_(An Indian enters. He is dazzled by the light, and pulls ice from lips. Freda shuts door. Vanderlip, after one glance around, goes on eating and drinking.)_ INDIAN Hello. FREDA _(Not knowing his errand.)_ Hello. INDIAN Brrr! Much cold. FREDA Very cold. INDIAN Me come Sitka Charley. FREDA Oh, you are the man. INDIAN Sitka Charley say him come quick. FREDA How quick? INDIAN Maybe ten minutes. What time now? FREDA Fifteen minutes after twelve. INDIAN Him come twenty-five minutes after twelve. Ten minutes more him come, I think. FREDA How is the girl? INDIAN Much tired. Ride on sled. Plenty tired, cry little bit, like baby. She say must camp right away. Sitka Charley say make Dawson. She say no camp right away she die. Sitka Charley say don't care, make Dawson anyway. I go now. Good-by. FREDA Don't you want to go out in the kitchen and get warm? INDIAN No. Good-by. FREDA Good-by. _(Indian opens door and goes out.)_ _(Freda returns to chair at stove.)_ _(Freda Sitting down.)_ You haven't told me how you like it. VANDERLIP _(Turning plate upside down.)_ Actions speak louder than words. _(She helps him to some more.)_ Let me see, Cupid's slumgullion, eh? FREDA _(Laughing.)_ Cupid's stew. VANDERLIP _(Thrusting fork into stew on his plate.)_ What's in a name, so long as it's in your plate anyway? _(Eats silently jor a space.)_ FREDA _(Softly.)_ Floyd. _(He is absorbed in eating.)_ Floyd. VANDERLIP _(Looking at her.)_ Unh-hunh. FREDA _(Still softly.)_ I've been thinking. Why couldn't we go down river? VANDERLIP _(Dropping fork and looking at her blankly, then around room, then at plate, and holding up glass of champagne--pathetically.)_ And leave all this? FREDA Why not? We'd soon be down in the world, where we could swim in wine and all kinds of good things. VANDERLIP _(Seriously.)_ I don't know, Freda. I almost believe you've got to be in a place like this to get the value out of things. I tell you champagne on tap is not all it's cracked up to be. It never bites in and lays hold the way this does. Down in the world it's all wine and no thirst-- FREDA _(Interrupting.)_ And up here it's all thirst and no wine. VANDERLIP _(Enthusiastically. )_ But when you do get hold of the wine--Lord! Lord! _(Tilts hack head and empties glass, his face beaming like to the full moon. He regards Freda thoughtfully as she fills his glass, and speaks with sudden suspicion.)_ You don't happen to care for palaces, do you? FREDA _(Shaking her head.)_ Why, what put that into your head? VANDERLIP Well, I had a hankering after them myself, till I got to thinking a while back, and I've about sized it up that one gets fat living in palaces, and soft and lazy. No sir, no champagne on tap and soft summer skies for me. FREDA