(SCENE--The same room. BERNICK, with a cane in his hand and evidently
in a great rage, comes out of the farther room on the left, leaving the
door half-open behind him.)
Bernick (speaking to his wife, who is in the other room): There! I have
given it him in earnest now; I don't think he will forget that
thrashing! What do you say?--And I say that you are an injudicious
mother! You make excuses for him, and countenance any sort of rascality
on his part--Not rascality? What do you call it, then? Slipping out of
the house at night, going out in a fishing boat, staying away till well
on in the day, and giving me such a horrible fright when I have so much
to worry me! And then the young scamp has the audacity to threaten that
he will run away! Just let him try it!--You? No, very likely; you don't
trouble yourself much about what happens to him. I really believe that
if he were to get killed--! Oh, really? Well, I have work to leave
behind me in the world; I have no fancy for being left childless--Now,
do not raise objections, Betty; it shall be as I say--he is confined to
the house. (Listens.) Hush; do not let any one notice anything. (KRAP
comes in from the right.)
Krap: Can you spare me a moment, Mr. Bernick?
Bernick (throwing away the cane): Certainly, certainly. Have you come
from the yard?
Krap: Yes. Ahem--!
Bernick: Well? Nothing wrong with the "Palm Tree," I hope?
Krap: The "Palm Tree" can sail tomorrow, but
Bernick: It is the "Indian Girl," then? I had a suspicion that that
obstinate fellow--
Krap: The "Indian Girl" can sail tomorrow, too; but I am sure she will
not get very far.
Bernick: What do you mean?
Krap: Excuse me, sir; that door is standing ajar, and I think there is
some one in the other room--
Bernick (shutting the door): There, then! But what is this that no one
else must hear?
Krap: Just this--that I believe Aune intends to let the "Indian Girl"
go to the bottom with every mother's son on board.
Bernick: Good God!--what makes you think that?
Krap: I cannot account for it any other way, sir.
Bernick: Well, tell me as briefly as you can
Krap: I will. You know yourself how slowly the work has gone on in the
yard since we got the new machines and the new inexperienced hands?
Bernick: Yes, yes.
Krap: But this morning, when I went down there, I noticed that the
repairs to the American boat had made extraordinary progress; the great
hole in the bottom--the rotten patch, you know--
Bernick: Yes, yes--what about it?
Krap: Was completely repaired--to all appearance at any rate, covered
up--looked as good as new. I heard that Aune himself had been working
at it by lantern light the whole night.
Bernick: Yes, yes--well?
Krap: I turned it over in my head for a bit; the hands were away at
their breakfast, so I found an opportunity to have a look around the
boat, both outside and in, without anyone seeing me. I had a job to get
down to the bottom through the cargo, but I learned the truth. There is
something very suspicious going on, Mr. Bernick.
Bernick: I cannot believe it, Krap. I cannot and will not believe such
a thing of Aune.
Krap: I am very sorry--but it is the simple truth. Something very
suspicious is going on. No new timbers put in, as far as I could see,
only stopped up and tinkered at, and covered over with sailcloth and
tarpaulins and that sort of thing--an absolute fraud. The "Indian Girl"
will never get to New York; she will go to the bottom like a cracked
pot.
Bernick: This is most horrible! But what can be his object, do you
suppose?
Krap: Probably he wants to bring the machines into discredit--wants to
take his revenge--wants to force you to take the old hands on again.
Bernick: And to do this he is willing to sacrifice the lives of all on
board.
Krap: He said the other day that there were no men on board the "Indian
Girl"--only wild beasts.
Bernick: Yes, but--apart from that--has he no regard for the great loss
of capital it would mean?
Krap: Aune does not look upon capital with a very friendly eye, Mr.
Bernick.
Bernick: That is perfectly true; he is an agitator and a fomenter of
discontent; but such an unscrupulous thing as this--Look here, Krap;
you must look into the matter once more. Not a word of it to any one.
The blame will fall on our yard if any one hears anything of it.
Krap: Of course, but--
Bernick: When the hands are away at their dinner you must manage to get
down there again; I must have absolute certainty about it.
Krap: You shall, sir; but, excuse me, what do you propose to do?
Bernick: Report the affair, naturally. We cannot, of course, let
ourselves become accomplices in such a crime. I could not have such a
thing on my conscience. Moreover, it will make a good impression, both
on the press and on the public in general, if it is seen that I set all
personal interests aside and let justice take its course.
Krap: Quite true, Mr. Bernick.
Bernick: But first of all I must be absolutely certain. And meanwhile,
do not breathe a word of it.
Krap: Not a word, sir. And you shall have your certainty. (Goes out
through the garden and down the street.)
Bernick (half aloud): Shocking!--But no, it is impossible!
Inconceivable!
(As he turns to go into his room, HILMAR comes in from the right.)
Hilmar: Good morning, Karsten. Let me congratulate you on your triumph
at the Commercial Association yesterday.
Bernick: Thank you.
Hilmar: It was a brilliant triumph, I hear; the triumph of intelligent
public spirit over selfishness and prejudice--something like a raid of
French troops on the Kabyles. It is astonishing that after that
unpleasant scene here, you could--
Bernick: Yes, yes--quite so.
Hilmar: But the decisive battle has not been fought yet.
Bernick: In the matter of the railway, do you mean?
Hilmar: Yes; I suppose you know the trouble that Hammer is brewing?
Bernick (anxiously): No, what is that?
Hilmar: Oh, he is greatly taken up with the rumour that is going
around, and is preparing to dish up an article about it.
Bernick: What rumour?
Hilmar: About the extensive purchase of property along the branch line,
of course.
Bernick: What? Is there such a rumour as that going about?
Hilmar: It is all over the town. I heard it at the club when I looked
in there. They say that one of our lawyers has quietly bought up, on
commission, all the forest land, all the mining land, all the
waterfalls--
Bernick: Don't they say whom it was for?
Hilmar: At the club they thought it must be for some company, not
connected with this town, that has got a hint of the scheme you have in
hand, and has made haste to buy before the price of these properties
went up. Isn't it villainous?--ugh!
Bernick: Villainous?
Hilmar: Yes, to have strangers putting their fingers into our pie--and
one of our own local lawyers lending himself to such a thing! And now
it will be outsiders that will get all the profits!
Bernick: But, after all, it is only an idle rumour.
Hilmar: Meanwhile people are believing it, and tomorrow or the next
day, I have no doubt Hammer will nail it to the counter as a fact.
There is a general sense of exasperation in the town already. I heard
several people say that if the rumour were confirmed they would take
their names off the subscription lists.
Bernick: Impossible!
Hilmar: Is it? Why do you suppose these mercenary-minded creatures were
so willing to go into the undertaking with you? Don't you suppose they
have scented profit for themselves--
Bernick: It is impossible, I am sure; there is so much public spirit in
our little community--
Hilmar: In our community? Of course you are a confirmed optimist, and
so you judge others by yourself. But I, who am a tolerably experienced
observer--! There isn't a single soul in the place--excepting
ourselves, of course--not a single soul in the place who holds up the
banner of the Ideal. (Goes towards the verandah.) Ugh, I can see them
there--
Bernick: See whom?
Hilmar: Our two friends from America. (Looks out to the right.) And who
is that they are walking with? As I am alive, if it is not the captain
of the "Indian Girl." Ugh!
Bernick: What can they want with him?
Hilmar. Oh, he is just the right company for them. He looks as if he
had been a slave-dealer or a pirate; and who knows what the other two
may have been doing all these years.
Bernick: Let me tell you that it is grossly unjust to think such things
about them.
Hilmar: Yes--you are an optimist. But here they are, bearing down upon
us again; so I will get away while there is time. (Goes towards the
door on the left. LONA comes in from the right.)
Lona: Oh, Hilmar, am I driving you away?
Hilmar: Not at all; I am in rather a hurry; I want to have a word with
Betty. (Goes into the farthest room on the left.)
Bernick (after a moment's silence): Well, Lona?
Lona: Yes?
Bernick: What do you think of me today?
Lona: The same as I did yesterday. A lie more or less--
Bernick: I must enlighten you about it. Where has Johan gone?
Lona: He is coming; he had to see a man first.
Bernick: After what you heard yesterday, you will understand that my
whole life will be ruined if the truth comes to light.
Lona: I can understand that.
Bernick: Of course, it stands to reason that I was not guilty of the
crime there was so much talk about here.
Lona: That stands to reason. But who was the thief?
Bernick: There was no thief. There was no money stolen--not a penny.
Lona: How is that?
Bernick: Not a penny, I tell you.
Lona: But those rumours? How did that shameful rumour get about that
Johan--
Bernick: Lona, I think I can speak to you as I could to no one else. I
will conceal nothing from you. I was partly to blame for spreading the
rumour.
Lona: You? You could act in that way towards a man who for your sake--!
Bernick: Do not condemn me without bearing in mind how things stood at
that time. I told you about it yesterday. I came home and found my
mother involved in a mesh of injudicious undertakings; we had all
manner of bad luck--it seemed as if misfortunes were raining upon us,
and our house was on the verge of ruin. I was half reckless and half in
despair. Lona, I believe it was mainly to deaden my thoughts that I let
myself drift into that entanglement that ended in Johan's going away.
Lona: Hm--
Bernick: You can well imagine how every kind of rumour was set on foot
after you and he had gone. People began to say that it was not his
first piece of folly--that Dorf had received a large sum of money to
hold his tongue and go away; other people said that she had received
it. At the same time it was obvious that our house was finding it
difficult to meet its obligations. What was more natural than that
scandal-mongers should find some connection between these two rumours?
And as the woman remained here, living in poverty, people declared that
he had taken the money with him to America; and every time rumour
mentioned the sum, it grew larger.
Lona: And you, Karsten--?
Bernick: I grasped at the rumour like a drowning man at a straw.
Lona: You helped to spread it?
Bernick: I did not contradict it. Our creditors had begun to be
pressing, and I had the task of keeping them quiet. The result was the
dissipating of any suspicion as to the stability of the firm; people
said that we had been hit by a temporary piece of ill-luck--that all
that was necessary was that they should not press us--only give us time
and every creditor would be paid in full.
Lona: And every creditor was paid in full?
Bernick: Yes, Lona, that rumour saved our house and made me the man I
now am.
Lona: That is to say, a lie has made you the man you now are.
Bernick: Whom did it injure at the time? It was Johan's intention never
to come back.
Lona: You ask whom it injured. Look into your own heart, and tell me if
it has not injured you.
Bernick: Look into any man's heart you please, and you will always
find, in every one, at least one black spot which he has to keep
concealed.
Lona: And you call yourselves pillars of society!
Bernick: Society has none better.
Lona: And of what consequence is it whether such a society be propped
up or not? What does it all consist of? Show and lies--and nothing
else. Here are you, the first man in the town, living in grandeur and
luxury, powerful and respected--you, who have branded an innocent man
as a criminal.
Bernick: Do you suppose I am not deeply conscious of the wrong I have
done him? And do you suppose I am not ready to make amends to him for
it?
Lona: How? By speaking out?
Bernick: Would you have the heart to insist on that?
Lona: What else can make amends for such a wrong?
Bernick: I am rich, Lona; Johan can demand any sum he pleases.
Lona: Yes, offer him money, and you will hear what he will say.
Bernick: Do you know what he intends to do?
Lona: No; since yesterday he has been dumb. He looks as if this had
made a grown man of him all at once.
Bernick: I must talk to him.
Lona: Here he comes. (JOHAN comes in from the right.)
Bernick (going towards hint): Johan--!
Johan (motioning him away): Listen to me first. Yesterday morning I
gave you my word that I would hold my tongue.
Bernick: You did.
Johan: But then I did not know--
Bernick: Johan, only let me say a word or two to explain the
circumstances--
Johan: It is unnecessary; I understand the circumstances perfectly. The
firm was in a dangerous position at the time; I had gone off, and you
had my defenceless name and reputation at your mercy. Well, I do not
blame you so very much for what you did; we were young and thoughtless
in those days. But now I have need of the truth, and now you must speak.
Bernick: And just now I have need of all my reputation for morality,
and therefore I cannot speak.
Johan: I don't take much account of the false reports you spread about
me; it is the other thing that you must take the blame of. I shall make
Dina my wife, and here--here in your town--I mean to settle down and
live with her.
Lona: Is that what you mean to do?
Bernick: With Dina? Dina as your wife?--in this town?
Johan: Yes, here and nowhere else. I mean to stay here to defy all
these liars and slanderers. But before I can win her, you must
exonerate me.
Bernick: Have you considered that, if I confess to the one thing, it
will inevitably mean making myself responsible for the other as well?
You will say that I can show by our books that nothing dishonest
happened? But I cannot; our books were not so accurately kept in those
days. And even if I could, what good would it do? Should I not in any
case be pointed at as the man who had once saved himself by an untruth,
and for fifteen years had allowed that untruth and all its consequences
to stand without having raised a finger to demolish it? You do not know
our community very much, or you would realise that it would ruin me
utterly.
Johan: I can only tell you that I mean to make Mrs. Dorf's daughter my
wife, and live with her in this town.
Bernick (wiping the perspiration from his forehead): Listen to me,
Johan--and you too, Lona. The circumstances I am in just now are quite
exceptional. I am situated in such a way that if you aim this blow at
me you will not only destroy me, but will also destroy a great future,
rich in blessings, that lies before the community which, after all, was
the home of your childhood.
Johan: And if I do not aim this blow at you, I shall be destroying all
my future happiness with my own hand.
Lona: Go on, Karsten.
Bernick: I will tell you, then. It is mixed up with the railway
project, and the whole thing is not quite so simple as you think. I
suppose you have heard that last year there was some talk of a railway
line along the coast? Many influential people backed up the
idea--people in the town and the suburbs, and especially the press; but
I managed to get the proposal quashed, on the ground that it would have
injured our steamboat trade along the coast.
Lona: Have you any interest in the steamboat trade?
Bernick: Yes. But no one ventured to suspect me on that account; my
honoured name fully protected me from that. For the matter of that, I
could have stood the loss; but the place could not have stood it. So
the inland line was decided upon. As soon as that was done, I assured
myself--without saying anything about it--that a branch line could be
laid to the town.
Lona: Why did you say nothing about it, Karsten?
Bernick: Have you heard the rumours of extensive buying up of forest
lands, mines and waterfalls--?
Johan: Yes, apparently it is some company from another part of the
country.
Bernick: As these properties are situated at present, they are as good
as valueless to their owners, who are scattered about the
neighbourhood; they have therefore been sold comparatively cheap. If
the purchaser had waited till the branch line began to be talked of,
the proprietors would have asked exorbitant prices.
Lona: Well--what then?
Bernick: Now I am going to tell you something that can be construed in
different ways--a thing to which, in our community, a man could only
confess provided he had an untarnished and honoured name to take his
stand upon.
Lona: Well?
Bernick: It is I that have bought up the whole of them.
Lona: You?
Johan: On your own account?
Bernick: On my own account. If the branch line becomes an accomplished
fact, I am a millionaire; if it does not, I am ruined.
Lona: It is a big risk, Karsten.
Bernick: I have risked my whole fortune on it.
Lona: I am not thinking of your fortune; but if it comes to light that--
Bernick. Yes, that is the critical part of it. With the unblemished and
honoured name I have hitherto borne, I can take the whole thing upon my
shoulders, carry it through, and say to my fellow-citizens: "See, I
have taken this risk for the good of the community."
Lona: Of the community?
Bernick: Yes; and not a soul will doubt my motives.
Lona: Then some of those concerned in it have acted more
openly--without any secret motives or considerations.
Bernick: Who?
Lona: Why, of course, Rummel and Sandstad and Vigeland.
Bernick: To get them on my side I was obliged to let them into the
secret.
Lona: And they?
Bernick: They have stipulated for a fifth part of the profits as their
share.
Lona: Oh, these pillars of society.
Bernick: And isn't it society itself that forces us to use these
underhanded means? What would have happened if I had not acted
secretly? Everybody would have wanted to have a hand in the
undertaking; the whole thing would have been divided up, mismanaged and
bungled. There is not a single man in the town except myself who is
capable of directing so big an affair as this will be. In this country,
almost without exception, it is only foreigners who have settled here
who have the aptitude for big business schemes. That is the reason why
my conscience acquits me in the matter. It is only in my hands that
these properties can become a real blessing to the many who have to
make their daily bread.
Lona: I believe you are right there, Karsten.
Johan: But I have no concern with the many, and my life's happiness is
at stake.
Bernick: The welfare of your native place is also at stake. If things
come out which cast reflections on my earlier conduct, then all my
opponents will fall upon me with united vigour. A youthful folly is
never allowed to be forgotten in our community. They would go through
the whole of my previous life, bring up a thousand little incidents in
it, interpret and explain them in the light of what has been revealed;
they would crush me under the weight of rumours and slanders. I should
be obliged to abandon the railway scheme; and, if I take my hand off
that, it will come to nothing, and I shall be ruined and my life as a
citizen will be over.
Lona: Johan, after what we have just heard, you must go away from here
and hold your tongue.
Bernick: Yes, yes, Johan--you must!
Johan: Yes, I will go away, and I will hold my tongue; but I shall come
back, and then I shall speak.
Bernick: Stay over there, Johan; hold your tongue, and I am willing to
share with you--
Johan: Keep your money, but give me back my name and reputation.
Bernick: And sacrifice my own!
Johan: You and your community must get out of that the best way you
can. I must and shall win Dina for my wife. And therefore, I am going
to sail tomorrow in the "Indian Girl"--
Bernick: In the "Indian Girl"?
Johan: Yes. The captain has promised to take me. I shall go over to
America, as I say; I shall sell my farm, and set my affairs in order.
In two months I shall be back.
Bernick: And then you will speak?
Johan: Then the guilty man must take his guilt on himself.
Bernick: Have you forgotten that, if I do that, I must also take on
myself guilt that is not mine?
Johan: Who is it that for the last fifteen years has benefited by that
shameful rumour?
Bernick: You will drive me to desperation! Well, if you speak, I shall
deny everything! I shall say it is a plot against me--that you have
come here to blackmail me!
Lona: For shame, Karsten!
Bernick: I am a desperate man, I tell you, and I shall fight for my
life. I shall deny everything--everything!
Johan: I have your two letters. I found them in my box among my other
papers. This morning I read them again; they are plain enough.
Bernick: And will you make them public?
Johan: If it becomes necessary.
Bernick: And you will be back here in two months?
Johan: I hope so. The wind is fair. In three weeks I shall be in New
York--if the "Indian Girl" does not go to the bottom.
Bernick (with a start): Go to the bottom? Why should the "Indian Girl"
go to the bottom?
Johan: Quite so--why should she?
Bernick (scarcely audibly): Go to the bottom?
Johan: Well, Karsten, now you know what is before you. You must find
your own way out. Good-bye! You can say good-bye to Betty for me,
although she has not treated me like a sister. But I must see Martha.
She shall tell Dina---; she shall promise me--(Goes out through the
farther door on the left.)
Bernick (to himself): The "Indian Girl"--? (Quickly.) Lona, you must
prevent that!
Lona: You see for yourself, Karsten--I have no influence over him any
longer. (Follows JOHAN into the other room.)
Bernick (a prey to uneasy thoughts): Go to the bottom--?
(AUNE comes in from the right.)
Aune: Excuse me, sir, but if it is convenient--
Bernick (turning round angrily): What do you want?
Aune: To know if I may ask you a question, sir.
Bernick: Be quick about it, then. What is it?
Aune: I wanted to ask if I am to consider it as certain--absolutely
certain--that I should be dismissed from the yard if the "Indian Girl"
were not ready to sail tomorrow?
Bernick: What do you mean? The ship is ready to sail?
Aune: Yes--it is. But suppose it were not, should I be discharged?
Bernick: What is the use of asking such idle questions?
Aune: Only that I should like to know, sir. Will you answer me
that?--should I be discharged?
Bernick: Am I in the habit of keeping my word or not?
Aune: Then tomorrow I should have lost the position I hold in my house
and among those near and dear to me--lost my influence over men of my
own class--lost all opportunity of doing anything for the cause of the
poorer and needier members of the community?
Bernick: Aune, we have discussed all that before.
Aune: Quite so--then the "Indian Girl" will sail.
(A short silence.)
Bernick: Look here--it is impossible for me to have my eyes
everywhere--I cannot be answerable for everything. You can give me your
assurance, I suppose, that the repairs have been satisfactorily carried
out?
Aune: You gave me very short grace, Mr. Bernick.
Bernick: But I understand you to warrant the repairs?
Aune: The weather is fine, and it is summer.
(Another pause.)
Bernick: Have you anything else to say to me?
Aune: I think not, sir.
Bernick: Then--the "Indian Girl" will sail...
Aune: Tomorrow?
Bernick: Yes.
Aune: Very good. (Bows and goes out. BERNICK stands for a moment
irresolute; then walks quickly towards the door, as if to call AUNE
back; but stops, hesitatingly, with his hand on the door-handle. At
that moment the door is opened from without, and KRAP comes in.)
Krap (in a low voice): Aha, he has been here. Has he confessed?
Bernick: Hm--; have you discovered anything?
Krap: What need of that, sir? Could you not see the evil conscience
looking out of the man's eyes?
Bernick: Nonsense--such things don't show. Have you discovered
anything, I want to know?
Krap: I could not manage it; I was too late. They had already begun
hauling the ship out of the dock. But their very haste in doing that
plainly shows that--
Bernick: It shows nothing. Has the inspection taken place, then?
Krap: Of course; but--
Bernick: There, you see! And of course they found nothing to complain
of?
Krap: Mr. Bernick, you know very well how much this inspection means,
especially in a yard that has such a good name as ours has.
Bernick: No matter--it takes all responsibility off us.
Krap: But, sir, could you really not tell from Aune's manner that--?
Bernick: Aune has completely reassured me, let me tell you.
Krap: And let me tell you, sir, that I am morally certain that--
Bernick: What does this mean, Krap? I see plainly enough that you want
to get your knife into this man; but if you want to attack him, you
must find some other occasion. You know how important it is to me--or,
I should say, to the owners--that the "Indian Girl" should sail
to-morrow.
Krap: Very well--so be it; but if ever we hear of that ship again--hm!
(VIGELAND comes in from the right.)
Vigeland: I wish you a very good morning, Mr. Bernick. Have you a
moment to spare?
Bernick: At your service, Mr. Vigeland.
Vigeland: I only want to know if you are also of opinion that the "Palm
Tree" should sail tomorrow?
Bernick: Certainly; I thought that was quite settled.
Vigeland: Well, the captain came to me just now and told me that storm
signals have been hoisted.
Bernick: Oh! Are we to expect a storm?
Vigeland: A stiff breeze, at all events; but not a contrary wind--just
the opposite.
Bernick: Hm--well, what do you say?
Vigeland: I say, as I said to the captain, that the "Palm Tree" is in
the hands of Providence. Besides, they are only going across the North
Sea at first; and in England, freights are running tolerably high just
now, so that--
Bernick: Yes, it would probably mean a loss for us if we waited.
Vigeland: Besides, she is a stout ship, and fully insured as well. It
is more risky, now, for the "Indian Girl"--
Bernick: What do you mean?
Vigeland: She sails tomorrow, too.
Bernick: Yes, the owners have been in such a hurry, and, besides--
Vigeland: Well, if that old hulk can venture out--and with such a
crew, into the bargain--it would be a disgrace to us if we--
Bernick: Quite so. I presume you have the ship's papers with you.
Vigeland: Yes, here they are.
Bernick: Good; then will you go in with Mr. Krap?
Krap: Will you come in here, sir, and we will dispose of them at once.
Vigeland: Thank you.--And the issue we leave in the hands of the
Almighty, Mr. Bernick. (Goes with KRAP into BERNICK'S room. RORLUND
comes up from the garden.)
Rorlund: At home at this time of day, Mr. Bernick?
Bernick (lost in thought): As you see.
Rorlund: It was really on your wife's account I came. I thought she
might be in need of a word of comfort.
Bernick: Very likely she is. But I want to have a little talk with you,
too.
Rorlund: With the greatest of pleasure, Mr. Bernick. But what is the
matter with you? You look quite pale and upset.
Bernick: Really? Do I? Well, what else could you expect--a man so
loaded with responsibilities as I am? There is all my own big
business--and now the planning of this railway.--But tell me something,
Mr. Rorlund, let me put a question to you.
Rorlund: With pleasure, Mr. Bernick.
Bernick: It is about a thought that has occurred to me. Suppose a man
is face to face with an undertaking which will concern the welfare of
thousands, and suppose it should be necessary to make a sacrifice of
one--?
Rorlund: What do you mean?
Bernick: For example, suppose a man were thinking of starting a large
factory. He knows for certain--because all his experience has taught
him so--that sooner or later a toll of human life will be exacted in
the working of that factory.
Rorlund: Yes, that is only too probable.
Bernick: Or, say a man embarks on a mining enterprise. He takes into
his service fathers of families and young men in the first flush of
their youth. Is it not quite safe to predict that all of them will not
come out of it alive?
Rorlund: Yes, unhappily that is quite true.
Bernick: Well--a man in that position will know beforehand that the
undertaking he proposes to start must undoubtedly, at some time or
other, mean a loss of human life. But the undertaking itself is for the
public good; for every man's life that it costs, it will undoubtedly
promote the welfare of many hundreds.
Rorlund: Ah, you are thinking of the railway--of all the dangerous
excavating and blasting, and that sort of thing--
Bernick: Yes--quite so--I am thinking of the railway. And, besides, the
coming of the railway will mean the starting of factories and mines.
But do not think, nevertheless--
Rorlund: My dear Mr. Bernick, you are almost over-conscientious. What I
think is that, if you place the affair in the hands of Providence--
Bernick: Yes--exactly; Providence--
Rorlund: You are blameless in the matter. Go on and build your railway
hopefully.
Bernick: Yes, but now I will put a special instance to you. Suppose a
charge of blasting-powder had to be exploded in a dangerous place, and
that unless it were exploded the line could not be constructed? Suppose
the engineer knew that it would cost the life of the workman who lit
the fuse, but that it had to be lit, and that it was the engineer's
duty to send a workman to do it?
Rorlund: Hm--
Bernick: I know what you will say. It would be a splendid thing if the
engineer took the match himself and went and lit the fuse. But that is
out of the question, so he must sacrifice a workman.
Rorlund: That is a thing no engineer here would ever do.
Bernick: No engineer in the bigger countries would think twice about
doing it.
Rorlund: In the bigger countries? No, I can quite believe it. In those
depraved and unprincipled communities.
Bernick: Oh, there is a good deal to be said for those communities.
Rorlund: Can you say that?--you, who yourself--
Bernick: In the bigger communities a man finds space to carry out a
valuable project--finds the courage to make some sacrifice in a great
cause; but here, a man is cramped by all kinds of petty considerations
and scruples.
Rorlund: Is human life a petty consideration?
Bernick: When that human life threatens the welfare of thousands.
Rorlund: But you are suggesting cases that are quite inconceivable, Mr.
Bernick! I do not understand you at all today. And you quote the bigger
countries--well, what do they think of human life there? They look upon
it simply as part of the capital they have to use. But we look at
things from a somewhat different moral standpoint, I should hope. Look
at our respected shipping industry! Can you name a single one of our
ship-owners who would sacrifice a human life for the sake of paltry
gain? And then think of those scoundrels in the bigger countries, who
for the sake of profit send out freights in one unseaworthy ship after
another--
Bernick: I am not talking of unseaworthy ships!
Rorlund: But I am, Mr. Bernick.
Bernick: Yes, but to what purpose? They have nothing to do with the
question--Oh, these small, timid considerations! If a General from this
country were to take his men under fire and some of them were shot, I
suppose he would have sleepless nights after it! It is not so in other
countries. You should bear what that fellow in there says--
Rorlund: He? Who? The American--?
Bernick: Yes. You should hear how in America--
Rorlund: He, in there? And you did not tell me? I shall at once--
Bernick: It is no use; you won't be able to do anything with him.
Rorlund: We shall see. Ah, here he comes. (JOHAN comes in from the
other room.)
Johan (talking back through the open door): Yes, yes, Dina--as you
please; but I do not mean to give you up, all the same. I shall come
back, and then everything will come right between us.
Rorlund: Excuse me, but what did you mean by that? What is it you
propose to do?
Johan: I propose that that young girl, before whom you blackened my
character yesterday, shall become my wife.
Rorlund: Your wife? And can you really suppose that--?
Johan: I mean to marry her.
Rorlund: Well, then you shall know the truth. (Goes to the half-open
door.) Mrs. Bernick, will you be so kind as to come and be a
witness--and you too, Miss Martha. And let Dina come. (Sees LONA at the
door.) Ah, you here too?
Lona: Shall I come too?
Rorlund: As many as you please--the more the better.
Bernick: What are you going to do? (LONA, MRS. BERNICK, MARTHA, DINA
and HILMAR come in from the other room.)
Mrs. Bernick: Mr. Rorlund, I have tried my hardest, but I cannot
prevent him...
Rorlund: I shall prevent him, Mrs. Bernick. Dina, you are a thoughtless
girl, but I do not blame you so greatly. You have too long lacked the
necessary moral support that should have sustained you. I blame myself
for not having afforded you that support.
Dina: You mustn't speak now!
Mrs. Bernick: What is it?
Rorlund: It is now that I must speak, Dina, although your conduct
yesterday and today has made it ten times more difficult for me. But
all other considerations must give way to the necessity for saving you.
You remember that I gave you my word; you remember what you promised
you would answer when I judged that the right time had come. Now I dare
not hesitate any longer, and therefore--. (Turns to JOHAN.) This young
girl, whom you are persecuting, is my betrothed.
Mrs. Bernick: What?
Bernick: Dina!
Johan: She? Your--?
Martha: No, no, Dina!
Lona: It is a lie!
Johan: Dina--is this man speaking the truth?
Dina (after a short pause): Yes.
Rorlund: I hope this has rendered all your arts of seduction powerless.
The step I have determined to take for Dina's good, I now wish openly
proclaimed to every one. I cherish the certain hope that it will not be
misinterpreted. And now, Mrs. Bernick, I think it will be best for us
to take her away from here, and try to bring back peace and
tranquillity to her mind.
Mrs. Bernick: Yes, come with me. Oh, Dina--what a lucky girl you are!
(Takes DINA Out to the left; RORLUND follows them.)
Martha: Good-bye, Johan! (Goes out.)
Hilmar (at the verandah door): Hm--I really must say...
Lona (who has followed DINA with her eyes, to JOHAN): Don't be
downhearted, my boy! I shall stay here and keep my eye on the parson.
(Goes out to the right.)
Bernick: Johan, you won't sail in the "Indian Girl" now?
Johan: Indeed I shall.
Bernick: But you won't come back?
Johan: I am coming back.
Bernick: After this? What have you to do here after this?
Johan: Revenge myself on you all; crush as many of you as I can. (Goes
out to the right. VIGELAND and KRAP come in from BERNICK'S room.)
Vigeland: There, now the papers are in order, Mr. Bernick.
Bernick: Good, good.
Krap (in a low voice): And I suppose it is settled that the "Indian
Girl" is to sail tomorrow?
Bernick: Yes. (Goes into his room. VIGELAND and KRAP go out to the
right. HILMAR is just going after them, when OLAF puts his head
carefully out of the door on the left.)
Olaf: Uncle! Uncle Hilmar!
Hilmar: Ugh, is it you? Why don't you stay upstairs? You know you are
confined to the house.
Olaf (coming a step or two nearer): Hush! Uncle Hilmar, have you heard
the news?
Hilmar: Yes, I have heard that you got a thrashing today.
Olaf (looking threateningly towards his father's room): He shan't
thrash me any more. But have you heard that Uncle Johan is going to
sail tomorrow with the Americans?
Hilmar: What has that got to do with you? You had better run upstairs
again.
Olaf: Perhaps I shall be going for a buffalo hunt, too, one of these
days, uncle.
Hilmar: Rubbish! A coward like you--
Olaf: Yes--just you wait! You will learn something tomorrow!
Hilmar: Duffer! (Goes out through the garden. OLAF runs into the room
again and shuts the door, as he sees KRAP coming in from the right.)
Krap (going to the door of BERNICK'S room and opening it slightly):
Excuse my bothering you again, Mr. Bernick; but there is a tremendous
storm blowing up. (Waits a moment, but there is no answer.) Is the
"Indian Girl" to sail, for all that? (After a short pause, the
following answer is heard.)
Bernick (from his room): The "Indian Girl" is to sail, for all that.
(KRAP Shuts the door and goes out again to the right.)