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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