Col。Starbottle(whohasbeenregardinginterviewwithvisiblescornanddisgust,advancingtoOAKHURST)。Youwill——er——pardonmeif,underthe——er——circumstances,Iwithdrawfromthis——er——
disgracefulproceeding。Thecondonation,bythatman,oftwoofthemosttremendousoffencestosocietyandtothecode,withoutapologyorsatisfaction,Ged,sir,is——er——er——ofitselfaninsulttothespectator。Igo,sir——
Oakhurst。But,Col。Starbottle——
Starbottle。Permitmetosay,sir,thatIholdmyselfforthis,sir,responsible,sir,——personallyresponsible。
[ExitSTARBOTTLE,glancingfuriouslyatSANDY,whosinksonsofalaughing。
Oakhurst(aside)。Hewillchangehismindinhalfanhour。But,inthemeantime,timeisprecious。(Aloud。)Sandy,come!
Sandy(risingwithalacrity)。Yes,Jack,I’mready。
Oakhurst。Wearegoing(slowlyandsolemnly)——wearegoingtoseeyourfather。
Sandy(droppingbackwithbashfulembarrassment,andstrugglingtoreleasehisarmfromOAKHURST)。No,Jack!Notjustyet,Jack;inalittlewhile,oleboy!inaboutsixmonths,ormebbe——ayear,Jack!notnow,notnow!Iain’tfeelin’exactlywell,Jack,——I
ain’t。
Oakhurst。Nonsense,Sandy!Consideryourdutyandmyhonor。
Sandy(regaininghisseat)。That’sallverywell,Jack;butyesee,pard,you’veknowntheoldmanfornighonayear,andit’stwenty-fivesinceImethim。No,Jack;youdon’tplayanyolemanontometo-night,Jack。No,youandme’lljustdropoutforapasear。Jack,eh?(TakingOAKHURST’Sarm。)Come!
Oakhurst。Impossible!Hush!(Listening。)ItisHEpassingthroughthecorridor。(GoestowingR。,andlistens。)
Sandy(crowdinghastilybehindOAKHURSTinalarm)。But,Isay,Jack!hewon’tcomeinhere?He’sgoin’tobed,youknow。Eh?Itain’trightforamano’hisyears——andhemustbegoin’onninety,Jack——tobeuplikethis。Itain’thealthy。
Oakhurst。Youknowhimnot。Heseemstoneednorest(sadly)。
Nightafternight,longaftertheservantsareabed,andthehouseisstill,Ihearthatstepslowlypacingthecorridor。ItisthelastsoundasIclosemyeyes,thefirstchallengeofthemorning。
Sandy。Theol’scound——(checkinghimself)——Imean,Jack,theol’
manhassuthin’onhismind。But,Jack(ingreatalarm),hedon’twaltzinuponye,Jack?Hedon’tp’intthemfeetinyer,Jack?Yeain’tgottoputupwiththat,Jack,alongo’yerothertrials?
Oakhurst。Heoftenseeksmehere。Ah——yes——heiscomingthiswaynow。
Sandy(inludicrousterror)。Jack,pard,quickIhidemesomewhere,Jack!
Oakhurst(openingdoorR。)。Inthere,quick!Notasound,asyouvalueyourfuture![ExitSANDYhurriedlyR。
SCENE2。——Thesame。EnterdoorR。,OLDMORTON,indressing-gown,withcandle。
OldMorton。Notabedyet,Alexander?Well,well,Idon’tblameyou,mysonithasbeenforyouatrying,tryingnight。Yes,I
see:likeme,youarealittlenervousandwakeful。(Slowlytakeschair,andcomfortablycomposeshimself。)
Oakhurst(aside)。Heisinforamidnightgossip。HowshallI
disposeofSandy?
OldMorton。Yes(meditatively),——yes,youhaveoverworkedlately。
Nevermind。Inadayortwomoreyoushallhaveavacation,sir,——
avacation!
Oakhurst(aside)。Heknowsnothowtrulyhespeaks。(Aloud。)
Yes,sir,Iwasstillup。Ihaveonlyjustnowdismissedthepolicemen。
OldMorton。Ay。Iheardvoices,andsawalightinyourwindow。
Icametotellyou,Alexander,Capperhasexplainedallabout——
aboutthedecoy!More;hehastoldmeofyourcourageandyourinvaluableassistance。Foramoment,sir,——Idon’tmindtellingyounowinconfidence,——IdoubtedYOU——
Oakhurst(infeigneddeprecation)。Oh,sir!
OldMorton。Onlyforamoment。Youwillfind,Alexander,thateventhatdoubtshallhavefullapologywhentheyearofyourprobationhasexpired。Besides,sir。Iknowall。
Oakhurst(starting)。All!
OldMorton。Yes,thestoryabouttheDuchessandyourchild。Youaresurprised。Col。Starbottletoldmeall。Iforgiveyou,Alexander,forthesakeofyourboy。
Oakhurst。Myboy,sir!
OldMorton。Yes,yourboy。Andletmetellyou,sir,he’safineyoungfellow。Lookslikeyou,——looksasyoudidwhenYOUwereaboy。He’saMortontoo,everyinchofhim,there’snodenyingthat。No,sir。Youmayhavechanged;buthe——he——isthelivingimageofmylittleAlexander。Hetooktome,too,——liftedhislittlearms——and——and——(Becomesaffected,andleanshisheadinhishands。)
Oakhurst(rising)。Youarenotwell,sir。Letmeleadyoutoyourroom。
OldMorton。No!itisnothing:aglassofwater,Alexander!
Oakhurst(aside)。Heisverypale。Theagitationofthenighthasovercomehim。(GoestotableR。)Alittlespiritswillrevivehim。(Poursfromdecanteringlass,andreturnstoMORTON。)
OldMorton(afterdrinking)。Therewasspiritsinthatwater,Alexander。Fiveyearsago,Ivowedatyourmother’sgravetoabandontheuseofintoxicatingliquors。
Oakhurst。Believeme,sir,mymotherwillforgiveyou。
OldMorton。Doubtless。Ithasrevivedme。Iamgettingtobeanoldman,Aleck。(Holdsouthisglasshalf-unconsciously,andOAKHURSTreplenishesitfromdecanter。)Yes,anoldman,Aleck;
buttheboy,——ah,Iliveagaininhim。Thelittlerascal!Heaskedme,Aleck,fora"chawtobacker!"andwantedtoknowifIwasthe"ol’duffer。"Ha,ha!Hedid。Ha,ha!Come,come,don’tbedespondent。Iwaslikeyouonce,damnit,——ahem——it’sallforthebest,myboy,allforthebest。I’lltaketheyoungrascal(aside)——damnit,he’salreadytakenme——(aloud)onequalterms。
There,Aleck,whatdoyousay?
Oakhurst。Really,sir,thisforbearance,——thiskindness——(aside)I
seearayoflight。
OldMorton。Nonsense!I’lltaketheboy,Itellyou,anddowellforhim,——thelittlerascal!——asifhewerethelegalheir。But,I
say,Aleck(laughing),ha,ha!——whatabout——ha,ha!——whataboutDonaJovita,eh?andwhataboutDonJoseCastro,eh?Howwilltheladylikeaready-madefamily,eh?(PokingOAKHURSTintheribs。)
WhatwilltheDonsaytothefamilysuccession?Ha,ha!
Oakhurst(proudly)。Really,sir,Icarebutlittle。
OldMorton(aside)。Oh,ho!I’llsoundhim。(Aloud。)Lookye,Alexander,IhavegivenmywordtoyouandDonJoseCastro,andI’llkeepit。Butifyoucandoanybetter,eh——if——eh?——theschoolma’am’samightyprettygirlandabrightone,eh,Aleck?
Andit’sallinthefamily——eh?Andshethinkswellofyou;andI
willsay,foragirlbroughtupasshe’sbeen,andknowin’yourrelationswiththeDuchessandtheboy,tosayakindwordforye,Aleck,isagoodsign,——youfollowme,Aleck,——ifyouthink——why,oldDonJosemightwhistleforason-in-law,eh?
Oakhurst(interruptingindignantly)。Sir!(Aside。)Stop!
(Aloud。)Doyoumeantosay,sir,thatifIshouldconsenttothis——suggestion——that,iftheladywerewilling,YOUwouldoffernoimpediment?
OldMorton。Impediment,mydearboy!youshouldhavemyblessing。
Oakhurst。Pardonmeamoment。Youhaveinthelastyear,sir,taughtmetheimportanceofbusinessformalityinalltherelationsoflife。Followingthatidea,theconditionsofmyengagementwithJovitaCastroweredrawnupwithyourhand。Areyouwillingtomakethisrecantationasformal,thisnewcontractasbusinesslikeandvalid?
OldMorton(eagerly)。Iam。
Oakhurst。Thensithere,andwriteatmydictation。(PointingtotableL。OLDMORTONtakesseatattable。)"InviewoftheevidentpreferencesofmysonAlexanderMorton,andofcertainfamilyinterests,IherebyrevokemyconsenttohismarriagewiththeDonaJovitaCastro,andaccordhimfullpermissiontowooandwinhiscousin,MissMaryMorris,promisinghimthesameaidandassistancepreviouslyofferedinhissuitwithMissCastro。"
OldMorton(signing)。AlexanderMorton,sen。There,Aleck!Youhaveforgottenonelegalformality。Wehavenowitness。Ha,ha!
Oakhurst(significantly)。Iwillbeasufficientwitness。
OldMorton。Ha,ha!(Fillsglassfromdecanter,afterwhichOAKHURSTquietlyremovesdecanterbeyondhisreach。)Verygood!
Aleck,I’vebeenthinkingofaplan,——I’vebeenthinkingofretiringfromthebank。I’mgettingold,andmywaysarenotthepopularwaysofbusinesshere。I’vebeenthinkingofyou,youdog,——ofleavingthebanktoyou,——toyou,sir,eh——theday——thedayyoumarrytheschoolma’am——eh。I’llstayhomeandtakecareoftheboy——eh——hic!Thelittlerascal!——liftedhisarmstome——did,Aleck!byGod!(Incoherently。)Eh!
Oakhurst。Hush!(Aside。)Sandywilloverhearhim,andappear。
OldMorton(greatlyaffectedbyliquor。)Hush!eh!——ofcourse——
shoo!shoo!(TheactorwillhereendeavortoreproduceinOLD
MORTON’Sdrunkenbehavior,withoutexactlyimitatinghim,thegeneralcharacteristicsofhisson’sintoxication。)Eh!——Isay,Aleck,oldboy!whatwilltheDonsay?eh?Ha,ha,ha!AndJovita,thatfirebrand,howwillshe——hic——likeit,eh?(Laughsimmoderately。)
Oakhurst。Hush!Wewillbeoverheard!Theservants,sir!
OldMorton。Damntheservants!Don’tI——hic——paythemwages——eh?
Oakhurst。Letmeleadyoutoyourownroom。Youarenervouslyexcited。Alittlerest,sir,willdoyougood。(Takinghisarm。)
OldMorton。Noshir,noshir,’mnerrergoin’tobedanymore。
Bed’sbadhabit!——hic——drunkenhabit。Leshstayupallni,Aleck!
Youandme!Leshnev’r——go——bedanymore!Whar’swhiskey——eh?
(StaggerstothetablefordecanterasOAKHURSTseizeshim,struggleupstage,andthenOLDMORTON,instruggle,fallshelplesslyonsofa,insameattitudeasSANDYwasdiscovered。)
EnterSANDYcautiouslyfromdoorL。
Sandy(toOAKHURST)。Jack!Eh,Jack——
Oakhurst。Hush!Go!Iwillfollowyouinamoment。(PusheshimbacktodoorL。)
Sandy(catchingsightofOLDMORTON)。Hallo!What’sup?
Oakhurst。Nothing。Hewasovertakenwithasuddenfaintness。Hewillrevivepresently:go!
Sandy(hesitating)。Isay,Jack,hewasn’ttakensickalongo’me,eh,Jack?
Oakhurst。No!No!Butgo(pushinghimtowarddoor)。
Sandy。Holdon:I’mgoing。But,Jack,I’vegotakindoffaintnessyer,too。(Goestoside-table,andtakesupdecanter。)
Andthar’snothingreachesthatfaintnesslikewhiskey。(Fillsglass。)OldMorton(drunkenlyandhalf-consciouslyfromcouch)。
Whiskey——whoshed——whiskey——eh?Eh——O——gimmesome,Aleck——Aleck,myson,——myson!——myoldprodigal——OldProddy,myboy——gimme——
whiskey——(sings)——
Oh,yer’syergoodoldwhiskey,Drinkitdown!
Eh?Icom——mandyou,——passthewhiskey!
SANDY,atfirstpanic-stricken,andthenremorsefullyconscious,throwsglassdown,withgestureoffearandloathing。OAKHURST
advancestohissidehurriedly。
Oakhurst(inhurriedwhisper)。Givehimthewhiskey,quick!Itwillkeephimquiet。(IsabouttotakedecanterwhenSANDYseizesit:strugglewithOAKHURST。)
Sandy(withfeeling)。No,no,Jack,no!(Suddenlywithgreatstrengthanddetermination,breaksfromhim,andthrowsdecanterfromwindow。)No,NEVER!
OldMorton(strugglingdrunkenlytohisfeet)。Eh——whosh’dnever?
(OAKHURSTshovesSANDYinroomL。,andfollowshim,closingdoor。)
Eh,Aleck?(Groping。)Eh,where’shlight?Allgone。(Lapsesonsofaagain,afteranineffectualstruggletogetup,andthenresumeshisoldattitude。)
(Changescenequickly。)
SCENE3。——Ante-roominMR。MORTON’Svilla。Frontscene。EnterDON
JOSECASTROandCONCHO,precededbySERVANT,L。
Servant。Thisway,gentlemen。
DonJose。CarrythiscardtoAlexanderMorton,sen。
Servant。Begpardon,sir,butthere’sonlyonenamehere,sir(lookingatCONCHO)。
DonJose(proudly)。Thatismyservant,sir。[ExitSERVANT。
DonJose(aside)。Idon’thalflikethisbusiness。Butmymoneylockedupinhisbank,andmydaughter’shandboundtohisson,demandit。(Aloud。)Thisisnochild’splay,Concho,youunderstand。
Concho。Ah!Iamwise。Believeme,ifIhavenotproofswhichshallblanchthecheekofthisoldman,Iamafool,DonJose!
Re-enterSERVANT。
Servant。Mr。Morton,sen。,passedabadnight,andhasleftwordnottobedisturbedthismorning。ButMr。Morton,jun。,willattendyou,sir。
Concho(aside)。Sotheimpostorwillfaceitout。Well,lethimcome。
DonJose(toSERVANT)Iwaithispleasure。[ExitSERVANT。
DonJose。Youhear,Concho?Youshallfacethisman。Ishallrepeattohimallyouhavetoldme。Ifyoufailtomakegoodyourcharge,onyourheadreststheconsequences。
Concho。Hewillofcoursedeny。Heisadesperateman:hewillperhapsattackme。Eh!Ah!(Drawingrevolver。)
DonJose。Putupyourfoolishweapon。Thesightofthefatherhehasdeceivedwillbemoreterribletohimthanthepistolofthespy。
EnterCOL。STARBOTTLE,C。
Starbottle。Mr。AlexanderMorton,Jun。,willbewithyouinamoment。(Takesattitudebydoor,putshishandinhisbreast,andinflateshimself。)
Concho(toDONJOSE,aside)。Itisthebullyinglawyer。Theywilltrytooutfaceus,mypatron;butweshalltriumph。(Aloud。)Hecomes,eh!——Mr。AlexanderMorton,gentlemen!Iwillshowyouacheat,animpostor!
Enter,incorrect,precisemorningdress,SANDYMORTON。Thereisinhismake-upandmannerasuggestionofthefather。
Concho(recoiling,aside)。Diego!Therealson。(Aloud,furiously。)Itisatricktodefeatjustice,——eh!——amiserabletrick!Butitshallfail,itshallfail!
Col。Starbottle。Permitme,amoment,——asinglemoment。(ToConcho。)Youhave——er——er——characterizedmyintroductionofthis——
er——gentlemanasa"cheat"andan"imposture。"AreyoupreparedtodenythatthisisAlexanderMorton?
DonJose(astonished,aside)。TheseAmericanosareoftheDevil!
(Aloudandsternly。)Answerhim,Concho,Icommandyou。
Concho(inhalf-insanerage)。ItisAlexanderMorton;butitisatrick,——acowardlytrick!Whereistheotherimpostor,thisMr。
JohnOakhurst?
Sandy(advancingwithdignityandsomethingofhisfather’scoldmanner)。Hewillanswerforhimself,whencalledfor。(ToDON
JOSE。)Youhaveaskedforme,sir:mayIinquireyourbusiness?
Concho。Eh!Itisatrick,——atrick!
DonJose(toCONCHO)。Silence,sir!(ToSANDY,withdignity。)I
knownotthemeaningofthismasquerade。IonlyknowthatyouareNOTthegentlemanhithertoknowntomeasthesonofAlexanderMorton。Iamhere,sir,todemandmyrightsasamanofpropertyandafather。IhavereceivedthismorningacheckfromthehouseofMorton&Son,fortheamountofmydepositwiththem。Sofar——
inviewofthiscomplication——itiswell。Whoknows?Bueno!ButthesignatureofMorton&SontothecheckisnotinthehandwritingIhaveknown。Lookatit,sir。(ToSANDY,handingcheck。)
Sandy(examiningcheck)。Itismyhandwriting,sir,andwassignedthismorning。Hasitbeenrefused?
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