首页 >出版文学> The Skin Game>第4章

第4章

  HORNBLOWER。Makeyourmindeasy;itcan't。I'vegotyeinanoose,andI'mgoin'tohangye。
  MRS。H。[Suddenly]Mr。Hornblower,asyoufightfoul——soshallwe。
  HILLCRIST。Amy!
  MRS。H。[Payingnoattention]Anditwillnotbefoulplaytowardsyouandyours。Youareoutsidethepale。
  HORNBLOWER。That'sjustwhereIam,outsideyourpaleallroundye。
  Ye'renotlongforDeepwater,ma'am。Makeyourdispositionstogo;
  ye'llbeoutinsixmonths,Iprophesy。Andgoodriddancetotheneighbourhood。[Theyarealldownonthelevelnow。]
  CHLOE。[SuddenlycomingclosertoMRS。HILLCRIST]Hereareyoursalts,thankyou。Father,can'tyou——?
  HORNBLOWER。[Surprised]Can'tIwhat?
  CHLOE。Can'tyoucometoanarrangement?
  MRS。H。Justso,Mr。Hornblower。Can'tyou?
  HORNBLOWER。[Lookingfromonetotheother]Aswe'respeakin'out,ma'am,it'syourbehaviourtomydaughter-in-law——who'sasgoodasyou——andbetter,tomythinking——that'smorethanhalfthereasonwhyI'veboughtthisproperty。Ye'vefairgotmydanderup。Nowit'snousetobandywords。It'sveryforgivin'ofye,Chloe,butcomealong!
  MRS。H。Quiteseriously,Mr。Hornblower,youhadbettercometoanarrangement。
  HORNBLOWER。Mrs。Hillcrist,ladiesshouldkeeptotheirownbusiness。
  MRS。H。Iwill。
  HILLCRIST。Amy,doleaveittousmen。Youyoungman[HespeakstoROLF]doyousupportyourfather'strickthisafternoon?
  [JILLlooksroundatROLF,whotriestospeak,whenHORNBLOWER
  breaksin。]
  HORNBLOWER。Mytrick?Andwhatdyecallit,totryandputmeownsonagainstme?
  JILL。[ToROLF]Well?
  ROLF。Idon't,but——
  HORNBLOWER。Trick?Yeyoungcub,bequiet。Mr。Hillcristhadanagentbidforhim——Ihadanagentbidforme。Onlyhisagentbidatthebeginnin',an'minebidattheend。What'sthetrickinthat?
  [Helaughs。
  HILLCRIST。Hopeless;we'reindifferentworlds。
  HORNBLOWER。IwishtoGodwewere!Comeyou,Chloe。Andyou,Rolf,youfollow。InsixmonthsI'llhavethosechimneysup,andmelorriesrunnin'roundye。
  MRS。H。Mr。Hornblower,ifyoubuild——
  HORNBLOWER。[LookingatMRS。HILLCRIST]Yeknow——it'slaughable。
  Yemakemepayninethousandfivehundredforabito'1andnotworthfour,andyethinkI'mnottogetbackonye。I'mgoin'onwithaslittleconsiderationasifyewereafamilyofblackbeetles。
  Goodafternoon!
  ROLF。Father!
  JILL。Oh,Dodo!He'sobscene。
  HILLCRIST。Mr。Hornblower,mycompliments。
  [HORNBLOWERwithastareatHILLCRIST'Shalf-smilingface,takesCHLOE'Sarm,andhalfdragshertowardsthedoorontheLeft。Butthere,intheopeneddoorway,arestandingDAWKER
  andaSTRANGER。Theymovejustoutofthewayoftheexit,lookingatCHLOE,whoswaysandverynearlyfalls。]
  HORNBLOWER。Why!Chloe!What'sthematter?
  CHLOE。Idon'tknow;I'mnotwellto-day。
  [Shepullsherselftogetherwithagreat,effort。]
  MRS。H。[WhohasexchangedanodwithDAWKERandtheSTRANGER]Mr。
  Hornblower,youbuildatyourperil。Iwarnyou。
  HORNBLOWER。[Turningroundtospeak]Yethinkyourselfverycoolandverysmart。ButIdoubtthisisthefirsttimeye'vebeenupagainstrealities。Now,I'vebeenupagainstthemallmylife。
  Don'ttalktome,ma'am,aboutperilandthatsortofnonsense;itmakesnoimpression。Yourhusbandcalledmepachydermatous。I
  don'tknowGreek,andLatin,andallthat,butI'velookeditoutinthe,dictionary,andIfinditmeansthick-skinned。AndI'mnonetheworseforthatwhenIhavetodealwithfolklikeyou。Goodafternoon。
  [HedrawsCHLOEforward,andtheypassthroughthedoor,followedquicklybyROLF。]
  MRS。H。Thankyou;Dawker。
  [ShemovesuptoDAWKERandtheSTRANGER,Left,andtheytalk。]
  JILL。Dodo!It'sawful!
  HILLCRIST。Well,there'snothingforitnowbuttosmileandpayup。Pooroldhome!Itshallbehiswash-pot。OvertheCentrywillhecasthisshoe。ByGad,Jill,Icouldcry!
  JILL。[Pointing]Look!Chloe'ssittingdown。Shenearlyfaintedjustnow。It'ssomethingtodowithDawker,Dodo,andthatmanwithhim。Lookatmother!Askthem!
  HILLCRIST。Dawker!
  [DAWKERcomestohim,followedbyMRS。HILLCRIST。]
  What'sthemysteryaboutyoungMrs。Hornblower?
  DAWKER。Nomystery。
  HILLCRIST。Well,whatisit?
  MRS。H。You'dbetternotask。
  HILLCRIST。Iwishtoknow。
  MRS。H。Jill,gooutandwaitforus。
  JILL。Nonsense,mother!
  MRS。H。It'snotforagirltohear。
  JILL。Bosh!Ireadthepaperseveryday。
  DAWKER。It'snothin'worsethanyougetthere,anyway。
  MRS。H。Doyouwishyourdaughter——
  JILL。It'sridiculous,Dodo;you'dthinkIwasmotheratmyage。
  MRS。H。Iwasnotsoproudofmyknowledge。
  JILL。No,butyouhadit,dear。
  HILLCRIST。Whatisit——whatisit?Comeoverhere,Dawker。
  [DAWKERgoestohim,Right,andspeaksinalowvoice。]
  What![AgainDAWKERspeaksin,alowvoice。]
  GoodGod!
  MRS。H。Exactly!
  JILL。Poorthing——whateveritis!
  MRS。H。Poorthing?
  JILL。Whatwentbefore,mother?
  MRS。H。It'swhat'scomingafterthatmatters;luckily。
  HILLCRIST。Howdoyouknowthis?
  DAWKER。Myfriendhere[HepointstotheSTRANGER]wasoneoftheagents。
  HILLCRIST。It'sshocking。I'msorryIheardit。
  MRS。H。Itoldyounotto。
  HILLCRIST。Askyourfriendtocomehere。
  [DAWKERbeckons,andtheSTRANGERjoinsthegroup。]
  Areyousureofwhatyou'vesaid,sir?
  STRANGER。Perfectly。Irememberherquitewell;hernamethenwas——
  HILLCRIST。Idon'twanttoknow,thankyou。I'mtrulysorry。I
  wouldn'twishtheknowledgeofthatabouthiswomenfolktomyworstenemy。Thismustn'tbespokenof。[JILLhugshisarm。]
  MRS。H。ItwillnotbeifMr。Hornbloweriswise。Ifheisnotwise,itmustbespokenof。
  HILLCRIST。Isayno,Amy。Iwon'thaveit。It'sadirtyweapon。
  Whotouchespitchshallbedefiled。
  MRS。H。Well,whatweaponsdoesheuseagainstus?Don'tbequixotic。Forallwecantell,theyknowitquitewellalready,andiftheydon'ttheyoughtto。Anyway,toknowthisisoursalvation,andwemustuseit。
  JILL:[Sottovoce]Pitch!Dodo!Pitch!
  DAWKER。Thethreat'senough!J。P——Chapel——Futurememberfortheconstituency。
  HILLCRIST。[Alittlemoredoubtfully]Touseapieceofknowledgeaboutawoman——it'srepugnant。I——Iwon'tdoit。
  [Mrs。H。Ifyouhadasontrickedintomarryingsuchawoman,wouldyouwishtoremainignorantofit?]
  HILLCRIST。[Struck]Idon'tknow——Idon'tknow。
  MRS。H。Atleast,you'dliketobeinapositiontohelphim,ifyouthoughtitnecessary?
  HILLCRIST。Well——thatperhaps。
  MRS。H。ThenyouagreethatMr。Hornbloweratleastshouldbetold。
  Whathedoeswiththeknowledgeisnotouraffair。
  HILLCRIST。[HalftotheSTRANGERandhalftoDAWKER]Doyourealisethatanimputationofthatkindmaybegroundforacriminallibelaction?
  STRANGER。Quite。Butthere'snoshadowofdoubt;notthefaintest。
  Yousawherjustnow?
  HILLCRIST。Idid。[Revoltingagain]No;Idon'tlikeit。
  [DAWKERhasdrawntheSTRANGERasteportwoaway,andtheytalktogether。]
  MRS。H。[Inalowvoice]Andtheruinofourhome?You'rebetrayingyourfathers,Jack。
  HILLCRIST。Ican'tbearbringingawomanintoit。
  MRS。H。Wedon't。Ifanyonebringsherin;itwillbeHornblowerhimself。
  HILLCRIST。Weusehersecretasalever。
  MRS。H。Itellyouquiteplainly:Iwillonlyconsenttoholdingmytongueabouther,ifyouagreetoHornblowerbeingtold。It'sascandaltohaveawomanlikethatintheneighbourhood。
  JILL。Mothermeansthat,father。
  HILLCRIST。Jill,keepquiet。Thisisaverybitterposition。I
  can'ttellwhattodo。
  MRS。H。Youmustusethisknowledge。Youoweittome——tousall。
  You'llseethatwhenyou'vethoughtitover。
  JILL。[Softly]Pitch,Dodo,pitch!
  MRS。H。[Furiously]Jill,bequiet!
  HILLCRIST。Iwasbroughtupnevertohurtawoman。Ican'tdoit,Amy——Ican'tdoit。Ishouldneverfeellikeagentlemanagain。
  MRS。H。[Coldly]Oh!Verywell。
  HILLCRIST。Whatd'youmeanbythat?
  MRS。H。Ishallusetheknowledgeinmyownway。
  HILLCRIST。[Staringather]Youwould——againstmywishes?
  MRS。H。Iconsideritmyduty。
  HILLCRIST。IfIagreetoHornblowerbeingtold——
  MRS。H。That'sallIwant。
  HILLCRIST。It'stheutmostI'llconsentto,Amy;anddon'tlet'shaveanyhumbugaboutitsbeing,morallynecessary。Wedoittosaveourskins。
  MRS。H。Idon'tknowwhatyoumeanbyhumbug?
  JILL。Hemeanshumbug;mother。
  HILLCRIST。ItmuststopatoldHornblower。Doyouquiteunderstand?
  MRS。H。Quite。
  JILL。Willitstop?
  MRS。H。Jill,ifyoucan'tkeepyourimpertinencetoyourself——
  HILLCRIST。Jill,comewithme。
  [Heturnstowardsdoor,Back。]
  JILL。I'msorry,mother。Onlyitisaskingame,isn'tit?
  MRS。H。Youprideyourselfonplainspeech,Jill。Ipridemyselfonplainthought。YouwillthankmeafterwardsthatIcanseerealities。IknowwearebetterpeoplethantheseHornblowers。
  Herewearegoingtostay,andthey——arenot。
  JILL。[Lookingatherwithasortofunwillingadmiration]Mother,you'rewonderful!
  HILLCRIST。Jill!
  JILL。Coming,Dodo。
  [Sheturnsandrunstothedoor。Theygoout。]
  [MRS。HILLCRIST,withalongsigh,drawsherselfup,fineandproud。]
  MRS。H。Dawker![Hecomestoher。]
  [Ishallsendhimanoteto-night,andworditsothathewillbeboundtocomeandseeusto-marrowmorning。Willyoubeinthestudyjustbeforeeleveno'clock,withthisgentleman?]
  DAWKER。[Nodding]We'regoingtowireforhispartner。I'llbringhimtoo。Can'tmaketoosure。
  [Shegoesfirmlyupthestepsandout。]
  DAWKER。[TotheSTRANGER,withawink]TheSquire'ssqueamish——toomuchofagentleman。Buthedon'tcount。Thegreymare'sallright。YouwiretoHenry。I'mofftooursolicitors。We'llmakethatoldrhinocerossellusbacktheCentryatadecentprice。
  TheseHornblowers——[Layinghisfingeronhisnose]We'vegot'emCURTAIN
  SCENEII
  CHLOE'sboudoirathalf-pastseventhesameevening。Aprettyroom。Nopicturesonthewalls,buttwomirrors。Ascreenandaluxuriouscouchanthefireplaceside,stageLeft。AdoorratherRightofCentreBack;openinginwards。AFrenchwindow,Rightforward:Awritingtable,RightBack。Electriclightburning。
  CHLOE,inatea-gown,isstandingbytheforwardendofthesofa,verystill,andverypale。Herlipsareparted,andherlargeeyesstarestraightbeforethemasifseeingghosts:ThedoorisopenednoiselesslyandaWOMAN'Sfaceisseen。ItpeersatCHLOE,vanishes,andthedoorisclosed。CHLOEraisesherhands,covershereyeswiththem,dropsthemwithaquickgesture,andlooksroundher。Aknock。Withaswiftmovementsheslidesontothesofa,andliesprostrate,witheyesclosed。
  CHLOE。[Feebly]Comein!
  [HerMaidenters;atrim,containedfigureofuncertainyears,inablackdress,withthefacewhichwaspeeringin。]
  Yes,Anna?
  ANNA。Aren'tyougoingintodinner,ma'am?
  CHLOE。[Withclosedeyes]No。
  ANNA。Willyoutakeanythinghere,ma'am?
  CHLOE。I'dlikeabiscuitandaglassofchampagne。
  [TheMAID,whoisstandingbetweensofaanddoor,smiles。
  CHLOE,withaswiftlook,catchesthesmile。]
  Whydoyousmile?
  ANNA。WasI,ma'am?
  CHLOE。Youknowyouwere。[Fiercely]Areyoupaidtosmileatme?
  ANNA。[Immovable]No,ma'am,WouldyoulikesomeeaudeCologneonyourforehead?
  CHLOE。Yes——No——What'sthegood?[Claspingherforehead]Myheadachewon'tgo。
  ANNA。Tokeeplyingdown'sthebestthingforit。
  CHLOE。Ihavebeen——hours。
  ANNA。[Withthesmile]Yes,ma'am。
  CHLOE。[Gatheringherselfuponthesofa]Anna!Whydoyoudoit?
  ANNA。Dowhat,ma'am?
  CHLOE。Spyonme。
  ANNA。I——never!I——!
  CHLOE。Tospy!You'reafool,too。Whatistheretospyon?
  ANNA。Nothing,ma'am。Ofcourse,ifyou'renotsatisfiedwithme,Imustgivenotice。Only——ifIwerespying,Ishouldexpecttohavenoticegivenme。I'vebeenaccustomedtoladieswhowouldn'tstandsuchathingforaminute。
  CHLOE:[Intently]Well,you'lltakeamonth'swagesandgotomorrow。Andthat'sall,now。
  [ANNAinclinesherheadandgoesout。]
  [CHLOE,withasortofmoan,turnsoverandburiesherfaceinthecushion。]
  CHLOE。[Sittingup]IfIcouldseethatman——ifonly——orDawker——
  [Shespringsupandgoestothedoor,buthesitates,andcomesbacktotheheadofthesofa,asROLFcomesin。Duringthisscenethedoorisagainopenedstealthily,aninchortoo。]
  ROLF。How'sthehead?
  CHLOE。Beastly,thanks。I'mnotgoingintodinner。
  ROLF。IsthereanythingIcandoforyou?
  CHLOE。No,dearboy。[Suddenlylookingathim]Youdon'twantthisquarrelwiththeHillcriststogoon,doyou,Rolf?
  ROLF。No;Ihateit。
  CHLOE。Well,IthinkImightbeabletostopit。WillyousliproundtoDawker's——it'snotfiveminutes——andaskhimtocomeandseeme。
  ROLF。FatherandCharliewouldn't——
  CHLOE。Iknow。Butifhecomestothewindowherewhileyou'reatdinner,I'lllethimin,andout,andnobody'dknow。
  ROLF。[Astonished]Yes,butwhatImeanhow——
  CHLOE。Don'taskme。It'sworththeshotthat'sall。[Lookingatherwrist-watch]Tothiswindowateighto'clockexactly。Firstlongwindowontheterrace,tellhim。
  ROLF。It'snothingCharliewouldmind?
  CHLOE。No;onlyIcan'ttellhim——heandfatheraresomadaboutitall。
  ROLF。Ifthere'sarealchance——
  CHLOE。[Goingtothewindowandopeningit]Thisway,Rolf。Ifyoudon'tcomebackIshallknowhe'scoming。Putyourwatchbymine。[Lookingathiswatch]It'saminutefast,see!
  ROLF。Lookhere,ChloeCHLOE。Don'twait;goon。
  [Shealmostpusheshimoutthroughthewindow,closesitafterhim,drawsthecurtainsagain,standsaminute,thinkinghard;
  goestothebellandringsit;then,crossingtothewritingtable,RightBack,shetakesoutachemist'sprescription。]
  [ANNAcomesin。]
  CHLOE。Idon'twantthatchampagne。Takethistothechemistandgethimtomakeupsomeofthesecachetsquick,andbringthembackyourself。
  ANNA。Yes,ma'am;butyouhavesome。
  CHLOE。They'retooold;I'vetakentwo——thestrength'soutofthem。
  Quick,please;Ican'tstandthishead。
  ANNA。[Takingtheprescription——withhersmile]Yes,ma'am。It'lltakesometime——youdon'twantme?
  CHLOE。No;Iwantthecachets。
  [ANNAgoesout。]
  [CHLOElooksatherwrist-watch,goestothewriting-table,whichisold-fashioned,withasecretdrawer,looksroundher,divesatthesecretdrawer,takesoutarollofnotesandatissuepaperparcel。Shecountsthenotes:"Threehundred。"
  Slipsthemintoherbreastandunwrapsthelittleparcel。Itcontainspears。Sheslipsthem,too,intoherdress,looksroundstartled,replacesthedrawer,andregainsherplaceonthesofa,lyingprostrateasthedooropens,andHORNBLOWER
  comesin。Shedoesnotopenherages,andhestandslookingatheramomentbeforespeaking。
  HORNBLOWER。[Almostsoftly]Howareyefeelin'。Chloe?
  CHLOE。Awfulhead!
  HORNBLOWER:Canyeattendamoment?I'vehadanotefromthatwoman。
  [CHLOEsitsup。]
  HORNBLOWER。[Reading]"Ihavesomethingoftheutmostimportancetotellyouinregardtoyourdaughter-in-law。Ishallbewaitingtoseeyouateleveno'clockto-morrowmorning。Thematterissoutterlyvitaltothehappinessofallyourfamily,thatIcannotimagineyouwillfailtocome。"Now,what'sthemeaningofit?Isitsheerimpudence,orlunacy,orwhat?
  CHLOE。Idon'tknow。
  HORNBLOWER。[Notunkindly]Chloe,ifthere'sanything——ye'dbettertellme。Forewarned'sforearmed。
  CHLOE。There'snothing;unlessit's——[Withaquicktookathim,]——
  Unlessit'sthatmyfatherwasa——abankrupt。
  HORNBLOWER。Hech!Manyaman'sbeenthat。Ye'venevertoldusmuchaboutyourfamily。
  CHLOE。Iwasn'tveryproudofhim。
  HORNBLOWER。Well,ye'renotresponsibleforyourfather。Ifthat'sall,it'sarelief。Thebittersnobs!I'llrememberitintheaccountI'vegotwiththem。
  CHLOE。Father,don'tsayanythingtoCharlie;it'llonlyworryhimfornothing。
  HORNBLOWER。No,no,I'llnot。IfIwentbankrupt,it'dupsetChearlie,I'venotadoubt。[Helaugh。Lookingathershrewdly]
  There'snothingelse,beforeIanswerher?
  [CHLOEshakesherhead。]
  Ye'resure?
  CHLOE。[Withanefort]Shemayinventthings,ofcourse。
  HORNBLOWER。[Lostinhisfeudfeeling]Ah,!butthere'ssuchathingasthelawso'slander。Iftheyplaypranks,I'llhavethemupforit。
  CHLOE。[Timidly]Couldn'tyoustopthisquarrel;father?Yousaiditwasonmyaccount。ButIdon'twanttoknowthem。Andtheydolovetheiroldhome。Ilikethegirl。Youdon'treallyneedtobuildjustthere,doyou?Couldn'tyoustopit?Do!
  HORNBLOWER。Stopit?NowI'vebought?Na,no!Thesnobsdefiedme,andI'mgoingtoshowthem。Ihatethelotofthem,andIhatethatlittleDawkerworstofall。
  CHLOE。He'sonlytheiragent。
  HORNBLOWER。He'sapartofthewholedog-in-the-mangersystemthatstandsinmyway。Ye'reawoman,andyedon'tunderstandthesethings。Yewouldn'tbelievethestruggleI'vehadtomakemymoneyandgetmyposition。Thesecountyfolktalksoftsawder,buttogetanythingfromthem'slikegettin'butteroutofadog'smouth。Iftheycoulddrivemeoutofherebyfairmeansorfoul,wouldtheyhesitateamoment?Notthey!Seewhatthey'vemademepay;andlookatthisletter。Selfish,meanloto'hypocrites!
  CHLOE。Buttheydidn'tbeginthequarrel。
  HORNBLOWER。Notopenly;butunderneaththeydid——that'stheirway。
  Theybeganitbythwartin'mehereandthereandeverywhere,justbecauseI'vecomeintomeownabitlaterthantheydid。Igave'emtheirchance,andtheywouldn'ttakeit。Well,I'llshow'emwhatamanlikemecandowhenhesetshismindtoit。I'llnotleavemuchskinonthem。
  [Intheintensityofhisfeelinghehaslostsightofherface,alivewithasortofagonyofdoubt,whethertopleadwithhimfurther,orwhattodo。Then,withaswiftglanceatherwristwatch,shefallsbackonthesofaandcloseshereyes。]
  It'llgivemeapowerofenjoymentseein'mechimneysgoupinfrontoftheirwindies。Thatwasabonniethought——thatlastbido'mine。
  He'dgotthatrousedup,Ibelieve,he,neverwoulda'stopped。
  [Lookingather]Iforgotyourhead。Well,well,ye'llbebesttryin'quiet。[Thegongsounds。]Shallwesendyesomethinginfromdinner?
  CHLOE。No;I'lltrytosleep。PleasetellthemIdon'twanttobedisturbed。
  HORNBLOWER。Allright。I'lljustanswerthisnote。
  [Hesitsdownatherwriting-table。]
  [CHLOEstartsupfromthesofafeverishly,lookingatherwatch,atthewindow,atherwatch;thensoftlycrossestothewindowandopensit。]
  HORNBLOWER。[Finishing]Listen![Heturnsroundtowardsthesofa]
  Hallo!Whereareye?
  CHLOE。[Atthewindow]It'ssohot。
  HORNBLOWER。Here'swhatI'vesaid:
  "MADAM,——Youcantellmenothingofmydaughter-in-lawwhichcanaffectthehappinessofmyfamily。Iregardyournoteasanimpertinence,andIshallnotbewithyouateleveno'clockto-morrowmorning。
  "Yourstruly——"
  CHLOE。[Withasufferingmovementofherhead]Oh!——Well!——[Thegongistouchedasecondtime。]
  HORNBLOWER。[Crossingtothedoor]Lieyedown,andgetasleep。
  I'lltellthemnottodisturbye;andIhopeye'llbeallrightto-
  morrow。Good-night,Chloe。
  CHLOE。Good-night。[Hegoesout。]
  [Afterafeverishturnortwo,CHLOEreturnstotheopenwindowandwaitsthere,halfscreenedbythecurtains。Thedoorisopenedinchbyinch,andANNA'Sheadpeersround。SeeingwhereCHLOEis,sheslipsinandpassesbehindthescreen,Left。
  SuddenlyCHLOEbacksinfromthewindow。]
  CHLOE。[Inalowvoice]Comein。
  [Shedartstothedoorandlocksit。]
  [DAWKERhascomeinthroughthewindowandstandsregardingherwithahalfsmile。]
  DAWKER。Well,youngwoman,whatdoyouwantofme?
  [Inthepresenceofthismanofherownclass,therecomesadistinctchangeinCHLOE'Svoiceandmanner;asortoffrankcommonness,adaptedtothemansheisdealingwith,butshekeepshervoicelow。]
  CHLOE。You'remakingamistake,youknow。