首页 >出版文学> The Skin Game>第1章

第1章

  ATRAGI-COMEDY
  "Whotouchespitchshallbedefiled"
  CHARACTERS
  HILLCRIST……。ACountryGentlemanAMY……HisWifeJILL……HisDaughterDAWKER……HisAgentHORNBLOWER……AManNewly-RichCHARLES……HisElderSonCHLOE……WifetoCharlesROLF……HisYoungerSonFELLOWS……Hillcrist'sButlerANNA……Chloe'sMaidTHEJACKMANS……ManandWifeANAUCTIONEER
  ASOLICITOR
  TWOSTRANGERS
  ACTI。HILLCRIST'SStudyACTII。
  SCENEI。Amonthlater。AnAuctionRoom。
  SCENEII。Thesameevening。CHLOE'SBoudoir。
  ACTIII
  SCENEI。Thefollowingday。HILLCRIST'SStudy。Morning。
  SCENEII。TheSame。Evening。
  ACTI
  HILLCRIST'Sstudy。Apleasantroom,withbooksincalfbindings,andsignsthattheHILLCRIST'Shavetravelled,suchasalargephotographoftheTajMahal,ofTableMountain,andthePyramidsofEgypt。Alargebureau[stageRight],devotedtothebusinessofacountryestate。Twofoxes'masks。
  Flowersinbowls。Deeparmchairs。AlargeFrenchwindowopen[atBack],withalovelyviewofaslightriseoffieldsandtreesinAugustsunlight。Afinestonefireplace[stageLeft]。
  Adoor[Left]。Adooropposite[Right]。Generalcoloureffect——stone,andcigar-leafbrown,withspotsofbrightcolour。
  [HILLCRISTsitsinaswivelchairatthebureau,busywithpapers。Hehasgout,andhisleftfootisencasedaccord:Heisathin,dried-upmanofaboutfifty-five,witharatherrefined,ratherkindly,andrathercrankycountenance。Closetohimstandshisveryupstandingnineteen-year-olddaughterJILL,withclubbedhairroundapretty,manlyface。]
  JILL。Youknow,Dodo,it'sallprettygoodrotinthesedays。
  HILLCRIST。Cadsarecads,Jill,eveninthesedays。
  JILL。Whatisacad?
  HILLCRIST。Aself-assertivefellow,withoutasenseofotherpeople。
  JILL。Well,OldHornblowerI'llgiveyou。
  HILLCRIST。Iwouldn'ttakehim。
  JILL。Well,you'vegothim。Now,Charlie——Chearlie——Isay——theimportanceofnotbeingCharlie——
  HILLCRIST。Goodheavens!doyouknowtheirChristiannames?
  JILL。Mydearfather,they'vebeenheresevenyears。
  HILLCRIST。InolddaysweonlyknewtheirChristiannamesfromtheirtombstones。
  JILL。CharlieHornblowerisn'treallyhalfabadsport。
  HILLCRIST。AboutaquarterofabadsportI'vealwaysthoughtouthunting。
  JILL。[Pullinghishair]Now,hiswife——Chloe——
  HILLCRIST。[Whimsical]Gad!yourmother'dhaveafitifsheknewyoucalledherChloe。
  JILL。It'sarippingname。
  HILLCRIST。Chloe!H'm!Ihadaspanielonce——
  JILL。Dodo,you'renarrow。Buckup,olddarling,itwon'tdo。
  Chloehasseenlife,I'mprettysure;THAT'Sattractive,anyway。
  No,mother'snotintheroom;don'tturnyouruneasyeyes。
  HILLCRIST。Really,mydear,youaregetting——
  JILL。Thelimit。Now,Rolf——
  HILLCRIST。What'sRolf?Anotherdog?
  JILL。RolfHornblower'satopper;hereallyisaniceboy。
  HILLCRIST。[Withasharplook]Oh!He'saniceboy?
  JILL。Yes,darling。Youknowwhataniceboyis,don'tyou?
  HILLCRIST。Notinthesedays。
  JILL。Well,I'lltellyou。Inthefirstplace,he'snotamorous。
  HILLCRIST。What!Well,that'ssomecomfort。
  JILL。Justajollygoodcompanion。
  HILLCRIST。Towhom?
  JILL。Well,toanyone——me。
  HILLCRIST。Where?
  JILL。Anywhere。Youdon'tsupposeIconfinemyselftothehomepaddocks,doyou?I'mnaturallyrangey,Father。
  HILLCRIST。[Ironically]Youdon'tsayso!
  JILL。Inthesecondplace,hedoesn'tlikediscipline。
  HILLCRIST。Jupiter!Hedoesseemattractive。
  JILL。Inthethirdplace,hebarshisfather。
  HILLCRIST。Isthatessentialtonicegirlstoo?
  JILL。[Withatwirlofhishair]Fishnot!Fourthly,he'sgotideas。
  HILLCRIST。Iknewit!
  JILL。Forinstance,hethinks——asIdo——
  HILLCRIST。Ah!Goodideas。
  JILL。[Pullinggently]Careful!Hethinksoldpeopleruntheshowtoomuch。Hesaystheyoughtn'tto,becausethey'resodamtouchy。
  Areyoudamtouchy,darling?
  HILLCRIST。Well,I'm——!Idon'tknowabouttouchy。
  JILL。Hesaysthere'llbenoworldfittoliveintillwegetridoftheold。Wemustmakethemclimbatalltree,andshakethemoffit。
  HILLCRIST。[Drily]Oh!hesaysthat!
  JILL。Otherwise,withthewaytheystandoneachother'srights,they'llspoilthegardenfortheyoung。
  HILLCRIST。Doeshisfatheragree?
  JILL。Oh!Rolfdoesn'ttalktohim,hismouth'stoolarge。Haveyoueverseenit,Dodo?
  HILLCRIST。Ofcourse。
  JILL。It'sconsiderable,isn'tit?Nowyoursis——reticent,darling。[Rumplinghishair。]
  HILLCRIST。Itwon'tbeinaminute。DoyourealisethatI'vegotgout?
  JILL。Poorducky!Howlonghavewebeenhere,Dodo?
  HILLCRIST。SinceElizabeth,anyway。
  JILL。[Lookingathisfoot]Ithasitsdrawbacks。D'youthinkHornblowerhadafather?Ibelievehewasspontaneous。But,Dodo,whyallthis——thisattitudetotheHornblowers?
  [Shepursesherlipsandmakesagestureasofpushingpersonsaway。]
  HILLCRIST。Becausethey'repushing。
  JILL。That'sonlybecauseweare,asmotherwouldsay,andthey'renot——yet。Butwhynotletthembe?
  HILLCRIST。Youcan't。
  JILL。Why?
  HILLCRIST。Ittakesgenerationstolearntoliveandletlive,Jill。Peoplelikethattakeanellwhenyougivethemaninch。
  JILL。Butifyougavethemtheell,theywouldn'twanttheinch。
  Whyshoulditallbesuchaskingame?
  HILLCRIST。Skingame?Wheredoyougetyourlingo?
  JILL。Keeptothepoint,Dodo。
  HILLCRIST。Well,Jill,alllife'sastrugglebetweenpeopleatdifferentstagesofdevelopment,indifferentpositions,withdifferentamountsofsocialinfluenceandproperty。Andtheonlythingistohaverulesofthegameandkeepthem。NewpeopleliketheHornblowershaven'tlearntthoserules;theironlyruleistogetalltheycan。
  JILL。Darling,don'tprose。They'renothalfasbadasyouthink。
  HILLCRIST。Well,whenIsoldHornblowerLongmeadowandthecottages,Icertainlyfoundhimallright。Allthesame,he'sgottheclovenhoof。[Warmingup]HisinfluenceinDeepwateristhoroughlybad;thosepotteriesofhisaredemoralising——thewholeatmosphereoftheplaceischanging。Itwasathousandpitiesheevercamehereanddiscoveredthatclay。He'sbroughtinthemoderncutthroatspirit。
  JILL。Cutourthroatspirit,youmean。What'syourdefinitionofagentleman,Dodo?
  HILLCRIST。[Uneasily]Can'tdescribe——onlyfeelit。
  JILL。Oh!Try!
  HILLCRIST。Well——er——Isupposeyoumightsay——amanwhokeepshisformanddoesn'tletlifescupperhimoutofhisstandards。
  JILL。Butsupposehisstandardsarelow?
  HILLCRIST。[Withsomeearnestness]Iassume,ofcourse,thathe'shonestandtolerant,gentletotheweak,andnotself-seeking。
  JILL。Ah!self-seeking?Butaren'tweall,Dodo?Iam。
  HILLCRIST。[Withasmile]You!
  JILL。[Scornfully]Oh!yes——tooyoungtoknow。
  HILLCRIST。Nobodyknowstillthey'reunderprettyheavyfire,Jill。
  JILL。Except,ofcourse,mother。
  HILLCRIST。Howdoyoumean——mother?
  JILL。MotherremindsmeofEnglandaccordingtoherself——alwaysrightwhatevershedoes。
  HILLCRIST。Ye-es。Yourmotheritperhaps——theperfectwoman。
  JILL。That'swhatIwassaying。Now,noonecouldcallyouperfect,Dodo。Besides,you'vegotgout。
  HILLCRIST。Yes;andIwantFellows。Ringthatbell。
  JILL。[Crossingtothebell]ShallItellyoumydefinitionofagentleman?AmanwhogivestheHornblowerhisdue。[Sheringsthebell]AndIthinkmotheroughttocallonthem。RolfsaysoldHornblowerresentsitfearfullythatshe'snevermadeasigntoChloethethreeyearsshe'sbeenhere。
  HILLCRIST。Idon'tinterferewithyourmotherinsuchmatters。Shemaygoandcallonthedevilhimselfifshelikes。
  JILL。Iknowyou'reeversomuchbetterthansheis。
  HILLCRIST。That'srespectful。
  JILL。Youdokeepyourprejudicesoutofyourphiz。Butmotherliterallylooksdownhernose。Andsheneverforgivesan"h。"
  They'dgetthe"hell"fromheriftheytookthe"hinch。"
  HILLCRIST。Jill-yourlanguage!
  JILL。Don'tslimeoutofit,Dodo。Isay,motheroughttocallontheHornblowers。[Noanswer。]Well?
  HILLCRIST。Mydear,Ialwaysletpeoplehavethelastword。Itmakesthem——feelfunny。Ugh!Myfoot![EnterFELLOWS,Left。]
  Fellows,sendintothevillageandgetanotherbottleofthisstuff。
  JILL。I'llgo,darling。
  [Sheblowhimakiss,andgoesoutatthewindow。]
  HILLCRIST。AndtellcookI'vegottogoonslops。Thisfoot'sworse。
  FELLOWS。[Sympathetic]Indeed,sir。
  HILLCRIST。Mythirdgothisyear,Fellows。
  FELLOWS。Veryannoying,sir。
  HILLCRIST。Ye-es"。Everhadit?
  FELLOWS。IfancyIhavehadatwinge,sir。
  HILLCRIST。[Brightening]Haveyou?Where?
  FELLOWS。Inmycorkwrist,sir。
  HILLCRIST。Yourwhat?
  FELLOWS。ThewristIdrawcorkswith。
  HILLCRIST。[Withacackle]You'dhavehadmorethanatwingeifyou'dlivedwithmyfather。H'm!
  FELLOWS。Excuseme,sir——Vichywatercorks,inmyexperience,areworsethananywine。
  HILLCRIST。[Ironically]Ah!Thecountry'snotwhatitwas,isit,Fellows?
  FELLOWS。Gettingverynew,sir。
  HILLCRIST。[Feelingly]You'reright。HasDawkercome?
  FELLOWS。Notyet,sir。TheJackmanswouldliketoseeyou,sir。
  HILLCRIST。Whatabout?
  FELLOWS。Idon'tknow,sir。
  HILLCRIST。Well,showthemin。
  FELLOWS。[Going]Yes,sir。
  [HILLCRISTturnshisswivelchairround。TheJACKMANScomein。
  He,abigfellowaboutfifty,inalabourer'sdress,witheyeswhichhavemoreinthenthanhistonguecanexpress;she,alittlewomanwithawornface,abright,quickglance,andatonguetomatch。]
  HILLCRIST。Goodmorning,Mrs。Jackman!Morning,Jackman!Haven'tseenyouforalongtime。WhatcanIdo?
  [Hedrawsinfoot,andbreath,withasharphiss。]
  HILLCRIST。[Inadown-heartedvoice]We'vehadnoticetoquit,sir。
  HILLCRIST。[Withemphasis]What!
  JACKMAN。Gottobeoutthisweek。
  MRS。J。Yes,sir,indeed。
  HILLCRIST。Well,butwhenIsoldLongmeadowandthecottages,itwasontheexpressunderstandingthattherewastobenodisturbanceoftenancies:
  MRS。J。Yes,sir;butwe'veallgottogo。Mrs。'Arvey,andtheDrews,an'us,andthereisn'tanothercottagetobehadanywhereinDeepwater。
  HILLCRIST。Iknow;Iwantoneformycowman。Thiswon'tdoatall。
  Wheredoyougetitfrom?
  JACKMAN。Mr。'Ornblower,'imself,air。Justanhourago。Hecomeroundandsaid:"I'msorry;Iwantthecottages,andyou'vegottoclear。"
  MRS。J。[Bitterly]He'snogentleman,sir;heputitsobrisk。Webeentherethirtyyears,andnowwedon'tknowwhattodo。SoI
  hopeyou'llexcuseuscominground,sir。
  HILLCRIST。Ishouldthinkso,indeed!H'm![Herisesandlimpsacrosstothefireplaceonhisstick。Tohimself]Theclovenhoof。
  ByGeorge!thisisabreachoffaith。I'llwritetohim,Jackman。
  Confoundit!I'dcertainlyneverhavesoldifI'dknownhewasgoingtodothis。
  MRS。J。No,sir,I'msure,sir。Theydosayit'stodowiththepotteries。Hewantsthecottagesforhisworkmen。
  HILLCRIST。[Sharply]That'sallverywell,butheshouldn'thaveledmetosupposethathewouldmakenochange。
  JACKMAN。[Heavily]Theytalkabouthishavin'boughttheCentrytogutupmorechimneysthere,andthat'swhyhewantsthecottages。
  HINT。TheCentry!Impossible!
  [Mrs。J。Yes,air;it'ssuchaprettyspot-looksbeautifulfromhere。[Shelooksoutthroughthewindow]LoveliestspotinallDeepwater,Ialwayssay。Andyourfatherownedit,andhisfatherbefore'im。It'sapitytheyeversoldit,sir,beggin'yourpardon。]
  HILLCRIST。TheCentry![Heringsthebell。]
  Mrs。J。[Whohasbrightenedup]I'mgladyou'regoin'tostopit,sir。Itdoesputusabout。Wedon'tknowwheretogo。IsaidtoMr。Hornblower,Isaid,"I'msureMr。Hillcristwouldnever'eveturnedusout。"An''esaid:"Mr。Hillcristbe——"beggin'yourpardon,sir。"Makenomistake,"'esaid,"youmustgo,missis。"Hedon'tevenknowourname;an'tocomeitlikethisoverus!He'sadreadfulnewman,Ithink,withhisoverridinnotions。Andsichaheavyfootedman,tolookat。[Withasortofindulgentcontempt]
  Buthe'sfromtheNorth,theysay。
  [FELLOWShasentered,Left。]
  HILLCRIST。AskMrs。Hillcristifshe'llcome。
  FELLOWS。Verygood,sir。
  HILLCRIST。IsDawkerhere?
  FELLOWS。Notyet,sir。
  HILLCRIST。Iwanttoseehimatonce。
  [FELLOWSretires。]
  JACKMAN。Mr。Hornblowersaidhewascomin'ontoseeyou,sir。Sowethoughtwe'dstepalongfirst。
  HILLCRIST。Quiteright,Jackman。
  MRS。J。IsaidtoJackman:"Mr。Hillcrist'llstandupforus,I
  know。He'sagentleman,"Isaid。"Thisman,"Isaid,"don'tcarefortheneighbourhood,orthepeople;hedon'tcareforanythingsolongashemakeshismoney,andhashisimportance。Youcan'texpectit,Isuppose,"Isaid;[Bitterly]"havin'gotrichsosudden。"Thegentrydon'tdothingslikethat。
  HILLCRIST。[Abstracted]Quite,Mrs。Jackman,quite!
  [Tohimself]TheCentry!No!
  [MRS。HILLCRISTenters。Awell-dressedwoman,withafirm,clear-cutface。]
  Oh!Amy!Mr。andMrs。Jackmanturnedoutoftheircottage,andMrs。Harvey,andtheDrews。WhenIsoldtoHornblower,Istipulatedthattheyshouldn'tbe。
  MRS。J。Ourweek'suponSaturday,ma'am,andI'msureIdon'tknowwhereweshallturn,becauseofcourseJackmanmustbenearhiswork,andIshalllosemewashin'ifwehavetogofar。
  HILLCRIST。[Withdecision]Youleaveittome,Mrs。Jackman。Goodmorning!Morning,Jackman!SorryIcan'tmovewiththisgout。
  MRS。J。[Forthemboth]I'msurewe'reverysorry,sir。Goodmorning,sir。Goodmorning,ma'am;andthankyoukindly。[Theygoout。
  HILLCRIST。Turningpeopleoutthathavebeentherethirtyyears。I
  won'thaveit。It'sabreachoffaith。
  MRS。H。DoyousupposethisHornblowerwillcaretwostrawsaboutthatJack?
  HILLCRIST。Hemust,whenit'sputtohim,ifhe'sgotanydecentfeeling。
  MRS。H。Hehasn't。
  HILLCRIST。[Suddenly]TheJackmanstalkofhishavingboughttheCentrytoputupmorechimneys。
  MRS。H。Never![Atthewindow,lookingout]Impossible!Itwouldruintheplaceutterly;besidescuttingusofffromtheDuke's。Oh,no!MissMullinswouldneversellbehindourbacks。
  HILLCRIST。AnywayImuststophisturningthesepeopleout。
  Mrs。H。[Withalittlesmile,almostcontemptuous]Youmighthaveknownhe'ddosomethingofthesort。Youwillimaginepeoplearelikeyourself,Jack。YoualwaysoughttomakeDawkerhavethingsinblackandwhite。
  HILLCRIST。Isaidquitedistinctly:"Ofcourseyouwon'twanttodisturbthetenancies;there'sagreatshortageofcottages。"
  Hornblowertoldmeasdistinctlythathewouldn't。Whatmoredoyouwant?
  Mrs。H。Amanlikethatthinksofnothingbuttheshortcuttohisownway。[Lookingoutofthewindowtowardstherise]IfhebuystheCentryandputsupchimneys,wesimplycouldn'tstophere。
  HILLCRIST。Myfatherwouldturninhisgrave。
  MRS。H。Itwouldhavebeenmoreusefulifhe'dnotdippedtheestate,andsoldtheCentry。ThisHornblowerhatesus;hethinksweturnupournosesathim。
  HILLCRIST。Aswedo,Amy。
  MRS。H。Whowouldn't?Amanwithouttraditions,whobelievesinnothingbutmoneyandpush。
  HILLCRIST。Supposehewon'tbudge,canwedoanythingfortheJackmans?
  MRS。H。TherearethetworoomsBeaverusedtohave,overthestables。
  FELLOWS。Mr。Dawker,sir。
  [DAWKERSisashort,square,ratherred-facedterrierofaman,inridingclothesandgaiters。]
  HILLCRIST。Ah!Dawker,I'vegotgoutagain。
  DAWKER。Verysorry,sir。Howdedo,ma'am?
  HILLCRIST。DidyoumeettheJackmans?
  DAWKERS。Yeh。
  [Hehardlyeverquitefinishesaword,seemingtosnapoftheirtails。]
  HILLCRIST。Thenyouheard?
  DAWKER。[Nodding]Smartman,Hornblower;neverletsgrassgrow。
  HILLCRIST。Smart?
  DAWKER。[Grinning]Don'tdotounderrateyourneighbours。
  MRS。H。Acad——Icallhim。
  DAWKER。That'sit,ma'am-gotalltheadvantage。
  HILLCRIST。HeardanythingabouttheCentry,Dawker?
  DAWKER。Hornblowerwantstobuy。
  HILLCRIST。MissMullinswouldneversell,wouldshe?
  DAWKER。Shewantsto。
  HILLCRIST。Thedeuceshedoes!
  DAWKER。Hewon'tstickatthepriceeither。
  MRS。H。What'sitworth,Dawker?
  DAWKER。Dependsonwhatyouwantitfor。
  MRS。H。Hewantsitforspite;wewantitforsentiment。
  DAWKER。[Grinning]Worthwhatyouliketogive,then;buthe'sarichman。
  MRS。H。Intolerable!
  DAWKER。[ToHILLCRIST]Givemeyourfigure,sir。I'lltrytheoldladybeforehegetsather。
  HILLCRIST。[Pondering]Idon'twanttobuy,unlessthere'snothingelseforit。Ishouldhavetoraisethemoneyontheestate;itwon'tstandmuchmore。Ican'tbelievethefellowwouldbesuchabarbarian。Chimneyswithinthreehundredyards,rightinfrontofthishouse!It'sanightmare。
  MRS。H。You'dmuchbetterletDawkermakesure,Jack。
  HILLCRIST。[Uncomfortable]JackmansaysHornblower'scomingroundtoseeme。Ishallputittohim。
  DAWKER。Makehimkeenerthanever。Bettergetinfirst。
  HILLCRIST。Apehismethods!——Ugh!Confoundthisgout![Hegetsbacktohischairwithdifficulty]Lookhere,Dawker,Iwantedtoseeyouaboutgates——
  FELLOWS。[Entering]Mr。Hornblower。
  [HORNBLOWERenters-amanofmedium,height,thoroughlybroadened,blownout,asitwere,bysuccess。Hehasthick,coarse,darkhair,justgrizzled,wrybushyeyebrow,awidemouth。Hewearsquiteordinaryclothes,asifthatdepartmentwereinchargeofsomeonewhoknewaboutsuch,things。Hehasasmallroseinhisbuttonhole,andcarriesaHomburghat,whichonesuspectswilllooktoosmallonhishead。]
  HORNBLOWER。Goodmorning!goodmorning!Howareye,Dawker?Finemorning!Lovelyweather!
  [Hisvoicehasacuriousblendinitstoneofbrassandoil,andanaccentnotquiteScotchnorquiteNorthcountry。]
  Haven'tseenyeforalongtime,Hillcrist。
  HILLCRIST。[Whohasrisen]NotsinceIsoldyouLongmeadowandthosecottages,Ibelieve。
  HORNBLOWER。Dearme,now!that'swhatIcameabout。
  HILLCRIST。[Subsidingagainintohischair]Forgiveme!Won'tyousitdown?
  HORNBLOWER。[Notsitting]Haveyegotgout?That'sunfortunate。
  Inevergetit。I'venodispositionthatway。Hadnoancestors,yousee。Justmeowndrinkin'toanswerfor。
  HILLCRIST。You'relucky。
  HORNBLOWER。IwonderifMrs。Hillcristthinksthat!AmIluckytohavenopast,ma'am?Justthefuture?
  MRS。H。You'resureyouhavethefuture,Mr。Hornblower?
  HORNBLOWER。[Withalaugh]That'syouraristocraticrapierthrust。
  Youaristocratsareveryhardpeopleunderneathyourmanners。Yelovetolayabodyout。ButI'vegotthefutureallright。
  HILLCRIST。[Meaningly]I'vehadtheDackmanshere,Mr。Hornblower。
  HORNBLOWER。Whoarethey——manwiththelittlespitfirewife?
  HILLCRIST。They'reveryexcellent,goodpeople,andthey'vebeeninthatcottagequietlythirtyyears。
  HORNBLOWER。[Throwingouthisforefinger——afavouritegesture]Ah!
  ye'vewantedmetostiryeupabit。Deepwaterneedsabito'goputintoit。There'sgenerallysomegowhereIam。Idaresayyouwishthere'dbeenno"come。"[Helaughs]。
  MRS。H。Wecertainlylikepeopletokeeptheirword,Mr。
  Hornblower。
  HILLCRIST。Amy!
  HORNBLOWER。Nevermind,Hillcrist;takesmorethanthattoupsetme。
  [MRS。HILLCRISTexchangesalookwithDAWKERwhoslipsoutunobserved。]
  HILLCRIST。Youpromisedme,youknow,nottochangethetenancies。
  HORNBLOWER。Well,I'vecometotellyethatIhave。Iwasn'texpectingtohavetheneedwhenIbought。ThoughttheDukewouldsellmeabitdownthere;butdevilabithewill;andnowImusthavethosecottagesformyworkmen。I'vegotimportantworks,yeknow。
  HILLCRIST。[Gettingheated]TheJackmanshavetheirimportancetoo,sir。Theirheart'sinthatcottage。
  HORNBLOWER。Haveasenseofproportion,man。Myworkssupplythousandsofpeople,andmy,heart'sinthem。What'smore,theymakemyfortune。I'vegotambitions——I'maseriousman。SupposeI
  weretoconsiderthisandthat,andeverylittlepottyobjection——
  whereshouldIgetto?——nowhere!
  HILLCRIST。Allthesame,thissortofthingisn'tdone,youknow。
  HORNBLOWER。Notbyyoubecauseye'vegotnoneedtodoit。Hereyeare,quitecontentonwhatyourfathersmadeforye。Ye'venoambitions;andyewantotherpeopletohavenone。Howd'yethinkyourfathersgotyourland?
  HILLCRIST。[Whohasrisen]Notbybreakingtheirword。
  HORNBLOWER。[Throwingouthis,finger]Don'tyebelieveit。Theygotitbybreakingtheirwordandturnin'outJackmans,ifthat'stheirname,allovertheplace。
  MRS。H。That'saninsult,Mr。Hornblower。