MRS. G. (In a whisper.) I didn't mean about the jam when I came in to tell you—
CAPT'. G. Bother the jam and the equipment! (Interlude.)
MRS. G. (Still more faintly.) My finger wasn't scalded at all. I—wanted to speak to you about—about—something else, and—I didn't know how.
CAPT. G. Speak away, then. (Looking into her eyes.) Eb! Wha-at? Minnie! Here, don't go away! You don't mean?
MRS. G. (Hysterically, backing to portiere and hiding her face in its fold's.) The—the Almost Inevitable Consequences! (Flits through portiere as G. attempts to catch her, and bolts her self in her own room.)
CAPT. G. (His arms full of portiere.) Oh! (Sitting down heavily in chair.) I'm a brute—a pig—a bully, and a blackguard. My poor, poor little darling! “Made to be amused only?”—
THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW—Knowing Good and Evil.
SCENE.—The GADSBYS' bungalow in the Plains, in June. Punkah—coolies asleep in veranda where Captain GADSBY is walking up and down. DOCTOR'S trap in porch. JUNIOR CHAPLAIN drifting generally and uneasily through the house. Time, 3:40 A. M. Heat 94 degrees in veranda.
DOCTOR. (Coming into veranda and touching G. on the shoulder.) You had better go in and see her now.