Second Office Girl. Oh! Oh! (She bursts into tears.)
Suburban. Too bad! He was a clever fellow. He saved my little boy’s life last summer.
Loafer. He took a t’orn out av me eye onct and divil a cint did he charrge for ’t.
Priest. Pater Noster in Cœlo—gone without absolution, poor soul! An attractive heretic—merciful to the poor of my parish.
Dr. Gazell. He drove too fast a horse. And he drove the horse too fast. I always told him so. But I am greatly agitated by this!
Dr. Carver (reading aloud). Now “The Universe” had it already in type: “Dr. Thorne was dragged for some distance before the horse broke free. He was found near the buggy, which was a wreck. The robe was over him, and his face was hidden. Life was extinct when he was discovered, which was not for an unaccountably long time. His watch had stopped at five minutes past seven o’clock. He was not immediately identified. By some unpardonable blunder the body of the distinguished and favorite physician was taken to the morgue.”
Dr. Gazell. That accounts for it.
Dr. Carver (reads on). “It was not until nearly midnight that the mistake was discovered. A message was dispatched to the elegant residence of the popular doctor. Mrs. Thorne is a young and beautiful woman, on whom, with their only child, an infant son, this blow falls with uncommon cruelty.”
Dr. Thorne (utters a long, heartrending moan. But no person hears the sound. He stretches out his hands. The crowd shrinks from but does not see him. Staring at the bulletin, he stands apart. He raises his clenched right hand in the air; speaks). It is a dastardly lie! It is one of those cursed canards manufactured to harass men—and—break the hearts of women. God!—She has seen it by this time. Let me pass! Let me go to her! You may kill her with this, but you can’t kill me. Gentlemen, make way for me! I am Dr. Thorne!
(The crowd pays no attention to this outcry.)