[_She exits door left._ [_Jane crosses up and starts to clear the dining-room table of its red table cover, as Ben enters door left._ BEN (_cheerfully_) Well, I fixed Old Nellie up. (_He puts his bottle back in its place in the wall cabinet_) Just got her in time. Thought she was gone for a minute, but she’s going to be all right. JANE That’s good. [_She folds the tablecloth up and puts it away._ BEN (_in front of fire_) She knew what I was doin’ for her too; you could tell by the way she looked at me! She’ll be all right, poor old critter. I remember her when she was a colt, year before I went to high school. [_Jane crosses into room, shutting the dining-room door after her._ JANE You like animals, don’t you, Ben? BEN (_surprised_) I don’t know. I don’t like to see ’em suffer. JANE Why? BEN I guess it’s mostly because they ain’t to blame for it. I mean what comes to ’em ain’t their fault. If a woman thinks she’s sick, ’til she gets sick, that’s her business. If a man gets drunk, or eats like a hog, he’s got to pay for it, and he ought to. Animals live cleaner than we do anyhow--and when you do anything for ’em they’ve got gratitude. Folks haven’t. JANE Hand me that sewing basket, Ben. [_She has seated herself at left center by table. Ben at left of table, hands her the basket as she picks up some sewing._ BEN It’s funny, but except for a dog or two, I don’t remember carin’ nothin’ for any of the live things, when I lived here I mean. JANE I guess that’s because you didn’t do much for them. BEN I guess so--Sometimes I kind of think I’d like to be here when spring comes--and see all the young critters coming into the world--I should think there’d be a lot a feller could do, to make it easier for ’em. JANE Yes. BEN Everybody’s always makin’ a fuss over women and their babies. I guess animals have got some feelings, too. JANE (_sewing_) Yes. BEN I _know_ it--Yes, sometimes I sort of wish I could be here, in the spring. JANE You’ll be a big help. BEN I’ll be in prison. (_He looks at her. She drops her head and goes on sewing_) You forgot that, didn’t yer? JANE Yes. BEN What’s the difference? A prison ain’t just a place; it’s bein’ somewheres you don’t want to be, and that’s where I’ve always been. JANE You liked the army? BEN I s’pose so. JANE Why? BEN I don’t know, there was things to do, and you did ’em. JANE And some one to tell you what to do? BEN Maybe that’s it, somebody that knew better’n I did. It galled me at first, but pretty soon we got over in France, an’ I saw we was really doin’ something, then I didn’t mind. I just got to doin’ what I was told, and it worked out all right. JANE You liked France, too? BEN Yes. JANE I’d like to hear you tell about it. BEN