Sound and Fury

by O. Henry

　　

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PERSONS OF THE DRAMA Mr. PENNE. . . . . . An AuthorMiss LORE. . . . . . An Amanuensis SCENE--Workroom of Mr. Penne's popular novel factory. MR. PENNE--Good morning, Miss Lore. Glad to see you so prompt. We shouldfinish that June installment for the Epoch to-day. Leverett is crowdingme for it. Are you quite ready? We will resume where we left offyesterday. (Dictates.) "Kate, with a sigh, rose from his knees, and----" Miss LORE--Excuse me; you mean "rose from her knees," instead of "his,"don't you? MR. PENNE--Er--no--"his," if you please. It is the love scene in thegarden. (Dictates.) "Rose from his knees where, blushing with youth'sbewitching coyness, she had rested for a moment after Cortland haddeclared his love. The hour was one of supreme and tender joy. WhenKate--scene that Cortland never--" Miss LORE--Excuse me; but wouldn't it be more grammatical to say "whenKate SAW," instead of "seen"? MR. PENNE--The context will explain. (DICTATES.) "When Kate--scene thatCortland never forgot--came tripping across the lawn it seemed to himthe fairest sight that earth had ever offered to his gaze." Miss LORE--Oh! MR. PENNE (dictates)--"Kate had abandoned herself to the joy of hernew-found love so completely, that no shadow of her former grief wascast upon it. Cortland, with his arm firmly entwined about her waist,knew nothing of her sighs--" MISS LORE--Goodness! If he couldn't tell her size with his arm around-- MR. PENNE (frowning)--"Of her sighs and tears of the previous night." MISS LORE--Oh! MR.PENNE (dictates)--"To Cortland the chief charm of this girl was herlook of innocence and unworldiness. Never had nun--" MISS LORE--How about changing that to "never had any?" MR. PENNE (emphatically)--"Never had nun in cloistered cell a face moresweet and pure." MISS LORE--Oh! MR. PENNE (dictates)--"But now Kate must hasten back to the house lesther absence be discovered. After a fond farewell she turned and spedlightly away. Cortland's gaze followed her. He watched her rise--" MISS LORE--Excuse me, Mr. Penne; but how could he watch her eyes whileher back was turned toward him? MR. PENNE (with extreme politeness)--Possibly you would gather mymeaning more intelligently if you would wait for the conclusion of thesentence. (Dictates.) "Watched her rise as gracefully as a fawn as shemounted the eastern terrace." MISS LORE--Oh! Mr. PENNE (dictates)--"And yet Cortland's position was so far above thatof this rustic maiden that he dreaded to consider the social upheavalthat would ensue should he marry her. In no uncertain tones thetraditional voices of his caste and world cried out loudly to him to lether go. What should follow----" MISS LORE (looking up with a start)--I'm sure I can't say, Mr. Penne.Unless (with a giggle) you would want to add "Gallegher." Mr.PENNE (coldly)--Pardon me. I was not seeking to impose upon you thetask of a collaborator. Kindly consider the question a part of the text. MISS LORE--Oh! Mr. PENNE (dictates)--"On one side was love and Kate; on the other sidehis heritage of social position and family pride. Would love win? Love,that the poets tell us will last forever! (Perceives that Miss Lorelooks fatigued, and looks at his watch.) That's a good long stretch.Perhaps we'd better knock off a bit." (Miss Lore does not reply.) Mr. PENNE--I said, Miss Lore, we've been at it quite a long time--wouldn't you like to knock off for a while? MISS LORE--Oh! Were you addressing me before? I put what you said down.I thought it belonged in the story. It seemed to fit in all right. Oh,no; I'm not tired. MR. PENNE--Very well, then, we will continue. (Dictates.) "In spite ofthese qualms and doubts, Cortland was a happy man. That night at theclub he silently toasted Kate's bright eyes in a bumper of the rarestvintage. Afterward he set out for a stroll with, as Kate on----" MISS LORE--Excuse me, Mr. Penne, for venturing a suggestion; but don'tyou think you might state that in a less coarse manner? MR. PENNE (astounded)--Wh-wh--I'm afraid I fail to understand you. MISS LORE--His condition. Why not say he was "full" or "intoxicated"? Itwould sound much more elegant than the way you express it. MR. PENNE (still darkly wandering)--Will you kindly point out, MissLore, where I have intimated that Cortland was "full," if you preferthat word? MISS LORE (calmly consulting her stenographic notes)--It is right here,word for word. (Reads.) "Afterward he set out for a stroll with a skateon." MR. PENNE (with peculiar emphasis)--Ah! And now will you kindly takedown the expurgated phrase? (Dictates.) "Afterward he set out for astroll with, as Kate on one occasion had fancifully told him, her spiritleaning upon his arm." MISS LORE--Oh! Mr. PENNE (dictates)--Chapter thirty-four. Heading--"What Kate Found inthe Garden." "That fragrant summer morning brought gracious tasks toall. The bees were at the honeysuckle blossoms on the porch. Kate,singing a little song, was training the riotous branches of her favoritewoodbine. The sun, himself, had rows----" MISS LORE--Shall I say "had risen"? MR. PENNE (very slowly and with desperate deliberation)--"The--sun--himself--had--rows--of--blushing--pinks--and--bollyhocks--and--hyacinths--waiting--that--he--might--dry--their--dew-drenched--cups." MISS LORE--Oh! MR. PENNE(dictates)--"The earliest trolley, scattering the birds fromits pathway like some marauding cat, brought Cortland over from Oldport.He had forgotten his fair--" MISS LORE--Hm! Wonder how he got the conductor to---- Mr. PENNE (very loudly)--"Forgotten his fair and roseate visions of thenight in the practical light of the sober morn." MISS LORE--Oh! MR. PENNE (dictates)--"He greeted her with his usual smile and manner.'See the waves,' he cried, pointing to the heaving waters of the sea,'ever wooing and returning to the rockbound shore.'" "'Ready to break,'Kate said, with----" MISS LORE--My! One evening he has his arm around her, and the nextmorning he's ready to break her head! Just like a man! MR. PENNE (with suspicious calmness)--There are times, Miss Lore, when aman becomes so far exasperated that even a woman--But suppose we finishthe sentence. (Dictates.) "'Ready to break,' Kate said, with thethrilling look of a soul-awakened woman, 'into foam and spray,destroying themselves upon the shore they love so well." MISS LORE--Oh! MR. PENNE (dictates)--"Cortland, in Kate's presence heard faintly thevoice of caution. Thirty years had not cooled his ardor. It was in hispower to bestow great gifts upon this girl. He still retained thebeliefs that he had at twenty." (To Miss Lore, wearily) I think thatwill be enough for the present. MISS LORE (wisely)--Well, if he had the twenty that he believed he had,it might buy her a rather nice one. MR. PENNE (faintly)--The last sentence was my own. We will discontinuefor the day, Miss Lore. MISS LORE--Shall I come again to-morrow? MR. PENNE (helpless under the spell)--If you will be so good. (Exit Miss Lore.) ASBESTOS CURTAIN

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