ALLMERS. Oh, they can all swim, every one of them.
RITA. [Shrieks in terror.] Where is Eyolf?
ALLMERS. Keep quiet—quiet. Eyolf is down in the garden, playing.
ASTA. No, he wasn't in the garden.
RITA. [With upstretched arms.] Oh, if only it isn't he!
BORGHEIM. [Listens, and calls down.] Whose child is it, do you say?
[Indistinct voices are heard. BORGHEIM and ASTA utter a suppressed cry, and rush out through the garden.]
ALLMERS. [In an agony of dread.] It isn't Eyolf! It isn't Eyolf, Rita!
RITA. [On the verandah, listening.] Hush! Be quiet! Let me hear what they are saying!
[RITA rushes back with a piercing shriek, into the room.]