? Are you a thief, man? are you a thief?
Speak, speak, or I'll kill you.

BRODIE. I am a thief.

LESLIE. And my friend, my own friend, and ... Mary, Mary!... Deacon,
Deacon, for God's sake, no!

BRODIE. God help me!

LESLIE. "We Brodies! We Brodies!"

BRODIE. Leslie----

LESLIE. Stand off! Don't touch me! You're a thief!

BRODIE. Leslie, Leslie----

LESLIE. A thief's sister! Why are you here? why are you here? Tell me!
Why do you not speak? Man, I know you of old. Are you Brodie, and have
nothing to say?

BRODIE. To say? Not much--God help me!--and commonplace, commonplace
like sin. I was honest once; I made a false step; I couldn't retrace it;
and ... that is all.

LESLIE. You have forgot the bad companions!

BRODIE. I did forget them. They were there.

LESLIE. Commonplace! Commonplace! Do you speak to me, do you reason with
me, do you make excuses? You--a man found out, shamed, a liar, a
thief--a man that's killed me, killed this heart in my body; and you
speak! What am I to do? I hold your life in my hand; have you thought of
that? What am I to do?

BRODIE. Do what you please; you have me trapped. (_JEAN WATT is heard
singing without two bars of "Wanderin' Willie," by way of signal._)

LESLIE. What is that?

BRODIE. A signal.

LESLIE. What does it mean?

BRODIE. Danger to me: there is some one coming.

LESLIE. Danger to you?

BRODIE. Some one is coming. What are you going to do with me? (_A knock
at the door._)

LESLIE (_after a pause_). Sit down. (_Knocking._)

BRODIE. What are you going to do with me?

LESLIE. Sit down. (_BRODIE sits in darkest part of stage. LESLIE opens
door and admits LAWSON. Door open till end of Act._)

SCENE V

BRODIE, LAWSON, LESLIE

LAWSON. This is an unco' time to come to your door; but eh, laddie, I
couldna bear to think o' ye sittin' yer lane in the dark.

LESLIE. It was very good of you.

LAWSON. I'm no' very fond of playing hidee in the dark mysel': and noo
that I'm here----

LESLIE. I will give you a light. (_He lights the candles. Lights up._)

LAWSON. God A'michty! William Brodie!

LESLIE. Yes, Brodie was good enough to watch with me.

LAWSON. But he gaed awa' ... I dinna see ... an' Lord be guid to us, the
window's open!

LESLIE. A trap we laid for them: a device of Brodie's.

BRODIE (_to LAWSON_). Set a thief to catch a thief. (_Passing to LESLIE,
aside._) Walter Leslie, God will reward. (_JEAN signals again._)

LAWSON. I dinna