MRS. B.-W. It wasn"t my fault. She would go. And her mother consented.
GER. I wish I"d been there with you.
MRS. B.-W. Indeed, I wished for someone. I was never more frightened in my life.
ISMAN. Did you see this morning"s Record?
MRS. B.-W. No. What?
ISMAN. About that fellow, Steve O"Hagen?
MRS. B.-W. Good heavens!
GER. Nothing about Estelle, I hope!
ISMAN. No... apparently n.o.body noticed that incident. But about his political speech, and the uproar he"s making on the Bowery. They say the streets were blocked for an hour... the police couldn"t clear them.
GER. He must be an extraordinary talker.
MRS. B.-W. You can"t imagine it. The man is a perfect demon!
GER. Where does he come from?
ISMAN. Apparently n.o.body knows. The papers say he turned up a couple of years ago... he won"t talk about his past. He joined Tammany Hall, and he"s sweeping everything before him.
GER. What do you suppose will come of it?
ISMAN. Oh, he"ll get elected... what is it he"s to be... an alderman?...
and then he"ll sell out, like all the rest. I was talking about it this afternoon, with Plimpton and Rutherford.
MRS. B.-W. They"re to be here to-night, I understand.
ISMAN. Yes... so they mentioned. Ah! Here"s Estelle!
ESTELLE. [Enters, centre, with an armful of roses.] Ah! Mrs.
Bagley-Willis! Good evening!
MRS. B.-W. Good evening, Estelle.
EST. Good evening, father. h.e.l.lo, Gerald.
GER. My, aren"t we gorgeous to-night!
EST. Just aren"t we!
MRS. B.-W. The adventure doesn"t seem to have hurt you. Where is your mother?
GER. She went into the drawing-room. [MRS. B.-W. and ISMAN go off, right; ESTELLE is about to follow.] Estelle!
EST. What is it?
GER. What"s this I hear about your adventure last night?
EST. [With sudden seriousness.] Oh, Gerald! [Comes closer.] It was a frightful thing! I"ve hardly dared to think about it!
GER. Tell me.
EST. Gerald, that man was talking straight at me... he meant every bit of it for me!
GER. Tell me the story.
EST. Why, you know, Lord Alderdyce had heard about this wild fellow, Steve O"Hagen, who"s made such a sensation this campaign. And he"s interested in our election and wanted to hear O"Hagen speak. He said he had a friend who"d arrange for us to be introduced to him; and so we went down there. And there was a most frightful crowd... it was an outdoor meeting, you know. We pushed our way into a saloon, where the mob was shouting around this O"Hagen. And then he caught sight of us...
and Gerald, from the moment he saw me he never took his eyes off me!
Never once!
GER. [Smiling.] Well, Estelle... you"ve been looked at before.
EST. Ah, but never like that!
GER. What sort of a man is he?
EST. He"s small and dark and ugly... he wore a rough reefer and cap ...
but Gerald, he"s no common man! There"s something strange and terrible about him... there"s a fire blazing in him. The detective who was with us introduced us to him... and he stood there and stared at me! I tried to say something or other... "I"ve been so interested in your speech, Mr. O"Hagen." And he laughed at me... "Yes, I"ve no doubt." And then suddenly... it was as if he leaped at me! He pointed his finger straight into my face, and his eyes fairly shone. "Wait for me! I"ll be with you!
I"m coming to the top!"
GER. Good G.o.d!
EST. Imagine it! I was simply paralyzed! "Mark what I tell you," he went on... "it"ll be of interest to you some day to remember it. You may wait for me! I"m coming! You will not escape me!"
GER. Why... he"s mad!
EST. He was like a wild beast. Everybody in the place was staring at us as he rushed on. "You have joy and power and freedom... all the privileges of life... all things that are excellent and beautiful. You are born to them... you claim them! And you come down here to stare at us as you might at some strange animals in a cage. You chatter and laugh and go your way... but remember what I told you. .. I shall be with you!
You cannot keep ME down! I shall be master of you all!"
GER. Incredible!
EST. And then in a moment it was all over. He made a mocking bow to the party... "It has given me the greatest pleasure in the world to meet you!" And with a wild laugh he went out of the door... and the crowd in the street burst into a roar that was like a clap of thunder. [A pause.]
Gerald, what do you think he meant?
GER. My dear, you"ve been up against the cla.s.s-war. It"s rather the fashion now, you know.
EST. Oh, but it was horrible! I can"t get it out of my mind. We heard some of his speech afterwards... and it seemed as if every word of it was meant for me! He lashed the crowd to a perfect fury... I think they"d have set fire to the city if he"d told them to. What do you suppose he expects to do?
GER. I can"t imagine, I"m sure.
EST. I should like to know more about him. He was never raised in the slums, I feel certain.
GER. Steve O"Hagen. The name sounds Irish.