The Complete Dramatic Works (19 page)

[
Pause.
He
looks
at
NELL
who
has
remained
impassive,
her
eyes
unseeing,
breaks
into
a
high
forced
laugh,
cuts
it
short,
pokes
his
head
towards
NELL
,
launches
his
laugh
again.
]

HAMM:
Silence!

[
NAGG
starts,
cuts
short
his
laugh.
]

NELL:
You could see down to the bottom.

HAMM:
[
Exasperated.
]
Have you not finished? Will you never finish? [
With
sudden
fury.
]
Will this never finish? [
NAGG
 
disappears
into
his
bin,
closes
the
lid
behind
him.
NELL
 
does
not
move.
Frenziedly.
] My kingdom for a nightman! [
He
whistles.
Enter
CLOV
.] Clear away this muck! Chuck it in the sea! [
CLOV
goes
to
bins,
halts.
]

NELL:
So white.

HAMM:
What? What’s she blathering about?

[
CLOV
stoops,
takes
NELL
’
s
hand,
feels
her
pulse.
]

NELL:
[
To
CLOV
.] Desert!

[
CLOV
lets
go
her
hand,
pushes
her
back
in
the
bin,
closes
the
lid.
]

CLOV:
[
Returning
to
his
place
beside
the
chair.
]
She has no pulse.

HAMM:
What was she drivelling about?

CLOV:
She told me to go away, into the desert.

HAMM:
Damn busybody! Is that all?

CLOV:
No.

HAMM:
What else?

CLOV:
I didn’t understand.

HAMM:
Have you bottled her?

CLOV:
Yes.

HAMM:
Are they both bottled?

CLOV:
Yes.

HAMM:
Screw down the lids, [
CLOV
goes
towards
door.
]
Time enough, [
CLOV
halts.
]
My anger subsides, I’d like to pee.

CLOV:
[
With
alacrity.
] I’ll go and get the catheter.

[
He
goes
towards
the
door.
]

HAMM:
Time enough, [
CLOV
halts.
]
Give me my
pain-killer
.

CLOV:
It’s too soon. [
Pause.
]
It’s too soon on top of your tonic, it wouldn’t act.

HAMM:
In the morning they brace you up and in the evening they calm you down. Unless it’s
the other way round. [
Pause.
]
That old doctor, he’s dead, naturally?

CLOV:
He wasn’t old.

HAMM:
But he’s dead?

CLOV:
Naturally. [
Pause.
]
You
ask
me
that?

[
Pause.
]

HAMM:
Take me for a little turn, [
CLOV
goes
behind
the
chair
and
pushes
it
forward.
]
Not too fast! [
CLOV
pushes
chair:
] Right round the world! [
CLOV
pushes
chair.
]
Hug the walls, then back to the centre again. [
CLOV
pushes
chair.
]
I was right in the centre, wasn’t I?

CLOV:
[
Pushing.
]
Yes.

HAMM:
We’d need a proper wheel-chair. With big wheels. Bicycle wheels! [
Pause.
]
Are you hugging?

CLOV:
[
Pushing.
]
Yes.

HAMM:
[
Groping
for
wall.
]
It’s a lie! Why do you lie to me?

CLOV:
[
Bearing
closer
to
wall.
] There! There!

HAMM:
Stop! [
CLOV
stops
chair
close
to
back
wall.
HAMM
lays
his
hand
against
wall.
]
Old wall! [
Pause.
]
Beyond is the … other hell. [
Pause.
Violently.
]
Closer! Closer! Up against!

CLOV:
Take away your hand. [
HAMM
withdraws
his
hand.
CLOV
rams
chair
against
wall.
]
There!

[
HAMM
leans
towards
wall,
applies
his
ear
to
it.
]

HAMM:
Do you hear? [
He
strikes
the
wall
with
his
knuckles.
] Do you hear? Hollow bricks! [
He
strikes
again.
]
All that’s hollow! [
Pause.
He
straightens
up.
Violently.
]
That’s enough. Back!

CLOV:
We haven’t done the round.

HAMM:
Back to my place! [
CLOV
pushes
chair
back
to
centre.
] Is that my place?

CLOV:
Yes, that’s your place.

HAMM:
Am I right in the centre?

CLOV:
I’ll measure it.

HAMM:
More or less! More or less!

CLOV:
[
Moving
chair
slightly.
] There!

HAMM:
I’m more or less in the centre?

CLOV:
I’d say so.

HAMM:
You’d say so! Put me right in the centre!

CLOV:
I’ll go and get the tape.

HAMM:
Roughly! Roughly! [
CLOV
moves
chair
slightly.
]
Bang in the centre!

CLOV:
There!

[
Pause.
]

HAMM:
I feel a little too far to the left, [
CLOV
moves
chair
slightly.
]
Now I feel a little too far to the right, [
CLOV
moves
chair
slightly.
]
I feel a little too far forward, [
CLOV
moves
chair
slightly.
]
Now I feel a little too far back. [
CLOV
moves
chair
slightly.
]
Don’t stay there [
i.e.
behind
the
chair
]
,
you give me the shivers.

[
CLOV
returns
to
his
place
beside
the
chair.
]

CLOV:
If I could kill him I’d die happy.

[
Pause.
]

HAMM:
What’s the weather like?

CLOV:
The same as usual.

HAMM:
Look at the earth.

CLOV:
I’ve looked.

HAMM:
With the glass?

CLOV:
No need of the glass.

HAMM:
Look at it with the glass.

CLOV:
I’ll go and get the glass.

[
Exit
CLOV
.]

HAMM:
No need of the glass!

[
Enter
CLOV
with
telescope.
]

CLOV:
I’m back again, with the glass. [
He
goes
to
window
right,
looks
up
at
it.
]
I need the steps.

HAMM:
Why? Have you shrunk? [
Exit
CLOV
with
telescope.
]
I don’t like that, I don’t like that.

[
Enter
CLOV
with
ladder,
but
without
telescope.
]

CLOV:
I’m back again, with the steps. [
He
sets
down
ladder
under
window
right,
gets
up
on
it,
realizes
he
has
not
the
telescope,
gets
down.
]
I need the glass.

[
He
goes
towards
the
door
.]

HAMM:
[
Violently.
]
But you have the glass!

CLOV:
[
Halting,
violently.
]
No I haven’t the glass!

[
Exit
CLOV
.]

HAMM:
This is deadly.

[
Enter
CLOV
with
telescope.
He
goes
towards
ladder.
]

CLOV:
Things are livening up. [
He
gets
up
on
ladder,
raises
the
telescope,
lets
it
fall.
]
I did it on purpose. [
He
gets
down,
picks
up
the
telescope,
turns
it
on
auditorium.
]
I see … a multitude … in transports … of joy. [
Pause.
]
That’s what I call a magnifier. [
He
lowers
the
telescope,
turns
towards
HAMM
.] Well? Don’t we laugh?

HAMM:
[
After
reflection.
]
I don’t.

CLOV:
[
After
reflection.
]
Nor I. [
He
gets
up
on
ladder,
turns
the
telescope
on
the
without.
]
Let’s see. [
He
looks,
moving
the
telescope.
]
Zero … [
he
looks
]
… zero … [
he
looks
] … and zero.

HAMM:
Nothing stirs. All is –

CLOV:
Zer –

HAMM:
[
Violently.
]
Wait till you’re spoken to! [
Normal
voice.
] All is … all is … all is what? [
Violently.
]
All is what?

CLOV:
What all is? In a word? Is that what you want to know? Just a moment. [
He
turns
the
telescope
on
the
without,
looks,
lowers
the
telescope,
turns
towards
HAMM
.] Corpsed. [
Pause.
] Well? Content?

HAMM:
Look at the sea.

CLOV:
It’s the same.

HAMM:
Look at the ocean!

[
CLOV
gets
down,
take
a
few
steps
towards
window
left,
goes
back
for
ladder,
carries
it
over
and
sets
it
down
under
window
left,
gets
up
on
it,
turns
the
telescope
on
the
without,
looks
at
length.
He
starts,
lowers
the
telescope,
examines
it,
turns
it
again
on
the
without.
]

CLOV:
Never seen anything like that!

HAMM:
[
Anxious.
] What? A sail? A fin? Smoke?

CLOV:
[
Looking.
]
The light is sunk.

HAMM:
[
Relieved.
]
Pah! We all knew that.

CLOV:
[
Looking.
]
There was a bit left.