SCENE TWO

(In MRS WALPURGIS' house. MR CLIPBOARD and MRS WALPURGIS.  STREETPEOPLE watching them.)
MRS WALPURGIS:  Street scum!

MR CLIPBOARD:  Street scum!

MRS WALPURGIS:  Where is there restraint?

MR CLIPBOARD:  Where is their restraint?

BOTH (chant):  We work
     We work
     We prosper
     We smirk

MR CLIPBOARD:  We take the moral high ground

MRS WALPURGIS: We see the scum around

     inhabiting the street
     their dopey drug-led feet

MR CLIPBOARD:  Their vacant smiling stares
     They haven't any cares

MRS WALPURGIS:  Where is there restraint?

MR CLIPBOARD:  Where is their restraint?

(MRS WALPURGIS and MR CLIPBOARD stroke and fondle their own bodies before and during the following song.)
     (Sung) I hear what you are saying
     your words fill me with glee
     I gaze upon your body
     so strong, so pure, so free

MRS WALPURGIS:  Pervert!

MR CLIPBOARD:  Street scum!

(STREETPEOPLE laugh, make insulting gestures, and exit. Pause.)
MR CLIPBOARD:  I saw her at it again. Not the morning,
     she's working the dusk. Kids were still
     out and about. She was wearing
     hardly a stitch. You could see
     her bottom. I got some numbers,
     even in the half-light. And one bloke
     went for a mother and her daughter.
     I got his number and he almost
     ran me down. The surprise, the fear
     on his face gave me a pleasant shiver.

MRS WALPURGIS:  I'm glad you're so committed,
     but we must remember
     this is not about us — it's about
     the community. Our daughters, especially.
     It's a fine line, Mr Clipboard, a fine line.
     I shudder to think. I try not to.
     I focus on what can be done.
     Faith without works is dead, that's what
     the apostle says.

MR CLIPBOARD:  I see myself as being
     in the vanguard, not a mere disciple.
     I want to set a good example,
     to be remembered for my works.

MRS WALPURGIS:  But works of course are not enough. As it says
     in Hebrews —

MR CLIPBOARD:  You photograph well, Mrs Walpurgis.
     There was another shot of you
     by the corner phone booth.
     Funny watching them
     try and huddle under
     the wind shelter now.
     Puts a bit of a damper on things.

MRS WALPURGIS:  Yes, well, those with nothing to hide
     have nothing to be afraid of. I've always kept
     an open house myself.

MR CLIPBOARD:  When we've sorted this problem out,
     we'll have to look to the Aboriginals
     that hang about. This stuff about
     tribal meeting places is so out-of-date.
     School kids play footy
     on that oval where they gather.
     Another lot we should move on quickly.
     Just watch the property prices go up!

MRS WALPURGIS:  You should read He wants us to Prosper,
     Mr Clipboard. The Lord
     likes abundance, you're a man
     after His own heart.

MR CLIPBOARD:  Yes, Mrs Walpurgis,
     I like to be well fed.

MRS WALPURGIS:  Abundance! "The earth
     is the Lord's and the fulness thereof" —
     doesn't say anything about
     them now does it? Heaven helps those
     who

MR CLIPBOARD (chiming in with her):
     help themselves.

(SFX — bell sounds, lighting change)

Smith Street | Mudlark No. 19
Contents | Act 2, Scene Three