Don't you feel nervous?
MR. Y. [Cautiously] I?--A little.
MR. X. Well, for that matter, you always look as if you were
expecting thunderstorms.
MR. Y. [With a start] Do I?
MR. X. Now, you are going away tomorrow, of course, so it is not
to be wondered at that you are a little "journey-proud."--
Anything new?--Oh, there's the mail! [Picks up some letters from
the table] My, I have palpitation of the heart every time I open a
letter! Nothing but debts, debts, debts! Have you ever had any
debts?
MR. Y. [After some reflection] N-no.
MR. X. Well, then you don't know what it means to receive a lot of
overdue bills. [Reads one of the letters] The rent unpaid--the
landlord acting nasty--my wife in despair. And here am I sitting
waist-high in gold! [He opens an iron-banded box that stands on
the table; then both sit down at the table, facing each other]
Just look--here I have six thousand crowns' worth of gold which I
have dug up in the last fortnight. This bracelet alone would bring
me the three hundred and fifty crowns I need. And with all of it I
might make a fine career for myself. Then I could get the
illustrations made for my treatise at once; I could get my work
printed, and--I could travel! Why don't I do it, do you suppose?
MR.
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