WHAMOND. You ‘re all in a trem’le. What is’t?
DOW. Nothing — I swear. I was going when you cam.
WHAMOND (grimly). Let’s see you go.
(DOW hesitates.)
Let’s see you go.
(After hesitation, DOW exits through gate, DOW returns stealthily and steals through gate to see if WHAMOND has gone. He turns and WHAMOND confronts him. They look at each other, MICAH enters.)
WHAMOND. Laddie, what’s the matter wi’ your father?
DOW (warningly). Naething.
MICAH. Naething.
(WHAMOND goes off sternly.)
MICAH (coming to DOW — entreating). Father, come awa’ hame.
DOW. Not ME. Micah, did you SEE a woman wi’ A lantern?
MICAH. Is it her that has bewitched the Minister?
DOW. Speak low.
MICAH. What is she like?
DOW. She’s bonny — but she’s the devil.
MICAH. You mak’ me shiver! I saw no woman wi’ a lantern, but I saw lightning.
DOW. Lightning! Quick — whaur did you see it?
MICAH. In the backend o’ the wood.
DOW. It’s her again! Out o’ my way. (He seizes MICAH by the shoulders.)
MICAH. Father, come hame! Come hame!
DOW (flinging MICAH from him). I’ve other work to do!
(Exit.)
Micah. Enerty! Feenity! Fickerty Feg! El! Del! Dolmans egg. Irky! Birky! Ravens croak, Into Hell and let her smoke.
(While he recites these lines micah goes twice round well looking into it. Enter babbie. She is flashing light on gavin’s window when she hears micah. She goes to him, puts down lantern and shawl above the well.)
BABBIE. Hallo, hallo, little barelegs, whatever are you doing?
MICAH (looking up at her quickly). I was wishing. This is a wishing-well. I was wishing the woman was in Hell.
BABBIE. YOU are a dear boy! What woman is it?
MICAH. The woman who has sent my father to the drink again. He says she should be burned for a witch.
BABBIE. No doubt it would be a lovely end for her! But if he dislikes her so much how can she have such power over him?
MICAH. It’s no my father she has bewitched.
BABBIE. Who is it, then?
MICAH. It’s Mr. Dishart.
(babbie gets a shock. Throughout remainder of scene she is quite unemotional, merely quiet, like one a little dazed who needs time to think it all out.)
BABBIE (after pause). Why should that send your father to the drink?
MICAH. Because my father’s terrible fond o’ him, and when the congregation ken about the woman they’ll turn agin the Minister, and they’ll stone him out o’ Thrums.
BABBIE. Stone him — oh, but this is nonsense.
MICAH. It’s truth.
(micah goes to babbie, touches her, and retreats from her in fear.)
BABBIE. Why do you stare at me?
(Lights in church windows appear.)
MICAH. You ‘re — you ‘re the woman!
BABBIE. What makes you think that?
MICAH. You’re so bonny. (Going to her.) Are you the woman?
BABBIE. I suppose I am the woman.
MICAH. Oh, woman, will you no gang awa’! When my father’s wild wi’ the drink I have to sleep in the field, and it’s terrible cauld. (Appealingly.)
BABBIE. I expect it is.
MICAH (pleadingly). I’ll gie you my rabbit if you’ll gang awa’.
(She turns from him. He thinks she is refusing.)
I’ll gie you them both.
BABBIE. Keep your rabbits, boy, and dry your eyes — I am going away. (She is thinking of gavin rather than of micah.)
It’s really true — that they could be such savages to him?
MICAH. I swear til’t. You’ll leave the Minister alone now for ever and ever?
BABBIE (still subdued). High time! Yes, for ever and ever.
(The church bell begins to ring.)
MICAH. That’s the prayer-meeting bell. He’ll be coming out.
BABBIE (eagerly). Will he?
(She runs off quickly, MICAH follows and gets between her and the Manse door.)
MICAH. YOU said YOU WOULD GANG AWA’!
BABBIE. Yes, MUCH better. I am GOING. (She looks up at window, turns away from it. She has suddenly a fit of shivering — every bit of her shivers.)
MICAH (after some time). What makes you shiver so terrible?
BABBIE. Was I shivering?
MICAH (touched). Maybe you ‘re fond o’ him?
BABBIE. Maybe. I wonder. I hadn’t thought of it. That’s the worst of me, little boy. (She stops and addresses gavin’s window in a mixture of comedy, recklessness and feeling.) Goodbye! Did you call me? No? Doesn’t matter. It was just a bubble that floated this way to ask you kindly to blow her out. Best for you. Blow, little — master! Thank you. (She curtseys as if gavin had obeyed, then she addresses micah) I ‘m blown out, boy! The Egyptian is done for. Hurray!
(She exits, half laughing, dancing and singing, much as she first appeared in Act I. The only words being heard—’ Hurray! Hurray!’ — are obviously done to defy her emotions. A devil-may-care exit. After pause MICAH follows her off. There is a pause in which men and women, all in Sunday clothes, pass behind wall. They move along in old-fashioned Scotch manner and only upper part of them is visible. The bell continues ringing slowly. Enter SNECKY HOBART. As he is passing behind wall BABBIE screams in distance. He stops and listens, then comes through gate, BABBIE screams again, JEAN, in Sunday clothes, comes out at Manse door going to church.) ‘ JEAN. It’S you, Snecky.
SNECKY. Jean, did you hear onything? It sounded like a woman screaming.
JEAN (leftily). I can neither hear nor see. I’m wearing my black alpaca.
(JEAN passes out at gate and exits. When JEAN is at gate more churchgoers come on. SNECKY sits on seat and dusts his boots with his handkerchief. ANDREW, passing, comes to rest at gate.)
Andrew (over wall). A grand night for the meeting, Snecky.
SNECKY. It is, Andrew. Ah, oh! man, it is. Andrew, did you hear a woman scream? Andrew. No — I was thinking o’ higher things.
(He passes on.)
SNECKY. It’S QUEER.
(He goes through gate and exits. More churchgoers come on. Lights in Manse go out. GAVIN comes out at Manse door, shutting it, and meets NANNY.)
NANNY (in agitation). Mr. Dishart —
GAVIN. Good evening, Mrs. Webster.
NANNY. Mr. Dishart — the Egyptian!
GAVIN (startled). Has anything happened?
NANNY. Yes. In the wood. Rob Dow has got grip