and when he’s through, they’ll put John Gresham where he won’t be able to hurt anybody for a while. Wasn’t satisfied with underpaying his employees; had to rob his depositors! Serves him jolly well right! ( There is the click of a latchkey outside.
Evie makes for the door. ) JOHN : Hullo, Dad! BALDWIN : How are you, my boy? ( He shakes hands with John .) Evie… ( He kisses her .) JOHN : Well Dad?
Don’t you think it’s about time you told us something? BALDWIN : Told you something? I don’t understand, John. JOHN : People have been talking about you – saying things – 12th - - Page BALDWIN : What kind of things, John?
JOHN : You can imagine; rotten things. And I couldn’t contradict them. BALDWIN : Why not, John? JOHN : Because I didn’t know.
BALDWIN : Did you have to know? Wasn’t it enough that you knew your father? JOHN : [ after a pause ] I beg your pardon, Sir. BALDWIN : It was only a day before the smash-up that I found out what Gresham was doing.
( He pauses. They are listening intently .) I told him he would have to make good. He said he couldn’t… EVIE : And what happened? BALDWIN : I told him he would have to do the best he could–and the first step would be to close the bank.
He didn’t want to do that. MARTHA : But he did it. BALDWIN : I made him do it. He was angry–very angry, but I had the whip hand.
EVIE : The papers didn’t mention that. BALDWIN : I didn’t think it was necessary to tell them. MARTHA : But you let your name rest under a cloud meanwhile. Let’s understand better: Another senior member of the bank, Baldwin, father of John and Evie, and husband of Martha, is however believed to be honest.
BALDWIN : It will be cleared tomorrow, won’t it? ( He pauses ) Today Gresham sent for me. The trial begins in twenty-four hours. I’m the