SCENE

(A simply furnished room in a farmhouse. The door and the windows
in the background open on a landscape. In the middle of the room
stands a big dining-table, covered at one end by books, writing
materials, and antiquities; at the other end, by a microscope,
insect cases, and specimen jars full of alchohol.)

(On the left side hangs a bookshelf. Otherwise the furniture is
that of a well-to-do farmer.)

(MR. Y. enters in his shirt-sleeves, carrying a butterfly-net and
a botany-can. He goes straight up to the bookshelf and takes down
a book, which he begins to read on the spot.)

(The landscape outside and the room itself are steeped in
sunlight. The ringing of church bells indicates that the morning
services are just over. Now and then the cackling of hens is heard
from the outside.)

(MR. X. enters, also in his shirt-sleeves.)

(MR. Y. starts violently, puts the book back on the shelf
upside-down, and pretends to be looking for another volume.)

MR. X. This heat is horrible. I guess we are going to have a
thunderstorm.

MR. Y. What makes you think so?