Reynolds. Is the Dean still in his office?

 

 

 

 

LAURA

 

 

What's the matter, Bill?

 

 

 

 

BILL

 

 

Nothing very pretty. Oh? How long ago? All right. Thanks. I'll give him a couple of minutes, then I'll call him home.

 

 

(Hangs up)

 

 

Well, they finally caught up with Harris.

 

 

(He goes into the next room to take off his iacket.)

 

 

 

 

LAURA

 

 

What do you mean, "caught up" with him?

 

 

 

 

BILL (Off stage)

 

 

You're going to hear it anyhow . . . so . . . last Saturday they caught him down in the dunes, naked.

 

 

 

 

LAURA (Crosses to close door to hall)

 

 

What's wrong with that?

 

 

 

 

BILL (Enters and crosses to fireplace and starts to go through letters propped there. He has taken off his jacket)

 

 

He wasn't alone.

 

 

 

 

LAURA

 

 

Oh.

 

 

 

 

BILL

 

 

He was lying there naked in the dunes, and one of the students was lying there naked too. Just to talk about it is disgusting.

 

 

 

 

LAURA

 

 

I see.

 

 

 

 

BILL

 

 

I guess you'll admit that's something.

 

 

 

 

LAURA

 

 

I can't see that it's necessarily conclusive.

 

 

 

 

BILL

 

 

With a man like Harris, it's conclusive enough.

 

 

(Then casually)

 

 

The student with him was --

 

 

 

 

LAURA (Interrupting)

 

 

I'm not sure I care to know.

 

 

 

 

BILL

 

 

I'm afraid you're going to have to know sooner or later, Laura. It was Tom Lee.

 

 

(TOM rises from bed, grabs a towel and goes out up the stairs. LAURA just looks at BILL and frowns.)

 

 

 

 

BILL

 

 

Some of the boys down on the Varsity Club outing came on them . . . or at least saw them . . . And Fin Hadley saw them too, and he apparently used his brains for once and spoke to the Dean.

 

 

 

 

LAURA

 

 

And?

 

 

 

 

BILL

 

 

He's had Harris on the carpet this aftemoon. I guess he'll be fired. I certainly hope so. Maybe Tom too, I don't know.

 

 

 

 

LAURA

 

 

They put two and two together?

 

 

 

 

BILL

 

 

Yes, Laura.

 

 

 

 

LAURA

 

 

I suppose this is all over school by now.

 

 

 

 

BILL

 

 

I'm afraid so.

 

 

 

 

LAURA

 

 

And most of the boys know.

 

 

 

 

BILL

 

 

Yes.

 

 

 

 

LAURA

 

 

So what's going to happen to Tom?

 

 

 

 

BILL (Takes pipe from mantelpiece and cleans it)

 

 

I know you won't like this, Laura, but I think he should be kicked out. I think you've got to let people know the school doesn't stand for even a hint of this sort of thing. He should be booted.

 

 

 

 

LAURA

 

 

For what?

 

 

 

 

BILL

 

 

Look, a boy's caught coming out of Ellie Martin's rooms across the river. That's enough evidence. Nobody asks particulars. They don't go to Ellie's rooms to play Canasta. It's the same here.

 

 

 

 

LAURA (Hardly daring to suggest it)

 

 

But, Bill . . . you don't think . . .