Ain't I goin' to be allowed to see my child even?
MRS. JOHN
Jump into the water an' get it there! Then you'll have it! I ain't keepin' you back. God knows!
PAULINE
All right! You c'n slap me, you c'n beat me, you c'n throw things at my head if you wants to. Before I don' know where my child is an' before I ain't seen it with my own eyes, nothin' an' nobody ain't goin' to get me away from this place.
MRS. JOHN
[Interrupting her.] Pauline, I put it out to nurse!
PAULINE
That's a lie! Don't I hear it smackin' its lips right behind that there partition. [The child behind the partition begins to cry. PAULINE hastens toward it. She exclaims with pathetic tearfulness, obviously forcing the note of motherhood a little.] Don' you cry, my poor, poor little boy! Little mother's comin' to you now!
[MRS. JOHN, almost beside herself, has sprung in front of the door, thus blocking PAULINE'S way.