DRAMATIC SUPPLEMENT

-TO

One Hundred Choice Selections, No. 13

THE INFERNAL MACHINE.*-H. ELLIOTT MCBRIDE.

CHARACTERS.

MRS. ALMIRA AMBERSON, a widow.

JOHN AMBERSON, her son.

MRS. JANE JENKINS,

MRS. MARIA JACKSON, Neighbors.

MR. JOSIAH SLOCUM,

BOB BUNKER, a boy.

SCENE-A room. Mrs. Amberson discovered.

MRS. AMBERSON (looking from the window). There's Bob Bunker comin' up to the door with a box in his hands. I wonder what it means?

Knock at door. Mrs. Amberson opens it. Enter Bob Bunker carrying a box.

BOB. Here's a box for you, Mrs. Amberson. Got it up at the station. Sam Brown asked me to carry it down to you. Won't charge nothin', of course, although it was purty heavy. I 'spect somebody's been sendin' you somethin'.

MRS. A. I do wonder who it can be from.

Bов. 'Spect you'll find out when you open it.

MRS. A. Yes, yes; so I will. (Takes out money.) Here, Bob; here's something for bringing it down.

BOB (taking the money). Oh, thankee! I'm much obliged to you. I'll carry somethin' for you sometime again and not charge you anything. Good mornin'.

*Copyright, 1886, by P. GARRETT & Co. All rights reserved.

MRS. A. Good mornin', Bob. (Exit Bob.) I wonder what it is and who it can be from. (Calls.) John, come here! I'm a little afeard it's some kind of a trick. Wonder if Bob would bring it here jest to make a dime? And, goodness, I've jest thought of it,-mebbe it's an infernal machine! Enter John.

What is it?

JOHN. MRS. A. I've jest called you, but mebbe you'd better run out again. And mebbe I'd better run out, too. There's a box; Bob Bunker brought it, and I'm afeard it's an infernal machine.

JOHN. Jest like Bob; he's allers doin' somethin' infernalMRS. A. I'spose you know an infernal machine is somethin' that blows up and kills people.

JOHN (advancing). I'll give it a kick, ma, if you say so.

MRS. A. (frightened and shrinking back). You, John! don't you dare to go near it! If it's one of them machines, you'd be dead in less'n two minutes, and so would I. Keep back! If you don't touch it, I guess it won't go off.

JOHN. I guess you think it's dynamite.

MRS. A. That's it. I couldn't jest mind the word. It's powerful stuff. I've been readin' about it. It would blow this house down and several other houses.

JOHN. If I had a hammer I'd give it a whack, anyhow. MRS. A. (frightened.) John! don't talk that way! You might be on the brink of eternity for all you know. Don't speak loud, either. A'most anything will set 'em off.

JOHN. Ma, I wouldn't be so skeery. Mebbe there's somethi' nice in the box.

MRS. A. Rash boy! Don't you know you might be blowed all to pieces in less'n half a second? The more I think about it the more I'm convinced it's somethin' bad. (Looking out of the window.) There's Mr. Slocum; I'll call him and ask him what he thinks about it. [Exit Mrs. A.

JOHN. I shouldn't wonder if that box was somethin' bad. It has a kind of a blow-up look about it. I guess it would be as well to let it alone.

Enter Mrs. Amberson and Mr. Slocum.

MRS. A. There it is, and I don't like the looks of it. It

may be all right, but I've heerd sich dreadful stories about them infernal machines that I'm a good deal skeery about it. MR. SLOCUM. Yes, I kalkilate it's better to be on the safe side.

MRS. A. That's what I told John. But John said if he had a hammer he'd hit it a crack anyhow. John's a rash boy. I've told him over and over that his rashness would get him into trouble some day.

MR. S. One can't tell what these dynamiters might do. Still, Mrs. Amberson, I shouldn't have thought that you had any enemies.

MRS. A. I shouldn't have thought so, too, Mr. Slocum. Still, a body don't know who's an enemy these days. I tuck the first premium over to the Aggerculteral Fair for makin' pies and doughnuts, and there was a good many as didn't take no premium, and who knows but some of 'em wants to put me out of the way?

MR. S. Ah! could they be so wicked?

MRS. A. They might, and then again they mightn't. As I said afore, you can't tell who's your enemies these days. MR. S. Well, Mrs. Amberson, I wouldn't touch the box. MRS. A. But what will I do with it? I can't let it set there. It might go off sometime on a sudden and blow us all to atoms.

MR. S. I guess you'd better send for the person that brought it here, and let him take it away again. He won't be afraid of it, I reckon.

MRS. A. It was Bob Bunker that brought it here. John, I guess you'd better go and hunt Bob up. Tell him I want him to take that box away again.

JOHN. All right.

[Exit John.

MRS. A. You see my name's on the box, but I'm sure I don't know who could have sent it. It won't do to run any risks. If the box was full of gold it would be better to throw it away than to get ourselves and the house blown to atoms.

MR. S. Yes, that's so. I believe we'd better step out. I wouldn't run the risk of stayin' so clus to it. I guess I won't stay, anyhow. I allers was afeard of dynamite; I've read sich terrible things, you know. (Moves toward the door.)

MRS. A. Oh, I don't think there's any danger of it goin'

off unless it gets a lick or gets knocked about. Bob carried it from the station and he didn't set it down very easy, either.

MR. S. (aside.) Well, I'm not goin' to stay near the pesky thing, anyhow. (Walks cautiously around the box.) Good mornin', Mrs. Amberson. [Exit Mr. Slocum.

MRS. A. He's purty skeery,-worse'n I am. Still it's better to be on the safe side. I 'spect he'll get away from the house as fast as his feet will carry him. (Looking from window.) Yes, he's goin' like a race horse. He'll have the people alarmed and they'll be comin' to see what is the matter. There's Jane Jenkins a-comin' in now. I wish the box was out of this and at the bottom of the frog pond.

Enter Mrs. Jenkins.

MRS. JENKINS. Mornin'. I saw Josiah Slocum comin' out of your house and takin' to his heels, and I 'sposed there was somethin' wrong and I thought I'd better come over. Is there anything the matter?

MRS. A. Yes, I've got a box. (Pointing.) You see it there. MRS. J. Yes, I saw Bob Bunker bringin' it in a few minutes ago. Well, 'tain't nothin' terrible to get a box. (Going to the box.) Why don't you open it?

MRS. A. (excitedly.) Good gracious, Jane, keep away! Don't touch it! Don't touch it! I'm afeard it's a box of dynamite, and if you touch it, it'll blow us all sky high.

MRS. J. (shrinking back.) Oh, dear! It's what they call an infernal machine!

MRS. A. Yes, that's what I think it is, and Josiah Slocum thinks so, too, and he wouldn't stay in the house, but got out as soon as possible. I've sent John to get Bob to come and take it away.

MRS. J. I shouldn't have thought that you had any enemies, Almira. Who do you suppose did such a wicked thing.

MRS. A. Oh, I really don't know. You can't tell, now-adays, who's your friend and who's your enemy. I was jest tellin' Josiah Slocum that I had tuck the premium at the Aggerculteral Fair for makin' the best pies and doughnuts, and there was a good many as missed, and I shouldn't wonder but some of 'em sent it out of pure spite.

MRS. J. Just as like as not.

MRS. A. And it might have been Maria Jackson. You know Deacon Barker's been payin' some attention to me, and some attention to her, but a good deal more to me, and the wicked woman might want to get me out of the way. MRS. J. Oh, you don't say so! Could she be such a hideous woman as to do that?

MRS. A. I don't say that it was her that sent it, but I've been thinkin' about it consid'able and it 'pears to me that that's the correct way of lookin' at it. But don't, for the world, say a word about it. I wouldn't want her to know that I suspected her.

MRS. J. Well, any woman that would do that ought to be hung up by the neck and strangulated as quick as possible. MRS. A. Mind, now, I don't say Maria sent it, but things pint that way.

MRS. J. Well, I guess I won't stay any longer. A person can't tell what may happen. [Exit Mrs. Jenkins.

MRS. A. It seems to me everybody is kind of skeery about that box, but I don't see as it can do any harm if you don't touch it. I wish Bob would hurry and come so's I could get it out of the house. I'll feel consid❜ably relieved when it is chucked into the frog pond down below the village. The more I think of it, the more I'm convinced that it was Maria Jackson that sent it. She's a spiteful thing. If Deacon Barker's payin' more attention to me than to her, it isn't my fault. But that's jest like them Jacksons. They were allers a malicious set. If she gets me and John and the house blowed up, there'll be a day of reckonin'.

Enter Bob and John.

BOB. Want the box carried away again, John says. MRS. A. Yes, but you must be careful,-very careful. Handle it jest as easy as you can. I'm afeard it's a box of dynamite, and if it should go off, it would blow us all to atoms.

BOB. Oh, crackee! I wonder if it is dynamite. Dynamite's a smashin' article. I was just readin' about it,-a feller that had a little mite of it in his pocket and it went off, and it blowed the feller so far and tore him up so