The Bicyclers and Three Other Farces

by John Kendrick Bangs

Perkins. What?

Yardsley. Drop the curtain.

Perkins. Where’s the bell? I didn’t hear any bell ring.

Yardsley. Oh, never mind the bell! Let her down.

Perkins. I beg your pardon, but I positively refuse. I believe in doing things right. I’m not going to monkey. Ring that bell, and down she comes; otherwise—

Yardsley. Tut! You are very tiresome this afternoon, Thaddeus. Mrs. Perkins, we’ll go ahead without dropping the curtain. Now take your place.

[Mrs. Perkins seats herself by table, picks up a book, and begins to read.

Mrs. Perkins (after an interval, throwing book down with a sigh). Heigho! I cannot seem to concentrate my mind upon anything to-night. I wonder why it is that once a woman gives her heart into another’s keeping—[Bell rings. Perkins lets curtain drop.

Yardsley. What the deuce did you drop that curtain for, Thaddeus?

Perkins. The bell rang, didn’t it?