The Winslow Boy Page #2

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My compliments to Mr. Dickie...

and if he does not stop that

cacophonous hullaballoo at once...

I'll throw him and his infernal

machine into the street.

Yes, sir.

What was that word again?

Cac - something?

Never mind. Say what you like,

only stop it.

I'll do my best, sir.

- Excuse me.

- Where are you going, Violet?

I must tell Mr. Dickie to stop...

"caco" something.

Well, that all seems

perfectly satisfactory.

Perfectly satisfactory.

- I don't think I need to delay my congratulations

any longer. - Thank you very much, sir.

Pretty rotten weather, isn't it, sir?

Vile.

- Would you care for another cigarette?

- Thank you sir, but I'm still smoking.

Yes...

Well, well. My wife and

daughter here of all places.

Come in, Grace. Come in, Catherine.

John is here.

Why, John - how nice!

Well?

- Well what?

- How did your little talk go?

I understood that you were not supposed

to know that we were having a little talk.

You really are infuriating.

Is everything all right, John?

I'm so glad, I really am.

- Thank you, Mrs. Winslow..

- May I kiss you?

After all, I'm practically your mother now.

By the same token, I'm practically your

father, but if you will forgive me...

Certainly, sir.

Well Grace, I think this calls

for a little celebration.

Where are the keys to the cellar?

I'll get them for you, dear.

- Was it an ordeal?

- I was scared to death.

Poor darling.

The annoying thing was I had a lot of

neatly turned phrases ready for him...

and he wouldn't let me use them.

Anything about loving me a little?

I thought we could take that for granted.

So did your father,. incidentally.

Kate!

Ronnie!

- What on earth are you doing here?

- Where's father?

All right, all right, he's downstairs,

I'll find him.

- No, don't. Please, Kate, don't! - What's

the matter, darling? You're wet through.

- You'd better go and change.

- No!

What's the trouble, darling?

You can tell me.

- Oh, shall I...?

- In the dining room.

Now, darling, tell me..

What is it?

Have you run away?

What is it then?

This letter's addressed to your father.

Did you open it?

- Yes.

- You shouldn't' have done that.

I was going to tear it up.

Then I didn't know what to do.

- I didn't do it, Kate...

- Really I didn't.

Of course not, darling.

- Shall we tear it up now?

- No, darling.

We could tell father term

ended two days sooner.

No, dear.

Hullo, Ronnie, old lad. How's everything?

Trouble?

I'm sorry.

Stay here with him. I'll find mother.

All right.

What's up old chap?

- Nothing.

- Come on, you can tell me.

It's all right.

Have you been sacked?

Bad luck. What for?

Stealing.

- Good lord! I didn't know they sacked

chaps for that these days. - But...

At school we used to pinch everything we could

jolly well lay our hands on, all of us.

I remember there was one chap - Carstairs his name

was - captain of cricket, believe it or not...

absolutely nothing was safe

with him - nothing at all.

Pinched a squash racquet

of mine once, I remember.

Believe me, old chap, pinching's nothing.

Nothing at all.

- There darling! It's all right now.

- I didn't do it mother.

No darling. Of course you didn't.

We'll get out of these nasty

wet clothes now, shall we?

- You won't tell father. Promise you won't! - No

darling. Not yet. I promise. Come along now.

- I didn't do it. I promise you.

- Of course you didn't.

- If father looks like coming up, for heaven's

sake head him off. - I'll watch out for him.

I say - who's going to break the news to him

eventually? I mean, someone'll have to.

- Don't let's worry about that now.

- Well you can count me out..

I don't want to be within a

thousand miles of that explosion.

Bad news?

How can people be so cruel?

Has he been expelled?

How little imagination some people have.

Why should they torture a child of

that age? What's the point of it?

What's he supposed to have done?

Stolen some money.

Ten days ago, it said in the letter..

Why on earth didn't they let us know?

- It does seem a bit heartless, I admit.

- Heartless?

It's cold, calculated inhumanity.

Think what that poor little creature has

been through these last ten days down there.

Entirely alone, with no

one to look after him...

Knowing what he had to

face at the end of it.

No wonder he's nearly out of his mind.

I'd love to have that commanding officer

here for just two minutes, I'd...

Darling, it's natural you

should feel angry about it.

But you must remember,

he's not really at school.

- He's in the Navy.

- What difference does that make?

They have ways of doing things in the service

that may seem to an outsider horribly brutal...

but at least they're

always scrupulously fair..

You can take it from me, that there must have been a very

full inquiry before they'd take a step of this sort.

What's more, if there's been ten days' delay, it could only have

been in order to give the boy a better chance to clear himself.

I'm sorry, Catherine. I'd have done

better to keep my mouth shut..

No, what you said was perfectly true -

Forgive me.

Nothing to forgive

Grace, when did we last

have the cellar looked at?

I can't remember, dear.

I thought we'd try a little of

the Madeira before luncheon.

Yes, we must drink a toast to the um...

Happy pair, I think, is the

phrase that is eluding you -

Well, as a matter of fact, I was

looking for something new to say -.

No one - with the possible exception of Bernard Shaw - could

possibly find anything new to say about an engaged couple.

Ah Dickie, just in time to celebrate

Katherine's engagement to John.

Oh, is that all finally spliced up now? Kate definitely

being entered for the marriage stakes. Good egg!

Quite so.

I should have added just now - with the possible

exception of Bernard Shaw and Dickie Winslow...

Are we allowed to drink our own healths?

- I think it's permissible.

- No. That's bad luck.

We defy augury.

You mustn't say that, John, dear.

I know. You can drink each other's health.

That's all right..

To John and Catherine.

To John and Catherine.

Ah. Violet. We mustn't leave you out.

You must join this toast..

Well - thank you sir.

- Not too much, sir, please. Just a sip.

- Quite so.

Your reluctance would be more convincing if I

hadn't noticed you'd brought an extra glass.

Oh, I didn't bring it for myself, sir.

I brought it for Master Ronnie.

- Miss Kate and Mr. John.

- You brought it for Master Ronnie, Violet?

Well - I thought you might allow him just

a sip, sir. Just to drink the toast.

He's that grown up these days.

He's not due back from Osborne

until Tuesday, Violet.

Oh, no, sir. He's back already. Came

back unexpectedly this morning...

- ...all by himself.

- No, Violet. That isn't true..

Well, I saw him with my own two eyes, sir, as

large as life, just as you got in from church...

and then I heard Mrs Winslow

talking to him in his room.

Grace - what does this mean?

Catherine, did you know

that Ronnie was back?

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