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in too. Imperceptibly the lights commence to narrow down. ANNIE and HELEN are now alone in the yard, HELEN seated at the pump, where she has been oblivious to it all, a battered little savage, playing with the doll in a picture of innocent contentment. ANNIE comes near, leans against the house, and taking off her smoked glasses, studies her, not without awe. Presently HELEN rises, gropes around to see if anyone is present, ANNIE evades her hand, and when HELEN is satisfied she is alone, the key suddenly protrudes out of her mouth. She takes it in her fingers, stands thinking, gropes to the pump, lifts a loose board, drops the key into the well, and hugs herself gleefully. ANNIE stares. But after a moment she shakes her head to herself, she cannot keep the smile from her lips.)
    ANNIE: You devil.
    (Her tone is one of great respect, humor, and acceptance of challenge.)
    You think I’m so easily gotten rid of? You have a thing or two to learn, first. I have nothing else to do.
    (She goes up the steps to the porch, but turns for a final word, almost of warning.)
    And nowhere to go.
    (And presently she moves into the house to the others, as the lights dim down and out, except for the small circle upon HELEN solitary at the pump, which ends the act.)

ACT II
    IT IS EVENING.
    The only room visible in the KELLER house is ANNIE’S, where by lamplight ANNIE in a shawl is at a desk writing a letter; at her bureau HELEN in her customary unkempt state is tucking her doll in the bottom drawer as a cradle, the contents of which she has dumped out, creating as usual a fine disorder.
    ANNIE mutters each word as she writes her letter, slowly, her eyes close to and almost touching the page, to follow with difficulty her pen-work.
    ANNIE: “ . . . and, nobody, here, has, attempted, to, control, her. The, greatest, problem, I, have, is, how, to, discipline, her, without, breaking, her, spirit.”
    (Resolute voice)
    â€œBut, I, shall, insist, on, reasonable, obedience, from, the, start—”
    (At which point HELEN, groping about on the desk, knocks over the inkwell. ANNIE jumps up, rescues her letter, rights the inkwell, grabs a towel to stem the spillage, and then wipes at HELEN’S hands; HELEN as always pulls free, but not until ANNIE first gets three letters into her palm.)
    Ink.
    ( HELEN is enough interested in and puzzled by this spelling that she proffers her hand again; so ANNIE spells and impassively dunks it back in the spillage.)
    Ink. It has a name.
    (She wipes the hand clean, and leads HELEN to her bureau, where she looks for something to engage her. She finds a sewing card, with needle and thread, and going to her knees, shows HELEN’S hand how to connect one row of holes.)
    Down. Under. Up. And be careful of the needle—
    ( HELEN gets it, and ANNIE rises.)
    Fine. You keep out of the ink and perhaps I can keep out of—the soup.
    (She returns to the desk, tidies it, and resumes writing her letter, bent close to the page.)
    â€œThese, blots, are, her, handiwork. I—”
    (She is interrupted by a gasp; HELEN has stuck her finger, and sits sucking at it, darkly. Then with vengeful resolve she seizes her doll, and is about to dash its brains out on the floor when ANNIE diving catches it in one hand, which she at once shakes with hopping pain but otherwise ignores, patiently.)
    All right, let’s try temperance.
    (Taking the doll, she kneels, goes through the motion of knocking its head on the floor, spells into HELEN’S hand:)
    Bad, girl.
    (She lets HELEN feel the grieved expression on her face. HELEN imitates it. Next she makes HELEN caress the doll and kiss the hurt spot and hold it gently in her arms, then spells into her hand:)
    Good, girl.
    (She lets HELEN feel the smile on her face. HELEN sits with a scowl, which suddenly clears; she pats the doll, kisses it, wreathes her face in a large artificial smile, and bears the doll to the washstand, where she carefully sits it.