JOY. Mother—it 's for me!
GWYN. Ask for my life, JOY—don't be afraid.
[Joy turns her face away. MRS. GWYN bends suddenly and touches
her daughter's hair; JOY shrinks from that touch.]
[Recoiling as though she had been stung.] I forgot—I 'm deserting you.
[And swiftly without looking back she goes away. Joy, left alone under the hollow tree, crouches lower, and her shoulders shake. Here DICK finds her, when he hears no longer any sound o f voices. He falls on his knees beside her.]
DICK. Oh! Joy; dear, don't cry. It's so dreadful to see you! I 'd do anything not to see you cry! Say something.
[Joy is still for a moment, then the shaking of the shoulders
begins again.]
Joy, darling! It's so awful, you 'll make yourself ill, and it is n't worth it, really. I 'd do anything to save you pain—won't you stop just for a minute?
[Joy is still again.]
Nothing in the world 's worth your crying, Joy. Give me just a little look!