MRSHPassionately。Thenshehassaidthatshecaresforyou!
Don’tbelieveher,PipIt’salie-asbadasyourstome!
CAPTGSsssteady!I’veanotionthatafriendofyoursislookingatyou。
MRSHHe!IhatehimHeintroducedyoutome。
CAPTGAside。AndsomepeoplewouldlikewomentoassistinmakingthelawsIntroductiontoimplycondonementAloud。
Well,yousee,ifyoucanremembersofarbackasthat,Icouldn’t,in’commonpoliteness,refusetheoffer。
MRSHIncommonpolitenessIWehavegotbeyondthat!
CAPTGAside。OldgroundmeansfreshtroubleAloud。OnmyhonorMRSHYourwhat?Ha,ha!
CAPTGDishonor,thenShe’snotwhatyouimagineImeantto-
MRSHDon’ttellmeanythingabouther!Shewon’tcareforyou,andwhenyoucomeback,afterhavingmadeanexhibitionofyourself,you’llfindmeoccupiedwith-
CAPTGInsolently。Youcouldn’twhileIamaliveAside。Ifthatdoesn’tbringherpridetoherrescue,nothingwill。
MRSHDr~wingherselfup。Couldn’tdoit?I’Softening。
You’rerightIdon’tbelieveIcould-thoughyouarewhatyouare-acowardandaliaringrain。
CAPTGItdoesn’thurtsomuchafteryourlittlelecture-withdemonstrations。
MRSHOnemassofvanity!Willnothingevertouchyouinthislife?TheremustbeaHereafterifit’sonlyforthebenefitof-Butyouwillhaveitalltoyourself。
CAPTGUnderhiseyebrows。Areyoucertainofthat?
MRSHIshallhavehadmineinthislife;anditwillservemeright,CAPTGButtheadmirationthatyouinsistedonsostronglyamomentago?Aside。Oh,Iamabrute!
MRSHFiercely。Willthatcon-solemeforknowingthatyouwillgotoherwiththesamewords,thesamearguments,andthe-thesamepetnamesyouusedtome?Andifshecaresforyou,youtwowilllaughovermystoryWon’tthatbepunishmentheavyenoughevenforme-evenforme?-Andit’salluselessThat’sanotherpunishment。
CAPTGFeebly。Oh,come!I’mnotsolowasyouthink。
MRSHNotnow,perhaps,butyouwillbeOh,Pip,ifawomanflattersyourvanity,there’snothingonearththatyouwouldnottellher;andnomeannessthatyouwouldnotdoHaveIknownyousolongwithoutknowingthat?
CAPTGIfyoucantrustmeinnothingelse-andIdon’ts~ewhyI
shouldbetrusted-youcancountuponmyholdingmytongue。
MRSHIfyoudeniedeverythingyou’vesaidthiseveninganddeclareditwasallin’funalongpause,I’dtrustyouNototherwiseAllIaskis,don’ttellhermynamePleasedon’tAmanmightforget:awomanneverwouldLooksuptableandseeshostessbeginningtocollecteyes。Soit’sallended,throughnofaultofmine-Haven’tIbehavedbeautifully?I’veacceptedyourdismissal,andyoumanageditascruellyasyoucould,andI
havemadeyourespectmysex,haven’tI?Arrangingglovesandfan。Ionlypraythatshe’llknowyousomedayasIknowyounow。
Iwouldn’tbeyouthen,forIthinkevenyourconceitwillbehurtI
hopeshe’llpayyoubackthehumiliationyou’vebroughtonmeI
hope-NoIdon’t!Ican’tgiveyouup!ImusthavesomethingtolookforwardtoorIshallgocrazyWhenit’sallover,comebacktome,comebacktome,andyou’llfindthatyou’remyPipstill!
CAPTGVeryclearly。Falsemove,andyoupayforitIt’sagirl!
MRSHRising。Thenitwastrue!Theysaid-butIwouldn’tinsultyoubyaskingAgirl!IwasagirlnotverylongagoBegoodtoher,PipIdaresayshebelievesin’you。
GoesoutwithanuncertainsmileHewatchesherthroughthedoor,andsettlesintoachairasthemenredistributethemselves。
CAPTGNow,ifthereisanyPowerwholooksafterthisworld,willHekindlytellmewhatIhavedone?Reachingoutfortheclaret,andhalfaloud。WhathaveIdone?
WITHANYAMAZEMENT
Andarenotafraidwithanyamazement-
MarriageService。
SCENE-Abachelor’sbedroom-toilet-tablearrangedwithunnaturalneat-nessCAPTAINGADSBYasleepandsnoringheavilyTime,10:30AM-agloriousautumndayatSimlaEnterdelicatelyCaptainMAFFLINofGADSBY’sregimentLooksatsleeper,andshakeshisheadmurmuring“PoorGaddy。”Performsviolentfantasiawithhair-brushesonchairback。
CAPTMWakeup,mysleepingbeauty!Roars。
“Uprouseye,then,mymerrymerrymen!
Itisouropeningday!
Itisouropeningda-ay!”
Gaddy,thelittledicky-birdshavebeenbillingandcooingforeversolong;andI’mhere!
CAPTGSittingupandyawning。’Mornin’Thisisawf’lygoodofyou,oldfellowMostawf’lygoodofyou’Don’tknowwhatI
shoulddowithoutyou’Ponmysoul,Idon’t’Haven’tsleptawinkallnight。
CAPTMIdidn’tgetintillhalf-pasteleven’Hadalookatyouthen,andyouseemedtobesleepingassoundlyasacondemnedcriminal。
CAPTGJack,ifyouwanttomakethosedisgustinglyworn-outjokes,you’dbettergoawayWithportentousgravity。It’sthehappiestdayinmylife。
CAPTMChucklinggrimly。Notbyaverylongchalk,myson。
You’regoingthroughsomeofthemostrefinedtortureyou’veeverknownButbecalmIamwithyou’Shun!Dress!
CAPTGEh!Wha-at?
CAPTMDoyousupposethatyouareyourownmasterforthenexttwelvehours?Ifyoudo,ofcourse-Makesforthedoor。
CAPTGNo!ForGoodness’sake,oldman,don’tdothat!You’llsee~through,won’tyou?I’vebeenmuggingupthatbeastlydrill,andcan’trememberalineofit。
CAPTMOverturningG。’suniform。GoandtubDon’tbotherme。
I’llgiveyoutenminutestodressin。
interval,filledbythenoiseasO/onesplashinginthebath-room……
CAPTGEmergingfromdressing-room。Whattimeisit?
CAPTMNearlyeleven。
CAPTGFivehoursmoreOLord!
CAPTMAside。’Firstsignoffunk,that’Wonderifit’sgoingtospreadAloud。Comealongtobreakfast。
CAPTGIcan’teatanythingIdon’twantanybreakfast。
CAPTMAside。Soearly!Aloud~CAPTAINGamsby,Iorderyoutoeatbreakfast,andadashedgoodbreak-fast,tooNoneofyourbridalairsandgraceswithme!
LeadsGdownstairsandstandsoverhimwhileheeatstwochops。
CAPTGWhohaslookedathiswatchthriceinthelastfiveminutes。Whattimeisit?
CAPTMTimetocomeforawalkLightup。
CAPTGIhaven’tsmokedfortendays,andIwon’tnowTakescherootwhichMhascutforhim,andblowssmokethroughhisnoseluxuriously。Wearen’tgoingdowntheMall,arewe?
CAPTMAside。They’reallalikeinthesestagesAloud。No,myVestalWe’regoingalongthequietestroadwecanfind。
CAPTGAnychanceofseeingHer?CAPTMInnocent!No!
Comealong,and,ifyouwantmeforthefinalobsequies,don’tcutmyeyeoutwithyourstick。
CAPTGSpinninground。Isay,isn’tShethedearestcreaturethateverwalked?What’sthetime?Whatcomesafter“wiltthoutakethiswoman“?
CAPTMYougofortheringR’clectit’llbeonthetopofmyright-handlittlefinger,andjustbecarefulhowyoudrawitoff,becauseIshallhavetheVerger’sfeessomewhereinmyglove。
CAPTGWalkingforwardhastily。D-theVerger!Comealong!
It’spasttwelveandIhaven’tseenHersinceyesterdayevening。
Spinningroundagain。She’sanabsoluteangel,Jack,andShe’sadasheddealtoogoodformeLookhere,doesShecomeuptheaisleonmyarm,orhow?
CAPTMIfIthoughtthattherewastheleastchanceofyourrememberinganythingfortwoconsecutiveminutes,I’dtellyou。
Stoppassagingaboutlikethat!
CAPTGHaltinginhemiddleoftheroad。Isay,Jack。
CAPTMKeepquietforanothertenminutesifyoucan,youlunatic;andwalk!
Thetwotrampatfivemilesanhourforfifteenminutes。
CAPTGWhat’sthetime?Howaboutthecursedwedding-cakeandtheslippers?Theydon’tthrow’emaboutinchurch,dothey?
CAPTMIn-variablyThePadreleadsoffwithhisboots。
CAPTGConfoundyoursillysoul!Don’tmakefunofmeIcan’tstandit,andIwon’t!
CAPTMUntroubled。So-ooo,oldhorseYou’llhavetosleepforacoupleofhoursthisafternoon。
CAPTGSpinninground。I’mnotgoingtobetreatedlikeadashedchildunderstandthatCAPTMAside。Nervesgonetofiddle-stringsWhatadaywe’rehaving!TenderlyputtinghishandonG。’sshoulder。MyDavid,howlonghaveyouknownthisJonathan?WouldIcomeupheretomakeafoolofyou-afteralltheseyears?
CAPTGPenitently。Iknow,Iknow,Jack-butI’masupsetasI
canbeDon’tmindwhatIsayJusthearmerunthroughthedrillandseeifI’vegotitallright:-“Tohaveandtoholdforbetterorworse,asitwasinthebeginning,isnow,andevershallbe,worldwithoutend,sohelpmeGodAmen。”
CAPTMSuffocatingwithsuppressedlaughter。YesThat’saboutthegistofitI’llpromptifyougetintoahat。
CAPTGEarnestly。Yes,you’llstickbyme,Jack,won’tyou?
I’mawfullyhappy,butIdon’tmindtellingyouthatI’minabluefunk!
CAPTMGravely。Areyou?Ishouldneverhavenoticedit。
Youdon’tlooklikeit。
CAPTGDon’tI?That’sallrightSpinninground。Onmysoulandhonor,Jack,She’sthesweetestlittleangelthatevercamedownfromtheskyThereisn’tawomanonearthfittospeaktoHer。
CAPTMAside。AndthisisoldGandy!Aloud。Goonifitrelievesyou。
CAPTGYoucanlaugh!That’sallyouwildassesofbachelorsarefitfor。
CAPTMDrawling。YouneverwouldwaitforthetrooptocomeupYouaren’tquitemarriedyet,y’know。
CAPTGUgh!ThatremindsmeIdon’tbelieveIshallbeabletogetintoanybootsLet’sgohomeandtry’emonHurriesforward。
CAPTM’Wouldn’tbeinyourshoesforanythingthatAsiahastooffer。
CAPTGSpinninground。Thatjustshowsyourhideousblacknessofsoul-yourdensestupidity-yourbrutalnarrow-mindednessThere’sonly~nefaultaboutyouYou’rethebestofgoodfellows,andIdon’tknowwhat[shouldhavedonewithoutyou,but-youaren’tmarriedWagshisheadgravely。
Takeawife,Jack。
CAPTMWithafacelikeawall。Va-asWhoseforchoice?
CAPTGIfyou’regoingtobeablackguard,I’mgoingon-What’sthetime?
CAPTMHums。-
An’since’twasveryclearwedrankonlyginger-beer,Faith,theremustha’beensomestingointheginger。”
Comeback,youmaniacI’mgoingtotakeyouhome,andyou’regoingtoliedown。
CAPTGWhatonearthdoIwanttoliedownfor?
CAPTMGivemealightfromyourcherootandsee。
CAPTGWatchingcheroot-buttquiverlikeatuning-fork。
SweetstateI’min!
CAPTMYouareI’llgetyouapegandyou’llgotosleep。
TheyreturnandMcompoundsafour-fingerpeg。
CAPTGObus!bus!It’llmakemeasdrunkasanowl。
CAPTM’Curiousthing,’twon’thavetheslightesteffectonyou。
Drinkitoff,chuckyourselfdownthere,andgotobye-bye。
CAPTGIt’sabsurdIsha’n’tsleep,IknowIsha’n’tlFallsintoheavydozeatendofsevenminutesCAPTMwatcheshimtenderly。
CAPTMPooroldGandy!I’veseenafewturnedoffbefore,butneveronewhowenttothegallowsinthiscondition’Can’ttellhowitaffects’em,thoughIt’sthethoroughbredsthatsweatwhenthey’rebackedintodouble-harness-Andthat’sthemanwhowentthroughthegunsatAmdheranlikeadevilpossessedofdevils。
LeansoverG。Butthisisworsethantheguns,oldpal-worsethantheguns,isn’tit?Gturnsinhissleep,andMtoucheshimclumsilyontheforehead。Poor,dearoldGaddyIGoingliketherestof’em-goingliketherestof’em-Friendthatstickethcloserthanabrother-eightyearsDashedbitofaslipofagirl-eightweeks!And-where’syourfriend?Smokesdisconsolatelytillchurchclockstrikesthree。
CAPTMUpwithyou!Getintoyourkit。