SHEFFIELD--[Meaningly.] She's a bad ally to rely on--this side of
the fence one day, and that the next.

MARTHA--Is that why you advised her to become a lawyer, Mr.
Sheffield?

SHEFFIELD--[Stung, but maintaining an unruffled front.] Now, now,
that remark must be catalogued as catty.

MARTHA--[Defiantly.] It seems to be in the Bridgetown atmosphere.
I never was--not the least bit--in the open air.

JAYSON--[Conciliatingly.] Oh, Bridgetown isn't so bad, Martha,
once you get used to us.

JOHN--It's one of the most prosperous and wealthy towns in the
U.S.--and that means in the world, nowadays.

EMILY--[With her sugary smile.] That isn't what Martha means, you
silly. I know what she's thinking about us, and I'm not sure that
I don't agree with her--partly. She feels that we're so awfully
strict--about certain things. It must be so different in the Far
West--I suppose--so much freer.

MARTHA--[Acidly.] Then you believe broad-mindedness and clean
thinking are a question of locality? I can't agree with you. I
know nothing of the present Far West, not having lived there for
ten years, but Curt and I have lived in the Far East and I'm sure
he'd agree with me in saying that Chinese ancestor worship is far
more dignified than ours. After all, you know, theirs is religion,