ACT I

Weldon Farnham’s studio in Macdougal Alley, New York. In the rear is a long window, beneath which is a wide cushioned seat, extending from the left wall to a vestibule on the right, from which a door, front, opens into the studio. The door is hidden by a tall screen. Further down on the right is another door, and still further down is an antique cabinet, upon which rests a bust of Shakespeare. To the left of the cabinet, well into the room, is a table, upon which are a few books and, among other objects, an ornamental cigar box of polished mahogany. Half way down the left wall, which is built diagonally into the stage, cutting off about one-third of the rear wall, is an open grate with a mantel. Well to the front, on the left, is an upright wheeling easel, upon which a framed portrait faces the rear. There are several chairs, for the most part plain and small; but one of them, near the table, to the left, is large and comfortable.

The curtain rises, revealing Weldon Farnham and Otto Mink. Farnham is a well-conditioned and well-satisfied man of thirty, or a little more, with a certain complacent hardness about his face, which suggests an aggressiveness that does not really exist. He stands surveying Otto, a younger man—short, plump, pink and loquacious—who in turn stands surveying the picture on the easel. His hands are in his trousers pockets, and he stands from time to time on the tips of his toes during the process of his scrutiny.

FARNHAM

[As if amused]

Well, Otto, aren’t you going to say something?

OTTO

[Slowly, with a frown]

So this is Villa Vannevar.⁠[1]⁠

FARNHAM

Not exactly. It’s a picture of her.

[Smiling]

You don’t care for it, I see—Lucas and Petherick think it’s rotten.

OTTO

Did Lucas say that?

FARNHAM

[Still amused]

No, but he smoked it. He might as well have said it.

OTTO

[Leaving the picture and lighting a cigarette]

You can’t always tell what Old Hundred means—when he doesn’t say anything. Or when he does, for that matter.

FARNHAM

[Smiling]

I’m sorry, Otto, that you don’t like the picture.

OTTO

[Showing his teeth]

There’s genius in it. Is that what you wanted me to say?

FARNHAM

But a poor likeness—eh?

OTTO

Likeness?—Farnham, you make me sick.

[Farnham scowls quickly and laughs]

I beg your pardon, but you do,—just now, I mean.

[With a sniff]

You and your pictures!

FARNHAM

[Laughing]

Are they all so bad as that, Otto?

OTTO

[Irritated]

I suppose it’s you that I’m talking about, not your pictures.

FARNHAM

[With patronage]

You don’t seem to be improving matters very much. What have I done?

OTTO

[With affectionate disgust]

You? You haven’t done anything. Destiny, or something or other, has done it for you.

FARNHAM

[Laughing]

But I don’t believe much in destiny. I believe in work.

OTTO

You didn’t work very hard to get the best girl in New York.

FARNHAM

If I didn’t know you, Otto, I might be offended.

[Laughing]

What’s the matter with you today, anyhow?

OTTO

[With all sincerity]

I understand. You think I’m jealous, but I’m not. I’m not such a dam fool.

FARNHAM

Otto, don’t be so impulsive.

[He laughs]

OTTO

Impulsive? You don’t know what the word means.

[With a grimace]

You might at least look glad, or say something foolish once in a while,—just to let a fellow know that you’re human.

FARNHAM

[Seriously]

I’ll take back a part of what I said, Otto. There may be a large element of destiny in my—we’ll say my very great good fortune.

[Laughing]

But I wouldn’t say as much as that to Van Zorn.

OTTO

Van Zorn? He’s a fatalist, isn’t he?

FARNHAM

[Laughing]

I don’t know just what he is. He’s the best man living, and he’s my best friend.

OTTO

[Cheerfully]

And he’s worth about how many millions?

FARNHAM

[With animation]

I don’t know. Twenty or twenty-five. I don’t care much about that part of it.

OTTO

You know, Farnham, I believe you when you say that.

[Moving to the Right]

If I didn’t, I shouldn’t hang around your place any more. You think you wouldn’t miss me if I didn’t, but you would. I’m a tender shoot, and I’m delicate, and you’ll be dam sorry when I’m dead.

[Otto pauses before the bust of Shakespeare, looks at it thoughtfully, places his hat upon it carefully, and surveys the result with satisfaction. Farnham watches him with patronizing amusement. Presently, when the two men stand looking at each other, the bell rings]

FARNHAM

[Looking at his watch]

That sounds like Lucas. It can’t be Mrs. Lovett—yet.

OTTO

It’s Old Hundred, I’ll bet a sequin. Let him in.

[Farnham admits George Lucas, who is a square-jawed and somewhat cadaverous looking man of thirty, with a melancholy and highly intellectual face. His clothes are well kept, but unmistakably the worse for wear, and there is a whimsical weariness in his manner that might be suggestive of latent tragedy. He looks at Farnham and Otto as if he expected them to say something]

OTTO

Good morning, Phœbus-Apollo.

LUCAS

[With a benignant smile]

Good morning.

[To Farnham, half quizzically]

Good morning.

[He looks at the decorated bust of Shakespeare, and then at Otto. He smiles once more and removes his hat, which Farnham takes and tosses on to window seat]

OTTO

Have you come to join the celebration?

LUCAS

Celebration of what?

OTTO

Oh, I don’t know. You take your choice. You might celebrate the publication of my new book, or you might celebrate the rotation of the planet Neptune—on his axis. Or, you might celebrate the engagement of our friend Farnham to the radiant Miss Villa Vannevar.

[Motioning towards the picture]

There she is—or, I should say, a picture of her.

LUCAS

[With gathering surprise and difficulty]

I have seen the picture, but I had not heard of the engagement.

[Giving his hand to Farnham, but as if with unconscious reluctance]

Farnham, let me congratulate you.

FARNHAM

[Taking his hand]

Thank you, Lucas.

[As Lucas goes towards the picture]

I fear that some of us get rather more than we deserve in this life.

LUCAS

[Affecting indifference]

Oh, I don’t know about that.

[Studying the picture]

So this is Villa Vannevar.

OTTO

[Promptly, with his hands in his pockets]

That’s what I said.

FARNHAM

[Comfortably]

Your congratulations are quite enough, Lucas. You needn’t feel obliged to praise the picture.

LUCAS

[Solemnly]

I wasn’t going to praise the picture.

OTTO

[Standing on his toes and grinning at Farnham with satisfaction]

“Heaven is not reached with a single bound.” You can’t have everything at once, Farnham, even if you are a genius. But you might give Lucas a drink, and you might give me a bottle of cold beer.

FARNHAM

[Amused]

In the morning, Otto? Isn’t this something new?

OTTO

[Nodding at the bust]

Shakespeare did it, and I wish to do everything that Shakespeare did—so far as in me lies.

FARNHAM

[Laughing, as if Otto were a child]

Well, all right, if I’ve got it.

[He goes out at the right, Lucas leaves the picture, frowning to himself, and returns to Otto, who is standing near the corner of the vestibule. Otto turns Lucas gently and assists him towards the cabinet, from which Lucas takes out a bottle of whiskey and a glass, going with them to the table nearby. Farnham returns with a bottle of beer and a glass]

FARNHAM

[After a look at Lucas]

Here you are, Stratford.

[Otto goes to the window seat]

Don’t you want some water, Lucas?

LUCAS

No, thank you. It won’t be necessary.

FARNHAM

[With mild insistence]

Better for the heart.

OTTO

[Prying the cap from the bottle]

Lucas hasn’t got any heart.

[He pours out a glass of beer with care]

Well, Farnham, you man of iron, morituri salutamus. I’m a tender shoot, and I shan’t be with you very long. Neither will Lucas, if he doesn’t drink some water one of these days.

[There is a sinister note in his last words, and it is evidently caught by the other men]

LUCAS

[With a dry flourish]

Farnham, you are a man of parts, and once more I congratulate you. I’m a man of parts myself, as a matter of fact, but some of my parts don’t exactly fit, and as a consequence

[With a hard, insincere laugh]

as a consequence, I—I rattle. Your health and happiness.

[He drinks, and shivers a little]

And now,

[Exploring the table]

If you will give me a small cigar

[He takes a large one from the box]

I’ll tell you what a great man you are going to be.

[He puts back the bottle and moves again towards the picture]

FARNHAM

[Who has been watching Lucas with a patronizing smile]

And now if you two fellows will kindly make yourselves at home, I’ll be back in a little while. I’m going over to Petherick’s to get some photographs of his comical bust of Poe for Mrs Lovett; and if anyone comes in while I’m gone, I’ll trust you two to be agreeable.

LUCAS

[Nervously]

But what does this mean, Farnham? If you expected visitors, why didn’t you say so?

FARNHAM

[Soothingly]

They are coming to see the picture in its new frame.

[Hesitating]

Of course you remember Mrs. Lovett—and Villa Vannevar?

LUCAS

[In a dry voice]

Yes, I remember them. Villa Vannevar and I used to be rather good friends.

[Indifferently]

But I doubt if Mrs Lovett remembers me.

FARNHAM

[At the door]

She must.

LUCAS

[Sitting down]

Why do you say that?

FARNHAM

She must,—for you are not the kind that women forget.

[He laughs and goes out, and Lucas follows him with his eyes. He remains for a time as if in retrospection]

OTTO

[From the window seat, after a pause]

It seems to me that Farnham might have done a little better than that.

[Lucas gives him a quick look]

But I don’t know,

[In half soliloquy]

perhaps he couldn’t, after all.

[Otto studies the beer-bottle as if it were a rare vase, and Lucas, leaning forward on his chair, rubs his fingers together thoughtfully.]

OTTO

Phœbus,

[Lucas looks at him]

wake up.

LUCAS

I am awake.

OTTO

The devil you are.

[Getting up and stretching himself]

Let’s have another look at Farnham’s picture. Petherick thinks it’s rotten.

[Mercifully]

But then, Petherick’s a sculptor.

LUCAS

[Drily]

Can’t sculptors tell when things are rotten?

OTTO

[Briskly]

Apparently not—if we are to judge them by what they have done for our fair city.

LUCAS

[Rising and smiling]

You are severe this morning, Otto.

[In a fatherly way]

I hope you aren’t going to be severe with me.

OTTO

[Looking at him sharply]

I was going to be—but I won’t now.

[Frowning before the picture]

So this is Villa Vannevar.

LUCAS

[Smiling]

That’s what I said.

OTTO

[Still frowning]

Mrs. Weldon Farnham.

[Throwing up his hands]

Lucas, I can’t make it sound right.

LUCAS

[Drily]

What’s wrong about the sound of it? Farnham is a good fellow, isn’t he?

OTTO

[With emphasis]

He’s a fine fellow; and he’s one of his own best friends.

LUCAS

[Smiling grimly]

Well, that makes for prudence—and for longevity.

OTTO

[Drily]

Very good indeed. What do you think of this picture, Phœbus, anyhow?

LUCAS

It’s a pretty good picture. All things are relative.

OTTO

[Promptly]

Then you agree with Petherick.

LUCAS

Not necessarily.

[He looks around him uncomfortably]

But I don’t believe, Otto, that I’ll stay here any longer.

[Otto moves toward him]

You can entertain these women without me.

OTTO

[Backing Lucas into his chair]

There! You try that for a while. Farnham said you were to stay here till he came back.

[He takes another chair and sits facing Lucas]

Phœbus, you may kick me if you like, but I’m sorry for you. I’m dam sorry.

LUCAS

[With a doubtful scowl]

What do you think you are talking about, Otto?

OTTO

[Plunging]

Phœbus, I like you. I like you a lot. I’ve liked you for ten years—ever since I met you.

[Pause]

So far as I count for anything, I suppose I’m as good a friend as you have in the world.

LUCAS

[Pleased and embarrassed]

I’m glad to hear you say that, Otto.

OTTO

[With more confidence]

You’d better wait till I’m done with you.

LUCAS

[Smiling]

Go on. I’m at your service.

OTTO

[Clasping his knee and becoming very serious]

Very well. Tell me when to stop.

[Pause]

Phœbus, how much does Farnham know about you? Did he know anything about you before he came to New York? Let me see, that was four years ago.

LUCAS

[Surprised]

Probably not.

OTTO

Well, then, did Farnham know Villa Vannevar before he came to New York?

LUCAS

[Surprised]

Not to my knowledge.

OTTO

Am I getting too personal?

LUCAS

[Fighting with his curiosity]

You haven’t said anything injurious.

OTTO

Good. Now does Farnham.... Oh, the devil! I suppose I ought not to ask you this, but I’m going to, all the same. Does Farnham know that Villa Vannevar cared more for you at one time than she cares now for any other man living?

LUCAS

[Rubbing his hands slowly]

I rather think, Otto, that you may as well stop.

OTTO

Are you going to kick me?

LUCAS

No. Your motive is good, and I try to judge a fellow by his motive.

[Taking a cheap watch from his pocket, he looks at it and shakes it at his ear]

What time is it?

OTTO

[With much vigor]

Phœbus, you can’t put me off. I’ve got you now, and I’m going to tell you what I think of you.

LUCAS

[Shaking his watch at his ear]

What do you think of me?

OTTO

[Nettled]

Well, I think you are going to the devil, for one thing.

LUCAS

[Grinning]

Only going? I was told the other day that I had arrived—with banners.

OTTO

Did Farnham tell you that?

LUCAS

That was Farnham’s hidden meaning.

OTTO

[After a pause]

Well, Phœbus, I can’t speak for Farnham. But there was a time when the rest of us would have said that you had empires up your sleeve.

[Impressively]

LUCAS

[Looking at his sleeve]

Then they must be there yet. I’ve never shaken them out.

OTTO

[With more fervor]

They may be there, but all the devils in hell, with microscopes, couldn’t find them there this morning. As you are fond of reading, you may have gathered, from various authorities, that empires don’t run themselves, exactly. When they do, they run down.

LUCAS

Like my watch.

[He shakes it, and returns it to his pocket]

OTTO

[Getting up with a sigh]

Phœbus, why don’t you try to find out where you are, and stop pickling your brain with rum, and quit bewildering your inferiors, and go back to school? If you don’t, there will be a funeral one of these days, and you won’t have to walk. And what I say is all as true as God made great whales and little squirrels.

LUCAS

[Rubbing his knees and grinning]

Good. Say on.

[Otto gives a snort of disgust and moves towards the bust of Shakespeare, his hands in his trousers’ pockets and his face puckered with a scowl]

LUCAS

[Watching Otto with weary amusement]

Otto, tell me something more about this much-travelled Odysseus of many devices, whom Farnham calls Van Zorn.

[Otto removes his hat from the bust]

I thought you would do that, Otto.

[Otto puts his hat on his head and gives Lucas a look of discouragement]

Tell me about Van Zorn, Otto, and take off your hat.

[Otto spins his hat at Lucas, who catches it deftly and throws it over to the window seat]

I understand that he’s a fatalist—or something or other. Where does he live?

OTTO

[Piqued]

He doesn’t live anywhere. He doesn’t have to. He’s worth about twenty-five millions.

LUCAS

That isn’t very much. Is he in town?

OTTO

[Impatiently]

Yes, he’s in town.

LUCAS

How long is he going to stay?

OTTO

[Wearily]

How the devil do I know? I suppose he’ll stay as long as he likes the place. That’s what I should do, if I had twenty-five millions.

[Becoming more rancid]

And then, if the fancy seized me, I should pack my suitcase and go in for the irrigation of Mesopotamia.

LUCAS

[Still leaning forward and rubbing his hands slowly]

When is Farnham to be married?

OTTO

I don’t know. Didn’t you hear about the engagement?

LUCAS

[Getting up and speaking without apparent interest]

No.... I don’t hear about things any more.

[The bell rings and Lucas turns with a start]

I wonder who that is.

[He takes his watch from his pocket nervously and pretends to look at it]

OTTO

[Smiling as he looks at his own watch]

If you wish to know what time it is, it’s five minutes to twelve.

[Otto opens the door and admits Mrs. Lovett and Miss Villa Vannevar. Mrs. Lovett is a short lady of fifty, with a manner that is slightly affected, but not comically so. She is dressed in black, and in a manner calculated to suggest rather than to express mourning. Villa Vannevar is rather tall and very handsome, inclined to be unconventional and at times careless, naturally vivacious, but evidently not satisfied with her existence. She wears a walking suit of bright gray, with a smart hat]

OTTO

[With familiar mock-ceremony]

You are to come in—both of you—and you are to make yourselves entirely at home.

[To Mrs Lovett]

The genius of the place has gone to get some photographs of your friend Petherick’s bust of Edgar A. Poe, the eminent literary man.

[Turning to Lucas, who has found something interesting on the table]

Both of you remember Mr. Lucas, I suppose.

VILLA

[In a voice of friendly surprise]

Why it’s George!

[She goes to him and gives him her hand, which he takes slowly, and holds a little longer than he means to]

Why, Auntie, it’s George!

[To Lucas]

You remember my aunt, don’t you, George?

LUCAS

I remember Mrs. Lovett very well.

MRS. LOVETT

[without warmth]

Of course I remember Mr. Lucas.

[To Otto]

And now, Otto, you bad child

[Holding up her finger]

oh, yes! I have read your wicked books, and I know just how bad you are

[Laughing]

—Villa and I are perishing to see the picture in its new frame.

[To Villa]

Shall we wait for dear Weldon to come back? Artists are so queer, you know, and

[To Otto, with a smile]

So very sensitive.

OTTO

[Beaming]

Very sensitive indeed. Have you read my last one—Au Cinquième? It came out day before yesterday.

VILLA

[Amused]

I’m sorry, Otto, but we haven’t even seen it.

OTTO

[Briskly]

In that case,

[To Mrs. Lovett]

you cannot possibly know how bad I am.—As for the frame,

[Moving towards the picture]

the frame is a beautiful piece of work. In point of fact, I don’t quite see how you are going to get along without it.

[Mrs. Lovett follows him and they stand together before the picture. Lucas and Villa remain near the table, she becoming very serious and he pretending, not very well, to take a humorous view of the situation]

MRS. LOVETT

[After a silence]

Aren’t you coming to see yourself, Villa?

VILLA

I’ll watch you and Otto—and talk with George. I know just how the picture looks, and I haven’t seen George for a thousand years.

[Mrs. Lovett frowns a little and Otto smiles to himself significantly]

MRS. LOVETT

[Looking at the picture]

Oh—dear!

[She sighs and looks at Otto, who stands on his toes for a moment and then shakes his head]

VILLA

[Turning from Lucas to Mrs. Lovett, and laughing]

What’s the matter, Auntie?

MRS. LOVETT

[With ample resignation]

I don’t know what to say about it.

[She looks at Lucas, who does not see her, and then looks at Otto]

You say something, Otto. I simply don’t know how.

OTTO

I would gladly be of assistance, my dear Madam, but I don’t know how to say anything about it either.

[Looking at Lucas]

But there’s Lucas; he knows how to say something about it.

MRS. LOVETT

[After a quick frown]

Tell me the truth, Otto.

[She sighs again]

VILLA

[Turning and laughing]

If you do, Otto, I’ll tell Weldon everything you say.

OTTO

[Looking from Villa to Mrs. Lovett, with a grimace]

You seem to know the truth already. If you don’t, I cannot tell a lie.

[Very distinctly]

In the last analysis, then, the thing is worse than—than office-hours.

VILLA

[With determination]

I’m going to say something now. I’m going to ask Otto to turn that picture to the wall until Weldon comes back. I won’t have it abused.

[To Lucas, with sorry laugh]

The only trouble with that picture is that it isn’t me.

LUCAS

[Drily]

Yes, that is one trouble with it.

[Villa looks at him strangely, and laughs again as before. Mrs. Lovett looks at her with mild disapproval. Otto grins, and begins to sing the swan-song in Lohengrin with subdued satisfaction as he turns the easel. As Otto comes back to the center of the stage, the bell rings, and all appear to be suddenly disturbed]

MRS. LOVETT

Now who in the world is that? We don’t want people.

LUCAS

You might find out, Otto.

OTTO

Aye, aye, sir.

[Becoming more exuberant, he propels himself towards the door with a series of quasi-nautical hitches, trumpeting with his lips the opening chorus in “Pinafore.” Lucas watches him with a weary smile, Villa Vannevar laughs, and Mrs. Lovett looks bewildered. Otto opens the door and stands back, in whimsical obeisance]

OTTO

You may come in, for I know your name. Your name is Van Zorn, and I’ve seen you before.

[Van Zorn Enters. He is rather tall, well built, bronzed, and has powerful, penetrating eyes. His manner, though courteous and possibly a bit too dignified, is also a little heavy. He seems to be in constant fear of being taken too seriously; and yet he is a very serious person, inclined to a certain intangible melancholy that is easy to recognize but difficult to describe. His voice is rich, deep, and musical, his laugh is rare but pleasing, but his smile is frequent and engaging. There is at times something childlike in his acceptance of unusual situations and events, and there is something almost unreal in his easy persistence along lines that few men would ever think of pursuing. While he is for the most part self explanatory, there remains a fringe of mystery about him to the end]

VAN ZORN

[Taking Otto’s hand and smiling]

And I should remember your name. Your name is ...

OTTO

[Distinctly]

Mink.

VAN ZORN

[With another smile]

Indeed? Then you must have two names.

OTTO

[As the two move into the room]

I have. The grand total is Otto Mink.

VAN ZORN

I remember now that Farnham called you Otto. I am very glad to see you again.

OTTO

[With expansion]

And now it devolves upon me to present a few of Farnham’s friends. Here, for example, is Mrs. Lovett.

[She smiles at Otto, and receives Van Zorn with unqualified approval]

And here is Miss Villa Vannevar. She’s another friend of Farnham’s, and you’ve met her before.

[Villa gives Van Zorn her hand, and he looks at her, in spite of his efforts, as if he were fascinated. The two appear to be very serious, until Otto presents Lucas, when she laughs—but with no great amount of spirit]

And here is Mr. Lucas. Sometimes we call him Phœbus—on account of his sunny disposition.

[Van Zorn shakes hands with Lucas with great cordiality and looks at him as long as he looked at Villa Vannevar, but with an entirely different expression. There is a kindness and a certain satisfaction in his eyes that surprises Lucas and embarrasses him]

That object over there is a portrait of Miss Vannevar, but we are not to see it again until Farnham comes back. You won’t like Farnham any better after you see it.

VAN ZORN

[Amused]

That doesn’t sound altogether complimentary to Farnham.

OTTO

[Cheerfully]

It isn’t.

VAN ZORN

Perhaps I don’t quite understand you.

OTTO

You will.

VAN ZORN

[With a look of amused inquiry at Lucas]

You surprise me. I have come to think of Farnham as one of the best of living painters.

OTTO

[With his hands in his trousers’ pockets]

He is. That’s partly what ails him.

MRS. LOVETT

Why, Otto,—you ridiculous child!

OTTO

If you don’t believe me, ask Phœbus—I mean Lucas.

VAN ZORN

[To Villa, smiling]

I think I’ll wait and ask Farnham himself.

VILLA

[Laughing]

He may bite you.

VAN ZORN

I know Farnham’s bite. It isn’t very dangerous.

VILLA

He thinks it is.

VAN ZORN

[Moving nearer to her, as if drawn]

How soon do you expect him back?

VILLA

[Suddenly serious]

At any moment.

[Lucas begins a silent investigation of the studio, while Mrs. Lovett and Otto talk together, Mrs. Lovett apparently amused and perhaps a little scandalized by his childlike narrations. She looks frequently and almost eagerly at Van Zorn and Villa, who stand near the table. They seem to be laboring under a mysterious constraint, which Villa tries to put off with an assumed light humor]

VAN ZORN

[Smiling]

You talk as if you thought me a doubtful character. I trust that Farnham hasn’t given me one.

VILLA

[Nervously]

Weldon has praised you so much that we are all a little afraid of you.

VAN ZORN

I shall have to stop that.

[Pause]

Do you remember the day when you and Mr.—

[Glancing at Otto]

Mr. Mink—went over my boat with Farnham and me?

VILLA

Of course I do. That was the day before you sailed away to the other side of the world.

VAN ZORN

[Earnestly]

Thank you for remembering that day.

VILLA

[Still nervous]

I remember the day—and I remember that you frightened me somehow.

[Laughing]

You made me think of Captain Kidd and the Flying Dutchman—both together.

VAN ZORN

[Smiling]

I don’t know about Captain Kidd, but I suppose I am a sort of Dutchman.

VILLA

[With a little shiver]

Not the Flying Dutchman—I hope?

VAN ZORN

[With a quaint seriousness]

No—not exactly. As a matter of fact, I have undertaken to be a doctor.

VILLA

[Bewildered]

Medicine, Philosophy or Divinity?

VAN ZORN

[With a melancholy laugh.]

All three, in a measure—and I shall be my own patient.

[Quite seriously]

I must have a place in the scheme of existence, and I have had a presentiment that I am soon to find it.

VILLA

[Drawing back a little and laughing]

You?... A place in the scheme of existence?... I’m beginning to be positively creepy. I thought you had everything.

VAN ZORN

[Shaking his head]

Then you are greatly mistaken. I have nothing—yet.

VILLA

[Impulsively]

What a very unfortunate person! I beg your pardon a thousand times, but you make me laugh.

VAN ZORN

You needn’t be apologetic, and you needn’t laugh.

VILLA

[Bewildered]

What—are you going to do—first?

VAN ZORN

[Smiling faintly]

I have thought of several plans to make my existence worth while, but I am not yet sure of any of them.

VILLA

[With a sigh and a laugh]

Well, I don’t know what you expect me to say. You don’t speak a language that a poor girl can understand.

[She looks over her shoulder and meets the eyes of Lucas, who by this time has made a circuit of the studio and taken a casual inventory of its contents. She looks at him, smiling, and then at Van Zorn, who is looking at Lucas with a slight frown that is both friendly and inquiring]

VILLA

I wonder if George—Mr. Lucas—could be of any service to you. He isn’t a doctor, but he knows almost everything.

VAN ZORN

[Pleasantly, after a slow nod at Lucas]

Does he know himself?

LUCAS

[With a shrug]

I regret to say that he does.

VAN ZORN

[To Lucas, distinctly]

Then Miss Vannevar is right. The man who knows himself does know almost everything.

[There has been a brief pause in Otto’s animated conversation with Mrs. Lovett, and now Otto looks keenly at Villa, Van Zorn, and Lucas]

VILLA

[Laughing at Otto]

The man who knows himself must be inspired.

[To Van Zorn]

Otto couldn’t keep from being inspired if he tried. Otto is a poet.

OTTO

[Grinning]

Do I look like one?

VILLA

You look like a rose of Sharon, Otto.

[Glancing towards the door]

I thought I heard something.

OTTO

[Holding up his finger]

Hist! There it is again!

[Going to the door mysteriously]

It’s the Thing itself.

[Farnham is heard in the vestibule, singing carelessly to himself the air of the Conspirators from “La Fille de Madame Angot.” Otto opens the door with a flourish, and Farnham soon enters]

OTTO

You are late, and the show is half over.

[Putting his hands into his trousers’ pockets]

The next thing on the programme will be the eminent comedians, Van Zorn and Lucas, in “The Old Oaken Bucket.” Song and dance.

MRS. LOVETT

[With languid primness]

Otto, you might take your hat and go home.

FARNHAM

[Taking Mrs. Lovett’s hand]

No, don’t send him home. He can’t help it. The trouble is in his brain.

[He shakes hands with Villa and smiles]

But you

[Shaking hands with Van Zorn and looking at him with eager satisfaction]

—you might have let a fellow know that you were coming.

[looking around]

I suppose there is no need of introductions.

OTTO

[Beaming]

None whatever. We are all happily acquainted.

FARNHAM

[After giving Otto a patronizing scrutiny]

There are the photographs, Mrs. Lovett, and if you don’t find them sufficiently bad, it won’t be Petherick’s fault. Poor Poe!

[Nodding to Van Zorn]

He could tell you something about Destiny, if he were alive.

[He nods at the envelope]

MRS. LOVETT

[Looking at one of the photographs]

Poe was a wonderful creature.

FARNHAM

There are no records to prove that he ever denied it.

[To Villa, with his most confident smile]

Have you seen the picture, and the frame?

[He gazes at the easel, frowns for a moment, and then laughs drily]

Who turned it to the wall? Did you do that, Lucas?

VILLA

[Quickly]

Otto did it. I told him to.

FARNHAM

[Rather drily]

That was very considerate of you.

[He moves the easel back to its former position]

Well, there it is.

[Confidently]

And now you may all do your worst. Otto and Lucas needn’t say anything, for I know what they think already.

OTTO

[Cheerfully]

You may not. We’ve never told you.

FARNHAM

[With a short laugh]

Well, if you haven’t, you needn’t.

[Van Zorn stands before the picture and studies it ominously]

FARNHAM

Well, which is it—life, or death?

VAN ZORN

[With annihilating deliberation]

I should say that it was neither. I am not satisfied with it.

FARNHAM

[With a dry laugh]

Were you ever entirely satisfied with anything?

VAN ZORN

[Gently]

We are not here on earth to be entirely satisfied, are we?

FARNHAM

Oh, I don’t know about that.

VAN ZORN

I hope most sincerely that you are not satisfied with this picture.

FARNHAM

I thought it had a kind of merit.

VAN ZORN

[Frowning]

It has. It’s a work of genius, if you like.

OTTO

[Promptly]

That’s what I said.

FARNHAM

[Patiently]

I know it Otto—And now I should like to hear what Mrs. Lovett has to say.

MRS. LOVETT

But, dear Weldon, you can’t possibly care what I think—a poor old thing like me.

[Looking through her glasses]

Of course you have flattered the poor child almost to death.

FARNHAM

[Genially]

I don’t see how you can say so.

VILLA

[To Van Zorn and Lucas]

Help! help!

MRS. LOVETT

But you are a wonderful creature, all the same, and I shall have to forgive you. Two very intelligent men

[Beaming on Otto]

have called you a genius, and surely that should be enough for one morning.

OTTO

Three, Mrs. Lovett, Phœbus—I mean George—called him one before you came in.

MRS. LOVETT

[After a look at Lucas]

I am very glad to hear it.

OTTO

[Briskly]

I knew you would be.

[Going to Lucas]

And now, Phœbus—I mean George—it’s time for you and me to go out and have something to eat. I have a premonition that you and I are in a way to become superfluous.

MRS. LOVETT

[With motherly tolerance]

Otto, are you going to talk nonsense all the rest of your life?

OTTO

[Spinning his hat on the end of his stick]

If youth but knew.

VILLA

[With animation]

Why can’t we all go out and lunch somewhere together? I’ve got some money.

MRS. LOVETT

You forget, my child, that we are to have luncheon with Mrs. Dyce.

OTTO

Give my love to Mrs. Dyce, and to the Pomeranian twins. And now Phœbus and I are going over to the Brevoort House and have something with a squeezed lime in it. After that we shall have a morsel of bread, and Phœbus will tell me what he thinks of my new book—Au Cinquième, I call it.

[To Villa]

You haven’t seen it. Are you going to be at home this afternoon?

VILLA

[Laughing]

Yes, Otto,—to you.

OTTO

All right. I’ll bring around a copy of Au Cinquième. [cheerfully] I wrote it with my heart’s blood.

[To Lucas, briskly]

Come along, Phœbus.

VILLA

[Going to Lucas and holding out her hand]

Good-bye, George.

LUCAS

[Taking her hand and speaking strangely]

Good-bye.

VAN ZORN

[Giving Lucas his hand]

I am very glad to have met you, Mr. Lucas—very glad indeed.

[He speaks with a peculiar earnestness that causes Mrs. Lovett and Farnham to look at each other. But Lucas appears to be abstracted and indifferent]

OTTO

[At the door, declaiming solemnly]

“So now for a season we leave you, taking with us our various musical instruments. Presently we shall return, bringing with us nothing but our accordeons.” Auf wiedersehen.

[Otto and Lucas go out. Mrs. Lovett and FARNHAM look after Otto and laugh. Van Zorn looks at Villa Vannevar, who stands gazing at the floor. Her face is troubled and she bites her under lip as if to keep it under control]

MRS. LOVETT

[To Farnham]

Otto should be ashamed of himself.

FARNHAM

He will be—sometime.

MRS. LOVETT

He is going to take that poor unfortunate Mr. Lucas over to the Brevoort House and give him liquor.

FARNHAM

[With an unfeeling grin]

I don’t see any way out of it now. As for poor Mr. Lucas, this man

[Looking at Van Zorn]

will tell you that he is in the hands of Destiny—gin-rickeys and all.

[With a laugh]

We can do nothing for him.

MRS. LOVETT

[Rising with a sigh]

It may be so, poor fellow. If he were not so thoroughly impossible, he would be rather interesting.

[Villa looks at her almost angrily]

VAN ZORN

May I venture to ask, Mrs. Lovett, if you are final in your judgment?

MRS. LOVETT

[With apologetic vivacity]

Dear me, no! I don’t judge anything—not even a fly.

VAN ZORN

[Smiling, as if with effort]

I am very glad, for I have begun to believe that Mr. Lucas and I may be of service to each other.

[Villa looks at him eagerly]

MRS. LOVETT

[Puzzled and not wholly pleased]

I don’t understand what you mean, and I’m not going to try.

VAN ZORN

I am not always sure that I understand myself.

VILLA

[With a nervous laugh]

I’m glad to know it, for I’m not either.

[To Mrs. Lovett]

Come along, Auntie, or Mrs. Dyce’s little dogs will eat up all the luncheon.

[Laughing]

Pomeranian twins!

[Giving her hand to Van Zorn]

Good-bye.... I’m glad you aren’t the Flying Dutchman.

VAN ZORN

[Holding her hand]

Nothing half so distinguished, I assure you.

VILLA

[Not wholly at ease]

Or so unfortunate.

VAN ZORN

[Letting her hand go, slowly]

I am not so sure about that.

VILLA

Weldon thinks you are the greatest man in the world

[To Farnham, laughing]

—except himself.

MRS. LOVETT

[Beaming]

And the most wonderful creature.

VAN ZORN

[Smiling]

Weldon has made a mistake.

VILLA

You are too modest.

VAN ZORN

Do you think so?

VILLA

[With the same constrained laugh]

Perhaps I don’t know you well enough to say.

VAN ZORN

We may come to know each other better in the future.

VILLA

I feel sure of that. I should like to know you better.

VAN ZORN

[Smiling]

You may be disappointed in me.

VILLA

[As before]

If I am, I’ll tell you so.

MRS. LOVETT

[Who has been watching the two with bewildered approval]

She means that she will say, on all occasions, the first thing that comes into her silly little head.—But we must go now. Good-bye.

[They shake hands. Van Zorn and Villa Vannevar look at each other with a smile of half-fascinated intensity. The two women go]

FARNHAM

[Coming from the door and touching Van Zorn on the shoulder, laughing curiously]

Well, Childe Harold, for a sedate and rather melancholy Ancient Mariner, you seem to be getting on.

VAN ZORN

[Standing in thought]

Yes, I am getting on in years.

FARNHAM

Oh, cheer up. We are only thirty two. “We are children still,” and we “grope in the dark for what the day will bring.”

[Going to the table and reaching for the cigars]

That’s what we do: we “grope in the dark for what the day will bring”.... Here—have a cigar.

VAN ZORN

[Absently]

No, thank you.

FARNHAM

[Holding out the box]

It’s a Pedro.

VAN ZORN

No, thank you.

FARNHAM

[Coaxingly]

Colorado.

VAN ZORN

Not now.

FARNHAM

[Taking a cigar and putting back the box]

Well, is there anything that your serene excellency would like, that I can give you—this fine October morning? You’ll have a drink, perhaps.

VAN ZORN

[Shaking his head]

No, Farnham. But I may—I may ask you for your advice.

FARNHAM

[Lighting his cigar]

And you couldn’t possibly do better. What seems to be weighing most heavily on your noble mind?

[Pointing to a chair]

Sit down.

[Van Zorn takes the large chair mechanically and remains for a time in silence. Farnham sits expectantly in a small chair not far from the table]

VAN ZORN

[Slowly]

Farnham, I wish you would tell me something about this man Lucas.... About his life, and his death, and his possibilities.

FARNHAM

[Laughing]

His death, did you say?

VAN ZORN

[Simply]

Yes. He seems to have died.

FARNHAM

[Carelessly]

I don’t know but you are right. And if you refer to his possibilities in the way of drink, I can recommend him without qualifications. There is nothing else in town that is quite like him.

VAN ZORN

I am not joking, I assure you.

FARNHAM

Neither am I. Old Hundred is no joke.

VAN ZORN

Then you might tell me something about him. Who is he? What is he? And why is he where he is?

FARNHAM

[Laughing]

Where is he?

VAN ZORN

He appears just now to be at what we might call the crossways. Whether he takes one way or the other, will depend upon events.

FARNHAM

[With a short laugh]

Why don’t you say Destiny, and be done with it?

VAN ZORN

Very well—we’ll call it Destiny. How old is Lucas?

FARNHAM

About twenty-nine. Abundantly old enough to know better.

VAN ZORN

[With a smile]

You might say that of me. It is possible that Lucas and I may have a great deal in common.

[He taps the arms of his chair with his fingers and looks into the distance]

FARNHAM

[Laughing impatiently]

I thought of that when I saw you together.

[Crossing his legs]

Well, you ask me to tell you about Lucas, and I find that I haven’t much to tell. I haven’t known him very long, when it comes to that; but from what I have gathered and inferred, it would seem that his father was a good deal of a metropolitan rounder—before the days of the Great White Way. Whether that made any difference or not, I don’t know. All I can say for certain is that Lucas’s father didn’t spend all his evenings holding his little one on his knee, or teaching him the binomial theorem.

[With a tired sigh]

Little Georgie was undoubtedly neglected. But what of it?

[Looking at the bust]

So was Shakespeare, I fancy.

VAN ZORN

[Frowning]

And Lucas’s mother?

FARNHAM

She had the good fortune to die. You needn’t look at me like that, for the old man was a bad egg.

VAN ZORN

[Disappointed]

Is that the best you can do for me?

FARNHAM

[Impatiently]

What more do you want? It’s for Lucas to do the rest. He has ability enough to fit out a dozen ordinary men, but he can’t use it—or he won’t. He isn’t peculiar to New York. You’ll find him over all the world.

VAN ZORN

[Thoughtfully]

And Lucas has run down—like a watch.

FARNHAM

Yes, or rather like the Old Clock on the Stairs. And I’m afraid he’s past winding up.

VAN ZORN

[Tapping with his fingers]

And what will be the outcome of all this?

FARNHAM

[Weary of the subject]

Oh, I don’t know. I shouldn’t wonder if I were to take up a newspaper some morning and read that one George Lucas had blown the top of his head off in one of our public parks—probably in Washington Square, not far from the statue of Garibaldi. That statue beats anything of Petherick’s.

VAN ZORN

[Slowly]

I wonder if I have made a mistake. I don’t often make mistakes in my judgment of men.

FARNHAM

That’s interesting. How about women?

VAN ZORN

We are not talking about women—

[With emphasis]

at present.

FARNHAM

[Laughing]

All right; excuse me. But what if you do make mistakes? You can charge them all up to Destiny, and go on about your business. The rest of us poor devils, who think we are burdened with free will, have to pay for our mistakes—with complex interest.

VAN ZORN

No matter about that. But what if I were to run down—after the manner of Lucas?

FARNHAM

But Lucas’s case hasn’t anything to do with yours.

VAN ZORN

How do you know?

FARNHAM

You couldn’t let yourself run down.

VAN ZORN

How do you know?

FARNHAM

[Getting up, with a laugh of protest]

Because that isn’t the way we do things nowadays—if we have any sense. If you say “How do you know” again, I’ll....

VAN ZORN

Farnham, has it occurred to you that Lucas’s problem may not be half so simple as you have made it out to be?

FARNHAM

You can’t expect me to tell you what I don’t know.

VAN ZORN

[Significantly]

Or all that you do know—possibly.

[Farnham says nothing, but smokes]

In the light of what you say, I wonder that you should trouble yourself to have this man Lucas around.

FARNHAM

More Destiny I suppose. We can’t beat Destiny.

VAN ZORN

Certainly not. But Destiny can beat us, and it can make us do better than we have done in the past.

FARNHAM

[With a sharp look]

So Lucas is going to have greatness thrust upon him, is he?

[Laughing]

“Van Zorn and Lucas, the eminent comedians.”

VAN ZORN

[Laughing a little and looking at the bust]

I wonder what Shakespeare would do if he were in my place.

FARNHAM

He might kill Polonius, or he might mix himself a drink. That would depend entirely upon Destiny.

VAN ZORN

[Drily]

Undoubtedly ... and we might say more about Destiny.... But whether or not we ought to say it....

FARNHAM

According to your convenient doctrine, I don’t see that there is any “ought” or “ought not” about it—unless you think you ought to congratulate me on my engagement to Villa Vannevar. Do you?

VAN ZORN

[Distinctly, after a pause]

Most assuredly not.

[Van Zorn drums with his fingers on the arms of his chair and looks straight before him. Farnham watches him with a gathering hardness in his look and at length breaks the strained silence with a flat laugh, to which Van Zorn pays no attention]

FARNHAM

[Uncomfortably]

Is this a new kind of joke that you have brought with you from India? If it is, I don’t seem to care much for it.

VAN ZORN

[Looking at him]

I wish, Farnham, that you would wait a little before you talk like that.

FARNHAM

[With a short laugh]

All right—I’ll wait. There’s nothing else for me to do. It’s going to be Destiny anyhow, and I can’t help myself.

VAN ZORN

[After getting up and looking at the picture]

Farnham, there is something wrong here.

[He moves slowly towards him]

There is something in the air. I can feel it. I have felt it ever since I came in.

FARNHAM

[Unpleasantly]

Shall I open a window and let it out?

VAN ZORN

I think it would be quite sufficient if we were to—lift a curtain.

FARNHAM

[Drily]

On your past life?

VAN ZORN

On mine—and yours. Past, present, and future.

FARNHAM

You are sure that you are quite well?

VAN ZORN

[Nods slowly]

I am sure.

FARNHAM

[With mock relief]

That’s good. Now a man in your condition ought to have a cheerful, not to say optimistic, outlook on life.

[He shrugs his shoulders and forces another laugh]

VAN ZORN

[Distinctly]

I may not see life as it is, but I see it as I see it. And I am confident that I see one rather important aspect of it as it is going to be if you have your way. I mean, rather, if your vanity and your obstinacy have their way.

FARNHAM

[With a sign of resignation]

Go on.

[Drily]

You are the best thing we have had since Samson and the foxes. Well, with my Vanity and your Destiny working together, we ought to arrive somewhere, as I have no doubt we shall.

VAN ZORN

And where do you think we shall arrive?

FARNHAM

If you’ll be good enough to raise that magic curtain of yours, we may find out.

VAN ZORN

[Frowning]

If I raise it—yes.

FARNHAM

[Nervously]

Then why the devil don’t you?

[Laughing as before]

I can stand it—Destiny and all.

[With assumed lightness]

I am enjoying what you say, thus far; and I have no doubt

[Sitting down]

that I shall be interested in what may follow.

VAN ZORN

[After watching Farnham]

Then I may as well come to my subject. Do you know that I have been coming to it for a long time—for more than four years, in fact?

FARNHAM

I don’t know what you are talking about, but go ahead, all the same.

VAN ZORN

I will. And I’ll begin by asking you one or two direct questions. If they seem too direct, you must try to pardon me.

[Pause]

Farnham, does the approaching unhappiness of three people, who might as well be happy, commend itself to you as an attractive picture, or as a desirable state of affairs? Have you said to yourself that your Vanity and my Destiny, to use your own words, might as easily work together for joy and for good, as for misery and for evil?

FARNHAM

[Squirming]

What name does your doctor give to this?

VAN ZORN

Don’t you think we are beyond that now?

FARNHAM

[Nervously]

Beyond recovery? I hope not.

VAN ZORN

Haven’t I raised the curtain?

FARNHAM

[Getting up]

You have raised the devil. That’s about what you have done.

[With another dry laugh]

What have you been doing since you went away?

VAN ZORN

[Quietly]

You give me a leverage when you ask that.

FARNHAM

[Impulsively]

Then for God’s sake use it, and send this curtain of yours up a little higher.

[With irony]

If I can be of any assistance....

VAN ZORN

[Distinctly]

Farnham, my career, during the past four years, has consisted for the most part in seeking ... seeking for guidance.

FARNHAM

[With another laugh]

You might have done worse. “He that seeketh”.... You know about that fellow.

VAN ZORN

[Slowly, but with finality]

“Findeth.”

FARNHAM

[With strained humor]

Good. Are you sure you won’t have a cigar?

VAN ZORN

[Solemnly]

Do you remember what the text goes on to say of him that knocketh? I wonder what you think would be likely to happen if I were to—knock.

[Farnham moves to the fireplace and stands gazing into the grate. Van Zorn looks at him and waits for him to speak]

FARNHAM

[Slowly and incredulously]

What are you driving at, anyhow? Are you in love with Villa Vannevar?... You have never told me about this.

VAN ZORN

You have not been exactly available.

FARNHAM

You might have come back before.

VAN ZORN

And I might have made a mistake in doing so. I waited for what seemed to be the appointed time, and then I came.

FARNHAM

And here you are.

[With more spirit]

Now I don’t know much about the appointed time, as you call it, but I suppose I do know what you mean by knocking at doors.

[He looks at the picture and scowls]

May I ask

[Unpleasantly]

how many times you intend to knock? And when you intend to begin?

VAN ZORN

[In a level, musical voice]

My intention was to knock once, this afternoon, if it could be arranged.

FARNHAM

[Incredulously]

You and your boat must have made a record, if that’s the way you feel.

[As if led along reluctantly by the humor of the situation]

Well, I dare say it can be arranged—and I infer that you count on me to do the arranging.

VAN ZORN

I shall never knock under other conditions.

FARNHAM

[As before]

And what do you intend to do after you get in? Something in the Lochinvar line? Carry the young lady away on a horse—or in a limousine?

VAN ZORN

[Seriously]

If I were to be admitted, and if I were to satisfy myself that my convictions are correct, that three people are on their way to unhappiness and disaster.... What should I do then? What ought I to do then?

FARNHAM

You look at me as if you thought I was afraid of something. I wish you would tell me what I ought to be beginning to think of you.

VAN ZORN

[Quietly]

You should think of me at all times as the best friend you have in the world.

[Farnham lights a match on the box that he has taken from the mantel and watches the flame until it burns down to his fingers. Then he puts his hands into his pockets and looks at Van Zorn intently]

FARNHAM

[Distinctly]

How long has this been going on? How long have you been planning to marry Villa Vannevar?

VAN ZORN

[Distinctly]

I said something about four years. But time, in your sense of the word, doesn’t mean very much to me.

FARNHAM

[Almost with a sneer]

It may come to mean more—eventually.

VAN ZORN

[Nods slowly]

That remains to be seen.

FARNHAM

[As before]

As you see it?

[Van Zorn nods again]

My fatalistic friend, you may not care much to know what I have been doing during the past four or five years, but what I have been doing during the past four or five minutes may be of interest to you. If so, I have been asking myself why it is, in spite of my agreement, that I have been taking the trouble to listen to you. You must be aware that I would not have listened to the same talk from any other man living.

VAN ZORN

[With a strange innocence]

What possible fear can you have, if you have no doubts—or misgivings?

FARNHAM

[Scowling]

Fear? Doubts? Misgivings?—what the devil are you driving at now?

VAN ZORN

[As before]

You might lead me to believe that you think me capable of treachery.

FARNHAM

Treachery?

[With a nasal laugh]

By treachery, I suppose you mean

[Letting his words out half-angrily, in detached phrases]

the repeated visitations—of an irresistible personality—on the unschooled emotions—of a young lady who is about to do me the honor of becoming my wife.... Am I about right?

VAN ZORN

[Smiling]

You speak now as if you thought me capable of almost anything—beginning with murder.

FARNHAM

[Trying to laugh]

No, I don’t think that. For I know now that even you have your limitations.

VAN ZORN

[With tightening lips]

Yes; and I am limited, for the present, at any rate, to one interview—subject to your consent and arrangement. If by any chance you should choose to change your mind....

FARNHAM

[Half-angry]

What do you mean by that? Why should I change my mind? Just because you have elected to be plain crazy—with your appointed time, and your—your Destiny—do you think I’m going to be such an ass as to take you seriously? I don’t care much for this sort of thing, and I don’t mind telling you so; but if you insist upon making a show of yourself, I don’t know that I am bound by courtesy to interfere, or by law to be responsible—under the circumstances.

VAN ZORN

That will be first rate—especially under the circumstances. Now let me be sure that we both understand. If I call to see Miss Vannevar this afternoon at four o’clock, by special appointment,—or, if not then, at the earliest opportunity....

FARNHAM

[With an incredulous laugh]

Oh, you’ll get in. You needn’t worry about that.

[He smiles to himself and shakes his head, with a long sigh]

Shall we go out now and have something to eat?

VAN ZORN

[Smiling]

Don’t you think, Farnham, that we had better give each other a short leave of absence?

FARNHAM

[Drily]

As you say.

[With a sorry laugh]

As you see it.

VAN ZORN

Will you dine with me this evening?

FARNHAM

I’m sorry, but I can’t. But I’ll be here at ten, if that will do you any good.

VAN ZORN

[Laughing a little]

Then I shall see you at ten. And you will telephone me at my hotel—we’ll say at three-thirty?

FARNHAM

[With an easy snarl]

Yes, I’ll telephone.

VAN ZORN

The Knickerbocker.

FARNHAM

[Wearily]

I know it.

VAN ZORN

Then I’ll say good-bye until—ten.

FARNHAM

[More wearily]

I understood what you said. You said ten.

[After a pause Van Zorn goes out. Farnham returns from the vestibule with his hat and stick. After turning the picture to the wall, he stands for a while near the window seat, shakes his head slowly, puts his hat on slowly, sits down, and smiles incredulously to himself. He draws figures on the floor with his stick as the curtain falls]

Curtain