JHANSI EDITH UNGER PEYTON ROOT, _an Instructor in the University_ JAMES LIGHT MRS. ROOT, PEYTON’S _Mother_ SUSAN GLASPELL MRS. PEYTON, _His Grandmother_ CLARA SAVAGE UNCLE GEORGE PEYTON, _President of the Board of Regents_ JUSTUS SHEFFIELD BESSIE ROOT ALICE MACDOUGAL STATE SENATOR BYRD DAVID CARB MRS. STATE SENATOR BYRD ESTHER PINCH CLOSE THE BOOK SCENE: _The library in the ROOT home, the library of middle-western people who are an important family in their community, a university town, and who think of themselves as people of culture. It is a room which shows pride of family: on the rear wall are two large family portraits--one a Revolutionary soldier, the other a man of a later period. On the low book-cases, to both sides of door rear, and on the mantel, right, are miniatures and other old pictures. There is old furniture--mahogany recently done over: an easy chair near the fireplace, a divan left. A Winged Victory presides over one of the book-cases, a Burne Jones is hung. It is a warmly lighted, cheerful room--books and flowers about. At the rear is a door opening on the hall, at the left a door into another room. There is a corner window at the right. JHANSI and PEYTON are seated on the divan. MRS. ROOT is just going into the hall. She seems perturbed. JHANSI is dressed as a non-conformist, but attractively. PEYTON is a rather helpless young man, with a sense of humor that is itself rather helpless._ MRS. ROOT I’ll see, Peyton, if your grandmother isn’t ready to come down. [_She leaves them._ JHANSI [_Springing up._] It’s absurd that I should be here! PEYTON I know, Jhansi, but just this once--as long as it means so much to mother, and doesn’t really hurt us. JHANSI But it does hurt me, Peyton. These walls stifle me. You come of people who have been walled in all their lives. It doesn’t cage you. But me--I am a gypsy! Sometimes I feel them right behind me--all those wanderers, people who were never caught; feel them behind me pushing me away from all this! PEYTON But not pushing you away from me, dear. You love me, Jhansi, in spite of my family? JHANSI If I didn’t love you do you think I could endure to come to this dreadful place? [_A look about the comfortable room_]--and meet these dreadful people? Forgive me for alluding to your home and family, Peyton, but I must not lose my honesty, you know. PEYTON No, dear; I don’t think you are losing it. And perhaps I’d better not lose mine either. There’s one thing I haven’t mentioned yet. [_Hesitates._] Mr. Peyton is coming to dinner tonight. JHANSI Mr. Peyton. _What_ Peyton? PEYTON Yes--that one. JHANSI And you ask me--standing for the things I do in this university--to sit down to dinner with the president of the board of regents! PEYTON