love, ARCHIE,
have you?

ARCHIE BEAL

What are we to do about Hussein?

JOHN BEAL

It's funny your mentioning Miss Miralda.
I got a letter from her the same day I got
yours.

ARCHIE BEAL

What does she say?

JOHN BEAL

I couldn't make it out.

ARCHIE BEAL

What were her words?

JOHN BEAL

She said she was going into it closer. She
underlined closer. What could she mean by
that? How could she get closer?

ARCHIE BEAL

Well, the same way as I did.

JOHN BEAL

How do you mean? I don't understand.

ARCHIE BEAL

By coming here.

JOHN BEAL

By coming here? But she can't come here.

ARCHIE BEAL

Why not?

JOHN BEAL

Because it's impossible. Absolutely
impossible. Why--good Lord--she couldn't
come here. Why, she'd want a chaperon and
a house and--and--everything. Good Lord,
she couldn't come here. It would be--well
it would be impossible--it couldn't be done.

ARCHIE BEAL

O, all right. Then I don't know what she
meant.

JOHN BEAL

ARCHIE! You don't really think she'd come
here? You don't really think it, do you?

ARCHIE BEAL

Well, it's the sort of thing that that sort of
girl might do, but of course I can't say...

JOHN BEAL

Good Lord, ARCHIE! That would be awful.

ARCHIE BEAL

But why?

JOHN BEAL

Why? But what would I do? Where
would she go? Where would her chaperon
go? The chaperon would be some elderly
lady. Why, it would kill her.

ARCHIE BEAL

Well, if it did you've never met her, so you
needn't go into mourning for an elderly lady
that you don't know; not yet, anyway.

JOHN BEAL

No, of course not. You're laughing at me,
ARCHIE. But for the moment I took you
seriously. Of course, she won't come. One
can go into a thing closely without doing it
absolutely literally. But, good Lord, wouldn't
it be an awful situation if she did.

ARCHIE BEAL

O, I don't know.

JOHN BEAL

All alone with me here? No, impossible.
And the country isn't civilised.

ARCHIE BEAL.

Women aren't civilised.

JOHN BEAL

Women aren't...? Good Lord, ARCHIE,
what an awful remark. What do you mean?

ARCHIE BEAL

We're tame, they're wild. We like all the
dull things and the quiet things, they like
all the romantic things and the dangerous
things.

JOHN BEAL

Why, ARCHIE, it's just the other way about.

ARCHIE BEAL

O, yes; we do all the romantic things, and
all the dangerous things. But why?

JOHN BEAL

Why? Because we like them, I suppose.
I can't