Beggar. God bless you mademoiselle. [Holds out his hat for the other alms.]
[During the excitement the Beggar passes through the crowd begging and singing.]
Beggar.
The rich man in his banquet hall,
Has everything I long for.
The poor man gets the crumbs that fall,
That's what I sing this song for.
Help a poor man, sir.
American [cries out in sudden alarm.] My dog! My Molly! She has jumped into the river! [The crowd is still and listening to him.] She will drown! [Runs to the edge of the dock.] There she is—swimming. Oh, my Molly! She cost me eighty dollars. [Desperately.] A hundred dollars to the man that saves my dog. A hundred dollars.
A Man. Do you mean that?
American [deaf to everything but his anxiety]. A hundred dollars. Here, I'll put it up with the Waiter—a hundred dollars for my poor dog.
Voices in the Crowd. A hundred dollars! Five hundred francs!
[The Crowd moves, pushing and gesticulating to the water's edge. One by one they jump into the Seine with a great splashing. Only the American, the Young Man, the Cocotte and the Beggar remain.]
American. My poor Molly! She loved me like a son! Where is that pole? [Gets pole and thrusts with it in the water.]