Chapter I: Part 1

THE FOOL

_A PLAY IN FOUR ACTS_

THE FOOL

_A PLAY IN FOUR ACTS_

BY CHANNING POLLOCK

"_They called me in the public squares The fool that wears a crown of thorns._"

PUBLISHERS

BRENTANO'S : : : NEW YORK BRENTANO'S LTD. : : LONDON

COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY CHANNING POLLOCK

_All rights reserved_

_First printing_ _December, 1922_ _Second printing_ _January, 1923_ _Third printing_ _February, 1923_

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The cast of "THE FOOL" as originally presented by Selwyn & Company, at the TIMES SQUARE THEATRE, New York, October 23, 1922

THE FOOL

PRODUCED BY FRANK REICHER

_Scenic Production and Decorations by_ CLIFFORD B. PEMBER

THE PERSONS

(_In the order in which they speak_)

_Mrs. Henry Gilliam_ MAUDE TRUAX _"Dilly" Gilliam_ REA MARTIN _Mrs. Thornbury_ EDITH SHAYNE _Mr. Barnaby_ GEORGE WRIGHT _Mrs. Tice_ LILLIAN KEMBLE _"Jerry" Goodkind_ LOWELL SHERMAN _Rev. Everett Wadham_ ARTHUR ELLIOTT _Clare Jewett_ PAMELA GAYTHORNE _George F. Goodkind_ HENRY STEPHENSON _"Charlie" Benfield_ ROBERT CUMMINGS _Daniel Gilchrist_ JAMES KIRKWOOD _A Poor Man_ FRANK SYLVESTER _A Servant_ GEORGE LE SOIR _Max Stedtman_ GEOFFREY STEIN _Joe Hennig_ ROLLO LLOYD _Umanski_ FREDRIK VOGEDING "_Grubby_" ARTHUR ELLIOTT _Mack_ FRANK SYLVESTER _Mary Margaret_ SARA SOTHERN _Pearl Hennig_ ADRIENNE MORRISON _Miss Levinson_ WANDA LAURENCE

_And a Number of Persons of Minor Importance_

Stage, screen and amateur rights in this play are owned and controlled by the Author, who may be reached care Selwyn & Company, at the Selwyn Theatre, New York. No performances or public readings may be given without his written consent.

_THE PERSONS_

(_In the order in which they speak_)

MRS. HENRY GILLIAM. "DILLY" GILLIAM. MRS. THORNBURY. MR. BARNABY. MRS. TICE. "JERRY" GOODKIND. REV. EVERETT WADHAM. CLARE JEWETT. GEORGE F. GOODKIND. "CHARLIE" BENFIELD. DANIEL GILCHRIST. A POOR MAN. A SERVANT. MAX STEDTMAN. JOE HENNIG. UMANSKI. GRUBBY. MACK. MARY MARGARET. PEARL HENNIG. AND A NUMBER OF PERSONS OF MINOR IMPORTANCE.

_THE PLACES_

ACT I.--_The Church of the Nativity._
_Christmas Eve, 1918._

ACT II.--_The Goodkinds' Home._
_November, 1919._

ACT III.--"_Overcoat Hall._"
_October, 1920._

ACT IV.--_Gilchrist's Room--"Upstairs."_
_Christmas Eve, 1920._

_The action takes place in New York City._

THE FOOL

_ACT I._

SCENE: _The Church of the Nativity. New York._

_The set, representing only the chancel, is as deep as possible, so that, even when its foreground is brightly illuminated, the detail back of that is lost in shadows. Pierced by three fine stained glass windows, the rear wall looms above the altar, on which the candles are not lighted. In front of that is the sanctuary, and, in front of that, the communion rail, with three steps to the stage. Just right of these steps is a very tall and beautiful Christmas tree. The tree has been expensively trimmed, and has a practical connection for an electric-lighted ornament still to be placed at its top. Down R., a door to the choir room, and, down L., a door to the parish house and the street. These doors are exactly alike. Down L., two folding wooden chairs that have been brought in for temporary use. A tall stepladder L. of the tree, facing front. Down R., two wooden boxes of ornaments, that on top open and half emptied. There is a pile of tissue-wrapped and ribboned packages under the tree, and a general litter of gifts, boxes, and crumpled paper everywhere. The Church of the Nativity is fashionable and luxurious; the effect of the set must be that of a peeping into a building spacious, magnificent, and majestic._

AT RISE: _Christmas Eve, 1918. The act begins in bright day-light--about half past three in the afternoon--so that the early winter twilight may have set in before its end. The sun's rays now come through a stained-glass window above the door L., so that the R. of the stage is bathed in white, the C. in blue, and the L. in a deep straw. Two women and a girl are discovered._ MRS. HENRY GILLIAM, _bending over the box down L., is fat, forty, rich and self-satisfied. Her daughter_, DAFFODIL, _commonly called "Dilly," perched upon the ladder, is a "flapper." As regards her mind, this means that, at twenty, she is wise and witty, cynical and confident, worldly and material beyond her elders. Physically, she is pretty, and, of course, has not hesitated to help out nature wherever she has thought it advisable. Considering what has been spent on her education, she is surprisingly ignorant and discourteous, particularly to her mother, who bores her dreadfully._ LEILA THORNBURY _is a divorcee; thirty, smart, good-looking, with something feverish in her face, in her eyes, in her movements. Deliberately attractive to men, she is disliked, in proportion, by women. All three are very expensively dressed. Mrs. Thornbury has laid aside a fur coat on the cost of which twenty families might have lived a year. She is at the end of the stage, concerned with a number of dolls and other toys._

MRS. GILLIAM

[_Turning with some ornament, on a level with her eyes she observes a generous view of_ DILLY'S _nether limbs_]: Dilly, for pity's sake, pull down your skirt! [_As_ DILLY _pays no attention, she continues to_ MRS. THORNBURY] I don't know what skirts are coming to!

DILLY

They're not coming to the ground, mother. You can be sure of _that_!

MRS. GILLIAM

What _I_ can't understand is why our young women want to go around looking like chorus girls!

MRS. THORNBURY

Perhaps they've noticed the kind of men that marry chorus girls.

DILLY

Salesmanship, mother, begins with a willingness to show goods.

MRS. GILLIAM

Dilly! _Pull down your skirt!_

DILLY

I can't! That's all there is; there isn't any more!

MRS. THORNBURY

[_Holding up two dolls_]: What are we going to do with these?

MRS. GILLIAM

[_Despairingly surveying the profusion_]: Goodness knows!

MRS. THORNBURY

I've two engagements before dinner, and I've got to go home and undress for the opera.

DILLY

_I_ gave up a dance for this.

MRS. GILLIAM

A dance at this hour?

DILLY

People dance at any hour, mother.

MRS. GILLIAM

What do they do it for?

DILLY

For something to do. [_To_ MRS. THORNBURY] _We're_ young and we've got to have life and gaiety; haven't we, Mrs. Thornbury?

MRS. THORNBURY

We've got to have something. I don't know what it is, but I know we have to keep going to get it.

MRS. GILLIAM

But you all waste your time so dreadfully. I'm busy, too, but my life is given to the service of others.

DILLY

What could be sweeter?

MRS. GILLIAM

Dilly! Nobody knows better than you that I've never had a selfish thought! Mr. Gilliam----

DILLY

Of the Gilliam Groceries, Inc.

MRS. GILLIAM

_Mr. Gilliam_ says I'm far _too_ good!

MRS. THORNBURY

We agree with him, Mrs. Gilliam.

MRS. GILLIAM

Only yesterday I gave five hundred pounds of coffee and sugar to the Salvation Army!

DILLY

And today father jumped the price of sugar to thirty-two cents!

MRS. THORNBURY

Now--Dilly!

MRS. GILLIAM

[_With rising emotion_]: One gets precious little reward.... I can tell you! I sent helpful thoughts from the Bible to all Mr. Gilliam's employes! Now they're on strike, and the man that got "Be content with your wages" is leading the strikers!... Where's the Star of Bethlehem? [_To conceal her agitation, she has turned to the box._]

DILLY

It doesn't work, mother.

MRS. THORNBURY

Are those your husband's men--on the front steps?

MRS. GILLIAM

Oh, no! Those are people from the sweat shops! They're starving, I hear, and Mr. Gilliam says it serves 'em right! [_Bringing forth a small case_] What's the matter with the Star of Bethlehem?

DILLY

Oh, the usual! Whoever heard of the lights working on a Christmas Tree?

MRS. GILLIAM

[_Holding up the star_]: But this _must_ work. Mrs. Tice had it made to order--of Parisian diamonds. It cost a hundred dollars.

DILLY

[_Reaching for the gewgaw_]: All right! It's better than nothing! [_She takes it, and starts to ascend_] Hold the ladder, mother! It wiggles! [MRS. GILLIAM _obeys_.]

MRS. THORNBURY

[_She has ribboned both dolls, and sets that just finished beside its companion on the chair_]: There! [_Rises_] I'm half dead, and there _can't_ be any more presents! [_Starts up for her coat_] I'd give my left hand for a cigarette!

MRS. GILLIAM

Not here!

MRS. THORNBURY

I don't know why not. We've had almost everything else.

DILLY

Mother's so _Mid-Victorian_! And ministers are finding they've got to do _something_ to make church-going attractive. What do we get out of it now? I've heard of preachers who go in for dances and movies, and they draw crowds, too. Naturally! Who wouldn't go to church to get a squint at Douglas Fairbanks? [_She has hung the star_] I'm through!

MRS. GILLIAM

Then come down.

DILLY

Believe me, I'm glad to get off this thing! [_She descends unsteadily_] When I think I broke an engagement with the best fox-trotter in New York to do a shimmy with a ladder----

[MR. BARNABY, _package-laden, enters L. He is the sexton, and of the age, manner and appearance peculiar to sextons_] Oh, Mr. Barnaby!

MRS. THORNBURY

[_Turns and is appalled at his burden_]: What have you got?

MR. BARNABY

Some more presents.

MRS. GILLIAM

Good Lord!

MR. BARNABY

[_Deposits his bundles on the steps L.C._]: Mrs. Tice brought them. She and Mr. Jerry Goodkind. [MRS. GILLIAM _nudges_ DILLY] They're just coming in.

MRS. GILLIAM

[_Sotto voce_]: Dilly, powder your nose! [DILLY _takes her bag from the communion rail, and obeys_] Mr. Barnaby, our star won't light. Will you see if you can fix it? [MR. BARNABY'S _mind is on_ MRS. TICE. _She is much too rich to open a door. He is edging L._]

MRS. THORNBURY

And Mr. Barnaby----[_Voices off L._]

MR. BARNABY

One moment!

[_He opens the door L. Enter_ MRS. TICE _followed
by_ JERRY GOODKIND. MRS. TICE _has
just entered middle-age, and refuses to shut the door
behind her. Her wealth, which has given her an air of
great authority, has made it possible for her to look a
smartly-dressed young matron. The truth is that she is
clinging to youth in an ever-lessening hope of "keeping"
her husband. Beneath the "air of authority" is something
cowed, and worried, and unhappy. Just so, beneath the
smiling, careless surface of_ JERRY _lies iron.
He can be very ugly when he wishes, and he is always
sufficiently determined to get what he wants, though
he gets it generally by showing the urbane surface._
JERRY _would describe himself as a "kidder." He
is 35; sleek, well-groomed, and perfectly satisfied with
himself. His most engaging point is a perpetual smile._]

MRS. TICE

Hello, everybody! [_"Everybody" returns the greeting_] Who are those people on the church steps? A lot of dirty foreigners blocking the sidewalk!

MR. BARNABY

It's the grating, Mrs. Tice. The furnace room's underneath, and they're trying to keep warm.

MRS. TICE

Well, let 'em try somewhere else! [_Recollection of unpleasant contact causes her to brush her coat_] I don't mean to be unkind, but there must be missions or something!

[MR. BARNABY _removes the coat, and then climbs to
attend to the star_]

MRS. THORNBURY

We didn't hope to see _you_ here, Mr. Goodkind.

MRS. TICE

I met him in front of Tiffany's!

JERRY

The most dangerous corner in New York!

MRS. TICE

And lured him here by mentioning that Clare Jewett was helping us.

DILLY

Somebody page Mr. Gilchrist!

MRS. GILLIAM

Dilly! What a way of saying that Clare is engaged to the assistant rector!... Dilly's looking well today, isn't she, Mr. Goodkind? So young, and----

JERRY

And fresh.

DILLY

Oh, boy!

MRS. TICE

_Do_ come and see what I've got for the girls of the Bible Class!

MRS. THORNBURY

Testaments?

MRS. TICE

That's just it; I _haven't_! Bibles are so bromidic! I want to give them something they can _really use_! And it's so hard to think of presents for those girls; they've got everything! [_Opening a small parcel she has withheld from_ MR. BARNABY] Guess how I've solved the problem!

MRS. THORNBURY

I can't!

MRS. GILLIAM

I haven't an idea!

DILLY

I'm dying to know!

MRS. TICE

[_Impressively. Displaying the gift_]: Sterling silver vanity cases!

DILLY

[_Taking it_]: How ducky!

MRS. THORNBURY

Charming!

MRS. GILLIAM

An inspiration!

DILLY

[_Showing it to_ JERRY]: All complete--lip-stick, powder and some nice, red rouge.

JERRY

[_Cynically_]: To put on before you pray?

DILLY

Precisely. To put on--before we--_prey_!

MRS. THORNBURY

[_Gathering up her coat_]: Well, good people, this is where I leave you!

MRS. GILLIAM

[_With the air of one bereft_]: Oh, Mrs. Thornbury!

MRS. THORNBURY

I've done my "one kind deed" today, and I've an engagement for dinner.

JERRY

Permit me. [_Helping her._] Some coat!

MRS. THORNBURY

Yes ... thanks.... See you all tomorrow at the Christmas Service! Good-bye, everybody! And Mr. Goodkind! Miss _Jewett's_ wrapping things in the choir room! [_Everybody laughs. She exits L._]

MR. BARNABY

I'll just try those lights. [_Exits L._]

MRS. GILLIAM

She has an engagement for dinner, but you notice she didn't say with whom! I don't think they ought to allow divorced women in the church!

MRS. TICE

[_Virtuously_]: The church _won't_ marry them!

MRS. GILLIAM

_That's_ the trouble!

DILLY

[_Indicating_]: The church _will_ let 'em give stained glass windows!

MRS. GILLIAM

Where does she get all her money?

MRS. TICE

Billy settled for thirty-six thousand a year!

JERRY

[_With growing amusement_]: Think of getting thirty-six thousand a year out of munitions!... Gee, what a lot of lives that coat must have cost!

[_Everybody laughs, and, on the laugh, enter_ DR.
WADHAM. _He is_ not _the stage clergyman. On
the contrary, he is a very pleasant and plausible
person--plausible because he believes implicitly in
himself. He has passed sixty, and has a really kind heart.
But he has had no experience with life, and he has never
been uncomfortable._]

DILLY

[_Hearing the door closed, looks around. Surprised_]: Here's Dr. Wadham!

MRS. GILLIAM

Why, Doctor!

MRS. TICE

We didn't know you were back.

JERRY

_I_ didn't know you'd been away, Doctor.

DR. WADHAM

[_Shakes hands_]: Ten days; attending a Conference on the Proper Use of Eucharistic Candles. It's a subject on which I feel _rather_ strongly. [_Turns R._] It's pleasant to see you, Mrs. Tice. And Miss Daffodil.

MRS. GILLIAM

Isn't Dilly looking _wonderful_?

DR. WADHAM

_Quite_ wonderful! [_Glancing at the tree_] And what a beautiful tree! The star lights up, I suppose.

DILLY

Well, we have hopes!

DR. WADHAM

Don't let me interrupt. I've only dropped in to keep an appointment with the wardens.

MRS. GILLIAM

We're all through, except for putting these gifts under the tree. [_She busies herself with that task_] Miss Jewett will be in with hers any minute. [JERRY, _who has been contemplating an excursion to the choir room, returns from the door, and helps_ MRS. GILLIAM] The star is _real_ imitation diamonds. A gift from Mrs. Tice.

MRS. TICE

[_Joining_ DR. WADHAM _L.C._]: Speaking of gifts, Doctor----

DR. WADHAM

Yes, dear lady.

MRS. TICE

My husband wanted me to have a little talk with you about his check.

[_She pauses for encouragement, finding what she has been told to say a trifle difficult_] You know, he promised five thousand dollars to beautify the parlor of the Parish House.

DR. WADHAM

[_Foreseeing trouble_]: Oh, yes.

MRS. TICE

And since then--well, frankly, Doctor, John was very much upset about last Sunday's sermon. Mr. Gilchrist preached from the text about the rich man entering the Kingdom of Heaven.

DR. WADHAM

Always a trifle dangerous.

MRS. TICE

Yes, and last Sunday it seemed as if he were directing _all_ his remarks at John. We're in the first pew, you know, and John says he doesn't like to complain, but there's getting to be altogether too much of this--Bolshevism. John says the preachers are more than half to blame for the present social unrest. I heard the sermon, and I agree with John that some of it was positively insulting!

DR. WADHAM

Mr. Gilchrist is young.

JERRY

Mr. Gilchrist is a nut!

MRS. TICE

Do you know what he said, Doctor? He said all this--"decking the church"--was making an accomplice of God. He said we couldn't take credit to ourselves for returning a small portion of our _ill-gotten gains_!

MRS. GILLIAM

_Small portion!_ When I've just given away five hundred pounds of coffee!

MRS. TICE

He said charity wasn't giving away what you didn't want!

MRS. GILLIAM

It was _good_ coffee, too! Our second best coffee!

MRS. TICE

Of course, what John objected to was the reference to rents--to charging clerks and bookkeepers more than they could pay for "wretched little flats." John says he doesn't come here to be told how to run his business!

MRS. GILLIAM

Quite right! And I don't pay seven thousand dollars a year to hear my husband's coffee roasted!

[_They all laugh--the more because of the previous
tension._ MRS. GILLIAM, _surprised at first, sees
the point, and joins in the laughter_.]

Well, you understand what I mean!

DR. WADHAM

We understand, Mrs. Gilliam.

MRS. GILLIAM

Personally, I'm very fond of Mr. Gilchrist. His father had stock in our stores. But I _don't_ think he's a good influence. This used to be a really _exclusive_ church. Now, whenever Mr. Gilchrist preaches, there's such a crush of undesirable people in the galleries you can hardly get to your pew. We don't have that trouble with Dr. Wadham!

[CLARE JEWETT _enters R., her arms full of
parcels_. CLARE _is 28. Smartly dressed, though in
a fashion that suggests thought rather than expenditure,
and pretty, in spite of a certain hardness. The next
sentence arrests her, and she stands in the doorway; not
eavesdropping, but not interrupting._]

MRS. TICE

Mr. Gilchrist was such a promising young man!

MRS. GILLIAM

So rich, and happy!

DILLY

[_Tantalising_ JERRY]: And in love!

DR. WADHAM

He's still rich, and in love, and, I think, he's still happy.

JERRY

I've told you; he's a nut!

MRS. GILLIAM

I wonder if that's it. Don't laugh! He wasn't like this before he went overseas as chaplain. Is it possible he was _gassed_--or something?

CLARE

Here's another armful of presents.

DR. WADHAM

Oh, how do you do, Miss Jewett?

CLARE

I'm very well, thank you.

JERRY

[_Starting to her_]: Hello, Clare! This is a----

MRS. GILLIAM

[_Intercepting him C._]: Surprise! Ha! And you've been waiting for her half an hour!

CLARE

[_To_ MRS. GILLIAM]: I'm afraid we'll have to get Mr. Barnaby. There are so many packages.

DR. WADHAM

Can't I help?

CLARE

Will you, Doctor? And Mr. Hinkle's in there praying for someone to consult about the Christmas music.

DR. WADHAM

I told Mr. Hinkle the choir'd better begin by singing, "Peace, Perfect Peace, With the Loved Ones Far Away."

[DILLY _laughs and turns up L., chanting "My
Wife's Gone to the Country." Scandalized_, MRS.
GILLIAM _hushes her_.]

MRS. TICE

And, Doctor! About the Parish House ... shall I tell my husband you'll speak to Mr. Gilchrist?

DR. WADHAM

Yes, I think you may even tell him that's why we're here today. [_He exits R._]

MRS. GILLIAM

Dilly, _do_ hurry!

MRS. TICE

Can't I drive you home?

MRS. GILLIAM

Thank you so much! Good-bye, Miss Jewett. Good-bye, Mr. Goodkind. We must arrange for you to come up to dinner as soon as the holidays are over. [_He bows_] Dilly, say "good-bye" to Mr. Goodkind!

DILLY

Goodbye-ee!

[MR. BARNABY _re-enters L. The door closing
attracts_ MRS. GILLIAM]

MRS. GILLIAM

Oh, Mr. Barnaby, how about the lights?

MR. BARNABY

I think the trouble's outside.

MRS. GILLIAM

You'll be sure to fix it? [MR. BARNABY _nods_.]

MRS. TICE

And will you put us in the car? [MR. BARNABY _nods again, and goes L._] I rather dread that mob at the door. [_She follows, groping in her bag for a bill to give_ MR. BARNABY] Good-bye, Mr. Goodkind ... and Miss Jewett, and, if I don't see you tomorrow, a Merry, _Merry_ Christmas!

[_There is a chorus of repetitions of this wish, amid
which exeunt_ MRS. TICE, MRS. GILLIAM,
DILLY _and_ MR. BARNABY.]

CLARE

It's funny to find you in church.

JERRY

Why? My father's the senior warden.

CLARE

[_Laughs and takes up a parcel_]: Whatever else you inherit, Jerry, it's not likely to be religion!

JERRY

Religion doesn't trouble the old man much--except Sundays. I came here to see you.

CLARE

Why?

JERRY

You've been avoiding me.

CLARE

Nonsense! Come help me with these parcels.

JERRY

I want to talk to you.

CLARE

That's just it, Jerry. You always want to talk to me, and always to say something I don't want to hear.

JERRY

Why not?

CLARE

[_Simply, but not very surely_]: I'm in love with someone else!

JERRY

You're _what_?

CLARE

[_Looking defiantly into the mocking face quite close to hers and, this time, with conviction_]: I'm in love with someone else!

JERRY

You're in love with Clare Jewett!

CLARE

You're very rude. I'm _engaged_ to Mr. Gilchrist, and he loves me, and believes in me, and your sense of decency and fair play ...

JERRY

Inherited from my father?

CLARE

... should keep you from proposing to a woman who's going to marry ...

JERRY

You're not going to marry Mr. Gilchrist. [_He lounges against the ladder._] What's the use bluffing? We've known each other since childhood. You know I'm not going to give up anything I want because it belongs to somebody else. And I know you're not going to give up what _you_ want--comfort and luxury--for a crazy man who wears his collar hind-side before!

CLARE

Jerry!

JERRY

Now that's admitted, let's go on.

CLARE

Mr. Gilchrist isn't exactly poverty-stricken!

JERRY

No; he got quite a lot of money from his father. You like him and when you said "yes," you thought you were getting somebody you liked, and all the rest of it, too. But something's gone wrong with Gilchrist, and you know it!

CLARE

Why do you say that?

JERRY

Because, if you didn't before, you heard this afternoon. I saw you standing in the door. And I'm going to tell you a few things more!

CLARE

I don't want to listen!

JERRY

Maybe--but you will! Do you know that your young trouble-hunter has given away nearly one-tenth of his capital in three months?

CLARE

No, and I don't believe it!

JERRY

All right; ask my father! The old man has his money in trust! Gilchrist won't touch his income from Gilliam Groceries, because they're profiteering, and he's preaching such anarchy that both wardens are coming this afternoon to complain to Dr. Wadham! I don't want you to throw yourself away on a raving bug!

CLARE

And your advice is----

JERRY

Marry me. I'm a nice fellow, too--and I can give you what you really care about. You're over your ears in debt, without any chance of paying up--or cutting down. And you are, shall we say, twenty-nine in October? I know what it cost you when your father died, and you had to come down a peg. You don't want to keep on--coming down, _do_ you?

CLARE

And so--you advise me to marry you?

JERRY

Yes.

CLARE

[_Looking at him squarely and significantly_]: Knowing all I _do_ know about you?

JERRY

I don't see how _that_ concerns you.

CLARE

It proves you don't love me.

JERRY

I want you, and I'm offering marriage to get you.

CLARE

You haven't said one word of love.

JERRY

I've said: "What's the use bluffing?" I'm no movie hero--and no crazy dreamer. I'm a little shop-worn, perhaps--maybe, a little soiled--but I'm sane, and I'm solvent. You're good-looking, and smart, and a lady. You'll help my standing and I'll help your credit. For the rest--we needn't bother each other too much.... What do you say?

CLARE

I say it's--_revoltingly_--sordid!

JERRY

[_Looks at her an instant_]: All right! [_Takes out his watch, looks at that, and crosses to L._] You think it's sordid at 3.45 on Christmas Eve. Well, keep your ears and your mind open, and see how you feel in the morning. My telephone's six nine four two Rhinelander--and this is the last time I shall ask you! [_Puts his hand on the knob_].

CLARE

Wait! [_He turns back_] Whatever you believe of me, I love Mr. Gilchrist!

JERRY

Rhinelander six nine four two.

CLARE

And, what's more, I'm going to marry him!

JERRY

Rhinelander six nine four two.

CLARE

Jerry, I think you're the most detestable person I've ever known in my life!

JERRY

[_Laughing_]: Rhinelander six ... nine ... four ... two!

[_He exits L., leaving_ CLARE _humiliated and
fuming. She stands still a moment, and then starts to
exit R. At the tree, she throws down the parcels she is
still carrying, and, as she does so_, DR. WADHAM
_re-enters R._]

DR. WADHAM

Why ... Miss Jewett!

CLARE

I'm nervous!... I want to finish up and go home!

[_She exits R._ DR. WADHAM _looks after her;
then picks up the parcels_. JERRY'S _father_,
GEORGE GOODKIND, _enters L. He is about the
Doctor's age--sixty--but he has had vast experience with
life, and he enjoys comfort now because he has been very
uncomfortable._ GOODKIND _is much like any other
successful business man you might meet--and like--at
dinner. He is brisk and economical of time, but pleasant,
and, unless his interests are involved, extremely amiable.
He does what he conceives to be his duty by his family, his
community, and his God, and feels that all three should
appreciate it._]

DR. WADHAM

Ah ... Mr. Goodkind! [_Glances at his watch_] You're early!

GOODKIND

How do you do, Doctor? [_Puts down his hat_] Walked out of a meeting. I don't like letting religion interfere with business, but I wanted to get here before Benfield. It's about young Gilchrist.

DR. WADHAM

Shall we go into my study?

GOODKIND

Benfield's coming here, and I've only a few minutes. Did you know Gilchrist proposes to preach a Christmas sermon about the strike?

DR. WADHAM

What strike?

GOODKIND

This garment strike. He announced his subject from the pulpit, and Benfield's furious.

DR. WADHAM

Mr. Benfield isn't interested in clothing.

GOODKIND

No, but he's invested heavily in my West Virginia coal mines, and down there we're on the verge of the biggest walk-out in our history. You see what I mean?

DR. WADHAM

Yes.

GOODKIND

The labor problem's none of the church's business. Or any outsider's business. It's a worrisome subject, and there's no good stirring it up. That's what you want to tell Gilchrist!

DR. WADHAM

I have told him ... frequently.

GOODKIND

And what's the answer?

DR. WADHAM

He says every problem ought to be the church's business, and that, until the church becomes a power in live issues, it isn't a power in life!

GOODKIND

He won't listen to reason?

DR. WADHAM

No.

GOODKIND

Then he'll have to listen to something else. If he persists about this Christmas sermon--[BARNABY _enters L._ GOODKIND _turns. Impatiently_] What is it, Barnaby?

MR. BARNABY

There's a man out there wants to see Mr. Gilchrist.

GOODKIND

What kind of a man?

MR. BARNABY

[_Indifferently_]: A poor man. I think he's a Jew.

GOODKIND

Who ever heard of a poor Jew?

DR. WADHAM

Mr. Gilchrist isn't here.

MR. BARNABY

I told him that, but he won't go away. I wanted to ask had I better send for the police?

DR. WADHAM

Oh, I wouldn't do that!

MR. BARNABY

Why don't he go over to the Synagogue instead of hanging around a Christian Church? Mr. Gilchrist gave this fellow his overcoat. I suppose he's come back for the gloves!

DR. WADHAM

Tell him I'll speak to Mr. Gilchrist. [MR. BARNABY _shakes his head despairingly and exits_.]

GOODKIND

Well, there you are, and what I wanted to talk about privately is ... what's got into the boy? Has he gone crazy?

DR. WADHAM

I've asked myself that. I've asked myself if what he saw in France----

GOODKIND

Exactly. A lot of young fellows go off the handle and start out to reform the world, but this lad has run through twenty thousand dollars in less than three months!

DR. WADHAM

In addition to his salary?

GOODKIND

Yes. I could understand if he'd spent the money on himself, but he hasn't! He's given it away! [DR. WADHAM _shakes his head_] Gilchrist's father was my first partner, and I got the boy in here, and I feel responsible for him. As trustee, I can refuse to turn over another penny of his principal, and, as senior warden, I can demand his resignation from this church. But I want him to have every chance. Tell him if he'll get a grip on himself, and reconsider tomorrow's sermon----[_Enter_ BENFIELD _L._] Here's Benfield!

["CHARLIE" BENFIELD _is fifty, and a "rough diamond." He is self-made, and proud of it, though nothing really good--nothing of education, or refinement, or knowledge and appreciation of fine things--has gone into the making. He is arrogant, domineering, used to having his own way, and to sweeping aside obstacles. He comes in with his hat on his head, and it is a minute later, when_ DR. WADHAM'S _glance makes him aware of the fact, that he removes it._]

BENFIELD

Hello, George! Howd'y', Doctor! Am I late?

DR. WADHAM

[BENFIELD'S _very presence makes him nervous_]: We've been waiting for you. Hadn't we better retire to my study if we're going to discuss Mr. Gilchrist?

BENFIELD

We're not! We've been discussing long enough! All I got to say now is: Gilchrist leaves this church or I do!

GOODKIND

Now wait a minute!

DR. WADHAM

Isn't that a little mandatory?

BENFIELD

I don't know what it is, but it goes! I've worked hard all my life, and now this fellow gets up and tells me what I've worked for is nothing, and that I'm nothing, and all my ideas is wrong!

DR. WADHAM

He didn't say that.

BENFIELD

Oh, yes, he did--last Sunday and every Sunday! I've got two million dollars tied up in Black River mines, and I'm not paying to have the socialist papers down there print that my own minister is in favor of strikes!

GOODKIND

Wait a minute, Charlie! That's not the tone to take to Dr. Wadham! We all feel that Gilchrist has gone too far, and we're agreed----

BENFIELD

Does he preach tomorrow?

GOODKIND

We're agreed that if he insists on preaching about the strike----

BENFIELD

He goes?

GOODKIND

He goes!

BENFIELD

All right. And if he don't insist?

GOODKIND

He stays.

BENFIELD

And I go! [_He gets his hat and returns._ DANIEL GILCHRIST _enters L._] You can decide which of us is the most valu'ble to your church! Because I tell you again--and straight--this church ain't big enough for Gilchrist and me!

DANIEL

[_Smiling_]: A church that isn't big enough for two little men, Mr. Benfield, must be somewhat crowded for God!

[BENFIELD _cannot trust himself to answer. He jams
his hat upon his head, and exits L._ GILCHRIST _is
33. He was a football hero at college, and shows it. He was
a gentleman before he went to college, and he has been one
ever since, and he shows that, too. What he doesn't show
is what one expects in a "reformer"--narrowness, hardness,
something forbidding. An ascetic, beyond doubt, self-denial
has only made him trim and fit. The goodness that shines
in his face is partly good humor. He has honest eyes,
with fire in them, and there is strength and zeal back of
that--strength and zeal that will leave their mark later.
As yet, his exaltation is chiefly in his smile. His great
gift is charm--and sympathy. At this moment, he wears no
overcoat, and is glowing from the cold. Still smiling, he
looks after_ BENFIELD.]

DR. WADHAM

[_Embarrassed_]: Mr. Benfield is a little--ah--a little----

DANIEL

Yes; a little.

[GOODKIND _crosses for his hat, and observes_ DANIEL, _who
is chafing his wrists_.]

GOODKIND

Pneumonia weather, Daniel! Where's your overcoat?

DANIEL

Outside.

GOODKIND

Oh, yes. There's a man out there, too, who says he won't go 'way until he sees you. [_He joins_ DANIEL] Dan, you're an awfully decent fellow, but I still think you made a mistake going into the church. If you ever want to talk it over with me, I'd be glad to help you--any time! You know that! Good-bye, Doctor! Good-bye, Dan, and a Merry Christmas! [_He exits L._]

DR. WADHAM

Daniel, you're in trouble.

DANIEL

[_Smiling_]: Doctor, I'm used to it.

DR. WADHAM

This time it's serious. I've warned you often. I don't see how you can have been so blind.

DANIEL

I haven't been blind.

DR. WADHAM

Then you don't care for your position in this church.

DANIEL

[_With feeling_]: There's only one thing I care for more.

DR. WADHAM

And that is?

DANIEL

To be worthy of it.

DR. WADHAM

When you're as old as I am, Daniel, you'll understand that being honest doesn't necessarily mean being disagreeable.

DANIEL

Doesn't it mean--telling the truth?

DR. WADHAM

Do you know the truth, Daniel?

DANIEL

Yes; don't you? Doesn't every man--in his heart? And if we want to keep it in our hearts, and never think about it or look it in the face, shouldn't someone pry open the door and cry: "Behold"?... I didn't tell them anything they didn't know, Doctor. I don't _know_ anything they don't know. I just reminded them----

DR. WADHAM

[_Exploding on the last word_]: That we were heathen!

DANIEL

That we were Christians, and every man our brother, and that we were sitting, overdressed and overfed, in a Christian Church, while our brother froze and starved--outside--in a Christian World!

DR. WADHAM

That isn't fair! These good people have given----

DANIEL

_Given_--what cost them nothing! Frumpery and trumpery and diamond stars! That's how all of us give--what we don't need; what we don't even want!... You're a good man, Doctor, and, honestly, what would you say tomorrow if your wife told you she'd sold her rings, and given the money to the poor?

DR. WADHAM

Why, I----

DANIEL

You'd say she was crazy!

DR. WADHAM

But there's no necessity----

DANIEL

Oh, yes, there is! There'll be people lying in the parks tonight. What would Mrs. Tice say if I invited them to sleep in her pew?

DR. WADHAM

That there's no reason why she should share dirt and disease!

DANIEL

Exactly! We may _believe_ in the brotherhood of man, but we _know_ about germs! We're not sure what is truth, but there's one thing we _are_ sure of, and _mean_ to be sure of, and that's our own comfort! You know that, and I know it, and they know it--but we mustn't say it! All right; in God's name, what _are_ we to say?

DR. WADHAM

[_Who has been nervously regarding this raving as confirming the worst fears of_ MR. GOODKIND]: Precisely. And that brings us to tomorrow's sermon. I understand you intend to talk about the strike. [_Dan nods "Yes"_] And that's not a very pleasant subject for Christmas. Wouldn't it be more fitting to preach from the text, "Glory to God in the Highest"?

DANIEL

"And on earth, Peace, good will toward men"?

DR. WADHAM

[_Delighted_]: Yes! You might say, "There are many kinds of peace----"

DANIEL

But there aren't!

DR. WADHAM

There is physical peace--peace that came with the end of this cruel war!

DANIEL

There _is_ no peace! There is only fear--and hate--and vanity--and lust, and envy, and greed--of men and nations! There are only people preying on one another, and a hungry horde at the very doors of your church!... My text will be: "And Peter followed afar off."

DR. WADHAM

I don't understand.

DANIEL

[_Into his tone, hitherto indignantly human, comes something mystic--something divine_]: We all follow--afar off.

DR. WADHAM

[_Alarmed; not at the words, but at that "something divine"_]: Daniel ... my dear fellow!

DANIEL

Don't worry. I'm quite sane. Only--I've been wondering about that for a long time.

DR. WADHAM

Wondering?

DANIEL

What would happen if anybody really tried to live like Christ.

DR. WADHAM

[_Shaking his head_]: It can't be done.

DANIEL

Isn't it worth trying? Men risk their lives--every day--in experiments far less worth while. We've had centuries of "fear, and hate, and greed"--and where have they brought us? Why not try love?

DR. WADHAM

How can you make them try?

DANIEL

By showing that it would work.

DR. WADHAM

It _won't_ work, Daniel. It's a beautiful ideal, but it won't work. Times have changed, and things are different. Life isn't as simple as it was two thousand years ago. The trouble with you, Daniel, is that you're not practical.

DANIEL

I wonder.

DR. WADHAM

And the great need of the church is practical men. We mustn't take the Scriptures too literally. We must try to interpret their spirit. And, above all, we must please our congregations, or we shan't have any. And then what becomes of our influence? Better fall back on my text for tomorrow, Daniel.

DANIEL

I can't.

DR. WADHAM

At least, you must promise not to discuss the strike.

DANIEL

I can't do that, Doctor.

DR. WADHAM

Or else let me take the pulpit.

DANIEL

I won't do that! [_A pause._]

DR. WADHAM

Very well! Preach your Christmas sermon, and afterward----

DANIEL

Yes?

DR. WADHAM

I think you may find a greater field of usefulness elsewhere. [_A long pause. The men look at each other, and then_ DANIEL _turns away to conceal his emotion. He goes up for his hat, and returns._] I'm sorry, Daniel. I know you've been very happy in your work here. I know how failure hurts. But you saw it coming, and you wouldn't turn aside.

DANIEL

[_He looks up with flashing eyes_]: The man who turns away from his vision--lies! [_Shakes hands_] It's all right, Doctor. [_He crosses L._ CLARE JEWETT, _ready for the street, enters R._]

DR. WADHAM

[_Brightly_]: Well, Miss Jewett! [DANIEL _hears the name and stops. He is consoled by her very presence_] What's happened to the choir?

CLARE

Mr. Hinkle cut his finger. I've been applying first aid.

DR. WADHAM

Woman's traditional mission--to bind our wounds.

[_He turns to exit, and sees_ DANIEL. _He is struck
by the double significance of his remark, and the
timeliness of_ CLARE'S _arrival_.]

Well, I must be going! Step into my study in the morning, Daniel, and we'll have a look at your sermon! [_He exits L. From here the lights dim very slowly._]

CLARE

I hope I never see another doll! Got anything on your mind, Dan?

DANIEL

[_Quickly_]: What do you----

CLARE

I mean anything special to do?

DANIEL

Oh!--No.

CLARE

Take me home.

DANIEL

[_He beams_]: _I'm_ getting _my_ Christmas present early! [_Gets his hat._]

CLARE

Where's your coat?

DANIEL

Outside. That is--I lent it to a friend. Oh, I've got another--somewhere!

CLARE

But you can't go out without a coat. [_Looks at wrist watch_] Anyway, I told the taxi man to come back at half past four. That's the worst of not having a car. Well, we may as well sit down! [_He assists her, but his mind is afar._] What's the matter with you, Dan?

DANIEL

Nothing important.

CLARE

There will be if you insist on going around without an overcoat! [_Looking at him narrowly_] You're too generous. [_He is still afar._]

I say you're too generous! How are we going to be married if you go on giving things away?

DANIEL

[_Laughs_]: Is generosity a fault in a husband?

CLARE

That depends. Is it true you've been giving away--well--large sums of money?

DANIEL

Who told you that?

CLARE

A little bird. [_He laughs_] And that you've refused to take part of your income?

DANIEL

Little bird tell you that?

CLARE

Yes.

DANIEL

Must have been a cuckoo!

CLARE

Is it true?

DANIEL

About the money? Yes.

CLARE

Why?

DANIEL

Well, there's the strike, and a good deal of unemployment, and I've got so much. Why--_I've got you!_

CLARE

[_Rises_]: Let's not talk about it now. [_She turns L. Hesitates; looks at her wrist watch; looks off L._] Yes; let's!--You're so changed. I hardly know you. We don't seem to want the same things any more.

DANIEL

What do _you_ want, Clare?

CLARE

I want to be happy.

DANIEL

That's exactly what I want!

CLARE

How can anybody be happy without money?

DANIEL

How can anybody be happy _with_ it? Anyway, do you think people are? Happier than the people who just have enough?

CLARE

In our day and age there's nothing worse than poverty! There's nothing more degrading than having to scrimp, and save, and do without, and keep up appearances! I've tried it ... ever since my father died ... and I know! I can't do it any longer, and I won't!

DANIEL

Clare!

CLARE

[_She turns away, and comes back somewhat calmer_]: I don't want to quarrel with you, Dan. I just want you to be sensible.... I love you, but I love the good things of life, too. I like to be warm and comfortable.

DANIEL

You can be sure of that.

CLARE

But that's only the beginning. I want good clothes, and furs, and my car, and money to spend when I like. I want my own house, and my own servants, and a husband who amounts to something. I'm no different from other women of my class.

DANIEL

I hoped you were.

CLARE

A year or two ago people thought you were going to be a Bishop. Today you've made an enemy of every influential man in the church. All that may be very noble, but I'm not noble, and I don't pretend to be. I don't feel any call to sacrifice myself for others, and I don't think you have any right to ask it!

DANIEL

I do ask it, Clare.

CLARE

You mean you're going on like this?

DANIEL

I mean I can't give you expensive clothes, and servants, and a big house while all about us people are hungry.

CLARE

What do you propose to give me?

DANIEL

A chance to help.

CLARE

To help wash the dishes, I suppose, in a three-room flat in a side street!

DANIEL

And to visit the sick, and befriend the friendless.

CLARE

A charming prospect!

DANIEL

It really is, Clare. You don't know how happy we can be with work, and our modest plenty. There's so much to do--and they won't let me do it here. We've got to get _near_ the people in trouble, and we can't with a big house and all that. I don't think we shall come to a three-room flat. [_He smiles_] We'll have five or six rooms, and our books, and each other.

CLARE

I can't believe you're serious. You've always been a dreamer, but I can't believe you're going through with this fantastic nonsense!

DANIEL

I've chosen a narrow path, dear, but I hoped it might be wide enough for us both.

CLARE

It isn't. With your means and opportunities, you're offering me what any bank clerk would give his wife. I thought you loved me, but you're utterly selfish, and I think a little mad. You've a right to throw away your own life, but you've no right to throw away mine. [_She hands him his ring_] Our engagement is off. [_A pause. She starts for the door, and then hesitates, looks at her wrist watch, waits for him to call her back. When he doesn't, she returns._] Don't you think you're making a terrible mistake?

DANIEL

[_Looks up from the ring. Simply_]: No. [CLARE _turns again, this time quickly and with resolution, and exits L. The church is quite dark, except for light streaming from the open door R._ DAN _looks at the ring, and puts it in his pocket. With his back to the audience, he looks at the altar of his church. Suddenly, from R., the organ is heard, playing "Hark the Herald Angels." He crosses and closes the door. In the blackness, he hears a step._ THE POOR MAN _has come on through the open door L._] Who's there?... Are you looking for someone?

POOR MAN

Yes.

DANIEL

I'm the assistant rector ... Mr. Gilchrist.

POOR MAN

I know you, Mr. Gilchrist.

DANIEL

Oh, yes; I remember. You're the man who was cold. Can I do anything for you?

POOR MAN

I think you can.

DANIEL

Let's have it then.

POOR MAN

Perhaps I can help you, too.

DANIEL

In what way?

POOR MAN

In my way.

DANIEL

My poor man, I wish you could!

[_His despair impels him to confide in anyone_]: I was so sure of what I wanted to do, and now I begin to wonder if it can be done!

POOR MAN

It has been done.

DANIEL

But in this day--in this practical world--can any man follow the Master?

POOR MAN

Why not? Is this day different from any other? Was the world never practical before? Is this the first time of conflict between flesh and spirit? If it could be done then, why not now, and, if it was ever worth the doing, why not now?

DANIEL

But how?

POOR MAN

We have been told how.

DANIEL

"Take no thought of the morrow.... Sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor.... Love thy neighbor as thyself.... Bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you." But if a man did those things today people would think him mad!

POOR MAN

What does it matter?

DANIEL

He would lose everything!

POOR MAN

And gain everything!

DANIEL

What good can one man do?

POOR MAN

Why don't you try?

DANIEL

He tried, and they crucified Him!

POOR MAN

Did they? And if they did, what does that matter? Is a man dead whose ideal lives? Ye crucified me, but I am with ye alway, even unto the end of the world!

DANIEL

In God's name, who are you?

POOR MAN

I am a Jew!

[_As he speaks, slowly the tree and everything beneath
it is illuminated by the Star of Bethlehem. The light,
dim at first, grows stronger and stronger, its rays
revealing sanctuary and picking out the points of the
cross on the altar. But where the_ POOR MAN _stood is
nothing. There is no one there. The spirit--if spirit it
was--has disappeared. The man--if man it was--has gone._
DANIEL _gives a cry, and, as he does so, the light is
extinguished, and suddenly, to the music that has been
heard faintly through the door R. during this scene, the
full choir sings: "Hark the Herald Angels Sing." In black
darkness_

THE CURTAIN FALLS

_ACT II._

SCENE: GEORGE F. GOODKIND'S _Library. New York._

_Ten months later. The set has only two essentials--a wide,
curtained, glass door L., and an ordinary, heavy wooden
door down R. The first gives entrance to the music room,
which is indicated rather completely when the door is
open. The second, by way of a hall and a flight of stairs,
leads to the main entrance of the house. For the rest, the
library is a shallow room, very much like any other library
in the home of any other rich and well educated man. It
is a little richer and more luxurious than most, perhaps,
with--here and there--priceless things from palaces in
Venice or art collections in Rome. The obsession of
business is suggested by various utilities, transient and
otherwise--a row of law books, a small file, and a pile of
papers upon the substantial library table._

AT RISE: _It is a Saturday evening in November, 1919. The_
GOODKINDS _have been entertaining informally at dinner,
and, having finished the chief business of the occasion,
the company is now diverting itself in the music room. This
room is brilliantly illuminated; one sees the shadow of a
man leaning against the glass door._ DILLY GILLIAM, _at the
piano, is playing one of the syncopations popular at the
time. After a moment, a servant, with a card tray, enters
R., crosses and exits L. An instant later_, GOODKIND, _in
evening clothes, enters L. He has a card in his hand. The_
SERVANT _re-enters, re-crosses, and re-exits, stopping, en
route, to switch on the lights_. GOODKIND _looks at the
pile on the table, and turns the topmost paper face down_.
BENFIELD, _also in evening clothes, enters L._

BENFIELD

What the h----

GOODKIND

Shut the door.

[BENFIELD _does so. As he returns_, GOODKIND _gives him the
card_]

BENFIELD

[_Reading_]

"Labor conciliators."

[_Throws the card on the table_]

What the h----

GOODKIND

What are labor conciliators? Mostly thugs. When you've been director in a coal mining company a little longer you'll know. We've got a million dollars' worth of 'em handling this strike.

BENFIELD

Police duty?

GOODKIND

No; spies and agents provocateur. I hate the breed, but what are you going to do about it? This fellow, Max Stedtman, got into the union five or six years ago, and now he's one of the delegation they've sent up to me.... Where's Jerry?

BENFIELD

I gave him the high sign.

GOODKIND

[_Offering cigars_]:

Smoke?

BENFIELD

[_Taking one_]:

Thanks.... Why didn't you go down to West Virginia?

GOODKIND

Had to look over that power plant in Canada.

BENFIELD

Oh, yes!

GOODKIND

Anyway, what do I know about coal mining?

BENFIELD

You're president of the company.

GOODKIND

Yes, but that means digging up money--not coal. I've never set foot in West Virginia in my life; and I don't want to!

BENFIELD

Yes, but in a serious situation like this--

GOODKIND

I sent Jerry. Jerry has a dozen qualifications and no scruples. _And_ I sent Gilchrist.

BENFIELD

Who has scruples and no qualifications.

GOODKIND

Thus striking a balance. I mean that! Don't make any mistake about Gilchrist. He's a valuable man. I didn't hire him because I was sorry he got fired out of the church ... and only a little because I knew his father. I hired him because he had theories, and I wanted to try 'em out!

BENFIELD

I'll say he's got theories!

GOODKIND

Yes, and the remarkable part of it is ... sometimes they work. They worked up at that power plant. A year ago I wouldn't have taken it as a gift. Gilchrist applied a little soft soap--

BENFIELD

Soft soap or gold dust?

GOODKIND

Well, both; but, damn it, Charlie, with all the increased wages and decreased working hours, the plant's making money now for the first time!

[_Enter_ JERRY L. _He is a little sullen--the result
of brandy and resentment. He, too, is in evening
clothes, and he closes the door behind him._]

GOODKIND

There's something _in_ Gilchrist!

JERRY

Mostly bugs!

GOODKIND

All right!

JERRY

I told you what he was doing at the mines. Now he wires you, "Everything settled if you accede to rational conditions," and up comes this delegation! What are the conditions? I'll tell you now--surrender! You're crazy if you see these workmen! We've nothing to discuss! They're our mines, and we'll run 'em as we like! If this philanthropist of yours carries out instructions we've got 'em whipped!... What was the idea of the high sign?

GOODKIND

[_As_ BENFIELD _picks up the card to answer_]:

Stedtman.

JERRY

Where?

GOODKIND

On the way up.

JERRY

Of course, we're leaving our guests flat!

BENFIELD

Your wife's in there!

JERRY

Clare resents our talking business at home.

GOODKIND

Resents--and you haven't been married a year! Palaver's a wife's job! They oil the machinery while we shovel in coal! [_The_ SERVANT _re-enters R._]

SERVANT

Mr. Stedtman.

[_Enter_ MAX STEDTMAN. _He is a wiry little man,
with the face of a ferret and the furtiveness of a rat.
His nervousness does not indicate lack of self-confidence.
That quality has made Stedtman the man he is today. For the
rest, he is 40, and faintly Semitic. The_ SERVANT
_exits_.]

GOODKIND

How do, Stedtman? This is Mr. Benfield--one of our new directors.

[_They acknowledge the introduction_]

You know my son.

STEDTMAN

[_Nods_]: Saw him down to Black River.

[_They sit_--JERRY _down L._; BENFIELD _left of the table_;
GOODKIND _back of it_; STEDTMAN _R._]

GOODKIND

Well?

STEDTMAN

Well ... the committee's on its way.

GOODKIND

Who's in this delegation?

STEDTMAN

I'm chairman. We got a Pole called Umanski.

GOODKIND

[_Writes_]:

Umanski.

STEDTMAN

He's a radical. You can't do anything with him. But there's a fellow named Joe Hennig....

GOODKIND

Who'll listen to reason?

STEDTMAN

I think so.

GOODKIND

Why?

STEDTMAN

He's got a pretty wife.

BENFIELD

What the he----

GOODKIND

What has that to do with it?

STEDTMAN

Lots. Pretty wives like pretty things. Hennig's in debt, and this girl's on his neck every minute. She's a peach. You know her, Mr. Jerry!

JERRY

No.

STEDTMAN

Pearl Hennig?

JERRY

No.

STEDTMAN

Oh! I thought I saw you talking to her onct. Anyhow, Gilchrist knows her ... _well_.

BENFIELD

You mean....

STEDTMAN

I mean I wouldn't mention Gilchrist to Joe Hennig. [BENFIELD whistles.]

GOODKIND

That's rot!

STEDTMAN

Anyhow, Hennig and me are two votes, and I figure Hennig's'll cost about....

[_He looks at them narrowly._]

... fifteen thousand dollars.

[_All three show surprise._]

GOODKIND

I don't like bribery.

BENFIELD

Not when it isn't necessary.

GOODKIND

And Gilchrist wired yesterday: "Everything settled."

JERRY

On conditions.

STEDTMAN

Yeh--on _their_ conditions! Take it from me, this Gilchrist has double-crossed you!

BENFIELD

I told you!

JERRY

He's a....

STEDTMAN

[_Goes right on, without heeding the simultaneous
interruption_]:

He's been at union meetings! _He_ got 'em to send this delegation, and he tried to get 'em to turn down Hennig--our one best bet! _You take it from me_--

GOODKIND

[_Quietly_]: I won't take it from you, Stedtman. [_Looks around_] Or from anybody else. I know this man.

STEDTMAN

[_Cowed_]: Well, he's gone around talkin' compromise. Compromise ain't no way to settle a strike. Givin' 'em confidence. Why, we got a couple o' hundred representatives among the workmen tellin' 'em they got no chance. We got special police clubbin' 'em every time they try to hold a meeting. You wouldn't believe what we done down there in the way of harmony!

GOODKIND

It's all been done before.

STEDTMAN