Part 21 (1/2)
She pats his arm and says: ”Be a little patient, Freddie. He's not well, and he hasn't had an easy life, and now that he's getting old I know that he is difficult sometimes. But if you knew him as well as I do, you'd know he doesn't mean one-tenth of the things he says.”
Freddie exclaims: ”Be a little patient? Good lord! When I think of the things I've had to put up with. If it hadn't been for you-”
She puts her hand on his arm and says: ”I know, I know, and I'm grateful.”
They go into the house.
When they come into the room where MacFay and Horn are, MacFay looks up from his correspondence and asks point-blank: ”See here, Lois, has this young nitwit been making googoo eyes at you?”
Lois and Freddie look at him dumbfounded.
Horn says good-naturedly: ”Come, come, Colonel MacFay, if there was anything like that, it seems to me I ought to be the one to ask questions.”
MacFay, ignoring Horn, says to Lois: ”Answer me. Has he been making love to you?”
Horn, scowling at MacFay, says bluntly: ”This is pretty d.a.m.ned insulting to all three of us.”
Lois cries: ”Papa-how can you say things like that?”
Freddie, the last to recover his speech, says, half in tears: ”This is too much. I'm through-I'm leaving!” He starts out the door, then turns back and yells: ”I know Lois is engaged to Dudley, but my feelings for her are my own business!”
MacFay, thus outnumbered, whines: ”How am I going to know what's going on if I don't ask? Everybody hides everything from me. You all think I'm just a useless old fool.”
Lois goes over to him, runs her hand over his head, and says: ”No we don't, but sometimes you are a problem. Won't you ever learn not to say these terrible things to people?”
Horn goes out after Freddie, who has left the room, and catches him at the head of the stairs, saying: ”You're not going to be foolish, are you?”
Freddie says: ”I'm going away.”
Horn says: ”Don't do it, kid. Lois is going to feel that it's partly her fault. You ought to know what to expect from the old man by now.”
Freddie says: ”But I couldn't stay-I feel too ashamed.”
Horn says: ”So do Lois and I, and so does the old man if he'd admit it. Try it a little longer, kid. We don't want you going like this.”
While Freddie hesitates, MacFay's voice comes through the open doorway. ”Freddie!”
Freddie looks at Horn, nods, and starts back to the office. Horn puts his arm around Freddie's shoulder. They go into the office.
MacFay says: ”Where's that bill from Nichols and Brackett?”
Lois says gaily: ”I know what's coming and you needn't bother. A sports dress for $62.50. I haven't worn it yet, so I can send it back tomorrow and there'll be no hard feelings.”
MacFay says: ”That's not it. I don't begrudge you the dress, but it's for your own good-you're too extravagant.”
Lois: ”I guess you're right. I guess that's why I didn't wear it before you saw the bill-so I wouldn't have to keep it if you didn't want me to.”
MacFay whines: ”Oh, you can keep it, but I wish you'd be a little more careful.”
Nick and Nora come in.
Nick, briskly: ”Shall we have that little business chat now, Colonel?”
MacFay: ”Whenever you're ready. There's no particular hurry.”
Nick: ”But you wired us to come straight down as soon as we got to New York. We thought-”
MacFay: ”You'll forgive an old man's inconsiderateness, children. There's really nothing but routine matters.”
Horn winks at Nick. (Lois and Freddie have left the room.) Nick: ”I get it. You wanted me down here on account of Church-and used the business angle as bait.”
MacFay: ”Now that it's over, perhaps I should confess that there may be a little truth in what you say.” He pinches Nora's cheek. ”You'll forgive the old scoundrel, won't you?”
Nick: ”I wouldn't be too sure it's over.”
MacFay: ”What do you mean?”
Nick: ”My guess is that whatever Church meant to do in the first place, he still means to do.”
MacFay starts up from his chair, then sinks down with a little laugh and relaxes again. ”You're trying to frighten me as punishment for bringing you down here on the run. You can't do it, son. As soon as Church found out you were here, he lit out, and that's all there is to it.”
Nick: ”I hope you're right, but his talk to me didn't sound like that.”
MacFay shakes his head from side to side. ”The years it takes young men to learn not to pay any attention to what other young men say!”
Nick: ”He wants to include Nora and me in this shakedown on the grounds that her father was your partner. Was he tied up in this mess?”
MacFay: ”What difference can all that make now?”
Nora, reproachfully: ”Colonel MacFay!”
Nick: ”If Church went to jail to s.h.i.+eld Nora's father, we want to settle with him.”
Nora nods vigorously.
MacFay, angrily: ”You want to settle with him! Sure! Neither of you know what it means to have to sc.r.a.pe together your dollars. You don't have to work for money! People die and leave it to you! What's a few thousand here, a few thousand there? It grows on trees!”
Nick: ”That's not answering my question. Was Nora's father in with you on this deal?”
MacFay to Horn: ”Run along, Dudley.”
Horn goes out, shutting the door behind him, and stands there listening.
MacFay, patiently to Nick: ”You knew Nora's father, son. Did you think he was a crook?”
Nick: ”No.”
MacFay: ”Do you think I'm a crook?”
Nick, hesitantly: ”No-o.”