_Nora_. You look down upon me altogether, Christine--but you ought not to. You are proud, aren't you, of having-worked so hard and so long for your mother? _Mrs. Linde_. Indeed, I don't look down on any one. But it is true that I am both proud and glad to think that I was privileged to make the end of my mother's life almost free from care. _Nora_. And you are proud to think of what you have done for your brothers. _Mrs. Linde_. I think I have the right to be. _Nora_. I think so, too. But now, listen to this; I too have something to be proud and glad of. _Mrs. Linde_. I have no doubt you have. But what do you refer to? _Nora_. Speak low. Suppose Torvald were to hear! He mustn't on any account--no one in the world must know, Christine, except you. _Mrs. Linde_. But what is it? _Nora_. Come here. (_Pulls her down on the sofa beside her_.) Now I will show you that I too have something to be proud and glad of. It was I who saved Torvald's life. _Mrs. Linde_. "Saved"? How? _Nora_. I told you about our trip to Italy. Torvald would never have recovered if he had not gone there-- _Mrs. Linde_. Yes, but your father gave you the necessary funds. _Nora_ (_smiling_). Yes, that is what Torvald and all the others think, but-- _Mrs. Linde_. But.-- _Nora_. Papa didn't give us a shilling. It was I who procured the money. _Mrs. Linde_. You? All that large sum? _Nora_. Two hundred and fifty pounds. What do you think of that? _Mrs. Linde_. But, Nora, how could you possibly do it? Did you win a prize in the Lottery? _Nora_ (_contemptuously_). In the Lottery? There would have been no credit in that. _Mrs. Linde_. But where did you get it from, then? _Nora_ (_humming and smiling with an air of mystery_). Hm, hu! Aha! _Mrs. Linde_. Because you couldn't have borrowed it. _Nora_. Couldn't I? Why not? _Mrs. Linde_. No, a wife cannot borrow without her husband's consent. _Nora_ (_tossing her head_). Oh, if it is a wife who has any head for business--a wife who has the wit to be a little bit clever-- _Mrs. Linde_. I don't understand it at all, Nora. _Nora_. There is no need you should. I never said I had borrowed the money. I may have got it some other way. (_Lies back on the sofa._) Perhaps I got it from some other admirer. When anyone is as attractive as I am-- _Mrs. Linde_. You are a mad creature. _Nora_. Now, you know you're full of curiosity, Christine. _Mrs. Linde_. Listen to me, Nora dear. Haven't you been a little bit imprudent? _Nora_ (_sits up straight_). Is it imprudent to save your husband's life? _Mrs. Linde_. It seems to me imprudent, without his knowledge, to--