CAPTGWithanuneasylaughWhatwillMacklerthinkifyouneglecthimso?
  MRSHAndithasn’tbroughtyounearerYouseemfartherawaythaneverAreyousulkingaboutsomething?Iknowyourtemper。
  CAPTGNo。
  MRSHHaveIgrownoldin’thelastfewmonths,then?Reachesforwardtobankofflowersformenu-card。
  PARTNERONLEFTAllowmeHandsmenu-cardMRSH。
  keepsherarmatfullstretchforthreeseconds。
  MRSHTopartner。Oh,thanksIdidn’tseeTurnsrightagain。
  Isanythinginmechangedatall?
  CAPTGForGoodness’ssakegoonwithyourdinner!YoumusteatsomethingTryoneofthosecutletarrangementsAside。
  AndIfanciedshehadgoodshoulders,onceuponatime!Whatanassamancanmakeofhimself!
  MRSHHelpingherselftoapaperfrill,sevenpeas,somestampedcarrotsandaspoonfulofgravy。Thatisn’tananswer。
  TellmewhetherIhavedoneanything。
  CAPTGAside。Ifitisn’tendedheretherewillbeaghastlyscenesome-
  whereelseIfonlyI’dwrittentoherandstoodtheracket-atlongrange!ToKhitmatgar。Han!SimpkindoAloud。I’lltellyoulateron。
  MRSHTellmenowItmustbesomefoolishmisunderstanding,andyouknowthattherewastobenothingofthatsortbetweenus。
  Weofallpeopleintheworld,can’tafforditIsittheVaynorman,anddon’tyouliketosayso?Onmyhonor-CAPTGIhaven’tgiventheVaynormanathought。
  MRSHButhowd’youknowthatIhaven’t?
  CAPTGAside。Here’smychanceandmaytheDevilhelpmethroughwithitAloudandmeasuredly。Believeme,IdonotcarehowoftenorhowtenderlyyouthinkoftheVaynorman。
  MRSHIwonderifyoumeanthat!Oh,whatisthegoodofsquabblingandpretendingtomisunderstandwhenyouareonlyupforsoshortatime?Pip,don’tbeastupid!
  Followsapause,duringwhichhecrosseshisleftlegoverhisrightandcontinueshisdinner。
  CAPTGInanswertothethunderstorminhereyes。Corns-myworst。
  MRSHUponmyword,youaretheveryrudestmanintheworld!I’llneverdoitagain。
  CAPTGAside。No,Idon’tthinkyouwill;butIwonderwhatyouwilldobeforeit’salloverToKhitmatgar。ThorahurSimpkindo。
  MRSHWell!Haven’tyouthegracetoapologize,badman?
  CAPTGAside。Imustn’tletitdriftbacknowTrustawomanforbeingasblindasabatwhenshewon’tsee。
  MRSHI’mwaiting;orwouldyoulikemetodictateaformofapology?
  CAPTGDesperately。Byallmeansdictate。
  MRSHLightly。VerywellRehearseyourseveralChristiannamesaftermeandgoon:“Professmysincererepentance。”
  CAPTG“Sincererepentance。”
  MRSH“Forhavingbehaved“-
  CAPTGAside。Atlast!IwishtoGoodnessshe’dlookaway。
  “Forhavingbehaved“-asIhavebehaved,anddeclarethatIamthoroughlyandheartilysickofthewholebusiness,andtakethisopportunityofmakingclearmyintentionofendingit,now,henceforward,andforeverAside。IfanyonehadtoldmeI
  shouldbesuchablackguard!-
  MRSHShakingaspoonfulofpotatochipsintoherplate。That’snotaprettyjoke。
  CAPTGNoIt’sarealityAside。Iwonderifsmashesofthiskindarealwayssoraw。
  MRSHReally,Pip,you’regettingmoreabsurdeveryday。
  CAPTGIdon’tthinkyouquiteunderstandmeShallIrepeatit?
  MRSHNo!Forpity’ssakedon’tdothatIt’stooterrible,eveninfur。
  CAPTGI’llletherthinkitoverforawhileButIoughttobehorsewhipped。
  MRSHIwanttoknowwhatyoumeantbywhatyousaidjustnow。
  CAPTGExactlywhatIsaidNoless。
  MRSHButwhathaveIdonetodeserveit?WhathaveIdone?
  CAPTGAside。Ifsheonlywouldn’tlookatmeAloudandveryslowly,hiseyesonhisplate。D’yourememberthateveninginJuly,beforetheRainsbroke,whenyousaidthattheendwouldhavetocomesoonerorlater-andyouwonderedforwhichofUSitwouldcomefirst?
  MRSHYes!IwasonlyjokingAndyousworethat,aslongastherewasbreathinyourbody,itshouldnevercomeAndI
  believedyou。
  CAPTGFingeringmenu-card。Well,ithasThat’sall。
  Alongpause,duringwhichMRSHbowsherheadandrollsthebread-twistintolittlepellets;Gstaresattheoleanders。
  MRSHThrowingbackherheadandlaughingnaturally。Theytrainuswomenwell,don’tthey,Pip?
  CAPTGBrutally,touchingshirt-stud。SofarastheexpressiongoesAside。Itisn’tinhernaturetotakethingsquietlyThere’llbeanexplosionyet。
  MRSHWithashudder。ThankyouB-butevenRedIndiansallowpeopletowrigglewhenthey’rebeingtortured,Ibelieve。
  Slipsfanfromgirdleandfansslowly:rimoffanlevelwithchin。
  PARTNERONLEFTVeryclosetonight,isn’tit?’Youfindittoomuchforyou?
  MRSHOh,no,notintheleastButtheyreallyoughttohavepunkahs,eveninyourcoolNainiTal,oughtn’tthey?Turns,droppingfanandraisingeyebrows。
  CAPTGIt’sallrightAside。Herecomesthestorm!
  MRSHHereyesonthetablecloth:fanreadyinrighthand。Itwasverycleverlymanaged,Pip,andIcongratulateyouYouswore-younevercontentedyourselfwithmerelySayingathing-yousworethat,asfaraslayinyourpower,you’dmakemywretchedlifepleasantformeAndyou’vedeniedmetheconsolationofbreakingdownIshouldhavedoneit-indeedI
  shouldAwomanwouldhardlyhavethoughtofthisrefinement,mykind,consideratefriendFan-guardasbefore。Youhaveexplainedthingssotenderlyandtruthfully,too!Youhaven’tspokenorwrittenawordofwarning,andyouhaveletmebelieveinyoutillthelastminuteYouhaven’tcondescendedtogivemeyourreasonyetNo!AwomancouldnothavemanagedithalfsowellAretheremanymenlikeyouintheworld?
  CAPTGI’msureIdon’tknowToKhitmatgar。Ohe!Simpkindo。
  MRSHYoucallyourselfamanoftheworld,don’tyou?DomenoftheworldbehavelikeDevilswhentheyawomanthehonortogettiredofher?
  CAPTGI’msureIdon’tknowDon’tspeaksoloud!
  MRSHKeepusrespectable,OLord,whateverhappensDon’tbeafraidofmycompromisingyouYou’vechosenyourgroundfartoowell,andI’vebeenproperlybroughtupLoweringfan。
  Haven’tyouanypity,Pip,exceptforyourself?
  CAPTGWouldn’titberatherimpertinentofmetosaythatI’msorryforyou?
  MRSHIthinkyouhavesaiditonceortwicebeforeYou’regrowingverycarefulofmyfeelingsMyGod,Pip,Iwasagoodwomanonce!YousaidIwasYou’vemademewhatIamWhatareyougoingtodowithme?Whatareyougoingtodowithme?
  Won’tyousaythatyouaresorry?Helpsherselftoicedasparagus。
  CAPTGIamsorryforyou,ifyouWantthepityofsuchabruteasIamI’mawf’lysorryforyou。
  MRSHRathertameforamanoftheworldDoyouthinkthatthatadmissionclearsyou?
  CAPTGWhatcanIdo?IcanonlytellyouwhatIthinkofmyself。
  Youcan’tthinkworsethanthat?
  MRSHOh,yes,Ican!Andnow,willyoutellmethereasonofallthis?Remorse?HasBayardbeensuddenlyconscience-
  stricken?
  CAPTGAngrily,hiseyesstilllowered。No!ThethinghascometoanendonmysideThat’sallMafisch!
  MRSH“That’sallMafisch!”AsthoughIwereaCaireneDragomanYouusedtomakeprettierspeechesD’yourememberwhenyousaid?-
  CAPTGForHeaven’ssakedon’tbringthatback!CallmeanythingyoulikeandI’lladmitit-
  MRSHButyoudon’tcaretoberemindedofoldlies?IfIcouldhopetohurtyouone-tenthasmuchasyouhavehurtmeto-night-No,Iwouldn’t-Icouldn’tdoit-liarthoughyouare。
  CAPTGI’vespokenthetruth。
  MRSHMydearSir,youflatteryourselfYouhaveliedoverthereasonPip,rememberthatIknowyouasyoudon’tknowyourselfYouhaveheeneverythingtome,thoughyouare-
  Fan-guard。Oh,whatacontemptibleThingitis!Andsoyouaremerelytiredofme?
  CAPTGSinceyouinsistuponmyrepeatingit-Yes。
  MasHLiethefirstIwishIknewacoarserwordLieseemssoin-effectualinyourcaseThefirehasjustdiedoutandthereisnofreshone?Thinkforaminute,Pip,ifyoucarewhetherIdespiseyoumorethanIdoSimplyMafisch,isit?
  CAPTGYesAside。IthinkIdeservethis。
  MRSHLienumbertwoBeforethenextglasschokesyou,tellmehername。
  CAPTGAside。I’llmakeherpayfordraggingMinnieintothebusiness!Aloud。Isitlikely?
  MRSHVerylikelyifyouthoughtthatitwouldflatteryourvanityYou’dcrymynameonthehouse-topstomakepeopleturnround。
  CAPTGIwishIhadTherewouldhavebeenanendtothisbusiness。
  MRSHOh,no,therewouldnot-Andsoyouweregoingtobevirtuousandblase’,wereyou?Tocometomeandsay:“I’vedonewithyouTheincidentisclo-osed。”Ioughttobeproudofhavingkeptsuchamansolong。
  CAPTGAside。Itonlyremainstoprayfortheendofthedinner。
  Aloud。YouknowwhatIthinkofmyself。
  MRSHAsit’stheonlypersoninheworldyoueverdothinkof,andasIknowyourmindthoroughly,IdoVouwanttogetitalloverand-Oh,Ican’tkeepyouback!Andyou’regoing-thinkofit,Pip-tothrowmeoverforanotherwomanAndyousworethatallotherwomenwere-Pip,myPip!Shecan’tcareforyouasIdo。
  Believeme,shecan’tIsitanyonethatIknow?
  CAPTGThankGoodnessitisn’tAside。Iexpectedacyclone,butnotanearthquake。
  MRSHShecan’t!IsthereanythingthatIwouldn’tdoforyou-orhaven’tdone?AndtothinkthatIshouldtakethistroubleoveryou,knowingwhatyouare!Doyoudespisemeforit?
  CAPTGWipinghismouthtohideasmile。Again?It’sentirelyaworkofcharityonyourpart。
  MRSHAhhh!ButIhavenorighttoresentit-Isshebetter-
  lookingthanI?Whowasitsaid?-
  CAPTGNo-notthat!
  MRSHI’llbemoremercifulthanyouwereDon’tyouknowthatallwomenarealike?
  CAPTGAside。Thenthisistheexceptionthatprovestherule。
  MRSHAllofthem!I’lltellyouanythingyoulikeIwill,uponmyword!Theyonlywanttheadmiration-fromanybody-nomatterwho-anybody!Butthereisalwaysonemanthattheycareformorethananyoneelseintheworld,andwouldsacrificealltheotherstoOh,dolisten!I’vekepttheVaynormantrottingaftermelikeapoodle,andhebelievesthatheistheonlymanIaminterestedin。
  I’lltellyouwhathesaidtome。
  CAPTGSparehimAside。Iwonderwhathisversionis。
  MRSHHe’sbeenwaitingformetolookathimallthroughdinnerShallIdoit,andyoucanseewhatanidiothelooks?
  CAPTG“Butwhatimportsthenominationofthisgentleman?”
  MRSHWatch!SendsaglancetotheVaynorman,whotriesvainlytocombineamouthfuloficepudding,asmirkofself-satisfaction,aglareofintensedevotion,andthestolidityofaBntishdiningcountenance。
  CAPTGCritically。Hedoesn’tlookprettyWhydidn’tyouwaittillthespoonwasoutofhismouth?
  MRSHToamuseyouShe’llmakeanexhibitionofyouasI’vemadeofhim;andpeoplewilllaughatyouOh,Pip,can’tyouseethat?It’sasplainasthenoondaySunYou’llbetrottedaboutandtoldlies,andmadeafoolofliketheothersjnevermadeafoolofyou,didI?
  CAPTGAside。Whatacleverlittlewomanitis!
  MRSHWell,whathaveyoutosay?
  CAPTGIfeelbetter。
  MRSHYes,Isupposeso,afterIhavecomedowntoyourlevel。
  Icouldn’thavedoneitifIhadn’tcaredforyousomuchIhavespokenthetruth。
  CAPTGItdoesn’talterthesituation。