[Heturnstogo。]
JILL。[Justasheisvanishing——softly]Enemy？
ROLF。[Turning]Yes，enemy。
JILL。Beforethebattle——let\'sshakehands。
[Theymovefromthelintelsandgraspeachother\'shandsinthecentreoftheFrenchwindow。]
CURTAIN
ACTII
SCENEI
Abilliardroominaprovincialhotel，wherethingsareboughtandsold。Thesceneissetwellforward，andisnotverybroad；itrepresentstheauctioneer\'sendoftheroom，having，rathertostageLeft，anarrowtablewithtwochairsfacingtheaudience，wheretheauctioneerwillsitandstand。Thetable，whichissetforwardtothefootlights，islitteredwithgreen-
coveredparticularsofsale。Theaudienceareineffectpublicandbidders。ThereisadoorontheLeft，levelwiththetable。Alongthebackwall，behindthetable，aretworaisedbencheswithtwostepsuptothem，suchasbilliardroomsoftenhave，dividedbyadoorinthemiddleofawall，whichispanelledinoak。LateSeptembersunlightiscomingfromaskylight（notvisible）ontotheseseats。Thestageisemptywhenthecurtaingoesup，butDAWKERS，andMRS。HILLCRISTarejustenteringthroughthedoorattheback。
DAWKER。Beoutoftheirwayhere，ma\'am。SeeoldHornblowerwithChearlie？
[Hepointsdowntotheaudience。]
MRS。H。Itbeginsatthree，doesn\'tit？
DAWKER。Theywon\'tbeover-punctual；there\'sonlytheCentryselling。There\'syoungMrs。Hornblowerwiththeotherboy——
[Pointing]overattheentrance。I\'vegotthatchapItoldyouofdownfromtown。
MRS。H。Ah！makesurequiteofher，Dawker。Anymistakewouldbefatal。
DAWKER。[Nodding]That\'sright，ma\'am。Lotofpeopled——alwayssparetimetowatchanauction——everremarkthat？TheDuke\'sagent\'shere；shouldn\'tbesurprisedifhechippedin。
MRS。H。Wheredidyouleavemyhusband？
DAWKER。WithMissJill，inthecourtyard。He\'scomingtoyou。IncaseImisshim；tellhimwhenIreachhislimittoblowhisnoseifhewantsmetogoon；whenheblowsitasecondtime，I\'llstopforgood。Hopeweshan\'tgettothat。OldHornblowerdoesn\'tthrowhismoneyaway。
MRS。H。Whatlimitdidyousettle？
DAWKER。Sixthousand！
MRS。H。That\'safearfulprice。Well，goodlucktoyou，Dawker！
DAWKER。Goodluck，ma\'am。I\'llgoandseetothatlittlematterofMrs。Chloe。Neverfear，we\'lldothemissomehow。
[Hewinks，layshisfingeronthesideofhisnose，andgoesoutatthedoor。]
[MRS。HILLCRISTmountsthetwosteps，sitsdownRightofthedoor，andputsupapairoflong-handled>gdaases。ThroughthedoorbehindhercomeCHLOEandROLF。Shemakesasignforhimtogo，andshutsthedoor。
CHLOE。[Atthefootofthestepsinthegangway——withaslightlycommonaccent]Mrs。Hillcrist！
MRS。H。[Notquitestarting]Ibegyourpardon？
CHLOE。[Again]Mrs。Hillcrist——
MRS。H。Well？
CHLOE。Ineverdidyouanyharm。
MRS。H。DidIeversayyoudid？
CHLOE。No；butyouactasifIhad。
MRS。H。I\'mnotawarethatI\'veactedatall——asyet。Youarenothingtome，exceptasoneofyourfamily。
CHLOE。\'Tisn\'tIthatwantstospoilyourhome。
MRS。H。Stopthemthen。Iseeyourhusbanddowntherewithhisfather。
CHLOE。I——Ihavetried。
MRS。H。[Lookingather]Oh！Isupposesuchmendon\'tpayattentiontowhatwomenaskthem。
CHLOE。[Withaflashofspirit]I\'mfondofmyhusband。I——
MRS。H。[Lookingathersteadily]Idon\'tquiteknowwhyyouspoketome。
CHLOE。[Withasortofpatheticsullenness]Ionlythoughtperhapsyou\'dliketotreatmeasahumanbeing。
MRS。H。Really，ifyoudon\'tmind，Ishouldliketobeleftalonejustnow。
CHLOE。[Unhappilyacquiescent]Certainly！I\'llgototheotherend。
[ShemovestotheLeft，mountsthestepsandsitsdown。]
[ROLF，lookinginthroughthedoor，andseeingwheresheis，joinsher。MRS。HILLCRISTresettlesherselfalittlefurtherinontheRight。]
ROLF。[BendingovertoCHLOE，afteraglanceatMRS。HILLCRIST。]
Areyouallright？
CHLOE。It\'sawfullyhot。
[Shefansherselfwidetheparticularsofsale。]
ROLF。There\'sDawker。Ihatethatchap！
CHLOE。Where？
ROLF。Downthere；see？
[HepointsdowntostageRightoftheroom。]
CHLOE。[Drawingbackinherseatwithalittlegasp]Oh！
ROLF。[Notnoticing]Who\'sthatnexthim，lookinguphere？
CHLOE。Idon\'tknow。
[Shehasraisedherauctionprogrammesuddenly，andsitsfanningherself，carefullyscreeningherface。]
ROLE。[Lookingather]Don\'tyoufeelwell？ShallIgetyousomewater？[Hegetsupathernod。]
[Ashereachesthedoor，HILLCRISTandJILLcomein。HILLCRIST
passeshimabstractedlywithanod，andsitsdownbesidehiswife。]
JILL。[ToROLF]Cometoseeusturnedout？
ROLF。[Emphatically]No。I\'mlookingafterChloe；she\'snotwell。
JILL。[Glancingather]Sorry。Sheneedn\'thavecome，Isuppose？
[RALFdeignsnoanswer，andgoesout。]
[JILLglancesatCHLOE，thenatherparentstalkinginlowvoices，andsitsdownnextherfather，whomakesroomforher。]
MRS。H。CanDawkerseeyouthere，Jack？
[HILLCRISTnods。]
What\'sthetime？
HILLCRIST。Threeminutestothree。
JILL。Don\'tyoufeelbeastlyalldownthebacksofyourlegs。
Dodo？
HILLCRIST。Yes。
JILL。Doyou，mother？
MRS。H。No。
JILL。AwagonofoldHornblower\'spotspassedwhilewewereintheyard。It\'sanomen。
MRS。H。Don\'tbefoolish，Jill。
JILL。Lookattheoldbrute！Dodo，holdmyhand。
MRS。H。Makesureyou\'vegotahandkerchief，Jack。
HILLCRIST。Ican\'tgobeyondthesixthousand；Ishallhavetoraiseeverypennyonmortgageasitis。Theestatesimplywon\'tstandmore，Amy。
[Hefeelsinhisbreastpocket，andpullsuptheedgeofhishandkerchief。]
JILL。Oh！Look！There\'sMissMullins，attheback；justcomein。
Isn\'tsheaspideryoldchip？
MRS。H。Cometogloat。Really，Ithinkhernotacceptingyourofferisdisgusting。Herimpartialityisallhumbug。
HILLCRIST。Can\'tblameherforgettingwhatshecan——it\'shumannature。Phew！Iusedtofeellikethisbeforea\'vivavoce\'。
Who\'sthatnexttoDawker？
JILL。Whatafish！
MRS。H。[Toherself]Ah！yes。
[HereyesslideroundatCHLOE，siltingmotionlessandrathersunkinherseat，slowlyfanningherselfwiththeyparticularsofthesale。Jack，goandofferhermysmellingsalts。]
HILLCRIST。[Takingthesalts]ThankGodforahumantouch！
MRS。H。[Takenaback]Oh！
JILL。[Withaquicklookathermother，snatchingthesalts]I
will。[ShegoesovertoCHLOEwiththesalts]Haveasniff；youlookawfullywhite。
CHLOE。[Lookingup，startled]Oh！nothanks。I\'mallright。
JILL。No，do！Youmust。[CHLOEtakesthem。]
JILL。D\'youmindlettingmeseethataminute？
[Shetakestheparticularsofthesaleandstudiesit，butCHLOEhasburiedthelowerpartofherfaceinherhandandthesmellingsaltsbottle。]
Beastlyhot，isn\'tit？You\'dbetterkeepthat。
CHLOE。[Herdarkeyeswanderinganduneasy]Rolf\'sgettingmesomewater。
JILL。Whydoyoustay？Youdidn\'twanttocome，didyou？
[CHLOEshakesherhead。]
Allright！Here\'syourwater。
[Shehandsbacktheparticularsandslidesovertoherseat，passingROLFinthegangway，withherchinwellup。]
[MRS。HILLCRIST，whohaswatchedCHLOEandJILLandDAWKER，andhisfriend，makesanenquiringmovementwithherhand，butgetsadisappointinganswer。]
JILL。What\'sthetime，Dodo？
HILLCRIST。[Lookingathiswatch]Threeminutespast。
JILL。[Sighing]Oh，hell！
HILLCRIST。Jill！
JILL。Sorry，Dodo。Iwasonlythinking。Look！Hereheis！
Phew！——isn\'the——？
MRS。H。\'Sh！
TheAUCTIONEERcomesinLeftandgoestothetable。Heisasquare，short，brown-faced，commonlookingman，withclippedgreyhairfittinghimlikeacap，andaclippedgreymoustache。
Hislidscomedownoverhisquickeyes，tillhecanseeyouverysharply，andyoucanhardlyseethathecanseeyou。Hecanbreakintoasmileatanymoment，whichhasnoconnectionwithhim，asitwere。Byacertainhurtlook，however，whenbiddingisslow，hedisclosesthatheisnotmerelyanauctioneer，buthasinhimelementsofthehumanbeing。Hecanwinkwithanyone，andisdressedinasnug-brownsuit，withaperfectlyunbuttonedwaistcoat，alow，turneddowncollar，andsmallblackandwhitesailorknottie。Whileheissettlinghispapers，theHILLCRISTSsettlethemselvestensely。CHLOE
hasdrunkherwaterandleanedbackagain，withthesmellingsaltstohernose。ROLFleansforwardintheseatbesideher，lookingsidewaysatJILL。ASOLICITOR，withagreybeard，hasjoinedtheAUCTIONEER，athistable。
AUCTIONEER。[Tappingthetable]Sorrytodisappointyou，gentlemen，butI\'veonlyonepropertytoofferyouto-day，No。1，TheCentry，Deepwater。Thesecondontheparticularshasbeenwithdrawn。Thethirdthat\'sBidcot，desirablefreeholdmansionandfarmlandsintheParishofKenway——weshallhavetodealwithnextweek。Ishallbehappytosellityouthenwithoutreservation。
[Helooksagainthroughtheparticularsinhishand，givingtheaudiencetimetoreadjustthemselvestohisstatements]Now，gen\'lemen，asIsay，I\'veonlytheonepropertytosell。FreeholdNo。1——allthatverydesirablecornandstock-rearingandparklikeresidentiallandknownastheCentry，Deepwater，uniquepropertyanA。1。chancetoanA。1。audience。[Withhissmile]Oughttomakethepriceofthethreewethoughtwehad。Nowyouwon\'tmindlisteningtotheconditionsofsale；Mr。Blinkard\'llread\'em，andtheywon\'twirryyou，they\'reveryshort。
[Hesitsdownandgivestwolittletapeonthetable。]
[TheSOLICITORrisesandreadstheconditionsofsaleinavoicewhichnoonepracticallycanhear。Justashebeginstoreadtheseconditionsofsale，CHARLESHORNBLOWERentersatback。Hestandsamoment，glancingroundattheHILLCRISTandtwirlinghismoustache，thenmovesalongtohiswifeandtouchesher。]
CHARLES。Chloe，aren\'tyouwell？
[Inthestartwhichshegives，herfaceisfullyrevealedtotheaudience。]
CHARLES。Comealong，outofthewayofthesepeople。
[HejerkshisheadtowardstheHILLCRISTS。CHLOEgivesaswiftlookdowntothestageRightoftheaudience。]
CHLOE。No；I\'mallright；it\'shotterthere。
CHARLES。[ToROLF]Well，lookafterher——Imustgoback。
[ROLFnode。CHARLES，slidesbanktothedoor，withaglanceattheHILLCRISTS，ofwhomMRS。HILLCRISThasbeenwatchinglikealynx。Hegoesout，justastheSOLICITOR，finishing，sitsdown。]
AUCTIONEER。[Risingandtapping]Now，gen\'lemen，it\'snotoftenapieceoflandlikethiscomesintothemarket。What\'sthat？[Toafriendinfrontofhim]NobetterlandinDeepwater——that\'sright，Mr。Spicer。Iknowthevillagewell，andacharmingplaceitis；
perfectlocality，tobesure。NowIdon\'twanttowirryyoubysingingthepraisesofthisproperty；thereitis——well-watered，nicelytimbered——noreservationofthetimber，gen\'lemen——notenancytoholdyouup；freetodowhatyoulikewithitto-morrow。You\'vegotajewelofasitethere，too；perfectpositionforahouse。ItliesbetweentheDuke\'sandSquireHillcrist\'s——anemeraldisle。
[Withhissmile]NoallusiontoIreland，gen\'lemen——perfectpeaceintheCentry。Nothinglikeitinthecounty——agen\'leman\'ssite，andyoudon\'tgetthatofferedyoueveryday。[HelooksdowntowardsHORNBLOWER，stageLeft]Carriesthemineralrights，andasyouknow，perhaps，there\'stheveryvaluableDeepwaterclaythere。
WhatamItostartitat？CanIsaythreethousand？Well，anythingyouliketogiveme。I\'msotparticular。Comenow，you\'vegotmoretimethanme，Iexpect。Twohundredacresoffirst-rategrazin\'andcornland，withasiteforaresidenceunequalledinthecounty；andallthepossibilities！Well，whatshallIsay？
[BidfromSPICER。]
Twothousand？[Withhissmile]Thatwon\'thurtyou，Mr。Spicer。
Why，it\'sworththattooverlooktheDuke。Fortwothousand？
[BidfromHORNBLOWER，stageLeft。]
Andfive。Thankyou，sir。Twothousandfivehundredbid。
[Toafriendjustbelowhim。]
Come，Mr。Sandy，don\'tscratchyourheadoverit。
[BidfromDAWKER，StageRight。]
Andfive。Threethousandbidforthisdesirableproperty。Why，you\'dthinkitwasn\'tdesirable。Comealong，gen\'lemen。Alittlespirit。
[Aalightpause。]
JILL。Whycan\'tIseethebids，Dodo？
HILLCRIST。ThelastwasDawker\'s。
AUCTIONEER。Forthreethousand。[HORNBLOWER]Threethousandfivehundred？MayIsay——four？[Abidfromthecentre]No，I\'mnotparticular；I\'lltakehundreds。Threethousandsixhundredbid。
[HORNBLOWER]Andseven。Threethousandsevenhundred，and——
[Hepauses，quarteringtheaudience。]
JILL。Whowasthat，Dodo？
HILLCRIST。Hornblower。It\'stheDukeinthecentre。
AUCTIONEER。Come，gen\'lemen，don\'tkeepmeallday。FourthousandmayIsay？[DAWKER]Thankyou。We\'rebeginning。Andone？[Abidfromthecentre]Fourthousandonehundred。[HORNBLOWER]Fourthousandtwohundred。MayIhaveyours，sir？[ToDAWKER]Andthree。Fourthousandthreehundredbid。Nosuchsiteinthecounty，gen\'lemen。I\'mgoingtosellthislandforwhatit\'sworth。
Youcan\'tbidtoomuchforme。[Hesmiles][HORNBLOWER]Fourthousandfivehundredbid。[Bidfromthecentre]Andsix。[DAWKER]
Andseven。[HORNBLOWER]Andeight。Nine，mayIsay？[Butthecentrehasdriedup][DAWKER]Andnine。[HORNBLOWER]Fivethousand。Fivethousandbid。That\'sbetter；there\'ssomespiritinit。Forfivethousand。
[Hepauseswhilehespeak&totheSOLICITOR]
HILLCRIST。It\'saduelnow。
AUCTIONEER。Now，gen\'lemen，I\'mnotgoingtogivethispropertyaway。Fivethousandbid。[DAWKER]Andone。[HORNBLOWER]Andtwo。
[DAWKER]Andthree。Fivethousandthreehundredbid。Andfive，didyousay，sir？[HORNBLOWER]Fivethousandfivehundredbid。
[Helooksathipparticulars。]
JILL。[Ratheragonised]Enemy，Dodo。
AUCTIONEER。Thischancemaynevercomeagain。
\"Howyou\'llregretitIfyoudon\'tgetit，\"
asthepoetsays。May，Isayfivethousandsixhundred，sir？
[DAWKER]Fivethousandsixhundredbid。[HORNBLOWER]Andseven。
[DAWKER]Andeight。Forfivethousandeighthundredpounds。We\'regettin\'on，butwehaven\'tgotthevalueyet。
Aslightpause，whilehewipeshisbrowatthesutteesofhisownefforts。
JILL。Us，Dodo？
[HILLCRISTnods。JILLlooksoveratROLF，whosefaceisgrimlyset。CHLOEhasnevermoved。MRS。HILLCRISTwhisperstoherhusband。]
AUCTIONEER。Fivethousandeighthundredbid。Forfivethousandeighthundred。Comealong，gen\'lemen，comealong。We\'renotbeaten。Thankyou，sir。[HORNBLOWER]Fivethousandninehundred。
And——？[DAWKER]Sixthousand。Sixthousandbid。Sixthousandbid。Forsixthousand！TheCentry——mostdesirablespotinthecounty——goingforthelowpriceofsixthousand。
HILLCRIST。[Muttering]Low！Heavens！
AUCTIONEER。Anyadvanceonsixthousand？Come，gen\'lemen，wehaven\'tdriedup？Alittlespirit。Sixthousand？Forsixthousand？Forsixthousandpounds？Verywell，I\'mselling。Forsixthousandonce——[Hetaps]Forsixthousandtwice——[Hetaps]。
JILL。[Low]Oh！we\'vegotit！
AUCTIONEER。Andone，sir？[HORNBLOWER]Sixthousandonehundredbid。
[TheSOLICITORtoucheshisarmandsayssomething，towhichtheAUCTIONEERrespondswithanod。]
MRS。H。Blowyournose，Jack。
[HILLCRISTblowshisnose。]
AUCTIONEER。Forsixthousandonehundred。[DAWKER]Andtwo。
Thankyou。[HORNBLOWER]Andthree。Forsixthousandthreehundred。[DAWKER]Andfour。Forsixthousandfourhundredpounds。
Thiscovetedproperty。Forsixthousandfourhundredpounds。Why，it\'sgivingitaway，gen\'lemen。[Apause。]
MRS。H。Giving！
AUCTIONEER。Sixthousandfourhundredbid。[HORNBLOWER]Andfive。
[DAWKER]Andsix。[HORNBLOWER]Andseven。[DAWKER]Andeight。
[Apause，duringwhich，throughthedoorLeft，someonebeckonstotheSOLICITOR，whorisesandconfers。]
HILLCRIST。[Muttering]I\'vedoneifthatdoesn\'tgetit。
AUCTIONEER。Forsixthousandeighthundred。Forsixthousandeighthundred-once——[Hetaps]twice——[Hetape]Forthelasttime。Thisdominatingsite。[HORNBLOWER]Andnine。Thankyou。Forsixthousandninehundred。
[HILLCRISThastakenouthishandkerchief。]
JILL。Oh！Dodo！
MRS。H。[Quivering]Don\'tgivein！
AUCTIONEER。SeventhousandmayIsay？[DAWKER]Seventhousand。
MRS。H。[Whispers]Keepitdown；don\'tshowhim。
AUCTIONEER。Forseven-thousand——goingforseventhousand——once——
[Taps]twice[Taps][HORNBLOWER]Andone。Thankyou，sir。
[HILLCRISTblowshisnose。JILL，withachoke，leansbackinherseatandfoldsherarmstightlyonherchest。MRS。
HILLCRISTpassesherhandkerchiefoverherlips，sittingperfectlystill。HILLCRIST，too，ismotionless。]
[TheAUCTIONEER，haspaused，andistalkingtotheSOLICITOR，whohasreturnedtohisseat。]
MRS。H。Oh！Jack。
JILL。Stickit，Dodo；stickit！
AUCTIONEER。Now，gen\'lemen，IhaveabidofseventhousandonehundredfortheCentry。AndI\'minstructedtosellifIcan\'tgetmore。It\'safairprice，butnotabigprice。[TohisfriendMR。
SPICER]Athumpin\'price？[Withhissmile]Well，you\'reajudgeofthumpin\'，Iadmit。Now，who\'llgivemeseventhousandtwohundred？What，noone？Well，Ican\'tmakeyou，gen\'lemen。Forseventhousandonehundred。Once——[Taps]Twice——[Taps]。
[JILLuttersalittlegroan。]
HILLCRIST。[Suddenly，inaqueervoice）Two。
AUCTIONEER。[TurningwithsurpriseandlookinguptoreceiveHILLCRIST\'Snod]Thankyou，sir。Andtwo。Seventhousandtwohundred。[HescrewshimselfroundsoastocommandbothHILLCRIST
andHORNBLOWER]MayIhaveyours，sir？[HORNBLOWER]Andthree。
[HILLCRIST]Andfour。Seventhousandfourhundred。Forseventhousandfourhundred。[HORNBLOWER]Five。[HILLCRIST]Six。Forseventhousandsixhundred。[Apause]Well，gen\'lemen，thisis。
better，butarecordpropertyshidfetcharecordprice。Thepossibilitiesareenormous。[HORNBLOWER]Eightthousanddidyousay，sir？Eightthousand。Goingforeightthousandpounds。
[HILLCRIST]Andone。[HORNBLOWER]Andtwo。[HILLCRIST]Andthree。[HORNBLOWER]Andfour。[HILLCRIST]Andfive。Foreightthousandfivehundred。Awonderfulpropertyforeightthousandfivehundred。
[Hewipeshisbrow。]
JILL。[Whispering）Oh，Dodo！
MRS。H。That\'senough，Jack，wemuststopsometime。
AUCTIONEER。Foreightthousandfivehundred。Once——[Taps]——twice——
[Taps][HORNBLOWER]Sixhundred。[HILLCRIST]Seven。MayIhaveyours，sir？[HORNBLOWER]Eight。
HILLCRIST。Ninethousand。
[MRS。HILLCRISTlooksathim，bitingherlips，butheisquiteabsorbed。]
AUCTIONEER。Ninethousandforthisastoundingproperty。Why，theDukewouldpaythatifherealisedhe\'dbeoverlooked。Now，Sir？
[ToHORNBLOWER。Noresponse]。Justalittleraiseonthat。[Noresponse。]Forninethousand。TheCentry，Deepwater，forninethousand。Once——[Taps]Twice——[Taps]。
JILL。[Underherbreath]Ours！
AVOICE。[Fromfarbackinthecentre]Andfivehundred。
AUCTIONEER。[Surprisedandthrowingouthisarmstowardsthevoice]
Andfivehundred。Forninethousandfivehundred。MayIhaveyours，sir？[HelooksatHORNBLOWER。Noresponse。]
[TheSOLICITORspeakstohim。MRS。H。[Whispering]ItmustbetheDukeagain。]
HILLCRIST。[Passinghishandoverhisbrow]That\'sstoppedhim，anyway。
AUCTIONEER。[LookingatHILLCRIST]Forninethousandfivehundred？
[HILLCRISTshakeshishead。]Oncemore。TheCentry，Deepwater，forninethousandfivehundred。Once——[Taps]Twice——[Taps][HepausesandlooksagainatHORNBLOWERandHILLCRIST]Forthelasttime——atninethousandfivehundred。[Taps][Withalooktowardsthebidder]Mr。Smalley。Well！[Withgreatsatisfaction]That\'sthat！Nomoreto-day，gen\'lemen。
[TheAUCTIONEERandSOLICITORbusythemselves。Theroombeginstoempty。]
MRS。H。Smalley？Smalley？IsthattheDuke\'sagent？Jack！
HILLCRIST。[Comingoutofasortofcoma，aftertheexcitementhehasbeengoingthrough]What！What！
JILL。Oh，Dodo！Howsplendidlyyoustuckit！
HILLCRIST。Phew！Whatasqueak！Iwascleanoutofmydepth。A
mercytheDukechippedinagain。
MRS。H。[LookingatROLFandCHLOE，whoarestandingupasifabouttogo]Takecare；theycanhearyou。FindDAWKER，Jack。
[Below，theAUCTIONEERandSOLICITORtakeuptheirpapers，andmoveoutLeft。]
[HILLCRISTstretcheshimself，standingup，asiftothrowoffthestrain。Thedoorbehindisopened，andHORNBLOWER
appears。]
HORNBLOWER。Yeranmeupaprettyprice。Yebidverypluckily，Hillcrist。Butyedidn\'tquitegetmymeasure。
HILLCRIST。Oh！ItwasmyninethousandtheDukecapped。ThankGod，theCentry\'sgonetoagentleman！
HORNBLOWER。TheDuke？[Helaughs]No，theGentry\'snotgonetoagentleman，nortoafool。It\'sgonetome。
HILLCRIST。What！
HOUNBLOWER。I\'msorryforye；ye\'renotfittomanagethesethings。
Well，it\'samonstrousprice，andI\'vehadtopayitbecauseofyourobstinacy。Ishan\'tforgetthatwhenIcometobuild。
HILLCRIST。D\'youmeantosaythatbidwasforyou？
HORNBLOWER。OfcourseIdo。ItoldyeIwasabadmantobeupagainst。Perhapsye\'llbelievemenow。
HILLCRIST。Adastardlytrick！
HORNBLOWER。[Withvenom]Whatdidyecallit——askingame？
Rememberwe\'replayin\'askingame，Hillcrist。
HILLCRIST。[Clenchinghisfists]Ifwewereyoungermen——
HORNBLOWER。Ay！\'Twouldn\'tLookprettyforustobeatfisticuffs。
We\'llleavethefightin\'totheyoungones。[HeglancesatROLFandJILL；suddenlythrowingouthisfingeratROLF]Nomakin\'uptothatyoungwoman！I\'vewatchedye。Andasforyou，missy，youleavemyboyalone。
JILL。[Withsuppressedpassion]Dodo，mayIspitinhiseyeorsomething？
HILLCRIST。Sitdown。
[JILLsitsdown。HestandsbetweenherandHORNBLOWER。]
[Yu\'vewonthisround，sir，byafoulblow。Weshallseewhetheryoucantakeanyadvantageofit。Ibelievethelawcanstopyouruiningmyproperty。]
