I'm sorry we have such poor fare, sir, but the times are hard, what with the comin' and goin' of the troops; and the rebels cleaned out the place when they were here. HALE I've fared very well, Madam. MRS. CHICHESTER Oh look--there in the cove! D'ye see a small boat comin' into shore? I wonder what it can be doin' here? HALE Oh, indeed! I'm afraid I'll have to go, Madam! Let me pay my reckoning. MRS. CHICHESTER There--I guess my eyes deceived me. It's not a boat at all. HALE Ah! MRS. CHICHESTER What was that you said? Your reckoning? But sir, you've had no sweetmeat. Come, sit down, I'll bring ye a bit o' pastry. HALE But-- MRS. CHICHESTER I'll take it much amiss if ye refuse me. HALE Thank you, Madam--I'll wait--bring your sweetmeat. ANNOUNCER As soon as Hale finished his meal at the tavern, he went to the shore of the cove to await the boat that he expected. After some time he heard the splash of oars. So sure was he that this was his boat that he stood up and called. HALE Hello, Pond, here I am! Right here! DREW Stand fast, put your hands up! HALE What--what's the meaning of this? Sir, I am a peaceable schoolmaster, you have no cause to apprehend me! DREW We'll soon see. Strike a light! Search him! VOICE Aye, aye, sir--here's your light. DREW Well, sir, I thought I'd seen you before. Now I know I have! I've placed you at last! You are an officer in the rebel army! HALE I tell you, sir, I am a poor schoolmaster! DREW We'll soon see. Find anything in his pockets? VOICE Not a thing, sir. DREW Rip his jacket to pieces, look in the lining and the seams! VOICE Yes, sir. [_sound of tearing cloth_] HALE Why am I suffering this indignity? DREW Anything there? VOICE Not a thing, sir. DREW Strip him--tear every piece of clothing to pieces! VOICE Aye, aye, sir. HALE I trust this is giving you some pleasure. DREW We're enjoying ourselves, aren't we, boys? ALL Aye, aye, sir. VOICE Here, sir--a piece o' paper. DREW Let's see it--ha--receipt for lodgings. Is that the best you can do? VOICE That's all there is, sir. HALE Perhaps, sir, now that you have ruined my clothes, you'll let me go. DREW I will not! I'll find where you've hidden your notes if I have to rip your skin off! HALE I am helpless, sir. But you must be satisfied that I have nothing on me. Can't you conclude your sport and let me go? DREW Look here, men--what about his boots? VOICE Nothing in them, sir. DREW He was having them resoled the other day! Ho, I'll wager that's where they are! Give me your knife, Bos'n! VOICE Here you are, sir. DREW Hm! There--ah, ha! I thought so! Papers--papers--I thought as much--bring the light nearer! Hm--what's this? Some foreign tongue--Ah! Latin. Who would have expected a rebel to know Latin? HALE I am a schoolmaster, sir. DREW Aye, and a spy as well--as these notes prove. HALE Can you read them? DREW