Лорд Дансейни - Plays for Earth and Air

BILL: That’s all, Mrs. Lumley. Just take it off its hinges. And nail up the window instead.

MRS. LUMLEY: Very well. Lucky he didn’t get more out of you.

BILL: Well, Mrs. Lumley, you might have to pay more than that for an ordinary window. And you should have seen the man. His beard, his eyes, and the way he moved away as soon as I bought the window. I never saw anyone like him.

MRS. LUMLEY: Foreigner, sir.

BILL: Yes, Mrs. Lumley.

MRS. LUMLEY: I don’t set much store by them.

Exit MRS. LUMLEY.

Hammering heard as he puts up the window.

Enter LILY.

LILY: Hullo. What are you doing?

BILL: I was putting a window in.

LILY: A window?

BILL: Yes, Lily. So as to see my tea–things.

LILY: Well, I looked in to see if you would come to the pictures. But you seem busy.

BILL: Well, I just wanted to put the window in.

LILY: But what do you want a window in your tea–cupboard for?

BILL: Well, you see, it’s such an odd window.

LILY: Yes, it is rather. But what’s specially odd about it?

BILL: Well, it’s not so much in the window; the oddity, I mean. But in the man that I bought it from, and the way that he sold it. And the way that he looked and dressed. Why, he had long yellow robes on, and greyish flappings. And a beard. A beard like a piece of the night, that had got stuck to his chest. A night without stars.

LILY: Why, there must be something wonderful about the window.

BILL: Well, I thought so.

LILY: We must find out what it is.

BILL: I’d like to try.

LILY: Of course we’ll try.

BILL: Well, to begin with you see; it was wrapped up in that.

Paper crinkles.

LILY: Chinese.

BILL: No. Arabic, I think.

LILY: Well, a long way off, anyway.

BILL: Yes. Of course they don’t make windows like that in this part of the world. You never see them anyway.

LILY: No. Let’s have a look at it.

BILL: I’ll have it up in a minute.

LILY: Rather thick panes, aren’t they?

BILL: They are rather.

LILY: And rather misty, aren’t they?

BILL: They are a little.

LILY: Can you see through them clearly?

BILL: Wait a minute. Wait till I get it fixed.

LILY: Your tea–things will look nice and mysterious through it.

BILL: Yes.

LILY: What do they look like now?

BILL: Wait a minute.

LILY: Can I come up and look?

BILL: Wait a minute, and I’ll get you a chair.

LILY: All right, I’ll get it.

BILL: Hand me up that nail, would you?

LILY: What, this?

BILL: Yes.

LILY: There you are.

BILL: Thanks. That’s done it.

LILY: Got it fixed?

BILL: Hull o !

LILY: You’ve fixed it all right, haven’t you?

BILL: But hull o .

LILY: What’s the matter?

BILL: I can’t see my tea–things.

LILY: Why, it’s not opaque, is it?

BILL: No. It’s quite clear. But I can’t see my tea–things.

LILY: Let’s have a look. ( Drags chair. )

BILL: But it’s not only that.

LILY: Why, what’s up?

BILL: It’s not only that.

LILY: Why, what can you see?

BILL: Good Lord. Well, look.

LILY ( she looks ): I said it was a wonderful window.

BILL: I should think it was.

LILY: What is it?

BILL: Well, first of all it’s straight underneath us. And then it’s a large castle, however it got there; or a small city.

LILY: A city, I should say. Look at the little houses inside the walls. And streets. Yes, it’s a city.

BILL: And all those towers. It’s a walled city.

LILY: And the gateway. Look at the gateway.

BILL: And archers strolling along the walls in the wind.

LILY: Aren’t they dressed funnily? Look at them all. They must have quite a big army there.

BILL: I think we ought to tell Mrs. Lumley.

LILY: Why?

BILL: Well, it’s straight down under her house, however it got there. I’m not sure she wouldn’t own it.

LILY: Own all that?

BILL: Well, I don’t know how it got there. She owns the house and the basement. I don’t know what the law is.

LILY: Look at those flags.

BILL: Yes. I tell you what. It’s owned by whoever those flags belong to. And we can find out who that is. We can ask someone who knows about flags. You see? They’re quite clear. Little golden dragons all over a white field. It’s what they call dragons “or,” on a field blank, or something. I’ll ask someone who knows.

LILY: I don’t think I ever heard of a white flag covered with dragons.

BILL: It’s a long, long way down.

LILY: Yes. Isn’t it?

BILL: Look at that belfry. It’s probably ever so high. But it doesn’t look it from here. Hullo, it’s striking the hour.

LILY: I don’t hear anything.

BILL: No, but look at all those jackdaws all flying out together.

LILY: Yes, I suppose it is.

BILL: Yes, the chimes must be frightening them. But that’s odd.

LILY: What?

BILL: Why, it’s twenty past four. Why are clocks striking?

LILY: Why, so it is. But it must be the same time down there.

BILL: It can’t be if the clocks are striking the hour. And it was the same in those other two belfries. Those two away to the left.

LILY: It’s odd, certainly.

BILL: The whole thing’s odd … And I’ll tell you another thing, the wind’s different down there; it’s blowing from left to right, and strong.

LILY: Yes, look at the smoke of the chimneys.

BILL: Well, it’s blowing the other way up here; what there is of it.

LILY: Yes, so it is.

BILL: The jackdaws are coming back. The clocks have stopped striking.

LILY: Yes, I suppose they have.

BILL: Shall we have some tea?

LILY: Yes.

BILL: Well, now I’ve done a foolish thing. I’ve nailed up my tea–things. But I suppose everything I’ve done is foolish. I suppose buying the window at all was as silly as possible.

LILY: But it wasn’t, Bill. It was the wisest thing you could have done.

BILL: Mrs. Lumley doesn’t think it wise.

LILY: Then she’s wrong.

BILL: But she’ll lend us a tea–pot. ( Calling. ) Mrs. Lumley. I’m afraid I’ve done a very foolish thing, I’ve nailed up my tea–things. Would you be so kind as to lend us a tea–pot? And oh, Mrs. Lumley, that window’s rather queer, if you would care to have a look at it.

MRS. LUMLEY ( outside ): I’m sure it is, sir. All those foreign things are. But I’ll get you some tea.

BILL: Thank you, Mrs. Lumley. What a sheer drop it is, Lily. All those little dragons must be quite big, or we could never have made them out. Why don’t they have guns instead of bows and arrows? Is it that they don’t need them? Or have they not heard of guns so far away down below us?

LILY: Perhaps it’s a long time ago down there, as well as the wrong time of day.

BILL: Do you think it’s that? I wonder. We’d better ask Mrs. Lumley. After all, the thing’s on her property. But have a chair up at the table, she’ll be here with the tea in a minute.

They move to table and sit.

Yes, we must tell Mrs. Lumley about it.

LILY: I don’t think Mrs. Lumley will be very interested.

BILL: Then we must explain the law to her. You see, if you own anything, you own it right down to the centre of the earth. I think that’s the law. So that it really would all belong to her. And the window too, if you come to that.

LILY: The window?

BILL: It all depends how I’ve nailed it up. It all depends if I’ve made it a fixture. I rather think that last nail did it. If so, it’s her property too.

LILY: That seems hard.

BILL: Oh, she’s a good old soul; I don’t grudge it her; or the city either. It’s a queer thing, the law.