Upton Sinclair
The Second Story Man
CHARACTERS
JIM FARADAY: the second-story man. HARVEY AUSTIN: a lawyer. HELEN
AUSTIN: his wife.
SCENE: Library of the Austin home.
Time: 2 A.M.
[The scene shows a luxuriously furnished room. In the centre is a table with a lamp. To the right is the entrance into the front hall, the front door of the house being visible. In the corner is a cabinet of curios. In the rear is a large window opening on the street. Open fire-place. There are two entrances at the left. There are bookshelves, several easy-chairs, etc., in the room.]
[At rise: The stage is empty, and the room is darkened except for the fire in the grate. Sounds of breaking wood are heard at the window.]
JIM. [A roughly-dressed young fellow with a patch over one eye, enters through window, stands gazing about nervously, looks into the hall, etc., then flashes a dark lantern.] This looks pretty good.
[Goes to mantel, takes silver cup and puts it into bag which he carries; then exit left.]
AUSTIN. [Enters at front door without much noise. Hangs up coat and hat, and then stands in entrance. He is a smooth-faced young man in evening dress.] All gone to bed, hey?
[Takes out cigarette case and is about to light one, when a crash is heard off left, as of a vase falling. He starts, then runs to table, opens drawer, takes out revolver, and examines it, and steals off through the other entrance at left, saying, "That noise seemed to come from downstairs."]
JIM. [Enters panic-stricken.] God! What a thing to do! [Gazes into hall and upstairs-long pause.] Don't seem to have waked them.
[Proceeds to examine room, stopping now and then to listen. After placing several articles in bag, he goes to cabinet and tries to open it. This takes some time, and while he is crouching in the shadow, with his back to the entrance right, MRS. AUSTIN appears.]
MRS. AUSTIN. [She is young and beautiful, and wears a night-robe and dressing- gown. She stands looking about anxiously, and then goes to centre of room, when she hears a sound from JIM, and starts wildly.]
Oh!
JIM. [Leaps to feet, lifting revolver.] Hold up your hands! [She starts back in terror.] Hold up your hands!
MRS. AUSTIN. [Half complyingly.] I'm not armed.
JIM. Never mind. [Long pause while they stare at each other.] I don't want to hurt you, lady.
MRS. AUSTIN. [Calmly, after first shock.] No, I suppose not. You only want to get away.
JIM. That's right!
MRS. AUSTIN. Very well, you may go.
JIM. And you yell for the police the moment I get out of the door, hey?
MRS. AUSTIN. No, I don't want the police. I don't believe in sending men to jail.
JIM. Humph!
[Another pause.]
MRS. AUSTIN. Why do you do this?
JIM. It's the way I live.
MRS. AUSTIN. Isn't it a rather trying kind of work?
JIM. It ain't all play, ma'am.
MRS. AUSTIN. [Smiling.] I should think it would be hard on the nerves.
[After another pause.] Is there no honest way you can earn a living?
JIM. I don't know. Maybe so. I got tired of looking for it.
MRS. AUSTIN. I might help you if you would let me.
JIM. I ain't asking any help.
MRS. AUSTIN. No, but I'm offering it. [After a pause.] Have you been doing this sort of thing very long?
JIM. No.
MRS. AUSTIN. How long?
JIM. [After hesitation.] This is my first job.
MRS. AUSTIN. What! You don't mean that?
JIM. It happens to be true, ma'am.
MRS. AUSTIN. What made you do it?
JIM. It's a long story.
MRS. AUSTIN. Tell it to me.
JIM. It ain't just a good time for story telling.
MRS. AUSTIN. You are afraid of me? I have no quarrel with you. I don't care anything for the things you have in the bag; and, besides, I suppose you won't take them now. I'm only sorry to see a man going wrong, and I'd like to help if I could. I'll play fair, I give you my word of honor.
JIM. There ain't much honor in this business.
MRS. AUSTIN. No, I suppose not. But you can trust me. Put up that gun and talk to me.
JIM. [Surlily.] It can't do any good.
MRS. AUSTIN. It can't do any harm. Put up that revolver, and tell me what's the matter.
JIM. You'll let me go when I want to? No tricks!
MRS. AUSTIN. I give you my word.
JIM. All right. I'm a fool, I guess, but I'll trust you. [Puts revolver in pocket.] Sit down, ma'am. It must be cold for you. This is a queer kind of layout for a burglar. [Sits opposite her.] You heard that racket I made in the other room?
MRS. AUSTIN. Yes. What was it?
JIM. Some kind of a jar.
MRS. AUSTIN. Oh, my Greek vase. Well, never mind. it was an imitation. What were you doing?
JIM. I was looking for something to eat.
MRS. AUSTIN. Oh!
JIM. It would have been the first thing I've had since the day before yesterday.
MRS. AUSTIN. What's the matter?
JIM. No work. [A pause.] I suppose you'll give me the old gag. there's plenty of work for a man that's willing.
MRS. AUSTIN. No, I happen to have studied, and I know better than that. Else I should have fainted when I saw you. instead of sitting here talking to you. Do you drink?
JIM. Yes, but I didn't use to. Any man would drink. that went through what I did.
MRS. AUSTIN. Are you married?
JIM. Yes. I was married. My wife is dead.
MRS. AUSTIN. Any children?
JIM. Two. Both dead.
MRS. AUSTIN. Oh!
JIM. It ain't a pretty story, ma'am. It's a poor man's story.
MRS. AUSTIN. Tell it to me.
JIM. All right. It'll spoil your sleep for the rest of the night, I guess, but you can have it. [A pause.] A year ago I was what they call an honest working man. I had a home and a happy family; and I didn't drink any too much, and I did well. even if the work was hard. I was in the steel works here in town.
MRS. AUSTIN. [Startled.] The Empire Steel Company?
JIM. Yes. Why?
MRS. AUSTIN. Nothing. only I happen to know some people there. Go on.
JIM. It's no child's work there, ma'am. There's an awful lot of accidents. more than the world has any idea of. I've seen a man sent to hell in the snapping of a finger. And they don't treat them fair. they hush things up. There are things you wouldn't believe if I told them to you.
MRS. AUSTIN. Tell them.
JIM. I've seen a man there get caught in one of the cranes. They stopped the machinery, but they couldn't get him out. They'd have had to take the crane apart, and that would have cost several days, and it was rush time, and the man was only a poor Hunkie, and there was no one to know or care. So they started up the crane, and cut his leg off.
MRS. AUSTIN. Oh, horrible!
JIM. It's the sort of thing you couldn't believe unless you saw it.
But I saw it. I didn't care, though. I was a fool. And then my time came.
MRS. AUSTIN. How do you mean?
JIM. A blast furnace blew out, and a piece of slag hit me here, where you see that patch. If it wasn't for the patch you'd see something that would make you sick. It was a pain you couldn't tell about.
it was a couple of days before I knew where I was. And the first thing when I came to my senses. in the hospital, it was. there was a lawyer chap with a paper waiting for me.
MRS. AUSTIN. [In agitation.] A lawyer?
JIM. Yes, ma'am. Company representative, you know. And I was to sign the paper. it was a receipt for the hospital expenses. the operation and all that. you see they had to take out what was left of my eye. And of course I couldn't see. I had to sign where he told me to. And when I got well, I found they had trapped me into signing a release.
MRS. AUSTIN. A release?
JIM. I had accepted the hospital expenses as a release for all the company owed me. And I couldn't get any damages. and my eye was gone, and all the weeks without any wages.