"Come in." "Mr. Spencer." "Mr. Spencer, I hate to bother you, but I thought you'd like to know there were two men here." "Two men asking for you, a young man and a kind of older man." "They was sorry you wasn't in." "I said you wasn't." "Did they say they'd be back?" "They didn't say exactly, but I think they will." "Just now, when I had to go down to the store," "I seen them standing there at the corner." "Maybe I should've let them in, only you said not to disturb you..." "Yes?" "And I'm sure they'll be back." "You look kind of tired to me, and that's a fact." "You got a headache or something?" "I think maybe you need a real rest." "That's what I think." "Why, Mr. Spencer, you oughtn't to leave all that money lying around like that." "Oh, it makes me nervous to see money lying around." "Everybody in the world ain't honest, you know." "Though I must say, I haven't had much trouble that way." "Those friends of yours told me not to mention they'd called." "Wanted to surprise you." "But I thought you'd like to know somehow." "Yes, yes." "Of course." "If they come back, you may show them in." "Yes." "You know, Mrs. Martin, it's very funny." "They aren't exactly friends of mine." "They've never seen me." "That's odd, isn't it?" "It is odd, like you say." "And now that I'm here, I'll have to meet them." "I may even go out and meet them." "Then again, I may not." "Not yet." "You go ahead with your nap." "I'll pull down the blind." "What do you know?" "You're bluffing." "You've nothing on me." "Hello, Postal Union?" "I want to send a telegram to Mrs. Joseph Newton in Santa Rosa, California." "Here's the message." "Ready?" "Lonesome for you all." "Stop." "Am coming out to stay with you awhile." "Stop." "Will arrive Thursday, and try and stop me." "Will wire exact time later." "Love to you all, and a kiss for little Charlie from her Uncle Charlie." "That's right." "That's the signature." ""Uncle Charlie."" "That's right." "Santa Rosa." "Santa Rosa, California." "Ann!" "Ann, answer the telephone." "Newtons' residence." "Ann Newton speaking." "Oh, hello, Mrs. Henderson." "This is Ann." "Mother isn't home yet." "A telegram?" "Well..." "I don't see a pencil, so maybe she better call you back." "I'm trying to keep my mind free of things that don't matter, because I have so much to keep on my mind." "Innumerable things." "I'll have her call back." "Thank you for calling." "Goodbye." "Hello, Ann." "Where's your mother?" " She's out." " Out?" "Mrs. Henderson just called from the Postal Union Office." "She says we have a telegram." "I would have taken it down, only I couldn't find a pencil." "I looked." "Telegram, eh?" "I knew there'd be trouble if your Aunt Sarah got her driver's license." "Whereabouts was the accident?" "I didn't take notes." "Oh." "Then how about a kiss?" "Isn't that the funniest thing?" "Here I am, practically a child, and I wouldn't read the things you read." "Mmm-hmm." "Well, I guess they'd give you bad dreams." "Bad dreams?" "You don't understand, Papa." "Mystery stories have done..." " Where's Roger?" " Out." "The average mind..." " Where's Charlie?" " Out." "No, I mean she's upstairs in her room thinking." "Well, don't read too much." "You'll ruin your eyes." "And leave my book alone." "What's that you're reading?" " Ivanhoe." " Hmm?" "Oh." "Who is it?" "It's me." "What's the matter?" "Don't you feel well?" "No." "I'm perfectly well." "I've just been thinking for hours, and I've come to the conclusion that I give up." "I simply give up." "What are you going to give up?" "Have you ever stopped to think that a family should be the most wonderful thing in the world?" "And that this family has just gone to pieces?" "We have?" "Of course we have." "We just sort of go along and nothing happens." "We're in a terrible rut." "It's been on my mind for months." "What's going to be our future?" "Oh, come now, Charlie." "Things aren't as bad as that." "The bank gave me a raise last January." "Money." "How can you talk about money when I'm talking about souls?" "We eat and sleep, and that's about all." "We don't even have any real conversations." " We just talk." " And work." "Yes." "Poor Mother." "She works like a dog." "Just like a dog." "Where is she?" "She's out." "When she comes back, it'll be the same thing." "Dinner, then dishes, then bed." "I don't see how she stands it." "You know, she's really a wonderful woman." "I mean, she's not just a mother." "And I think we ought to do something for her." "Don't you think we should?" "Yeah." "What were you thinking of doing for her?" "Oh, nothing, I suppose." "I guess we'll just have to wait for a miracle or something." "Oh, now, Charlie, you're right." "Absolutely right." "I'll figure out some way..." "Oh, I don't believe in good intentions anymore." "All I'm waiting for now is a miracle." "Oh, Charlie." "Those back stairs are steep." "What's the matter, Charlie?" "What's the matter, Joe?" "Well, it seems that..." "Oh, I've become a nagging old maid." "And you went downtown in that awful old hat you promised me you'd throw away." " Mama." " Darling, what does it matter what hat I put on?" "Mama." "Mother, I don't see why you let that child yell at you like that." " She's..." " I'm going downstairs anyway." "Joe, what were you both talking about when I came in?" "Something about a miracle?" "Oh, it's nothing." "Charlie's a bit under the weather." "Well, she'll be all right." "Well, come on, dear." "Let's go downstairs." "No use standing here." "I'm going to get myself a bottle of beer." "Mother, I'm going downtown and send a telegram." "Why, darling, who do you know to send a telegram to?" "I know a wonderful person who'll come and shake us all up." "Just the one to save us." "Have you gone crazy?" "What do you mean, "Save us"?" "All this time, there's been one right person to save us." "Mother, what's Uncle Charlie's address?" "Uncle Charlie?" "Now, you're not going to ask him for money, are you?" "Of course not." "That wouldn't help us." "What's his address?" "Well, the last address..." "Do you know how many steps I had to take to get from here to the drugstore and back?" "649." "No." "If you've forgotten, I'm not going to tell you." "I remember." "Philadelphia." "But, darling, you can't ask a busy man like that to come all this way for nothing." "He'll come for me." "I'm named after him." "Besides, we're the only relatives he has in the world." "If you come all the way up Fourth Street, it's 802." "Mama, guess what?" "I have no time for guessing." "What's that thing in your hair?" "Well, I'll tell you anyway, even though I think it's nicer when people guess." "Mrs. Henderson said to call her at the telegraph office, 'cause she says we have a telegram." "Ann, I don't think you ought to put things behind your ears." "Something might get into your ear." "Emmy, Ann says we have a telegram." "I think you ought to find out about it." "Somebody might be sick or something." "Mrs. Henderson didn't read the telegram..." "Did you say telegram for me?" "because I couldn't find a pencil." "When I have a house of my own, it's going to be full of well-sharpened pencils." "Did Mrs. Henderson say who the telegram was from?" " No, she didn't." " I think that's funny." "I think she might have said who it was from." "Come on, Ann." "That's my chair." "I'll call up and find out." "If you all be quiet..." "Just a second." "Hello. 181, please." "I wonder who it can be." "Oh, nothing, Operator." "Just 181." " If that's from my sister..." " Hello?" "Mrs. Henderson?" "This is Emma Newton." "Ann says you have a telegram for me." " Mama, you don't have to shout." " Shh." "Really, Papa." "You'd think Mama had never seen a phone." "She makes no allowance for science." "She thinks she has to cover the distance by sheer lung power." "Why, how wonderful." "Thursday, you say?" "Looks like somebody's coming." "Who's coming, Ma?" "Well, it's the most wonderful surprise." "It's my brother, you know." "My younger brother." "The baby." "Yes, of course, a little spoiled." "You know how families always spoil the youngest." "Well, it's just simply wonderful." "Thanks most awfully, Mrs. Henderson." "Well." "What do you think?" " Charles is coming." " Who?" " Who?" " Your Uncle Charlie." "Did you say "Charles"?" "And our Charlie's gone to send him a telegram." "Now, what made her think to do that at the same time?" "And now Charlie's gone." "Hello, Charlie." "I just called up your house." "Telegram for your mother." "Did you?" "Gonna send that by Bill Forest, but you can take it." "Thanks." "From your uncle, it's the spoiled one." "My uncle?" "My Uncle Charlie?" "Yeah." "Mrs. Henderson, do you believe in telepathy?" "Well, I ought to." "That's my business." "Oh, not telegraphy." "Mental telepathy." "Like..." "Well, suppose you have a thought, and suppose the thought is about someone you're in tune with." "And then across thousands of miles, that person knows what you're thinking about and answers you." "And it's all mental." "I don't know what you're talking about." "I only send telegrams the normal way." "He heard me." "He heard me." " Mr. Otis?" "Mr. Otis?" " Yes?" "You're almost in Santa Rosa." "Want to be ready when you get into Santa Rosa." "I'm ready now." "Thanks." "Then I'll get all your bags out for you, then." "How you feeling, Mr. Otis?" "Pretty well." "A little weak, but pretty well on the whole." "Mmm-hmm." "Harry, tell the porter you're a doctor." "Ask if there's anything you can do." "Maybe you can help that poor soul." "Listen, I'm on my vacation." "Porter, my husband's a doctor and if there's anything..." "No, ma'am." "He's a very sick man." "Won't see anyone." "I haven't set eyes on him myself since we first got on the train." "Well, you don't look very well either." "Here we are." "Come on, children." "Close the door, there." "That's right." " Oh, are you..." " Charlie." "Young Charlie." "At first, I didn't know you." "I thought you were sick." " Sick?" " You aren't sick, are you?" "Look, Pop!" "Here he is!" "Why, Uncle Charlie, you're not sick." "That was the funniest thing." "Sick?" "Me, sick?" "Well, Joe, how are you?" "Haven't changed a bit." "All right, Charles." "You're looking great." "Roger." "Hello, Ann." "I bet you don't remember me." "I remember you sort of." "You look different." "Well, we better get started." "Emma's got the dinner almost ready." "I couldn't persuade her to come to the station." "Dinner came first." "Come on, Roger, get the bags." " All right, Charles, I'll take that." " Thank you, Joe." "That's it." "Come on." "Let's go." "Come on there, Roger, and get these bags in." "Come on." "You sure that isn't too heavy for you?" "Oh, no." "It's nothing." "I love to carry." "Emma." "Don't move." "Standing there, you don't look like Emma Newton." "You look like Emma Spencer Oakley of 46 Burnham Street, St. Paul, Minnesota." ""The prettiest girl on the block."" "Charles!" " Charlie." " Mama, nobody got off the train but Uncle Charlie." " Let me look at you." " We were the only ones who met somebody." "There was only one bed still made up." "To think you could take the time off." "Oh, Charles, it's so wonderful to have you here." "Emmy, Emmy, don't cry." "And imagine your thinking of 46 Burnham Street." "I haven't thought of that funny old street in years." "I keep remembering those things." "All the old things." "Well, Emmy, how's he look to you?" "Same old Charles, eh?" "Roger, Ann, get these other bags." "You have Charlie's room right here at the head of the stairs." "Emmy wanted to move Ann, but Charlie thought you'd be more comfortable here." "Come on, Roger." "Don't put the hat on the bed." "Superstitious, Joe?" "No, but I don't believe in inviting trouble." "It wasn't the biggest yacht in the world, but it had a nice little fireplace in the library, and the bar was paneled in bleached mahogany." "You pushed a button and..." "What am I talking about?" "That's all over." "Let's talk about you." "Charlie, that's the prettiest dress I ever saw." "I think so, too." "Why, Charles, don't you remember?" "Remember?" "Remember what?" " Why, Uncle Charlie, you sent it to me." " I did?" "Well, say, I've been sitting here all this time forgetting something." "Ann." "Roger." " Look at that." "Oh, dear now." " Joe." "Don't know whether you had one or not." "You didn't have to think of me, Charles." "Presents for the children are all right." "Say..." "I've never had a wristwatch." "Fellows at the bank will think I'm quite a sport." "I have two for you, Emmy, one old and one new." "Oh, Charles." "What is it?" " You shouldn't have." "Really." "No." " Oh, yes." "Oh, Charles." "Oh, how beautiful." "Oh, I've always wanted one." "Oh, Mother, it's exactly right." "It's what you should have." "Look, Emmy." "Charles." "You've had these all along." "Mmm-hmm." "All along, Emmy." "All these years." "Safe in a deposit box." "No matter where I was." "Grandpa and Grandma?" "1888." "Fifty-three years ago." "Aren't they sweet?" "My, she was pretty." "Everybody was sweet and pretty then, Charlie." "The whole world." "A wonderful world." "Not like the world today." "Not like the world now." "It was great to be young then." "We're all happy now, Uncle Charlie." "Look at us." "For once, we're all happy at the same time." "Now for your present, Charlie." "Oh, I don't want anything." "Right now, I have enough." "Before you came, I didn't think I had anything, but now I don't want another thing." "She's crazy." "She doesn't mean it." "Really." "If you ask me, I think she's putting on, like girls in books." "The ones that say they don't want anything always get more in the end." "That's what she's hoping." "She's not crazy." "The smartest girl in her class at school." "Won the debate against the East Richmond High School single-handed." "She's got brains." "I meant it." "Please don't give me anything." "Nothing?" "Oh, I can't explain it." "But you came here, and Mother's so happy and..." "Oh, I'm glad that she named me after you and that she thinks we're both alike." "I think we are, too." "I know it." "Oh, it would spoil things if you should give me anything." "You're a strange girl, Charlie." "Why would it spoil things?" "Because we're not just an uncle and a niece." "It's something else." "I know you." "I know that you don't tell people a lot of things." "I don't either." "I have a feeling that inside you somewhere, there's something nobody knows about." "Something nobody knows?" "Something secret and wonderful and..." "I'll find it out." "It's not good to find out too much, Charlie." "But we're sort of like twins." "Don't you see?" "We have to know." "Give me your hand, Charlie." "Thank you." "You didn't even look at it." "I don't have to look at it." "No matter what you gave me, it'd be the same." "Here." "Let me show you." "It's a good emerald." "A really good one." "Good emeralds are the most beautiful things in the world." "You've had something engraved on it that's different." "I haven't, but I will if you like it." "Yes, you have, Uncle Charlie." "It's very faint." ""T.S. from B.M."" "Why, it must be someone's initials." "Well, I've been rooked." "The jeweler rooked me." "Oh, it doesn't matter." "Really." "Give it back." "I'll have it taken off." "No, no." "I like it this way." "Someone else was probably happy with this ring." "Oh, it's perfect the way it is." "You bring the coffee." "Sing at the table, you'll marry a crazy husband." "Superstitions have been proved 100% wrong." "Yes, I've been thinking of transferring some money out here from the east." "I could put it in your bank, Joe, until I found out what's what." "I suppose your bank does take money, huh?" "That's one thing we do, all right." "Rake in the dough." "Can't promise to give it back." "Well, I think I'll go downtown in the morning and open an account at, say, 30 or $40,000, just to start things off right?" "That's a lot of money." "He won't have it long." "The government will get it." "The government gets..." "You're not to talk against the government, Roger." "My goodness." "The way men do things." "I can't get that tune out of my head." "Maybe if somebody tells me what it is, I'll forget it." "It's a waltz." "I know it is, but what one?" "You know, it's the funniest thing." "Sometimes I get a tune in my head like that and, pretty soon, I hear somebody else humming it, too." "I think tunes jump from head to head." "Do you know what it is, Uncle Charlie?" "No, no." "I don't know what it is." "I remember." "Uh..." "It's on the tip of my tongue." "It's a waltz, and it's Victor Herbert." "Victor Herbert wasn't a waltz." " He was..." " It's the Blue Danube waltz." "Oh, yes." "Of course it is." "No, it isn't, Uncle Charlie." "I know what it is." "It's the Merry..." "I'm terribly sorry, Emmy." "Nothing to make a fuss over." "Charles, while we do the dishes, why don't you come in the living room and stretch out on the sofa and read the evening paper?" "You never were much on helping." "Joe, here's Herbert." "Ann, Roger." "Help me clear the table." "Herbert's a friend of Joe's." "They're literary critics." "Hello, Herb." "Had your supper?" "Had mine an hour ago." "Hour ago, huh?" " Oh, a watch." " Yeah." "A present." "Herb, I'd like you to meet my brother-in-law." "Charles, this is Herb Hawkins." "Nice to know you, Mr. Hawkins." "Fine, thank you." "How's your mother, Herb?" " Oh, just middling." " Uh-huh." "Excuse me, Herb." "Thank you." "I'm sorry your mother's not better." " Thank you, dear." " Oh, yeah." " There, now." " Thank you." "Lead a life of luxury." "Well, I must go and see what Charlie's doing." "Wife's brother from the east." "New York man." "Good for the children." "You know what I mean?" " In business?" " Well, he takes himself very seriously." "Well, how's everything?" "Say, have you read this one?" "Huh?" "That little Frenchman beats them all." "You can talk all you like about Sherlock Holmes." "That little Frenchman beats them all." "I read it." "Air bubbles don't necessarily kill a person." "Those writers from the other side get too fancy." "The best way to commit a murder..." "I know." "I know." "Hit them on the head with a blunt instrument." "Well, it's true, isn't it?" "Listen." "If I wanted to murder you tomorrow, do you think I'd waste my time on fancy hypodermics?" " Or on inee?" " What's that?" "Inee." "Indian arrow poison." "Listen." "I'd find out if you were alone, walk in, hit you on the head with a piece of lead pipe or a loaded cane..." "What'd be the fun of that?" "Where's your planning?" "Where's your clues?" "I don't want any clues." "I want to murder you." "What do I want with clues?" "Well, if you haven't got any clues, where's your book?" "I'm not talking about writing books." "I'm talking about killing you!" "If I was going to kill you," "I wouldn't do a dumb thing like hitting you on the head." "First of all, I don't like the fingerprint angle." "Of course, I could always wear gloves, press your hands against the pipe after you were dead, and make you look like a suicide." "Except it don't seem hardly likely that you'd beat yourself to death with a club." "I'd murder you so it didn't look like murder." "Oh, Ann?" " What?" " Come here." "Did you ever see a house made out of newspapers?" "Hold on." "You take one sheet here." "Okay?" "And you tear it down here." "And you tear it there." "And you fold it over here, the side." "Fold over the other side here." "And turn it up there." "Now the door." "Right off..." "And there." "I'm not a baby anymore." "Besides, that's Papa's paper." "Oh, Roger, look what we've got." "A nice, little red barn." "You've got Papa's paper." "Oh, that's all right." "Simply unfold it." "Nobody will ever know the difference." "What are you two doing?" "You know that's your father's paper." "Oh, it's my fault, Charlie." "I was showing them a little game." "Didn't think about it being Joe's paper." "Oh, that's all right." "Here's page one, five, eight..." "What'd you do with page three and four?" "We never touched it." "Really." "Uncle Charlie's the only one that touched it." "Oh, well." "I guess it's all right." "If I fold it very neatly, maybe he won't notice." "Come in." "I brought you water." "Oh, thank you, Charlie." "That's very thoughtful of you." "Pleasant dreams." "Uncle Charlie, I know a secret about you, you don't think I know." "What secret?" "Well, remember I said you couldn't hide anything from me because I'd find it out?" "Well, now I know there was something in the evening paper about you." "About me in the evening paper?" "About you." "And that's why you played that game with Ann and Roger." "You didn't want us to know and you wanted to tear the paper." "Now I know." "You might as well tell me." "Well, you've got me there, Charlie." "Only it wasn't about me." "It was about someone I used to know." "There!" "It's none of your business." "Uncle Charlie, you're hurting me." " Oh, Charlie." " Your hands." "Charlie, I didn't mean to hurt you." "I was just fooling." "It was nothing." "Just some gossip." "Not very pretty about someone I once met up with." "Not for you to read." "Forget it." "Good night, young Charlie." "Good night, Uncle Charlie." "Pleasant dreams." "How long is Uncle Charlie going to stay here?" "Forever, I hope." "Hasn't he got a house of his own?" "Not that I mind you in here, but I never can tell when I'll want some privacy." "You better go to sleep, baby." " You said your prayers?" " I forgot." "You better say them." "I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep..." "Don't bless too many people." "It's late." "I pray the Lord my soul to take." "God bless Mama, Papa, Captain Midnight," "Veronica Lake, and the President of the United States." "You can't say them all tonight, dear." "Oh, and Uncle Charlie." "Amen." "All ready for breakfast?" "Oh, coffee." "Emmy." "'Cause I don't know how you do it." "Now, I'm never comfortable eating in bed." "Of course, I've had to have my meals in bed for a while after the children came, but I never liked it." "I can't face the world in the morning." "I must have coffee before I can speak." "Well, I don't mind pampering you your first morning, but I think you're the only person in this town to have breakfast at 10:30." "And while you were sleeping, the newspaper called up for an interview." " With me?" " Mmm-hmm." "And the women's club I belong to wants you to give them a little talk." "Women's club." "Oh!" "Oh, you haven't finished unpacking." " I'll do that for you." " Where's Charlie?" "She's running around the house as though she'd lost her mind." "She thinks everything needs fixing." "But what I wanted to tell you was that you are not the only celebrity in this town." "The whole Newton family is going to be in the limelight." "What are you cooking up?" "Well, a young man called this morning, said his name was Graham, and he wants to interview everybody in this house." " Interview everybody?" " That's what he said." "He's being sent around the country by some kind of institute or committee or something." "He has to pick representative American families and ask them questions." "It's a kind of a poll." "It's called the National Public Survey." "Wonder how he happened to pick this family?" "Well, he said he wanted a typical American family." "I told him we weren't a typical American family." "Well, if he's going to ask a lot of questions, he can leave me out of it." "Oh, but you could tell him so much more than any of us could." "He's going to take our pictures, too." "Pictures." "My." "Isn't that lovely?" "You see, there were really two young men." "One of them takes the pictures." "Oh, there were two." "Yes." "Mr. Graham was the nicest." "Oh, he doesn't want us to dress up or anything." "He just wants us to act the way we always do." "Emmy, women are fools." "They'd fall for anything." "Why do you let two strangers come into your house and turn the place upside down?" "Why expose the family to a couple of snoopers?" "You ought to have better sense." "Why, Charles, I..." "Good morning, Uncle Charlie." "Good morning, Charlie." "Your mother's been telling me about the Newtons being picked for All-American suckers." "What do you know about it?" "Oh, Charlie wasn't here when they came." "But really, Charles, the way Mr. Graham told it, it wasn't like snooping at all." "It was our duty as citizens." "It's something the government wants." " Government?" " Maybe not exactly, but it's for the public good." "When I told them about you and all the places you've been, he was really interested." "Now, listen, Emmy." "I'll have nothing to do with this." "I'm just a visitor here, and my advice to you is to slam the door in his face." "Well, I couldn't do that." "But you don't have to meet him if you don't want to." "Well, I think I'd be kind of exciting." "He'd take your photograph, and then we could have it for nothing." "No, thank you." "I've never been photographed in my life, and I don't want to be." "Oh, Charles, how can you talk that way?" "I had a photograph of you." "I gave it to Charlie." "I tell you, there are none." "I guess you've forgotten this one." "Get it, Charlie." "You sure you don't remember?" "Of course I don't ever remember being photographed." "46 Burnham Street." "Mmm-hmm." "It was taken the Christmas you got your bicycle." "Just before your accident." "Uncle Charlie, you were beautiful." "Wasn't he, though?" "And such a quiet boy." "Always reading." "I always said Papa never should've bought you that bicycle." "You didn't know how to handle it." "Charlie, he took it right out on the icy road and skidded into a streetcar." "We thought he was going to die." "I'm glad he didn't." "Well, he almost did." "He fractured his skull, and he was laid up so long." "And then, when he was getting well, there was no holding him." "It was just as though all the rest he had was, well, too much for him, and he had to get into mischief to blow off steam." "He didn't do much reading after that, let me tell you." "It was taken the very day he had his accident." "And then a few days later, when the pictures came home, how Mama cried." "She wondered if he'd ever look the same." "She wondered if he'd ever be the same." "What's the use of looking backward?" "What's the use of looking ahead?" "Today's the thing." "That's my philosophy." "Today." "Well, if today's the thing, then you'd better finish your breakfast and get down to the bank because Joe'll be waiting." "And, Charlie, don't be late back because the questionnaire men are coming at 4:00." " Good morning, Charlie." " Hello, Madge." "Good morning, Charlie." "Hello, Catherine." "Did you see the way they looked at you?" "I bet they wonder who you are." "Oh, Uncle Charlie, I love to walk with you." "I want everybody to see you." "There's Papa in that window over there." "Hello, Joe." "Can you stop embezzling a minute and give me your attention?" "Charles, we don't joke about such things here." "Oh, what's a little shortage in the books at the end of the month?" "Any good bank clerk can cover up a little shortage." "Isn't that right, Charlie?" "Uncle Charlie, you're awful." "Everyone can hear you." "Good thing they can, we all know what banks are." "Look all right to an outsider, but no one knows what goes on when the doors are locked." "Can't fool me, though." "Well, Joe, let's see your president." " Still want to open that account, Charles?" " That's why I'm here." "Well, you wait right here, and I'll see if Mr. Greene's busy." "And, Charles, he doesn't care much for jokes about banks." "Well, $40,000 is no joke." "Not to him, I bet." "It's a joke to me." "The whole world's a joke to me." "I'll be right back." "You shouldn't tease Papa like that." "I wasn't teasing him." "I just hate this stuffy atmosphere." "They're waving for us to come in." " Hello, Mr. Greene." " Hello, Charlie." "Mr. Greene, this is my brother-in-law, Mr. Oakley." " How do you do?" " How are you, Mr. Oakley?" "Well, Mr. Greene, I was thinking of settling down here for awhile." "Great country." "Great country." "We think so." "What have you been doing, Mr. Oakley?" "Well, I suppose you might call me a promoter." "I've done a little bit of everything." "The only trouble I find is that once I make the money, I'm not interested in it." "Not interested in money?" "You know as well as I do there's plenty of money lying around waiting for somebody to pick it up." "I thought maybe I'd put some of my loose cash away for safekeeping." "Naturally, I thought of the bank where Joe works." "Loose cash?" "Well, I got in a habit of carrying a lot of cash with me when I was traveling." "A dangerous habit, Mr. Oakley." "Never lost a penny in my life, Mr. Greene." "I guess heaven takes care of fools and scoundrels." "Yes." "Thirty, 35, 40... $40,000." "Shall we start with 40?" "If you'll just write out a deposit slip, Mr. Oakley." "Ah, details." "I'm glad to see that you're a man who understands details, Mr. Greene." "They're most important to me." "Most important." "All the little details." "Oh, dear." "I'm sorry." "I didn't know you were busy." "We can come back." "Come in, now that you're here." "Come in." "Mrs. Greene, I'd like you to meet my uncle, Mr. Oakley." "Uncle Charlie, this is Mrs. Greene and Mrs. Potter." "Mrs. Greene, Miss Potter." "Mrs. Potter." "Oh, and there was something about you that made me think that..." "Yes?" "What did you want, Margaret?" "Well, we were going shopping and I only have five dollars, so I..." "There's one good thing in being a widow, isn't there?" "You don't have to ask your husband for money." "Here you are." "Oh, thank you." "Good-bye, Mr. Oakley." " Mrs. Potter." " Bye, Mrs. Greene." "There." "There you are, Mr. Greene." "Charlie, let's see the town and have some lunch." "Good-bye, Mr. Oakley." " Bye, Mr. Greene." " Call on us for advice anytime." " Thank you." " Joe, you may see Mr. Oakley to the door." "Joe, keep your eyes open." "You'll have his job in a couple of years." "Here he is." "Those must be the questionnaire men." "They're a whole hour early." "I won't see them." "Don't worry." "You don't have to if you don't want to." "I'll see that you don't." "The way they got around your mother." "I thought she'd have better sense." " How do you do?" " How do you do?" "You must be the men who want to interview us." "My name is Graham, Miss Newton." " How do you do?" " And this is Fred Saunders." "How do you do?" "Won't you come in?" "I'll call my mother." "Thank you." "Mother, the government men are here." "Will you sit down?" "But you said 4:00." "Nothing's ready now." "My husband is still at the bank and the house is..." "That's all we want now, Mrs. Newton." "Some pictures of the house." "Saunders can get busy, and I'd like to ask a few questions, if you don't mind." "Well, all right, but I do wish you'd waited until I had the house looking its best." "I wanted to have flowers around and fresh curtains in the kitchen." "And there are a lot of things I don't want you to photograph." "I believe you told me you owned the house?" "Own it?" "It owns us." "It seems to me no sooner do I get one thing fixed, then something else gets broken." "And then it needs fresh paint and the..." "Mr. Saunders, I'm very sorry, but you simply cannot take a picture with that chair in it." "It needs a new slipcover." "And there are six in your family?" "Five." "Five?" "But..." "Well, my uncle's just visiting." "I told you about him." "He's here from the east on a little visit." "Just put down five, because my uncle doesn't want to be bothered with a lot of questions." "Well, you see, on a survey, we usually..." "He's not interested in the survey, and I promised him he wouldn't be bothered." "Well, we'd like it if we could get all of you." "You know, your opinions, what you do, or what you want to do." "My uncle's opinions aren't average, and I'm afraid they wouldn't help you a bit." "Besides, I think when someone asks for privacy, they should have it." "Well, we'll..." "The whole idea of this thing is that..." "Mr. Graham, perhaps you'd better choose another family." "We'll do anything you say, of course, but this family seemed right and..." "It is a nice family." "Charlie, why don't you let the young men go ahead, so long as they're here?" "Well, all right." "Okay." "Saunders, go ahead and get another shot." "Mrs. Newton, perhaps you could tell me what clubs and organizations you and your husband belong to." "How about a picture in the kitchen?" "Well, I'm afraid the kitchen isn't quite the way I'd like it." "Come along." "Now, if you'll start by breaking an egg, Mrs. Newton." "Oh, but you don't start a cake by breaking an egg." "You have to put the butter and sugar in first." "You see, after all, survey or no survey," "I'm not going to start by breaking an egg." "I thought I'd make a maple cake." "My brother Charles loves maple cake." "What does your brother do, Mrs. Newton?" "Oh, I guess he just does about everything." "Oh, you mean, what does he do?" "Oh, he's just in business." "You know, the way men are." "My husband now, he works in a bank, but I think Charles is just in business." "Mr. Saunders, if you really want a picture of me breaking an egg, you'll have to wait till I cream the butter and sugar." "I'll wait." "I wonder if we could take a look at the upstairs?" "Could you show us, and your mother can call us when she's ready?" "All right." "If you'd rather wait, Mr. Saunders, you see, folding in the eggs has to be done just right." "I can't beat them and let them stand." "The minute I hear you've broken the eggs," "I'll come right down, Mrs. Newton." "Yes." "I really don't see what you want to look up here for." "Whose room is that?" "It's mine." "My uncle's using it now, though." "I'd like to get an idea what your room looks like." "Typical girl, typical room." "Typical of you to ask." "My uncle's resting." "I really don't want to disturb him." "Is there a back stairs?" "Mmm-hmm." "Right down the hall." "I'll bet you 50 cents that your uncle isn't in there." "Oh, betting's silly." "All you want to do is photograph my room." "Doesn't he, Mr. Saunders?" "That's it." "Besides, I know my uncle's in there." "All right, I'll still bet he isn't." "Let me knock and see." "I'll knock." "Uncle Charlie?" "Uncle Charlie, may we come in?" "See?" "You were right." "Nice room." "Do you mind if I take a picture or two since he isn't here?" "I certainly don't want to disturb your uncle." "Oh, I suppose so." "But I really can't imagine anyone being interested in my room." "It's not at all the way I'd like it." "I'd like to have it all white." "Yellow and white." "Might as well let him work in peace." "Besides, I'd like to talk to you." "You know, your picking us as an average family kind of gave me a funny feeling." "What kind of a funny feeling?" "Oh, I don't know." "I guess I don't like to be an average girl in an average family." "Average families are the best." "Look at me." "I'm from an average family." "As average as ours?" "Sure." "Besides, I don't think you're average." "Oh, that's because you seeing me now instead of a few days ago." "I was in the dumps, and then Uncle Charlie came and everything changed." "But your mother said he only got here last night." "Maybe you just think that..." "I don't think." "I know." "It's funny, but when I try to think of how I feel," "I always come back to Uncle Charlie." "Are you trying to tell me I shouldn't think he's so wonderful?" "Oh, no." "I..." "Mr. Saunders?" "I'm ready with the eggs." "I hope Mr. Saunders doesn't move anything in there." "My uncle's awfully neat and fussy." "Saunders is neat and fussy, too." "Is this your uncle you were telling us about?" "Yes, it is." "Now, for one of the hall." "Mr. Saunders has been taking pictures of my room." "My sister told me to remind you something about eggs and a cake." "I don't like to be photographed." "I'm afraid I'll have to ask you for the film." "Oh, Uncle Charlie." "Give it to me, please." "Give it to him, Fred." "That's too bad." "There's a picture of Mrs. Newton on this film." "Excuse me." "Mr. Saunders, I'm ready to fold in the eggs." "I can't let them stand another minute." " That was my last roll of film." " Oh." "Mr. Saunders took Uncle Charlie's picture by mistake, and Uncle Charlie made him give him back the roll." "I guess he wasn't joking about not wanting to be photographed." "We didn't want to start a family feud." "I'll get you making the cake again tomorrow, Mrs. Newton." "Mr. Saunders, I won't be making a cake again tomorrow." "Now, I want to help with an important work, but I cannot go on making cakes." "You have helped, Mrs. Newton." "And now I'd like to ask another favor." "Could I borrow your daughter for this evening?" "I'd like to look around the town a little." " Ann?" " Charlie." "Ann would be better." "Ann knows everything about everybody." "Charlie." "Well, if Charlie doesn't mind." "I don't mind." "Swell." " Good-bye, then, Mrs. Newton." " Good-bye." " 6:30?" " 6:30." "Okay." "Good-bye." "Bye." "Bye, Mr. Saunders." " Bye." " Good-bye." "He seems like a nice young man." "But I thought you were going to the movies with Catherine." "Oh, I'll tell her I don't feel well or something." "Hello, Charlie." "Well..." "Hello, Catherine." "Hello, Shirley." "Hello." " This is Jack Graham." "He's in town." " How do you do?" " How do you do?" " Hello." "How's your throat, Charlie?" "Oh, much better." "Thank you." "Bill Forest was asking about you." "Bill Forest?" " Well, good-bye." " Bye." " Good-bye." " Bye." "I know what you are, really." "You're a detective." "There's something the matter, and you're a detective." "Charlie, listen." "I don't want to listen." "Why, you're not on a survey at all." "You lied to us." "You lied to Mother." "You just wanted to get in our house." "Police." "That's what it is." "What do you want with us?" "What are you doing around here, lying to us?" "Look, Charlie, you've got to listen to me." "You've got to trust me." "When you've done nothing but lie?" "And you probably didn't want to take me out at all tonight, the way I thought you did." "You just wanted to ask me a lot of questions." "Have I asked you a lot of questions?" "Have I?" "All right, I'm a detective." "A pretty bad one." "Now, won't you even listen to me?" " Why should I, when you lied to me?" " I had to." "When I came here to this town to find a man, I hadn't counted on you." "I hadn't counted on your mother or your family." "Find a man?" "What man?" "There's a man loose in this country." "We're after him." "We don't know much about him." "We don't even know what he looks like." "Charlie, think." "How much do you know about your uncle?" "Why, he's my mother's brother." "What's he got to do with it?" "This man we want may be your uncle." "Oh, I don't believe you." "Go away and leave me alone." "We're after one man." "Your uncle may be that man." "We followed him, we think he is." "But in the east, there's another man who's being hunted, too, hunted through Massachusetts and into Maine." "He may be the man." "My uncle hasn't done anything." "He knows it would kill my mother if he did." "He's her younger brother, just like Roger is mine." "Why don't they arrest that man in the east?" "Why don't you go away and leave us alone?" "Charlie, when we were eating tonight and talking about our folks, and what we'd done and how we felt, we were like two ordinary people, weren't we?" "I mean, we both been brought up about the same." "You liked me." "I know you did." "And I liked you." "It doesn't matter now." "What do you mean, "It doesn't matter"?" "It's the only thing that does matter." "If it weren't for you, you don't think I'd care how or when I caught up with your uncle, do you?" "Because if he's the guy, I'm going to catch up with him, Charlie." "Remember that." "And you're going to keep your mouth shut." "You're going to keep your mouth shut because you're a nice girl." "Because you're such a nice girl that you know you'd help me if you knew your uncle was the man we wanted." "I wouldn't help you." "And I know you would." "And I'm trying to make it easier for you." "If your uncle's the man we want, we'll get him out of town quietly." "We won't arrest him here." "Arrest him here in town?" "With Mother?" "I'm trying to tell you we won't." "Please, Charlie." "I won't say anything." "Oh, take me home!" "Good night, Charlie." "It's going to be funny when you find out you're wrong." "Good night." "Hello, Charlie." "Home already?" "Oh, yes, Dad." "It's so nice out, I thought I'd get a breath of air before I went to bed." "Well, you better run in, now." "Your Uncle Charlie's been asking about you." "I think I'll just go up the back way." "I'm tired and I don't feel like talking." "All right." "Suit yourself." " Take care of yourself." " Mmm-hmm." " Good night, Herb." " Good night, Charlie." "Good night, Charlie." "What were we saying, Herb?" "Did I notice what?" "Well, did you taste anything funny about that coffee you had at my house this evening?" "No." "It tasted all right." "That's what I mean." "It wasn't all right." "Put something in it?" "Put a little soda." "About the same amount that I'd have used if I'd wanted to use poison." "Well, you don't say." "I never tasted a thing." "Of course, I might not notice the soda." "You'd notice the soda more than you would the poison." "For all you knew, you might just as well be dead now." " Aren't you asleep yet, Ann?" " Mmm-mmm." "Charlotte, what are you doing?" "Oh, I'm just looking for a recipe I thought I saw, but it's just so torn up..." "They have papers in the library." "New ones and old ones." "Miss Corcoran will get them out for you." "She won't even notice if you cut out a little, bitty recipe." "Oh, it's not that important." "What time does the library close?" "If you read as much as you should, you'd know it closes at 9:00." "Oh, well." "If I think about it, maybe I'll go tomorrow." "You really ought to go to sleep, Ann." "Get back there!" "Get back!" "Get back!" "Just a moment, Charlie." "What do you think I am out here for?" "Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Norton." "All right." "Go ahead." "Oh!" "Miss Corcoran, please let me in!" "Oh, please!" "Oh, thank you." "Really, Charlie." "You know as well as I do the library closes at 9:00." "If I make one exception, I'll have to make a thousand." "No, I'm sorry, Mrs. Corcoran, but there is something in the paper I've just got to see." "I'm surprised at you, Charlie." "No consideration." "Oh, I'll only be a minute." "You've got all day, Charlie, to come here." "I don't know why you want to rush in here tonight like a madwoman." "I'll give you just three minutes." "Can't be anything really awful." "I'll prove to him it isn't." "Page three..." " Hello." " Where's Charlie?" "She's still asleep." "I don't want to wake her." "Charlie still asleep?" "No, she just woke up." "Perhaps I shouldn't have let her sleep so long, but I think she needed it." "She doesn't look quite herself." "She'll be down for dinner." "Mother, let me finish mashing those." "I'll fix the rest of dinner and get it all on the table." " All right." " You go on and talk to Uncle Charlie." " How do you feel, darling?" " I feel fine." "I must have been tired or something." "I slept like a log." "Well, your Uncle Charlie was asking for you again." "He's awfully fond of you." "And that nice young man came twice to ask after you." "I told him you were asleep and I didn't want to disturb you." "Well, I'm rested now and ready for anything." "Is the gravy made?" "Now you're humming that waltz." "Whatever you do, please don't hum that tune anymore." "I've just got it out of my head, and I don't want it started again." "Please remember, don't hum that tune." "And don't keep getting up every few minutes." "You just sit there and be a real lady." "All right, if you say so, but at least I can carry in the soup." "Roger, wash your hands!" "Joe." "Charles." "Dinner." " Mama." " What is it?" "Ann, I told you not to put things behind your ears and don't pull at me." "And don't whisper." "When you whisper, anyone could hear you a block away." "May I sit by you at the table?" "By me?" "Why, I should think you'd want to sit by your Uncle Charlie." "No, I want to sit by you." "Why do you want to change?" "Mother, let her change with Roger if she wants to." "I asked Roger, he doesn't mind." "No, certainly not." "Uncle Charlie might think..." " No, certainly not." " Mother, let her change if she wants to." "Well, all right, but Ann has too many foolish ideas." "Go on, go in the dining room, both of you." "Well, what's going on here?" "Have I lost my little girl?" "Well, Roger wanted to sit next to you for a while, and I thought it would be nice if the children took turns." " I never..." " Never what, Roger?" "Nothing." "Come, Ann." "Come, dear." "Come and help me." " Joe!" " Oh, I brought it in by mistake." "Had it in my hand, I guess." "Nothing special in it." "Want to look at the headlines, Charles?" "Thank you, Joe." "Roger, don't make so much noise with your soup." "If he holds his lips close together, he could draw it carefully, same as a horse." "Ann, don't be disgusting." "Mom, may I dip my bread in it?" "Where's Charlie?" "She wanted to serve the dinner tonight." "She'll be in in a minute." "You're right, Joe." "Nothing special." "Nothing special tonight." "Oh, here she is!" "Here's my girl." "I wonder how many hours you slept." "If you could tell me the exact minute you went to sleep, and the exact minute that you woke up, then tell me if you woke up in between, and how long you stayed awake each time you woke up," "then I could tell you exactly..." "You won't be able to sleep tonight, Charlie." "Nobody who sleeps all day can sleep all night, too." "I slept all right, and I kept dreaming, perfect nightmares about you, Uncle Charlie." " Nightmares about me?" " Uh-huh." "You were on a train, and I had a feeling you were running away from something." "And when I saw you on the train, I felt terribly happy." "Why, Charlie, how could you feel happy seeing Uncle Charles on a train?" "Goodness knows I don't want to see him on a train." "I hope he stays here forever." "Well, he has to leave sometime." "I mean, we all realize he has to leave sometime." "We have to face the facts." "I like people who face facts." "Ann..." "Well, we're not going to face any such facts as those." "Oh, Ann, would you like to see the funnies?" "I'm too old for funnies." "I read two books a week." "I took a sacred oath I would." "Besides, in this family, no one's allowed to read at the table." "It isn't polite." "Ann, don't correct your elders!" "She's right, Emmy." "I'm forgetting my manners." "Joe, I'm going to blame this paper on you." "Roger, go to the kitchen, look in the icebox, and bring me a big red bottle you'll find there." "You can throw the paper away." "Dad's read it, you've read it." "We don't need to play any games with it tonight." "Ann, you can help Charlie carry in the vegetables." "I saw that bottle when I was getting dinner." "You know what St. Paul said, "Take a little wine for thy stomach's sake."" "Wine for dinner." "Sounds so gay!" "Charles, remember the time they had the champagne when the oldest Jones girl got married?" "This is Sparkling Burgundy." "Well, one sip and I'll be calling it "Sparkling Burgledy."" "Maybe I'd better not take any." "Oh, imported." "Charles." "Imported Frankie and his tweeds?" "And his loaded cane." "His loaded everything!" "Roger, go to the cupboard and get four of the small glasses with stems." "Charles, I promised Mrs. Greene, the President of our club, that you'd talk to the ladies, and she wants to know what you're going to talk about." "Well, what am I going to talk about?" "Lecturers usually give them travel or current events, don't they?" "Oh, Charles, not current events." "We get current events." "What sort of an audience will it be?" "Oh, women like myself." "Busy with our homes, most of us." "Women keep busy in towns like this." "The cities, it's different." "The cities are full of women, middle-aged widows, husbands dead, husbands who've spent their lives making fortunes, working and working, and then they die and leave their money to their wives, their silly wives." "And what do the wives do, these useless women?" "You see them in the hotels, the best hotels every day by the thousands, drinking the money, eating the money, losing the money at bridge, playing all day and all night, smelling of money." "Proud of their jewelry, but of nothing else." "Horrible, faded, fat, greedy women." "But they're alive!" "They're human beings!" "Are they?" "Are they, Charlie?" "Are they human, or are they fat, wheezing animals, huh?" "And what happens to animals when they get too fat and too old?" "Well, I seem to be making my speech right here." "Well, for heaven's sake, don't talk about women like that in front of my club!" "You'll be tarred and feathered." "The idea." "And that nice Mrs. Potter's going to be there, too." "She was asking me about you." "The Greenes are bringing her here to the little party I'm having for you after the lecture." "Joe, it's Herbert." "He always comes when we're eating." "Good evening, Mrs. Newton." " Good evening, Mr. Oakley." " Good evening." "Well, Herb, how's your mother?" "Oh, she's just middling." "Had your dinner?" "Oh, I had mine an hour ago." "You folks are getting pretty stylish, having dinner later every evening." " Joe." " Huh?" "Joe, I picked some mushrooms before dinner." "You don't say." "Mushrooms mean anything to you, Joe?" "Well, I eat them on my steak when I'm out and the meat's not good enough as it is." "Hey, if I brought you some mushrooms, would you eat them, Joe?" "Suppose I would." "Why?" "Then I've got it." "You see?" "The worst I'd be accused of would be manslaughter." "Doubt if I'd get that." "Accidental death, pure and simple." "A basket of good mushrooms, and two or three poisonous ones." "No, no." "Innocent party might get the poisonous ones." "I thought of something better when I was shaving." "A bathtub." "Pull the legs out from under you, hold you down." "It's been done, but it's still good." "Oh, what's the matter with you two?" "Do you always have to talk about killing people?" "We're not talking about killing people." "Herb's talking about killing me, and I'm talking about killing him." "It's your father's way of relaxing." "Can't he find some other way to relax?" "Can't we have a little peace and quiet here without dragging in poisons all the time?" "Charlie!" "She doesn't make sense talking like that." "I'm worried about her." "Roger, go get her." "Bring her back." "I'll go." "You stay here and finish your dinner." "I'll catch up with her." "What's wrong with her?" "Excuse me, Mr. Norton." "Well, well, you're always running along the street at night." "Say, where were you going in such a hurry last night?" "Just doing an errand." "Is this gentleman your uncle I've heard so much about, Charlie?" "Yes, he is." "Uncle Charlie, this is Mr. Norton." "Glad to know you." "What's the name?" "Oakley." "Charles Oakley." "Nice to meet you." "You better keep your eye on your niece, Mr. Oakley." "I'll have to give her a ticket for speeding one of these nights." "City ordinance about running along these sidewalks." "Hear that, Charlie?" "Don't want to break the law." " I'll take care of her, Mr. Norton." " All right." " Good night." " Good night." "What's the matter, Charlie?" "What's wrong?" "I want to talk to you." "You're hurting my arm again." "You're coming here with me." "I can't." "I've never been in a place like this." "Go on in." "Why'd you bring me in here?" "What does it matter where we are?" "Hello, Charlie." "Hello." "Hello, Louise." "Uncle Charlie, this is Louise Finch." " Hello." " Glad to meet you." "This is my uncle, Louise." "I was in Charlie's class in school." "I sure was surprised to see you come in." "I never thought I'd see you here." "I been here two weeks." "Lost my job over at Kern's." "I've been in half the restaurants in town." "What'll you have, Charlie?" " Nothing, thank you." " Bring her some ginger ale." " I'll have a double brandy." " Mmm-hmm." "Well, Charlie." "Well?" "Think you know something, don't you?" "That young fellow told you something." "Jack?" "Why should he know anything about you?" "Now look, Charlie." "Something's come between us." "I don't want that to happen." "Why, we're old friends." "More than that." "We're like twins." "You said so yourself." "Don't touch me, Uncle Charlie." "What did he tell you?" "What did that boy tell you?" "He's got nothing to do with it." "I hope he never knows anything about you." "Charlie, you're a pretty understanding sort of girl." "If you've heard some little things about me," "I guess you're a woman of the world enough to overlook them." "You're the head of your family, Charlie." "Anyone can see that." "I'm not so old." "I've been chasing around the globe since I was 16." "I guess I've done some pretty foolish things, made some pretty foolish mistakes." "Nothing serious." "Just foolish." "Oh, Charlie, now, don't start imagining things." "How could you do such things?" "You're my uncle." "My mother's brother." "We thought you were the most wonderful man in the world." "The most wonderful and the best." "Charlie, what do you know?" "I'm sorry I was so long." "We're awful busy." "Whose is it?" "Ain't it beautiful?" "I'd just die for a ring like that." "Yes, sir, for a ring like that, I'd just about die." "I love jewelry, real jewelry." "Notice I didn't even have to ask if it was real." "You can tell." " I can." " Bring me another brandy." "Sit down." "Sit down!" "You think you know something, don't you?" "You think you're the clever little girl who knows something." "There's so much you don't know." "So much." "What do you know, really?" "You're just an ordinary little girl living in an ordinary little town." "You wake up every morning of your life and you know perfectly well that there's nothing in the world to trouble you." "You go through your ordinary little day, and at night, you sleep your untroubled, ordinary little sleep filled with peaceful, stupid dreams." "And I brought you nightmares." "Or did I?" "Or was it a silly, inexpert little lie?" "You live in a dream." "You're a sleepwalker, blind." "How do you know what the world is like?" "Do you know the world is a foul sty?" "Do you know if you ripped the fronts off houses, you'd find swine?" "The world's a hell." "What does it matter what happens in it?" "Wake up, Charlie." "Use your wits." "Learn something!" "You going, Charlie?" "Charlie, will you help me?" "Help you?" "The same blood flows through our veins, Charlie." "A week ago, I was at the end of my rope." "Oh, I'm so tired, Charlie." "There's an end to the running a man can do." "You'll never know what it's like to be so tired." "I was going to..." "Well, then I got the idea of coming out here." "It's my last chance, Charlie." "Give it to me." "Graham and the other fellow, they don't know." "There's a man in the east." "They suspect him, too." "And if they get him, I'll..." "Charlie, give me this last chance." "Take your chance." "Go!" "I'll go, Charlie." "Just give me a few days." "Think of your mother." "It'll kill your mother." "Yes, it would kill my mother." "Take your few days." "See that you get away from here." "You realize what it'll mean if they get me?" "The electric chair." "Charlie, you've got to help me." "I count on you." "You said yourself we're no ordinary uncle and niece, no matter what I've done." "You go in." "I'll be in in a minute." " East, west, home's best." " Where's Charlie?" "She's outside." "Don't worry about her." "Well, what was the matter with her?" "She said she was a little edgy." "I persuaded her to go for a little walk." " She's calmed down now." " Oh, I'm so glad." "I've saved a dessert for you, Charles." "Oh, thank you, Emmy." "We had an ice cream soda downtown." "Oopsy-daisy!" "Now, off to bed you go!" "Off you go." "Good night, you all." " No!" " Roger, come here!" " No." " Come here!" "There's my girl." "Psst." " Ann." " Ann." "Hello!" "You must be trying to hide or something." " We're not hiding." " Well, you said, "Psst."" "People who are hiding always say, "Psst."" "We just don't want to yell on Sunday." "Look, Ann." "Ask your sister to run over here for a minute." "Don't noise it around." "Just ask her quietly." "We'll wait here." "Did my father and your father have a feud?" "My father?" "Because if they didn't, there's no sense in my asking Charlotte quietly." "Mama won't care." "She thinks girls ought to marry and settle down." " In a book I'm reading..." " Just ask her, Ann." "Don't be literary." "All right." "Remember, I'm doing all the talking." " Hello." " Hello." "Hello, Catherine." "Good morning, Mr. Graham." "Well, Catherine, this is Mr. Saunders." " How do you do?" " How do you do?" "Ann says you want to speak to me." "Saunders wants to speak to you." "Come on, Ann." "Tell Catherine the story of Dracula." "Come on, Catherine." "What do you want?" "Let them get a little bit ahead." "I want to tell you about that photograph we took." "The one of your uncle?" "You gave it back to him." "He probably burned it." "Not that one, he hasn't." "We gave him the wrong film." "Yes, we got the picture all right." "We wired it east." "They've got witnesses in the east who can identify the man we want from that picture." "What are you talking about?" "What do you mean, identify him?" "Just what I said." "The minute the witnesses see that picture, we'll know whether or not Oakley's the man." "We're waiting for the wire now." "And then Uncle Charlie will be..." "That's right." "That's the way it is." "Graham thought perhaps you could get your uncle to leave town now, or within a couple of hours." " It could be better for..." " I've got to, haven't I?" "I've got to!" "What's the most time you'll give me?" "Say, two hours." "I'll make him leave!" "I'll make him." "You seem pretty sure he's the man we want." "Why?" "Why?" "No reason why." "I'm just scared." "You're the ones who seem sure." "It's just that I can't stand for anything to happen here." " You know what he's done, don't you?" " No, I don't want to hear!" "Well, I want you to get this." "We're really doing you a favor." "You've had a bad break, but if you know anything more about your uncle than you've already told us, let's have it!" "We also want to know when he leaves town and how he leaves town." " If you hold out on us..." " I won't." "I'll tell you." "Step on a crack, you'll break your mother's back." "I wish I knew we could trust you." "I won't do anything to help him, I promise." "But you can't ask me to spy on him and come running to you." "We've made a bargain." "I'll get him to leave." "That's all I'll do." "I'll get him to leave." "Think, Charlie, think." "The man's dangerous." "If he gets away from us, he'll..." "I don't want to hear what he'll do." "We've made a bargain now." "I'll keep it." "I'll let you know when he leaves." "Funny if he turned out to be the wrong man." "Could be." "Ann." "I broke my mother's back three times." "Not bad." "Say, Ann, you didn't finish telling me whether Miss Rose married the rich guy, or the one she was in love with." "Well, how long have you two been so friendly?" "Oh, we play a game." "I ask questions, and she knows all the answers." "The only trouble is, I can't make out what she knows and what she's making up." "I never make up anything." "I get everything from my books." "They're all true." "Come on, Ann." "We'd better get home and help with dinner." "Good-bye, Mr. Saunders." " Bye." " Good-bye." "Good-bye, Mr. Graham." "Mr. Saunders." " Good-bye, Catherine." " Come on, Catherine." "Ann, why don't you pick some flowers for the dinner table?" "Simple flowers are the best." "I didn't ask for orchids." "I wish I'd been born in the South." "Southern women have a lot of charm." "They pick flowers with gloves on." " Good-bye, Catherine." " Good-bye, Charlie." "See you after dinner." "All right." "Bye." " Hello, Ann." " Hello." "How was church, Charlie?" "Did you count the house?" "Turn anybody away?" "No, room enough for everyone." "I'm glad to hear that." "Show's been running such a long time," "I thought maybe attendance might be falling off." "Anything special on the noon broadcast?" "A fellow said they caught that other fellow, the one they call the Merry Widow Murderer." "They did, did they?" "Where?" "State of Maine." "Portland." "Didn't catch him exactly." "He was running away from the police, and they were just about to nab him at the airport, and he ran plunk right into the propeller of an airplane." " Oh, boy!" " Cut him all to pieces." "Had to identify him by his clothes." "His shirts were all initialed, "C.O'H."" "Well, makes a good ending." "Couldn't have done better myself." "I guess that closes that case pretty final." "Sure does." "Never cared much for that case." "Well, I think I'll go up and get ready for dinner." "I'm hungry." "I can eat a good dinner today." "Charlie, I have great news for you." "Where can we talk alone?" "Well, we got a wire from Maine, so we can call off the job." "I'll bet you're relieved." "Believe me, I am." "Oh, I am relieved." "Here you were trying to get your uncle out of town." "He must have thought you were crazy." "Jack, now that it's over, I don't want to talk about it anymore." "I'd like to pretend the whole dreadful thing never happened." "There's nothing to pretend about." "There's mother's gloves." "Mother and her gloves." "She's always losing things." "All mothers lose things." "Someday, she'll be losing you." "Mothers don't lose daughters, don't you remember?" "They gain sons." "That's right." "But gain isn't always the word." "Now take me." "Who'd want a detective for a son-in-law?" "My father would." "He would?" "You mean to say that if you walked up to him and said," ""Father, I'm going to marry a detective," he wouldn't disown you?" "It wouldn't have to be me." "There's Ann." "No." "Ann wants to marry a librarian." "She told me." "So she'll always have plenty of books around to read." "What's the matter?" "I was laughing." "It's been so long since I laughed." "I like it when you laugh." "I like it when you don't." "I guess I like you whatever you do." "I guess I like you." "I'm glad." "I like you, too." "Funny how you happen to meet someone and like them and like them." " Charlie?" " Yes?" "I suppose it couldn't ever really happen someday that you'd tell your father..." "You know, about marrying someone." "A detective, I mean." "I don't know." "I didn't mean to tell you." "I wanted to wait until you'd forgotten all the mess we've been through together, till you could stop thinking of me as a part of something unpleasant and frightening." "I wanted to wait and come back, and then tell you." "But I can't help it." "I want to tell you now." "I love you, Charlie." "I love you terribly." "I know it's no time to tell you now, and I'm sorry." "Do you mind?" "I don't mind." "Do you think you could think about it?" "About your loving me?" "And perhaps your loving me." "I'd like us to be friends." "I know that." "We are friends." "I'd like to have that to think about." "Nothing more?" "I don't know, Jack." "I just don't know yet." "All right." "But I may come back?" "Oh, please come back." "Please come back." "Listen, Charlie." "When I go away, will you go back to that square in the middle of the town and take a good look at it?" "'Cause that's where I first knew I loved you." "That's where we had the fight." "I didn't know what to do." "I like my job, but I didn't like it that night." "I hated it that night." "You hate it now?" "No, not now." "You know, this is a swell place." "I'm going to put a bronze plaque right up there." "That door's always banging shut!" "Oh, it's..." "Oh!" "What are you two locking yourselves in the garage for?" " When I was young, we sat in the parlor." " Hello, Mr. Oakley." " I was saying good-bye to Charlie." " In the garage?" "In the garage, and the door got stuck." "Well, now I'll have to say good-bye to you." "Well, let's say good-bye right out here on the lawn." "No use taking a chance on the garage, again." " Finished here?" " All finished, but I'll be back." " You'll be seeing me around." " Oh?" "Not on business, though." "I can understand you coming back." "Charlie's a fine girl." "She's the thing I love most in the world." "I mean it." "Have a nice trip, Mr. Graham." "And don't take any more photographs without permission." "Rights of man." "You know, freedom?" "We'll have a talk about freedom some day, Mr. Oakley." " Bye." " Good-bye." "Don't forget to write." "Remember, you have all the addresses." "Mmm-hmm." "Jack!" "Anything else?" "I've got butter, fruit, green thread, and go to the library." "And whatever vegetable looks freshest." "If I've forgotten anything, I'll send Ann later." "All right." "Mother!" "Charlie!" "Darling!" "Are you hurt?" "I tripped." "Oh, what is it?" "Is it your ankle?" "I don't think I'm hurt." "I grabbed the banister." "Oh, darling." "You might have been killed!" "I worry myself sick every time one of you children come down these stairs." "They're too steep and rickety." "They ought to be fixed." "Are you sure you're all right?" "When are you leaving, Uncle Charlie?" "Oh, come now, Charlie." "That other business, it's all over." "I'd like to forget it." "We're all happy here." "When are you leaving?" "I'm not going, you see." "Not yet." "I'm not going." "I want to settle down." "Live in a place where people know me, have some money in the bank." "Some sort of business." "Be a part of this family." "I see." "And the most sensible thing for you to do is to be friends with me." "I can do a lot for you, Charlie." "A lot for all of you." "No, not you." "We don't want anything from you." "I wish I'd told my mother about you." "I wish I had." "I know what you've been thinking." "How do you think your mother would have felt?" "What would it do to her now?" "How about your father?" "His job at the bank?" "What would become of all of you if everything came out?" "I know." "You needn't be afraid." "I can't tell them." "But I'm not afraid, Charlie." "What would you tell?" "Who'd believe you?" "A waltz runs through your head." "You don't like the initials on a ring, and you connect it all up with a newspaper clipping." "And now, you haven't even got the ring." "I don't know what became of it." "You have it." "I?" "I gave it to you." "I don't want you here, Uncle Charlie." "I don't want you to touch my mother." "So go away, I'm warning you." "Go away, or I'll kill you myself." "See?" "That's the way I feel about you." "Here you are, Joe." "Oh, perfume." "Just the nice, fresh, clean smell of lavender." "Yeah, I know." "You look very handsome, both of you." "I must say, I'm pretty proud of the two men in my family." "Emmy, you're a dream." "It's a shame the children have to sit on our laps." "Yeah, it's going to be a tight squeeze for everybody." "It won't do my pants any good." "Oh, Joe, I wish you could drive the car." "Well, we do it this way." "Charles, you'll sit..." "Mother, Uncle Charlie can sit in back with Dad, and the children can fit in perfectly well beside them." "Nonsense." "I'm getting a cab." "You all go in the taxi, and Charlie and I'll go in the car." "No, Uncle Charlie, you go in the taxi." "I want to ride in the taxi!" "Course you do." "So it's all arranged." "Charlie, you run out to the garage and get the car." "I'd much rather drive the family." "Charlie, I want you to hear my speech on the way." "After all, you're my severest critic, you know." "Well, anyway, we need a taxi." "Ann, go and call Mr. Abercrombie." "Mother!" "Mother, please ride with me." "Father can take the children." "Please!" "You know, I'll bet I'll be the only man there outside of Charles fool enough to dress up like this." "Then you'll be the only other one to be correct." "You look very distinguished." "Charles, are you all ready?" " Joe, are you?" " No." "Wait a minute!" "I've got to get my overcoat." "Oh, Joe." "Well, please, dear." "Hurry!" "Take your time, Emmy." "They can't start till I get there." "It's getting chilly in here." "KSRO, Santa Rosa, with studios in Vallejo and Santa Rosa, California." "KSRO now brings you the..." "May as well have a little music while we wait." "Oregon State Police pressed their search today for five..." "Oh!" "Does it have to be so loud?" "Gets the lower tones better." "I like it loud!" "If music's too soft," "I can't tell what they're playing." "If I have a band, I'll at least have 87 men." "Help, everybody!" "Somebody's caught in the garage." "They're suffocating!" "There's something the matter with the door." "Joe!" "I'll take her." "I've got her." "Joe, there's a bottle of whiskey on my bureau." "Get it quick." " Charlie." "Charlie." "Dear Charlie." " Charlie?" "Emmy, rub her feet." "Roger, run and get something to fan her with." "Charlie!" "Ann, don't, dear." "Charlie?" "What are you trying to say, Charlie?" "Go away." "Go away." "Emmy, she wants you." "I'm here, darling." "Here's mother." "That's right, my baby." "That's right, my brave little girl." "Here..." " Take a little sip of this." " No, I'm all right." "Joe, call Dr. Phillips." "No, please, Dad." "I'm all right." "I just want to get up." "You had a wonderful escape, Charlie." "Someone must have left the motor running." "I couldn't find the key to turn it off." "The key was there when I went in." "Lucky thing I passed by." "She might have died." "You saved her." "You kept your head." "You knew just what to do." "Don't know how I happened to come across that way." "We'll put the lecture off." "There isn't going to be any lecture." "Oh, yes, there is." "I want you all to go." "There's the cab now." "Go on, all of you." "Oh, I couldn't." "I just couldn't go." "Who found me in the garage?" "Herb heard you beating on the door." "I was coming across the backyard, and I heard this gasping and beating on the door, and I figured there must be a human being in there." "Quick thinking, Herb." "Lucky thing." "I'm glad you happened to be going by, Herb." "Come on, Mother." "I want to stay with you." "Well, I don't feel much like making a speech now, when I think what might have happened to you, Charlie." "I'm all right." "I just want to sit on the porch awhile and get the air." "No, darling, I won't hear of it." "Mother, I'm all right, really." "I could go to the lecture, but I'd rather stay home and get things ready for the party." "Darling, I want to stay with you." "Herb, will you take Roger?" "Ann, you come with us." "I just don't understand it." "First the stairs and..." "Mr. Graham isn't there?" "This is the Hotel Stewart in Fresno, isn't it?" "And you don't expect him?" "I see." "Thank you." "He isn't there?" "Thank you very much." "Good-bye." "Can you tell me where I can reach him?" "I've already tried to get him at the address he gave me in Fresno." "Thank you." "Mom, may we have some sandwiches?" "Oh, but don't take anything from the dining room." "Go in the kitchen." "Please go in." "And just leave your coats out..." "Joe, dear, will you take care of everyone?" "Charlie!" "I'll be right down." "Well, now..." "Now, now, Mr. Oakley." "I thought champagne was only for battleships." "None for me, thanks, and none, I'm sure, for my wife." "But we hope you'll all forget we're here." "I'd like to propose a toast to..." "Isn't Charlie coming down?" "She'll be down in a moment." "Mrs. Potter." "Don't take that one." "I don't know why I make tomato." "They always soak through the bread when they've been standing." "Try one of these." "It's just whole wheat bread and cream cheese." "It's the paprika makes it pink." " Mr. Greene." " Mrs. Greene, what would you like?" "Thank you." " I think I'd like to propose a toast, too." " Emmy." "To our distinguished visitor, the man who's made the best speech heard in this town for years." "To that very good fellow, Mr. Oakley." "Thank you, sir." "Herbie." "Thank you." "We don't get many American speakers, Mr. Oakley." "Seems like foreigners make the best talkers." "Here she is." "Now for my toast." "Charlie, you're just in time for a farewell toast." "I hate to break the news to you like this, but tomorrow I must leave Santa Rosa." "Not forever." " Not forever." " If that isn't the strangest coincidence." "Why, I was planning to go to San Francisco myself tomorrow morning." "Charles." "Oh, Emmy darling, I didn't mean to spoil your fun tonight." "I got a letter today." "I have to catch the early morning train." "I'll miss you, Emmy." "But I want you all to know that I'll always think of this lovely town as a place of hospitality and kindness," "and homes..." "Homes." "But I can't bear it if you go, Charles." "Oh, Emmy, I'll be back." "I've arranged with Dr. Phillips for our little memorial for the children." "I know." "It isn't any of the things you've done." "It's just the idea that we were together again." "I'm sorry!" "But, you see, we were so close growing up." "And then Charles went away, and I got married, and..." "Then you know how it is." "You sort of forget you're you." "You're your husband's wife..." "We'll be looking for you, Mr. Oakley." "We feel you're one of us, don't we, Margaret?" "Indeed, we do." "And I want to thank you on behalf of our club members." "And bless you for your gift to our hospital." "The children will bless you, too, in all the years to come." "Thank you, sir." "Excuse me, sir, but I can hear the train coming now." "Excuse me." "Better get aboard, Charles." "All right." "Good-bye, everybody." "Roger, Ann, come see the train." "Come on, Charlie." "You can see they get off." "All right." "I want to see the rooms, the private ones." "I've seen berths." "I've slept in two uppers and one lower with Papa." " Good-bye, Joe." " Good-bye, Charles." "Good-bye, Emmy." "Good-bye." "And don't forget to write, love." "I will." "You write, too." "I'll send you my address." "Good-bye." "Don't jump on the seats, Roger." "Roger, what did I tell you?" "Porter, there's one more bag." "I think it got taken to the other car." " Will you get it, please?" " Yes, sir." "Charlie, the train's going to start." "I don't want to get carried away." "Oh, boy!" "Maybe it's too late!" "Maybe I'll have to go along!" "There's plenty of time." "You run along, we'll follow." "Charlie." "Just a minute." "I want you to know I think you were right to make me leave." "It's best for your mother." "Best for all of us." "You saw what happened to her last night." "She's not very strong, you know." "I don't think she could stand the shock." "I remember once, when she was a little girl..." "The train's moving, Uncle Charlie!" "Listen, Charlie." "I want you to forget all about me." "Forget that I ever came to Santa Rosa." "Your hands!" "Let me go, Uncle Charlie!" "Let me go!" "I've got to do this, Charlie, so long as you know what you do about me." "Not yet, Charlie." "Let it get a little faster." "Just a little faster." "Faster." "Now!" "Santa Rosa has gained and lost a son, a son that she can be proud of." "Brave, generous, kindly." "With all of the splendid dignity..." "I'm glad you were able to come, Jack." "I couldn't have faced it without someone who knew." "I did know more." "I couldn't tell you." "I know." "He thought the world was a horrible place." "He couldn't have been very happy ever." "No." "He didn't trust people." "He seemed to hate them." "He hated the whole world." "You know, he said that people like us had no idea what the world was really like." "Well, it's not quite as bad as that, but sometimes it needs a lot of watching." "It seems to go crazy every now and then." "Like your Uncle Charlie." "... the beauty of their souls, the sweetness of their characters live on with us forever."