I don't know! I s'ppose I ain't got sense enough for them things. I thought I'd get hold o' a bit o' money ... I thought I'd be able to lay out a bit o' money! Buildin' a little annex of a shop--that's good fun. I thought it all out to myself like--with nice shelves and things like that ... an' I planned to hang up a big clock an' such. An' now you sit on your money bag like an old watch dog. MRS. FIELITZ That money--it ain't to be thrown away so easy. 'Twas earned too bitter hard for that. FIELITZ ... You forgets that I've been in trouble before. Is I to go an' get locked up again? MRS. FIELITZ Never mind, Fielitz, to-morrow is another day. A person mustn't go an' take things that serious! I was more'n half jokin' anyhow.--Go over to Grabow's an' drink a glass o' beer!... We must all be satisfied's best we can. An' even if you can't go an' open a shoe shop, an' even if you gotta worry along cobblin' an' can't buy no clock--well, a good conscience is worth somethin' too. THE CURTAIN FALLS THE SECOND ACT _The smithy of LANGHEINRICH. The little house protrudes at an angle into the village street. The shed that projects over the smithy is supported by wooden posts. The empty space below the shed is used for the storage of tools and materials. Wheels are leaned against the wood, a plough, wheel-tyres, pieces of pig iron, etc. An anvil stands in the open, too, and several working stools. From behind the house, jutting out diagonally, a wooden wagon is visible. The left front wheel has been taken off and a windlass supports the axle._ _Through the door that leads to the shop one sees smithy fires and bellows._ _Opposite the smithy, on the left side of the village street which, taking a turn, is lost to view in the background, there is a board fence. A small locked gate opens upon the street._ _A cloudy, windy day._ _DR. BOXER, in a slouch hat and light overcoat, stands holding a heavy smith's hammer at arm's length. EDE has a horseshoe in his right hand, a smaller hammer in his left, and is looking on._ EDE [_Counts._] ... twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four an' one makes twenty-five an' another makes twenty-six.--Great guns, you're ahead o' me now. An' twenty-seven, an' twenty-eight, an' twenty-nine an' thirty. My respects, Doctor. That's all right. Is that the effect o' the sea air? DR. BOXER It may be. You see I haven't quite forgotten the trick. EDE No, you haven't. That's pretty good. Now let's try it with weights, though. I c'n hold up a hundred an' fifty pounds, Doctor. How about yourself? DR. BOXER I don't know. It remains to be seen. EDE What? You think you c'n lift a hundred weight an' a half? You're a little bit of a giant, ain't you? You didn't learn that on board ship. I thought you travelled as a sawbones an' not as a strong man!--Look at that little man over there goin' into Mrs. Fielitz' house. That's her son-in-law. DR. BOXER