MRS. CRILLY
I'll go out and see her myself. (As she goes out she
hands Anna a cheque) That's the last cheque I'll be able to make out.
There's your eighty pounds, Anna. (She goes into the shop)
ANNA
We can begin to get the furniture now.
She sits down at the table and makes some calculation with a pencil.
CURTAIN
ACT THIRD
The infirm ward in the Workhouse. Entrance from corridor, right. Forward, left, are three beds with bedding folded upon them. Back, left, is a door leading into Select Ward. This door is closed, and a large key is in lock. Fireplace with a grating around it, left. Back, right, is a window with little leaded panes.
It is noon on a May day, but the light inside the ward is feeble.
Two paupers are seated at fire. One of them, Mickie Cripes, is a man of fifty, stooped and hollow-chested, but with quick blue eyes. The other man, Tom Shanley, is not old, but he looks broken and listless. Myles Gorman, still in pauper dress, is standing before window, an expectant look on his face.
Thomas Muskerry enters from corridor. He wears his own clothes, but he has let them get into disorder. His hair and beard are disordered, and he seems very much broken down. Nevertheless, he looks as if his mind were composed.
MUSKERRY
It's dark in here, Michael.