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(in front of fire)

She knew what I was doin’ for her too; you could tell by the way she looked at me! She ’ll be all right, poor old critter. I remember her when she was a colt, year before I went to high school.

[Jane crosses into room, shutting the dining-room door after her.

You like animals, don’t you, Ben?

(surprised)

I don’t know. I don’t like to see ’em suffer.

Why?

I guess it ’s mostly because they ain’t to blame for it. I mean what comes to ’em ain’t their fault. If a woman thinks she’s sick, ’til she gets sick, that ’s her business. If a man gets drunk, or eats like a hog, he ’s got to pay for it, and he ought to. Animals live cleaner than we do anyhow—and when you do anything for ’em they ’ve got gratitude. Folks have n’t.

Hand me that sewing basket, Ben.

[''She has seated herself at left center by table. Ben at left of table, hands her the basket as she picks up some sewing''.

It ’s funny, but except for a dog or two, I don’t remember carin’ nothin’ for any of the live things, when I lived here I mean.

I guess that ’s because you did n’t do much for them.