ures. You shut up little children by tens of thousands
to toil for you in the bowels of the earth. You crush your rivals, and
form a trust, and screw up prices to freeze the poor in winter! And
you... [to RUTHERFORD] you're Rutherford, the steel king, I take it.
You have slaves working twelve hours a day and seven days a week in your
mills. And you mangle them in hideous accidents, and then cheat their
widows of their rights... and then you build churches, and set your
parsons to preach to them about love and self-sacrifice! To teach them
charity, while you crucify justice! To trick them with visions of an
imaginary paradise, while you pick their pockets upon earth! To put arms
in their hands, and send them to shoot their brothers, in the name of
the Prince of Peace!

RUTH. This is outrageous!

PLIM. [Clenching his fists.] Infamous scoundrel!

RUTH. [Advancing Upon HAGEN.] How dare you!

HAGEN. It stings, does it? Ha! Ha!

PLIM. [Sputtering.] You wretch!

IS. This has gone too far. Stop, Rutherford! Calm yourself, Plimpton.
Let us not forget ourselves! [To PRINCE HAGEN, haughtily.] I do not know
who you are, sir, or by what right you are in my house. You say that you
are a friend of my son's...

HAGEN. I claim that honor, sir.

IS. The fact that you claim it prevents my ordering you into the street.
But I will see my son, sir, and find out by what right you are here to
insult my guests. [Turning.] Come, Plimpton. Come, Rutherford ... we
will bandy no words with him!

[They go off, centre.]

HAGEN. [Alone.] By God! I touched them! Ha, ha, ha! [Grimly.] He will
order me into the street! [With concentrated fury.] That is it!
They shut you out! They build a wall about themselves! Aristocracy!
[Clenching his fast.] Very well! So be it! You sit within your fortress
of privilege! You are haughty and contemptuous, flaunting your power!
But I'll breach your battlements, I'll lay them in the dust! I'll bring
you to your knees before me!

[A silence. Suddenly there is heard, very faintly, the Nibelung theme.
It is repeated; HAGEN starts.]

MIMI. [Enters, left.] Prince Hagen!

HAGEN. Mimi!

MIMI. At last!

HAGEN. [Approaching.] What is it?

MIMI. [Beckons.] Come here.

HAGEN. [In excitement.] What do you want?

MIMI. You must come back!

HAGEN. What do you mean?

MIMI. The people want you.

HAGEN. What for?

MIMI. They need you. You must be king.

HAGEN. [Wildly.] Ha?

MIMI. Alberich...

HAGEN.