Books: Hadda Padda
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Godmunder Kamban >> Hadda Padda
INGOLF [_gets up, walks out to the brink, and looks down into the
gorge_]. Did you look everywhere possible?
STEINDOR. I did.
INGOLF. So did I. But it is very dark in some places, and there
are so many holes. Did you look in the holes?
STEINDOR. Well, I wasn't going to crawl into every pit--that would
be an endless job. Besides, I think it serves these women right,
once in a while, to have themselves to blame. It teaches them to
take better care next time.
INGOLF. Don't speak to any one about it. She asked me not to tell
anybody. I wouldn't have told you, if I'd had any luck in my
search. But I thought perhaps you might be able to find them.
STEINDOR. You told the family that you had lost your diamond ring.
INGOLF. Yes, then we will say we have found it. [_Looks down into
the gorge._] How uncanny it looks down there! It is as if the fog
were shunning the gully, so inky black! ... See how sombre the
ravine looks!
STEINDOR [_gets up, and walks out on the brink_].
INGOLF. It looks uncanny down there! [_Warning him._] Don't go too
near the edge.
STEINDOR [_laughing_]. Steindor can take care of himself!
INGOLF. Have you ever fallen, Steindor?
STEINDOR. Oh, well, I've had my share of that.
INGOLF. How did it affect you?
STEINDOR. I don't wish myself a better death, if the fall is high
enough. One winter I was going over a gully, clogged with a frozen
snow-pile. I had to pass it; so I forced my stick down into the
pile, and leaped over it. I tried to pull it out as I came over,
but it stuck tight, and threw me backwards. I knew nothing more,
until I woke up at the foot of the rocks, and saw the blood stains
on the snow. I had scratched myself on the edge as I grazed over
it.
INGOLF. And otherwise you got off alright?
STEINDOR. Quite alright. I landed on the soft snow. Had it been
rocky below, I would have died instantly. Since that day, I say
falling from a height isn't the worst death. You lose all
consciousness in falling.
INGOLF. To fall from here would be horrible.
STEINDOR. It's more horrible thinking about it than anything else.
INGOLF. It would be quite a fall.
STEINDOR. Oh, yes--I think you would get your fill.
INGOLF. Here, take the rope, Steindor. Let us go.
STEINDOR [looking around]. Some one is coming up along the ravine.
INGOLF. Where?
STEINDOR. There--why, it's Hrafnhild. She is nearly here now.
INGOLF. What is she carrying over her shoulder?
STEINDOR. It looks like a spade.
INGOLF. Come, let's go and meet her. [They take a few steps.]
HANNA PADDA [is heard calling]. Wait!
INGOLF. What do you think she wants with a spade?
HADDA PADDA [is heard calling, almost out of breath]. I wanted to
catch you before you went down. [Enters.] There was nobody else at
home to bring the spade, so I offered to do it.
INGOLF. Did you tell mother we were coming here?
HADDA PADDA. She asked. She saw you walk up the mountain. I told
her you had lost your diamond ring in the gorge, and you and
Steindor were going down to look for it.
INGOLF. Did she send you with the spade?
HADDA PADDA. No, she said, that if she had known it, she would
have asked you to take a spade along, and get some angelicas for
the garden. That is why I followed you. [Walks out and drives the
spade in the ground.] Have you been down already?
INGOLF. Yes, we have.
HADDA PADDA. Did you find your diamond ring?
INGOLF. We did not find your pearls.--Yes, I had to tell
Steindor. I went down first and searched very carefully; then I
asked Steindor to go down,--I thought he might have better luck.
STEINDOR. They will never be found.
HADDA PADDA. They MUST be found; they SHALL be found.
INGOLF[looks questioningly into her eyes]. Are you sure they did
not fall beyond that lowest rock? [Points in the direction.]
HADDA PADDA [eagerly, and returning his glance calmly]. No, no. I
saw them fall, just by the big stone. You haven't looked carefully
enough. It has really taken you no time at all.
INGOLF. I hunted for them everywhere, as if I were searching for a
needle.
STEINDOR. I can't search any better than I have,
HADDA PADDA. Then it is due to the fog. Probably I have to wait
till later ... No, I can't go home without them.
STEINDOR. The fog is not so dense, that they couldn't be found on
its account. You can see all around, down in the gorge. Just look!
HADDA PADDA [walks out to the edge, looks down, turns round
abruptly]. Did you search in the pool near the big stone? It might
have fallen there.
STEINDOR. I took a look at it, but I didn't see anything.
INGOLF. I would have seen them glitter in the water, if they were
there.
HADDA PADDA. Glitter in the water! And the pool covered with duck-
weed! So that's how you searched!--Did you look all through the
duck-weed, did you fish it out of the pond, to see if the pearls
were hidden in it?
INGOLF. No, I didn't do that.
STEINDOR. No, it may be possible--
HADDA PADDA. Yes, it is possible, to be sure. Hundreds of women
might have lost their pearls down there, without your having found
them.
STEINDOR. No, I think you are the only one...
HADDA PADDA [turns quickly toward Ingolf]. What do you think
mother will say when she hears that I have lost the heirloom?--
[Resolutely.] Men never can find anything, men do not understand
how to search. [Tears the rope from Steindor.] I had better go
down myself.
INGOLF. You don't really intend to go down?
HADDA PADDA [ties one end around her waist]. I intend to do what I
can to find my lost treasure again. STEINDOR. You will not go far,
I think, before you ask us to pull you up.
HADDA PADDA. I have been lowered into this gorge before.
INGOLF [takes the loose end]. I forbid you to go down, Hrafnhild.
HADDA PADDA. You forbid me? ... I forbid you to touch this rope.
Or, shall we see who is stronger? [pulls the rope.]
INGOLF [coming nearer to her, he lets the rope slip] I know what
you are thinking, Hrafnhild. You want us to go down again, and you
know this is the only way you can get us to do it.
HADDA PADDA. Do you think I am afraid to go down? It would only
give me joy. And if you didn't find the pearls, when you looked
for them the second time, I would go down, anyhow. I would never
be at rest until I had searched myself. (Ingolf lets go of the
rope, takes Steindor aside--he nods. They both look at Hrafnhild
while she fastens the rope around her waist more securely.)
INGOLF. What are you going to do now?
HADDA PADDA (having finished tying the knot, holds the rope out to
them). Will you hold the rope while I go down?
INGOLF. No, I won't.
STEINDOR. I won't either.
HADDA PADDA (bites her lips, stares at the men). Go on home!
(Starts to wind up the rope.) I don't need you. You think I can't
do without you? You think the mountain hasn't stones heavy enough
to keep me up? (Runs away, and disappears toward the mountain.)
INGOLF. I don't remember exactly--it's quite impossible to enter
the gorge from below, isn't it?
STEINDOR. So far, only the birds have that privilege. It's a
headlong precipice on three sides!
INGOLF. I won't let Hrafnhild go down.
STEINDOR. She says she has gone down in the gorge before. Is that
true?
INGOLF (nods reluctantly). Yes.
STEINDOR. When was that?
INGOLF. Last summer.
STEINDOR. Did you hold the rope?
INGOLF. I did.
STEINDOR. Well, then I don't know what you are afraid of.
INGOLF. It seems strange that Hrafnhild should come up here.
STEINDOR. She came with the spade.
INGOLF. It seems strange we didn't find the pearls, if they were
in the gorge.
STEINDOR. She'll be lucky if they are ever found.
INGOLF. It seems strange that she dropped them. When I saw that
she herself was coming here, it flashed across my mind, that she
hadn't dropped the pearls in the gorge after all.
STEINDOR. I don't understand--what are you driving at? Do you
think it is something she invented? Why should she?
INGOLF. I am afraid to let her go down.
HADDA PADDA [enters with a large stone in her arms which she
places on the edge. She has the coil of rope thrown over her
shoulder. Laughs]. So you haven't gone yet! [Takes the spade and
starts to dig.] Don't you think I can do without you now? I will
dig a deep, deep hole. Then I'll tie one end of the rope around
the stone, and place it into the hole.--Then I'll go and get more
stones up in the mountain and pile them up. You will see how well
it will hold.
INGOLF [examining the stone]. So you think it will hold? Well--
[Takes the stone and flings it into the ravine.]
HADDA PADDA [smiling, she looks at Ingolf]. I shall take better
care next time. [Running away, Ingolf and Steindor look after
her.]
STEINDOR. She is determined to go down.
INGOLF. I will offer to go down again. Let us both offer to go
down.
STEINDOR. She said she would go down anyhow, if we didn't find the
pearls.
INGOLF. Just look how fast she is running! She is holding her hand
to her breast.
STEINDOR. Now she is stopping ... She is lifting a stone ... Now
she has thrown it away.
INGOLF. She runs without stopping.
STEINDOR. Now she has found a new stone.
INGOLF. She is bending over it. What is she doing?
STEINDOR. She is tying the rope around it. She won't let you hurl
this one over,
INGOLF. She is lifting the stone, and carrying it in her arms.
STEINDOR. She is strong, Hrafnhild is. Now she is running with it.
INGOLF. See how the earth is slipping from under her feet. See how
the pebbles pursue her! She is running away from them with the big
stone. She is holding it in her arms as if it were a child she
were rescuing.
HADDA PADDA [enters, carrying the stone which she cautiously
places on the edge. Smiles]. You haven't gone yet! What are you
waiting for? [Takes the spade, and starts to deepen the hole.]
INGOLF. Steindor and I will go down for you. We will search as
thoroughly as possible.
HADDA PADDA. You are kind. But now I will let nothing prevent me
from going down. Had you offered to do so before, I would have
accepted; but when you say you forbid me to go down, I intend to
go. [Steindor walks restlessly near the edge.]
INGOLF. You know that we can prevent you from going down.
HADDA PADDA. You can--how?
INGOLF. We can take the rope from you and go home.
HADDA PADDA. Yes--you can do that. [Turns away.]
INGOLF. What would you do then?
HADDA PADDA [in same position]. Go home and get another rope.
INGOLF. Don't be so obstinate, Hrafnhild.
HADDA PADDA [in a low voice]. Why don't you call me by my pretty
name any more? We aren't enemies. Promise to call me Hadda Padda
always. When I leave to-day, when I mount my horse, and ride away,
wave your hat to me and call: Good-bye, Hadda Padda.
INGOLF. Are you determined to go to-day?
HADDA PADDA. Determined. [Rolls the stone into the hole, takes it
up again, and digs deeper.]
INGOLF. You won't accept our offer?
HADDA PADDA. No, I won't.
INGOLF. Then stop your digging. It is useless.
HADDA PADDA [looks at him, puzzled].
INGOLF. You must understand that we will not stand by, and let you
go down with only a loose stone to hold you up.
HADDA PADDA. True, I wouldn't be as nervous, if I knew you were
holding the rope. [Puts the spade aside, and looks down into the
gorge.]
INGOLF [unties the rope from the stone].
HADDA PADDA. I don't know whether I dare go down, Ingolf.
INGOLF. Don't go--give it up.
HADDA PADDA. I never saw the gorge so hushed. How it stretches its
cold, greedy stone-fingers into the air!--But imagine my finding
the pearls! [Determined.] I must go down. Is the rope safe?
STEINDOR [standing near them]. Even if there were three Hadda
Paddas--
HADDA PADDA. Ingolf! I am not afraid to be lowered down by your
hands. [Lies down with her feet over the edge.]
STEINDOR. There are others beside Ingolf, to be sure, who could
hold up one woman.
INGOLF. I hate to see you go down.
HADDA PADDA [is silent for an instant, turns abruptly around,
looks down the gorge, gets up and takes the spade]. You aren't
sitting safely, Ingolf. I will deepen the hole, so that you can
have something to push your feet against. [Digs.]
STEINDOR. [with an amused smile]. You believe you are heavier than
you are, Hadda Padda.
INGOLF. I ask you once again, to give up the idea.
HADDA PADDA. Are you afraid you will lose me?
INGOLF. You can spare your scoffing.
HADDA PADDA. I am not scoffing. I'm the one who is afraid. You are
not so strong as you pretend. Steindor, will you hold the rope
with him?
INGOLF. You don't have to sneer at me. [At his glance, Steindor
turns away.]
HADDA PADDA. Now set your feet securely, Ingolf, and both of you
hold the rope. Do that for me, and I'll go down quite fearlessly.
INGOLF. Well, we will both hold the rope. [Steindor sits down,
catching the rope too.]
HADDA PADDA. Now I am safe. [Disappears below the edge. The rope
is seen sliding slowly and firmly through their hands.]
INGOLF [pushing Steindor away]. Get up! I won't accept an affront
like this--not to let me hold the rope alone! Get up and keep an
eye on her,--but don't let her see you. [Steindor gets up. The
rope slides down for a time.]
THE VOICE OF HADDA PADDA. Ingolf!
INGOLF. Well? [Stops the rope.]
THE VOICE OF HADDA PADDA. Are you both holding the rope?
INGOLF. Yes.
THE VOICE OF HADDA PADDA. Tell me the truth, Ingolf.
INGOLF. We are both holding the rope.
THE VOICE OF HADDA PADDA. Tell me the truth. Is Steindor holding
the rope?
INGOLF [to Steindor]. You have let her see you.
STEINDOR. No, no!
THE VOICE OF HADDA PADDA. Why did you deceive me, Ingolf! Pull me
up! [Ingolf pulls up the rope.]
HADDA PADDA [reappears over the edge]. Why did you deceive me?
INGOLF. I felt ashamed to hold the rope with some one else.
HADDA PADDA. The idea flashed upon me. That is why I called. I
knew your pride. But suddenly I grew nervous. I seemed so far from
all human life. Since you don't want Steindor to hold the rope, he
must stand some place where I can always see him. Steindor, stand
where I can see you. Now and then you'll call to me. You'll just
call: Hadda Padda! and I will answer: Yes. Then we will get word
from each other. Here, on the edge, you can see me--[points to the
farther edge]--down there on the ledge, I can see you perfectly.
INGOLF. Yes, do that, Steindor.
STEINDOR. Alright. [Goes there.]
HADDA PADDA. Why don't you place your feet in the hole, so that
you will sit more securely?
INGOLF. Are you afraid I'm sitting too near the edge?
HADDA PADDA [takes the end of the rope]. There is no knot on the
end. Fancy, if the rope slipped out of your hands. [Ties a knot in
it.]
INGOLF. Why are you so frightened?
HADDA PADDA. I don't know....It wasn't fair to prevent Steindor
from holding the rope with you.
INGOLF. If you are so afraid, of course we will both hold the
rope.
HADDA PADDA. I don't know....Oh--no, hold it alone. I also want to
see some one, to see him stand there, and hear him call to me.
INGOLF. I prefer that.
HADDA PADDA. But now if it should slip from you--! If you open
your hand a hair's breadth too much, you will lose the rope! [She
starts with a shudder.]
INGOLF. I shall let the rope slide over my shoulder--will you be
more at ease then?
Act IV
HADDA PADDA. If you tie it around your waist, so that it will be
impossible for you to let go of me--then I will be at ease.
INGOLF (gazes intently at her, as if to penetrate the mysterious
veil which envelopes her manner, her words, and her actions.
Suddenly he grasps the end of the rope and ties it around his
waist).
HADDA PADDA [sits down on the edge]. I nearly forgot the spade. I
will dig up an angelica, and take it along with me. (Disappears
below the edge. The rope slides for a time.)
INGOLF. You can see her, Steindor?
STEINDOR. She is like an expert rope-climber. She is keeping
herself from the rock with the spade.
INGOLF. Don't lose sight of her. Tell me how she is getting along.
STEINDOR. I am not anxious about her going down. Now she is about
passing the ledge. There, now you can let the rope slide quicker.
INGOLF. It is strange how the rope slides out of my hands. It is
as if a living worm were boring out through them.
STEINDOR (calls). Hadda Padda!
THE VOICE OF HADDA PADDA. Yes.
STEINDOR. She is flying down ... Now the rope is turning ... It is
strange to see some one else lowered down.
INGOLF. Is it still turning?
STEINDOR. Now it is turning to the other side.--Hadda Padda!
THE VOICE OF HADDA PADDA (just audible). Yes.
STEINDOR. Lower her faster, it amuses her. She waved her hand to
me.
INGOLF. She waved her hand to you?
STEINDOR. Oh, she lost the spade.
INGOLF. She lost the spade! Didn't she throw it?
STEINDOR. I think she lost it.
Act IV
INGOLF. What is she doing now?
STEINDOR. I can't see.
INGOLF. Is she doing anything?--It isn't possible. Has she a long
way left? (Gives the rope as quickly as possible.)
STEINDOR. No.--Hadda Padda!
INGOLF. Now I don't hear her answer.
STEINDOR. Nor I. (Calls louder.) Hadda Padda! (Listens.)
INGOLF. Do you hear her answer?
STEINDOR. No ... Yes, yes, now she has heard--she is waving--she
is waving with both hands.
INGOLF. Good--she is alright then.
STEINDOR. Now I think she is down!
INGOLF. The rope does not slacken--
STEINDOR. I don't see her moving any more.
INGOLF [as the rope slackens]. Well, now she is down! Do you see
her?
STEINDOR. She just picked up the spade. Now she is going with it
way under the rock.
INGOLF (He holds the rope so loosely, that it runs freely through
his fingers). She evidently intends to dig up some angelica before
searching.
STEINDOR. The rope is dragging along with her, she has not untied
it.
INGOLF. Do you see her?
STEINDOR. No.
INGOLF. Let us wait calmly. (Rests his chin in his palm.)
INGOLF. Do you see her?
STEINDOR. No.
INGOLF. I wish she would come out soon.
INGOLF. Do you see her?
STEINDOR. No.
INGOLF. I can't understand what is keeping her so long.
STEINDOR. You couldn't expect her any sooner. (Peers down.) She
has just come from under the rock. She has an angelica with her.
INGOLF. She is jerking the rope--she jerked three times.
STEINDOR. She tied the spade and angelica to the rope. Pull it up!
(INGOLF pulls the rope up quickly.)
STEINDOR. Now she is going to look for the pearls.
INGOLF (The fear and anxiety seen on his face all this time give
place to a more cheerful expression). Now we can be at ease. Who
knows, maybe she will find the pearls!
STEINDOR. She is searching in the pool. She is pulling out the
duck-weed.
INGOLF (draws the spade and angelica up over the edge, loosens the
rope, coils it up, and throws it down again).
STEINDOR. She is walking around the pool. Now she has turned her
back to me. I can't see--I think she is looking around ... she is
bending over the pool.
INGOLF. Now I am at ease--
STEINDOR. Now she jumped up! She is raising her arms--she is
waving the pearls at me!
INGOLF. Bravo, bravo!
STEINDOR. It was just a piece of luck!--Now she is tying the rope
around herself.--
INGOLF. She just pulled,--now I'll be quick about it. (Starts
pulling.)
STEINDOR (after a while). It looks as if she were sleeping on the
rope.
INGOLF. What?
STEINDOR. Her body is relaxed ... Should I call to her?
INGOLF. No, don't disturb her. I know the pleasure of cleaving the
air with closed eyes.
STEINDOR. Now she starts ... now she seems to be at rest again.
She is crouching like one who is cold in bed.
INGOLF. Tell me when we reach the ledge.
STEINDOR. There isn't much left now. Aren't you tired pulling?
INGOLF. Not very.
STEINDOR (smiling). You will show your sweetheart how strong you
are.
INGOLF. Aren't we at the ledge yet?
STEINDOR. Not quite.
INGOLF (pulling on).
STEINDOR. She looks strange now. She is grasping the rope firmly--
she is cringing. She looks like a spider winding her way up,
THE VOICE OF HADDA PADDA. Ingolf!
INGOLF. Well!
THE VOICE OP HADDA PADDA. I will rest on the ledge.
INGOLF (continues pulling). You will be up soon!
THE VOICE OF HADDA PADDA. No, no, Ingolf! The rope is too tight.--
You must not pull like that.--The rope hurts me so under my
breast. (The rope relaxed; Ingolf stops pulling.)
STEINDOR (motions to him). You must hold the rope tight, so that
she can raise herself up to the ledge.--Well, now she is there!
INGOLF. What is she doing?
STEINDOR. She is sitting down ... she is adjusting the rope around
her waist ... or, what ... yes, she has untied it.
THE VOICE OP HADDA PADDA. You need not stay here any longer,
Steindor. I am not afraid any more.
STEINDOR. I am very comfortable here.
THE VOICE OF HADDA PADDA (She is heard laughing). Shall I stone
the raven away from his nest? Beware, you blackbird! (A small
stone flies through the air, and falls down near Steindor. He
starts.)
THE VOICE OF HADDA PADDA. Were you afraid of the stone?
STEINDOR. I think it an unnecessary joke!
THE VOICE OF HADDA PADDA. Ha! Ha! Did you think I would stone you?
It is fun to scare you! Shall I try to hit you with the rope?--
Ingolf, let the rope go, please. I will try to hit Steindor with
it--he is deathly afraid.
STEINDOR (who now wants to show that he understands the joke). I
wager you won't reach me.
INGOLF. I bet she hits you.
THE VOICE OF HADDA PADDA. I would have hit before, if the rope
hadn't been too short.
STEINDOR. No, you never would have done it--you have to aim better
than that!
THE VOICE OF HADDA PADDA. The rope was too short.
STEINDOR. It's easy to lengthen it. Ingolf! Give her full rope.
Let us see if she can hit me!
INGOLF (laughing). You must take care, Steindor! (He holds the
rope loosely in his hands. Gradually it is pulled down entirely,
till it is in a straight line with Ingolf's waist. Soon after the
rope-end is seen hitting against the edge, touching Steindor's
foot.) THE VOICE OF HADDA PADDA. Didn't it hit?
STEINDOR. Well, we can call it that.
INGOLF. You have to be careful, next time, Steindor!
STEINDOR. What! Won't you try any more? Are you tying the rope
around you?
INGOLF. Is she rested?
STEINDOR. She is tying the rope around her and is lowering herself
down under the ledge.
INGOLF (looks at him in astonishment). What are you saying?
STEINDOR. But why has she made the rope so taut? (He is amazed.)
INGOLF. What is the matter?
STEINDOR. Hadda Padda is standing on her head in the air.
INGOLF ...?
STEINDOR. She is bracing her feet against the rock. Look out!
(Ingolf braces his feet against the sides of the hole. Steindor
gets up.)
INGOLF. Stay where you are, and tell me--I'll raise her up in a
moment, [He pulls the rope with all his strength. A moment later
he is dragged prostrate, out to the edge.]
STEINDOR (runs to him, catching hold of him). Great God! Is she
insane? I wouldn't have suspected this.
INGOLF (in a low voice). Where does she get that strength from?
(The rope is pulled still more violently than before; they are
both dragged forward. Ingolf rolls on his back, using all his
power to draw up the rope.)
INGOLF. Loosen the rope, quick! Ill try to hold on. (Steindor
hurries to loosen the rope. While he is doing it, Ingolf struggles
to hold fast. Now he is holding his arms high up in the air, rope
in hand; now his arms are pulled down. Each time Steindor thinks
he is on the verge of giving up, he lets go of the rope, and
catches hold of Ingolf.)
STEINDOR. Now it is free! (Supports Ingolf. The rope is once more
pulled so violently, that it is drawn through Ingolf's hands right
up to the knot. He holds on to the rope beyond the knot as for
life, while they are both dragged further forward.)
STEINDOR (frightened). You must let go of the rope. That's all you
can do. It is better that she falls alone, than that she drag both
of us with her. You must let go. Or I'll let go.
INGOLF (looking directly at him). Let go, then, you coward!
STEINDOR. Why did you want me to untie the rope, if you intend to
make her drag you down?
INGOLF (with icy calmness). Have you courage to hold me while I
try to get up? (Gets up.)
STEINDOR (still supporting him). She is probably exhausted, now.
INGOLF (starts to pull the rope up. He is bare-headed, his hat is
lying on the edge; his hair is wet with perspiration, which
trickles down on his face. The very shape of his head seems
strangely altered.) Leave me, Steindor, I am through with you.
STEINDOR. I won't stand here idle, and see you dragged into the
chasm.
INGOLF. Get out of my sight, do you hear? Or you'll see what's in
store for you.
STEINDOR. She's mad, I tell you--she's mad. (Takes a few steps and
stops.)
Ingolf pulls the rope up, quickly, and firmly, with caution in
each grasp. Hadda Padda's white and beautiful hand appears above
the edge of the gorge, holding a large, shining knife, which cuts
the rope.
HADDA PADDA (in falling). Ingolf!
INGOLF (is thrown back as the resistance is cut off; he jumps up;
rushes to the edge, crying with horror): Hadda Padda!
He gazes down into the gorge for a moment; his knees give way
under him; he stretches up his arms, uttering a terrible cry of
horror.
Steindor approaches.
Ingolf looks down into the gorge. Listlessly, he lifts the hand
which holds the fragment of rope. His eyes are dim with tears
which do not fall. Through the moisture of the tears, he looks at
the newly cut wound in the rope.