Page:The collected works of Henrik Ibsen (Volume 10).djvu/400

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Dr. Herdal.

Stop! Stop For God's sake——!

[The ladies on the verandah wave their pocket-handkerchiefs, and the shouts of "Hurrah" are taken up in the street below. Then they are suddenly silenced, and the crowd bursts out into a shriek of horror. A human body, with planks and fragments of wood, is vaguely perceived crashing down behind the trees.

Mrs. Solness and the Ladies.

[At the same time.] He is falling! He is falling! [Mrs. Solness totters, falls backwards, swooning, and is caught, amid cries and confusion, by the ladies. The crowd in the street breaks down the fence and storms into the garden. At the same time Dr. Herdal, too, rushes down thither. A short pause.

Hilda.

[Stares fixedly upwards and says, as if petrified.] My Master Builder.

Ragnar.

[Supports himself, trembling, against the railing.] He must be dashed to pieces—killed on the spot.

One of the Ladies.

[Whilst Mrs. Solness is carried into the house.] Run down for the doctor——

Ragnar. I can't stir a foot——