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One Day More
By
Joseph Conrad
Contents
Captain Hagberd (a
retired coasting skipper).
Josiah Carvil
(formerly a shipbuilder--a widower--blind).
Harry Hagberd (so=
n of
Captain Hagberd, who as a boy ran away from home).
A Lamplighter.
Bessie Carvil
(daughter of Josiah Carvil).
SCENE
A small sea port.=
To rights two yel=
low
brick cottages belonging to Captain Hagberd, one inhabited by himself the o=
ther
by the Carvils. A lamp-post in front. The red roofs of the town in the
background. A sea-wall to left.
Time: The
present-early autumn, towards dusk.
ONE DAY MORE
CURTAIN RISES
DISCLOSING CARVIL and Bessie moving away from sea-wall. Bessie about
twenty-five. Black dress; black straw hat. A lot of mahogany-coloured hair
loosely done up. Pale face. Full figure. Very quiet. Carvil, blind, unwield=
y.
Reddish whiskers; slow, deep voice produced without effort. Immovable, big
face.
Carvil (Hanging
heavily on Bessie's arm). Careful! Go slow! (Stops; Bessie waits patiently.)
Want your poor blind father to break his neck? (Shuffles on.) In a hurry to=
get
home and start that everlasting yarn with your chum the lunatic?
Bessie. I am not =
in a
hurry to get home, father.
Carvil. Well, the=
n,
go steady with a poor blind man. Blind! Helpless! (Strikes the ground with =
his
stick.) Never mind! I've had time to make enough money to have ham and eggs=
for
breakfast every morning--thank God! And thank God, too, for it, girl. You
haven't known a single hardship in all the days of your idle life. Unless y=
ou
think that a blind, helpless father-------
Bessie. What is t=
here
for me to be in a hurry for?
Carvil. What did =
you
say?
Bessie. I said th=
ere
was nothing for me to hurry home for.
Carvil. There is,
tho'. To yarn with a lunatic. Anything to get away from your duty.
Bessie. Captain
Hagberd's talk never hurt you or anybody else.
Carvil. Go on. St=
ick
up for your only friend.
Bessie. Is it my
fault that I haven't another soul to speak to?
Carvil (Snarls). =
It's
mine, perhaps. Can I help being blind? You fret because you want to be gadd=
ing
about--with a helpless man left all alone at home. Your own father too.
Bessie. I haven't
been away from you half a day since mother died.
Carvil (Viciously=
).
He's a lunatic, our landlord is. That's what he is. Has been for years--lon=
g before
those damned doctors destroyed my sight for me. (Growls angrily, then sighs=
.)
Bessie. Perhaps
Captain Hagberd is not so mad as the town takes him for.
Carvil. (Grimly).
Don't everybody know how he came here from the North to wait till his missi=
ng son
turns up--here--of all places in the world. His boy that ran away to sea
sixteen years ago and never did give a sign of life since! Don't I remember
seeing people dodge round corners out of his way when he came along High
Street. Seeing him, I tell you. (Groan.) He bothered everybody so with his
silly talk of his son being sure to come back home--next year--next
spring--next month------. What is it by this time, hey?
Bessie. Why talk
about it? He bothers no one now.
Carvil. No. They'=
ve
grown too fly. You've got only to pass a remark on his sail-cloth coat to m=
ake
him shut up. All the town knows it. But he's got you to listen to his crazy
talk whenever he chooses. Don't I hear you two at it, jabber, jabber, mumbl=
e,
mumble------
Bessie. What is t=
here
so mad in keeping up hope?
Carvil (Scathing
scorn). Not mad! Starving himself to lay money by--for that son. Filling his
house with furniture he won't let anyone see--for that son. Advertising in =
the
papers every week, these sixteen years--for that son. Not mad! Boy, he calls
him. Boy Harry. His boy Harry. His lost boy Harry. Yah! Let him lose his si=
ght
to know what real trouble means. And the boy--the man, I should say--must '=
ve
been put away safe in Davy Jones's locker for many a year--drowned--food fo=
r fishes--dead....
Stands to reason, or he would have been here before, smelling around the old
fool's money. (Shakes Bessie's arm slightly.) Hey?
Bessie. I don't k=
now.
May be.
Carvil (Bursting
out). Damme if I don't think he ever had a son.
Bessie. Poor man.
Perhaps he never had.
Carvil. Ain't that
mad enough for you? But I suppose you think it sensible.
Bessie. What does=
it
matter? His talk keeps him up.
Carvil. Aye! And =
it
pleases you. Anything to get away from your poor blind father.... Jabber,
jabber--mumble, mumble--till I begin to think you must be as crazy as he is.
What do you find to talk about, you two? What's your game?
(During the scene Carvil and Bessie have crossed stage from L. to R. slowly with stoppages.)<= o:p>
Bessie. It's warm.
Will you sit out for a while?
Carvil (Viciously=
).
Yes, I will sit out. (Insistent.) But what can be your game? What are you up
to? (They pass through garden gate.) Because if it's his money you are
after-------
Bessie. Father! H=
ow
can you!
Carvil (Disregard=
ing
her). To make you independent of your poor blind father, then you are a foo=
l.
(Drops heavily on seat.) He's too much of a miser to ever make a will--even=
if
he weren't mad.
Bessie. Oh! It ne=
ver
entered my head. I swear it never did.
Carvil. Never did.
Hey! Then you are a still bigger fool.... I want to go to sleep! (Takes off'
his hat, drops it on ground, and leans his head back against the wall.)
Bessie. And I have
been a good daughter to you. Won't you say that for me?
Carvil (Very
distinctly). I want--to--go--to--sleep. I'm tired. (Closes his eyes.)
(During that scene
Captain Hagberd has been seen hesitating at the back of stage, then running
quickly to the door of his cottage. He puts inside a tin kettle (from under=
his
coat) and comes down to the railing between the two gardens stealthily).
Carvil seated.
Bessie. Captain Hagberd (white beard, sail-cloth jacket).
Bessie (Knitting).
You've been out this afternoon for quite a long time, haven't you?
Capt. Hagberd
(Eager). Yes, my dear. (Slily) Of course you saw me come back.
Bessie. Oh, yes. I
did see you. You had something under your coat.
Capt. H. (Anxious=
ly).
It was only a kettle, my dear. A tin water-kettle. I am glad I thought of it
just in time. (Winks, nods.) When a husband gets back from his work he need=
s a
lot of water for a wash. See? (Dignified.) Not that Harry'll ever need to d=
o a
hand's turn after he comes home... (Falters--casts stealthy glances on all =
sides)....
tomorrow.
Bessie (Looks up,
grave). Captain Hagberd, have you ever thought that perhaps your son will n=
ot.
. .
Capt. H.
(Paternally). I've thought of everything, my dear--of everything a reasonab=
le
young couple may need for housekeeping. Why, I can hardly turn about in my =
room
up there, the house is that full. (Rubs his hands with satisfaction.) For my
son Harry--when he comes home. One day more.
Bessie (Flatterin=
g).
Oh, you are a great one for bargains. (Captain Hagberd delighted.) But, Cap=
tain
Hagberd--if--if--you don't know what may happen--if all that home you've got
together were to be wasted--for nothing--after all. (Aside.) Oh, I can't br=
ing
it out.
Capt. H. (Agitate=
d;
flings arms up, stamps feet; stuttering). What? What d'ye mean? What's goin=
g to
happen to the things?
Bessie (Soothing).
Nothing! Nothing! Dust--or moth--you know. Damp, perhaps. You never let any=
one
into the house . . .
Capt. H. Dust! Da=
mp!
(Has a throaty, gurgling laugh.) I light the fires and dust the things myse=
lf.
(Indignant.) Let anyone into the house, indeed! What would Harry say! (Walk=
s up
and down his garden hastily with tosses, jings, and jerks of his whole body=
.)
Bessie (With
authority.) Now, then, Captain Hagberd! You know I won't put up with your
tantrums. (Shakes finger at him.)
Capt. H. (Subdued,
but still sulky, with his back to her). You want to see the things. That's =
what
you're after. Well, no, not even you. Not till Harry has had his first look=
.
Bessie. Oh, no! I
don't. (Relenting.) Not till you're willing. (Smiles at Capt. H., who has
turned half round already!) You mustn't excite yourself. (Knits.)
Capt. H.
(Condescending). And you the only sensible girl for miles and miles around.
Can't you trust me? I am a domestic man. Always was, my dear. I hated the s=
ea.
People don't know what they let their boys into when they send them to sea.=
As
soon make convicts of them at once. What sort of life is it? Most of your t=
ime
you don't know what's going on at home. (Insinuating.) There's nothing anyw=
here
on earth as good as a home, my dear. (Pause.) With a good husband...
Carvil (Heard from
his seat fragmentarily). There they go... jabber, jabber... mumble, mumble.
(With a groaning effort?) Helpless!
Capt. H. (Mutters=
).
Extravagant ham and eggs fellow. (Louder.) Of course it isn't as if he had a
son to make a home ready for. Girls are different, my dear. They don't run
away, my dear, my dear. (Agitated.)
Bessie (Drops her
arms wearily). No, Captain Hagberd--they don't.
Capt. H. (Slowly)=
. I
wouldn't let my own flesh and blood go to sea. Not I.
Bessie. And the b=
oy
ran away.
Capt. H. (A little
vacantly). Yes, my only son Harry. (Rouses himself.) Coming home to-morrow.=
Bessie (Speaks
softly). Sometimes, Captain Hagberd, a hope turns out false.
Capt. H. (Uneasy).
What's that got to do with Harry's coming back?
Bessie. It's good=
to
hope for something. But suppose now-------(Feeling her way.) Yours is not t=
he
only lost son that's never...
Capt. H. Never wh=
at!
You don't believe he's drowned. (Crouches, glaring and grasping the rails.)=
Bessie (Frightene=
d,
drops knitting). Captain Hagberd--don't. (Catches hold of his shoulders over
the railings?) Don't--my God! He's going out of his mind! (Cries.) I didn't
mean it! I don't know.
Capt. H. (Has bac=
ked
away. An affected burst of laughter). What nonsense. None of us Hagberds
belonged to the sea. All farmers for hundreds of years, (fraternal and
cunning?) Don't alarm yourself, my dear. The sea can't get us. Look at me! I
didn't get drowned. Moreover, Harry ain't a sailor at all. And if he isn't a
sailor, he's bound to come back--to-morrow.
Bessie (Has been
facing him; murmurs). No. I give it up. He scares me. (Aloud, sharply.) The=
n I
would give up that advertising in the papers.
Capt. H. (Surpris= ed and puzzled). Why, my dear? Everybody does it. His poor mother and I have b= een advertising for years and years. But she was an impatient woman. She died.<= o:p>
Bessie. If your s=
on's
coming, as--as you say--what's the good of that expense? You had better spe=
nd
that half-crown on yourself. I believe you don't eat enough.
Capt. H. (Confuse=
d).
But it's the right thing to do. Look at the Sunday papers. Missing relative=
s on
top page--all proper. (Looks unhappy.)
Bessie (Tartly). =
Ah,
well! I declare I don't know what you live on.
Capt. H. Are you
getting impatient, my dear? Don't get impatient--like my poor wife. If she'd
only been patient she'd be here. Waiting. Only one day more. (Pleadingly.)
Don't be impatient, my dear.
Bessie. I've no
patience with you sometimes.
Capt. H. (Flash of
lucidity). Why? What's the matter? (Sympathetic.) You're tired out, my dear,
that's what it is.
Bessie. Yes, I am.
Day after day. (Stands listless, arms hanging down.)
Capt. H. (Timidly=
).
House dull?
Bessie (Apathetic=
).
Yes.
Capt. H. (As befo=
re).
H'm. Wash, cook, scrub. Hey?
Bessie (As before=
).
Yes.
Capt. H. (Pointing
stealthily at the sleeping Carvil). Heavy?
Bessie. (In a dead
voice). Like a millstone.
(A silence.)
Capt. H. (Burst of
indignation). Why don't that extravagant fellow get you a servant?
Bessie. I don't k=
now.
Capt. H. (Cheeril=
y).
Wait till Harry comes home. He'll get you one.
Bessie (Almost
hysterical; laughs). Why, Captain Hagberd, perhaps your son won't even want=
to
look at me--when he comes home.
Capt. H. (In a gr=
eat
voice). What! (Quite low.) The boy wouldn't dare. (Rising choler.) Wouldn't
dare to refuse the only sensible girl for miles around. That stubborn
jackanapes refuse to marry a girl like you! (Walks about in a fury.) You tr=
ust
me, my dear, my dear, my dear. I'll make him. I'll--I'll -------- (Splutter=
s.)
Cut him off with a shilling.
Bessie. Hush!
(Severe.) You mustn't talk like that. What's this? More of your tantrums?
Capt. H. (Quite
humble). No, no--this isn't my tantrums--when I don't feel quite well in my
head. Only I can't stand this... I've grown as fond of you as if you'd been=
the
wife of my Harry already.
And to be
told-------- (Cant restrain himself; shouts.)
Jackanapes!
Bessie. Sh-------=
-!
Don't you worry! (Wearily.)
I must give that =
up
too, I suppose. (Aloud.) I didn't mean it, Captain Hagberd.
Capt. H. It's as =
if I
were to have two children to-morrow. My son Harry--and the only sensible
girl--------. Why, my dear, I couldn't get on without you. We two are
reasonable together. The rest of the people in this town are crazy. The way
they stare at you. And the grins--they're all on the grin. It makes me disl=
ike
to go out. (Bewildered.) It seems as if there was something wrong about--so=
mewhere.
My dear, is there anything wrong--you who are sensible.. .
Bessie (Soothingly
tender). No, no, Captain Hagberd. There is nothing wrong about you anywhere=
.
Carvil (Lying bac=
k).
Bessie! (Sits up.) Get my hat, Bessie.... Bessie, my hat.... Bessie.... Bes=
sie.
...
(At the first sou=
nd
Bessie picks up and puts away her knitting. She walks towards him, picks up
hat, puts it on his head).
Bessie, my... (Ha=
t on
head; shouting stops.) Bessie. (Quietly). Will you go in, now? Carvil. Help=
me
up. Steady. I'm dizzy. It's the thundery weather. An autumn thunderstorm me=
ans
a bad gale. Very fierce--and sudden. There will be shipwrecks to-night on o=
ur
coast.
(Exit Bessie and
Carvil through door of their cottage. It has fallen dusk.)
Capt. H. (Picks up
spade). Extravagant fellow! And all this town is mad--perfectly mad. I found
them out years ago. Thank God they don't come this way staring and grinning=
. I
can't bear them. I'll never go again into that High Street. (Agitated.) Nev=
er,
never, never. Won't need to after to-morrow. Never! (Flings down spade in
passion.)
(While Hagberd
speaks, the bow window of the Carvils is lit up, and Bessie is seen settlin=
g her
father in a big armchair. Pulls down blind. Enter Lamplighter. Capt. H. pic=
ks
up the spade and leans forward on it with both hands; very still, watching =
him
light the lamp.)
Lamplighter
(Jocular). There! You will be able to dig by lamplight if the fancy takes y=
ou.
(Exit Lamplighter=
to
back.)
Capt. H. (Disgust=
ed).
Ough! The people here. . . (Shudders.)
Lamplighter's Voi=
ce
(Heard loudly beyond the cottages). Yes, that's the way.
(Enter Harry from
back.)
(Capt. H. Harry.
Later Bessie).
Harry Hagberd
(thirty-one, tall, broad shoulders, shaven face, small moustache. Blue serge
suit. Coat open. Grey flannel shirt without collar and tie. No waistcoat. B=
elt
with buckle. Black, soft felt hat, wide-brimmed, worn crushed in the crown =
and
a little on one side. Good nature, recklessness, some swagger in the bearin=
g.
Assured, deliberate walk with a heavy tread. Slight roll in the gait. Walks
down. Stops, hands in pockets. Looks about. Speaks.) This must be it. Can't=
see
anything beyond. There's somebody. (Walks up to Capt. Hagberd's gate?) Can =
you
tell me... (Manner changes. Leans elbow on gate?) Why, you must be Capt.
Hagberd himself.
Capt. H. (In gard=
en,
both hands on spade, peering, startled). Yes, I am.
Harry (Slowly).
You've been advertising in the papers for your son, I believe.
Capt. H. (Off his
guard, nervous). Yes. My only boy Harry. He's coming home to-morrow. (Mumbl=
es.)
For a permanent stay.
Harry (Surprised).
The devil he is! (Change of tone?) My word! You've grown a beard like Fathe=
r Christmas
himself.
Capt. H.
(Impressively). Go your way. (Waves one hand loftily?) What's that to you. =
Go
your way. (Agitated?) Go your way.
Harry. There, the=
re.
I am not trespassing in the street--where I stand--am I? Tell you what, I f=
ancy
there's something wrong about your news. Suppose you let me come in--for a
quiet chat, you know.
Capt. H. (Horrifi=
ed).
Let you--you come in!
Harry (Persuasive=
).
Because I could give you some real information about your son.
The--very--latest--tip. If you care to hear.
Capt. H. (Explode=
s).
No! I don't care to hear. (Begins to pace to and fro, spade on shoulder.
Gesticulating with his other arm.) Here's a fellow--a grinning town fellow,=
who
says there's something wrong. (Fiercely.) I have got more information than =
you're
aware of. I have all the information I want. I have had it for years--for
years--for years--enough to last me till to-morrow! Let you come in, indeed!
What would Harry say?
(Bessie Carvil
appears at cottage door with a white wrap on her head and stands in her gar=
den
trying to see).
Bessie. What's the
matter?
Capt. H. (Beside
himself). An information fellow. (Stumbles.)
Harry (Putting out
arm to steady him, gravely). Here! Steady a bit! Seems to me somebody's been
trying to get at you. (Change of tone.) Hullo! What's this rig you've got
on?... Storm canvas coat, by George! (He gives a frig, throaty laugh.) Well!
You are a character!
Capt. H. (Daunted=
by
the allusion, looks at coat). I--I wear it for--for the time being.
Till--till--to-morrow. (Shrinks away, spade in hand, to door of his cottage=
.)
Bessie (Advancing=
).
And what may you want, sir?
Harry (Turns to
Bessie at once; easy manner). I'd like to know about this swindle that's go=
ing
to be sprung on him. I didn't mean to startle the old man. You see, on my w=
ay
here I dropped into a barber's to get a twopenny shave, and they told me th=
ere
that he was something of a character. He has been a character all his life.=
Bessie (Wondering=
).
What swindle?
Capt. H. A grinni=
ng
fellow! (Makes sudden dash indoors with the spade. Door slams. Affected
gurgling laugh within.)
(Bessie and Harry.
Later Capt. H. from window).
Harry (After a sh=
ort
silence). What on earth's upset him so? What's the meaning of all this fuss=
? He
isn't always like that, is he?
Bessie. I don't k=
now
who you are; but I may tell you that his mind has been troubled for years a=
bout
an only son who ran away from home--a long time ago. Everybody knows that h=
ere.
Harry (Thoughtful=
).
Troubled--for years! (Suddenly.) Well, I am the son.
Bessie (Steps bac=
k).
You! . .. Harry!
Harry (Amused, dry
tone). Got hold of my name, eh? Been making friends with the old man?
Bessie (Distresse=
d).
Yes... I... sometimes. . . (Rapidly!) He's our landlord.
Harry (Scornfully=
).
Owns both them rabbit hutches, does he? Just a thing he'd be proud of...
(Earnest.) And now you had better tell me all about that chap who's coming
to-morrow. Know anything of him? I reckon there's more than one in that lit=
tle
game. Come! Out with it! (Chaffing.) I don't take no... from women.
Bessie (Bewildere=
d).
Oh! It's so difficult... What had I better do?...
Harry
(Good-humoured). Make a clean breast of it.
Bessie (Wildly to
herself). Impossible! (Starts.) You don't understand. I must think--see--try
to--I, I must have time. Plenty of time.
Harry. What for?
Come. Two words. And don't be afraid for yourself. I ain't going to make it=
a
police job. But it's the other fellow that'll get upset when he least expec=
ts
it. There'll be some fun when he shows his mug here to-morrow. (Snaps finge=
rs.)
I don't care that for the old man's dollars, but right is right. You shall =
see
me put a head on that coon, whoever he is.
Bessie (Wrings ha=
nds
slightly). What had I better do? (Suddenly to Harry.) It's you--you yourself
that we--that he's waiting for. It's you who are to come to-morrow.
Harry (Slowly). O=
h!
it's me! (Perplexed.) There's something there I can't understand. I haven't
written ahead or anything. It was my chum who showed me the advertisement w=
ith
the old boy's address, this very morning--in London.
Bessie (Anxious).=
How
can I make it plain to you without... (Bites her lip, embarrassed.) Sometim=
es
he talks so strangely.
Harry (Expectant).
Does he? What about?
Bessie. Only you.=
And
he will stand no contradicting.
Harry. Stubborn. =
Eh?
The old man hasn't changed much from what I can remember. (They stand looki=
ng
at each other helplessly.)
Bessie. He's made=
up
his mind you would come back . . . to-morrow.
Harry. I can't ha=
ng
about here till morning. Got no money to get a bed. Not a cent. But why won=
't
to-day do?
Bessie. Because
you've been too long away.
Harry (With force=
).
Look here, they fairly drove me out. Poor mother nagged at me for being idl=
e,
and the old man said he would cut my soul out of my body rather than let me=
go
to sea.
Bessie (Murmurs).=
He
can bear no contradicting.
Harry (Continuing=
).
Well, it looked as tho' he would do it too. So I went. (Moody.) It seems to=
me
sometimes I was born to them by a mistake... in that other rabbit hutch of a
house.
Bessie (A little
mocking). And where do you think you ought to have been born by rights?
Harry. In the
open--upon a beach--on a windy night.
Bessie (Faintly).=
Ah!
Harry. They were
characters, both of them, by George! Shall I try the door?
Bessie. Wait. I m=
ust
explain to you why it is to-morrow.
Harry. Aye. That =
you
must, or...
(Window in H.'s
cottage runs up.)
Capt. H.'s Voice
(Above). A--grinning--information--fellow coming to worry me in my own gard=
en!
What next?
(Window rumbles
down.)
Bessie. Yes. I mu=
st.
(Lays hand on Harry's sleeve.) Let's get further off. Nobody ever comes this
way after dark.
Harry (Careless
laugh). Aye. A good road for a walk with a girl.
(They turn their
backs on audience and move up the stage slowly. Close together. Harry bends=
his
head over Bessie).
Bessie's Voice
(Beginning eagerly). People here somehow did not take kindly to him.
Harry's Voice. Ay=
e.
Aye. I understand that.
(They walk slowly
back towards the front.)
Bessie. He was al=
most
ready to starve himself for your sake.
Harry. And I had =
to
starve more than once for his whim.
Bessie. I'm afraid
you've a hard heart. (Remains thoughtful.)
Harry. What for? =
For
running away? (Indignant.) Why, he wanted to make a blamed lawyer's clerk of
me.
(From here this s=
cene
goes on mainly near and about the street lamp.)
Bessie (Rousing
herself). What are you? A sailor?
Harry. Anything y=
ou
like. (Proudly.) Sailor enough to be worth my salt on board any craft that
swims the seas.
Bessie. He will
never, never believe it. He mustn't be contradicted.
Harry. Always lik=
ed
to have his own way. And you've been encouraging him.
Bessie (Earnestly=
).
No!--not in everything--not really!
Harry (Vexed laug=
h).
What about that pretty tomorrow notion? I've a hungry chum in London--waiti=
ng
for me.
Bessie (Defending
herself). Why should I make the poor old friendless man miserable? I thought
you were far away. I thought you were dead. I didn't know but you had never
been born. I... I... (Harry turns to her. She desperately.) It was easier to
believe it myself. (Carried away.) And after all it's true. It's come to pa=
ss.
This is the to-morrow we've been waiting for.
Harry (Half
perfunctorily). Aye. Anybody can see that your heart is as soft as your voi=
ce.
Bessie (As if una=
ble
to keep back the words). I didn't think you would have noticed my voice.
Harry (Already
inattentive). H'm. Dashed scrape. This is a queer to-morrow, without any so=
rt
of today, as far as I can see. (Resolutely.) I must try the door.
Bessie. Well--try,
then.
Harry (From gate
looking over shoulder at Bessie). He ain't likely to fly out at me, is he? I
would be afraid of laying my hands on him. The chaps are always telling me I
don't know my own strength.
Bessie (In front).
He's the most harmless creature that ever. ..
Harry. You wouldn=
't
say so if you had seen him walloping me with a hard leather strap. (Walking=
up
garden.) I haven't forgotten it in sixteen long years. (Rat-tat-tat twice.)
Hullo, Dad. (Bessie intensely expectant. Rat-tat-tat.) Hullo, Dad--let me i=
n. I
am your own Harry. Straight. Your son Harry come back home--a day too soon.=
(Window above rum=
bles
up.)
Capt. H. (Seen
leaning out, aiming with spade). Aha! Bessie (Warningly). Look out, Harry!
(Spade falls.) Are you hurt? (Window rumbles down.) Harry (In the distance).
Only grazed my hat.
Bessie. Thank God!
(Intensely.) What'll he do now?
Harry (Comes forw=
ard,
slamming gate behind him). Just like old times. Nearly licked the life out =
of
me for wanting to go away, and now I come back he shies a confounded old sh=
ovel
at my head. (Fumes. Laughs a little). I wouldn't care, only poor little
Ginger--Ginger's my chum up in London--he will starve while I walk back all=
the
way from here. (Faces Bessie blankly.) I spent my last twopence on a shave.=
...
Out of respect for the old man.
Bessie. I think, =
if
you let me, I could manage to talk him round in a week, maybe.
(A muffled period=
ical
bellowing had been heard faintly for some time.)
Harry (On the ale=
rt).
What's this? Who's making this row? Hark! Bessie, Bessie. It's in your hous=
e, I
believe.
Bessie (Without
stirring, drearily). It's for me.
Harry (Discreetly,
whispering). Good voice for a ship's deck in a squall. Your husband? (Steps=
out
of lamplight.)
Bessie. No. My
father. He's blind. (Pause). I'm not married.
(Bellowings grow
louder.)
Harry. Oh, I say.
What's up? Who's murdering him?
Bessie (Calmly). I
expect he's finished his tea. (Bellowing continues regularly.)
Harry. Hadn't you
better see to it? You'll have the whole town coming out here presently. (Be=
ssie
moves off.) I say! (Bessie stops.) Couldn't you scare up some bread and but=
ter
for me from that tea? I'm hungry. Had no breakfast.
Bessie (Starts of=
f at
the word "hungry," dropping to the ground the white woollen shawl=
). I
won't be a minute. Don't go away.
Harry (Alone; pic=
ks
up shawl absently, and, looking at it spread out in his hands, pronounces
slowly). A--dam'--silly--scrape. (Pause. Throws shawl on arm. Strolls up and
down. Mutters.) No money to get back. (Louder.) Silly little Ginger'll think
I've got hold of the pieces and given an old shipmate the go by. One good
shove--(Makes motion of bursting in door with his shoulders)--would burst t=
hat
door in--I bet. (Looks about.) I wonder where the nearest bobby is! No. They
would want to bundle me neck and crop into chokey. (Shudders.) Perhaps. It =
makes
me dog sick to think of being locked up. Haven't got the nerve. Not for pri=
son.
(Leans against lamp-post.) And not a cent for my fare. I wonder if that girl
now...
Bessie (Coming
hastily forward, plate with bread and meat in hand). I didn't take time to =
get
anything else....
Harry (Begins to
eat). You're not standing treat to a beggar. My dad is a rich man--you know=
.
Bessie (Plate in
hand). You resemble your father.
Harry. I was the =
very
image of him in face from a boy--(Eats)--and that's about as far as it goes=
. He
was always one of your domestic characters. He looked sick when he had to g=
o to
sea for a fortnight's trip. (Laughs.) He was all for house and home.
Bessie. And you? =
Have
you never wished for a home? (Goes off with empty plate and puts it down
hastily on Carvil's bench--out of sight.)
Harry (Left in
front). Home! If I found myself shut up in what the old man calls a home, I
would kick it down about my ears on the third day--or else go to bed and die
before the week was out. Die in a house--ough!
Bessie (Returning;
stops and speaks from garden railing). And where is it that you would wish =
to
die?
Harry. In the bus=
h,
in the sea, on some blamed mountain-top for choice. No such luck, tho', I
suppose.
Bessie (From
distance). Would that be luck? Harry. Yes! For them that make the whole wor=
ld
their home.
Bessie (Comes for=
ward
shyly). The world's a cold home--they say.
Harry (A little
gloomy). So it is. When a man's done for.
Bessie. You see!
(Taunting). And a ship's not so very big after all.
Harry. No. But the
sea is great. And then what of the ship! You love her and leave her,
Miss--Bessie's your name--isn't it?... I like that name.
Bessie. You like =
my
name! I wonder you remembered it.... That's why, I suppose.
Harry (Slight swa=
gger
in voice). What's the odds! As long as a fellow has lived. And a voyage isn=
't a
marriage--as we sailors say.
Bessie. So you're=
not
married--(Movement of Harry)--to any ship.
Harry (Soft laugh= ). Ship! I've loved and left more of them than I can remember. I've been nearly everything you can think of but a tinker or a soldier; I've been a boundary rider; I've sheared sheep and humped my swag and harpooned a whale; I've ri= gged ships and skinned dead bullocks and prospected for gold--and turned my back= on more money than the old man would have scraped together in his whole life.<= o:p>
Bessie
(Thoughtfully). I could talk him over in a week.. . .
Harry (Negligentl=
y).
I dare say you could. (Joking.) I don't know but what I could make shift to
wait if you only promise to talk to me now and then. I've grown quite fond =
of
your voice. I like a right woman's voice.
Bessie (Averted
head). Quite fond! (Sharply.) Talk! Nonsense! Much you'd care. (Businesslik=
e.)
Of course I would have to sometimes.... (Thoughtful again.) Yes. In a
week--if--if only I knew you would try to get on with him afterwards.
Harry (Leaning
against lamp-post; growls through his teeth). More humouring. Ah! well, no!
(Hums significantly)
Oh, oh, oh, Rio,=
. . .
And f=
are
thee well My bonnie y=
oung
girl, We're
bound for Rio Grande.
Bessie (Shivering=
).
What's this?
Harry. Why! The
chorus of an up-anchor tune. Kiss and go. A deep-water ship's good-bye.... =
You
are cold. Here's that thing of yours I've picked up and forgot there on my =
arm.
Turn round a bit. So. (Wraps her up--commanding.) Hold the ends together in
front.
Bessie (Softly). A
week is not so very long.
Harry (Begins
violently). You think that I-------
(Stops with sidel=
ong
look at her.) I can't dodge about in ditches and live on air and water. Can=
I?
I haven't any money--you know.
Bessie. He's been
scraping and saving up for years. All he has is for you, and perhaps...
Harry (Interrupts=
).
Yes. If I come to sit on it like a blamed toad in a hole. Thank you.
Bessie (Angrily).
What did you come for, then?
Harry (Promptly).=
For
five quid--(Pause.)--after a jolly good spree.
Bessie (Scathingl=
y).
You and that--that--chum of yours have been drinking.
Harry (Laughs). D=
on't
fly out, Miss Bessie--dear. Ginger's not a bad little chap. Can't take care=
of
himself, tho'. Blind three days. (Serious.) Don't think I am given that way.
Nothing and nobody can get over me unless I like. I can be as steady as a r=
ock.
Bessie (Murmurs).=
Oh!
I don't think you are bad.
Harry (Approvingl=
y).
You're right there. (Impulsive.) Ask the girls all over-------(Checks himse=
lf.)
Ginger, he's long-headed, too, in his way--mind you. He sees the paper this
morning, and says he to me, 'Hallo! Look at that, Harry--loving parent--tha=
t's
five quid, sure.' So we scraped all our pockets for the fare....
Bessie (Unbelievi=
ng).
You came here for that.
Harry (Surprised).
What else would I want here? Five quid isn't much to ask for--once in sixte=
en
years. (Through his teeth with a sidelong look at B.) And now I am ready to
go--for my fare.
Bessie (Clasping =
her
hands). Whoever heard a man talk like this before! I can't believe you mean=
it?
Harry. What? That=
I
would go? You just try and see.
Bessie (Disregard=
ing
him). Don't you care for anyone? Didn't you ever want anyone in the world to
care for you?
Harry. In the wor=
ld!
(Boastful.) There's hardly a place you can go in the world where you wouldn=
't
find somebody that did care for Harry Hagberd. (Pause.) I'm not of the sort
that go about skulking under false names.
Bessie.
Somebody--that means a woman.
Harry. Well! And =
if
it did.
Bessie (Unsteadil=
y).
Oh, I see how it is. You get round them with your soft speeches, your promi=
ses,
and then...
Harry (Violently).
Never!
Bessie (Startled,
steps back). Ah--you never. . .
Harry (Calm). Nev=
er
yet told a lie to a woman.
Bessie. What lie?=
Harry. Why, the l=
ie
that comes glib to a man's tongue. None of that for me. I leave the sneaking
off to them soft-spoken chaps you're thinking of. No! If you love me you ta=
ke
me. And if you take me--why, then, the capstan-song of deep-water ships is =
sure
to settle it all some fine day.
Bessie (After a s=
hort
pause, with effort). It's like your ships, then.
Harry (Amused).
Exactly, up to now. Or else I wouldn't be here in a silly fix.
Bessie (Assumed
indifference). Perhaps it's because you've never yet met------- (Voice fail=
s.)
Harry (Negligentl=
y).
Maybe. And perhaps never shall.... What's the odds? It's the looking for a
thing.... No matter. I love them all--ships and women. The scrapes they got=
me
into, and the scrapes they got me out of--my word! I say, Miss Bessie, what=
are
you thinking of?
Bessie (Lifts her
head). That you are supposed never to tell a lie.
Harry. Never, eh?=
You
wouldn't be that hard on a chap.
Bessie (Recklessl=
y).
Never to a woman, I mean.
Harry. Well, no.
(Serious.) Never anything that matters. (Aside.) I don't seem to get any ne=
arer
to my railway fare. (Leans wearily against the lamppost with a far-off look=
. B.
looks at him.)
Bessie. Now what =
are
you thinking of?
Harry (Turns his
head; stares at B.). Well, I was thinking what a fine figure of a girl you =
are.
Bessie (Looks awa=
y a
moment). Is that true, or is it only one of them that don't matter?
Harry (Laughing a
little). No! no! That's true. Haven't you ever been told that before? The
men...
Bessie. I hardly
speak to a soul from year's end to year's end. Father's blind. He don't like
strangers, and he can't bear to think of me out of his call. Nobody comes n=
ear
us much.
Harry
(Absent-minded). Blind--ah! of course.
Bessie. For years=
and
years . . .
Harry
(Commiserating). For years and years. In one of them hutches. You are a good
daughter. (Brightening up.) A fine girl altogether. You seem the sort that
makes a good chum to a man in a fix. And there's not a man in this whole to=
wn
who found you out? I can hardly credit it, Miss Bessie. (B. shakes her head=
.)
Man I said! (Contemptuous.) A lot of tame rabbits in hutches I call them....
(Breaks off.) I say, when's the last train up to London? Can you tell me?
Bessie (Gazes at =
him
steadily). What for? You've no money.
Harry. That's just
it. (Leans back against post again.) Hard luck. (Insinuating.) But there was
never a time in all my travels that a woman of the right sort did not turn =
up
to help me out of a fix. I don't know why. It's perhaps because they know
without telling that I love them all. (Playful.) I've almost fallen in love
with you, Miss Bessie.
Bessie (Unsteady
laugh). Why! How you talk! You haven't even seen my face properly. (One step
towards H., as if compelled.)
Harry (Bending
forward gallantly). A little pale. It suits some. (Puts out his hand, catch=
es
hold of B.'s arm. Draws her to him.) Let's see.... Yes, it suits you. (It's=
a
moment before B. puts up her hands, palms out, and turns away her head.)
Bessie (Whisperin=
g).
Don't. (Struggles a little. Released, stands averted.)
Harry. No offence.
(Stands, back to audience, looking at H.'s cottage.)
Bessie (Alone in
front; faces audience; whispers). My voice--my figure--my heart--my face...=
.
(A silence. B. 's
face gradually lights up. Directly H. speaks, expression of hopeful attenti=
on.)
Harry (From
railings). The old man seems to have gone to sleep waiting for that to-morr=
ow
of his.
Bessie. Come away=
. He
sleeps very little.
Harry (Strolls do=
wn).
He has taken an everlasting jamming hitch round the whole business. (Vexed.)
Cast it loose who may. (Contemptuous exclamation.) To-morrow. Pooh! It'll be
just another mad today.
Bessie. It's the
brooding over his hope that's done it. People teased him so. It's his fondn=
ess
for you that's troubled his mind.
Harry. Aye. A
confounded shovel on the head. The old man had always a queer way of showing
his fondness for me.
Bessie. A hopeful,
troubled, expecting old man--left alone--all alone.
Harry (Lower tone=
).
Did he ever tell you what mother died of?
Bessie. Yes. (A
little bitter.) From impatience.
Harry (Makes a
gesture with his arm; speaks vaguely but with feeling). I believe you have =
been
very good to my old man....
Bessie (Tentative=
).
Wouldn't you try to be a son to him?
Harry (Angrily). =
No
contradicting; is that it? You seem to know my dad pretty well. And so do I.
He's dead nuts on having his own way--and I've been used to have my own too
long. It's the deuce of a fix.
Bessie. How could=
it
hurt you not to contradict him for a while--and perhaps in time you would g=
et
used. ..
Harry (Interrupts
sulkily). I ain't accustomed to knuckle under. There's a pair of us. Hagber=
d's
both. I ought to be thinking of my train.
Bessie (Earnestly=
).
Why? There's no need. Let us get away up the road a little.
Harry (Through his
teeth). And no money for the fare. (Looks up.) Sky's come overcast. Black, =
too.
It'll be a wild, windy night... to walk the high road on. But I and wild ni=
ghts
are old friends wherever the free wind blows.
Bessie (Entreatin=
g).
No need. No need. (Looks apprehensively at Hagberd's cottage. Takes a coupl=
e of
steps up as if to draw Harry further off. Harry follows. Both stop.)
Harry (After
waiting). What about this tomorrow whim?
Bessie. Leave tha= t to me. Of course all his fancies are not mad. They aren't. (Pause.) Most peopl= e in this town would think what he had set his mind on quite sensible. If he ever talks to you of it, don't contradict him. It would--it would be dangerous.<= o:p>
Harry (Surprised).
What would he do?
Bessie. He would-=
-I
don't know--something rash.
Harry (Startled).=
To
himself?
Bessie. No. It'd =
be
against you--I fear.
Harry (Sullen). L=
et
him.
Bessie. Never. Do=
n't
quarrel. But perhaps he won't even try to talk to you of it. (Thinking alou=
d.)
Who knows what I can do with him in a week! I can, I can, I can--I must.
Harry. Come--what=
's
this sensible notion of his that I mustn't quarrel about?
Bessie (Turns to
Harry, calm, forcible). If I make him once see that you've come back, he wi=
ll
be as sane as you or I. All his mad notions will be gone. But that other is
quite sensible. And you mustn't quarrel over it.
(Moves up to back=
of
stage. Harry follows a little behind, away from audience.)
Harry's Voice (Ca=
lm).
Let's hear what it is.
(Voices cease. Ac=
tion
visible as before. Harry steps back and walks hastily down. Bessie at his
elbow, follows with her hands clasped?)
(Loud burst of
voice.)
Harry (Raving to =
and
fro). No! Expects me--a home. Who wants his home?... What I want is hard wo=
rk,
or an all-fired racket, or more room than there is in the whole of England.
Expects me! A man like me--for his rotten money--there ain't enough money in
the world to turn me into a blamed tame rabbit in a hutch. (He stops sudden=
ly
before Bessie, arms crossed on breast. Violently.) Don't you see it?
Bessie (Terrified,
stammering faintly). Yes. Yes. Don't look at me like this. (Sudden scream.)
Don't quarrel with him. He's mad!
Harry (Headlong
utterance). Mad! Not he. He likes his own way. Tie me up by the neck here.
Here! Ha! Ha! Ha! (Louder.) And the whole world is not a bit too big for me=
to
spread my elbows in, I can tell you--what's your name--Bessie. (Rising scor=
n).
Marry! Wants me to marry and settle.... (Scathingly.) And as likely as not =
he
has looked out the girl too--dash my soul. Talked to you about it--did he? =
And
do you happen to know the Judy--may I ask?
(Window in Hagber=
d's
cottage runs up. They start and stand still.)
Capt. H. (Above,
begins slowly). A grinning information fellow from a crazy town. (Voice
changes.) Bessie, I see you. . . .
Bessie (Shrill).
Captain Hagberd! Say nothing. You don't understand. For heaven's sake don't=
.
Capt. H. Send him
away this minute, or I will tell Harry. They know nothing of Harry in this
crazy town. Harry's coming home to-morrow. Do you hear? One day more!
(Silence.)
Harry (Mutters).
Well!--he is a character.
Capt. H. (Chuckles
softly). Never you fear! The boy shall marry you. (Sudden anger.) He'll have
to. I'll make him. Or, if not--(Furious)--I'll cut him off with a shilling,=
and
leave everything to you. Jackanapes! Let him starve!
(Window rumbles
down.)
Harry (Slowly). So
it's you--the girl. It's you! Now I begin to see.... By heavens, you have a
heart as soft as your woman's voice.
Bessie (Half aver=
ted,
face in hands). You see! Don't come near me.
Harry (Makes a st=
ep
towards her). I must have another look at your pale face.
Bessie (Turns
unexpectedly and pushes him with both hands; Harry staggers back and stands
still; Bessie, fiercely). Go away.
Harry (Watching h=
er).
Directly. But women always had to get me out of my scrapes. I am a beggar n=
ow,
and you must help me out of my scrape.
Bessie (Who at the
word "beggar" had begun fumbling in the pocket of her dress, spea=
ks
wildly). Here it is. Take it. Don't look at me. Don't speak to me!
Harry (Swaggers up
under the lamp; looks at coin in his palm). Half-a-quid. . .. My fare!
Bessie (Hands
clenched). Why are you still here?
Harry. Well, you =
are
a fine figure of a girl. My word. I've a good mind to stop--for a week.
Bessie (Pain and
shame). Oh!.... What are you waiting for? If I had more money I would give =
it
all, all. I would give everything I have to make you go--to make you forget=
you
had ever heard my voice and seen my face. (Covers face with hands.)
Harry (Sombre,
watches her). No fear! I haven't forgotten a single one of you in the world.
Some've given me more than money. No matter. You can't buy me in--and you c=
an't
buy yourself out. . .
(Strides towards =
her.
Seizes her arms. Short struggle. Bessie gives way. Hair falls loose. H. kis=
ses
her forehead, cheeks, lips, then releases her. Bessie staggers against
railings.)
(Exit Harry; meas=
ured
walk without haste)
Bessie (Staring e=
yes,
hair loose, back against railings; calls out). Harry! (Gathers up her skirts
and runs a little way) Come back, Harry. (Staggers forward against lamp-pos=
t)
Harry! (Much lower) Harry! (In a whisper) Take me with you. (Begins to laug=
h,
at first faintly, then louder.)
(Window rumbles u=
p,
and Capt. H.'s chuckle mingles with Bessie's laughter, which abruptly stops=
.)
Capt. H. (Goes on
chuckling; speaks cautiously). Is he gone yet, that information fellow? Do =
you
see him anywhere, my dear?
Bessie (Low and
stammering). N-no, no! (Totters away from lamp-post) I don't see him.
Capt. H. (Anxious=
). A
grinning vagabond, my dear. Good girl. It's you who drove him away. Good gi=
rl.
(Stage gradually
darkens)
Bessie. Go in; be
quiet! You have done harm enough.
Capt. H. (Alarmed=
).
Why. Do you hear him yet, my dear?
Bessie (Sobs,
drooping against the railings). No! No! I don't. I don't hear him any more.=
Capt. H.
(Triumphant). Now we shall be all right, my dear, till our Harry comes home
to-morrow. (Affected gurgling laugh.)
Bessie (Distracte=
d).
Be quiet. Shut yourself in. You will make me mad. (Losing control of hersel=
f,
repeats with rising infection) You make me mad.
(With despair) Th=
ere
is no to-morrow! (Sinks to ground near middle railings. Low sobs)
(Stage darkens
perceptibly.)
Capt. H. (Above, =
in a
voice suddenly dismayed and shrill).
What! What do you
say, my dear? No to-morrow? (Broken, very feebly.) No--to-morrow?
(Window runs down=
)
Carvil (Heard wit=
hin,
muffled bellowing). Bessie--Bessie--Bessie-- Bessie------ (At the first call
Bessie springs up and begins to stumble blindly towards the door. A faint f=
ash
of lightnings followed by a very low rumble of thunder) You!--Bessie!
CURTAIN