Bends
lower, MRS. G. slides right arm round his
neck.
Several interludes and much sobbing.
MRS. G. (In a whisper.) I didn’t mean
about the jam when I came in to tell you——
CAPT. G. Bother the jam and the equipment! (Interlude.)
MRS. G. (Still more faintly.) My finger wasn’t
scalded at all. I—I wanted
to speak to you about—about—something
else, and—I didn’t know how.
CAPT. G. Speak away, then. (Looking into her
eyes.) Eh! Wha—at? Minnie!
Here, don’t go away! You don’t mean?
MRS. G. (Hysterically, backing to portiere and
hiding her face in its folds.) The—the
Almost Inevitable Consequences! (Flits though portiere
as G. attempts to catch her, and bolts herself
in her own room.)
CAPT. G. (His arms full of portiere.)
Oh! (Sitting down heavily in chair.) I’m
a brute—a pig—a bully, and a
blackguard. My poor, poor little darling!
’Made to be amused only—?
Knowing Good and Evil.
SCENE.—The GADSBYS’ bungalow
in the Plains, in June. Punkah-coolies asleep
in veranda where CAPTAIN GADSBY is walking up
and down. DOCTOR’S trap in porch.
JUNIOR CHAPLAIN drifting generally and uneasily
through the house. Time, 3.40 A. M. Heat
94 degrees in veranda.
DOCTOR. (Coming into veranda and touching G.
on the shoulder.) You had better go in and
see her now.
CAPT. G. (The colour of good cigar-ash.)
Eh, wha-at? Oh, yes, of course. What did
you say?
DOCTOR. (Syllable by syllable.) Go—in—to—the—room—and—see—her.
She wants to speak to you. (Aside, testily.)
I shall have him on my hands next.
JUNIOR CHAPLAIN. (In half-lighted dining-room.)
Isn’t there any—?
DOCTOR. (Savagely.) Hsh, you little fool!
JUNIOR CHAPLAIN. Let me do my work. Gadsby,
stop a minute! (Edges after G.)
DOCTOR. Wait till she sends for you at least—at
least. Man alive, he’ll kill you if
you go in there! What are you bothering him for?
JUNIOR CHAPLAIN. (Coming into veranda.) I’ve
given him a stiff brandy-peg. He wants it.
You’ve forgotten him for the last ten hours
and—forgotten yourself too.
G. enters
bedroom, which is lit by one night-lamp.
Ayah on
the floor pretending to be asleep.
VOICE. (From the bed.) All down the street—such_
bonfires! Ayah, go and put them out! (Appealingly.)
How can I sleep with an installation of the C.I.E.
in my room? No—not C.I.E. Something
else. What was it?
CAPT. G. (Trying to control his voice.)
Minnie, I’m here. (Bending over bed.)
Don’t you know me, Minnie? It’s me—it’s
Phil—it’s your husband.
