CURT. Never mind!
ALICE. I must speak! Have pity on me! When you came to dinner, we had gone away, and you had to leave again.
CURT. You had received an invitation yourselves—what is that to speak of!
ALICE. Curt, when to-day, a little while ago, I asked you to stay for supper, I thought we had something left in the pantry. [Hiding her face in her hands] And there is not a thing, not even a piece of bread——
CURT.Weeping] Alice—poor Alice!
ALICE. But when he comes home and wants something to eat, and there is nothing—then he gets angry. You have never seen him angry! O, God, what humiliation!
CURT. Will you not let me go out and arrange for something?
ALICE. There is nothing to be had on this island.
CURT. Not for my sake, but for his and yours—let me think up something—something. We must make the whole thing seem laughable when he comes. I'll propose that we have a drink, and in the meantime I'll think of something. Put him in good humour; play for him, any old nonsense. Sit down at the piano and make yourself ready——
ALICE. Look at my hands—are they fit to play with? I have to wipe glasses and polish brass, sweep floors, and make fires——
CURT. But you have two servants?
ALICE. So we have to pretend because he is an officer—but the servants are leaving us all the time, so that often we have none at all—most of the time, in fact. How am I to get out of this—this about supper? Oh, if only fire would break out in this house!
CURT. Don't, Alice, don't!
ALICE. If the sea would rise and take us away!
CURT. No, no, no, I cannot listen to you!
ALICE. What will he say, what will he say—Don't go, Curt, don't go away from me!
CURT. No, dear Alice—I shall not go.
ALICE. Yes, but when you are gone——
CURT. Has he ever laid hands on you?
ALICE. On me? Oh, no, for he knew that then I should have left him. One has to preserve some pride.
From without is heard: "Who goes there?—Friend."
From without is heard: "Who goes there?—Friend."
CURT. [Rising] Is he coming?
ALICE. [Frightened] Yes, that's he. [Pause.
CURT. What in the world are we to do?
ALICE. I don't know, I don't know!
CAPTAIN. [Enters from the background,cheerful] There! Leisure now! Well, has she had time to make her complaints? Is she not unhappy—hey?
CURT. How's the weather outside?—
CAPTAIN. Half storm—[Facetiously; opening one of the doors ajar] Sir Bluebeard with the maiden in the tower; and outside stands the sentry with drawn sabre to guard the pretty maiden—and then come the brothers, but the sentry is there. Look at him. Hip—hip! That's a fine sentry. Look at him.Malbrough s'en va-t-en guerre! Let us dance the sword dance! Curt ought to see it!
CURT. No, let us have "The Entry of the Boyars" instead!
CAPTAIN. Oh, you know that one, do you?—Alice in the kitchen apron, come and play. Come, I tell you!
[ALICEgoes reluctantly to the piano.
[ALICEgoes reluctantly to the piano.
CAPTAIN. [Pinching her arm] Now you have been black-guarding me!
ALICE. I?
CURTturns away from them.ALICEplays"The Entry of the Boyars."TheCAPTAINperforms some kind of Hungarian dance step behind the writing-table so that his spurs are set jingling. Then he sinks down on the floor without being noticed byCURTandALICE,and the latter goes on playing the piece to the end.
CURTturns away from them.
ALICEplays"The Entry of the Boyars."
TheCAPTAINperforms some kind of Hungarian dance step behind the writing-table so that his spurs are set jingling. Then he sinks down on the floor without being noticed byCURTandALICE,and the latter goes on playing the piece to the end.
ALICE. [Without turning around] Shall we have it again? [Silence. Turns around and becomes aware of theCAPTAIN,who is lying unconscious on the floor in such a way that he is hidden from the public by the writing-table] Lord Jesus!
She stands still, with arms crossed over her breast, and gives vent to a sigh as of gratitude and relief.
She stands still, with arms crossed over her breast, and gives vent to a sigh as of gratitude and relief.
CURT. [Turns around; hurries over to theCAPTAIN] What is it? What is it?
ALICE. [In a high state of tension] Is he dead?
CURT. I don't know. Come and help me.
ALICE. [Remains still] I cannot touch him—is he dead?
CURT. No—he lives.
ALICEsighs.CURThelps theCAPTAINto his feet and places him in a chair.
ALICEsighs.
CURThelps theCAPTAINto his feet and places him in a chair.
CAPTAIN. What was it? [Silence] What was it?
CURT. You fell down.
CAPTAIN. Did anything happen?
CURT. You fell on the floor. What is the matter with you?
CAPTAIN. With me? Nothing at all. I don't know of anything. What are you staring at me for?
CURT. You are ill.
CAPTAIN. What nonsense is that? You go on playing, Alice—Oh, now it's back again!
[Puts both hands up to his head.
[Puts both hands up to his head.
ALICE. Can't you see that you are ill?
CAPTAIN. Don't shriek! It is only a fainting spell.
CURT. We must call a doctor—I'll use your telephone——
CAPTAIN. I don't want any doctor.
CURT. You must! We have to call him for our own sake—otherwise we shall be held responsible——
CAPTAIN. I'll show him the door if he comes here. I'll shoot him. Oh, now it's there again!
[Takes hold of his head.
[Takes hold of his head.
CURT. [Goes toward the door on the right] Now I am going to telephone! [Goes out.
[ALICEtakes off her apron.
[ALICEtakes off her apron.
CAPTAIN. Will you give me a glass of water?
ALICE. I suppose I have to! [Gives him a glass of water.
CAPTAIN. How amiable!
ALICE. Are you ill?
CAPTAIN. Please pardon me for not being well.
ALICE. Will you take care of yourself then?
CAPTAIN.Youwon't do it, I suppose?
ALICE. No, of that you may be sure!
CAPTAIN. The hour is come for which you have been waiting so long.
ALICE. The hour you believed would never come.
CAPTAIN. Don't be angry with me!
CURT. [Enters from the right] Oh, it's too bad——
ALICE. What did he say?
CURT. He rang off without a word.
ALICE. [To theCaptain] There is the result of your limitless arrogance!
CAPTAIN. I think I am growing worse—Try to get a doctor from the city.
ALICE. [Goes to the telegraph instrument] We shall have to use the telegraph then.
CAPTAIN. [Rising half-way from the chair; startled] Do you—know—how to use it?
ALICE. [Working the key] Yes, I do.
CAPTAIN. So-o! Well, go on then—But isn't she treacherous! [ToCURT] Come over here and sit by me. [CURTsits down beside theCAPTAIN] Take my hand. I sit here and fall—can you make it out? Down something—such a queer feeling.
CURT. Have you had any attack like this before?
CAPTAIN. Never——
CURT. While you are waiting for an answer from the city, I'll go over to the doctor and have a talk with him. Has he attended you before?
CAPTAIN. He has.
CURT. Then he knows your case. [Goestoward the left.
ALICE. There will be an answer shortly. It is very kind of you, Curt. But come back soon.
CURT. As soon as I can. [Goes out.
CAPTAIN. Curtiskind! And how he has changed.
ALICE. Yes, and for the better. It is too bad, however, that he must be dragged into our misery just now.
CAPTAIN. But good for us—I wonder just how he stands. Did you notice that he wouldn't speak of his own affairs?
ALICE. I did notice it, but then I don't think anybody asked him.
CAPTAIN. Think, what a life! And ours! I wonder if it is the same for all people?
ALICE. Perhaps, although they don't speak of it as we do.
CAPTAIN. At times I have thought that misery draws misery, and that those who are happy shun the unhappy. That is the reason why we see nothing but misery.
ALICE. Have you known anybody who was happy?
CAPTAIN. Let me see! No—Yes—the Ekmarks.
ALICE. You don't mean it! She had to have an operation last year——
CAPTAIN. That's right. Well, then I don't know—yes, the Von Kraffts.
ALICE. Yes, the whole family lived an idyllic life, well off, respected by everybody, nice children, good marriages—right along until they were fifty. Then that cousin of theirs committed a crime that led to a prison term and all sorts of after-effects. And that was the end of their peace. The family name was dragged in the mud by all the newspapers. The Krafft murder case made it impossible for the family to appear anywhere, after having been so much thought of. The children had to be taken out of school. Oh, heavens!
CAPTAIN. I wonder what my trouble is?
ALICE. What do you think?
CAPTAIN. Heart or head. It is as if the soul wanted to fly off and turn into smoke.
ALICE. Have you any appetite?
CAPTAIN. Yes, how about the supper?
ALICE. [Crosses the stage, disturbed] I'll ask Jenny.
CAPTAIN. Why, she's gone!
ALICE. Yes, yes, yes!
CAPTAIN. Ring for Christine so that I can get some fresh water.
ALICE. [Rings] I wonder—[Rings again] She doesn't hear.
CAPTAIN. Go and look—just think, if she should have left also!
ALICE. [Goes over to the door on the left and opens it] What is this? Her trunk is in the hallway—packed.
CAPTAIN. Then she has gone.
ALICE. This is hell!
Begins to cry, falls on her knees, and puts her head on a chair, sobbing.
Begins to cry, falls on her knees, and puts her head on a chair, sobbing.
CAPTAIN. And everything at once! And then Curt had to turn up just in time to get a look into this mess of ours! If there be any further humiliation in store, let it come this moment!
ALICE. Do you know what I suspect? Curt went away and will not come back.
CAPTAIN. I believe it of him.
ALICE. Yes, we are cursed——
CAPTAIN. What are you talking of?
ALICE. Don't you see how everybody shuns us?
CAPTAIN. I don't mind! [The telegraph receiver clicks] There is the answer. Hush, I can hear it—Nobody can spare the time. Evasions! The rabble!
ALICE. That's what you get because you have despised your physicians—and failed to pay them.
CAPTAIN. That is not so!
ALICE. Even when you could, you didn't care to pay their bills because you looked down upon their work, just as you have looked down upon mine and everybody else's. They don't want to come. And the telephone is cut off because you didn't think that good for anything either. Nothing is good for anything but your rifles and guns!
CAPTAIN. Don't stand there and talk nonsense——
ALICE. Everything comes back.
CAPTAIN. What sort of superstition is that? Talk for old women!
ALICE. You will see! Do you know that we owe Christine six months' wages?
CAPTAIN. Well, she has stolen that much.
ALICE. But I have also had to borrow money from her.
CAPTAIN. I think you capable of it.
ALICE. What an ingrate you are! You know I borrowed that money for the children to get into the city.
CAPTAIN. Curt had a fine way of coming back! A rascal, that one, too! And a coward! He didn't dare to say he had had enough, and that he found the doctor's party more pleasant—He's the same rapscallion as ever!
CURT. [Enters quickly from the left] Well, my dear Edgar, this is how the matter stands—the doctor knows everything about your heart——
CAPTAIN. My heart?
CURT. You have long been suffering from calcification of the heart——
CAPTAIN. Stone heart?
CURT. And——
CAPTAIN. Is it serious?
CURT. Well, that is to say——
CAPTAIN. It is serious.
CURT. Yes.
CAPTAIN. Fatal?
CURT. You must be very careful. First of all: the cigar must go. [TheCAPTAINthrows away his cigar] And next: no more whiskey! Then, to bed!
CAPTAIN. [Scared] No, I don't wantthat! Not to bed! That's the end! Then you never get up again. I shall sleep on the couch to-night. What more did he say?
CURT. He was very nice about it and will come at once if you call him.
CAPTAIN. Was he nice, the hypocrite? I don't want to see him! I can at least eat?
CURT. Not to-night. And during the next few days nothing but milk.
CAPTAIN. Milk! I cannot take that stuff into my mouth.
CURT. Better learn how!
CAPTAIN. I am too old to learn. [Puts his hand up to his head] Oh, there it is again now!
[He sits perfectly still, staring straight ahead.
[He sits perfectly still, staring straight ahead.
ALICE. [ToCURT] What did the doctor tell you?
CURT. That hemaydie.
ALICE. Thank God!
CURT. Take care, Alice, take care! And now, go and get a pillow and a blanket and I'll put him here on the couch. Then I'll sit on the chair here all night.
ALICE. And I?
CURT. You go to bed. Your presence seems only to make him worse.
ALICE. Command! I shall obey, for you seem to mean well toward both of us. [Goes out to the left.
CURT. Mark you—toward both of you! And I shall not mix in any partisan squabbles.
CURTtakes the water bottle and goes out to the right. The noise of the wind outside is clearly heard. Then one of the doors is blown open and an old woman of shabby, unprepossessing appearance peeps into the room.
CURTtakes the water bottle and goes out to the right. The noise of the wind outside is clearly heard. Then one of the doors is blown open and an old woman of shabby, unprepossessing appearance peeps into the room.
CAPTAIN. [Wakes up, rises, and looks around] So, they have left me, the rascals! [Catches sight of the old woman and is frightened by her] Who is it? What do you want?
OLD WOMAN. I just wanted to close the door, sir.
CAPTAIN. Why should you? Why should you?
OLD WOMAN. Because it blew open just as I passed by.
CAPTAIN. Wanted to steal, did you?
OLD WOMAN. Not much here to take away, Christine said.
CAPTAIN. Christine?
OLD WOMAN. Good night, sir, and sleep well!
[Closes the door and disappears.ALICEcomes in from the left with pillows and a blanket.
[Closes the door and disappears.
ALICEcomes in from the left with pillows and a blanket.
CAPTAIN. Who was that at the door? Anybody?
ALICE. Why, it was old Mary from the poorhouse who just went by.
CAPTAIN. Are you sure?
ALICE. Are you afraid?
CAPTAIN. I, afraid? Oh, no!
ALICE. As you don't want to go to bed, you can lie here.
CAPTAIN. [Goes over to the couch and lies down] I'll lie here.
[Tries to takeALICE's hand, but she pulls it away.CURTcomes in with the water bottle.
[Tries to takeALICE's hand, but she pulls it away.CURTcomes in with the water bottle.
CAPTAIN. Curt, don't go away from me!
CURT. I am going to stay up with you all night. Alice is going to bed.
CAPTAIN. Good night then, Alice.
ALICE. [ToCURT] Good night, Curt.
CURT. Good night.
[ALICEgoes out.
[ALICEgoes out.
CURT. [Takes a chair and sits down beside the couch] Don't you want to take off your boots?
CAPTAIN. No, a warrior should always be armed.
CURT. Are you expecting a battle then?
CAPTAIN. Perhaps! [Rising up in bed] Curt, you are the only human being to whom I ever disclosed anything of myself. Listen to me!—If I die to-night—look after my children!
CURT. I will do so.
CAPTAIN. Thank you—I trust in you!
CURT. Can you explain why you trust me?
CAPTAIN. We have not been friends, for friendship is something I don't believe in, and our families were born enemies and have always been at war——
CURT. And yet you trust me?
CAPTAIN. Yes, and I don't know why. [Silence] Do you think I am going to die?
CURT. You as well as everybody. There will be no exception made in your case.
CAPTAIN. Are you bitter?
CURT. Yes—are you afraid of death? Of the wheelbarrow and the garden bed?
CAPTAIN. Think, if it were not the end!
CURT. That's what a great many think!
CAPTAIN. And then?
CURT. Nothing but surprises, I suppose.
CAPTAIN. But nothing at all is known with certainty?
CURT. No, that's just it! That is why you must be prepared for everything.
CAPTAIN. You are not childish enough to believe in a hell?
CURT. Do you not believe in it—you, who are right in it?
CAPTAIN. That is metaphorical only.
CURT. The realism with which you have described yours seems to preclude all thought of metaphors, poetical or otherwise.
[Silence.
[Silence.
CAPTAIN. If you only knew what pangs I suffer!
CURT. Of the body?
CAPTAIN. No, not of the body.
CURT. Then it must be of the spirit, for no other alternative exists. [Pause.
CAPTAIN. [Rising up in bed] I don't want to die!
CURT. Not long ago you wished for annihilation.
CAPTAIN. Yes, if it be painless.
CURT. Apparently it is not!
CAPTAIN. Is this annihilation then?
CURT. The beginning of it.
CAPTAIN. Good night.
CURT. Good night.
The same setting, but note the lamp is at the point of going out. Through the windows and the glass panes of the doors a gray morning is visible. The sea is stirring. The sentry is on the battery as before.TheCAPTAINis lying on the couch, asleep.CURTsits on a chair beside him, looking pale and wearied from his watch.
The same setting, but note the lamp is at the point of going out. Through the windows and the glass panes of the doors a gray morning is visible. The sea is stirring. The sentry is on the battery as before.
TheCAPTAINis lying on the couch, asleep.CURTsits on a chair beside him, looking pale and wearied from his watch.
ALICE. [In from the left] Is he asleep?
CURT. Yes, since the time when the sun should have risen.
ALICE. What kind of night did he have?
CURT. He slept now and then, but he talked a good deal.
ALICE. Of what?
CURT. He argued about religion like a schoolboy, but with a pretension of having solved all the world riddles. Finally, toward morning, he invented the immortality of the soul.
ALICE. For his own glory.
CURT. Exactly! He is actually the most conceited person I have ever met. "I am; consequently God must be."
ALICE. You have become aware of it? Look at those boots. With those he would have trampled the earth flat, had he been allowed to do so. With those he has trampled down other people's fields and gardens. With those he has trampled on some people's toes and other people's heads—Man-eater, you have got your bullet at last!
CURT. He would be comical were he not so tragical; and there are traces of greatness in all his narrow-mindedness—Have you not a single good word to say about him?
ALICE. [Sitting down] Yes, if he only does not hear it; for if he hears a single word of praise he develops megalomania on the spot.
CURT. He can hear nothing now, for he has had a dose of morphine.
ALICE. Born in a poor home, with many brothers and sisters, Edgar very early had to support the family by giving lessons, as the father was a ne'er-do-well if nothing worse. It must be hard for a young man to give up all the pleasures of youth in order to slave for a bunch of thankless children whom he has not brought into the world. I was a little girl when I saw him, as a young man, going without an overcoat in the winter while the mercury stood at fifteen below zero—his little sisters wore kersey coats—it was fine, and I admired him, but his ugliness repelled me. Is he not unusually ugly?
CURT. Yes, and his ugliness has a touch of the monstrous at times. Whenever we fell out, I noticed it particularly. And when, at such times, he went away, his image assumed enormous forms and proportions, and he literally haunted me.
ALICE. Think of me then! However, his earlier years as an officer were undoubtedly a martyrdom. But now and then he was helped by rich people. This he will never admit, and whatever has come to him in that way he has accepted as a due tribute, without giving thanks for it.
CURT. We were to speak well of him.
ALICE. Yes—after he is dead. But then I recall nothing more.
CURT. Have you found him cruel?
ALICE. Yes—and yet he can show himself both kind and susceptible to sentiment. As an enemy he is simply horrible.
CURT. Why did he not get the rank of major?
ALICE. Oh, you ought to understand that! They didn't want to raise a man above themselves who had already proved himself a tyrant as an inferior. But you must never let on that you know this. He says himself that he did not want promotion—Did he speak of the children?
CURT. Yes, he was longing for Judith.
ALICE. I thought so—Oh! Do you know what Judith is? His own image, whom he has trained for use against me. Think only, that my own daughter—has raised her hand against me!
CURT. That is too much!
ALICE. Hush! He is moving—Think if he overheard us! He is full of trickery also.
CURT. He is actually waking up.
ALICE. Does he not look like an ogre? I am afraid of him!
[Silence.
[Silence.
CAPTAIN. [Stirs, wakes up, rises in bed, and looks around] It is morning—at last!
CURT. How are you feeling?
CAPTAIN. Not so very bad.
CURT. Do you want a doctor?
CAPTAIN. No—I want to see Judith—my child!
CURT. Would it not be wise to set your house in order before—or if something should happen?
CAPTAIN. What do you mean? What could happen?
CURT. What may happen to all of us.
CAPTAIN. Oh, nonsense! Don't you believe that I die so easily! And don't rejoice prematurely, Alice!
CURT. Think of your children. Make your will so that your wife at least may keep the household goods.
CAPTAIN. Is she going to inherit from me while I am still alive?
CURT. No, but if something happens she ought not to be turned into the street. One who has dusted and polished and looked after these things for twenty-five years should have some right to remain in possession of them. May I send word to the regimental lawyer?
CAPTAIN. No!
CURT. You are a cruel man—more cruel than I thought you!
CAPTAIN. Now it is back again!
[Falls back on the bed unconscious.
[Falls back on the bed unconscious.
ALICE. [Goes toward the right] There are some people in the kitchen—I have to go down there.
CURT. Yes, go. Here is not much to be done.
[ALICEgoes out.
[ALICEgoes out.
CAPTAIN. [Recovers] Well, Curt, what are you going to do about your quarantine?
CURT. Oh, that will be all right.
CAPTAIN. No; I am in command on this island, so you will have to deal with me—don't forget that!
CURT. Have you ever seen a quarantine station?
CAPTAIN. Have I? Before you were born. And I'll give you a piece of advice: don't place your disinfection plant too close to the shore.
CURT. I was thinking that the nearer I could get to the water the better——
CAPTAIN. That shows how much you know of your business. Water, don't you see, is the element of the bacilli, their life element?
CURT. But the salt water of the sea is needed to wash away all the impurity.
CAPTAIN. Idiot! Well, now, when you get a house for yourself I suppose you'll bring home your children?
CURT. Do you think they will let themselves be brought?
CAPTAIN. Of course, if you have got any backbone! It would make a good impression on the people if you fulfilled your duties in that respect also——
CURT. I have always fulfilled my duties in that respect.
CAPTAIN. [Raising his voice]—in the one respect where you have proved yourself most remiss——
CURT. Have I not told you——
CAPTAIN. [Paying no attention]—for one does not desert one's children like that——
CURT. Go right on!
CAPTAIN. As your relative—a relative older than yourself—I feel entitled to tell you the truth, even if it should prove bitter—and you should not take it badly——
CURT. Are you hungry?
CAPTAIN. Yes, I am.
CURT. Do you want something light?
CAPTAIN. No, something solid.
CURT. Then you would be done for.
CAPTAIN. Is it not enough to be sick, but one must starve also?
CURT. That's how the land lies.
CAPTAIN. And neither drink nor smoke? Then life is not worth much!
CURT. Death demands sacrifices, or it comes at once.
ALICE. [Enters with several bunches of flowers and some telegrams and letters] These are for you.
[Throws the flowers on the writing-table.
[Throws the flowers on the writing-table.
CAPTAIN. [Flattered] For me! Will you please let me look?
ALICE. Oh, they are only from the non-commissioned officers, the bandmen, and the gunners.
CAPTAIN. You are jealous.
ALICE. Oh, no. If it were laurel wreaths, that would be another matter—but those you can never get.
CAPTAIN. Hm!—Here's a telegram from the Colonel—read it, Curt. The Colonel is a gentleman after all—though he is something of an idiot. And this is from—what does it say? It is from Judith! Please telegraph her to come with the next boat. And here—yes, one is not quite without friends after all, and it is fine to see them take thought of a sick man, who is also a man of deserts above his rank, and a man free of fear or blemish.
ALICE. I don't quite understand—are they congratulating you because you are sick?
CAPTAIN. Hyena!
ALICE. Yes, we had a doctor here on the island who was so hated that when he left they gave a banquet—after him, and not for him!
CAPTAIN. Put the flowers in water—I am not easily caught, and all people are a lot of rabble, but, by heavens, these simple tributes are genuine—they cannot be anything but genuine!
ALICE. Fool!
CURT. [Reading the telegram] Judith says she cannot come because the steamer is held back by the storm.
CAPTAIN. Is that all?
CURT. No-o—there is a postscript.
CAPTAIN. Out with it!
CURT. Well, she asks her father not to drink so much.
CAPTAIN. Impudence! That's like children! That's my only beloved daughter—my Judith—my idol!
ALICE. And your image!
CAPTAIN. Such is life. Such are its best joys—Hell!
ALICE. Now you get the harvest of your sowing. You have set her against her own mother and now she turns against the father. Tell me, then, that there is no God!
CAPTAIN. [ToCURT] What does the Colonel say?
CURT. He grants leave of absence without any comment.
CAPTAIN. Leave of absence? I have not asked for it.
ALICE. No, but I have asked for it.
CAPTAIN. I don't accept it.
ALICE. Order has already been issued.
CAPTAIN. That's none of my concern!
ALICE. Do you see, Curt, that for this man exist no laws, no constitutions, no prescribed human order? He stands above everything and everybody. The universe is created for his private use. The sun and the moon pursue their courses in order to spread his glory among the stars. Such is this man: this insignificant captain, who could not even reach the rank of major, and at whose strutting everybody laughs, while he thinks himself feared; this poor wretch who is afraid in the dark and believes in barometers: and all this in conjunction with and having for its climax—a barrowful of manure that is not even prime quality!
CAPTAIN. [Fanning himself with a bunch of flowers, conceitedly, without listening toALICE] Have you asked Curt to breakfast?
ALICE. No.
CAPTAIN. Get us, then, at once two nice tenderloin steaks.
ALICE. Two?
CAPTAIN. I am going to have one myself.
ALICE. But we are three here.
CAPTAIN. Oh, you want one also? Well, make it three then.
ALICE. Where am I to get them? Last night you asked Curt to supper, and there was not a crust of bread in the house. Curt has been awake all night without anything to eat, and he has had no coffee because there is none in the house and the credit is gone.
CAPTAIN. She is angry at me for not dying yesterday.
ALICE. No, for not dying twenty-five years ago—for not dying before you were born!
CAPTAIN. [ToCURT] Listen to her! That's what happens when you institute a marriage, my dear Curt. And it is perfectly clear that it was not instituted in heaven.
[ALICEandCURTlook at each other meaningly.
[ALICEandCURTlook at each other meaningly.
CAPTAIN. [Rises and goes toward the door] However, say what you will, now I am going on duty. [Puts on an old-fashioned helmet with a brush crest, girds on the sabre, and shoulders his cloak] If anybody calls for me, I am at the battery. [ALICEandCURTtry vainly to hold him back] Stand aside!
[Goes out.
[Goes out.
ALICE. Yes, go! You always go, always show your back, whenever the fight becomes too much for you. And then you let your wife cover the retreat—you hero of the bottle, you arch-braggart, you arch-liar! Fie on you!
CURT. This is bottomless!
ALICE. And you don't know everything yet.
CURT. Is there anything more——
ALICE. But I am ashamed——
CURT. Where is he going now? And where does he get the strength?
ALICE. Yes, you may well ask! Now he goes down to the non-commissioned officers and thanks them for the flowers—and then he eats and drinks with them. And then he speaks ill of all the other officers—If you only knew how many times he has been threatened with discharge! Nothing but sympathy for his family has saved him. And this he takes for fear of his superiority. And he hates and maligns the very women—wives of other officers—who have been pleading our cause.
CURT. I have to confess that I applied for this position in order to find peace by the sea—and of your circumstances I knew nothing at all.
ALICE. Poor Curt! And how will you get something to eat?
CURT. Oh, I can go over to the doctor's—but you? Will you not permit me to arrange this for you?
ALICE. If only he does not learn of it, for then he would kill me.
CURT. [Looking out through the window] Look, he stands right in the wind out there on the rampart.
ALICE. He is to be pitied—for being what he is!
CURT. Both of you are to be pitied! But what can be done?
ALICE. I don't know—The mail brought a batch of unpaid bills also, and those he did not see.
CURT. It may be fortunate to escape seeing things at times.
ALICE. [At the window] He has unbuttoned his cloak and lets the wind strike his chest. Now he wants to die!
CURT. That is not what he wants, I think, for a while ago, when he felt his life slipping away, he grabbed hold of mine and began to stir in my affairs as if he wanted to crawl into me and live my life.
ALICE. That is just his vampire nature—to interfere with other people's destinies, to suck interest out of other existences, to regulate and arrange the doings of others, since he can find no interest whatever in his own life. And remember, Curt, don't ever admit him into your family life, don't ever make him acquainted with your friends, for he will take them away from you and make them his own. He is a perfect magician in this respect. Were he to meet your children, you would soon find them intimate withhim, and he would be advising them and educating them to suit himself—but principally in opposition toyourwishes.
CURT. Alice, was it not he who took my children away from me at the time of the divorce?
ALICE. Since it is all over now—yes, it was he.
CURT. I have suspected it, but never had any certainty. It was he!
ALICE. When you placed your full trust in my husband and sent him to make peace between yourself and your wife, he made love to her instead, and taught her the trick that gave her the children.
CURT. Oh, God! God in heaven!
ALICE. There you have another side of him. [Silence.
CURT. Do you know, last night—when he thought himself dying—then—he made me promise that I should look after his children!
ALICE. But you don't want to revenge yourself on my children?
CURT. Yes—by keeping my promise. I shall look after your children.
ALICE. You could take no worse revenge, for there is nothing he hates so much as generosity.
CURT. Then I may consider myself revenged—without any revenge.
ALICE. I love revenge as a form of justice, and I am yearning to see evil get its punishment.
CURT. You still remain at that point?
ALICE. There I shall always remain, and the day I forgave or loved an enemy I should be a hypocrite.
CURT. It may be a duty not to say everything, Alice, not to see everything. It is called forbearance, and all of us need it.
ALICE. Not I! My life lies clear and open, and I have always played my cards straight.
CURT. That is saying a good deal.
ALICE. No, it is not saying enough. Because what I have suffered innocently for the sake of this man, whom I never loved——
CURT. Why did you marry?
ALICE. Who can tell? Because he took me, seduced me! I don't know. And then I was longing to get up on the heights——
CURT. And deserted your art?
ALICE. Which was despised! But you know, he cheated me! He held out hopes of a pleasant life, a handsome home—and there was nothing but debts; no gold except on the uniform—and even that was not real gold. He cheated me!
CURT. Wait a moment! When a young man falls in love, he sees the future in a hopeful light: that his hopes are not always realized, one must pardon. I have the same kind of deceit on my own conscience without thinking myself dishonest—What is it you see on the rampart?
ALICE. I want to see if he has fallen down.
CURT. Has he?
ALICE. No—worse luck! He is cheating me all the time.
CURT. Then I shall call on the doctor and the lawyer.
ALICE. [Sitting down at the window] Yes, dear Curt, go. I shall sit here and wait. And I have learned how to wait!
Same setting in full daylight. The sentry is pacing back and forth on the battery as before.ALICEsits in the right-hand easy-chair. Her hair is now gray.
Same setting in full daylight. The sentry is pacing back and forth on the battery as before.
ALICEsits in the right-hand easy-chair. Her hair is now gray.
CURT. [Enters from the left after having knocked] Good day, Alice.
ALICE. Good day, Curt. Sit down.
CURT. [Sits down in the left-hand easy-chair] The steamer is just coming in.
ALICE. Then I know what's in store, for he is on board.
CURT. Yes, he is, for I caught the glitter of his helmet—What has he been doing in the city?
ALICE. Oh, I can figure it out. He dressed for parade, which means that he saw the Colonel, and he put on white gloves, which means that he made some calls.
CURT. Did you notice his quiet manner yesterday? Since he has quit drinking and become temperate, he is another man: calm, reserved, considerate——
ALICE. I know it, and if that man had always kept sober he would have been a menace to humanity. It is perhaps fortunate for the rest of mankind that he made himself ridiculous and harmless through his whiskey.
CURT. The spirit in the bottle has chastised him—But have you noticed since death put its mark on him that he has developed a dignity which elevates? And is it not possible that with this new idea of immortality may have come a new outlook upon life?
ALICE. You are deceiving yourself. He is conjuring up something evil. And don't you believe what he says, for he lies with premeditation, and he knows the art of intriguing as no one else——
CURT. [WatchingALICE] Why, Alice, what does this mean? Your hair has turned gray in these two nights!
ALICE. No, my friend, it has long been gray, and I have simply neglected to darken it since my husband is as good as dead. Twenty-five years in prison—do you know that this place served as a prison in the old days?
CURT. Prison—well, the walls show it.
ALICE. And my complexion! Even the children took on prison color in here.
CURT. I find it hard to imagine children prattling within these walls.
ALICE. There was not much prattling done either. And those two that died perished merely from lack of light.
CURT. What do you think is coming next?
ALICE. The decisive blow at us two. I caught a familiar glimmer in his eye when you read out that telegram from Judith. It ought, of course, to have been directed against her, but she, you know, is inviolate, and so his hatred sought you.
CURT. What are his intentions in regard to me, do you think?
ALICE. Hard to tell, but he possesses a marvellous skill in nosing out other people's secrets—and did you notice how, all day yesterday, he seemed to be living in your quarantine; how he drank a life-interest out of your existence; how he ate your children alive? A cannibal, I tell you—for I know him. His own life is going, or has gone——
CURT. I also have that impression of his being already on the other side. His face seems to phosphoresce, as if he were in a state of decay—and his eyes flash like will-o'-the-wisps over graves or morasses—Here he comes! Tell him you thought it possible he might be jealous.
ALICE. No, he is too self-conceited. "Show me the man of whom I need to be jealous!" Those are his own words.
CURT. So much the better, for even his faults carry with them a certain merit—Shall I get up and meet him anyhow?
ALICE. No, be impolite, or he will think you false. And if he begins to lie, pretend to believe him. I know perfectly how to translate his lies, and get always at the truth with the help of my dictionary. I foresee something dreadful—but, Curt, don't lose your self-control! My own advantage in our long struggle has been that I was always sober, and for that reason in full control of myself. He was always tripped by his whiskey—Now we shall see!
CAPTAIN. [In from the left in full uniform, with helmet, cloak, and white gloves. Calm, dignified, but pale and hollow-eyed. Moves forward with a tottering step and sinks down, his helmet and cloak still on, in a chair at the right of the stage, far fromCURTandALICE] Good day. Pardon me for sitting down like this, but I feel a little tired.
ALICEandCURT. Good day. Welcome home.
ALICE. How are you feeling?
CAPTAIN. Splendid! Only a little tired——
ALICE. What news from the city?
CAPTAIN. Oh, a little of everything. I saw the doctor, among other things, and he said it was nothing at all—that I might live twenty years, if I took care of myself.
ALICE. [ToCURT] Now he is lying. [To theCAPTAIN] Why, that's fine, my dear.
CAPTAIN. So much for that.
Silence, during which theCAPTAINis looking atALICEandCURTas if expecting them to speak.
ALICE. [ToCURT] Don't say a word, but let him begin—then he will show his cards.
CAPTAIN. [ToALICE] Did you say anything?
ALICE. No, not a word.
CAPTAIN. [Dragging on the words] Well, Curt!
ALICE. [ToCURT] There—now he is coming out.
CAPTAIN. Well, I went to the city, as you know. [CURTnods assent] Mm-mm, I picked up acquaintances—and among others—a young cadet [dragging] in the artillery. [Pause, during whichCURTshows some agitation] As—we are in need of cadets right here, I arranged with the Colonel to let him come here. This ought to please you, especially when I inform you that—he is—your own son!
ALICE. [ToCURT] The vampire—don't you see?
CURT. Under ordinary circumstances that ought to please a father, but in my case it will merely be painful.
CAPTAIN. I don't see why it should!
CURT. You don't need to—it is enough that I don't want it.
CAPTAIN. Oh, you think so? Well, then, you ought to know that the young man has been ordered to report here, and that from now on he has to obey me.
CURT. Then I shall force him to seek transfer to another regiment.
CAPTAIN. You cannot do it, as you have no rights over your son.
CURT. No?
CAPTAIN. No, for the court gave those rights to the mother.
CURT. Then I shall communicate with the mother.
CAPTAIN. You don't need to.
CURT. Don't need to?
CAPTAIN. No, for I have already done so. Yah!
[CURTrises but sinks back again.
[CURTrises but sinks back again.
ALICE. [ToCURT] Now he must die!
CURT. Why, heisa cannibal!
CAPTAIN. So much for that! [Straight toALICEandCURT] Did you say anything?
ALICE. No—have you grown hard of hearing?
CAPTAIN. Yes, a little—but if you come nearer to me I can tell you something between ourselves.
ALICE. That is not necessary—and a witness is sometimes good to have for both parties.
CAPTAIN. You are right; witnesses are sometimes good to have! But, first of all, did you get that will?
ALICE. [Hands him a document] The regimental lawyer drew it up himself.
CAPTAIN. In your favor—good! [Reads the document and then tears it carefully into strips which he throws on the floor] So much for that! Yah!
ALICE. [ToCURT] Did you ever see such a man?
CURT. That is no man!
CAPTAIN. Well, Alice, this was what I wanted to say——
ALICE. [Alarmed] Go on, please.
CAPTAIN. [Calmly as before] On account of your long cherished desire to quit this miserable existence in an unhappy marriage; on account of the lack of feeling with which you have treated your husband and children, and on account of the carelessness you have shown in the handling of our domestic economy, I have, during this trip to the city, filed an application for divorce in the City Court.
ALICE. Oh—and your grounds?
CAPTAIN. [Calmly as before] Besides the grounds already mentioned, I have others of a purely personal nature. As it has been found that I may live another twenty years, I am contemplating a change from this unhappy marital union to one that suits me better, and I mean to join my fate to that of some woman capable of devotion to her husband, and who also may bring into the home not only youth, but—let us say—a little beauty!
ALICE. [Takes the wedding-ring from her finger and throws it at theCAPTAIN] You are welcome!
CAPTAIN. [Picks up the ring and puts it in his rest pocket] She throws away the ring. The witness will please take notice.
ALICE. [Rises in great agitation] And you intend to turn me out in order to put another woman into my home?
CAPTAIN. Yah!
ALICE. Well, then, we'll speak plain language! Cousin Curt, that man is guilty of an attempt to murder his wife.
CURT. An attempt to murder?
ALICE. Yes, he pushed me into the water.
CAPTAIN. Without witnesses!
ALICE. He lies again—Judith saw it!
CAPTAIN. Well, what of it?
ALICE. She can testify to it.
CAPTAIN. No, she cannot, for she says that she didn't see anything.
ALICE. You have taught the child to lie!
CAPTAIN. I didn't need to, for you had taught her already.
ALICE. You have met Judith?
CAPTAIN. Yah!
ALICE. Oh, God! Oh, God!
CAPTAIN. The fortress has surrendered. The enemy will be permitted to depart in safety on ten minutes' notice. [Places his watch on the table] Ten minutes—watch on the table! [Stopsand puts one hand up to his heart.
ALICE. [Goes over to theCAPTAINand takes his arm] What is it?
CAPTAIN. I don't know.
ALICE. Do you want anything—a drink?
CAPTAIN. Whiskey? No, I don't want to die—You! [Straightening himself up] Don't touch me! Ten minutes, or the garrison will be massacred. [Pulls the sabre partly from the scabbard] Ten minutes!
[Goes out through the background.
[Goes out through the background.
CURT. What kind of man is this?
ALICE. He is a demon, and no man!
CURT. What does he want with my son?
ALICE. He wants him as hostage in order to be your master—he wants to isolate you from the authorities of the island—Do you know that the people around here have named this island "Little Hell"?
CURT. I didn't know that—Alice, you are the first woman who ever inspired me with compassion—all others have seemed to me to deserve their fate.
ALICE. Don't desert me now! Don't leave me, for he will beat me—he has been doing so all these twenty-five years—in the presence of the children—and he has pushed me into the water——
CURT. Having heard this, I place myself absolutely against him. I came here without an angry thought, without memory of his former slanders and attempts to humiliate me. I forgave him even when you told me that he was the man who had parted me from my children—for he was ill and dying—but now, when he wants to steal my son, he must die—he or I!
ALICE. Good! No surrender of the fortress! But blow it up instead, with him in it, even if we have to keep him company! I am in charge of the powder!
CURT. There was no malice in me when I came here, and I wanted to run away when I felt myself infected with your hatred, but now I am moved by an irresistible impulse to hate this man, as I hate everything that is evil. What can be done?
ALICE. I have learned the tactics from him. Drum up his enemies and seek allies.
CURT. Just think—that he should get hold of my wife! Why didn't those two meet a life-time ago? Then there would have been a battle-royal that had set the earth quaking.
ALICE. But now these souls have spied each other—and yet they must part. I guess what is his most vulnerable spot—I have long suspected it——
CURT. Who is his most faithful enemy on the island?
ALICE. The Quartermaster.
CURT. Is he an honest man?
ALICE. He is. And he knows what I—I know too—he knows what the Sergeant-Major and the Captain have been up to.
CURT. What they have been up to? You don't mean——
ALICE. Defalcations!
CURT. This is terrible! No, I don't want to have any finger in that mess!
ALICE. Ha-ha! You cannot hit an enemy.
CURT. Formerly I could, but I can do so no longer.
ALICE. Why?
CURT. Because I have discovered—that justice is done anyhow.
ALICE. And you could wait for that? Then your son would already have been taken away from you. Look at my gray hairs—just feel how thick it still is, for that matter—He intends to marry again, and then I shall be free—to do the same—I am free! And in ten minutes he will be under arrest down below, right under us—[stamps her foot on the floor] right under us—and I shall dance above his head—I shall dance "The Entry of the Boyars"—[makes a few steps with her arms akimbo] ha-ha-ha-ha! And I shall play on the piano so that he can hear it. [Hammering on the piano] Oh, the tower is opening its gates, and the sentry with the drawn sabre will no longer be guarding me, but him—Malbrough s'en va-t-en guerre! Him, him, him, the sentry is going to guard!