 | The League of Youth |  |
ACT THIRD
An elegant morning-room, with entrance-door in the back.
On the left, the door of the CHAMBERLAIN's Study;
further back, a door leading to the drawing-room. On
the right, a door leading to RINGDAL'S offices; further
forward, a window.
THORA is seated on the sofa, left, weeping. The CHAMBERLAIN paces angrily up and down.
Yes, now we have the epilogue--tears and lamentations--
Thora.
Oh, that we had never seen that man!
The Chamberlain.
What man?
Thora.
That wretched Mr. Stensgard, of course.
The Chamberlain.
You should rather say: Oh, that we had never seen that wretched Doctor.
Thora.
Doctor Fieldbo?
The Chamberlain.
Yes, Fieldbo, Fieldbo! Wasn't it he that palmed off a parcel of lies upon me--?
Thora.
No, my dear father, it was I.
The Chamberlain.
You? Well, then, both of you! You were his accomplice--behind my back. A nice state of affairs!
Thora.
Oh, father, if you only knew--
The Chamberlain.
Oh, I know enough; more than enough; much more! DR. FIELDBO enters from the back.
Fieldbo.
Good morning, Chamberlain! Good morning, Miss Bratsberg! 178
The Chamberlain
(still pacing
the room).
So you are
there, are you--bird of evil omen!
Fieldbo.
Yes, it was a very unpleasant affair.
The Chamberlain
(looking out
at the window).
Oh, you
think so?
Fieldbo.
You must have noticed how I kept my eye upon Stensgard all the evening. Unfortunately, when I heard there was to be a game of forfeits, I thought there was no danger--
The Chamberlain
(stamping on
the floor).
To be made a
laughing-stock by such a windbag! What must my guests
have thought of me? That I was mean enough to want to
buy this creature, this--this--as Lundestad calls him!
Fieldbo.
Yes, but--
Thora
(unnoticed by her
father).
Don't speak.
The Chamberlain
(after a short
pause, turns to FIELDBO).
Tell me frankly, Doctor:--Am I really denser than the general run of people?
Fieldbo.
How can you ask such a question, Chamberlain?
The Chamberlain.
Then how did it happen that I was probably the only person there who didn't understand that that confounded speech was meant for me?
Fieldbo.
Shall I tell you why?
The Chamberlain.
Certainly.
Fieldbo.
It is because you yourself regard your position in the district differently from other people.
The Chamberlain.
I regard my position as my father before me regarded his. No one would ever have ventured to treat him so.
Fieldbo.
Your father died about the year 1830.
The Chamberlain.
Oh, yes; many a barrier has broken down since that time. But, after all, it's my own fault. I have mixed myself up too much with these good people. So now I must be content to have my name coupled with Anders Lundestad's!
Fieldbo.
Well, frankly, I see no disgrace in that.
The Chamberlain.
Oh, you know quite well what I mean. Of course I don't plume myself on rank, or titles, or anything of that sort. But what I hold in honour, and expect others to hold in honour, is the integrity handed down in our family from generation to generation. What I mean is that when a man like Lundestad goes into public life, he cannot keep his character and his conduct entirely free from stain. In the general mud-throwing, he is sure to find himself bespattered. But they might leave me in peace; I stand outside their parties.
Fieldbo.
Not so entirely, Chamberlain; at least you were delighted so long as you thought it was Monsen that was attacked.
The Chamberlain.
Don't mention that fellow!--It is he that has relaxed the moral sense of the district. And now he has gone and turned my son's head, confound him!
Thora.
Erik's?
Fieldbo.
Your son's?
The Chamberlain.
Yes; what tempted him to go and set up in business? It leads to nothing.
Fieldbo.
Why, my dear Chamberlain, he must live and--
The Chamberlain.
Oh, with economy he could quite well live on the money that came to him from his mother.
Fieldbo.
He might perhaps live on it; but what could he live for?
The Chamberlain.
For? Well, if he absolutely must have something to live for, hasn't he qualified as a lawyer? He might live for his profession.
Fieldbo.
No, that he couldn't do; it is against his nature. Then there was no official appointment he could well hope for; you have kept the management of your property in your own hands; and your son has no children to educate. Under these circumstances, when he sees tempting examples around him--people who have started from nothing and are worth their half million--
The Chamberlain.
Their half million! Oh, come now, let us keep to the hundred thousands. But neither the half million nor the hundred thousands can be scraped together with perfectly clean hands:--I don't mean in the eyes of the world; Heaven knows it is easy enough to keep within the law; but in respect to one's own conscience. Of course my son cannot descend to anything questionable; so you may be quite sure Mr. Erik Bratsberg's financial operations won't bring in any half millions. SELMA, in walking dress, enters from the back.
Selma.
Good-morning! Is Erik not here?
The Chamberlain.
Good-morning, child! Are you looking for your husband?
Selma.
Yes, he said he was coming here. Mr. Monsen called upon him early this morning, and then--
The Chamberlain.
Monsen? Does Monsen come to your house?
Selma.
Now and then; generally on business. Why, my dear Thora, what's the matter? Have you been crying?
Thora.
Oh, it's nothing.
Selma.
No, it's not nothing! At home Erik was out of humour, and here-- I can see it in your looks: there is something wrong. What is it?
The Chamberlain.
Nothing you need trouble about, at any rate. You are too dainty to carry burdens, my little
Selma.
Go into the drawing-room for the present. If Erik said he was coming, he will be here soon, no doubt.
Selma.
Come, Thora--and be sure you don't let me sit
in a draught! (Embracing her.) Oh, I could hug the life
out of you, my sweet Thora!
[The two ladies go off to the left.
The Chamberlain.
So they are hand in glove, are they, the two speculators! They should go into partnership. Monsen and Bratsberg--how nice it would sound! (A knock at the door in the back.) Come in! STENSGARD enters.
The Chamberlain
(recoiling a
step).
What is this?
Stensgard.
Yes, here I am again, Chamberlain!
The Chamberlain.
So I see.
Fieldbo.
Are you mad, Stensgard?
Stensgard.
You retired early yesterday evening. When Fieldbo had explained to me how matters stood, you had already--
The Chamberlain.
Excuse me--all explanations are superfluous--
Stensgard.
I understand that; therefore I have not come to make any.
The Chamberlain.
Oh, indeed?
Stensgard.
I know I have insulted you.
The Chamberlain.
I know that too; and before I have you turned out, perhaps you will be good enough to tell me why you are here.
Stensgard.
Because I love your daughter, Chamberlain.
Fieldbo.
What--!
The Chamberlain.
What does he say, Doctor?
Stensgard.
Ah, you can't grasp the idea, Chamberlain. You are an old man; you have nothing to fight for--
The Chamberlain.
And you presume to--?
Stensgard.
I am here to ask for your daughter's hand, Chamberlain.
The Chamberlain.
You-- you--? Won't you sit down?
Stensgard.
Thanks, I prefer to stand.
The Chamberlain.
What do you say to this, Doctor?
Stensgard.
Oh, Fieldbo is on my side; he is my friend; the only true friend I have.
Fieldbo.
No, no, man! Never in this world, if you--
The Chamberlain.
Perhaps it was with this view that Doctor Fieldbo secured his friend's introduction into my house?
Stensgard.
You know me only by my exploits of yesterday
The Chamberlain.
But my daughter--?
Stensgard.
Oh, I shall win her.
The Chamberlain.
Indeed? H'm!
Stensgard.
Yes, for I have will on my side. Remember what you told me yesterday. You were opposed to your son's marriage--and see how it has turned out! You must put on the glasses of experience, as Fieldbo said--
The Chamberlain.
Ah, that was what you meant?
Fieldbo.
Not in the least! My dear Chamberlain, let me speak to him alone
Stensgard.
Nonsense; I have nothing to speak to you about. Now, pray be reasonable, Chamberlain! A family like yours needs new alliances, or its brains stagnate--
The Chamberlain.
Oh, this is too much!
Stensgard.
Now, now, don't be angry! These high-and- mighty airs are unworthy of you--of course you know they are all nonsense at bottom. You shall see how much you'll value me when you come to know me. Yes, yes; you shall value me--both you and your daughter! I will make her--
The Chamberlain.
What do you think of this, Doctor?
Fieldbo.
I think it's madness.
Stensgard.
Yes, it would be in you; but I, you see--I have a mission to fulfil on God's beautiful earth;--I am not to be deterred by nonsensical prejudices--
The Chamberlain.
Mr. Stensgard, there is the door.
Stensgard.
You show me--?
The Chamberlain.
The door!
Stensgard.
Don't do that!
The Chamberlain.
Out with you! You are an adventurer, an a--a--confound my memory! You're a--
Stensgard.
What am I?
The Chamberlain.
You are--that other thing--it's on the tip of my tongue--
Stensgard.
Beware how you block my career!
The Chamberlain.
Beware? Of what?
Stensgard.
I will attack you in the papers, persecute you, libel you, do all I can to undermine your reputation. You shall shriek under the lash. You shall seem to see spirits in the air raining blows upon you. You shall huddle together in dread, and crouch with your arms bent over your head to ward off the strokes--you shall try to creep into shelter--
The Chamberlain.
Creep into shelter yourself--in a mad-house; that is the proper place for you!
Stensgard.
Ha-ha; that is a cheap retort; but you know
no better, Mr. Bratsberg! I tell you the wrath of the Lord
is in me. It is His will you are opposing. He has destined
me for the light--beware how you cast a shadow!--Well, I
see I shall make no way with you to-day; but that matters
nothing. I only ask you to speak to your daughter--to
prepare her--to give her the opportunity of choosing! Reflect, and look around you. Where can you expect to find a
son-in-law among these plodding dunces? Fieldbo says she
is deep and steadfast and true. So now you know just how
matters stand. Good-bye, Chamberlain--I leave you to
choose between my friendship and my enmity. Good-bye!
[Goes out by the back.
The Chamberlain.
So it has come to this! This is how they dare to treat me in my own house!
Fieldbo.
Stensgard dares; no one else would.
The Chamberlain.
He to-day; others to-morrow.
Fieldbo.
Let them come; I shall keep them off; I would go through fire and water for you--
The Chamberlain.
Yes, you who have caused all the mischief!--H'm; that Stensgard is the most impudent scoundrel
Fieldbo.
He has possibilities
The Chamberlain.
He has openness, Dr. Fieldbo! He doesn't go playing his own game behind one's back, like so many other people; he--he--!
Fieldbo.
It's not worth disputing about. Only be firm, Chamberlain; no, and no again, to Stensgard--!
The Chamberlain.
Oh, keep your advice to yourself! You may rely upon it that neither he nor anyone else--
Ringdal
(enters by the door on
the right).
Excuse me,
Chamberlain; one word--
[Whispers.
The Chamberlain.
What? In your room?
Ringdal
He came in by the back way, and begs you to see him.
The Chamberlain.
H'm.--Oh, Doctor, just go into the
drawing-room for a moment; there's some one here who--
But don't say a word to Selma of Mr. Stensgard and his
visit. She must be kept outside all this business. As for my
daughter, I should prefer that you should say nothing to her
either; but-- Oh, what's the use--? Please go now.
[FIELDBO goes into the drawing-room. RINGDAL
has, in the meantime, gone back to his office,
whence MONSEN presently enters.
Monsen
(at the door).
I beg ten thousand pardons,
sir--
The Chamberlain.
Oh, come in, come in!
Monsen.
I trust your family is in good health?
The Chamberlain.
Thank you. Is there anything you want?
Monsen.
I can't quite put it that way. Thank heaven, I'm one of those that have got pretty nearly all they can want.
The Chamberlain.
Oh, indeed? That is a good deal to say.
Monsen.
But I've had to work for it, Chamberlain. Oh, I know you regard my work with no very friendly eye.
The Chamberlain.
I cannot suppose that your work is in any way affected by my way of regarding it.
Monsen.
Who knows? At any rate, I'm thinking of gradually withdrawing from business.
The Chamberlain.
Really?
Monsen.
The luck has been on my side, I may tell you. I've gone ahead as far as I care to; so now I think it's about time to slack off a little--
The Chamberlain.
Well, I congratulate both you--and other people.
Monsen.
And if I could at the same time do you a service, Chamberlain--
The Chamberlain.
Me?
Monsen.
When the Langerud woods were put up to auction five years ago, you made a bid for them--
The Chamberlain.
Yes, but you outbade me, and they were knocked down to you.
Monsen.
You can have them now, with the saw-mills and all appurtenances--
The Chamberlain.
After all your sinful cutting and hacking--!
Monsen.
Oh, they're worth a good deal still; and with your method of working, in a few years--
The Chamberlain.
Thank you; unfortunately I must decline the proposal.
Monsen.
There's a great deal of money in it, Chamberlain. As for me,--I may tell you I have a great speculation on hand; the stakes are large; I mean there's a big haul to be made--a hundred thousand or so--
The Chamberlain.
A hundred thousand? That is certainly no trifle.
Monsen.
Ha ha ha! A nice round sum to add to the pile. But when you're going into a great battle you need
The Chamberlain.
Yes, certain people have taken care of that.
Monsen.
It's a case of you scratch me, I scratch you. Well, Chamberlain, is it to be a bargain? You shall have the woods at your own figure--
The Chamberlain.
I will not have them at any figure, Mr. Monsen.
Monsen.
Well, one good offer deserves another. Will you help me, sir?
The Chamberlain.
What do you mean?
Monsen.
Of course I'll give good security. I have plenty of property. Look here--these papers--just let me explain my position to you.
The Chamberlain
(waving the
papers aside).
Is it pecuniary aid you want?
Monsen.
Not ready money; oh, no! But your support, Chamberlain. Of course I'll pay for it--and give security, and--
The Chamberlain.
And you come to me with such a proposal as this?
Monsen.
Yes, precisely to you. I know you've often let bygones be bygones when a man was in real straits.
The Chamberlain.
Well, in a way, I must thank you for your good opinion--especially at a time like this; but nevertheless--
Monsen.
Won't you tell me, Chamberlain, what sets you against me?
The Chamberlain.
Oh, what would be the use?
Monsen.
It might lead to a better understanding between us. I've never stood in your way that I know of.
The Chamberlain.
You think not? Then let me tell you of one case in which you have stood in my way. I founded the Iron-works Savings Bank for the benefit of my employees
Monsen.
Naturally, sir, for I give higher interest.
The Chamberlain.
Yes, but you charge higher interest on loans.
Monsen.
But I don't make so many difficulties about security and so forth.
The Chamberlain.
That is just the mischief of it; for now we have people making bargains to the tune of ten or twenty thousand dollars,[1] though neither of the parties has so much as a brass farthing. That is what sets me against you, Mr. Monsen. And there is another thing too that touches me still more nearly. Do you think it was with my good will that my son flung himself into all these wild speculations?
Monsen.
But how can I help that?
The Chamberlain.
It was your example that infected him, as it did the others. Why could you not stick to your last?
Monsen.
Remain a lumberman, like my father?
The Chamberlain.
Was it a disgrace to be in my employment? Your father made his bread honourably, and was respected in his own class.
Monsen.
Yes, until he'd almost worked his life out, and at last went over the waterfall with his raft. Do you know anything of life in that class, Chamberlain? Have you ever realised what the men have to endure who toil for you deep in the forests, and along the river-reaches, while you sit comfortably at home and fatten on the profits? Can you blame such a man for struggling to rise in the world? I had had a little more schooling than my father; perhaps I had rather more brains too--
The Chamberlain.
Very likely. But by what means have you risen in the world? You began by selling brandy. Then you bought up doubtful debts, and enforced them mercilessly;--and so you got on and on. How many people have you not ruined to push yourself forward!
Monsen.
That's the course of business; one up, another down.
The Chamberlain.
But there are different methods of business. I know of respectable families whom you have brought to the workhouse.
Monsen.
Daniel Heire is not very far from the work-house.
The Chamberlain.
I understand you; but I can justify my conduct before God and man! When the country was in distress, after the separation from Denmark, my father made sacrifices beyond his means. Thus part of our property came into the hands of the Heire family. What was the result? The people who lived upon the property suffered under Daniel Heire's incompetent management. He cut down timber to the injury, I may even say to the ruin, of the district. Was it not my obvious duty to put a stop to it if I was able? And it happened that I was able; I had the law on my side; I was well within my rights when I re-entered upon my family property.
Monsen.
I, too, have always had the law on my side.
The Chamberlain.
But what about your sense of right, your conscience, if you have such a thing? And how you have broken down all social order! How you have impaired the respect that should attach to wealth! People never think of asking nowadays how such and such a fortune was made, or how long it has been in such and such a family; they only ask: how much is so-and-so worth?--and they esteem him accordingly. Now I suffer by all this; I find myself regarded as a sort of associate of yours; people speak of us in one breath, because we are the two largest proprietors in the neighbourhood. This state of things I
Monsen.
This state of things shall come to an end, sir; I will give up business, and make way for you at every point; but I beg you, I implore you, to help me!
The Chamberlain.
I will not.
Monsen.
I'm willing to pay you what you like--
The Chamberlain.
To pay! And you dare to--!
Monsen.
If not for my sake, then for your son's!
The Chamberlain.
My son's!
Monsen.
Yes, he's in it. I reckon he stands to win some twenty thousand dollars.
The Chamberlain.
Stands to win?
Monsen.
Yes.
The Chamberlain.
Then, good God, who stands to lose all this money?
Monsen.
How do you mean?
The Chamberlain.
If my son wins, some one or other must lose!
Monsen.
It's a good stroke of business; I'm not in a position to say more. But I need a solid name; only just your endorsement--
The Chamberlain.
Endorsement! On a bill--?
Monsen.
Only for ten or fifteen thousand dollars.
The Chamberlain.
Do you suppose for a moment that--? My name! In such an affair! My name? As surety, no doubt?
Monsen.
A mere matter of form--
The Chamberlain.
A matter of swindling! My name! Not upon any consideration. I have never put my name on other men's paper.
Monsen.
Never? That's an exaggeration, Chamberlain.
The Chamberlain.
It is the literal truth.
Monsen.
No, not literal; I've seen it with my own eyes.
The Chamberlain.
What have you seen?
Monsen.
Your name--on one bill at least.
The Chamberlain.
It is false, I tell you! You have never seen it!
Monsen.
I have! On a bill for two thousand dollars. Think again!
The Chamberlain.
Neither for two thousand nor for ten thousand! On my sacred word of honour, never!
Monsen.
Then it's a forgery.
The Chamberlain.
Forgery?
Monsen.
Yes, a forgery--for I have seen it.
The Chamberlain.
Forgery? Forgery! Where did you see it? In whose hands?
Monsen.
That I won't tell you.
The Chamberlain.
Ha-ha! We shall soon find that out--
Monsen.
Listen to me--!
The Chamberlain.
Silence! It has come to this then! Forgery. They must mix me up in their abominations! No wonder, then, that people bracket me with the rest of you. But it is my turn now!
Monsen.
Chamberlain--for your own sake and for the sake of others--
The Chamberlain.
Off with you! Out of my sight! It is you that are at the root of it all!--Yes you are! Woe unto him from whom offences come. Your home-life is scandalous. What sort of society do you get about you? Persons from Christiania and elsewhere, who think only of eating and drinking, and do not care in what company they gorge themselves. Silence! I have seen with my own eyes your distinguished guests tearing along the roads at Christmas-time like a pack of howling wolves. And there is worse behind. You have had scandals with your own maid- servants. You drove your wife out of her mind by your ill-treatment and debauchery.
Monsen.
Come, this is going too far! You shall pay for these words!
The Chamberlain.
Oh, to the deuce with your threats!
Monsen.
Yes, and now I'll drag your decent society down--
The Chamberlain.
That way!
Monsen.
I know my way, Chamberlain!
[Goes out by the back.
The Chamberlain
(opens the
door on the right and calls).
Ringdal, Ringdal--come here!
Ringdal
What is it, sir?
The Chamberlain
(calls into
the drawing-room).
Doctor,
please come this way!--Now, Ringdal, now you shall see
my prophecies fulfilled.
Fieldbo
(entering).
What can I do for you, Chamberlain?
Ringdal
What prophecies, sir?
The Chamberlain.
What do you say to this, Doctor? You have always accused me of exaggerating when I said that Monsen was corrupting the neighbourhood.
Fieldbo.
Well, what then?
The Chamberlain.
We are getting on, I can tell you! What do you think? There are forgeries going about.
Ringdal
Forgeries?
The Chamberlain.
Yes, forgeries! And whose name do you think they have forged? Why, mine!
Fieldbo.
Who in the world can have done it?
The Chamberlain.
How can I tell? I don't know all the scoundrels in the district. But we shall soon find out.-- Doctor, do me a service. The papers must have come into the hands either of the Savings Bank or the Iron-works Bank. Drive up to Lundestad; he is the director who knows most about things. Find out whether there is any such paper--
Fieldbo.
Certainly; at once.
Ringdal
Lundestad is here at the works, to-day; there's a meeting of the school committee.
The Chamberlain.
So much the better. Find him; bring him here.
Fieldbo.
I'll go at once.
[Goes
out at the back.
The Chamberlain.
And you, Ringdal, make inquiries at the Iron-works. As soon as we have got to the bottom of the matter, we'll lay an information. No mercy to the scoundrels!
Ringdal
Very good, sir. Bless me, who'd have thought
of such a thing?
[Goes out to the right.
[The CHAMBERLAIN paces the room once or twice,
and is then about to go into his study. At that
instant ERIK BRATSBERG enters from the back.
Erik.
My dear father--!
The Chamberlain.
Oh, are you there?
Erik.
I want so much to speak to you.
The Chamberlain.
H'm; I'm not much in the humour for speaking to any one. What do you want?
Erik.
You know I have never mixed you up in my affairs, father.
The Chamberlain.
No; that is an honour I should certainly have declined.
Erik.
But now I am forced to--
The Chamberlain.
What are you forced to do?
Erik.
Father, you must help me!
The Chamberlain.
With money! You may be very sure that--
Erik.
Only this once! I swear I'll never again-- The fact is, I am under certain engagements to Monsen of Stonelee--
The Chamberlain.
I know that. You have a brilliant speculation on hand.
Erik.
A speculation? We? No! Who told you so?
The Chamberlain.
Monsen himself.
Erik.
Has Monsen been here?
The Chamberlain.
He has just gone. I showed him the door.
Erik.
If you don't help me, father, I am ruined.
The Chamberlain.
You?
Erik.
Yes. Monsen has advanced me money. I had to pay terribly dear for it; and now the bills have fallen due--
The Chamberlain.
There we have it! What did I tell you--?
Erik.
Yes, yes; it's too late now--
The Chamberlain.
Ruined! In two years! But how could you expect anything else? What had you to do among these charlatans that go about dazzling people's eyes with wealth that never existed! They were no company for you. Among people of that sort you must meet cunning with cunning, or you'll go to the wall; you have learnt that now.
Erik.
Father, will you save me or will you not?
The Chamberlain.
No; for the last time, no. I will not.
Erik.
My honour is at stake--
The Chamberlain.
Oh, let us have no big phrases! There's no honour involved in commercial success nowadays; quite the opposite, I had almost said. Go home and make up your accounts; pay every man his due, and have done with it, the sooner the better.
Erik.
Oh, you don't know-- SELMA and THORA enter from the drawing-room.
Selma.
Is that Erik's voice?--Good heavens, what is the matter?
The Chamberlain.
Nothing. Go into the drawing-room again.
Selma.
No, I won't go. I will know. Erik, what is it? Tell me!
Erik.
It's only that I am ruined!
Thora.
Ruined!
The Chamberlain.
There, you see!
Selma.
What is ruined?
Erik.
Everything.
Selma.
Do you mean you have lost your money?
Erik.
Money, house, inheritance--everything!
Selma.
Is that what you call everything?
Erik.
Come, let us go, Selma. You are all I have left me. We must bear the blow together.
Selma.
The blow? Bear it together? (With a cry.) Do you think I am fit for that, now?
The Chamberlain.
For heaven's sake--!
Erik.
What do you mean?
Thora.
Oh, Selma, take care!
Selma.
No, I won't take care! I cannot go on lying and shamming any longer! I must speak the truth. I will not "bear" anything!
Erik.
Selma!
The Chamberlain.
Child, what are you saying?
Selma.
Oh, how cruel you have been to me! Shamefully --all of you! It was my part always to accept--never to give. I have been like a pauper among you. You never came and demanded a sacrifice of me; I was not fit to bear anything. I hate you! I loathe you!
Erik.
What can this mean?
The Chamberlain.
She is ill; she is out of her mind!
Selma.
How I have thirsted for a single drop of your troubles, your anxieties! But when I begged for it you only laughed me off. You have dressed me up like a doll; you have played with me as you would play with a child. Oh, what a joy it would have been to me to take my share in your burdens! How I longed, how I yearned, for a large, and high, and strenuous part in life! Now you come to me, Erik, now that you have nothing else left. But I will not be treated simply as a last resource. I will have nothing to do with your troubles now. I won't stay with you! I will rather play and sing in the streets--! Let me be! Let me be! [She rushes out by the back.
The Chamberlain.
Thora, was there any meaning in all that, or--
Thora.
Oh, yes, there was meaning in it; if only I had
seen it sooner.
[Goes out by the back.
Erik.
No! All else I can lose, but not her! Selma,
Selma!
[Follows THORA and SELMA.
Ringdal
(enters from the
right).
Chamberlain!
The Chamberlain.
Well, what is it?
Ringdal
I have been to the Bank--
The Chamberlain.
The Bank? Oh, yes, about the bill--
Ringdal
It's all right; they have never had any bill endorsed by you--
FIELDBO and LUNDESTAD enter by the back.
Fieldbo.
False alarm, Chamberlain!
The Chamberlain.
Indeed? Not at the Savings Bank either?
Lundestad.
Certainly not. During all the years I've been a director I have never once seen your name; except, of course, on your son's bill.
The Chamberlain.
My son's bill?
Lundestad.
Yes, the bill you accepted for him early this spring.
The Chamberlain.
My son? My son? Do you dare to tell me--?
Lundestad.
Why, bless me, just think a moment; the bill for two thousand dollars drawn by your son--
The Chamberlain
(groping for a
chair).
Oh, my
God--!
Fieldbo.
For heaven's sake--!
Ringdal
It's not possible that--!
The Chamberlain
(who has sunk
down on a chair).
Quietly, quietly! Drawn by my son, you say? Accepted
by me? For two thousand dollars?
Fieldbo
(to
LUNDESTAD).
And this bill is in the Savings
Bank?
Lundestad.
Not now; it was redeemed last week by Monsen--
The Chamberlain.
By Monsen--?
Ringdal
Monsen may still be at the works; I'll go--
The Chamberlain.
Stop here!
DANIEL HEIRE enters by the back.Heire.
Good-morning, gentlemen! Good-morning, Chamberlain! Thank you so much for the delightful evening we spent yesterday. What do you think I've just heard--?
Ringdal
Excuse me; we are busy--
Heire.
So are other people, I can tell you; our friend from Stonelee, for example
The Chamberlain.
Monsen?
Heire.
Hee-hee; it's a pretty story! The electioneering intrigues are in full swing. And what do you think is the last idea? They are going to bribe you, Chamberlain! Lundestad. To bribe--?
The Chamberlain.
They judge the tree by its fruit.
Heire.
Deuce take me if it isn't the most impudent thing I ever heard of! I just looked in at Madam Rundholmen's to have a glass of bitters. There sat Messrs. Monsen and Stensgard drinking port--filthy stuff! wouldn't touch it; but they might have had the decency to offer me a glass, all the same. However, Monsen turned to me and said, "What do you bet that Chamberlain Bratsberg won't go with our party at the preliminary election tomorrow?" "Indeed," said I, "how's that to be managed?" "Oh," he said, "this bill will persuade him--"
Fieldbo.
Bill--?
Lundestad.
At the election--?
The Chamberlain.
Well? What then?
Heire.
Oh, I know no more. They said something about two thousand dollars. That's the figure they rate a gentleman's conscience at! Oh, it's abominable, I say!
The Chamberlain.
A bill for two thousand dollars?
Ringdal
And Monsen has it?
Heire.
No, he handed it over to Stensgard.
Lundestad.
Indeed!
Fieldbo.
To Stensgard?
The Chamberlain.
Are you sure of that?
Heire.
Quite certain. "You can make what use you please of it," he said. But I don't understand--
Lundestad.
I want to speak to you, Mr. Heire--and you
too, Ringdal.
[The three converse in a whisper at the back.
Fieldbo.
Chamberlain!
The Chamberlain.
Well?
Fieldbo.
Your son's bill is genuine, of course--?
The Chamberlain.
One would suppose so.
Fieldbo.
Of course. But now if the forged bill were to turn up--?
The Chamberlain.
I will lay no information.
Fieldbo.
Naturally not;--but you must do more.
The Chamberlain
(rising).
I can do no more.
Fieldbo.
Yes, for heaven's sake, you can and must. You must save the poor fellow--
The Chamberlain.
In what way?
Fieldbo.
Quite simply: by acknowledging the signature.
The Chamberlain.
Then you think, Doctor, that we stick at nothing in our family?
Fieldbo.
I am trying to think for the best, Chamberlain.
The Chamberlain.
And do you believe for a moment that I can tell a lie?--that I can play into the hands of forgers?
Fieldbo.
And do you realise what will be the consequences if you do not?
The Chamberlain.
The offender must settle that with the law.
[He goes out to the left.
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