movement with her arms and hands.
-Mrs. Fell comes forward a little further and observes
-the gesture keenly, through her lorgnon.</i>] ....</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Rather troubled, and shaking his head
-a bit</i>] I&#8217;ve got to put in a lot of work on <i>my</i> gestures,&mdash;they&#8217;re
-bad, I know.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Well, I shouldn&#8217;t exactly say
-that your gestures were bad; but I think, perhaps&mdash;&mdash;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Leaning heavily on his cane</i>] I&mdash;ah&mdash;I
-think I try too hard to be natural.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Smiling, biting her lip, and
-rolling her eyes</i>] That&#8217;s exactly what I was going
-to say. Your gestures are, in a way, <i>too</i> natural. [<i>She
-gives a little mirthless laugh, and, out of courtesy, he
-joins her.</i>] Of course, that is a very virtuous fault;
-but it isn&#8217;t pretty, is it? [<i>She laughs again.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> No, it isn&#8217;t. [<i>The stage manager gets
-up, stretches himself, and comes forward at the left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> And, after all, the function of
-art is to be pretty, is it not? [<i>She repeats the floating
-gesture.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Trying to imitate her</i>] I don&#8217;t seem
-to be able&mdash;to <i>do</i> that, the way you do. [<i>Mrs. Fell</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span>
-<i>feels the call, and, putting the manuscript under her
-arm, tries rather unsuccessfully to copy the movement.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Oh, it is purely a matter of
-experience, Mr. Twiller. But when you&#8217;ve been in
-the work as long as I have,&mdash;you&#8217;ll realize that the
-bird&#8217;s-wing gesture is the <i>only</i> gesture. [<i>She illustrates
-again, for the edification of her disciples; and
-they attempt rather faithfully to imitate her. The
-stage manager stands looking at them.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] But it has its compensations&mdash;You&#8217;ll
-have your memories, [<i>There is a
-confusion of voices from beyond the flats, and cries of
-&#8220;Sit down!&#8221;</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Startled</i>] What&#8217;s that? [<i>Mrs.
-Fell rushes to the right door and peeks through, Twiller
-goes over to the right and up, and the stage manager
-rushes back to his post and disappears at the left.</i>]
-What is it, Nelly?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Turning suddenly to Mrs. Pampinelli</i>]
-They&#8217;re carrying a man out of the audience! [<i>She
-looks back again through the peek, and Mrs. Pampinelli
-steps to the left door and peeks. Mrs. Sheppard sweeps
-on up at the left, and comes forward. She is a slim
-brunette, in her thirties, very attractive, and wearing
-the very last whisper in widow&#8217;s weeds. She looks
-around, rather dramatically, then sees the ladies. Mrs.
-Fell looks away from the peek-hole and sees her.</i>]
-Betty, there&#8217;s Clara!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Looking at Nelly</i>] What?</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Not wishing to be heard</i>] Clara
-Sheppard. [<i>Mrs. Pampinelli turns quickly.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Oh, Clara! [<i>She goes towards
-her, and Clara advances a little.</i>] I&#8217;m so glad to see
-you! [<i>Clara breaks down and weeps.</i>] Now, don&#8217;t
-do that, dear. You know Jimmy wouldn&#8217;t for anything
-in the world want you to feel that way. So be
-brave, honey. It was splendid of you to come here at
-all. And you look wonderful.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> I must look perfectly dreadful.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> You don&#8217;t look anything of the
-kind, darling, you look perfectly beautiful.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> All I&#8217;ve done is cry.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I know just how you feel.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> But I didn&#8217;t want you to think
-I&#8217;d entirely forsaken the cause.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Oh, my dear, we understood
-perfectly.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> But I just felt I <i>had</i> to come
-here tonight.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Have you been out in front,
-Clara?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> Yes, I just <i>had</i> to see it. I don&#8217;t
-think anybody saw me; I came in late, and stood way
-at the back.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> They&#8217;d hardly see you.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> I don&#8217;t think so; I kept my veil
-lowered. Of course, I should <i>love</i> to have been right
-down in front, where I could get all those <i>wonderful</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span>
-little subtleties. But, you know how it is,&mdash;I was
-afraid people might not understand my being here at
-all. It&#8217;s only three weeks, you know.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> They wouldn&#8217;t, either.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> That&#8217;s what I thought.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I don&#8217;t suppose there&#8217;s one person
-in <i>ten thousand</i> that has dramatic instinct enough
-to appreciate the way you feel. [<i>She turns to the left
-door and listens.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> [<i>Beginning to cry again</i>] The
-flowers in the lobby are perfectly beautiful.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Still listening</i>] Yes, but I&#8217;m
-not having them passed over the footlights tonight.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> [<i>Drying her eyes</i>] No?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Except one bouquet for each
-of the ladies. It took up too much time the last time.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> [<i>Glancing about</i>] Where&#8217;s Paula?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> She&#8217;s upstairs, telephoning.
-She&#8217;s rather annoyed about Fred, you know.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> What about him? [<i>Mrs. Pampinelli
-turns from the door suddenly and looks at her.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] There is, my dear
-boy,&mdash;for lots of people&mdash;&mdash;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Why, my dear, didn&#8217;t you
-hear?&mdash;about him falling downstairs last night?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> Oh, not really!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Coming towards her</i>] He fell
-almost the entire flight.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> Oh, dear me!</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Poor Paula&#8217;s terribly upset.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> What was he doing, coming down
-the stairs?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> No, he was watching our rehearsal.
-You know, we held the final rehearsal at
-Paula&#8217;s house last night&mdash;we couldn&#8217;t get this place.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> [<i>Solicitously</i>] Well, did he break
-any <i>bones</i>, Betty?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> No,&mdash;Doctor Wentworth said&mdash;he
-was unconscious before he hit the floor. He said
-the fall was the result of a collapse; and that he would
-have fallen no matter where he had been. Unfortunately,
-he just happened to be on the stairs. [<i>She turns
-back again to the left door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> [<i>Retrospectively</i>] I <i>thought</i> he
-looked pale when I saw him out there tonight. [<i>Mrs.
-Pampinelli turns suddenly and looks at her.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] And you have a very
-modern wife.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> When you saw him out here,
-you mean? [<i>She indicates the audience beyond the
-flats.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> Yes; he was standing out there
-at the back, right near <i>me</i>.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Coming towards her again</i>]
-You <i>must</i> be mistaken, Clara.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> No, Betty, I&#8217;m quite <i>sure</i> I saw
-him.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Well, the only thing <i>I</i> know<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span>
-is that Paula said he hadn&#8217;t regained consciousness when
-she left the house this evening at seven-thirty. [<i>Mrs.
-Ritter comes on up at the back, from the left, and
-comes forward.</i>] Here&#8217;s Paula now!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> [<i>Turning round to her left</i>]
-Poor dear, she must be terribly upset.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Extending her arms</i>] Clara, dear!
-[<i>Mrs. Sheppard bursts into tears again.</i>] This is so nice
-of you! [<i>They embrace each other, and Mrs. Ritter
-starts to cry.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Isn&#8217;t she the sweet thing!
-[<i>The door at the right opens.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>To the ladies</i>] Shush! [<i>They all
-turn and look toward the right door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>With a gesture to Mrs. Ritter
-and Mrs. Sheppard</i>] Shush! [<i>Hossefrosse comes out
-the right door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Beyond the flats</i>] It&#8217;s gotten very
-chilly.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Picking up his hat, cane and gloves
-from the chair</i>] Yes, I know it has; I just came in a
-few minutes ago.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> You had tickets for the theatre, didn&#8217;t
-you?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Stepping back through the right
-door again</i>] Yes.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Why not take me?&mdash;for a change. [<i>The
-door closes.</i>] You used to&mdash;years ago.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning to Mrs. Ritter and</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span>
-<i>Mrs. Sheppard</i>] Paula, Clara says she thinks she saw
-Mr. Ritter out there tonight.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Standing at the left</i>] My dear,
-Jenny just told me over the telephone that he regained
-consciousness a half-hour after I left the house, and
-went out. Said she thought from the way he talked
-he was coming here.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> [<i>In the center</i>] Yes, I was <i>sure</i>
-I saw him standing out there&mdash; [<i>Turning to Mrs.
-Ritter</i>] I was just telling Betty.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> I wonder if he&#8217;s out there yet.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> I don&#8217;t know, dear.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> How much of the play did
-you see, Clara?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> Why, I stayed just as long as I
-could, Betty. But when Paula came on, and I heard
-those lines of mine again, I just couldn&#8217;t stand it.
-[<i>She breaks down, and buries her face in her handkerchief.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Laying her hand on her arm</i>]
-I know, Clara&mdash;you&#8217;re such an artist.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> [<i>Pressing her hands against her
-bosom</i>] Everything just seemed to come back on me.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I know how it is, dear.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> [<i>Speaking directly to Mrs. Pampinelli</i>]
-I got thinking how Jimmy would feel, if he
-could know, that <i>he</i> was the cause of standing in the
-way of my first <i>real</i> opportunity. [<i>She cries again.</i>]</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Raising her eyes to Heaven</i>]
-Perhaps he does know, dear.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> [<i>Turning to her again</i>] I mean,
-you know, he was always so anxious about my getting
-into the work. And, somehow or other, I always <i>felt</i>&mdash;that
-I could have done so much with that part. [<i>Mrs.
-Ritter gives a vague little laugh, and Mrs. Sheppard
-turns to her quickly.</i>] Oh, of course, you were perfectly
-<i>adorable</i> in it, darling, I don&#8217;t mean that&mdash;
-[<i>The left door opens, and Florence is standing in it,
-about to come out.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>To Mrs. Pampinelli, Mrs. Ritter
-and Mrs. Sheppard</i>] Shush!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning and going closer to
-the left door</i>] Excuse me, Clara.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> Certainly, dear. [<i>Twiller comes
-forward at the right.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> [<i>Stepping through the door</i>] By the
-way, there was a Mr. Robinson telephoned this morning,
-after you&#8217;d left the house&mdash; [<i>Mrs. Sheppard waves
-her handkerchief at Florence, and Florence replies by
-quietly flicking her fingers at her. Then, still keeping
-in her character, she moves slowly towards the right,
-leaving the door open behind her.</i>] He said something
-about a list being correct.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Appearing in the doorway, carrying
-his hat, cane and gloves</i>] Yes, I know. [<i>He
-reaches towards the left, beyond the flats, as though
-he were pushing an electric-light button, then thrusts</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span>
-<i>his head through the door and says in a fierce whisper.</i>]
-Lights.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> Lights out!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell</span> and <span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Put out the lights, somebody!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Lights, Mr. Stage Manager!
-[<i>The stage manager appears from the left, at the back.</i>]</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Springing from the left, where he has
-been engaged in trying to repair the telephone-battery</i>]
-Lights out!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Where are you! [<i>The stage
-manager reaches up and pulls one of the switches on the
-switch-board at the back, and the lights beyond the flats
-go out; then he disappears again at the left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler</span> and <span class="smcap">Hossefrosse</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> I was right here!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Coming through the door</i>] Yes, I
-know,&mdash; [<i>Closing the door behind him</i>] I talked to
-him. [<i>Puts his hat on</i>]</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Well, why aren&#8217;t you right
-<i>here</i>, where you should be! Stand by for the curtain,
-now,&mdash;see if you can do that much right. Surely, it&#8217;s
-the old story of the lark,&mdash;if you want a thing done, do
-it yourself! Curtain!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Shouting</i>] Curtain! [<i>The curtain, beyond
-the flats, begins to roll down, and there is thunderous
-applause.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>To Florence</i>] Marvelous, darling!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>
-[<i>Florence waves at her, turns, and rushes back towards
-the left.</i>] Just lovely, Huxley!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Thanks. [<i>He turns to the left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Lights up! Splendid, children!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Florence.</span> I&#8217;m awfully glad to see you, Clara!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard</span>, <span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span>, <span class="smcap">Hossefrosse</span>
-and <span class="smcap">Spindler</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> [<i>Shaking hands with Florence</i>]
-You were wonderful, Flossie!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Take up the curtain, Mr.
-Stage Manager!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Thank you very much.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> Lights up! [<i>The stage manager appears
-from the left and pulls the switch again, and the lights
-beyond the flats go on.</i>]</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> Take it up! [<i>The stage manager darts
-off again to the left. The waltz-music on the piano,
-beyond the flats, begins again.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Lifting his hat and beaming</i>]
-Hello, Clara!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> Wonderful! [<i>He deprecates
-profusely. The curtain rises again.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Go on, Mr. Hossefrosse! [<i>He
-opens the right door, removing his hat.</i>] Wait a
-moment, Mr. Hossefrosse! Come on, Florence!
-[<i>Hossefrosse stops uncertainly in the doorway and looks
-at Mrs. Pampinelli.</i>] It&#8217;s all right! Go on! [<i>She
-opens the left door.</i>] Here, go on here, Florence!
-[<i>They go on, bowing, and there is prolonged applause.</i>]<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span>
-Come on, Paula! go on here! [<i>The curtain descends
-again. Paula scurries to the left door, giggling.</i>]
-Where&#8217;s Mr. Twiller!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> [<i>Springing over from the right, where
-he has been talking and laughing with Mrs. Fell</i>] Here
-I am!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning to the left</i>] Take it
-up again, Mr. Stage Manager! [<i>Turning back to
-Twiller, and opening the door</i>] Here, Mr. Twiller,
-take Paula on! [<i>The curtain can be seen through the
-left door rising again.</i>] Come on, Paula! [<i>Twiller
-drops his cane, in shifting it from his right hand to his
-left.</i>] Hurry up! [<i>He snatches the cane up, and,
-taking Paula by the arm, escorts her through the door.
-But she trips over the door-strip, nevertheless. And
-there is sustained applause. Mrs. Fell, over at the
-right, begins to preen herself feverishly. Mrs. Pampinelli
-closes the door slowly, and stands listening, smiling.
-Teddy appears up at the left and comes forward,
-pressing his violet handkerchief to his brow, and looking
-very wan. Mrs. Pampinelli turns to him.</i>] Come on,
-Teddy, hurry up! They&#8217;re just going on! How do
-you feel? [<i>The curtain descends.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> Only fair.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Taking him by the right arm
-and urging him towards the right</i>] Here, Nelly, go on
-for a bow with Teddy! [<i>Rushing back towards the
-left</i>] Take it up again, Mr. Stage Manager!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span>, <span class="smcap">Teddy</span> and <span class="smcap">Spindler</span>, together.</p>
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span></p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Mr. Spindler!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> [<i>Opening the right door</i>] Come on, Nelly!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Half-way back, at the left</i>] Take it
-up! [<i>Rushing forward at the left</i>] Yes?</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span> and <span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>To Spindler</i>] Keep it going
-up and down till I tell you to stop! And keep it up the
-next time till the gentlemen get the flowers!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Shrinking away a little more to the
-right of the door, but still preening herself, almost hysterically,
-and breaking into a little nervous laugh</i>] Oh,
-no, really, dear! I wouldn&#8217;t <i>think</i> of it! [<i>Teddy goes
-through the right door. The curtain can be seen rising
-again; then the door closes after him; and Mrs. Fell
-continues talking, to herself.</i>] Why, what have I done
-that I should go on. I wouldn&#8217;t mind if I&#8217;d taken some
-part in the play,&mdash;but I certainly don&#8217;t see&mdash;</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Rushing back to the right</i>]
-Go on, Nelly! what are you waiting for? [<i>The curtain
-descends again. Mrs. Fell rushes towards Mrs.
-Pampinelli.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Handing Mrs. Pampinelli the rolled
-manuscript</i>] Hold this!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Hurry, dear! [<i>Mrs. Fell
-rushes to the right door, settles herself finally, and
-flings the door open. The curtain is just rising. And,
-placing one hand upon her bosom, dropping her eyes and
-smiling, Nelly sways through the door, acknowledging
-the plaudits. Mrs. Pampinelli, standing in the middle</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span>
-<i>of the stage, applauds, also, hitting the manuscript
-against her hand. The door closes after Mrs. Fell.
-Mrs. Sheppard, over at the left, suddenly bursts into
-tears and buries her face in her handkerchief. Mrs.
-Pampinelli turns quickly and looks at her, then crosses
-towards her.</i>] Do you want to take a bow, Clara?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> Oh, no, thank you! [<i>Mrs.
-Pampinelli turns back to the left door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Get those flowers, boys! Keep
-it up, Mr. Stage Manager! Come on, Clara! go on
-for a bow! [<i>Reaches for Mrs. Sheppard&#8217;s hand</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> [<i>Giving Mrs. Pampinelli her
-hand, and allowing herself to be drawn towards the
-right</i>] Do you think they&#8217;d understand, Betty?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Of course, they would, my
-dear! They know it isn&#8217;t your fault that you&#8217;re not
-appearing! [<i>Mrs. Fell thrusts open the right door.
-She has a basket of roses in her hand.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> They&#8217;re <i>calling</i> for you, Betty! [<i>Someone
-in the audience can be heard calling Mrs. Pampinelli&#8217;s
-name.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Here, Nelly, take Clara on for
-a bow!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Impatiently</i>] They&#8217;re calling for you,
-dear! [<i>Mrs. Sheppard hastily throws her veil back,
-dramatically.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I&#8217;ll take one alone, afterwards!
-[<i>The applause swells again.</i>] Go on, Clara!</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Extending her right hand</i>] Come on,
-dear!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Sheppard.</span> [<i>Giving Mrs. Fell her left hand</i>]
-Oh, I don&#8217;t feel that I should! [<i>Mrs. Fell keeps the
-door open, and Clara droops through, bowing. Then
-Mrs. Fell closes the door and Mrs. Pampinelli turns to
-the left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Keep it up, Mr. Spindler!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> Keep it up!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> [<i>Thrusting open the left door</i>] Mrs.
-Pampinelli! [<i>There is a vision through the door of
-the various artists bowing towards the back wall, all
-the ladies laden with flowers.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> All right, dear! I&#8217;m coming!
-[<i>Hossefrosse closes the door, and Mrs. Pampinelli
-deftly touches her hair and flings her train out to its
-full length behind her. Then she speaks in a loud
-voice, so that she may be heard by those on the other
-side of the flats.</i>] Everybody stand to one side! Stand
-to one side, everybody! [<i>She pulls open the left door
-and stands, smiling: then she steps through the door;
-and, instantly, the curtain falls with a deafening crash.
-The door closes after her. Nelly Fell gives a piercing
-scream. Spindler comes rushing down from the left to
-the left door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Teddy.</span> [<i>Shouting, beyond the flats</i>] Curtain!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> Take up the curtain!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Twiller.</span> Take it up! [<i>There is a babel of voices</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>
-<i>beyond the flats. Then the left door is thrust violently
-open, and Mrs. Pampinelli looks out.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Harshly, to Spindler</i>] What&#8217;s
-the matter with the curtain?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>In a panic of excitement</i>] Something&#8217;s
-broke! [<i>The stage manager rushes on from the left
-and comes forward.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Coming out through the door
-and calling to the stage manager, whom she hasn&#8217;t seen
-yet</i>] Take up the curtain, Mr. Stage Manager!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Stage Manager.</span> I can&#8217;t take it up, the guy-rope&#8217;s
-broken! [<i>He goes up at the left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> What? [<i>Mrs. Fell comes running
-through the right door, carrying her basket of
-flowers, and crosses towards the left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell</span> and <span class="smcap">Spindler</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> What is it, Betty?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>To Mrs. Pampinelli</i>] He says the guy-rope&#8217;s
-broken!</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Brushing him aside, to the
-left, and rushing up at the left</i>] My God! did anyone
-ever hear of such stupidity!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span>, <span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell</span> and <span class="smcap">Spindler</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I&#8217;ll go on at the side here!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> What&#8217;s the matter, Mr. Spindler?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Shouting after Mrs. Pampinelli</i>] He
-says he can&#8217;t get it up! [<i>Mrs. Sheppard comes through
-the right doorway with an armload of American Beauty</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>
-<i>roses, and stands looking anxiously from side to side.
-Teddy follows her out and stands at her right, discussing
-the incident. Florence opens the left door and
-comes out. Her arms are full of tiger-lilies. She
-moves to the right and speaks to Mrs. Sheppard,
-nervously.</i>]</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Stage Manager.</span> You can&#8217;t get through there,
-lady! [<i>Twiller comes out the left door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span> and <span class="smcap">Stage Manager</span>, together;</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I must get through somewhere!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Stage Manager.</span> That tormentor&#8217;s too narrow
-there!</p>
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span>, <span class="smcap">Stage Manager</span> and <span class="smcap">Mrs.
-Fell</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning frantically and rushing
-forward again at the left</i>] I&#8217;ll try the other side!
-He says it&#8217;s too narrow there!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Stage Manager.</span> I don&#8217;t know how you&#8217;re going
-to do it!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>As Mrs. Pampinelli sweeps between
-her and Spindler</i>] What is it he says is broken, Betty?
-[<i>Mrs. Pampinelli rushes over towards the right. She
-literally sweeps Twiller, who is in her path, out of the
-way, and he falls backward over a stage-brace, onto
-the floor. Mrs. Fell picks up her dress and runs after
-Mrs. Pampinelli.</i>]</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Spindler.</span> [<i>Outrunning Mrs. Fell</i>] The guy-rope!</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Well, why doesn&#8217;t he fix it! Betty!
-Betty dear! [<i>Mrs. Pampinelli rushes up at the extreme
-right and tries desperately to find a way of getting
-through; but everything is solidly masked. Hossefrosse
-comes out the left door, and the stage manager
-comes forward at the left and stands looking after Mrs.
-Pampinelli.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Hossefrosse.</span> What&#8217;s the matter, can&#8217;t Mrs.
-Pampinelli get her bow?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Stage Manager.</span> She can&#8217;t get on any more from
-that side than she can from this! [<i>Hossefrosse steps
-out through the door and looks toward the right. The
-door closes after him.</i>] There&#8217;s the same opening over
-there as there is here! [<i>The applause beyond the flats,
-which has kept up throughout the debacle, begins to die.
-Mrs. Pampinelli comes sweeping back from the right
-with fire in her eye,&mdash;Nelly Fell and Spindler still at
-her heels. She plants herself in the middle of the stage
-and glares at the stage manager.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>In a voice shrill with anger</i>]
-My God! what&#8217;s the matter with your curtain!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Stage Manager.</span> [<i>Losing his temper</i>] The guy-rope&#8217;s
-broken! I&#8217;ve told you that about a dozen times!
-[<i>He turns doggedly away to the left, as though he were
-going up to his chair; but he stops short and finishes his
-remarks to her over his left shoulder.</i>] What do you
-want me to do, write you a letter! [<i>The left door is
-pushed quietly open; and Mrs. Ritter, with her face</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span>
-<i>just visible above a perfect screen of roses, looks blankly
-at the stage manager.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Vaguely</i>] There&#8217;s something the
-matter with the curtain. [<i>The real stage curtain commences
-to descend.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Stage Manager.</span> [<i>Leaning towards her, assuming
-her general manner and tone, and flipping his hand at
-her</i>] Y-E-E-S! [<i>He goes up towards his chair, and
-Mrs. Ritter stands in wide-eyed astonishment.</i>]</p>
-
-
-<p class="center">END OF THE ACT.</p>
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-
-
-
-<div class="chapter">
-<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span>
-<h2 class="nobreak">THE TORCH-BEARERS.<br />
-
-<span class="smcap">Act III.</span></h2></div>
-
-
-<p>NOTE:</p>
-
-<p>The setting for Act III is the same as for Act I
-except that the small chair which Jenny brings on at
-the opening of the play is eliminated.</p>
-
-
-<p><i>Jenny is seated at the table below the piano, reading
-the Pictorial Review. The door closes out at the right.
-She stops reading and listens. Then resumes. Ritter
-wanders in from the right hallway, wearing a black
-overcoat and a derby. The derby is a bit over one eye
-and his cigar is at a comic angle. Jenny sees him and
-rises immediately, circling around to the left to the
-middle of the room.</i></p>
-
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Oh, Mr. Ritter! [<i>He comes into the
-center-door and stands there, looking at nothing.</i>] I
-didn&#8217;t hear you come in, sir. Is the show over?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Removing his gloves</i>] It&#8217;s all over town
-by this time.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Standing slightly left of the center of the
-room, facing him</i>] Mrs. Ritter just telephoned a minute
-ago.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Is she alive?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Alive, Mr. Ritter?</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Moving down to the table below the
-piano, and thrusting his gloves into his overcoat pocket</i>]
-Because if she is, she&#8217;s got a charmed life. [<i>Commencing
-to unfasten his coat</i>] The Seamen&#8217;s Institute!
-God help them on a night like this.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> She was anxious to know if you were still
-unconscious.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Taking off his overcoat</i>] If she telephones
-again, tell her yes. [<i>He is in a tuxedo-suit.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Crossing to him and helping him with the
-coat</i>] Ain&#8217;t you feelin&#8217; well again, Mr. Ritter?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> No, Jenny, I&#8217;m not. [<i>He hands her his
-derby.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Taking the hat and coat to the partition-seat
-above the piano</i>] Well, I&#8217;m sure I&#8217;m sorry, sir.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Removing his scarf</i>] And after that exhibition
-tonight,&mdash;I don&#8217;t think I ever shall feel exactly
-well again.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Coming down at his left and passing back
-of him</i>] Was it a sad play?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Handing her his scarf, and speaking with
-measured conviction</i>] The saddest thing I&#8217;ve ever seen
-in my life.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> I allus cry when a show is sad.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Is that so?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Yes, sir; and a funny thing about me is&mdash;the
-sadder it is the more I cry.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> You&#8217;d have had a big night if you&#8217;d been
-with me. [<i>She passes back of him with the scarf, to put</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span>
-<i>it with the other things.</i>] You&#8217;d better leave those
-things here, Jenny, I may leave town again tonight.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> I&#8217;ll leave them right here. [<i>She turns
-from an arrangement of the things and comes forward
-to the middle of the room.</i>] Did they clap much when
-Mrs. Ritter finished?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Still standing above the table near the
-piano, clipping the tip of a cigar which he has taken
-from his pocket</i>] I didn&#8217;t wait for the finish; they carried
-me out.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> I&#8217;m dyin&#8217; till she gets home, for I know
-exactly how she felt. [<i>He looks at her keenly&mdash;she is
-looking straight ahead.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Have you been on the stage, too, Jenny?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Turning to him</i>] No, sir, I haven&#8217;t, Mr.
-Ritter, not lately. But when I was at home in England
-I used to go on every once in a while. For a bit of a
-change, you know.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Yes, I know.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> We had a little club in the town I lived
-in, and we used to give a show twice a year. [<i>Ritter
-nods slowly and comprehendingly.</i>] I always took off
-the comical parts.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> How is it they didn&#8217;t get you into this
-show tonight?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Oh, I haven&#8217;t been on for a long time now,
-Mr. Ritter. My husband put a stop to it. [<i>She looks
-away off.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Turning to her</i>] What was the matter?</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Turning to him, suddenly</i>] He died.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Replacing his penknife</i>] I see.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> And I never felt much like cuttin&#8217; up after
-that. [<i>The telephone-bell rings. She turns quickly
-and starts for the center-door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Moving over towards the mantelpiece</i>]
-See who that is, Jenny.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Hurrying out into the left hallway</i>] Yes,
-sir.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Getting a match from the table below
-the mantelpiece</i>] Anybody for me, I&#8217;ve gone into permanent
-retirement.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>At the telephone</i>] Yes? [<i>He listens narrowly.</i>]
-Mr. Ritta? [<i>He makes a rapid movement
-towards her.</i>] Oh, Mrs. Ritta?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>In a subdued tone</i>] Who do they want?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Into the telephone</i>] No, mam, she hasn&#8217;t
-got home yet. [<i>Lowering the telephone and speaking
-to Ritter</i>] Mrs. Ritter.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Casually</i>] Who is it, the police? [<i>He
-lights his cigar.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Into the telephone</i>] All right, Mrs. Livingston,
-I&#8217;ll give her your message as soon as she comes
-in. You&#8217;re more than welcome I&#8217;m sure. [<i>She hangs
-up and comes to the center-door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Looking at her</i>] Mrs. Livingston?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Yes, sir.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> What did she want?</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> She sez she wanted to congratulate Mrs.
-Ritter on her perfect performance tonight.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Did she see the show?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> She didn&#8217;t say, sir.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Conclusively, and crossing in front of her
-down to the window at the right</i>] She didn&#8217;t see it. If
-any of those women come back here with Mrs. Ritter,
-Jenny,&mdash;say that I&#8217;m not home yet, do you understand.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Settling the overcoat on the partition-seat</i>]
-Yes, sir.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Looking through the window</i>] And that
-you haven&#8217;t seen anything <i>of</i> me.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Yes, sir, Mr. Ritter, all right.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> If my wife&#8217;s alone, let me know as soon
-as she comes in.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Yes, sir, I will. [<i>The telephone-bell rings,
-and she hurries out to answer it.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Half turning from the window</i>] You
-haven&#8217;t seen anything of me, remember.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> No, sir. [<i>Into the telephone</i>] Yes, sir?
-[<i>He listens, without turning.</i>] No, sir, she hasn&#8217;t got
-home yet. [<i>She lowers the telephone and looks at him,
-wide-eyed. He feels that she&#8217;s looking at him and turns
-suddenly.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Taking a step towards her, below the
-piano</i>] What is it?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Into the telephone</i>] No, sir, <i>he</i> hasn&#8217;t
-got home yet neither.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Apprehensively</i>] Do they want me?<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span>
-[<i>She nods yes.</i>] Who is it? [<i>She nods that she
-doesn&#8217;t know.</i>] Police Headquarters I&#8217;ll bet a ten
-dollar note! [<i>He crosses down below the table at the
-left and around up to the mantelpiece.</i>] Tell them
-that I had absolutely nothing to do with her going on!
-That I didn&#8217;t hear about it until last night! [<i>He
-crosses back again down towards the table below the
-piano.</i>] And that I&#8217;ve been unconscious ever since.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Into the telephone</i>] The Times?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Stopping above the table</i>] My God, the
-newspapers have got hold of it!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Into the telephone</i>] Well, just a minute,
-please.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Turning suddenly to her</i>] Tell them
-she did it on a bet!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> The Times newspaper wants to know if
-Mrs. Ritter has a full-length photograph of herself for
-the morning paper.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Emphatically, and going out through the
-center-door into the right hallway and up the stairs</i>]
-Tell them NO!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Into the telephone</i>] Hello.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> But that she&#8217;ll have some taken as soon as
-she gets out of jail. [<i>He goes through the arched doorway
-at the head of the stairs.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Into the telephone</i>] Why, I couldn&#8217;t say,
-sir, whether Mrs. Ritter has a photograph of herself
-or not, sir; but I&#8217;ll give her your message as soon as
-she comes in.</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>In the right hallway</i>] Hurry,
-Theodore.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Still at the telephone</i>] You&#8217;re more than
-welcome I&#8217;m sure. [<i>She hangs up and hurries in
-through the center-door, glancing out the right hallway
-as she comes and, gathering up Mr. Ritter&#8217;s overcoat,
-derby and scarf, hurries over above the table at the
-left and out.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>In the right hallway</i>] Be
-careful of those jonquils. Now, be careful, Theodore!
-Now go back and fetch the others. [<i>Coming into
-view, and seeing Jenny coming in again at the left
-door</i>] Oh, you&#8217;re up, Jenny, aren&#8217;t you! [<i>She comes
-through the center-door, carrying her fan and an armload
-of orchids and red chrysanthemums, and wearing
-an enormous flowing cape of ruffled black lace, touched
-all over with tiny circular sequins in gold. Her dress,
-of course, is the ruby-velvet one of the preceding act.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Yes, mam, I&#8217;m up.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Hastening to the table below
-the piano</i>] I&#8217;m so glad; I hope I haven&#8217;t roused you.
-[<i>She puts her fan on the piano and sets all the flowers
-down on the table.</i>] Will you go out and get those
-flowers from my chauffeur, Jenny?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Going out through the center-door into
-the right hallway</i>] Yes, mam.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Arranging the flowers on the
-table</i>] He&#8217;s set them right down there in the hallway.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span>
-I came right on in when I found the door unlocked;
-I was afraid you&#8217;d be asleep.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> No, mam, I was waitin&#8217; up.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Sweeping around to her left
-and up to the center-door</i>] Well, that&#8217;s perfectly
-angelic of you I&#8217;m sure. [<i>She stands on the left side
-of the center-door and looks out into the right hallway.</i>]
-Can you manage, dear?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Appearing from the right</i>] I think so.
-[<i>She struggles through the center-door carrying an
-enormous horseshoe, made of red and white carnations
-and ferns. It is at least four feet high, set upon an
-easel, and across the front of it is a strip of white-satin
-ribbon ten inches wide with the word &#8220;SUCCESS&#8221;
-inscribed upon it in blue-velvet letters. She is
-also carrying a huge basket of jonquils, and a star
-made of white pansies. This last touch is fastened
-upon a violet easel.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Let me help you, child. [<i>She
-takes the basket of jonquils and the star of pansies from
-Jenny.</i>] Now, set that right down there. [<i>She indicates
-a point in front of the mantelpiece for the horseshoe,
-and Jenny crosses in front of her with it.</i>] I
-want Mrs. Ritter to see it <i>first</i>, when she comes in,&mdash;it&#8217;s
-so appropriate. [<i>She sets the basket of jonquils on the
-piano.</i>] I suppose we can put these down anywhere
-here until she comes, can&#8217;t we? [<i>She sets the easel
-of pansies down on the floor at the right of the table
-below the piano.</i>]</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Having set the horseshoe down in front
-of the mantelpiece</i>] This way, Mrs. Pampinelli?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> No, dear, <i>facing</i> the door.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Oh, I see. [<i>She turns it round facing the
-center-door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> That&#8217;s it. I want it to catch
-her eye as she comes in. And now will you go back
-and fetch the others, Jenny?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Hurrying out through the center-door</i>]
-Yes, mam.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Gathering up the chrysanthemums
-from the table</i>] And these chrysanthemums,
-[<i>She sweeps across towards the mantelpiece and turns
-to her left, strewing the chrysanthemums through the
-center-door and down toward the table at the left.</i>]
-I&#8217;ll just strew in her pathway. [<i>Jenny comes in from
-the right hallway carrying a huge anchor of vivid red
-roses, with a broad band of navy-blue ribbon running
-diagonally across it, and the words &#8220;SEAMEN&#8217;S
-INSTITUTE&#8221; in white-velvet letters. She stands
-right in the center-door, holding it, waiting for instructions
-as to its disposition from Mrs. Pampinelli. But
-Mrs. Pampinelli is lost in admiration of it, standing just
-to the left of the center-door.</i>] Now, set that right down
-here, Jenny. [<i>She indicates a point at the extreme left,
-below the door, and Jenny hastens to place it there,
-setting it down half-facing the center-door; and Mrs.
-Pampinelli stands up at the center-door admiring it.</i>]<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span>
-Hope! [<i>Jenny turns to her and gives a faint little
-laugh.</i>] Hope, for the success [<i>She indicates the
-horseshoe with a gesture.</i>] of our enterprise. [<i>They
-both laugh, and Mrs. Pampinelli steps quickly down to
-the table below the piano and picks up the orchids.</i>]
-And these orchids, I think I shall just put right here
-on this table. [<i>She crosses to the table below the casement-window
-and puts them down; then straightens up
-and sighs.</i>] Ho, dear me, I&#8217;m warm! [<i>She crosses
-back between the piano and the table below it, picking
-up her fan as she goes.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Moving up and across back of the table
-at the left, towards the center of the room</i>] &#8217;Tis a bit
-warm.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Fanning herself, as she moves
-towards the middle of the room</i>] And then I hurried
-so,&mdash;foolishly.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Did everything go along all right?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Magnificently, my dear child!
-And Mrs. Ritter was a positive sensation.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Did she get all these flowers?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Deprecatingly</i>] Ho! This
-isn&#8217;t the half of them! We sent three automobiles
-full to the various hospitals. And Mrs. Fell&#8217;s car was
-still taking them when I left. [<i>Jenny shakes her head
-from side to side in wonderment.</i>] These are just a
-few that we rescued for Mrs. Ritter. [<i>She moves
-towards the center-door.</i>] Sort of a little surprise for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span>
-her, you know, when she gets home. [<i>She stands looking
-out into the right hallway, expectantly.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> They&#8217;re certainly &#8217;andsome.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> She doesn&#8217;t even know that
-I&#8217;ve brought them.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Is she comin&#8217; right home, do you know,
-Mrs. Pampinelli?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning to Jenny</i>] Why, I
-<i>expect</i> her, yes. I was afraid she&#8217;d get here ahead of
-me. She was waiting for Mr. Ritter. [<i>Coming forward
-a little</i>] We heard at the hall that he was
-there, and she thought probably he&#8217;d come back and
-pick her up. He hasn&#8217;t <i>come</i> home, has he?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> No, mam, I haven&#8217;t seen anything of him.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Laughing a little, indulgently,
-securing a hair-pin, and moving over towards the right</i>]
-Poor man! His wife&#8217;s success has very likely gone to
-his head. [<i>She glances out the window.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> He went out of here about eight o&#8217;clock.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning and coming back
-towards Jenny</i>] Yes, we were so surprised to hear that
-he was there at all. Because Mrs. Ritter had said
-that he hadn&#8217;t regained consciousness up to the time
-she left the house.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> He hadn&#8217;t, neither. I thought I &#8217;ad two
-&#8217;eads on me when I came in and saw him puttin&#8217; on
-&#8217;is &#8217;at and coat.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Well, did he seem all right?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Yes, he seemed right enough; but he was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span>
-awful pale-lookin&#8217;. And a couple a times I spoke to
-&#8217;im, he gave me kind of a funny answer. So I got a
-bit frightened, you know; and I asked &#8217;im if he knew
-where he was goin&#8217;. And he said, &#8220;Yes,&#8221; that he was
-goin&#8217; to see &#8220;The Torch-Bearers.&#8221; Kind a flightly,
-you know.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Well, he would be, naturally.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> So then,&mdash;when he got to the door, he
-turned around&mdash;and he sez to me&mdash;&#8220;Jenny!&mdash;if you
-never see me again,&mdash;I want you to know I <i>died</i> in
-the cause of Art.&#8221;&mdash;And he went out.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> He was probably rambling a
-bit.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> But, he walked straight enough.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning suddenly to the
-center-door</i>] I think I hear a machine, Jenny.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Stepping across quickly below the table
-to the casement-window</i>] I&#8217;ll see.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Do quickly, dear.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Is Mrs. Fell comin&#8217; back tonight?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Looking out eagerly into
-the right hallway</i>] Yes, she&#8217;s bringing the rest of the
-flowers. I&#8217;ve sent my car back for her.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Turning abruptly from the window and
-hurrying across below the piano towards the center-door</i>]
-Here&#8217;s Mrs. Ritta now!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Is Mr. Ritter with her?
-[<i>Intercepting Jenny</i>] No, don&#8217;t go out, Jenny! I
-want to hear what they say when they see the flowers.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span>
-[<i>Turning her round by the shoulder and indicating the
-door down at the left</i>] You go into the other room
-there, and I&#8217;ll hide here&mdash; [<i>She moves forward at the
-right and across below the piano.</i>] in this window.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Hurrying towards the door at the left</i>]
-All right, mam.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Stopping near the window
-and turning to Jenny</i>] And, Jenny dear!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Turning at the left door</i>] Yes, mam?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Don&#8217;t come out&mdash;until you
-hear <i>me</i> say &#8220;SURPRISE!&#8221;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> All right, Mrs. Pampinelli, I won&#8217;t. [<i>Mrs.
-Pampinelli steps into the alcove of the window, then
-turns again to Jenny.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Now, remember, Jenny,&mdash;&#8220;SURPRISE!&#8221;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Yes, I know. [<i>She closes the door, and
-Mrs. Pampinelli conceals herself behind the window-drapery.
-There is a slight pause; then Mrs. Ritter
-hurries in from the right hallway, carrying a marvelous
-bouquet of American Beauty roses. She comes in
-through the center-door and stands, looking, with a
-touch of astonishment, at the horseshoe. Then her eyes
-wander down to the anchor; and then over to the
-easel at the right. She is gowned in a very pale shade
-of gray lace, with gray-silk slippers and stockings; and
-around her head she is wearing a wreath of laurel in
-gold, touched with brilliants. Her cloak is of black
-chiffon-velvet, with a cape collar of black fox. She</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span>
-<i>slides this cloak from her shoulders onto the partition-seat
-at the right, and starts across towards the door
-at the left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Opening the door</i>] Are you up,
-Jenny?&mdash;Jenny! [<i>She closes the door again and
-crosses above the table at the left and over to the one
-below the piano. Here she sets down a few of the
-roses, then decides there is not sufficient room for all
-of them, and starts across to the table at the left.
-Ritter appears at the head of the stairs and starts down
-slowly. She sees him, and stops dead.</i>] Fred! [<i>She
-moves up towards the left of the center-door.</i>] You
-don&#8217;t mean to tell me you&#8217;ve been home here,&mdash;and
-there I&#8217;ve been waiting at the hall since before ten
-o&#8217;clock. [<i>He wanders in through the center-door and
-leans against the piano, holding a lighted cigar in his
-hand.</i>] Why didn&#8217;t you come back for me? Irene
-Colter had to bring me home. [<i>She starts to cry.</i>]
-Clara Sheppard <i>told</i> me she saw you there, so, naturally,
-I waited for you. And when you didn&#8217;t come
-back, why, of course, right away&mdash;I thought something
-had happened to you. [<i>She cries into her handkerchief.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Without moving, and in a toneless voice</i>]
-Something <i>has</i> happened to me. [<i>She looks at him
-apprehensively.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> What happened to you, Fred?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Stonily, and moving down and across
-below the piano</i>] I&#8217;ve seen you act.</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> What? [<i>He raises his left hand
-solemnly and continues to the corner of the piano
-nearest the window, where he leans. She moves down
-a bit after him.</i>] What&#8217;s the matter, Fred,&mdash;did you
-have another of those spells that you had last night?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Yes; only a great deal worse.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Oh, isn&#8217;t that dreadful! What do
-you think it is, dear?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Turning slightly, and glancing at the
-violet easel and over at the anchor</i>] I don&#8217;t know what
-it is. It looks like a <i>wake</i> to me. Who&#8217;s dead?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Dead?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> What are all these flowers doing here?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Why, I imagine some of the ladies
-have been here from the show&mdash;to fix up a little surprise
-for <i>me</i>.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> They should have lighted a few candles,
-and completed the effect.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> But, these are just presents, Fred,
-from friends of ours.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Straightening up, and moving across below
-the table</i>] They are tokens of sympathy, that&#8217;s what
-they are. [<i>He crosses up and over above the table at
-the left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Following him over</i>] But, there&#8217;s
-nobody <i>dead</i>, dear!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Raising his left hand solemnly again</i>]
-Oh, yes there is! Oh yes!</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> <i>Really</i>, dear! [<i>He turns, just back
-of the arm-chair, and pins her with a look.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> You&#8217;re dead. [<i>She stands perfectly still,
-looking at him, wide-eyed.</i>] You died tonight,&mdash;down
-there on that stage at Horticultural Hall. And so did
-everybody that was up there with you.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>With a troubled, uncomprehending
-expression</i>] Why, how could I be dead, dear,&mdash;when
-I&#8217;m here,&mdash;talking to you? [<i>He stands looking straight
-ahead, smoking. She bursts out crying, and turns to
-the partition-seat at the right of the center-door.</i>] Oh,
-Fred! it&#8217;s terrible to see you this way!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Sweeping his hand across his brow and
-starting across below the table towards the right</i>] The
-human brain can only stand so much.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Setting her roses down on the partition-seat</i>]
-You&#8217;ve just been working yourself to
-death! But nobody could tell you anything! [<i>She
-starts out into the left hallway for the telephone.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Stopping over near the window and turning</i>]
-What are you going to do?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Turning to him</i>] Why, I&#8217;m going
-to call Doctor Wentworth of course.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> What for?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Why, because you <i>need</i> him!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Taking a step or two towards her, between
-the piano and the table below it</i>] I won&#8217;t see any doctor,
-now!</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Coming back through the center-door</i>]
-Now,&mdash;listen, Fred&mdash;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Raising his hand, and crossing to the left</i>]
-I won&#8217;t see any doctor, I tell you&mdash;there&#8217;s nothing he
-can do for me: [<i>He stops above the arm-chair at the
-left and rests his hand upon the back of it.</i>] it&#8217;s all
-been done. There&#8217;s nothing left for me but to get
-out of town.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Following him over</i>] Well, just let
-him come over and <i>see</i> you, dear.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> What would I let him come over and <i>see</i>
-me for? There&#8217;s nothing the matter with me.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Why, you&#8217;re as pale as a ghost!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> That&#8217;s nothing&mdash;I&#8217;ve had a scare.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Solicitously</i>] What scared you, dear?
-[<i>He turns and looks at her.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> I was afraid every minute somebody was
-going to shoot <i>you</i>.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>After a bewildered pause</i>] But, why
-should anybody shoot <i>me</i>, darling?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> For trying to act. [<i>He moves forward
-and across in front of the table, to the right,&mdash;she
-watching him blankly.</i>] Making a laughing-stock of
-yourselves in front of the community.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Didn&#8217;t you like me, Fred?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Casually, as he nears the window</i>] I did
-till I saw you act. [<i>He turns around to his right and
-leans on the piano. She moves over towards the table
-below the piano.</i>]</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Rather helplessly, as the situation
-dawns upon her</i>] Why, Mrs. Pampinelli said I was
-a great artist.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>With vast amusement</i>] Ha! [<i>Then he
-looks at his wife and speaks very exactly.</i>] Mrs. Pampinelli
-is perhaps the world&#8217;s greatest <i>NUT</i>. [<i>Mrs.
-Pampinelli, standing back in the widow-alcove at the
-right, in a state of puzzled irresolution, reacts, physically,
-to this last observation, causing an abrupt movement
-of the drapery. But, neither Ritter nor his wife
-are looking in that direction at the moment.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Laying the remaining roses on the
-table</i>] She says I ought to go on with the work.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Dryly</i>] She meant the housework. [<i>He
-replaces his cigar in his mouth.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Looking at him with a touch of resentment</i>]
-No, she didn&#8217;t mean anything of the kind.
-She says I ought to go to New York. [<i>He takes the
-cigar from his mouth and looks at her keenly.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> And what would you do when you&#8217;d <i>get</i>
-there?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Why, I&#8217;d go on the stage, of course.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Very level</i>] How?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Why, I&#8217;d go to the people that have
-charge of it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> And, do you think they&#8217;d put you on the
-stage simply because you wanted to <i>go</i> on it?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Well, Mrs. Pampinelli could give me
-a letter&mdash;</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Hum!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> So that I&#8217;d have it when I&#8217;d <i>get</i>
-there.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> That&#8217;d do you a lot of good. You&#8217;d find
-a <i>thousand</i> there ahead of you, with letters from Mrs.
-Pampinellis. Nobody in New York knows Mrs. Pampinelli;
-and if they did, it&#8217;d probably <i>kill</i> any chance
-that a person <i>might</i> have otherwise. [<i>Mrs. Pampinelli
-can contain herself no longer. She flips the window-drapery
-aside with a deft movement and stands looking
-at Ritter, from a great height. Mrs. Ritter, who is
-facing the window, utters an abrupt shriek of astonishment.
-Then Ritter turns, rather casually, to see the
-cause of his wife&#8217;s agitation, and finds himself looking
-into the frozen eyes of Mrs. Pampinelli. He regards
-her rather impersonally, and then quietly reaches up
-and secures his collar and tie. She steps majestically
-from the window-alcove and moves a bit nearer to him,
-still holding him with an icy stare.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>After a devastating pause</i>] You
-creature.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Turning smoothly away, to his left, as
-though he had been suddenly struck by something, in
-the right eye</i>] Another <i>actress</i>. [<i>He moves along a
-few steps to the left, in front of the table, then turns
-and speaks to Mrs. Pampinelli over his left shoulder.</i>]
-What did you do, come through the window?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I&#8217;ve been <i>hiding</i> here.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Resuming his walk over to the left</i>] I don&#8217;t<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span>
-blame you,&mdash;after that show; I&#8217;ve been doing the same
-thing myself. [<i>He sits in the arm-chair over at the
-left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Who has been standing in a panic in
-the middle of the room, staring wide-eyed at Mrs.
-Pampinelli</i>] Oh, Mrs. Pampinelli,&mdash;you <i>didn&#8217;t</i> hear
-what he&#8217;s been saying?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Every word. [<i>She very regally
-deposits her fan upon the piano, and Mrs. Ritter, turning
-to Ritter, makes a long, moaning sound.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Now, Fred Ritter, you see what
-you&#8217;ve done! [<i>She bursts into tears, and comes down
-to the chair at the left of the table below the piano and
-sits down.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Moving to a point above the
-table</i>] And I wouldn&#8217;t have missed it. I&#8217;ll know how
-to regard this gentleman in the future. I came home
-hurriedly with these few flowers as a little acknowledgment
-of the appreciation your work deserved; and
-all I hear is abuse; and a very crude, but very venomous
-attempt at satire. [<i>Mrs. Ritter weeps aloud.</i>]
-Control yourself, darling, I wouldn&#8217;t please him.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Quietly</i>] She&#8217;s acting again.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Withering him with a glance</i>]
-You barbarian! [<i>To Mrs. Ritter</i>] Pull yourself together,
-dear.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Oh, I just <i>can&#8217;t</i>, Mrs. Pampinelli.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Addressing Ritter directly, and</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span>
-<i>indicating Mrs. Ritter</i>] Look at the state of emotion
-you&#8217;ve got this poor girl into!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> She&#8217;s an emotional actress. [<i>Mrs. Ritter
-bursts forth again.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Savage! [<i>To Mrs. Ritter</i>] Let
-me get you something, darling.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Call Jenny.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Yes, dear. [<i>She crosses to a
-point just to the left of the middle of the room, then
-stops and calls toward the door at the left.</i>] Jenny
-dear, <i>SURPRISE</i>! [<i>Ritter listens, with a puzzled expression.</i>]
-Come here, Jenny,&mdash;SURPRISE! [<i>Ritter
-turns around in the chair, to his right, and looks at her
-curiously. She meets his eyes with steady bitterness.
-Then he shifts his gaze to his wife.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Why didn&#8217;t you take your make-up off?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> I forgot it,&mdash;I was so worried about
-you.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> You look like a Dutch squaw. [<i>She
-bursts into tears again.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Hastening over to her</i>] Let
-her alone! Don&#8217;t mind him, Paula.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> She&#8217;s all made up! and it&#8217;s coming off.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Well, what if it is?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Settling back into the arm-chair</i>] I don&#8217;t
-want to be reminded of that show. [<i>Jenny enters hurriedly
-from the door at the left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Mrs. Ritter is ill, Jenny.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span>
-[<i>Jenny comes quickly across, above the table at the
-left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Half turning to her</i>] My smelling-salts,
-Jenny.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Standing back of Mrs. Ritter</i>]
-Her smelling-salts, dear.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Hurrying out through the center-door</i>] Yes,
-mam.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> They&#8217;re in my bureau-basket.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning and calling after
-Jenny</i>] In her bureau-basket, Jenny.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Running up the stairs</i>] Yes, mam, I know
-where they are.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Gathering up the roses from
-the table</i>] Let me take these flowers out of your way,
-dear. You&#8217;ve been treated abominably. Although
-your husband&#8217;s attitude is entirely consistent with that
-of the average husband&#8217;s, after his wife has distinguished
-herself. [<i>Ritter makes a little sound of amusement,
-and she glares at him.</i>] And any observations
-of Mr. Ritter&#8217;s to the contrary, you <i>did</i> distinguish
-yourself tonight, Paula. [<i>She turns to her right and
-puts the roses on the piano.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Sitting away down in the arm-chair,
-smoking</i>] So did the Cherry Sisters. [<i>Mrs. Ritter
-weeps again.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning back again from the
-piano to Mrs. Ritter</i>] We are not talking to you at
-all, sir. [<i>Mrs. Ritter has a slight coughing spell.</i>]</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Will you get me a drink of water,
-please?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Certainly, darling, where is it?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> You&#8217;ll find it just inside the breakfast-room.
-[<i>Mrs. Pampinelli sails across the room towards
-the left door. Just as she is passing back of
-Ritter&#8217;s chair, he turns and looks at her, and the excessive
-grandeur of her manner causes him to burst
-out laughing. But she simply freezes him with a look
-and goes out through the left door. He continues to
-laugh; and Mrs. Ritter, not having seen the cause of
-his laughter, stops crying and turns and looks at him,
-very troubled.</i>] Fred Ritter, you&#8217;re acting to me tonight&mdash;just
-like a man that&#8217;d be losing his mind! [<i>He
-looks over at her.</i>] I really thought that was what was
-the matter with you when I first came in!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Very confidentially</i>] Listen&mdash;When I
-didn&#8217;t lose my mind watching that show tonight, I
-couldn&#8217;t go nutty if I tried.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Well, if anybody else comes here
-tonight, you just keep that kind of talk to yourself.
-There were lots of people there that thought it was
-wonderful. Look at all these flowers.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> These flowers were all paid for long before
-anybody saw that show. [<i>There is a staccato tap
-at the front door-bell. Jenny is hurrying down the
-stairs with the smelling-salts.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Rising, and trying to fix herself up
-a bit</i>] Well, that&#8217;s only your opinion. [<i>She starts for</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span>
-<i>the center-door.</i>] This is very likely Nelly Fell. [<i>Turning
-back to him as she nears the center-door</i>] Now,
-don&#8217;t you say anything to <i>her</i>, remember! She likes
-you.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>In the right hallway</i>] No, I think
-I can manage, Theodore. [<i>Jenny hands Mrs. Ritter
-the smelling-salts, at the center-door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Thanks, Jenny.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> You&#8217;re welcome. [<i>She hurries out into the
-right hallway, and Mrs. Ritter comes forward to the
-chair below the piano, sniffing the salts. Ritter rises
-and saunters around and up to the left of the arm-chair.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> You can close that door, if you will!
-Couldn&#8217;t wait for you, Jenny! [<i>She rushes in from the
-right hallway.</i>] I&#8217;m too much excited! [<i>She plants herself
-in the center-door, holding aloft in her right hand
-a beautiful basket of tulips, and in her left, a huge
-bouquet of violets.</i>] Well, here <i>I</i> am, with <i>my</i> frankincense
-and myrrh! [<i>She gives an hysterical giggle and
-teeters forward towards Mrs. Ritter.</i>] Oh, there you
-are, Frederick Ritter! We thought something had happened
-to you! Pauline, dear child, I&#8217;ve come to worship
-at your shrine. [<i>She places the basket of tulips
-down on the floor to the left of Mrs. Ritter, then
-straightens up, regards Mrs. Ritter, giggles frantically,
-and looks over at Ritter.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Laughing wanly, and trying generally</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span>
-<i>not to appear as though she&#8217;d been crying</i>]
-You&#8217;ve been very sweet.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Not half so sweet as you were on that
-stage tonight! [<i>Speaking confidentially, and with great
-conviction</i>] Dear child, you&#8217;re made! Absolutely made!
-[<i>Turning to Ritter</i>] Isn&#8217;t she, Frederick? [<i>But he&#8217;s
-busy getting rid of some ashes in the fireplace, so she
-returns to Mrs. Ritter.</i>] It&#8217;s one of those overnight
-things that one reads about! [<i>She picks up the basket
-of tulips from the floor and teeters around above
-the table.</i>] Dear me, look at this wilderness of flowers!
-[<i>She sets the basket on the table.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Trying not to cry</i>] Yes, yes, aren&#8217;t
-they beautiful! [<i>She darts a look at Ritter.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Rapturously</i>] Not another word until
-I&#8217;ve kissed you! [<i>She kisses her on the left side of
-the head.</i>] Oh, you sweet child! [<i>She shakes Mrs.
-Ritter by the shoulders.</i>] what can I <i>say</i> to you! [<i>Then
-she teeters to the middle of the room, addressing Ritter
-directly.</i>] See here, young man! Why aren&#8217;t you
-just <i>pelting</i> your wife with these flowers? [<i>He tries
-to hide his appreciation of the situation by turning
-away his head.</i>] Answer me! [<i>He bursts out laughing,
-and Nelly teeters back towards Mrs. Ritter.</i>] My
-dear, the man is so pleased he can&#8217;t talk! [<i>Ritter
-laughs a little more.</i>] And if you were any other woman
-but his wife, Paula, he&#8217;d be sending you mash-notes!
-[<i>Ritter begins to laugh again, and Nelly teeters
-towards him.</i>] Oh, you can laugh all you like, Frederick<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span>
-Ritter, but you can&#8217;t fool Nelly Fell! [<i>She comes
-back towards Mrs. Ritter, addressing her.</i>] I&#8217;ve had
-three husbands,&mdash;I know their tricks. [<i>She places her
-finger on Mrs. Ritter&#8217;s shoulder.</i>] Pauline, dear child,
-you may be sure that that young man is proud of you
-tonight if he never was before. [<i>Mrs. Ritter tries to
-laugh.</i>] And when he gets you alone&mdash;[<i>Mrs. Ritter&#8217;s
-attempt at laughter is instantly abandoned, and she
-gives a startled glance toward Ritter, who turns away
-to his left and goes up towards the mantelpiece.</i>] Oh,
-when he gets you alone! [<i>Mrs. Fell turns slowly and
-looks toward Ritter, with a roguish expression and a
-measured shaking of her finger at him.</i>] He&#8217;s going to
-tell you you were the loveliest thing that ever stepped
-on a stage. If he hasn&#8217;t done so already. Have you,
-Frederick? [<i>She looks at him with a mischievous eye.</i>]
-Have you? [<i>He laughs, at the irony of the situation.
-She crosses towards him.</i>] Come on, &#8217;fess up!&mdash;I know
-the position is difficult! [<i>He laughs hard, and she
-laughs with him; then turns back to Mrs. Ritter. Jenny
-comes in from the right hallway.</i>] You see, my dear,
-the man is so pleased he can&#8217;t talk! [<i>She sees Jenny
-passing along the hallway and steps quickly up to the
-center-door.</i>] Oh, Jenny dear! Will you take these
-violets out and put them in some water.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> [<i>Taking the violets</i>] Yes, mam. [<i>Mrs.
-Pampinelli enters at the left door, with a glass of
-water.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> I&#8217;m afraid they&#8217;ll be all withered.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span>
-[<i>Jenny continues on into the left hallway. Mrs. Fell
-turns around into the room again.</i>] Where&#8217;s Mrs. P.?
-[<i>Sees Mrs. Pampinelli</i>] Oh, there you are! I was just
-wondering where you were.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Crossing above the table at
-the left, towards Mrs. Ritter</i>] Did you get the smelling-salts,
-Jenny?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Jenny.</span> Yes, mam, I gave them to Mrs. Ritter.
-[<i>She goes out at the left hallway.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Yes, Betty, I have them.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Coming a step or two forward</i>] Well,
-Betty, you see we managed to get them all here.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Back of the table below the
-piano, and at Mrs. Ritter&#8217;s left</i>] Here, try and drink
-this, Paula. [<i>Mrs. Ritter takes the water and tries
-to drink it; and Mrs. Pampinelli leans solicitously
-over her. There is a pause.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Coming anxiously down at Mrs. Ritter&#8217;s
-left</i>] What&#8217;s the matter?&mdash;[<i>She looks at Mrs.
-Pampinelli.</i>] Is Paula sick?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Straightening up, and very imperiously</i>]
-The <i>critic</i>&mdash;has been giving his impressions
-of our play.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Who? [<i>She turns towards Ritter.</i>]
-This critic here, you mean? [<i>She indicates Ritter and
-then looks at Mrs. Pampinelli. Mrs. Pampinelli inclines
-her head, with the suggestion of a derisive smile,
-and passes up to the center-door. Mrs. Fell crosses</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span>
-<i>quickly towards Ritter.</i>] What have you been saying,
-Frederick Ritter?&mdash;Huh?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Laying the glass of water down on
-the table</i>] Oh, what does it matter, Nelly, what he&#8217;s
-been saying!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Turning sharply to Mrs. Ritter</i>]
-What?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Trying not to cry</i>] I say&mdash;I say
-[<i>She bursts into tears.</i>] I say what does it matter what
-he&#8217;s been saying!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> It doesn&#8217;t matter in the least, as far
-as I&#8217;m concerned&mdash;[<i>Mrs. Pampinelli turns at the
-center-door and comes forward slowly in the middle
-of the room.</i>] there&#8217;s only one thing he <i>could</i> say, if
-he told the truth.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Laying her hand on Mrs.
-Fell&#8217;s left arm</i>] Eleanor, dear child,&mdash;husbands are
-not always particular about telling the truth&mdash;where
-the abilities of their wives are concerned. If <i>I</i> had listened
-to the promptings of my own soul, instead of
-to my husband, when I was a younger woman, I should
-in all probability be one of the leading figures in the
-American Theatre today. But I was fool enough,
-like a lot of other women, to believe that my husband
-had my welfare at heart,&mdash;when the fact of the matter
-was, as I see it now, when it&#8217;s too late,&mdash;he was
-simply jealous of my artistic promise. [<i>The cuckoo-clock
-strikes the midnight hour. Ritter turns and
-looks up at it, then glances at Mrs. Pampinelli. She</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span>
-<i>is looking up at the clock distrustfully. Mrs. Fell
-raises her eyes discreetly to it, then drops them to the
-floor.</i>] Why, the night I played Hazel Kirke, I had
-my best friends in tears: yet, when I returned from
-the hall, and the entire town of Cohoes ringing with
-my name,&mdash;my husband had the effrontery to tell me
-that I was so terrific he was obliged to leave the hall
-before the end of the first act. So,&mdash;[<i>She turns to
-Mrs. Ritter.</i>] if this gentleman here has set himself
-up as your critic, Paula,&mdash;remember <i>my</i> story,&mdash;the
-actress without honor in her own house. [<i>She sweeps
-across below the piano to the window.</i>] Is my car out
-here, Nelly?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Moving over a bit towards Mrs.
-Ritter</i>] Yes, it&#8217;s there. I told Matthew he needn&#8217;t
-bother coming back for me, that you&#8217;d take me home.
-[<i>Mrs. Ritter begins to cry softly, and Mrs. Fell steps
-to her left and puts her hand on her shoulder.</i>] Don&#8217;t
-do that, Paula. [<i>She turns sharply and goes towards
-Ritter.</i>] What was the matter with that performance,
-Frederick Ritter?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Over at the left, below the mantelpiece</i>]
-Why, they didn&#8217;t even know their lines!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Straightening up abruptly and
-looking at him, reproachfully</i>] Oh!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning sharply from the
-window</i>] That is a falsehood! They ran over every
-line last night, right here in this room,&mdash;and
-they knew&mdash;practically all of them.</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> What good was that, if they couldn&#8217;t remember
-them on the stage.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter</span> and <span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>To Ritter</i>] I <i>could</i> remember them
-on the stage! [<i>Turning to Mrs. Pampinelli</i>] I never
-missed <i>one</i> line!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>To Ritter</i>] They <i>could</i> remember
-them on the stage!</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>To Mrs. Ritter</i>] Not a line.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> She and that other woman sat there blinking
-at the audience like a couple of sparrow-hawks.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> They did nothing of the kind.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Of course they didn&#8217;t!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Speaking directly to Mrs. Fell</i>] How do
-you know? <i>You</i> weren&#8217;t out there.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> I could see them through the scenery,
-couldn&#8217;t I? And they didn&#8217;t look anything <i>like</i> a
-couple of sparrow-hawks,&mdash;as you say.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Contemptuously</i>] Well, as I
-have never seen a couple of sparrow-hawks, I cannot
-appreciate the comparison.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Well, you&#8217;d have seen a couple tonight,
-if you&#8217;d been with me.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Oh, don&#8217;t argue with him, Betty!
-He&#8217;s only trying to be smart.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Why didn&#8217;t one of them <i>say</i> something?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> What could they have said?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Why, any commonplace! It&#8217;d have been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span>
-better than just sitting there blinking. [<i>Mrs. Ritter
-weeps.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> One can&#8217;t be commonplace in
-high comedy.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Was that what it was?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Bitterly</i>] What did you <i>think</i>
-it was?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Turning and going up to the center-door</i>]
-<i>You</i> tell her, Nelly; I haven&#8217;t got the heart.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Moving a little towards the right</i>]
-You bold thing. [<i>Nelly is wearing the gown she wore
-in the preceding act, and a heavy cloak of old-rose-colored
-velvet. She lays her hand on Mrs. Ritter&#8217;s
-left shoulder.</i>] Don&#8217;t let him upset you this way,
-Paula. [<i>There is a little pause. Ritter turns at the
-center-door and comes forward again at the left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Picking up her fan from the
-piano</i>] I suppose <i>you</i> would have eclipsed Edwin Booth,
-if <i>you</i> had been up there.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Well, I&#8217;d have known better than to sit
-there blinking at the audience.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Turning sharply to him</i>] I didn&#8217;t
-<i>blink</i> at the audience.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Don&#8217;t answer him, honey.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> What could they have done
-under the circumstances?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Why, they could have covered it up!&mdash;if
-they&#8217;d had any brains.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Covered it up with <i>what</i>?</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Why, with anything! Impromptu conversation!
-[<i>Mrs. Fell looks at Mrs. Pampinelli and
-smiles pityingly.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> And have the audience <i>laugh</i>
-at them?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> They laughed anyhow, didn&#8217;t they?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Taking a step or two towards him</i>]
-That was not their fault!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>To Nelly</i>] Whose fault <i>was it</i>?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Imperiously, and moving over
-to a point above the table at which Mrs. Ritter is sitting</i>]
-It was Mr. Spindler&#8217;s fault.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Mr. Spindler.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> He promised to attend to the
-various properties and he did <i>not</i> attend to them.&mdash;There
-was supposed to be a pen and ink on the desk
-for Mrs. Rush to leave a note for Doctor Arlington;&mdash;and
-when Paula sat down to write the note, there
-was no pen&mdash;and no ink. So she simply had to go
-on sitting there until Mr. Spearing went off and got
-them.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> I thought he&#8217;d left town.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Oh, he wasn&#8217;t gone so very long,
-Frederick Ritter!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Bitterly, to Mrs. Fell</i>] Not
-five minutes.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> I thought the show&#8217;ud be over before he&#8217;d
-get back.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> The door wouldn&#8217;t open when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span>
-he attempted to go back, so he was obliged to go around
-to the other side. [<i>She illustrates the circumstance
-by waving her fan in a circular gesture about the
-table. Ritter bursts out laughing. Nelly glares at
-him, then looks to Mrs. Pampinelli, who, with a deadly,
-level look, turns and moves haughtily up towards the
-center-door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> What happened to the skinny guy&#8217;s mustache,
-that it kept falling off every other line?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning to him, up near the
-center-door</i>] It only fell off twice, don&#8217;t exaggerate.
-[<i>Ritter laughs again.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> You bold thing!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> How many times was it <i>supposed</i> to fall
-off?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Well, what if it fell off a dozen
-times,&mdash;everybody knew it wasn&#8217;t real! [<i>He roars.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> It&#8217;s a lucky thing for you, Frederick
-Ritter, that you&#8217;re not <i>my</i> husband!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Quietly</i>] That goes both ways, Nelly.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Moving across towards him</i>] Well,&mdash;when
-you do something that you&#8217;ll get so many flowers
-that my limousine will have to make three trips to
-get them to the various hospitals,&mdash;we may pay more
-attention to what you have to say. [<i>She turns away
-and moves back towards the center of the room, where
-Mrs. Pampinelli is just moving forward from the center-door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> I suppose most of the audience have gone<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span>
-with the flowers, haven&#8217;t they? [<i>Nelly whirls round
-to retort, but Mrs. Pampinelli lays a restraining hand
-upon her right arm.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>With immortal authority</i>]
-Don&#8217;t answer him, Eleanor&mdash;&#8220;Envy loves a lofty
-mark.&#8221; The next time we have a part that calls for
-a very limited intelligence, we&#8217;ll engage Mr. Ritter
-for it. [<i>She moves a little down to the right towards
-Mrs. Ritter.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Looking at Ritter</i>] Now!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Casually</i>] Well, if you do, he&#8217;ll know
-how to walk across the stage without tripping every
-other step.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Who tripped every other step?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Indicating his wife</i>] The weeping-willow
-there. [<i>Mrs. Ritter begins to weep afresh.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> It&#8217;s a wonder to me you&#8217;re not afraid
-to lie so!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> She tripped when she first came through
-the door! I was looking right at her.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning to him</i>] She didn&#8217;t
-<i>fall</i>, did she?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> No, but it looked for a while there as
-though she were going to. [<i>Mrs. Ritter&#8217;s weeping becomes
-audible again.</i>] I very nearly had heart failure.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Laying her hand on Paula&#8217;s
-shoulder</i>] Don&#8217;t mind him, Paula.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> She tripped when she came <i>on</i> the stage,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span>
-she tripped when she went <i>off</i>, and she tripped over
-the rug when she went over to the desk!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>With measured finality</i>] She
-didn&#8217;t trip any oftener than anybody else. [<i>He laughs.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Directly to Ritter</i>] No, nor half so
-often as some of the others,&mdash;[<i>Turning towards Mrs.
-Pampinelli</i>] now that you speak of it! [<i>She turns and
-goes up to the hallway.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I will admit that Mr. Hossefrosse
-is a bit unsteady,&mdash;but that is due to his weak
-ankles.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> What was the star&#8217;s unsteadiness due to?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> The rugs!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Looking at her keenly</i>] What?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter</span> and <span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli</span>, together.</p>
-
-<blockquote>
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> The rugs.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Moving to the center of the
-room</i>] The rugs!</p>
-
-</blockquote>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Those funny rugs&mdash;that they
-have down there. We didn&#8217;t use them at the rehearsals,&mdash;and,
-naturally, when it came to the performance,&mdash;Paula
-wasn&#8217;t accustomed to them.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> She was accustomed to rugs at home,
-wasn&#8217;t she?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Tersely</i>] Well, she wasn&#8217;t at
-home on the stage.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>With a gesture of complete acquiesence,
-and moving up towards the center-door</i>] That&#8217;s my
-argument in a nutshell. [<i>Mrs. Pampinelli stands</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span>
-<i>frozen in the middle of the room, with an expression
-very much as though she were trying mentally to assassinate
-him. He comes back down again at the left,
-to his former position.</i>] Why, I couldn&#8217;t hear <i>two-thirds</i>
-of what she said.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Well, evidently there were many
-people there who <i>could</i> hear what she said, for they
-laughed at all her points. [<i>She turns and goes to the
-piano, where she picks up several roses. Mrs. Fell
-comes forward through the center-door and down towards
-the piano.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> I wanted to laugh, too, but I was afraid
-somebody&#8217;d turn around and <i>see</i> me.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning to Mrs. Ritter</i>] Are
-you ready, Nelly?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Yes, I&#8217;m ready.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Are you going, Betty?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Yes, I must, darling, it&#8217;s getting
-late. [<i>She places her hand on Mrs. Ritter s
-shoulder.</i>] Good night, dear. [<i>She passes up towards
-the center-door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Good night, Betty.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Laying her hand on Mrs. Ritter&#8217;s
-shoulder</i>] Good night, Paula child.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Good night, Nelly. [<i>Nelly follows
-Mrs. Pampinelli.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Stopping in the center-door
-and turning to Ritter</i>] Perhaps, at our <i>next</i> performance,&mdash;Mr.
-Ritter will favor us with the benefit of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span>
-some of his suggestions. [<i>She regards him with a touch
-of lofty amusement. He turns his head towards her
-and looks at her with a kind of mischievous squint.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Quite pleasantly</i>] There aren&#8217;t going to
-be any more performances, Mrs. Pampinelli, as far as
-anybody in <i>this</i> house is concerned.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>After a steady pause</i>] No?
-[<i>He inclines his head in quiet emphasis.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Not until there&#8217;s a change in the management.
-[<i>There is another taut pause.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Coldly</i>] Really? [<i>He inclines
-his head again.</i>] Then, I&#8217;m afraid we sha&#8217;n&#8217;t have
-you with us, Mr. Ritter.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Smiling</i>] I know very well you won&#8217;t
-have <i>me</i> with you. And as far as Mrs. Ritter&#8217;s concerned,&mdash;she&#8217;s
-got a very good home here&mdash;and I love
-her; and any time she feels any dramatic instinct coming
-on, there&#8217;s a very nice roomy attic upstairs, and she can
-go up there and lock the door, and nobody&#8217;ll ever see
-or hear her. But if she ever gets mixed up again in
-anything like that atrocity I saw tonight,&mdash;I&#8217;m
-through. [<i>He speaks the last words with quiet definiteness,
-and turns towards the door at the left.</i>] And
-she&#8217;ll get killed in the bargain. [<i>He hits the door open
-with the palm of his hand and goes out. There is a
-slight pause: then Nelly Fell crosses quickly towards
-the mantelpiece, addressing Ritter as she goes.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Why, Fred Ritter!&mdash;I&#8217;ve heard you<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span>
-say yourself that you were in <i>favor</i> of a Little Theatre
-in this city!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Coming in again through the door at the
-left, carrying his overcoat, derby and scarf</i>] So I am!
-I say so again. [<i>He stops inside the door.</i>] But in the
-light of that cataclysm tonight, you&#8217;ll pardon me if I
-add, that I do not see the connection.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Stepping forward to the middle
-of the room and challenging him with a lift of her
-head and brows</i>] What did you <i>expect</i> to <i>see</i>, Mr. Ritter,&mdash;a
-finished performance from a group of comparative
-amateurs?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> I expected to see something almost as bad
-as what I saw;&mdash;that&#8217;s the reason I <i>fainted</i> last night
-and was unconscious for twenty-four hours at the prospect
-of it. [<i>He turns to Mrs. Fell and speaks quite
-colloquially.</i>] And that&#8217;s the first time in my life I&#8217;ve
-ever fainted. [<i>Nelly just gives him a look and turns
-her head away.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Don&#8217;t mind him, Betty,&mdash;he&#8217;s only
-trying to show off.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>With bitter amusement</i>] No,
-but I&#8217;m a bit <i>curious</i>&mdash;to know just <i>how</i> Mr. Ritter
-would expect to <i>accomplish</i> the establishment of a Little
-Theatre here, unless through the medium of such performances
-as this one this evening. How else is our
-local talent to be discovered&mdash;or developed?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Well, I&#8217;m equally curious, Mrs. Pampinelli,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span>
-as to your exact <i>qualifications</i>&mdash;as a discoverer or
-developer of talent for the theatre.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> That is a very familiar attitude.
-People who <i>do</i> things&mdash;are constantly having
-their ability to do them called into question. [<i>She
-moves a step further forward and towards Mrs. Ritter.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> I&#8217;m afraid that&#8217;s something you&#8217;ve read
-somewhere. [<i>She glares at him.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> The theatre is a matter of instinct.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> The theatre is a matter of qualifications,&mdash;the
-same as any other profession; and it will only be
-<i>through</i> those particular qualifications that your Little
-Theatre will ever be brought about. [<i>He crosses over
-in front of Mrs. Fell and up towards the center-door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Well, perhaps you will come to
-the rescue;&mdash;you seem so familiar with the various
-necessities of the Little Theatre. [<i>He stops, just to
-the left of the center-door, and looks at Mrs. Pampinelli
-straight.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Quietly</i>] I am also familiar, Mrs. Pampinelli,
-with a little remark that Mr. Napoleon made
-on one occasion, a long time ago;&mdash;about the immorality
-of assuming a position for which one is unqualified.
-[<i>There is a pause,&mdash;he settles his coat on his
-arm, then moves slowly out through the center-door
-into the hallway: while Mrs. Pampinelli, with an expression</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span>
-<i>of eternal exclusion, moves over between the
-piano and the table towards the window.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Turning</i>] Fred Ritter, where are
-you going?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Lighting his cigar in the hallway, just
-outside the center-door</i>] I haven&#8217;t the faintest idea.
-But I shouldn&#8217;t be surprised if I&#8217;d go on the stage.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Standing back of the arm-chair at
-the left</i>] One star is enough in the family.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Bowing very graciously to her</i>] Applause&mdash;[<i>She
-turns away and looks straight ahead. Then
-Ritter bows towards Mrs. Pampinelli.</i>] and great
-laughter&mdash;[<i>Mrs. Pampinelli isn&#8217;t looking at him, but
-she knows that that is meant for her, so she simply
-moves another step or two towards the window. Mrs.
-Ritter turns to see what Ritter is doing. He takes a
-step and leans forward towards her, speaking rather
-confidentially.</i>] followed by booing. [<i>She turns back
-again and starts to cry, while he continues out into the
-right hallway and up the stairs. As he mounts the stairs,
-he holds aloft his lighted cigar, after the fashion of a
-zealous bearer of the torch.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Picking up the orchids from
-the table below the window</i>] Paula, you should have
-Jenny put these orchids in water; they keep ever so long
-in a cool place. [<i>She comes across towards the left,
-below the piano.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Will you call her, Nelly?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Crossing to meet Mrs. Pampinelli</i>]<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span>
-Give them to me, Betty, I&#8217;ll take them out to her.
-[<i>Mrs. Pampinelli gives her the orchids.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Tell her to put them in a cool
-place. [<i>Nelly starts up for the center-door. The telephone-bell
-rings.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Will you answer that, Nelly?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Setting the orchids down on the chair
-in the left hallway</i>] Certainly, darling.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Standing back of Mrs. Ritter&#8217;s
-chair</i>] If it&#8217;s anything concerning the play, I shall be
-at home on Tuesday at two.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>At the telephone</i>] Yes?&mdash;Yes?&mdash;Who?&mdash;Oh,&mdash;well,
-wait just one moment, please.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> What is it?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Holding the transmitter against her
-bosom and leaning over the partition towards Mrs.
-Pampinelli</i>] It&#8217;s the Star Moving Picture Company.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> What do they want?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> They want the address of Mrs. Ritter&#8217;s
-manager. [<i>Mrs. Pampinelli gives a quick look at Mrs.
-Ritter.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>To Mrs. Ritter</i>] I anticipated
-this. [<i>She goes quickly towards the center-door,
-laying her fan and roses on the left partition-seat, as
-she passes out into the hallway.</i>] Give it to me, Nelly.
-[<i>Nelly hands her the telephone, and, picking up the orchids
-from the chair, tiptoes back of Mrs. Pampinelli
-and in through the center-door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>In an excited whisper to Mrs. Ritter</i>]<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span>
-What did I tell you! [<i>She giggles nervously, shakes
-her finger at Mrs. Ritter, and then watches Mrs. Pampinelli
-eagerly.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Into the telephone</i>] Hello-hello&mdash;This
-is Mrs. Ritter&#8217;s manager speaking. Mrs.
-Pampinelli. Pampinelli. Mrs. J. <i>Duro</i> Pampinelli.
-Capital P&mdash;a&mdash;m, p&mdash;i&mdash;n, e&mdash;double l&mdash;i.&mdash;Correct.
-Yes&mdash;I see&mdash;I see.&mdash;Well, how do you mean, a thousand
-dollars, a thousand dollars a day, or a thous&mdash;I
-see. Well, just one moment, please. [<i>She lowers the
-telephone and leans towards Mrs. Ritter, speaking in
-a subdued tone.</i>] The Star Moving Picture Company
-wants to know if Mrs. Ritter will appear in a special
-production of tonight&#8217;s play before the camera.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Narrowing her left eye</i>] What&#8217;s the
-figure?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> One thousand dollars per week.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Definitely</i>] Fifteen hundred.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Into the telephone</i>] Hello-hello!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Rising</i>] Maybe I&#8217;d better talk to
-them.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Suggesting with a gesture that she
-be quiet and resume her chair</i>] Please, dear. [<i>Mrs.
-Ritter meekly sits down again.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Into the telephone</i>] Why, I&#8217;m
-sorry,&mdash;but Mrs. Ritter does not appear under fifteen
-hundred dollars per week.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Watching her shrewdly</i>] Net! [<i>Mrs.</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span>
-<i>Pampinelli turns and looks at her sharply, and Nelly
-emphasizes what she said by inclining her head: then
-Mrs. Pampinelli speaks into the telephone again.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Net.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>To Mrs. Pampinelli</i>] It&#8217;s a bargain
-at that. [<i>She nods towards Mrs. Ritter.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Into telephone</i>] Twelve-fifty?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> No compromise.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Into telephone</i>] Well, just
-one moment. [<i>Covering the transmitter and speaking
-to Mrs. Fell</i>] Twelve-fifty is offered.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Definitely</i>] Fifteen hundred dollars.
-They&#8217;ll lift it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Turning back to the telephone</i>]
-Why, I&#8217;m very sorry,&mdash;but Mrs. Ritter positively
-does not appear under fifteen hundred dollars.
-[<i>Nelly inclines her head towards her.</i>] Net. Well, how
-do you mean satisfactory? Satisfactory at our figure?
-[<i>Mrs. Pampinelli glances at Mrs. Fell and Mrs. Fell
-glances at Mrs. Ritter.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>To Mrs. Pampinelli</i>] Sign!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Into the telephone</i>] Very well,
-then,&mdash;signed at fifteen hundred dollars per week,&mdash;</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Net!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Into the telephone</i>] Net! And
-Mrs. Ritter appears. [<i>She stands holding the telephone
-and listening.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Whirling round and teetering down
-to Paula</i>] Our STAR! I always said it! [<i>She shakes</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span>
-<i>Mrs. Ritter by the shoulders.</i>] I always said it! [<i>She
-whirls round and teeters up towards the center-door.</i>]
-Haven&#8217;t I always said it, Betty? [<i>Mrs. Pampinelli
-is listening on the telephone, and tries, by dint of thrusting
-the telephone towards Nelly, to silence her. But
-Nelly is irrepressible.</i>] That it was only a question of
-time? [<i>She turns and flies down towards Mrs. Ritter
-again.</i>] We must telephone Mrs. Livingston at once,
-Paula!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Be quiet, Nelly, be quiet!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Rushing up towards the center-door
-again</i>] She&#8217;ll be so interested! We must call up Mrs.
-Livingston right away, Betty!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Please, Nelly! [<i>Nelly is silenced.
-Mrs. Pampinelli listens sharply, Nelly and
-Mrs. Ritter watching her; and there is a dead pause.</i>]
-Beg pardon? [<i>There is another slight pause; and then
-Mrs. Pampinelli utters an abrupt shriek and sets down
-the telephone.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> What is it, Betty? [<i>Mrs. Pampinelli
-looks at her, then straight ahead.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>With venomous enunciation</i>]
-It&#8217;s Ritter! [<i>Mrs. Ritter rises slowly.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Ritter? [<i>Mrs. Pampinelli doesn&#8217;t
-stir.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Addressing Mrs. Pampinelli</i>] Fred?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I recognized his voice. [<i>She
-moves along the left hallway and comes in through the</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span>
-<i>center-door and forward, a little to the left of the center
-of the room.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Up just to the right of the center-door</i>]
-Why, where is he?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Beginning to cry</i>] He must be on
-the extension upstairs. [<i>Nelly listens keenly.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> It is he; I hear him laughing. [<i>She
-crosses down to the door at the left.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Taking a step towards Mrs.
-Ritter</i>] Sit down, Paula. [<i>Mrs. Ritter sits down,
-rests her elbows on the table and weeps bitterly. Nelly
-stops over at the door and turns.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Positively</i>] Paula,&mdash;if he were <i>my</i>
-husband, I should lose no time in having him arrested.
-[<i>She goes out, at the left door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> [<i>Standing back of Mrs. Ritter&#8217;s
-chair</i>] Paula dear, I do hope that you are not going
-to allow Mr. Ritter&#8217;s flippancies to discourage you.
-[<i>Paula clasps her hands in her lap and looks tearfully at
-the backs of them.</i>] The way of the essential artist is
-always hard; and so very frequently the most serious
-obstacles are those to be encountered at home.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> But, I feel so unsuccessful.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> I know, dear&mdash;I know exactly
-how you feel. But you must <i>go on</i>. Just remember
-that art is the highest expression of truth,&mdash;and you
-cannot fail. For you have everything in your favor,
-Paula.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Weakly</i>] Thank you.</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> And the masses need you, dear;
-you are an altogether <i>new note</i> in the theatre.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> But&mdash;I don&#8217;t know whether Fred&#8217;ll
-<i>want</i> me to go on any more&mdash;[<i>Mrs. Pampinelli suddenly
-becomes very still and stoney, and looks down at
-Mrs. Ritter with merciless inquiry. Mrs. Ritter senses
-the change and turns hastily to explain.</i>] the way he
-spoke.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> And, do you mean that you
-will allow him to <i>stop</i> you, Paula?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Breaking down under Mrs. Pampinelli&#8217;s
-frozen amusement</i>] Well, of course, he&#8217;s my
-<i>husband</i>, Betty. [<i>She cries. Mrs. Pampinelli regards
-her with a kind of pained toleration; and settles her
-cloak, preparatory to going.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Pampinelli.</span> Very well, then, Paula&mdash;if you
-feel that way about it, I should advise you to keep
-him; and I shan&#8217;t waste any more of my time encouraging
-you. [<i>She sweeps around to her left and up towards
-the center-door.</i>] There are far too many who
-are only too <i>willing</i> to make the necessary sacrifices
-without being urged. [<i>She picks up her fan and roses
-from the partition-seat, lays them across her left arm,
-and turns regnantly to Mrs. Ritter.</i>] Only remember
-this, Paula,&mdash;there will be actresses when husbands are
-a thing of the past. [<i>She sweeps out through the center-door
-and out into the right hallway. There is a
-slight pause; then Nelly Fell comes in at the left door.
-She misses Mrs. Pampinelli.</i>]</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Where is Mrs. P., Paula?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> She&#8217;s just gone out to the car, Nelly.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Stooping to pick up one of the chrysanthemums
-from the floor</i>] Do you mind if I take one
-of these flowers, Paula? [<i>She stands in the middle of
-the room, holding it, and looking at Mrs. Ritter.</i>] I
-want it for my dramatic shrine.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> You can take them all if you like.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Why, what would <i>you</i> do, dear?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> I don&#8217;t want them.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Crossing towards her</i>] Now, you
-mustn&#8217;t feel like that, Paula Ritter.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Having all she can do to keep from
-crying</i>] I just can&#8217;t help it.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> I see in your husband&#8217;s attitude&mdash;nothing
-but a desperate attempt to save his home;&mdash;for
-he <i>must</i> know what your performance tonight will
-inevitably lead to. [<i>Mrs. Ritter turns with a puzzled
-expression and looks at her.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> I don&#8217;t understand what you mean,
-Nelly.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Why, you must go to New York, dear;
-you can do nothing dramatically here.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> But, I have a husband.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> [<i>Very casually</i>] Every married woman
-has that cross, darling. But you mustn&#8217;t let it stand
-in the way of your career; he would very soon eliminate
-<i>you</i>, if you stood in the way of <i>his</i>.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> But, I don&#8217;t like the thought of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span>
-breaking up his home, Nelly. [<i>Nelly gives a hard,
-knowing little laugh.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Don&#8217;t be unnecessarily sacrificial, darling.
-I made that mistake with my first <i>two</i> husbands;
-but I was <i>wiser</i> with the third. And I said to him,
-immediately we returned from the church, I said,
-&#8220;Now, Leonard, you and I have just been made one;
-and <i>I</i> am that one.&#8221; [<i>She touches herself on the breastbone
-with her forefinger, then touches Paula on the
-left shoulder.</i>] And it worked out beautifully. So be
-sensible, darling. [<i>She skips up towards the hallway.</i>]
-I must run along, Mrs. Pampinelli&#8217;s waiting! [<i>She
-teeters out through the center-door into the right hallway.</i>]
-Cheerio, Paula darling!</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Good night.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Fell.</span> Cheerio! [<i>She giggles and vanishes into
-the right hallway. Mrs. Ritter sits still for a second,
-looking from side to side, at nothing, particularly,
-and presently gets up. The horseshoe of &#8220;SUCCESS&#8221;
-over in front of the mantelpiece catches her eye, and
-she wanders slowly towards it. But the irony of it all
-overcomes her and she commences to cry again. Ritter
-appears at the head of the stairs and starts down. She
-turns and looks at him, as he comes through the center-door.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Fred Ritter, those women will never
-come inside that door again, the way you talked to
-them. [<i>He moves to the piano and leans against it.</i>]</p>
-
-
-
-<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Well, I don&#8217;t suppose that&#8217;ll make very
-much difference.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Looking straight ahead</i>] Well, it
-<i>should</i> make a difference.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> They&#8217;d hardly come here to see <i>me</i>, anyway.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Well, they&#8217;d come to see me.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> But <i>you</i> won&#8217;t be here. [<i>She turns and
-looks at him blankly.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Why,&mdash;what&mdash;what do you mean, I
-won&#8217;t be here?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>With a touch of delicacy</i>] Why, aren&#8217;t you
-going on with <i>The Work</i>?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Well, I don&#8217;t want to go unless you
-<i>want</i> me to.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> But, I <i>do</i> want you to. I don&#8217;t think a
-talent like yours should be hidden; [<i>He looks straight
-out, thoughtfully.</i>] it&#8217;s too unique.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> I thought you said a while ago you
-didn&#8217;t like me?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Raising his left hand and crossing over and
-down in front of her towards the arm-chair at the
-left</i>] You mustn&#8217;t hold me responsible for what I said
-a while ago&mdash;[<i>He stops back of the arm-chair and
-rests his hand upon the back of it.</i>] I was panic-stricken
-at the thought of having my home broken up. [<i>She
-moves down to the center of the room.</i>] But I&#8217;ve been
-thinking it over upstairs, and I&#8217;ve concluded that it&#8217;s<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span>
-more important that the world should see you act, than
-that I should have a home to come to.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> But, I don&#8217;t like the thought of
-breaking up your home, Fred.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Raising his right hand to her with a touch
-of solemnity</i>] You mustn&#8217;t consider me in the matter
-at all, dear. Every great gift has its victim&mdash;and I am,
-in a way, rather happy&mdash;to find myself chosen the victim
-of yours.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> What would <i>you</i> do, if I were to go?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>With the faintest shade of classic pose</i>]
-I&#8217;d go with you; you&#8217;d need someone to look after the
-flowers&mdash;see that they got to the various hospitals all
-right.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Looking away out</i>] I might not like
-it, after I&#8217;d get there.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> Maybe not. I suppose fame becomes monotonous
-like everything else. But, I wouldn&#8217;t want
-you in the future, to look back and feel that I had
-stood in your way.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Carefully</i>] No, Fred,&mdash;I really don&#8217;t
-<i>know</i> whether I want to be a great actress or not.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> But, you are a great actress, dear.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> Thank you.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Indicating the anchor of roses down at the
-left</i>] Look at this anchor,&mdash;of hope. [<i>He steps back
-and picks up the horseshoe.</i>] And this horseshoe of
-&#8220;SUCCESS.&#8221; [<i>He brings it forward and sets it
-down just to Mrs. Ritter&#8217;s left. Then he steps across</i><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span>
-<i>in front of it, takes her hand and slips his right arm
-around her waist.</i>] And I think, Paula, it might be a
-very sensible move, to just let the public <i>remember</i> you
-as a great actress&mdash;as they saw you <i>tonight</i>&mdash;<i>at your
-best</i>.</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Looking wistfully straight ahead</i>]
-Do you think they <i>will</i> remember, Fred?</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Ritter.</span> [<i>Inclining his head, with a suggestion of the
-obsequious</i>] Yes, I <i>think</i> they will. [<i>Curtain.</i>]</p>
-
-<p><span class="smcap">Mrs. Ritter.</span> [<i>Turning and sinking into his arms</i>]
-You&#8217;re awfully sweet, Fred.</p>
-
-
-<p class="center">THE END OF THE PLAY</p>
-
-
-
-<hr class="chap" />
-
-<div class="transnote">
-<p class="ph2">TRANSCRIBER&#8217;S NOTES:</p>
-
-
-<p>Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.</p>
-
-<p>Inconsistencies in typesetting have been standardized.</p>
-
-<p>The cover image for this eBook was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</p>
-</div>
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-<pre>
-
-
-
-
-
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