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12. Leave you with—

. Please! My friend and I can talk more—freely then.

. What's that? Leave us. Yes, yes, leave us. Good night. I want to talk to the Bishop. The Bishop. Ha! ha! (laughs as he drinks and coughs)

. Good night, Persomé. (he holds the door open and she goes out R. holding in her skirts as she passes the ).

. (chuckling to himself) The Bishop. Ha! ha! Well I'm—(suddenly very loudly) D'you know what I am?

. I think one who has suffered much.

. Suffered (puzzled) suffered? My God, yes. (drinks) But that's a long time ago. Ha! ha! That was when I was a man, now I'm not a man; now I'm a number: number 15729 and I've lived in Hell for ten years.

. Tell me about it—about Hell.

. Why? (suspiciously) Do you want to tell the police—to set them on my track.

. No! I will not tell the police.

(looks at him earnestly) I believe you (scratching his head), but damn me if I know why.

. (laying his hand on the arm) Tell me about the time—the time before you went to—Hell.

. It's so long ago I forgot but I had a little cottage, there were vines growing on it (dreamily) they looked pretty with the evening sun on them and, and—there was a woman—she was (thinking hard)—she must have been my wife—yes. (suddenly and very rapidly) Yes, I remember! she was ill, we had no food, I could get no work, it was a bad year, and my wife, my Jeanette was ill, dying (pause) so I stole to buy