"This story consists of my recollections of a very unusual young man with whom I was thrown into contact at long intervals." "In the summer of 1919 while passing through Chicago on my way to the Far East a friend of mine, Elliott Templeton whom I had known in London and Paris invited me to dine with him and his sister, Mrs. Bradley." "They were giving a dinner party at one of those sprawling country clubs which were so much a part of the American scene in the early days of the postwar boom." " Good evening, sir." " Good evening." "Mr. Templeton's table." " Yes, sir." " Are they here?" "They're having refreshments, sir." " Oh, here you are." " With a dry martini, sir." "Prohibition, of all the bloody nonsense." " Elliott." " Yes, dear?" "Who is this man that you asked to dinner?" "I had to get Sophie last minute or we would've been 13." "He's an English author." "He's quite all right." "In fact, he's really quite famous." "So pretend that you've heard of him." "That's too much." "Get the other glasses." "Elliott, you must be slipping if you frequent authors." "Not at all, my dear." "Authors go everywhere nowadays." "Why, in London, I even met actors and actresses in society." "Here he is now." "My dear fellow, how very nice to see you." "Hello, Elliott." "Let me present you to my sister, Mrs. Bradley." "Louisa." "Louisa, dear, this is Mr. Somerset Maugham." "How do you do, Mr. Maugham?" "It's an honor to have you with us." "Thank you." "It's very nice to be here." "What on earth are you doing in this benighted city?" "I'm just passing through, but you, I thought you never left Paris." "Why should I?" "In fact, I came to see my sister and my niece, Isabel." "I haven't been back since before the war." "I hope you don't mind, a few young things are joining us for dinner but we can leave early." "Why should I mind?" "I like young things if they're good to look at." "Incidentally, you'll meet the young man my niece has got herself engaged to." "His name is Larry Darrell, and I'll tell you that Elliott doesn't approve of him." "I have nothing against him, but he hasn't any money." "And my sister's not rich." " She needs all she's got." " Elliott is it necessary to tell Mr. Maugham all our private affairs?" " We can't all be millionaires, Elliott." " He hasn't even got a job." " He can get one." " He doesn't want a job." " Why not?" " Because he's bone idle." "That must shock a man like you who's never earned a penny in his life." "It may have escaped your notice, my dear fellow but I am not an ordinary man." " Cocktail?" " Oh, yes, please." "For the run of mankind, industry is essential." "I see no reason why this man my niece has got herself engaged to should not conform to the customs of his country." "Here's my niece now." "Oh, Mother." " Hello, Isabel." " Hello." " This is my daughter, Isabel." " How do you do, Mr. Maugham?" " Where's Larry?" " Late." "Poor sweet." "I suppose he forgot to wind his watch last night as usual." "You wouldn't know about Larry." "Say, Mother, you've mixed up the cards" " Oh, Sophie, dear." " Hello, Sophie." "This is Sophie Nelson." "Sophie is a neighbor of ours in the country." " How do you do?" " You look charming, Sophie." "Yes, doesn't she?" "Excuse us." "Come here." "I want to have a look at you." " Sophie, you look lovely." " It's the dress." " You sure you don't mind my wearing it?" " Of course not." " If you like it, take it as a present." " Oh, that's awfully sweet of you." "Oh, it'll be such a surprise for Bob to see me decently dressed." "Oh, you know Bob's much too much in love with you to notice what you wear." "He's no more crazy about me than I am about him." "I don't think anyone ever loved anyone as I love him." " Isn't it heavenly to be alive?" " Yes." " Hi." " Hello, Gray." " Hello, Gray." " May I break this up?" "Sure." "Hello." " You look lovely." " Think so?" " Hello, Sophie." " Hello." "May I get you one, Miss...?" " Miss Nelson, isn't it?" " Yes, Sophie Nelson." "I'd love it." "No, I guess I'd better not." " Why?" "What's wrong with cocktails?" " Oh, nothing." "Only, I promised Bob I wouldn't." " Who's Bob?" " My boyfriend." "He doesn't like me to drink." "He thinks I'm too fond of it." " Which is Bob?" " Oh, he isn't here." "He's working." "He's putting himself through law school." "He's gonna drop in later and take me home." "Will you have one of these?" "If my man Joseph could see me now I give you my word, he'd faint dead away." "You're a great friend of Mr. Templeton's." "Oh, I wouldn't say that." "Elliott has no friends, only acquaintances." " He's an awful snob, isn't he?" " Oh, awful." "But he's kind and generous." "People laugh at him, but they eat his food and drink his wine." "Oh, Mr. Maugham." "Mr. Maugham, you're next to Mother." "And Sophie, you're next to Gray." " That's us, toots." " Mr. Maugham, Mr. Maturin." " Isabel." " Yes?" " Dinner, my dear fellow." " Oh, yes." "And who's Mr. Maturin?" "Oh, Gray." "He's our millionaire." "His father's a big broker." "We're proud of him." "He gives us class." "But he's nice." "I know several girls who'd stop at nothing short of murder to get him." " They haven't a chance." " Why not?" "He's so in love with Isabel he can't see straight." "I see." "And she's in love with Larry Darrell." "I suppose that does complicate matters." "It does, if you're as high-principled as Gray is." "And Larry isn't here." "Yes, he's just coming in now, way over there." "Look." "Come on, dinner." "This is the young man of whom I write." "He is not famous." "It may be that when his life at last comes to an end he will leave no more trace of his sojourn on this earth than a stone thrown into a river leaves on the surface of the water." "Yet it may be that the way of life he has chosen for himself may have an ever-growing influence over his fellow men so that, long after his death perhaps it may be realized that there lived in this age a very remarkable creature." " You're very late, Larry." " I'm sorry." "Sophie, where is Mr. Maugham?" "Larry hasn't learned that punctuality is the politeness of kings." "Elliott." "Mr. Maugham, this is Larry Darrell." " When can we start dinner?" " Mr. Maugham's a novelist, darling." "I may as well tell you that Larry's very stupid and uneducated." "He knows nothing about anything except flying." "When he came back, he looked so lovely in his uniform I camped on his doorstep until he consented to marry me." " The competition was awful." " Don't believe a word she says." "Isabel's not a bad girl, but she's a terrible liar." " Dinner." " Oh, yes." "I've seen you before." "Oh, when?" "I happened to have work to do, and I went into the library." "I saw you there this morning." "When I came back from lunch, you were still there." " I forgot about lunch." " I couldn't help admiring your power of concentration." " It was that kind of a book." " My fellow you're at the end of the table with my sister." " Hello, Gray." " Hi there." "Say, Dad tells me you turned down that job in the office." "Oh, Larry, why have you done that?" "I thought it over, and I figured I'd be a disappointment..." " ...so I decided I'd better refuse." " Sorry, old man." "It would have been swell, us working together." "Hi." "Looks as if tall, dark and legal is standing you up tonight." "I'd like to catch him trying it." " You're old friends?" " We grew up together." "I used to play shortstop on his baseball team." "We used to think we could lick any 10 kids our size." " And could you?" " We tried." "Oh, here comes my young man now." " Well, here you are." " Hello." "This is Mr. Maugham." "Bob MacDonald." " How do you do?" " How are you?" "He's the one who seems to think he wants to marry me." "I can't see why, but there it is." "I just happen to be crazy about the girl." "I wouldn't like him to know, but just between you and me..." " ..." "I rather like him myself." " Let's dance." " Hello, Isabel." " Hello." "Larry, why didn't you tell me that Mr. Maturin had offered you a job?" "What?" "Larry, why didn't you tell me that Mr. Maturin had offered you a job?" "Answer me." "Answer me." "Well, I thought I'd better not until I made up my mind one way or another." "You mad?" "Darling, that's the horrible part about you." "However aggravating you are, one can't really be angry with you." "Oh, can't they?" "Did you see those looks Elliott was giving me?" "Well, after all, Larry, a man must work." "And the longer you put it off, the harder it'll be." "I've got a foolish notion I want to do more than just sell bonds." "All right, then." " Go into a law office." " I don't wanna do that either." "What do you want to do then?" "I don't know." "Loaf, maybe." "Oh, Larry, don't be funny." "This is serious." "I'm not being funny." "I think it's very serious." "I wouldn't make you miserable for anything." "But you are making me miserable." "You see, I love you." "And I love you, Isabel." "Look, Larry, let's be sensible." "A man must work." "It's a matter of self-respect." "This is a young country, and it's a man's duty to take part in its activities." "Gray's father was saying only the other day that we're beginning an era that will make the past look like 30 cents." "He said that he can see no limit to our progress and that by 1930, we'll be the greatest and richest country in the whole world." " Don't you think that's terribly exciting?" " Terribly." "Why, there never was such a chance for a young man." "I'd have thought you'd be proud to be a part of it." " It's such a wonderful adventure." " I'm sure you're right, Isabel." "The Armours and Swifts will pack more and better meat." "The McCormicks will turn out more harvesters." "Henry Ford will make more cars, and everybody will get richer." " And what's wrong with that?" " Nothing." "Nothing." "It just happens that sitting in an office and making a lot of money doesn't interest me." "Oh, don't talk like a fool." "You can't live without money." "I have a little." "That's what gives me the chance to do what I want." "You're making it very difficult for me." "I'm sorry, darling." "I wouldn't if I could help it." "You can help it." "Yes?" "The dead look so terribly dead when they're dead." " What does that mean, exactly?" " Just that." "Are you terribly unhappy, darling?" "No, the only thing that makes me unhappy is making you unhappy." "I don't think I'll ever find peace until I make up my mind about things." "It's so difficult to put into words." "The minute you try, you feel embarrassed." "You say to yourself, " Who am I to bother my head about this, that or the other?" "Isn't it better to follow the beaten path and let what's coming to you come?"" "And then I think of a guy I knew." "A minute before, he was full of life and fun, and then he was dead." "I've seen many men die, but this one was different." "It was the last day of the war, almost the last moment." "He could've saved himself, but he didn't." "He saved me and died." "So he's gone, and I'm here alive." "Why?" "It's all so meaningless." "You can't help but ask yourself what life is all about." "Whether there's any sense to it or whether it's just a stupid blunder." "I hardly know what to say." "It's so unexpected." "Larry, do you think it would help if you went away for a while?" " I think perhaps it would." " Then why don't you go?" "Because of you." "Larry, let's be frank with each other." "There's no place in your life for me just now." "Does that mean you don't want to be engaged?" "Oh, no, foolish." "It means that I'm prepared to wait." "It might be a year, or even longer." "That doesn't matter." "It might be less." "Where have you thought of going?" "Where?" "Well, I thought I'd start by going to Paris." "I went there several times on leave." "I've got it into my head that there everything that's muddled in my mind would grow clear." "It's a funny place." "It gives you the feeling that you can think out your thoughts to the very end." "I think over there I may be able to see my way before me." "And if you don't?" "I'll give it up as a bad job..." "Oh, my darling." "Oh, Larry." "I love you." "I love you so much." "I cannot for the life of me understand how Isabel could possibly prefer that young man to a fine chap like Gray." "Oh, I grant you, he's good-looking." "And his clothes fit." "But imagine, an opportunity to go in with Gray and his father on the ground floor." "Isabel." "Home so early?" "Yes." " What's the matter?" " Nothing." " Where's Larry?" " Gone." "Hello, Mother." " Did you have a talk?" " Yes." " May I venture to inquire the result?" " He's going to Europe for a while." " I promised to wait." " What is he going to do in Europe?" " Loaf." " Loaf?" "Don't be ridiculous." " It's what he said." " I have no patience with you." "If you had any spirit, you'd have broken off your engagement." "What can I do?" " I love him." " Come along." "It's all right." "Well, things might be a great deal worse." "Oh, thank heavens." "Merci, Joseph." "I was just saying, Louisa, things might be a great deal worse." "Don't get up." "I don't see how." "My poor Louisa, you have no imagination." "When you're young, your emotions are violent, but not durable." "It's a delusion that absence makes the heart grow fonder." "With Larry out and Gray on the spot I don't see why Isabel shouldn't marry him." "You've been away from America too long, Elliott." "In this country, a girl doesn't marry a man because her mother, or even her uncle, wants her to." "That's nothing to be proud of, Louisa." "As a result of 30 years' experience, I may tell you that a marriage arranged with a regard for position and fortune has every advantage over a love match." "In France, which, after all, is the only civilized country in the world Isabel would marry Gray without thinking about it twice." "After a few months, if she was still in love with Larry" "That will do." "I know what you're going to say." "The idea doesn't appeal to me." "That's one of the things I've never understood about you, Louisa." "Though you've lived half your life in diplomatic society in half the capitals of the world, you've remained hopelessly American." "It isn't often that you pay me a compliment, dear." " It wasn't meant to be one." " I know." "Well, I think I'll go to bed." " Will you lock up?" " Yes, dear." " Good night, Mr. Maugham." " Good night." "You're very full of worldly wisdom this evening." "Have you ever known me not to be?" "I don't mind telling you, I have a sneaking sympathy for the boy." "He's young and wants to sow his wild oats before he settles down to married life." "Very natural and very proper." "I'll keep my eye on him in Paris." "Of course, he must cross on the Aquitania." "I know the captain." "He'll see that Larry sits at his table and meets the right people." "I'll look for an apartment for him in a really smart quarter." "I'll do him proud." "I'll give some parties for him." "So many Americans, when they go to Paris, get in with the wrong people." "And then they find it no end of a job to shake them off." "I'll have my chauffeur, Marcel, drive him about in the Rolls." "I detest the countryside." "But alas, all Americans are born tourists and no doubt, he'll want to see the sights." "It would be perfect if I could arrange for some older woman to take him under her wing." "Princess Novemali, for instance." "He is young and he has a good figure." "I think she'd fall for him like a ton of bricks." "In any event, the busier I keep him the less time he'll have to think about Isabel." "Anything for Lawrence Darrell?" "This wireless came day before yesterday." "Thank you." "Excuse me." "Pardon me, when does the boat train from the Aquitania arrive?" " Eleven-thirty, monsieur." " Thank you." "Why, of course, madame." "Larry!" "Larry!" "Oh, Larry." "Oh, Larry, I've missed you." "I've missed you so much." "May I ask how he knew you were coming?" "Isabel cabled him from the ship." " Are they still engaged?" " As far as I know." " What about Gray Maturin?" " Still faithful." "I don't believe you've played your cards well." " I never had much card sense." " Mother, here he is." " Oh, how good of you to come." " So nice to see you." " Hello." " How do you do?" " May Larry come to dinner with us?" " I understand Larry doesn't dine out." " He will tonight." "Won't you?" " I will." "That's very good of you." "I shall be delighted." "We'll meet you at the house." "Taxi." "Taxi." "Come along, darling." "I've got a million things to tell you." "I'm afraid I haven't a very good account to give you of that young man, Louisa." "When he first came to Paris, for Isabel's sake, I asked him to lunch to meet the sort of people he ought to know." " And he told me he didn't eat lunch." " Perhaps he doesn't." "When I asked him to dinner, he couldn't because he had no evening clothes." "If I live to be 100, I shall never understand how any young man could come to Paris without evening clothes." "Maybe he just didn't want to." "That's the most incredible reason for refusing an invitation I've ever heard." " And where does he live?" " I haven't a notion." "Isabel writes to him in care of the American Express." "Like a traveling salesman, or a schoolteacher on vacation." "My own belief is that he's living in the Latin Quarter with some bit who's no better than she ought to be." "I'm afraid you'll have to write him off as one of your failures." "It might surprise you to know it, my dear, but I've already done so." "She speaks so quickly I can't understand her." "It's an old French custom." "Everyone has to wear a sprig of lilies of the valley on May Day." "They're a symbol of happiness." "May Day." "Imagine it's being May." " I've been here nearly a month now." " Oh, impossible." "It was only yesterday." "I still don't know a thing about what you've been doing." "Tell me, Larry." "You must know I've been dying to know." "Oh, nothing very exciting." "I've traveled around read a lot, gone to lectures at the Sorbonne." "Have you found that peace of mind you were looking for?" "No, but for the first time, I see things in a clear light." "What does that mean?" "It's rather difficult to explain." "And even if I try, you'll only be angry with me." "How much longer do you think all this is going to take you?" "I don't know." "I don't know." "It's hard to say." "And after that, what are you going to do with all this wisdom?" "If I ever acquire wisdom, I suppose I'll be wise enough to know what to do with it." "You know what Uncle Elliott says." "Nothing to my credit, I imagine." "He says you have a cozy little hideout somewhere." "Come and see for yourself." "The cozy little hideout's only a step from here." " Monsieur Darrell." " Madame Duval, Mademoiselle Bradley." " Bonjour." " Monsieur Jacques Duval." "Did you see the looks they gave me?" "Ruined my character, that's what you've done." "This is where you live?" " You don't like it." " No." "Well, it's all right." "It's convenient." "How about a cup of coffee?" "Larry, how can you bear to sit here in a backwash when America's living through the most glorious adventure the world has ever known?" "You've been away a year now, a whole year out of your life." "You just can't go on loafing forever." "Or can you?" " It's possible." " And what about me?" "Am I of no importance to you at all?" "You're of great importance to me, Isabel." " I love you." "I want you to marry me." " When, in 10 years?" " No, as soon as possible." " On what?" " I've got $3000 a year." " Oh, Larry." " Lots of people live on a great deal less." " I don't want to live on $3000 a year." "I never have, and I don't see why I should." "We could go to Capri for our honeymoon." "And then in the fall, we could go to Greece." "Remember how we used to talk about traveling together?" "Of course I want to travel." "But not like that." "Cheap restaurants, third-rate hotels." "Besides I want to have babies, Larry." " All right, we'll take them along with us." " Oh, Larry, you're so impractical." "You don't know what you're asking me to do." "I'm young." "I want to have fun, do all the things people do." "We wouldn't have a friend in the world." "Oh, Isabel, stop exaggerating." "We'll do everything you want." "We'll do it together." "Oh, listen." "If you hadn't a cent to your name and got a job that brought you $3000 a year, I'd marry you without hesitation." "I'd cook for you." "I'd make beds." "I wouldn't care what I wore." "I'd think it was fun." "I'd know it was only a question of time until you'd make good." "But this means living like this all our lives with nothing to look forward to." "It's asking too much." "Oh, Larry, you've had your fling now." "For your own sake, I beg of you to come home with us." "But I wouldn't make you happy if I did." "You see, what you forget is that I want to learn as passionately as well, as Gray, for example, wants to make a lot of money." "I came over here because I was restless, and because my mind was muddled." "I came looking for the answers to a lot of questions." "Some of them I've found." "Others I may never find." "But I can't stop now." "Oh, I know it sounds vague and trivial compared with...." "Well, compared with everything that's happening at home today." "And I know I'm being very difficult." "But I can't stop now, Isabel." "I just can't." "What would happen to America if everyone did as you're doing?" "The answer to that is that everyone doesn't feel as I do." "Fortunately, most people are content to follow the normal course and take things as they are." "Oh, I wish I could too." "But I know if I tried, I'd just make a mess of your life, and of mine too." "But what's this all going to lead to?" "I don't know." "It may be that I will find something to give that people will be glad to take." "It's just a chance." "But even if I fail, I shan't be any worse off than a fellow who's gone into business and hasn't made a go of it." "Then there's nothing more to be said." "Here you are." "Isabel." "Wear this on another finger, please." " We're still friends." " Of course." "Shall we go?" "Well, go on, go on." "I don't believe it." "Do you realize that in the two months you've been here I haven't won a game?" " Who's winning?" " I am." "Good." "Well, I must say, Isabel's taking it very well." "Has she told you what happened?" "Only that she and Larry came to the conclusion they'd made a mistake." " Has she written to Gray?" " I'm not in the habit of opening her mail." "If you ask me, she's very well out of it." "There was a physical attraction..." " ...but that's all" " Here she is." " Good night, Mother." " Don't be too late." "Remember we have to catch the boat train in the morning." "You're very dressed up." " You seem to be going somewhere." " Yes." " Where?" " Oh, nowhere in particular." " Larry and I are going out on the town." " Larry?" "We thought we'd spend our last night together." ""Evening," I trust you mean." "I'm profoundly shocked." "If he had any decency, he'd never have asked you." "But he didn't ask me." "I asked him." " You should forbid her to go." " Will you pay any attention to me if I do?" " No, darling, none." " In that case I don't think there's any point in my forbidding it." "Pretty dress she had on." "I hadn't realized it was cut quite so low." "I've never seen you so beautiful." "Well, I guess this is goodbye." "Will you come in and have one last drink?" "Yes." "It's late." "You'd better go." "Oh, Larry, for heaven's sakes, go!" "Please, Larry." "Larry." "Uncle Elliott." "That was a brilliant performance, my dear." "I left the door just a little open." "Shall I get you a drink?" "I expect you want it." "You think you're very clever, don't you?" "I don't think it, I know it." "Come, come, child, be reasonable." "I guessed you were up to something." "Even your mother noticed the pains you went to to make yourself alluring tonight." "You're hateful." "But no fool, my angel." "Am I right that you thought if you could get him to come back here it was almost inevitable that the inevitable should happen?" "No one could put it more delicately." "We know what the consequences may be when a poor girl strays from the narrow path of virtue." "Do we?" "My guess is that if your unscrupulous plan had come off it wouldn't have been long before Larry got a letter from you telling him to come back at once and make an honest woman of you." "You can be wonderfully disagreeable when you like." "I know, it's one of my most cherished gifts." "Why didn't you go through with it?" "When I looked into his eyes and saw he hadn't the slightest idea I'd set a trap for him I couldn't bring myself to play such a dirty trick." "I couldn't help myself." "I suppose it was my better nature." "Nonsense." "It was your sound Middle Western horse sense." "You'd have been mad to have married him." "I wonder." "Believe me, when you've put the Atlantic between you and that young man, you won't care two straws for him." "Trust your Uncle Elliott." "He's a very wise old party." "Mr. Maturin, the cake." "Here's a knife, Miss Isabel." "I mean, Mrs. Maturin." " What do I do with it?" " Gray, you get in." "You're in on this." " I told you what to do." "Take her hand." " Nothing would please me more." "Darling, this is the nicest wedding I've ever been to." " We should've thought of this sooner." " Uncle Elliott..." " ...how do brides cut cakes in France?" " With a knife, dear." " Now make a wish, Gray." " I don't have to." "I've got my wish." "I've never understood why, when there's so much space in the world people should deliberately choose to live in the Middle West." "What in heaven's name is this?" "Is it alone?" "Doesn't it come with something?" "What is it?" " It could be a pickle fork." " A pickle fork." "Two ninety-eight, no doubt, at Ye Gifte Shoppe." "Four fifty, Mr. Templeton, at Obendorfer's." " We know, because we sent it." " Charming." "Is it for use or ornament?" "Both." "Remember me?" "We met the last time I was in Chicago." " I certainly do, Mr. Maugham." " Hello, sir." "Sophie." "Oh, darling, how sweet of you and Bob to come." "Let me see you." " Oh, you look beautiful, Isabel." " Think so?" "Like a million dollars." "Or should I say 20 million?" "Darling, we never see you and Bob anymore." "Where do you hide yourselves?" "Just at present, for reasons best known to ourselves..." " ...we don't mix with the rich." " We find it expensive." " How's the kid, Bob?" " Fine." " Would you like--?" " Oh, please, darling, not now." "I'd love to come see you." "Where do you live now?" "In a walk-up apartment on the North Side." "I'd ask you to dinner, only I'm afraid you won't care for my cooking." "Don't you believe her." "She's the best darn cook in Chicago." "All's well that ends well." "And I must say, they make a very attractive couple." "Oh, no." " I hope they'll be happy." " Why shouldn't they be happy?" "They have everything to make them happy." "Money, position, a nice house." "And Gray's father can't live forever." "What about Larry?" "Heard anything about him?" "Good heavens, no." "As soon as Isabel and Louisa went away I dropped him like a hot potato." "A most undesirable young man." "I tried to find him the last time I was in Paris, but I couldn't." "I wonder what's happened to him." "Shall I tell you something, my dear fellow?" "I don't care a row of beans." " Hey, Kosti." " How about a beer?" " Well, I would like to wash up first." " Oh, come on." "It's good, clean dirt." "You can wash later." "A couple of beers, sweetheart." "And a deck of cards." "I looked for you last night." "You were out." "Was she pretty?" "You're wrong." "I went to a lecture at the university." "Missed the bus." "I walked back in the rain." " It serves you right." " Why?" "Enlightenment is a curse of civilization." "A man who wastes his energy on knowledge is a fool." "The more he learns, the more he wants, and the more unhappy he becomes." "Tear down the schoolhouses, burn the books, strangle the teachers." "Then the world can get somewhere." "The beer." "And the cards." "We'll play for the drinks." "Why should a man who wants to develop his brain work in a coalmine?" "Answer me that." "You could have gotten a soft job on the surface." "I wanted to work below." "Hiding out, are you?" " Police after you?" " No." " A woman?" " No, I just thought it'd do me good to work up a sweat." "What have the other Poles told you about me?" "Not much." "They advised me not to play cards with you because you cheat." " Do you think it's true?" " Yes." "I know it is." "Then why do you play with me?" "For the fun of it." "I've been watching." "I can't see how it's done." "You never will, my boy." "I shouldn't have thought it worth your while just for a few drinks." "I like to keep my hand in." "What are you going to do when you get enough of this?" "Go back to America?" "I will, I suppose, one of these days." " And do what?" " Sell bonds." "You're a rum one, Larry." "But what about the answers to all those profound questions you have been asking yourself?" "Don't you know people have been asking the same questions for thousands of years?" "Doesn't the fact that people have asked those same questions for thousands of years only go to prove that they can't help asking?" "Very good." "Very good." "You're not altogether stupid." "As a matter of fact, you sound like a very religious man who doesn't believe in God." "I'm not sure that I believe in anything." "Have you ever thought of going to the East?" "No." "India, for instance?" "I went there." "I met a strange man." "A man I never thought to meet in this world." "A saint." "People go from all parts of India to see him tell him their problems, ask his advice and listen to his teaching." "And they go away strengthened in soul and at peace." "But it's not his teaching that's so remarkable." "It's the man himself." " Did he help you?" " No." "No." "But that wasn't his fault." "It was mine." "How did you ever come to go to India?" "To escape my pursuer." "He followed me there." "I've wallowed in the gutters of half the seaports of Europe to put him off my track." "He was waiting for me." "I know however far I flee, one day he will come up with me and I shall feel the terrible hand on my shoulder." "Wouldn't it be better to take your punishment?" "You don't know what the punishment is." "It's not prison or the hangman's rope." "I could face that." "It's mercy forgiveness, love." "Didn't anybody ever tell you that I'm a unfrocked priest?" "It's not the police I'm running away from." "I'd kill anyone who tried to arrest me." "It's God." "Get out, you fool!" "I'm going to get drunk." "Sorry we were interrupted." "They're pilgrims." "They come from many places, some from quite far distances." "What has brought you here, my son?" "I've come to learn." "Ever since the war, I've been searching for something." "Something that I've not been able to put into words." "I've been told that from you I might find guidance." "God is the only guide." "But perhaps if we talk, he may show me a way to help you." "To my friends, I'm a loafer, afraid of responsibilities." "I can't even make those I love understand what I'm after." "The fact you've taken the time to come this great distance in search of knowledge proves that you're not afraid of responsibilities." "Even to admit that you want to learn is in itself courageous." "I've studied, I've traveled, I've read everything I could get my hands on and nothing seems to satisfy me." "Oh, like everyone else, I want to succeed, I want to improve but not necessarily in the terms of what the world calls success." "Somehow I've lost confidence in the accepted values." "I try to get excited at the prospect of settling down minding my own business and making good but it only increases my urge to move on." "I know that if I do find what I'm looking for it will be something that I can share with others." "But how to find it, and where?" "All your restlessness and confusion are not unique, my son." "The whole world is restless and confused." "It will always be so, as long as men set their ideals on the wrong objects." "There can be no real happiness until men learn that it comes from within themselves." "I know." "It is written that the wise man lives from within himself which is from God, from within his own heart." "This is the way of calmness, forbearance and everlasting peace." " But that's not easy." " No." "The road to salvation is difficult to pass over." "As difficult as the sharp edge of a razor." "But this much we know and all religions teach it." "There is in every one of us a spark of the infinite goodness which created us." "And when we leave this earth, we are reunited with it as a raindrop falling from heaven is at last reunited with the sea which gave it birth." " May I stay here with you?" " Of course you may." "Our life's very simple." "There are books." "We will talk together." "You can even work in the fields if you wish." "We Indians believe there are three roads that lead to God." "One is the path of faith and worship." "One is the path of good works performed for the love of God." "And then there is a third path, which leads through knowledge to wisdom." "You have chosen the way of knowledge." "But you will find in the end, my son that the three paths are but one path." "One of my students will show you where to sleep." "Thank you." " Excuse me, please." " Yes, sir." "Operator?" "Michigan 7182." "I wanna get Mr. Gray Maturin." " Is Dr. Thompson in there?" " Yes, he is." "We'll hold the hypo for now." "She's doing all right." "You're wanted, doctor." "I'm Gray Maturin, doctor." "They sent for me." " How is she?" " She's conscious now." "She asked about her husband." "Will you tell her?" "Tell her?" "Doesn't she know?" "She should be told before a possible shock reaction." "You're an old friend." "Hello, Gray." "It was nice of you to come." "I got here as quickly as I could." "It was such a silly thing to happen." "A bunch of drunks." "They ran into us at an intersection." "We might all have been killed." "It was lucky I was holding the baby in my arms." "Is the car badly damaged?" "Where's Bob?" "Careful of her arm." "Where's Bob?" "I want Bob." "Bob?" "You have to stay in bed, Mrs. MacDonald." " Take it easy, Sophie." " No." "I've got to see Bob." " And baby." "Baby, baby." " Don't let her get up." " I'll get the doctor." " Sophie, lie down." " Leave me alone, you swine!" " Please." "Please, Sophie." "Is Bob dead, Gray?" "Is he dead?" "You can tell me, Gray." "Yes." "And baby too?" "Linda." "Linda!" "Baby." "Hypo." "Linda." "Wake up, baby." "Wake up, baby, wake up." "Well, are you ready to start on your pilgrimage?" "Yes." "But I'll miss it here." "I've been very happy." "We'll miss you too." "But you've got all you can get from books." "It's time for you to put the world behind you for a while." "To isolate yourself completely from everything." "Sometimes very strange things happen when you're in the mountains." "Not a living soul within miles of you." "Nothing above you but the sky and God." "What sort of things?" "That, my son, depends on you." "You'll find a little shelter up there at the very top." "Go in." "Make yourself at home." "After you've been there some time, perhaps I shall pay you a visit." "You've come." "Let me look at you." "Yes, I see." "You were right." "Something very strange did happen to me." "I know." "Tell me." "It was just at that moment before night ends and day begins when the whole world seems to tremble in the balance." "Gradually the light began to filter through the darkness like some mysterious figure stealing through the trees." "And then the first rays of the sun came up." "The mountains, the mist caught in the treetops...." "I'd never before felt or seen anything like it." "I know." "I come here often." "I felt that I'd been released from my body." "That I was suspended in midair." "That all the things that had been confused before suddenly became clear to me." "I had a sense of knowledge more than human." "I felt that I'd broken away and was free." "I felt that if it lasted another minute, I" "I'd die." "And yet I was willing to die if I could just hold onto it because for that one moment I had the feeling that...." "That you and God were one." "Yes." "I'm sure I could stay here forever and never tire of it." "No." "You must go back." "You are now ready to go back." "It's not necessary to leave the world, my son but rather to live in the world and to love the objects of the world not for themselves alone, but for what there is in them of God." "Your place is with your own people." "You, my son, are one of the fortunate ones." "By the grace of God, it's been given you to see the infinite beauty of the world which is only the reflection seen through a glass darkly of the beauty of God." "That sense of joy that vision of his beauty will remain with you, fresh and vivid, till the day of your death." "This crest is not in the proper place at all." "The crest belongs up here." "Up here." "I'm not running in the Olympic Games, you know." "It'll all have to be done over immediately." "Now, about this robe." "It's really dreadful." "Dreadful." "And look at this tassel." "Hideous." "It should strike me here, at the knees, lower, lower so that when I walk, it'll sway." "As it is now, it just bobbles." "Where are my ties?" "It isn't." "By Jove, it is." " My dear fellow." " Elliott." " Where have you been all these years?" " In the Orient." "The last time I passed through you were away." "Come in, come in." "I have a house on the Riviera now." "I've reached an age when I'm prepared to relax..." " ...and enjoy the beauties of nature." " You surprise me, Elliott." "You always looked on nature as an impediment to social intercourse." "Paris is not what it was." "There's practically nobody to know here anymore." "But on the Riviera, there's some nice people." "In fact, the shores of the Mediterranean are simply littered with royalties." "Heavens knows I'm not a snob, but just as a matter of interest I don't mind telling you that on one occasion I had two ex-kings to lunch." "Two." "How nice." "Elliott, what the devil is that crown doing over your initials?" "His Holiness has been graciously pleased to revive in my favor my old family title." " Your what?" " Oh, didn't you know?" "I'm descended in the female line from the Count de Lauria who came to England with Philip II and married a maid of honor to Queen Mary." "As an American citizen, I feel it more modest not to use my title except on all my personal linen." "I think that's a very pretty gesture on your part, Elliott." "I take a modest pride in concealing my rank under the sober pinstripe of an American gentleman." "You know that Isabel and Gray Maturin are here with their two children." "Are they?" "I didn't know." "I've only just arrived in Paris." " They were wiped out in the crash." " Yes, I heard that." "Poor Isabel even had to sell her jewels." "Gray tried to get a job, but it appears there was no business." "The result was a nervous breakdown." "And he suffers from the most frightful headaches." "He couldn't take a job now if he could get one." "Oh, I am so sorry." "I couldn't let them live like pigs, Isabel with no maid and no governess for the children." "So I've lent them my apartment until Gray is back on his feet." "You're the most generous creature in the world." "Nonsense." "If I'm taking care of them, it's because well, noblesse oblige, you know." " Can I drop you somewhere?" " What about having lunch with me?" " I'm expecting an old friend of yours." " I wasn't aware I had old friends in Paris." "And even if I have, nothing would give me less pleasure..." " ...than to meet them at this time." " Jump in." "We're meeting at the Dome." "I dislike being hustled." "To the Dome." "And what about you?" "Were you hurt in the crash?" "God tempers the wind to the shorn lamb." "I happened to be in Rome in September '29." "My friends strongly advised me to sell my American securities." "I very sensibly took their advice." "So when the crash came you were sitting pretty." "An Americanism, which I see no occasion for you to use but it expresses my situation with a good deal of accuracy." "In fact, I was inspired to sell short and made what you would probably call a killing." " You're a downy old bird, Elliott." " I have a flair." "I do not like the propinquity of the hoi polloi." " Oh, hello." " Larry." " Larry?" "I thought you were dead." " Sorry to disappoint you." " Where have you sprung from?" " India." "India." "If you will excuse me, I will now leave you." "I find I have an engagement." " Goodbye, my dear fellow." " Goodbye." " Goodbye." " Goodbye." " Did you know Isabel and Gray are here?" " Really?" "Where are they staying?" "In Elliott's apartment with their children." "I must look them up." "If you don't want to drive their two girls into hysterics..." " ...you'd better get a haircut." " That'd be a good idea anyway." "They've had a bad time." "The Maturin Company was wiped out in the crash." "Gray had a nervous breakdown." "Poor Gray." "Oh, I am sorry to hear that." "What did you do in India?" "I learned something about myself." "I was very happy there." " Mr. Maugham, sir." " Yes, I know." " Hello, Mr. Maugham." " Hello." "Isabel said she talked to you on the phone." "Tell Mrs. Maturin Mr. Maugham's here." "I'm sorry to hear you've been under the weather." "It's one of those things that comes and goes." "I can't get rid of it." "I thought if I came here the change might do me good." "Hello." " Mr. Maugham." " Isabel." "This is a pleasure." "How are the children?" "Oh, wonderful." "Growing by leaps and bounds." " How is it now, dear?" " Oh, I'm all right." "If you'll excuse me, I always feel such a nuisance when I'm like this." "Do you want anything, dear?" " No." " Sure?" " Poor boy." " What a pity." "I was hoping you two..." " ...would dine with me tonight." " Oh, I'd love to." "But he really suffers." "You look very well, Mr. Maugham." "I am very well." "Larry hasn't arrived yet?" "Larry?" "Yes, he lunched with me today." "He said he'd drop in on you this afternoon." "Larry in Paris?" "Where has he been?" " India." " But I didn't know." "I didn't know he'd been in India." "Do you realize I haven't laid eyes on him for years?" "Did you tell him we'd lost all our money?" "It's funny when you think of it, that we have almost exactly the income that Larry had when he wanted me to marry him." "And I wouldn't, because we couldn't possibly live on it." "And now I have two children besides." "I don't think you're so terribly to be pitied." "Excuse me." "Mr. Darrell." "Isabel." "Larry." "Hello, Isabel." "Larry." "Oh, Larry, I can't believe it." " Where did they go?" " Who?" "Oh, the brood." "Come on, babies." "Come on, darling." "Come back." " Oh, come here." "What's your name?" " Joan." " Joan." "And how old are you?" " Seven." "Seven." "This is Priscilla." "Seven." "It has been a long time." "Yes." "A long time." " It's a lovely brood." "Where's Gray?" " In the library." "Run along, darlings." " Hello, Larry." " Hello." "Come in and see Gray." "Gray, look who's here." " Hello, Gray." "Don't get up." " Larry." "I am glad to see you." "Sorry you caught me like this." " Blinding headache." " Yes." "Mr. Maugham wants to take us all out this evening." "I thought we'd dine and do the town." "Do you feel up to it?" "Well, that's very nice of you, Mr. Maugham, but I'm afraid not." " Larry'll go, won't you, Larry?" " Oh, poor Gray." "Sail on, all of you." "Don't let me spoil your evening." "Wait a minute." "Would you let me see if I can help you?" " How?" " I mean, I...." "I might be able to help you help yourself." "All right." "Here, sit down." " What are you going to do?" " Wait." "What's this?" "It's an old coin from India." "Here." "Close your fingers tightly on this, palm downward." "Now don't fight me." "Don't make any effort." "Just squeeze the coin with your closed fist." "Before I count 10 your hand will open, and the coin will drop out of it." "One, two three, four five, six seven eight, nine...." "I didn't let that coin drop." "It fell out of itself." "It's not important." "I just thought it might give you confidence in me." "Why?" "You'll see." "Here." "Got it?" " Excuse me." "Here." " What do you want me to do?" "Come back in the corner and sit right against those cushions." "Get comfortable." " Are you comfortable?" " I think so." " Have you got a watch?" " Yes." "Palm downward." "Thank you." "Six forty-three." "In 60 seconds, your eyelids will grow heavy so heavy that you will be obliged to close them." "Then you will sleep for another minute." "At 6:45, you will wake up and you will have no more pain." "No more pain." "Believe it or not, he's falling asleep." " You learned that in India." " There's nothing miraculous about it." "I merely put an idea into his head." "He's doing the rest himself." "I did doze off." "Is your head better?" "I don't know." "Could be." " You did something." "What did you do?" " I didn't do it." "You did it yourself." " Did I?" " Of course." "A moment ago, my head was splitting wide open, from here to here." " How is it now?" " Well, it's certainly better." "Could you cure him permanently?" "I can't do miracles, but there's no reason why he can't cure himself." " But that was a miracle." "I saw it." " Well, whatever it was, it sure helped." " Enough to come to dinner with us?" " Sure, I'd like to come." " I haven't eaten all day." " You'll come, Larry." "I'd love to." "You know, I haven't danced with you for years." " I'd like to find out if I still know how." " We'll see." "I'll go get my things." "Oh, would you like a drink, Mr. Maugham?" "Larry?" "Everything's here." "Oh, hello." "How is your friend, Elliott Templeton?" "Pretty well, I think." " Who was that?" " The Princess Novemali." "Edna." "Funny fellow, that Larry." "He doesn't look a day older than he did when he left all those years ago." "India changed him." " Changed him?" " He looks extraordinarily happy to me." "Calm, yet strangely aloof." " Excuse me." "Do you have a match?" " Oh, here." " Did you get the car?" " Not yet." "Thanks." " Does he dance as well as ever?" " I didn't notice." "You aren't going to be so silly as to fall in love with him again, are you?" "I've never stopped loving him." "I've never loved anyone else in my life." "Marriage is a pretty difficult job, even when one's in love." "I shouldn't have thought it fun when one is not." "One can get on all right without love." "Gray's such a good fellow." "Be a pity to hurt him." "I'll never do anything to hurt him." "I'm too fond of him for that." "Well, it's your business, not mine." "Where to now?" "How about Les Ambassadeurs?" "Oh, no, I'm sick of all these smart places." "Well?" "How about the rue de Lappe?" "I've never been there." "At least it will be different." " The rue de Lappe in those clothes?" " Nonsense." "I can keep my jacket on." " Please." "It'll be fun." " Don't blame us if you don't like it." "Pull down the blinds if you don't want a bottle through the window." "You asked for it, Isabel." "Here it is." "I'm not scared." "I like it." "Oh, look at that." "The police will probably choose now to raid the place." "I should be thrilled to the marrow." " Any champagne in Paris is all right." " Well, I don't" " Well, well, look who's here." " Sophie." "Who'd you think it was?" "Sit down." "Sit down, all of you." "Hello, Gray." "Sit down." "I'll get you a chair, Sophie." "Fancy meeting you all like this." " Hello, Larry." " Hi, brown eyes." "How are you?" "Thirsty." "Come on, let's all have a drink." "Do I know them?" "They're my childhood friends." "Who says I'm drunk?" "I know you." "You came to Chicago." " Bit of a stuffed shirt, aren't you?" " Maybe." "I can't say you seem so terribly pleased to see me." "I heard you were in Paris, Sophie." "You might've called." "I'm in the phone book." " Are you?" " Yes." "Having a good time over here, Sophie?" "Fine." "You went bust, didn't you, Gray?" "Tough on you." "I guess it must be pretty grim in Chicago right now." "Lucky for me I got out when I did." "Where are those drinks?" "Here they are, Sophie." "Here you are, Sophie." "My loving in-laws kicked me out of Chicago." "Said I was gumming up their reputation." "Look out, Coco." "He's the quiet type." "He'll lay you out cold." " Is that a friend of yours, Sophie?" " Yes, that's a friend of mine, Isabel." " You living in Paris now, Larry?" " Yes, I am, Sophie." "You remember the summer before the war?" "Sure." " We saw a lot of each other then." " When?" "When you and your mother were being social." "We used to read poetry together." "Remember, Larry?" "You used to write some poetry yourself in those days." "Pretty good too, wasn't it?" "Not bad for a kid." "It was good." "Well, I'd better get back to my boyfriend or he'll raise the roof." "He's a sulky brute." "But quite a man." "Come and see me when you've nothing better to do." "I've got a case of Scotch." "So long, folks." "Come again." "I'm here every night." "I'm afraid that was not a great success." "Some shock to see Sophie." "Boy, was she tight." " If not worse." " That's funny." "I got the same impression." " Do you remember her at all?" " Very well." "I liked her." "I remember her husband." "You never saw two people so crazy about each other." "They got to be a regular joke around Chicago." " But what happened?" " Didn't you know?" "Bob and the baby were killed." "A car hit them." " Oh, so that's what it is." " She nearly went crazy." "We did all we could to help, but it was no good." "If you asked her to dinner, she'd come in plastered and pass out." " We simply had to drop her." " She became impossible." "Of course, it was a shock." "I was terribly sorry for her." "But a normal person recovers." "If she went to pieces, it was because she was always unbalanced." "Even her love for Bob was exaggerated." "Aren't I right, Larry?" "No, I don't agree with you, Isabel." "She was as normal as any person I've ever known." "But remember, I knew her better than you did." " Was she in love with you?" " Good heavens, no." "She was only a kid." "Just a skinny little girl with a bow in her hair." "I remember her crying once when I was reading an ode of Keats' because it was so beautiful." "Girls of that age are very emotional." "Oh, there was a lot to her in those days." "She had what Keats probably would have called a sort of lovely purity." "Chauffeur, would you stop at the next corner." " You're not going to run out on us." " Well, my hotel's only a step from here." " Good night." " Larry, will we see you?" " Yes." " We're going to Vittel on Thursday with Elliott." "He wants to take the cure." "We'll be back by the first." "I'll call you." "Fine." "Well, good night." " Good night, Gray." " Good night, Larry." "And thanks for the dinner." " Hello?" " Larry." "At last." "I've been trying to reach you for hours." "Aren't you ever in?" "Well, hardly ever." "When did you get back?" "This morning." "Uncle Elliott insisted on being here in time for Elsa's soiree tonight." "Poor dear." "He's not at all well, but he will go to all these parties." "How's Gray getting along?" "Oh, Larry, you've simply done wonders for him." "He's started to play golf again." "He blames it all on you." "And what have you been doing?" "Oh, one thing and another." "I've seen a lot of Sophie." "Really?" "Why?" "Well, after all, she's an old friend." "If you want my opinion, I think you're wasting your time." "She stopped drinking." "Larry, you're the most gullible person I've ever known." "She'll never stop drinking." "Sophie wallows in the gutter because she likes it." "A blind person could see that." "Well, just the same, I do wish you'd be nice to her, Isabel." "We're going to be married." "What?" "Married?" "Yes, that's right." "It's all settled." "Well, you're not serious." "You can't be." "But I am." "Well, aren't you going to congratulate me?" "I am not." "I think you're" " You're" " What's kept you?" "You've been hours." " I came the instant I got your call." " What's happened?" " It's about Larry and Sophie." "The idiot." "The stupid, blind idiot." "He must be mad." "If you'd calm down, I might be able to make out what you're saying." "He's going to marry her." " How do you know?" " He just called me on the phone." " Oh, I'm frantic." " So I see." "He had the effrontery to ask me to be nice to her." " Well, it's his own affair, isn't it?" " She's an awful woman." "She's bad, bad, bad!" "She's soused from morning till night." "That doesn't mean she's bad." "Quite a number of respectable citizens get drunk and do silly things." "They're bad habits, but I don't know if they're worse than that." "I call a person bad who lies and cheats and is unkind." "If you're going to take her part, I'll kill you." " I'd prefer if you'd give me a cup of tea." " Oh, help yourself." "He's seen a lot of her since we were at that dive." "He says she's quit drinking." "The fool thinks he's cured her." " Did you forget what he did for Gray?" " That had nothing to do with it." "Thanks." "Gray wanted to be cured." "She doesn't." " How do you know?" " Because I know women." "Do you think she'll stick to Larry?" "No." "She'll break out." "It's in her blood." "It's a brute she wants." "That excites her." "It's a brute she'll go after." "She'll lead Larry to hell." "It's probable, but I don't see what you can do about it." "I can do nothing about it." "But you can." "I?" "Larry likes you, and he listens to what you say." "You know the world." "Go to him and tell him he can't make a fool of himself." "Tell him it'll ruin him." "He'd only tell me it's none of my business, and he'd be quite right." "It may not turn out so badly as you think." "You make me tired!" "She's rotten to the core!" "Do you think I've sacrificed myself only to let Larry fall into the hands of a woman like that?" "How did you sacrifice yourself?" "I gave up Larry for one reason only." "Because I didn't want to stand in his way." "Come off it, Isabel." "You gave him up for a square-cut diamond and a sable coat." "Your Uncle Elliott wouldn't have thanked you if you'd broken one of his Crown Darby plates." "They were made for the Duchess of Dorset." " Pick up that bread and butter." " Pick it up yourself." "And you call yourself an English gentleman." "No, that's one thing I've never done." "Get out of here!" "I never want to see you again." "I hate the sight of you." "I'm sorry for that, because the sight of you always gives me pleasure." "Have you ever been told your nose is like that of the Psyche in the Museum of Naples?" "And that's the loveliest representation of virginal beauty that ever existed." "You've got exquisite legs, so long and shapely." "I can't cease to be surprised at them." "They were lumpy when I first saw you." " I can't imagine how you've managed it." " An iron will." "But, of course, your most fascinating feature are your hands." "They're so slim and elegant." "I was under the impression you thought them too big." "Not for your height and build." "I'm always amazed at the infinite grace with which you use them." "Whether by nature or by art you never make a gesture without imparting beauty to it." "They're like flowers sometimes and sometimes like birds on the wing." "There are moments when I don't positively dislike you." "Sometimes I think you're rather sweet." "I will not have my face smeared with lipstick." "If you want to kiss me, kiss me on the lips which is what a merciful providence provided them for." "Thank you." " Now what's it you want?" " Advice." "There's only one thing you can do." "Make the best of a bad job." "Larry's gripped by the most powerful emotion that can beset the breast of man, self-sacrifice." "He's got to save the soul of the wretched woman whom he had known as an innocent child." "And there's nothing you or I or anyone can do to prevent it." "But he's going to be so unhappy." "Do you love him very much?" "It is a nuisance, isn't it?" "But I can't help it." "And you don't want to lose him altogether?" "Then make friends with Sophie." "Be as nice to her as you can." "Ask her to lunch." "It would be rather awkward for me after what I've just said to Larry." " Will you behave if I do?" " Like an angel of light." "I'll fix it up." "One o'clock tomorrow at the Ritz." "What are you thinking?" "I don't quite like the look of you." "I'm sorry." "I thought that was the one thing about me you did like." "You haven't got some scheme you've been hatching up?" "Oh, I promise you I haven't." "I'm terribly curious to see what she looks like now that Larry's reformed her." " Larry." " Oh, there you are." "Excuse me." "Mr. Maugham's table?" " In the lounge, monsieur." " Thank you." "Larry." "You like it?" "You look fine, come on." " Hello, Larry." " Miss Keith." " How do you do?" " Nice to see you." " Hello, Sophie." " Oh, hello, Isabel." " Sophie, I'm so happy for you." " Thank you." " Hello, Larry." "Here they are." " Thank you for asking us." " Hello, Gray." " Hello, Larry." " Isabel says you're feeling much better." " Not better, I feel great." "I haven't taken a sleeping pill since we went out together." "If you ever hang out your shingle, let me know." " I'll do that." " Oh, a cocktail." " No, thank you." " Here." " No, thanks." " You don't mind if we do?" " Oh, no, of course not." " Go right ahead." "Oh, look." "Uncle Elliott." "He behaves exactly as if the Ritz were his private house." "I'm sure he's telling them how pleased he is they accepted his invitation." "I'd rather not discuss it." "Isabel." "That bloody woman." "How do you do?" "It's charming to see you again." "May I offer you my best wishes?" "I hope you'll be very happy." "Thank you." " The same to you." " Thank you." "Cocktail, Elliott?" "No, I would not like a cocktail." "I drink nothing but Vichy." "Look at her." "You all know her, of course." "The Princess Edna Novemali." "You'd never think she was American." "But I knew her before she came over here from Milwaukee." "And that frustrated old-maid secretary of hers, if you ask me they look like a couple of fugitives from Madame Tussaud's waxworks." "And where will you and Larry go on your honeymoon, my dear?" "Greece, isn't it?" " Greece?" " It ought to be lovely this time of year." " Lovely." " How about a liqueur, Gray?" " Yes, I think I will." " Ah, yes, this." "Sophie?" " No, thanks." " You're very foolish." "It's excellent." "No, Uncle Elliott, she doesn't want it." " Gray?" " A little glass for monsieur?" "No, alas, it's forbidden me." "My doctors won't let me touch alcohol." "A tear of Perzovka can do monsieur no harm." "Perzovka." "Perzovka." "I'll just have a look at the bottle." "I'm sorry to hear you've been ill, Elliott." "You should take care of yourself." "Perzovka." "It can't hurt me for once." "Just a drop." "Two drops, perhaps." "We drank it at the Radziwills when I stayed with them for the shooting." "You should have seen those Polish princes putting it away." "They drink it by the tumbler and never turn a hair." "I don't care whether Sophie's on the wagon or not, she must try this." "It's an experience no one can miss." "It's like listening to music by moonlight." "I'd rather not." "Isabel?" "Nice smell." "That's the herbs they put in it." "Oh, very good." "Can we have some of this at the apartment?" "Certainly." "I'll have a few bottles sent around." "What did you say it was like, Uncle Elliott?" "Like listening to music by moonlight." "It is." "Sophie." " Yes?" " I saw the most divine wedding dress at Molyneux's." "Let me give it to you for a wedding present." " Uncle Elliott and me." " What?" " Sophie has one already picked out." " Oh, don't be stuffy, Larry." "Let us give her a dress." "I'll arrange a fitting." "May she?" " Certainly." "It's very nice of you." " Thank you, both of you." "Not at all, not at all." "Suppose you pick me up tomorrow at 3 at the apartment?" " You know the address, don't you?" " Yes." "Oh, good heavens, we don't want you." "You're only the groom." "I'll see you at 3." "Yes, it was a lovely party." "No, of course I did." "I behaved like an angel." "I always do." "Oh, how silly." "Stop imagining things." "I meant every word of it." "Yes." "Yes." "Tomorrow." "At 5." "That was Somerset Maugham on the telephone." "He gives me the queerest feeling." "As if he were leading other people's lives for them." "But I daresay that comes of being a novelist." "Here." "Thanks." "Mr. Maugham." "I called him a stuffed shirt that night." "What does it matter?" "That's all past." "You weren't yourself." "Your mind was miles away when I came in." "Where was it?" "With Larry?" " No, right here." "I was thinking." " What?" " You always wanted Larry for yourself." " I've always wanted to see him happy." "You hate me for marrying him, don't you?" "No." "I don't hate you at all." "I'd hate anyone or anything that came in the way of his happiness." " I'll be a good wife." " I hope you will." "I was before." "I know you were." "Sophie, don't misunderstand me." "I don't." "What are we getting into?" "Coffee?" "Ice?" "No, thanks." "I'm going to have a drink." "Oh, look." "Uncle Elliott sent the Perzovka." " The what?" " Don't you remember?" "He raved about it yesterday." "Oh, yes, the Perzovka." "Poor Uncle Elliott." "Exaggerates about so many things, but for once, he's right." "I love the color." "Like the green you sometimes see in the heart of a white rose." "Poor Sophie." "I haven't had a drink since that night in the rue de Lappe." "It must be awful just to break off completely, all at once." "Sometimes when I've been alone I've wanted to shake the house down." "But I've quit." " Yesterday at the Ritz was tough going." " I know, I saw it." "Did you?" "Did I show it?" "Only to me, I think." "It meant something to me." "Larry, you mean." "Larry's happiness." "He's good." "He's really good, Isabel." "I was gone." "Lost." "Gone." "This is my only chance." "I know that." "Excuse me." " Is the car here?" " Yes, madame." "Could we talk more?" " Of course, as much as you want." " Will you wait for me?" "I've got to pick up Joan at the dentist's." "I promised I would." "Your baby." " How old is she now?" " Seven." "Here." "She's lovely." "Linda would have been 9 in November." "This November that's coming." "Stay here." "I'll be back and we can talk." "If you see Sophie MacDonald, the American, tell her I'll be back later." "Hi, big boy." "Please pass me some Perzovka." "Where's that?" " I speak the English from London." " Very well, come along." "It is better I do not go in, monsieur." "I will wait for you there." "Come on, Sophie." "Let's get out of here." "Hello, Larry." "Come on." "Join us." "Perzovka." "You must try some." "It smells like...." "Like listening to music by moonlight." "Come along, Sophie." "Up you go." "Up." "Come on, Sophie." "Come with me now." "I'll buy you a drink someplace else." "Take your hands off me!" "I don't need you!" "I don't need anyone!" "That was the very last I saw or heard of Sophie MacDonald for almost a year." "As a matter of record, it was the very last any of us knew of her." "I settled down at my cottage on the Riviera near Cap Ferrat to finish my book." "And then one day, the police of Toulon sent for me." "Good morning, Monsieur Maugham." "I see Monsieur Maugham wears the Légion d'Honneur." " I have that distinction." " I apologize for being obliged to inconvenience a person of your distinction." "Nothing could make me happier than being of service to you." "Now, about this." "Yes." "This is a very dirty business, monsieur." "It appears that the woman, Sophie MacDonald, had a very evil reputation." "She was brutally murdered." "What?" "Her body was fished out of the harbor." "Her throat was cut from ear to ear." "Dreadful." "How does it happen that a person of your age and respectability should be acquainted with such a character?" " I knew her very slightly." " This volume was found in her room." "If you will examine the autographed page, you will see it hardly suggests that your acquaintance with her was as slight as you claim." ""My sweet, let us see if the rose...."" "If you think I was her lover, you're wrong." "It would be no affair of mine." "And without wishing to say anything offensive to you I must add that from what I've heard of her proclivities I should say you were not her type." "I'm prepared to take that as a compliment." "Nevertheless, it is evident you would not address a perfect stranger as "my sweet."" "That line, monsieur le commissaire, is the first of a celebrated poem by Ronsard with whose works I am certain a man of your education must be familiar." "Ronsard, Ronsard." "Oh, Ronsard." "Of course, I studied Ronsard at school." "But with all the work I have to do I must confess that line has escaped my memory." "As a matter of fact, I signed this book for her years ago in Chicago." "Hello, Mr. Maugham." "I didn't know you were here." "I thought you were in Sanary." "Yeah, they sent for me." "Have they told you?" " It's dreadful." " I've just seen her at the morgue." "I had to identify her." "Pardon, Monsieur Maugham, do you know this individual?" "I do." "He's an American citizen." "His name is Lawrence Darrell." "And what do you know of Monsieur Lawrence Darrell?" "He's a student, a young man of impeccable character." "Impeccable, eh?" "And how long have you known this young man of impeccable character?" "Approximately 10 years." "Have any burial arrangements been made?" "Well, if you are prepared to undertake the expense of the funeral yourself you will receive the necessary authorization." "Here is a card of an undertaker, a personal friend of mine who will arrange the matter for you on terms and with dispatch." " You are a marvel of efficiency." " You flatter me beaucoup." "May I see where she lived?" " You have not seen that room before?" " No, I have not." "Look." "Who are these people?" " That's her husband." "That's her baby." " Where are they now?" "Dead, monsieur." "A long time ago." "May those be buried with her?" " In that frame, monsieur?" " Yes." "As you wish, monsieur." "This is the ode of Keats' I read to her when she was a little girl." "I remember you mentioned it in the car, on the way from the rue de Lappe." "It's something I've always remembered her by." "The day is gone And all its sweets are gone!" "Sweet voice, sweet lips, soft hand And softer breast" "Warm breath, light whisper Tender semitone" "Bright eyes, accomplished shape And languorous waist!" "Faded the flower And all its budded charms" "Faded the sight of beauty From my eyes" "Faded the shape of beauty From my arms" "Faded the voice, warmth Whiteness, paradise" "Vanished unseasonably at shut of eve" "My advice is that you go and have a good dinner." "I have a card here of one of the best restaurants in Toulon." "It will assure you of the patron's attention." "A bottle of wine will do you both good after this harrowing experience." "I've got to get to Nice." "Elliott Templeton's had a relapse." "I'm sorry to hear that." "Do Gray and Isabel know?" "Yes, I hope they'll arrive in time." " I wish you'd come." " I'd like to but I was never one of Elliott's favorites, if you remember." " Thank you." "Good afternoon, Joseph." " Good afternoon." "Good afternoon." "I'll let Mr. Templeton know you're here." " How is he?" " Very weak, sir." "The doctors say there's no hope." "May I speak to you on a very delicate matter?" " Of course." " The time is growing short and Mr. Templeton should receive the last sacraments." "I hesitate to mention it to him, sir, but perhaps" " I shall be glad to suggest it." " Thank you, sir." "I hear voices." "See who it is." "Mr. Maugham, Mr. Darrell." "My dear fellow, how very nice to see you." "And Larry." "Well, this is a surprise." "Sit down." "Sit down." " Mr. Maugham said you were sick." " Did he?" " Well, I am sick." " But you don't look it." "You look extremely well." "Well, really now, young Mr. Larry Darrell that's the most sensible thing I've ever heard you say." "Of course he's right." "It's only a temporary indisposition." "I'm lunching with a duke on Sunday and I've told my doctor he must put me to rights by then at all costs." "It's too bad this should have happened just now." "It's a particularly brilliant season." "Are you going to Edna Novemali's party?" " Of course not." " Has she asked you?" "She's asked everybody in Europe." "She's giving a great do." "Fancy dress." "Fancy dress." "She hasn't asked me." "It's a deliberate insult." "Don't be ridiculous." "Why should she want to insult you?" " It was just an oversight." " I'm not a man that people overlook." "Perhaps she doesn't know you're in the south of France." "Don't be ridiculous, Larry." "Everybody knows I'm in the south of France." "It'll be the best party of the season." "If I was on my deathbed, I'd go to it." "Never mind, old boy, it may rain the night of the party." "That'll ruin it." "I never thought of that." "I'll pray for rain as I've never prayed before." "The old witch." "She'd never have got anywhere if it hadn't been for me." "Now she doesn't invite me to the greatest party of her career." "Fireworks, my dear fellow." "There are going to be fireworks." "So unkind." "I hate them, I hate them all." "They've eaten my food and drunk my wine." "I've run their errands for them." "I've made their parties for them." "And what have I got out of it?" "Nothing." "Now that I'm old and sick they have no use for me." "They don't care whether I live or die." "Not one of them." "They're so cruel." "I wish I'd never left America." "Excuse me." "I'm afraid you're very ill, Elliott." "Much iller than you think." "I was wondering if you'd like to see a priest." "Do you mean to say I'm going to die?" "Oh, I hope not, but it's as well to be on the safe side." "I understand." "Don't be upset, my dear fellow." "Noblesse oblige, you know." "You" " You ridiculous creature, Elliott." "Call the bishop." "Tell him I'd appreciate it if he'd send Father Charles." "He's a friend of mine." " I'll go and do that now." " Thank you." " May I borrow your car a few moments?" " Of course." "I'll go to Princess Novemali's house." "Her secretary's an old Scotch girl I know." "I think I can do something about the invitation." "She's a spiteful woman." "There'll be 1000 people at her party." "It couldn't have hurt her to have asked him." " Leave that to me." " Don't worry about the bags, darling." " Mr. Maugham." "Larry." " Hello." "This is a surprise." "I had no idea you were here." " Hello, Gray." " How is he?" " I'm afraid you've come just in time." " Poor Uncle Elliott." " I think he'd like to see you." "Come on." " Larry, you're not leaving?" "I'll be right back." "It's more usual to come in by the door, Larry." "Hello." "I thought the room was empty." "Then may I inquire what you're doing here?" " I'm a burglar, dear." " Fancy that, now." "And I thought for one happy moment that you'd come here to attack me." "No, Miss Keith." "No, I came to steal a card for the princess's party." " She hasn't asked Elliott Templeton." " I know she hasn't." "She crossed his name off on the list herself." "He's awfully hurt at being left out." "If he wanted to keep in with her he shouldn't have said those terrible things about her and her chauffeur." "The unfortunate part about it is that they're all true." " You have nothing against him." " No." "He's always been very nice to me." "He's a gentleman." "That's more than you can say about most people who come here to fill their bellies at the princess's expense." "Oh, come, Miss Keith, be a good sport." "Give me a card." "He won't come." "He's dying, and it'll make the poor old man so happy." "The cards are on the desk." "I am going to look out of the window to observe the beauty of the prospect." "And what happens when my back is turned neither God nor man can hold me responsible for." "Thank you, Miss Keith." "Our poor friend is very low." "He was a good man." "His defects were on the surface, but he was generous of heart and kindly toward his fellow creatures." "You may go in now." "A great honor, my dears." "I shall enter the kingdom of heaven with a letter of introduction from a prince of the church." "I fancy all doors will be open to me." " You'll find the company very mixed." " Don't you believe it." "There will be none of this confounded democracy there." "I shall pick and choose my company as I always have." "No, no, please don't draw the curtains." "I always love this time of afternoon." "Have a drink, my dear fellow." " You always have a drink at this time." " I have had it." "Have you?" "Isabel, if you are going to make a scene you will have to leave the room." "I'm a rich man in my way, and I've left you everything I have." " Oh, Uncle Elliott." " Now, now, now." "Gray, come here." "I understand you have a job in prospect." "Yes." "A roommate of mine in college has offered me a job in his business." "My idea is to see if I can raise enough money to start up my father's firm again." " It's still in receiver's hands." " Splendid." "You have the money now, my boy." "Letter for Mr. Templeton." "It's marked urgent." "Joseph, you'd better stay." " Elliott." " What is it?" "For you." "Open it." " What is it?" " It's a card for Edna Novemali's party." "There, what did I tell you?" "Get a pad and envelope." " I'll reply." " Please, don't bother about that now." "Why not?" "I've always been a man of the world." "There's no reason why I should forget my manners as I'm leaving it." " Are you ready?" " Yes, Elliott." "Mr. Elliott Templeton regrets he cannot accept Princess Novemali's kind invitation owing to a previous engagement with his blessed Lord." "The old witch." "Pardon, madame, but Mr. Darrell wishes to know if the chauffeur might drive him to the station." " The station?" "He's leaving?" " Yes, madame, at 10:30 for Paris." "But he didn't say." "Yes." "Yes, of course." "Leaving?" " He's going to America." " Oh, really?" "How wonderful." "He's going to work his way back on a tramp steamer." "He would do that." "But it doesn't matter." "At least he'll be home." "I'll see him." "I wouldn't do that if I were you." "But you're not me." "All my life, I've done the things other people have wanted me to do." "From now on, I intend to do the things I want to do." "I intend to see as much of Larry as I possibly can." " It may cause you a lot of pain, my dear." " I know, but it's a pain that's heaven." "Oh, Joseph." "Tell Marcel not to bother about the Rolls." " I'll drive you to the station, Larry." " Fine, thank you." " You're on your way again." " Yes." "I'm sorry I can't stay for the funeral." "I have to catch a boat." " So you're going back to America at last." " That's right." "And what are you going to do?" "I thought I might take a job in a factory or a garage." "I've always liked machinery." "And when I'm washing a car or tinkering with a carburetor my mind's free, and I feel I'm accomplishing something." "And after that?" "I don't know." " I might buy a taxi." " A taxi?" "It's a good life, always on the go." "You meet a lot of people." "Oh, Larry, for heaven's sake." "What you need is a good psychiatrist." "Sometimes I think you're completely out of your mind." "Just look what you've done with your life." "And with mine!" "What in heaven's name are you trying to prove?" "I'd hoped you'd come back to the States with us." "Gray's going into business again, and he'll need help." "You've no idea what you've done for him." "He spoke of it again only yesterday." "You can't see the change, but I can." "When you're around, he's different, much like his old self." " Gray's all right." "He doesn't need me." " But suppose he does?" "Suppose something goes wrong again and he has another breakdown?" "You can't imagine what he went through." "It wasn't just a matter of headaches or nerves." "He was sick, really sick." "I've never told this to anyone before but for months and months, we watched him every minute." "It wasn't just losing his money and the business his father had built." "It was more." "He blamed himself for all the things that happened to those little people who trusted him with their savings." "I honestly believe if it hadn't been for the children he'd have killed himself." "Well, there's nothing so surprising about that, Isabel." "There isn't a man or woman living today who hasn't felt that way at least once in their lives." "The wonderful thing about life is that most of us get a second chance." "I got a second chance right at the moment when I thought there was nothing worthwhile living for." "Do you know what it means to see another man give up his life for you?" "Do you?" "Have you ever thought what it is to walk the streets at night knowing that you're walking in another man's shoes?" "That someone deliberately died so that you might go on living." "Listen." "Do you remember that night in Chicago when we talked at the country club?" "I told you then that I didn't think I'd ever find myself." "Well, I haven't yet, completely." "I've found some of the things I was looking for." "Someday I may find them all, but in any event, I'm going to keep on looking." "It isn't easy, and it isn't fun." "I've known moments of futility and frustration." "I've...." "But that's all past now." "Past and done." "I know what lies ahead." "I know where I'm going." "Gray, in his own way, can do the same thing because this is his second chance." "And I know he'll come through." "All right." "Suppose he does?" "And what about me?" "Doesn't it mean anything to you that I love you?" "That I've never loved anybody else but you?" "That my children might've been your children?" "That--?" "Oh, why didn't I marry you when I had the chance?" "I could have, you know I could have." "That night in Paris, you were ready to give up all this foolishness for me." "If I'd had brains enough, I could've saved you." "But no, I threw you out!" "I thought I was being so noble, remember?" "Look at me, Larry." "You know you love me." "You know that you've always wanted me." "Say it's true." "Say you know it's true." "Oh, Larry, I love you." "I love you." "Promise you'll come back with us." "Promise you will." "Tell me about Sophie, Isabel." "Sophie?" "What about Sophie?" "That afternoon she came to your apartment, did she have a drink?" " Yes." " Perzovka?" "How did you know?" "Isn't it strange that she should've asked for such an unfamiliar liqueur?" "She didn't ask for anything." "She just helped herself." "I had to pick up my daughter at the dentist." "And when I returned, Sophie was gone and the bottle was empty." "When you found Sophie gone and the bottle empty, weren't you surprised?" "I thought she got tired of waiting." "When I noticed the bottle, I thought the butler drank it." "I very nearly spoke to him about it." "You never were a very good liar, Isabel." "You don't believe me." "Not for a moment." "Then don't." "All right, if you want the truth, I did it, and I'd do it again." "I was determined to prevent her marrying you." "Nobody else would do a thing!" "They didn't care." "I did!" "Oh, Larry, you men are such fools." "I knew that sooner or later, she'd break down." "It stuck out a mile." "You saw how jittery she was at the Ritz." "I knew she'd give her soul for a drink." "The idea came when Uncle Elliott made such a fuss about the stuff." "I hated it, but I pretended it was wonderful." "I knew if she had a chance, she'd never resist." "That's why I offered her a dress." "I made up my mind that if Sophie hadn't touched the bottle I'd make the best of things and try to be friends." "That's true, I swear it!" "When I came back, saw the bottle was empty I knew I'd been right all along." "That's pretty much what I thought." "Sophie's dead." "Dead?" "Her body was found in the harbor at Toulon." "She'd been murdered." "Oh, how horrible." "Do they know who did it?" "No." "But I do." "There's no need to be shocked about Sophie any longer, Isabel." "I've had the feeling all day that Sophie is where she would want to be most with Bob and Linda." "Oh, I know it's a very usual and simple way to look at it but it's comforting." "Goodbye, Isabel." "And take good care of Gray." "He needs you now more than ever." " He's gone." " I know." "I've lost him." "Lost him for good." "And I love him." "I love him so tenderly." "And now I've lost him." "Do you suppose we'll ever see him again?" "It isn't likely." "His America will be as remote from yours..." " ...as the Gobi Desert." " It's all so crazy, so useless." "What is he trying to do with his life?" "What does he hope to find?" "My dear, Larry has found what we all want and very few of us ever get." "I don't think anyone can fail to be better and nobler kinder, for knowing him." "You see, my dear goodness is, after all, the greatest force in the world." "And he's got it."