ked_] Oh, I say, this is really--I must cough or something,
and let them know I'm here. [_He coughs_] They've seen me. They're
waving their hands--and--they 're going on just the same!

_Lucienne and Therese in ordinary dress come in and notice
what Feliat is doing._

THERESE [_to Lucienne_] What is he doing?

LUCIENNE. What's the matter?

_They advance to see what has caused his perturbation. He
hears them and turns._

FELIAT. It is incredible!

THERESE. You seem rather upset. What's the matter?

FELIAT. What's the matter? Those girls are behaving in such a scandalous
way with those young men.

LUCIENNE. Let's see.

FELIAT. Oh, don't look! [_Suddenly stopping, half to himself_] Though I
must say--

THERESE [_laughing_] What must you say?

FELIAT. Nothing.

LUCIENNE. I know. You mean that we're just as bad.

FELIAT. No, no, not as bad.

LUCIENNE. Yes, yes; well--almost. [_Feliat makes a sign of protest_] I
saw you watching us yesterday after the rehearsal! You saw I was
flirting, and I know you imagined all sorts of horrid things. Our little
flirtations are not what you think. When we flirt we play at love-making
with our best boys, just as once upon a time we played at mothering with
our dolls.

FELIAT. But that doesn't justify--

THERESE. You don't understand. People spoil us while we're children, and
then look after us so tremendously carefully when we grow up that we
guess there must be delightful and dangerous possibilities about us.
Flirting is our way of feeling for these possibilities.

LUCIENNE. We're sharpening our weapons.

THERESE. But the foils have buttons on them, and the pistols are only
loaded with powder.

LUCIENNE. And it's extremely amusing and does no harm to anybody.

THERESE. Monsieur Feliat, you've read bad books. Nowadays girls like us
are neither bread-and-butter misses nor demi-vierges. We're perfectly
respectable young people. Quite capable and self-possessed and, at the
same time, quite straight and very happy.

FELIAT. I'm perfectly sure of it, my dear young ladies. But you know
I've had a great deal of experience.

THERESE. Oh, _experience_! Well, you know--

LUCIENNE. Oh, _experience_!

THERESE. You say you have experience; that only means you know about the
past better than we do. But we know much better than you do about the
present.

FELIAT. I think those girls there are playing a dangerous game.

THERESE. You needn't have the sma