CAPT。G。（Aside。）GoodoldJack！（Aloud。）Why，dear？
　　Mas。G。Hehadputhiscupdownonthegroundthen，andheliterallysteppedintoit。Someoftheteaspirtedovermydress-thegreyone。Imeanttotellyouaboutitbefore。
　　CAPT。G。（Aside。）TherearethemakingsofastrategistaboutJackthoughhismethodsarecoarse。（Aloud。）You'dbettergetanewdress，then。（Aside。）Letuspraythatthatwillturnher。
　　Mas。G。Oh，itisn'tstainedintheleast。IonlythoughtthatI'dtellyou。（Returningtoletter。）Whatanextraordinaryperson！（Reads。）
　　"ButneedIremindyouthatyouhavetakenuponyourselfachargeofwardship"-whatintheworldisachargeofwardship？-"whichasyouyourselfknow，mayendinConsequences"-
　　CAPT。G。（Aside。）It'ssafesttoletemseeeverythingastheycomeacrossit；but'seemstomethatthereareexceptionstotherule。
　　（Aloud。）Itoldyouthattherewasnothingtobegainedfromrearrangingmytable。
　　Mas。G。（Absently。）Whatdoesthewomanmean？ShegoesontalkingaboutConsequences-''almostinevitableConsequences"
　　withacapitalC-forhalfapage。（Flushingscarlet。）Oh，goodgracious！Howabominable！
　　CAPT。G。（Promptly。）Doyouthinkso？Doesn'titshowasortofmotherlyinterestinus？（Aside。）ThankHeaven。Harryalwayswrappedhermeaningupsafely！（Aloud。）Isitabsolutelynecessarytogoonwiththeletter，darling？
　　Mas。G。It'simpertinent-it'ssimplyhorrid。Whatrighthasthiswomantowriteinthiswaytoyou？Sheoughtn'tto。
　　CAPT。G。WhenyouwritetotheDeercourtgirl，Inoticethatyougenerallyfillthreeorfoursheets。Can'tyouletanoldwomanbabbleonpaperonceinaway？Shemeanswell。
　　MRS。G。Idon'tcare。Sheshouldn'twrite，andifshedid，yououghttohaveshownmeherletter。
　　CAPT。G。Can'tyouunderstandwhyIkeptittomyself，ormustI
　　explainatlength-asIexplainedthefarcybuds？
　　Mas。G。（Furiously。）PipIhateyou！Thisisasbadasthoseidioticsaddle-bagsonthefloor。Nevermindwhetheritwouldpleasemeornot，yououghttohavegivenittometoread。
　　CAPT。G。Itcomestothesamething。Youtookityourself。
　　MRS。G。Yes，butifIhadn'ttakenit，youwouldn'thavesaidaword。IthinkthisHarrietHerriott-it'slikeanameinabook-isaninterferingoldThing。
　　CAPT。G。（Aside。）Solongasyouthoroughlyunderstandthatsheisold，Idon'tmuchcarewhatyouthink。（Aloud。）Verygood，dear。
　　Wouldyouliketowriteandtellherso？She'sseventhousandmilesaway。
　　MRS。G。Idon'twanttohaveany-thingtodowithher，butyououghttohavetoldme。（Turningtolastpageofletter。）Andshepatronizesme，too。I'veneverseenher！（Reads。）"Idonotknowhowtheworldstandswithyou；inallhumanprobabilityIshallneverknow；butwhateverImayhavesaidbefore，Iprayforhersakemorethanforyoursthatallmaybewell。Ihavelearnedwhatmiserymeans，andIdarenotwishthatanyonedeartoyoushouldsharemyknowledge。"
　　CAPT。G。GoodGod！Can'tyouleavethatletteralone，or，atleast，can'tyourefrainfromreadingitaloud？I'vebeenthroughitonce。Putitbackon'hedesk。Doyouhearme？
　　Mas。G。（Irresolutely。）Ish-sha'n't！（LooksatG。'seyes。）Oh，Pip，please！Ididn'tmeantomakeyouangry-'Deed，Ididn't。Pip，I'msosorry。IknowI'vewastedyourtime-CAPT。G。（Grimly。）Youhave。Now，willyoubegoodenoughtogo-ifthereisnothingmoreinmyroomthatyouareanxioustopryinto？
　　Mas。G。（Puttingoutherhands。）Oh，Pip，don'tlookatmelikethat！I'veneverseenyoulooklikethatbeforeandithu-urtsme！
　　I'msorry。Ioughtn'ttohavebeenhereatall，and-and-and-
　　（sobbing。）Oh，begoodtome！Begoodtome！There'sonlyyou-anywhere！Breaksdowninlongchair，hidingfaceincushions。
　　CAPT。G。（Aside。）Shedoesn'tknowhowsheflickedmeontheraw。（Aloud，bendingoverchair。）Ididn'tmeantobeharsh，dear-I
　　didn'treally。Youcanstayhereaslongasyouplease，anddowhatyouplease。Don'tcrylikethat。You'llmakeyourselfsick。（Aside。）
　　Whatonearthhascomeoverher？（Aloud。）Darling，what'sthematterwithyou？
　　Mrs。G。（Herfacestillhidden。）Letmego-letmegotomyownroom。Only-onlysayyouaren'tangrywithme。
　　CAPT。G。Angrywithyou，love！Ofcoursenot。Iwasangrywithmyself。I'dlostmytemperoverthesaddlery-Don'thideyourface，Pussy。Iwanttokissit。
　　Bendslower，Mas。G。slidesrightarmroundhisneck。Severalinterludesandmuchsobbing。
　　Mas。G。（Inawhisper。）Ididn'tmeanaboutthejamwhenIcameintotellyou-
　　CAPT'。G。Botherthejamandtheequipment！（Interlude。）
　　Mas。G。（Stillmorefaintly。）Myfingerwasn'tscaldedatall。I-[
　　wantedtospeaktoyouabout-about-somethingelse，and-Ididn'tknowhow。
　　CAPT。G。Speakaway，then。（Lookingintohereyes。）Eb！
　　Wha-at？Minnie！Here，don'tgoaway！Youdon'tmean？
　　Mas。G。（Hysterically，backingtoportiereandhidingherfaceinitsfold's。）The-theAlmostInevitableConsequences！（FlitsthroughportiereasG。attemptstocatchher，andboltsherselfinherownroom。）
　　CAPT。G。（Hisarmsfullofportiere。）Oh！（Sittingdownheavilyinchair。）I'mabruteapig-abully，andablackguard。Mypoor，poorlittledarling！"Madetobeamusedonly？"-
　　THEVALLEYOFTHESHADOW
　　KnowingGoodandEvil。
　　SCENE-TheGADSBYS'bungalowinthePlains，inJune。
　　Punkah-cooliesasleepinverandawhereCaptainGADBYiswalkingupanddown。DOCTOR'Strapinporch。JUNIOR
　　CHAPLAINdriftinggenerallyanduneasilythroughthehouse。
　　Time，3:4OA。M。Heat94degreesinveranda。
　　DOCTOR。（ComingintoverandaandtouchingG。ontheshoulder。）Youhadbettergoinandseehernow。
　　CAPT。G。（Thecolorofgoodcigar-ash。）Eb，wha-at？Oh，yes，ofcourse。Whatdidyousay？
　　DOCTOR。（Syllablebysyllable。）Go-in-to-the-room-and-see-
　　her。Shewantstospeaktoyou。（Aside，testily。）Ishallhavehimonmyhandsnext。
　　JUNIORCHAPLAIN。（Inhalf-lighteddiningroom。）Isn'tthereany？-
　　DOCTOR。（Savagely。）Hsb，youlittlefool！
　　JUNIORCHAPLAIN。Letmedomywork。Gadsby，stopaminuteI（EdgesafterG。）
　　DOCTOR。Waittillshesendsforyouatleast-atleast。Manalive，he'llkillyouifyougointhere！Whatareyoubotheringhimfor？
　　JUNIORCHAPLAIN。（Comingintoveranda。）I'vegivenhimastiffbrandy-peg。Hewantsit。You'veforgottenhimforthelasttenhoursand-forgottenyourselftoo。
　　CAPT。G。entersbedroom，whichislitbyonenight-lamp。Ayakonthefloorpretendingtobeasleep。
　　VOICE。（Fromthebed。）Alldownthestreet-suchbonfires！Ayah，goandputthemout！（Appealingly。）HowcanIsleepwithaninstallationoftheC。I。E。inmyroom？No-notC。I。E。Somethingelse。Whatwasit？
　　CAPT。G。（Tryingtocontrolhisvoice。）Minnie，I'mhere。
　　（Bendingoverbed。）Don'tyouknowme，Mmnie？It'sme-it'sPhil-it'syourhusband。
　　VOICE。（Mechanically。）It'sme-it'sPhil-it'syourhusband。
　　CAPT。G。Shedoesn'tknowmel-It'syourownhusband，darling。
　　VOICE。Yourownhusband，darling。AYAH。（Withaninspiration。）
　　MemsahibunderstandingallIsaying。
　　CAPT。G。Makeherunderstandmethen-quick！
　　AYAH。（HandonMas。G。'sfore-head。）Memsahib！CaptainSahibhere。
　　VOICE。Salaemdo。（Fretfully。）IknowI'mnotfittobeseen。
　　AYAH。（AsidetoG。）Say"marneen"sameasbreakfash。
　　CAPT。G。Good-morning，littlewoman。Howareweto-day？
　　VOICE。That'sPhil。PooroldPhil。（Viciously。）Phil，youfool，I
　　can'tseeyou。Comenearer。
　　CAPT。G。Minnie！Minnie！It'sme-youknowme？
　　VOICE。（Mockingly。）OfcourseIdo。Whodoesnotknowthemanwhowassocrueltohiswife-almosttheonlyoneheeverhad？
　　CAPT。G。Yes，dear。Yes-ofcourse，ofcourse。Butwon'tyouspeaktobim？Hewantstospeaktoyousomuch。
　　VOICE。They'dneverlethimin。TheDoctorwouldgivedarwazabundevenifhewereinthehouse。He'llnevercome。
　　（Despairingly。）OJudas！Judas！Judas！
　　CAPT。G。（Puttingouthisarms。）Theyhavelethimin，andhealwayswasinthehouseOh，mylove-don'tyouknowme？
　　VOrCE。（Inahalfchant。）"Anditcametopassattheeleventhhourthatthispoorsoulrepented。"Itknockedatthegates，buttheywereshut-tightasaplaster-agreat，burningplasterTheyhadpastedourmarriagecertificateallacrossthedoor，anditwasmadeofred-hotiron-peoplereallyoughttobemorecareful，youknow。
　　CAPT。G。WhatamItodo？（Takingherinhisarms。）Minnie！
　　speaktome-toPhil。
　　VOICE。WhatshallIsay？Oh，tellmewhattosaybeforeit'stoolate！TheyareallgoingawayandIcan'tsayanything。
　　CAPT。G。Sayyouknowme！Onlysayyouknowme！
　　DOCTOR。（Whohasenteredquietly。）Forpity'ssakedon'ttakeittoomuchtoheart，Gadsby。It'sthiswaysometimes。Theywon'trecognize。Theysayallsortsofqueerthings-don'tyousee？
　　CAPT。G。Allright！Allright！Goawaynow；she'llrecognizeme；
　　you'rebotheringher。Shemust-mustn'tshe？
　　DOCTOR。Shewillbefore-HaveIyourleavetotry？-
　　CAPT。G。Anythingyouplease，solongasshe'llknowme。It'sonlyaquestionof-hours，isn'tit？
　　DOCTOR。（Professionally。）Whilethere'slifethere'shopey'know。Butdon'tbuildonit。
　　CAPT。G。Idon't。Pullhertogetherifit'spossible。（Aside。）WhathaveIdonetodeservethis？
　　DOCTOR。（Bendingoverbed。）Now，Mrs。Gadsby！Weshallbeallrighttomorrow。Youmusttakeit，orIsha'n'tletPhilseeyou。Itisn'tnasty，isit？
　　Voice。Medicines！Alwaysmoremedicines！Can'tyouleavemealone？
　　CAPT。G。Oh，leaveherinpeace，Doc！
　　DOCTOR。（Steppingback，-aside。）MayIbeforgivenifI'venonewrong。（Aloud。）Inafewminutessheoughttobesensible；butI
　　daren'ttellyoutolookforanything。It'sonly-
　　CAPT。G。What？Goon，man。
　　DOCTOR。（Inawhisper。）Forcingthelastrally。
　　CAPT。G。Thenleaveusalone。
　　DOCTOR。Don'tmindwhatshesaysatfirst，ifyoucan。They-they-theyturnagainstthosetheylovemostsometimesinthis-It'shard，but-
　　CAPT。G。AmIherhusbandorareyou？Leaveusaloneforwhattimewehavetogether。
　　VOICE。（Confidentially。）Andwewereengagedquitesuddenly，Emma。IassureyouthatIneverthoughtofitforamoment；but，oh，mylittleMe！-Idon'tknowwhatIshouldhavedoneifhehadn'tproposed。
　　CAPT。G。ShethinksofthatDeercourtgirlbeforeshethinksofme。（Aloud。）Minnie！
　　VOICE。Notfromtheshops，Mummydear。YoucangettherealleavesfromKaintu，and（laughingweakly）nevermindabouttheblossoms-Deadwhitesilkisonlyfitforwidows，andIwon'twearit。It'sasbadasawindingsheet。（Alongpause。）
　　CAPT。G。Ineveraskedafavoryet。Ifthereisanybodytolistentome，letherknowme-evenifIdietoo！
　　VOICE。（Veryfaintly。）Pip，Pipdear。
　　CAPT。G。I'mhere，darling。
　　VOICE。Whathashappened？They'vebeenbotheringmesowithmedicinesandthings，andtheywouldn'tletyoucomeandseeme。
　　Iwasneverillbefore。AmIillnow？
　　CAPT。G。You-youaren'tquitewell。
　　VOICE。Howfunny！HaveIbeenilllong？
　　CAPT。G。Someday；butyou'llbeallrightinalittletime。
　　VOICE。Doyouthinkso，Pip？Idon'tfeelwelland-Oh！whathavetheydonetomyhair？
　　CAPT。G。Id-d-on'tknow。
　　VOICE。They'vecutitoff。Whatashame！
　　CAPT。G。Itmusthavebeentomakeyourheadcooler。
　　VOICE。Justlikeaboy'swig。Don'tIlookhorrid？
　　CAPT。G。Neverlookedprettierinyourlife，dear。（Aside。）HowamItoaskhertosaygood-bye？
　　VOICE。Idon'tfeelpretty。Ifeelveryill。Myheartwon'twork。
　　It'snearlydeadinsideme，andthere'safunnyfeelinginmyeyes。
　　Everythingseemsthesamedistance-youandthealmirahandthetableinsidemyeyesormilesaway。Whatdoesitmean，Pip？
　　CAPT。G。You'realittlefeverish，Sweetheart-veryfeverish。
　　（Breakingdown。）Mylove！mylove！HowcanIletyougo？
　　VOICE。Ithoughtso。Whydidn'tyoutellmethatatfirst？
　　CAPT。G。What？
　　VOICE。ThatIamgoingto-die。
　　CAPT。G。Butyouaren't！Yousha'n't。
　　AYAHtopunkah-coolie。（Steppingintoverandaafteraglanceatthebed。）。Punkahchordo！（Stoppullingthepunkah。）
　　VOICE。It'shard，Pip。Sovery，veryhardafteroneyear-justoneyear。
　　（Wailing。）AndI'monlytwenty。Mostgirlsaren'tevenmarriedattwenty。Can'ttheydoanythingtohelpme？Idon'twanttodie。
　　CAPT。G。Hush，dear。Youwon't。
　　VOICE。What'stheuseoftalking？Helpme！You'veneverfailedmeyet。Oh，Phil，helpmetokeepalive。（Feverishly。）Idon'tbelieveyouwishmetolive。Youweren'tabitsorrywhenthathorridBabythingdied。IwishI'dkilledit！
　　CAPT。G。（Drawinghishandacrosshisforehead。）It'smorethanaman'smeanttobear-it'snotright。（Aloud。）Minnie，love，I'ddieforyouifitwouldhelp。
　　VOICE。Nomoredeath。There'senoughalready。Pip，don'tyoudietoo。
　　CAPT。G。IwishIdared。
　　VOICE。Itsays:"TillDeathdouspart。"Nothingafterthat-andsoitwouldbenouse。Itstopsatthedying。Whydoesitstopthere？
　　Onlysuchaveryshortlife，too。Pip，I'msorrywemarried。
　　CAPT。G。No！Anythingbutthat，Mm！
　　VOICE。Becauseyou'llforgetandI'llforget。Oh，Pip，don'tforget！
　　Ialwayslovedyou，thoughIwascrosssometimes。IfIeverdidanythingthatyoudidn'tlike，sayyouforgivemenow。
　　CAPT。G。Youneverdid，darling。Onmysoulandhonoryouneverdid。Ihaven'tathingtoforgiveyou。
　　VOICE。Isulkedforawholeweekaboutthosepetunias。（Withalaugh。）WhatalittlewretchIwas，andhowgrievedyouwere！
　　Forgivemethat，Pp。
　　CAPT。G。There'snothingtoforgive。Itwasmyfault。Theyweretoonearthedrive。ForGod'ssakedon'ttalkso，Minnie！There'ssuchalottosayandsolittletimetosayitin。
　　VOICE。Saythatyou'llalwaysloveme-untiltheend。
　　CAPT。G。Untiltheend。（Carriedaway。）It'salie。Itmustbe，becausewe'velovedeachother。Thisisn'ttheend。
　　VOICE。（Relapsingintosemi-delirium。）MyChurch-servicehasanivory-crossontheback，anditsaysso，soitmustbetrue。"TillDeathdouspart。"-butthat'salie。（WithaparodyofG。'smanner。）
　　Adamnedlie！（Recklessly。）Yes，IcanswearaswellasaTrooper，Pip。Ican'tmakemyheadthink，though。That'sbecausetheycutoffmyhair。Howcanonethinkwithone'sheadallfuzzy？
　　（Pleadingly。）Holdme，Pip！Keepmewithyoualwaysandalways。
　　（Relapsing。）ButifyoumarrytheThornissgirlwhenI'mdead，I'llcomebackandhowlunderourbedroomwindowallnight。Oh，bother！You'llthinkI'majackall。Pip，whattimeisit？
　　CAPT。G。Alittlebeforethedawn，dear。
　　VOICE。IwonderwhereIshallbethistimeto-morrow？
　　CAPT。G。WouldyouliketoseethePadre？
　　VOICE。WhyshouldI？He'dtellmethatIamgoingtoheaven；
　　andthatwouldn'tbetrue，becauseyouarehere。Doyourecollectwhenheupsetthecream-icealloverhistrousersattheGassers'
　　tennis？
　　CAPT。G。Yes，dear。
　　VOICE。Ioftenwonderedwhetherhegotanotherpairoftrousers；
　　butthenhisaresoshinyalloverthatyoureallycouldn'ttellunlessyouweretold。Let'scallhiminandask。
　　CAPT。G。（Gravely。）No。Idon'tthinkhe'dlikethat。'Yourheadcomfy，Sweetheart？'
　　VOICE。（Faintlywithasighofcontentment。）Yeth！Gracious，Pip，whendidyoushavelast？Yourchin'sworsethanthebarrelofamusicalbox-No，don'tliftitup。Ilikeit。（Apause。）Yousaidyou'venevercriedatall。You'recryingallovermycheek。
　　CAPT。G。I-I-Ican'thelpit，dear。
　　VOICE。Howfunny！Icouldn'tcrynowtosavemylife。（G。
　　shivers。）Iwanttosing。
　　CAPT。G。Won'tittireyou？'Betternot，perhaps。
　　VOICE。Why？Iwon'tbebotheredabout。（Beginsinahoarsequaver）
　　"Minniebakesoatencake，Minniebrewsale，AllbecauseherJohnnie'scominghomefromthesea。（That'sparade，Pip。）Andshegrowsredasarose，whowassopale；And'Areyousurethechurch-clockgoes？'saysshe。"
　　（Pettishly。）IknewIcouldn'ttakethelastnote。Howdothebasschordsrun？（Putsoutherhandsandbeginsplayingpianoonthesheet。）
　　CAPT。G。（Catchinguphands。）Ahh！Don'tdothat，Pussy，ifyouloveme。
　　VOICE。Loveyou？OfcourseIdo。Whoelseshoulditbe？（A
　　pause。）
　　VOICE。（Veryclearly。）Pip，I'mgomgnow。Something'schokingmecruelly。（Indistinctly。）Intothedark-withoutyou，myheart-Butit'salie，dear-wemustn'tbelieveit-Foreverandever，livingordead。Don'tletmego，myhusband-holdmetight-Theycan't-
　　whateverhappens。（Acough。）Pip-myPip！Notforalways-and-
　　so-soon！（Voiceceases。）
　　Pauseoftenminutes。G。burieshisfaceinthesideofthebedwhileAYAHbendsoverbedfromoppositesideandfeelsMas。G。'sbreastandforehead。
　　CAPT。G。（Rising。）DoctorSahibkosalaamdo。
　　AYAH。（Stillbybedside，withashriek。）AilAilTuta-phuta！MyMemsahib！Notgetting-nothavegot！-Pusseenaagyal（Thesweathascome。）（FiercelytoG。）TUMjaoDoctorSahibkojaldi！（Yougotothedoctor。）Oh，myMemsahib！
　　DOCTOR。（Enteringhastily。）Comeaway，Gadsby。（Bendsoverbed。）Eb！TheDev-Whatinspiredyoutostopthepunkab？Getout，man-goaway-waitoutside！Go！Here，Ayab！（OverhisshouldertoG。）MindIpromisenothing。
　　ThedawnbreaksasG。stumblesintothegarden。
　　CAPT。M。（Rehungupatthegateonhiswaytoparadeandverysoberly。）Oldman，howgoes？
　　CAPT。G。（Dazed。）Idon'tquiteknow。Stayabit。Haveadrinkorsomething。Don'trunaway。You'rejustgettingamusing。Ha！
　　ha！
　　CAPT。M。（Aside。）WhatamIletinfor？Gaddyhasagedtenyearsinthenight。