P s ^^ >^ n 6 C CTCVC a< c cccc dec CctC Cere c ^'dci CcaC Cf'- c^r VVVc c cccC Cic c V Vcccc <^ cc:_ • c: ecc '<^- .4^CC C-rc ^ tCi- ^. cc f.!< ^- <-c:i K" e ca or ccc C.i c ^^ ^xC dec ^-C Ccc dec "^.i C ccc : <,^ crosses to L.) SoMERS. Why, yes; I must say that is very good. Brownjones. Then take me to jail, officer. That is where I belong. I made a mistake in being at large. Mrs. Brownjones. But he shall not go to jail; the father of my children shall not go to jail. I shall punish him. Don't you worry. He goes with me. Brownjones. I don't. Officer, this woman is a lunatic. Arrest her and shut her up. Isn't she a lunatic, Somers? (^ Tt? Hawkeye. j He knows her. Somers knows her family. Knew her before she was in the Stockton Asylum; for she has been there. Mrs. Brownjones. This is too, too much ! Mr. Somers, I appeal to you. You know Brownjones well. You know this is he. Say so. Brownjones. (Aside to Somers. j Stand by me now, and you get Alice ; if not, she goes to the Con- vent. (Aloud. ) Yes, Somers; speak out; tell the truth. Hawkeye. Mr. Somers, you evidently know this lady. Please setde the question. Is this man her husband ? 2 2 THE TRAIN ROBBER. SoMERS. He is not. This man's name is Sullivan. I know Brownjones well. He is in Yuma. Brownjones. (Aside.) Bless you, Frank ! Hawkeye. And this lady Is she in her right mind? SoMERS. I rather think not. Mrs. Brownjones. O, you perfidious wretch ! Men are all alike — all against a poor woman, and always shielding one another — 'twas ever thus! Hawkeye. Moreover, madam, this man Sullivan has another wife. Mrs. Brownjones. Then he is a bigamist. Somers. Yes, and a beautiful creature, who is here (Enter Gretchen.j Brownjones. And here she is (indicating Gret- CHEN j. Somers, take care of my wife, will you ? (pointing to Gretchen.J I'm penned up behind this table and cannot do anything, and I 'm afraid that lunatic will do her some mischief Mrs. Brownjones. That lunatic ! Oh, you will suffer for this ! (^Somers takes Gretchen aside and talks in loiv tones. ) Brownjones. And now, officer, I'll trouble you to remove the lunatic. I may be a train robber, a murderer, — what you will, — but I have committed no crime to warrant the infliction upon me of that woman! Somers. ( To Hawkeye. ) Yes, take her out, and leave Sullivan alone with his wife for a few min- utes. He can't escape, you know. Hawkeye. I know it. And it is reasonable that THE TRAIN ROBBER. 23 he should want to bid adieu to his wife. ( To Mrs. Brownjones. j Come along, madam! (Takes her arm. ) Brownjones. 'I SoMERS. /■ Yes, go along, madam ! Gretchen. ) Mrs. Brownjones. I shall not go along ! Come on, all of you, and make me budge, if you dare ! Hawkeye. (To Mrs. B. j Come, come. Brownjones. ^ SoMERS. \ Yes, go, go! (They push her.) Gretchen. j Mrs. Brownjones. Never! (Struggling.) Brownjones. "] SoMERS. r Go on — go to Stocktou ! Gretchen. ) (They push Mrs. Brownjones. Hawkeye drags her. She struggles and screams, but is finally pushed out. Hawkeye and Somers go with her, door R. ) Brownjones. And this is my pleasant holiday ! Truly, I am having a glorious time ! My wife taken off to a lunatic asylum; I myself arrested for train robbery; our happy home wrecked; my children practically orphans. Yes, Johnson Brownjones, you have made a howling success of your holiday this year, and no mistake ! But I must now try to set matters right. And, to begin with, I must make use of this girl to help me out. (To Gretchen. ^1 Now, my good soul, you know that I am in a whole peck of trouble, and you alone can help me. Will you do so, my dear? Will you? 24 THE TRAIN ROBBER. Gretchen. Ach! What can a poor girl like me do? Brownjones. a great deal. In the first place, you know you are my wife. Gretchen. I — your wife! Never! You might be the only man in the velt^ but you would never be my man. Brov^^njones. Oh, but it is only for a short time, you know. Of course, you will not be my wife really, but people must think that you are. Gretchen. What peoples? Brownjones. Why, my real wife, and Hawkeye, and the people of the place here, and the visitors. Gretchen. Nein, 7iein! I do not understand all this. Let me to my work go! (Moves toward door L.) Brownjones. Oh, Gretchen — dear Gretchen ! Do not desert me, or I am lost ! Gretchen. (Holding out Iter hand.) Wie viel? Brownjones. We feel? Of course, we feel. Of course, you feel for a poor unfortunate husband and father in mental anguish and physical distress. Gretchen. (Making gesture with her fingers.) Wie viel ? What you say ? How much ? Brownjones. What ? The same old story, eh ? Nothing goes but the almighty dollar. I am sur- prised at your heartlessness, Gretchen. Gretchen. ( Shniggi>ig shoulders ) I am only a simple German girl. But Fritz is far away and it takes geld to come to America. Brownjones. Well, I '11 give you fifty dollars. THE TRAIN ROBBER. 25 Gretchen. (Shaking her head.) Nein, not geiiug. The steerage is forty thalers from Bremen. Brownjones. Seventy-five ! Gretchen. Not gemcg. The Southern Pacific makes me pay sixty thalers from New York. Brownjones. One hundred ! Gretchen. Nein. For he must have clothes und dings, and they cost many thalers. Brownjones. D — n it! Well, a hundred and fifty. There ! ( Gives her money. ) Gretchen. Grtt / Now I am your wife. Brownjones. {Attempting to kiss her.) My dear little turtle-dove. Gretchen. (Pushing him off.) When the peoples is here, — but when we are alone I am not your wife, only the maid Gretchen. Buster. ( Appearing at door R.) Hello! What's goin' on here? Holy smoke! but I'll soon find out. (Hides behind the screen and looks oitt. ) Gretchen. Only a simple maid, — but if you want one little ki'isse- Brownjones. I do. I do Gretchen. (Holding out her hand.) IVie vie If Brownjones. Well — ten cents. Gretchen. Ten cents ! Vat could I do mil ten cents? Brownjones. Well, I don't care — Ten dollars then. Gretchen. All right. Will you have him now — in a minute. Brownjones. (Rapturously.) In a minute? In a second ! (Takes her hand and attempts to embrace 2 6 THE TRAIN ROBBER. her. At that moment Mrs. Brownjones a//.?«rj- at door R., and stops, looking at them, and shaking her umbrella at Brownjones. ) Mrs. Brownjones. Oh ! Brownjones. (Starting.) What was that ! ( Looks aroic7id. Mrs. B. hides behind screen and looks ont. ) O, nothing. Now, my dear Uttle girl, let me have that ten dollars' worth of kilssens. (Puts his arm aronnd Gretchen's waist.) Buster. (Appearing from behind screen and brandishing bowie-knife.) Stop that! Do you want me to cut you into strips? Durn my eyes, if I don't do you up. Come out, you yellow-livered cuss ! come to the woodshed and have it out with me ! Here (offers Brownjones a knife), take that, I have two — and we will carve one another till there 's only one of us left for the girl. (Grabs Brownjones by the shoulder.) Come on now. Brownjones. Oh, my! — I know nothing about carving. I am neither a sculptor nor a butcher. Let me alone, will you ? Gretchen. Yes; let dat poor old gentleman alone. He is my husband. Buster. What? What's that? Mrs. Brownjones. (Appearing from behind screen, brandishing umbrella.) You impudent hussy ! He is no such thing. He is mine — the only one I have. (Belabors Brownjones over head and shoul- ders ivith umbrella. ) You wretch ! Take that! Buster. ( Pjilling Brownjones by one arm.) Come on, come on to the woodshed Mrs. Brownjones. (Pulling B.'s other arm.) Come on, come on home, you depraved brute ! THE TRAIN ROBBER. 27 (They pull him first to one side, then to the other. Finally Brownjones breaks from them and rims 07it at door R., followed by Buster, Mrs. Brownjones, Gretchen, and Hawkeye, who enters at that jnoment. They all re-enter by door at L , and cross the stage, rioiyiing, Brownjones in the lead. They do this twice, in the order named, then exennt onines, running.) Enter Alice and Mrs. Newport in traveling dress. Alice. What can all this commotion be? I thought I saw my uncle running around a pine-tree followed by a lot of people. Perhaps they are play- ing at tag. I have heard it said that the rarefied air at this altitude makes people do very strange things. Mrs. Newport. I can readily believe it. I have seen the strangest things since I came to California, and some of my adventures would have made Baron Munchausen turn green with envy. But what has become of your aunt? Alice. I cannot imagine. She suddenly dis- appeared as soon as we arrived. I suppose she is looking for suitable rooms. I must try and find her. Mrs. Newport. And I must look for my detective who telegraphed me to come up here. I wonder what his important business is. Probably they have caught my robber, but I hope not. (Se?itinientally.) He called me a perfect Venus, and he was such a hand- some man. (Enter Somers.J Well, that isn't he, anyhow. (Looking at Somers.j SoMERS. (Seeing Alice. J Alice ! 28 THE TRAIN ROBBER. Alice. (Starting .) Frank ! Mrs. Newport. Well, as you young people appear to be acquainted, I shall leave you and go and look for my robber. (Exit.) Alice. You here ! SoMERS. Oh ! Alice, I have some good news, glorious news for both of us. Alice. (Coldly.) Indeed ! And what may that glorious news be? SoMERS. Your Uncle Brownjones consents to our being married. Alice. ( Turning over the leaves of a book.) Oh, he does ? Does he think he can dispose of me as he would of one of his bath-tubs ? SoMERS. Apparently ! Anyhow, there are now no impediments to our marriage. Alice. ( With indifference.) I do not quite agree with you, Mr. Somers. I think there are insur- mountable impediments. Somers. For instance? Alice. For instance ; between you and me, Mr. Somers, there are (counting on her fingers) a hypocrite — a bar-room statue — a tippler — a spendthrift Somers. Gracious powers ! Is it possible that you believe all that of me ? Alice. Certainly ; my good uncle gave me the full and detailed list of your virtues, as I wrote you in my farewell letter. And my uncle is like the Father of his Country — he does not know how to tell lies ; he is a man of lofty character. Somers. Lofty character, eh ? Doesn't know how to tell lies ? Why, what do yon suppose he is doing up here ? THE TRAIN ROBBER. 29 Alice. Probably pursuing- some scientific investi- gations, or studying' nature. SoMERS. Not much ! He is pursuing a girl with blue eyes and chestnut hair — that 's what he is pur- suing; he is studying how to have his wife shut up in the insane asylum; that's what he is studying. Pleasant, healthy pursuits and studies for a married man. Alice. What is all this? SoMERS. The truth. Everybody here knows it. Ask your aunt; ask the detective; ask any one. Alice. (Relenting.) Frank, you are not deceiving me, are you? Is all this possible? It is true that I have never thought you a hypocrite; nor seen you tippling, nor posing as a statue, — -and as for being a spendthrift — the candy you send me, I notice, comes from the grocery store, — and when you take me to the theater our seats are always in the family circle, — and the flowers you send are just a little off, bought of the corner peddler No ; you are certainly not a spendthrift, Frank. SoMERS. But I will be, my darling ! I will re- form. No — I mean, I am all right. Anyhow, I love you better than my life, than my soul, and if you will not have me, I '11 go and throw myself into Lake Tahoe when your uncle is not at hand to fish me out. Oh, Alice, I do love you so ! Will not you love me again? If I have done anything wrong, I am sorry for it, sincerely sorry — and you know, it is said that the angels rejoice when a sinner repents. Will you not help me to repent and the angels to rejoice? Alice. Oh, you want me to treat the angels to a smile, do you? 30 THE TRAIN ROBBER. SoMERS. Alice, for me there is but one angel, and she is on earth. Alice. Well, I suppose that I ought to encourage repentance. (To audience.) What do you say? Shall I forgive him? — Yes? All right! I do not believe that he is as black as he has been painted. Anyhow, like many another woman, I am willing to take chances. Frank, you may kiss me if you like (noise outside) — no ; I hear footsteps, some one is coming, — let us go. (Exeunt Alice and Somers, door L.) Enter Brownjones, running and out of breath, door R. Brownjones. (Fanning himself with cap.) Whew! I have given them the slip. There's life in the old man yet. I find that I can dodge and double like a fox. They lost me in the thick wood by the creek and are scrambling up the hill to the Iron Spring on a false trail. And now to be off. I noticed a couple of horses ready saddled standing by the barn. I shall borrow one, and while my persecutors are chasing rainbows around the Iron Spring, I shall gallop off somewhere — I don't care where — anywhere away from Maria, the detective and that furious cow-boy. Enter Mrs. Newport, door R. Hello ! (Seeing Mrs. Newport, j Why ! The blue eyes and chestnut hair ! Mrs. Newport. (Aside.) My Sacramento masher ! Brownjones. (Going towards door R.) Excuse me. Madam, I am in somewhat of a hurry THE TRAIN ROBBER. 3.I Mrs. Newport. (Standing between him and door.) You were not in such a hurry in Sacramento. Brownjones. Exactly — quite right — I was not, — but you see this is not Sacramento. I shall be very glad to see you at any time — in Sacramento. Mrs. Newport. (Sweetly.) And you are not glad to see me here? Oh, fie! Why, what brought you here? Brownjones. What indeed ! I don't know, I 'm sure. I wish I had never seen the accursed place. Will you let me pass. Madam. I have — er — important business outside. Mrs. Newport. And your temper was much sweeter in Sacramento. Why, you smiled at me at the station. Brownjones. I — smiled ? — I never smile — at least not — not in that way. Oh, yes; I remember now, — I smiled sarcastically. Mrs. Newport. Oh! indeed, — sarcastically! And pray what do you mean by that ? Brownjones. I mean sarcastically. Don't you know that there are different kinds of smiles. There 's the baby smile, natural, ingenuous, — I can't smile that way — I know too much. There's the happy smile, — I can't smile that way — I 'm too miserable. There 's the sickly smile, — I can't smile that way — I'm not sick; and there's the sarcastic smile, — that's what smiled near you in Sacramento, — not at you, near you. Let me by, please. Mrs. Newport. Not yet. Did you also wink sarcastically ? Did you also wave your handkerchief sarcastically when I was on the train ? 32 THE TRAIN ROBBER. Brownjones. Oh, I don't know — But let me pass — let me pass ! There 's a detective after me — Mrs. Newport. (Sarcastically.) A detective! After a good, quiet man like you ! You astonish me. And why is a detective after you ? Brownjones. Oh, I am a full-fledged train robber — a Cow Greek Canyon train robber ! Mrs. Newport. You ! (Takes his head in both her hands and turns his face towards her.) — No; not my robber at any rate. He was a handsome man and he called me — well, never mind what — Do you know him ? Were you in his gang ? Brownjones. I? Never! I'm not a real robber, only suspected. And now good-bye; I must fly. The detective is after me; the furious cow-boy is after me; my wife is after me. Mrs. Newport. Your wife ! You are married then. And you tried to flirt with me ! Brownjones. I did not. You flirted with me. Mrs. Newport. Married ! And you smiled sarcas- tically ! But I forget — you are a criminal — a train robber. I remember you now. I shall inform the detective that I identify you, and my identification will mean conviction. I shall tell your wife how you tried to flirt with me in Sacramento — oh, I am afraid that you will rue the day when you met me. Brownjones. Rue it ! If I simply rued it, I should be comparatively happy. Mrs. Newport. " Sweet is revenge, especially to women." You will be taken to San Francisco with gyves upon your wrists. I believe that hanging is now the penalty for train robbery. ^Brownjones THE TRAIN ROBBER. 33 attempts to pass her.) No (pushing him back)^ you are my prisoner. You smile sarcastically, do you ? ('Brownjones falls helplessly into a chair.) Perhaps you will have an opportunity to learn and practice that sickly smile you mentioned just now Ah! here comes some one. Enter Alice, door L. Alice. (To BrownjonesJ Why, Uncle ! How are you? (Goes up to him and shakes him.) Uncle, what is the matter? fBROWNjONES groans.) Don't you know me? Don't you remember Alice? Brownjones. ' ' Don't you remember sweet Alice, Ben Bolt?" Oh, yes; as least, no; I don't. I'm Sullivan. I'm a robber; a murderer; a sarcastic smiler; a something — I don't quite know what or who I am. Mrs. Newport. (To Alice J Is this your uncle? (Pointing to Brownjones. j Alice. To be sure. Did I not tell you that my aunt and I were to join him here ? Mrs. Newport. (Aside.) Her uncle ! That alters matters. She is a nice girl. Enter Mrs. Brownjones, Hawkeye and Somers — running and out of breath. They fall into chairSy panting. Hawkeye. Here he is ! Alice. Uncle ! Auntie ! Will some one please tell me what is the matter with my uncle and aunt? 34 THE TRAIN ROBBER. Hawkeye. What's this? Uncle! Aunt! (To Alice.; Who do you think this is? (Pointing to BrownjonesJ Alice. Why, my Uncle Brownjones, of course. Who else should it be ? 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