[The DUTCH YOUTH laughs. The ENGLISH unconsciously emerge from their newspapers.]
AMERICAN. My! That would appear to be quite a domestic incident.
[The ENGLISHMAN suddenly utters a profound "Ha, Ha!" and disappears behind his paper. And that paper and the one opposite are seen to shake, and little sguirls and squeaks emerge.]
GERMAN. And you haf got her bundle, and her baby. Ha! [He cackles drily.]
AMERICAN. [Gravely] I smile. I guess Providence has played it pretty low down on you. It's sure acted real mean.
[The BABY wails, and the LITTLE MAN jigs it with a sort of gentle desperation, looking apologetically from face to face. His wistful glance renews the fore of merriment wherever it alights. The AMERICAN alone preserves a gravity which seems incapable of being broken.]
AMERICAN. Maybe you'd better get off right smart and restore that baby. There's nothing can act madder than a mother.
LITTLE MAN. Poor thing, yes! What she must be suffering!
[A gale of laughter shakes the carriage. The ENGLISH for a moment drop their papers, the better to indulge. The LITTLE MAN smiles a wintry smile.]
AMERICAN. [In a lull] How did it eventuate?