Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays Part 249

[_He makes a sign to a.n.a.lytikos._]

PARIS. And on the s.h.i.+p at night I looked long at the stars and dreamed of possessing Helen.

[_a.n.a.lytikos makes an involuntary movement toward the balcony, but Menelaus stops him._]

PARIS. Desire has been my guiding Mercury; the Fates are with me, and here I am.

a.n.a.lYTIKOS. The wrath of the King will show you no mercy.

PARIS [_nonchalantly_]. I'm not afraid of the King. He's fat, and--a fool.

a.n.a.lYTIKOS. Shall I call the guards?

[_Menelaus stops him._]

MENELAUS [_very significantly_]. So you would give your life for a glimpse of the Queen?

PARIS [_swiftly_]. Yes! My immortal soul, and if the fables tell the truth, the sight will be worth the forfeit.

MENELAUS [_suddenly jumping up_]. It shall be as you wis.h.!.+

PARIS [_buoyantly_]. Venus has smiled on me.

MENELAUS. In there beyond the library you will find a room with a bath.

Wait there till I call you.

PARIS. Is this some trick to catch me?

MENELAUS. A Spartan cannot lie.

PARIS. What will happen to you if the King hears of this?

MENELAUS. I will answer for the king. Go.

[_Paris exits into the library._]

a.n.a.lYTIKOS [_rubbing his hands_]. Shall I order the boiling oil?

MENELAUS [_surprised_]. Oil?

a.n.a.lYTIKOS. Now that he is being cleaned for the sacrifice.

MENELAUS. His torture will be greater than being boiled alive.

a.n.a.lYTIKOS [_eagerly_]. You'll have him hurled from the wall of the palace to a forest of waiting spears below?

MENELAUS. None is so blind as he who sees too much.

a.n.a.lYTIKOS. Your majesty is subtle in his cruelty.

MENELAUS. Haven't the years taught you the cheapness of revenge?

a.n.a.lYTIKOS [_mystified_]. You do not intend to alter destiny.

MENELAUS. Never before has destiny been so clear to me.

a.n.a.lYTIKOS. Then the boy must die.

MENELAUS [_with slow determination_]. No! He has been sent by the G.o.ds to save me!

a.n.a.lYTIKOS. Your majesty!

[_He is trembling with apprehension._]

MENELAUS [_with unbudgeable conviction_]. Helena must elope with him!

a.n.a.lYTIKOS [_falling into a seat_]. Ye G.o.ds!

MENELAUS [_quietly_]. I couldn't divorce the Queen. That would set a bad example.

a.n.a.lYTIKOS. Yes, very.

MENELAUS. I couldn't desert her. That would be beneath my honor.

a.n.a.lYTIKOS [_deeply_]. Was there no other way?

MENELAUS [_pompously_]. The King can do no wrong, and besides I hate the smell of blood. Are you a prophet as well as a scholar? Will she go?

a.n.a.lYTIKOS. To-night I will read the stars.

MENELAUS [_meaningfully_]. By to-night I'll not need you to tell me.

[_a.n.a.lytikos sits deep in thought._] Well?

a.n.a.lYTIKOS. Ethics cite no precedent.

MENELAUS. Do you mean to say I'm not justified?

a.n.a.lYTIKOS [_cogitating_]. Who can establish the punctilious ratio between necessity and desire?

MENELAUS [_beginning to fume_]. This is no time for language. Just put yourself in my place.

a.n.a.lYTIKOS. Being you, how can I judge as I?

MENELAUS [_losing control_]. May you choke on your dialectics! Zeus himself could have stood it no longer.

a.n.a.lYTIKOS. Have you given her soul a chance to grow?

MENELAUS. Her soul, indeed! It's shut in her rouge pot. [_He has been strutting about. Suddenly he sits down crus.h.i.+ng a roll of papyrus. He takes it up and in utter disgust reads._] "The perfect hip, its development and permanence." Bah! [_He flings it to the floor._] I've done what I had to do, and G.o.ds grant the bait may be sweet enough to catch the Queen.