HANN. And a damned scoundrel.
PURT. Quite so, if he were not Richard Hanningford, he must have been. But then if he were Richard Hanningford—
HANN. Why then, I am the damned scoundrel.
PURT. Well—I wasn’t going to say that—but one of you must be the right Hanningford—and the other the wrong one—and if we made a mistake three months ago we don’t want to make another now.
ALLEN. (r.) You see it ain’t so much the money I care about. There was a time that I thought it would be a grand thing to be rich, but now I’ve tried it, danged if I see so much fun in it as I thought there wur. (Rises.) It ain’t only that: it’s the girl I love—if I lose the money, I loses her. I can’t expect her to have me wi’out it. She’s a lady—I’m only a country bumpkin and I know it. With this money I can win her and make her life happy—even if she doesn’t much care for me. If I were sure you were Dick Hanningford, I’d gie it up. But I ain’t sure and I’m going to fight—that’s plain. (Turns and crosses r. Sits R.c.)
HANN. (Coes to Allen r.c.) Plain and sensible, and I don’t like you any the less for it; but I am Dick Hanningford, and the money’s mine, and I’m going to have a good fight to get it. (Coes l. puts foot on chair.)
PURT. (After a pause.) You say this man who tried to—and, as he thought, did—murder you—had been a friend of yours.
HANN. (Fiercely—takes foot off chair.) He’d been my chum for over two years—the cur—and knew everything about me—I saved his life when the gang were going to hang him—he shared my diggings when we were in the mining lay, and he had half my blanket every night when we were with the cattle. And I trusted him—the skunk.
PURT. What was his name?
HANN. Cassidy—Dan Cassidy. (Sits again.)