Page:The collected works of Henrik Ibsen (Volume 11).djvu/166



Oh, it's not that bell I mean. All day I have heard it ringing in my ears.—Now it is ringing again!

[Going up to her.] You are mistaken, Rita.

No, I hear it so plainly. It sounds like a knell. Slow. Slow. And always the same words.

Words? What words?

[Nodding her head in the rhythm.] "The crútch is—flóating. The crútch is—flóating." Oh, surely you must hear it, too!

[Shaking his head.] I hear nothing. And there is nothing to hear.

Oh, you may say what you will—I hear it so plainly.

[Looking out over the railing.] Now they are on board, Rita. Now the steamer is on her way to the town.

Is it possible you do not hear it? "The crútch is—flóating. The crútch is"