ACT-WISE SUMMARY OF

JUSTICE-JOHNGALSWORTHY

BY
MS. SONALI B. GOVIND
MAIN CHARACTERS OF THE PLAY
JAMES HOW solicitor
• WALTER HOW, his son solicitor
• ROBERT COKESON their managing clerk
• WILLIAM FALDER their junior clerk
• RUTH HONEYWILL a married woman
• SWEEDEL their office-boy
• WISTER a detective
• COWLEY a cashier
• DR. JUSTICE FLOYD a judge
• HAROLD CLEAVER an old advocate
• HECTOR FROME a young advocate
• CAPTAIN DASON, V.C. a prison governor
• THE REV. HUGH MILLER a prison chaplain
• EDWARD CLEMENTS a prison doctor
• WOODER a chief warder
• MOANEY, CLIPTON & O. CLEARY convicts
• A NUMBER OF BARRISTERS, SOLICITORS, SPECTATORS, USHERS,
• REPORTERS, JURYMEN, WARDERS, AND PRISONER
 Act-I INTRODUCTION:

• Cokeson is the managing clerk of a solicitors' firm. Falder is a junior clerk working under him. The
governors of this firm are James How and his son Walter How. While Cokeson is adding up figures
in a pass-book, Sweedle, the office-boy informs him that a certain woman wants to see Falder. The
name of this young woman is Ruth Honeywill. She is a charming and attractive woman. Her
husband troubles and tortures her in many ways. She is fed up with him. Falder sympathizes with
her for her sad lot. He falls in love with her. He wants to run away with her to South America where
he wishes to live with her as her husband. When Ruth says to Cokeson that she has come to see
Falder because it is a question of life and death, he allows her to see Falder.
 The Meeting of Falder and Ruth:

• Falder comes into the room where Ruth is talking to Cokeson. The managing clerk allows Falder to
talk to her unwillingly. He goes to the partners room with a bundle of papers. On meeting Falder
Ruth tells him how her husband was drunk last night and how he tried to kill her. She left the house
at night. Falder tells her that he has bought the tickets. He further says that they will live like
husband and wife during their voyage. Now Ruth asks for more money, for fearing her husband, she
has left all those things at home which she had purchased for her journey. When Falder hesitates, she
expresses her readiness to leave him and to face difficulty alone. At this Falder says that he loves her.
He fixes the time and place for her meeting with him in the evening. Then they kiss and embrace each
other. Cokeson returns at this time. He sees them kissing each other. He warns them against moral
freedom in the pious premises of a lawyers' firm. He asks Falder to complete the work of calculating
left by the other clerk named Davis.
 The Forgery:
• When the lunch hour comes, Falder gets a cheque for nine pounds. It is to be drawn on behalf of
Walter How. Davis gives the cheque to Falder to get it cashed. Now Falder needs money so he alters
the cheque and adds "zero" and "ty" to the original figures of the cheque. He gets the cheque cashed
for ninety pounds. In this way Falder committed forgery. The reward of this sin is to be his death.
Meanwhile, Cokeson asks some advice from the junior partner i.e. Walter regarding one case of lease
and another of 'right of way.' Walter does not give any good advice. He asks Cokeson to get it from
his father James How. It is at this time that James How enters the room with a pass-book in his hand.
Now Cokeson goes to another room to bring Boulter's lease to him so that he may draft the necessary
instructions
 Detection of Forgery:
• James asks Walter How why the balance in the pass-book is below 400 pounds. He had told him that
it is above 400 pounds, but it is really 351 pounds. Both of them check the pass-book by referring to all
the cheques drawn by their firm. They discover how a cheque of 9 pounds has been altered by
someone. In place of 9 pounds a sum of 90 pounds has been drawn in the name of Walter How.
Walter says that he remembers to have passed it on to Davis. Then James How says that the
counterfoil of the cheque is also altered. This forgery upsets him because it is bound to cause damage
to the good name of the firm. The three persons conclude that the cheque was altered by Davis who
altered it before his departure for Australia. Now James How sends for the cashier. Meanwhile Ruth
comes back to say something to Falder but she is not allowed to meet him again.
 The Confession
• When Walter How returns with Cowley, James How calls Falder to show him to the cashier. Cokeson
requests James not to upset Falder who is a youngman, but James does not grant his request. When
Falder comes before Cowley, he is recognized by the cashier in no time Falder is also to come with the
papers of Boulter's lease. When Falder is recognized James asked him to wait. He is not allowed to go
for lunch also. Now James shows Falder the forged cheque and its counterfoil. Falder wants to
impress James that Davis must have altered the cheque before giving it to him for being cashed. At
this James tells him that its counterfoil was altered after Tuesday for the pass-book remained in
Walter's pocket up to Tuesday. It was, therefore, not possible for Davis to have altered the counterfoil
after Tuesday. At this Falder confesses that he has altered the cheque and its counterfoil. He pleads
and requests to excuse him for he has done it in a state of mad excitement. He is ready to return the
money. James does not show compassion. He asks Falder to wait for some time in his room.
 Arrest of Falder:
• When Falder is gone, James tells his son and the head clerk how the offence of young Falder is so
serious that he cannot take any lenient view of the matter as advised by them. He has decided to get
him prosecuted in the court of law. Walter requests his father to give him a chance, but James says
that Falder has committed a deliberate crime, so he must be punished. He must be imprisoned so that
he may not do any harm to other people. Cokeson also supports this viewpoint for he is for office
discipline and honesty in work. Walter How says to his father that Falder's future will be ruined by
his imprisonment. In response to a call detective or policeman named Wister comes in and arrests
Falder. He takes Falder away.
 ACT II The Trial and Conviction of Falder:

• The First speech of Frome, the Defence Counsel: Falder alters the cheque on 7th July and is discovered
on 8th. He is arrested on the same day. He remains in prison for two months. His trial takes place in the
month of October. The trial court is full of barristers, solicitors, reporters etc. Frome is the defence
counsel. Cleaver is the counsel representing the Crown. James Walter, Cowley and Wister have already
given their evidence. Cleaver has also stated the case against Falder. Now Frome rises to speak on
behalf of Falder for the first time. He does not deny the fact of forgery committed by Falder. He further
says that Falder is a young man of 23 years. He has committed the crime in one of his weak moments.
 Continued…
• He has altered the cheque in a moment of madness under the pressure of circumstances. While
committing this crime, he was not really responsible for it due to the distressed state of mind. He had
fallen in love with a woman named Ruth, whom he wanted to save from her cruel husband. This
miserable woman could not get a divorce from her husband. The only way for Falder to save her was
to take her to South America or some other land. This action would have been illegal and immoral;
but there was no other way out. They needed money to execute their plan of escape. Thus, Falder
altered the cheque to get the needed money, when he was possessed by a desperate impulse. While
altering the cheque, Falder was not -sane. To prove this thing, Frome produces the evidence of
Cokeson and Ruth Honeywill.
 The Evidence and Cross-examination of Cokeson
• While giving his evidence, Cokeson says that he has known Falder for the last two years. He is a nice
and cultured man. There is no reason to suspect his honesty. On the morning of 7th July, he was
rather unsettled in mind. He walked up and down the room. His collar was not buttoned. When he
asked Falder to button his collar, he stared at him with a peculiar funny look in his eyes. On the 8th
July Ruth came with her children just before the discovery of forgery was made. He permitted her to
meet him for she wanted to see him on "a matter of life and death" . After this the counsel for the
Crown Mr. Cleaver rises to cross-examine Cokeson. He demolishes Frome's plea that Falder was not
sane when he altered the cheque. He made Cokeson say that he did mean 'mad' by the word "funny'.
He accepts that on being asked Falder buttoned his collar. He further says that Falder's usual habit is
tidy. He is pleasant-spoken youth, who has impressed everybody in the office favourably and well.
 The Evidence & Cross-Examination of Ruth Honey
will:
• Ruth says that she is a married woman. She has two children, but she does not live with her husband. She has
not been living with her man for the last two months or so. She further says that Falder is her lover. She is
treated cruelly and brutally by her husband. Falder wants to take her away to South America to save her from
him. He was arrested on the very day when both of them were to leave for South America at night. She
remembers 7th July, for it was on the morning of this day that her husband had almost strangled her to death.
She managed to escape and to reach Falder to tell him every thing. He said that he had no money to take her
away. On the following day, Falder gave her some money for making the necessary purchases. He told her that
he had got the money by luck. She saw him for the last time when he was arrested. On being questioned by the
defense counsel, Ruth said she and Falder loved each other very much. The thought of her misery and danger
disturbed the peace of his mind. She saw Falder very much upset on 8th July. She told Cleaver that he was not
mad on 7th July. When the judge questioned her as to why she was unhappy in her life, she told him that she
did not disobey him nor did she displease him even when Falder had begun to love her.
 The Cross Examination of Falder
In reply to some questions, Falder tells Frome that he has been knowing Ruth for the last six months. She is a married woman, but he
loves her truly. She is treated by her husband cruelly and in a brutal manner. On 7th July, she came to him gasping for breath. She
showed him the marks of injury caused by her husband. This thing upset his mind so much that he thought that her husband would
torture her again. He saw no way to leave her. He came to the office with an excited or agitated mind. When Davis gave him a cheque
to be cashed, it struck his mind that he could draw some money for helping Ruth by adding 'Zero' and 'ty' to the figure 9 and the word
'nine'. A momentary impulse made him alter the cheque. He ran to the bank with the pass book. He had no sense of what he was doing
in haste. He came to his senses only when the cashier enquired of him if he would take notes or gold. On his return, he wants to commit
suicide, but he does not kill himself due to his love for Ruth. He took four minutes only in running from the office to the bank. While
cross-examining Falder, Cleaver points out that he remembers how he ran, but not how he altered the cheque by adding a 'zero' to the
figure '9' and 'ty' to the word 'nine'. He made this change so well that the cashier was deceived. It was after five days that he altered the
counterfoil also on Wednesday. He did so when he got a chance to do it. He knew that Davis would be suspected. When the judge
emphasized this point, Frome tried to show that Falder made no attempt to implicate innocent Davis. The judge did not accept Frome's
argument in this respect. Then Cleaver said that Falder returned nine pounds out of ninety without remembering that he had altered
the cheque. Then Frome tried to prove that Falder remembered nothing during the four minutes he ran to the bank.
 Frome's Address to the Jury:
• While speaking to the members of the jury, Frome said that he believed that they conceived Falder had altered
the cheque at a time of mental or moral weakness caused by a state of emotional excitement. It was due to this
temporary madness that Falder was not legally responsible for the criminal action. He had not tried to invest
the case with romantic glamour. Like every other young lover, Falder was upset by the cruelty and brutality
shown to the woman he loved due to his weak and nervous nature. This nervous state was shown by the funny
look in his eyes. Falder was, therefore, free from the mental responsibility for his crime. Being weak and
nervous, he was to be treated not as a criminal but as a patient. The forgery was the work of a few moments of
Falder's madness. All things done later followed this action. He lacked the strength of character and mind to
confess the crime or to return the money. He was in the grips of law. If he was not treated as a patient, the
machine of law would crush him to death. Being a weak man, Falder could not remain alive after his
imprisonment. That he had already passed two months in prison was a sufficient punishment for him.
 Cleaver's Address to the Jury:
• While addressing the jury, Cleaver set all of Frome's arguments at naught. He demolished his plea of
insanity also. He defeated his arguments based on romance and temptation. He said that the defense
counsel had taken the plea of temporary madness only because he did not want to appeal for mercy.
By bringing in a woman, he had thrown over the whole case a colouring of romance and youth. The
argument of short-lived madness could not stand upon its legs. Like Cokeson, Ruth had said that in
spite of his being upset, Falder was not mad. He remembered the words of Davis. Cowley had said
that he was in his senses when he took the money from him. It was foolish to say that he was mad at
the time of altering the cheque. He tried to throw suspicion on innocent Davis, so his crime was
serious. His relation with a married woman was also illegal. Therefore, the jurors would declare him
guilty. At this, Frome appeals to the judge for mercy. On being questioned, Falder says that he does
not want to say anything else.
 The Judgment:

• Like the jurors, the judge says that Falder is guilty of forgery. Rejecting the plea of madness, he said
that the defense counsel has been making an appeal for mercy only. The judge is mindful of the
seriousness of the crime. By deliberately altering the cheque, Falder has allowed the suspicion on
innocent Davis also. The judge accepts that Falder is young and that his character is good. He admits
that Falder must have passed through some emotional excitement at the time of committing the crime.
Falder was an assistant clerk in the office of a solicitors' firm, so he must have known the nature of his
crime. He was carried by these emotions only which were caused by an immoral love for a married
woman. Though his relations with this woman were not practically immoral, yet he had an immoral
design in the mind.
 Continued…

• As this case is based on social immorality, so the judge rejected the plea of mercy also. The law was a
majestic edifice which was to give protection to all the members of the society. Therefore, it was the
duty of a judge like him to administer the law properly and well. He could not show any mercy to a
man like Falder, for he was for the protection of society from further harm. Then the judge sentenced
Falder to serve a term of three years in the prison house. When Falder heard this judgment, he
became desperate. Ruth was filled with grief. In the end, the judge asked the press reporters not to
disclose the name of Ruth. Ruth did not care. The judge called for another case, for he wanted to sit
and work rather late.
 ACT-III
Scene - 1
Discontent among the Prisoners:
• It is 24th December. After a short period of confinement Falder has been put in a solitary cell for a
month. He is to see no visitor now. He has already passed two months in solitary lock-up during the
days of his trial There is some discontent among the prisoners. Wooder who is the chief warden, has
discovered a small hand-made saw from Moaney who has almost cut his window's bar with it. He has
come to the ¬prison four times. He has made the saw to keep his mind busy. Wooder tells the
governor of the prison that there is a general unrest among all the prisoners even when each of them is
confined to a separate cell
 Continued…
• 0' Cleary is another prisoner who is a lover of noise and sport. He bangs the door and thus upsets
all other prisoners. It is at this time that the prison chaplain named Miller comes in. The governor
is filled with surprise at the growing discontent. He wants to know the real mental condition of
the prisoners. Miller is quite indifferent and he does not care for any of the prisoners. He wants
to break the perverted will of these prisoners. The governor who is sorry at the condition of these
prisoners invites the chaplain to a dinner on the Christmas day. The chief warden i.e. Wooder
informs the governor how an old man wants to see him.
 The Meeting of Cokeson with Prison Governor
• Cokeson says to the governor that he has come to talk about a young prisoner whose name is Falder.
He is not related to him but he is interested in him. He is employed in a famous solicitors' firm in
which he himself is the managing clerk. He has come to comply with the request of Falder's sister
whose husband does not allow her to come here. He has come to enquire about Falder. At this the
governor says to him that nobody is allowed to see Falder, for he is in his solitary cell. Cokeson
remembers how this solitary confinement has been harmful to Falder during the days before his trial.
He is very much pained when he hears that Falder is confined to a solitary cell. When he went to see
him during his under trial confinement, the young man wept bitterly.
 Continued…
• Miller, who is the prison Chaplain, does not see eye to eye with Cokeson who thinks that the solitary
confinement is a very harmful and useless thing. When Cokeson wants to know about Falder's health,
the governor sends for the prison doctor. Meanwhile Cokeson tells the governor how Falder is in love
with a woman named Ruth whose husband treats her cruelly. He refers to her sense of self respect and
says that she will be waiting for him till he is released from prison. Cokeson further says that the
solitary confinement of a prisoner does no good to him. He will not confine a dog in a cell even when
it bites him all over the body. Miller differs from him in this respect.
 Continued…
• When Cokeson thinks of the weak nature of Falder, he fears lest the solitary confinement must do him
a great harm. By this time the prison doctor comes in and tells Cokeson that Falder is quite healthy.
He has not lost his weight. The solitary confinement has done him little harm. His mind is sound, but
he remains melancholy and sad. At this the governor promises that he will take due care of Falder's
health. Cokeson tells him that there is none to understand the great mental suffering to which Falder
is being subjected in his solitary cell. When Cokeson asks the governor whether Ruth can see Falder,
he is told that the prison rules do not allow any visitor to come in and see a convict when he is in his
solitary confinement. On hearing this reply Cokeson returns home with a sad heart.
 Scene - II
Failure of Falder in Work:

• The solitary confinement does a great harm to the mind of young Falder. The
instructor gives work to him but he fails to do his share of work. But there is another
prisoner named 0’ Cleary who wants to get more work to do so that his mind may
remain occupied. On this the governor hears them and passes on.
 Moaney and the Prison Life:
• Moaney is an old prisoner of fiftysix years in age. He has fiercely staring eyes and prickly ears. He is found
lying on bed. When the governor comes to see him, he leaves his bed and stands at the door. The governor
shows him the saw which he had made and with which he has almost completely cut the bar of the window.
Moaney tells him in reply that he has made the saw only to pass his time. He is to be released in a year or two.
He does not want to insult himself by seeking a job after his release and he gets rejected as an ex-convict. He
knows that he will be given some punishment for making the saw and for cutting the bar with it. He is to
blame the governor for his punishment. At this the governor offers to overlook the offence on the condition
that he promises not to do the same things in future. Moaney thanks the governor for his offer and tells the
governor frankly that he will do it again for he cannot help doing something interesting. The governor fails to
convince him that such things are useless. The governor orders two days cell together with bread and water.
Moaney thanks him and slips into his cell like an animal.
 The Effect of Prison Life on Clipton & O’Cleary
• Clipton is suffering from some eye trouble. He cannot face light nor is he able to hear any noise. The
eye-trouble is not painful, for there is no light in his cell. He complains that the prisoner in the adjoining cell
bangs the door and disturbs him in his sleep with a great noise. Sleep is the only comfort for him in the prison.
He has the right to sleep to his full satisfaction. The governor promises that he will no longer be disturbed in
his sleep. After this he goes ahead to see 0' Cleary who is fond of noise and play. He sits near the door to hear
some sound. He is the person who bangs his door in the morning. When the door is opened he stands in the
doorway. On being questioned 0' Cleary says that he cannot resist the impulse of making a noise. He is
incapable of remaining silent. The work of weaving a mat does not interest him in anyway. At this the governor
says that he will have to keep quiet even if he is sent to the workshop to do hard work there. 0' Cleary says that
the noise produced by his working hand will also be a kind of talk for him. The governor is pleased to hear this
thing. He asks 0’ Cleary not to satisfy his desire for noise by banging the door in the morning. The governor
sends Wooder to bring doctor and proceeds to see Falder's condition.
 The Meeting of the Governor with Falder:
• The governor gets to the door of Falder's cell. This thing surprises the young prisoner. The governor
asks him to adjust himself to the conditions of the prison life. He should never knock his head against
the wall in a nervous state of mind. Falder tells him that he cannot sleep. His fear that he would never
come out this fear makes the governor sad at heart. He asks the young prisoner to make his mind
strong and tells him that it depends on him if he is to come into the prison again or not. Falder says
that he cannot read books. He is unable to forget Ruth of whom he is always thinking. Now the doctor
comes and examines Falder. Meanwhile Wooder tells the governor that perhaps the doctor will report
that Falder is quite healthy. Though he is nervous, the solitary confinement is not doing him any
harm. He does not want to recommend his transfer to the workshop for he will have to do so in
the-case of other prisoners also. The doctor fears that Falder is a patient of melancholy. Thus Falder is
forced to pass the last week of his solitary confinement.
 Scene - III

• It is the late afternoon and the daylight is fading. Falder is seen in his cell. The floor of this cell is made of black
bricks. His beddings are lying in a corner. There are many books on the shelf. There is a novel entitled 'Lorna
Donne" lying open on a table. He is engaged in making button holes in the shirt. The whole scene shows how
Falder is suffering from mental agony. There is no dialogue in the present scene, but it influences the
spectators very much. Falder looks weak and serious. He is not mad, but he is a little sort of an image of
despair. He is hungry to hear something. He sits close to the door to do so. He listens at the door. When he
hears even a little sound, he springs up on his feet. He walks in his cell and looks like an animal in the cage.
While walking he moves his finger on a line of the wall. He tries to get the company of his own face by looking
into the bright lid of a tin. He is surprised to hear the sound of this lid when it falls down on the floor. He
pants and gasps. He hears the sound of some banging on the floor. It frightens him. The banging sound passes
from one cell to another. It makes his weak brain lose its strength. He moves his hand in a kind of some
unconscious reaction. At last he begins to beat the door himself.
 ACT IV

• Falder is sentenced for three years but due to his good conduct he is released only after two years. It is
because of prison rules that he gets partial remission of his sentence. He has worked at two places
after his release. He had to leave each of these two jobs. It is in the month of March that he comes to
meet Cokeson. He had already met Ruth once in the Hyde Park. Ruth comes first to request Cokeson
to get Falder employed again. Falder follows her and meets Cokeson to make a request to him for his
recommendation to the partners.
 The Meeting of Ruth with Cokeson:
• When Ruth comes to the office where Cokeson works, she happens to meet Sweedle first. He asks her to tell him about
Falder. After this he says that the partners-James and Walter How made a mistake in getting Falder convicted and
imprisoned. By this time Cokeson comes and shows great sympathy to Ruth. She tells him that she has lived with her
children only. She has not stayed with her husband. She has met Falder only once after his release from the prison. She
further tells Cokeson that Falder has become very weak. He has stuck to a job only for three weeks. At this Ruth says that
she cannot work. She relates the story of her past sufferings and troubles. After Falder's conviction she started to earn
money by making shirts, but she could not support her children with it. When she could not meet even the expenses of
her children, she had to sell her body to the employer. When Ruth requested Cokeson to secure employment for Falder
again, he promised to recommend his case to the partners. She told that Falder waited for him downstairs, but he refused
to see him at that time. Cokeson told Ruth how a post had fallen vacant in the office, but James How alone could reemploy
him. He noted the address where Falder lived and bade her good morning. Cokeson asked Sweedle to be polite when
Falder came in. He said that the decision to appoint was to be taken by the senior partner of the firm. When Falder came
in, Cokeson was puzzled. After this he welcomed him.
 Falder's Appeal to Cokeson for Reemployment:

• When Falder prayed for chance, Cokeson said that he had promised to Ruth to recommend his case to
the partners. Then Falder told him the solitary confinement had done a great harm to his head. He felt
that his heart was empty. The prison authorities had passed him sound but they could not measure
the loss they had caused to his inner self. After this Falder spoke of his miserable life which he had led
after his release from the prison. The prison authorities secured him a job but he had to leave it after
the discovery of his being ex-criminal. He secured another job by forging reference. He left it soon for
he feared lest his forgery should be detected.
 Continued…
• Falder further told Cokeson that he was struggling against the invisible force of all powerful society. It gripped
him all around. He felt as if he were in a net. Everybody seemed to be sorry for him but nobody wanted to mix
in his company. They feared that he was a criminal. He felt as if some force of evil were closing round him.
This feeling was going to crush him. He had suffered much more than he had deserved. His sister's husband
had also meted out a very had treatment to him. He expelled him from his house and offered twentyfive
pounds so that he might go to Canada. Cokeson also made the same offer for which Falder thanked him. He
further said that he had passed three nights in the Hyde Park. His love for Ruth was a pious thing, but even
then he had suffered much for this crime of his pious love. Consoling Falder, Cokeson promised to talk to the
partners of the firm to reemploy him. It was at this time that Walter How and his father James How entered the
office. James had a keen look at Falder, but Walter How shook his hand with him. Then Cokeson asked Falder
to retire into the clerk's room so that he might talk to the partners.
 Cokeson's Appeal for Reemployment:
• Cokeson requests James to reemploy Falder. He made a sincere appeal to him. He said that Falder was
repentant for his past forgery. He was starving also. He should, therefore, fill the vacancy of a clerk in
the office by appointing him again. James is unwilling to employ him for he is now ex-convict. At this
Walter says that Frome has said correctly that Falder would be crushed by the wheels of Law and
Justice. Falder had not stuck to his previous jobs. At this James remarked that being a young man of
weak character, Falder could not do much good to himself. Walter How said that poor Falder should
be helped. Then James asked about his relationship with Ruth also. Cokeson said that Ruth did not live
with her husband. She had visited office in the morning. She had seen young Falder also. When James
said to Cokeson that Falder should give up his love for Ruth if he wanted to be employed in the office
again, Cokeson called him so that James might speak to him.
The Advice of James for Falder:
• Advising Falder, James said that he was punished due to his own breach of social morality. At this young Falder
told him that he had already thought over the matter deeply and long in the prison. If a criminal like him were
treated kindly and well by someone, he would be a better citizen. He should never be made a bird of prison house.
But James did not possess any faith in goodness of human nature. Falder said that he did not mean to do what he
had done. He was not what he seemed to be. At this James asked him to forget the past and mind the future. He
should leave Ruth also. In reply Falder told him that Ruth was all he had. He was the only person from whom she
hoped to get some help. They had met each other last evening only. James said that he could employ him only if he
left her. At this Falder said that each of them could not leave the other. James further said he could overlook the
relationship only if he could marry her after getting a divorce. Falder said that the law did not permit her a divorce.
With the permission of James, Falder called Ruth from the window. Cokeson said that she had misbehaved so she
could not get a divorce from the court of law. On returning from window Falder suspected something from their
changed looks. He said that each of them lived quite separately from the other.
 Ruth's Interview with James:
• When Ruth came before him James asked her to leave Falder for the sake of his employment in the
office. Ruth could not decide what to do. When Falder said that Walter had promised to help her in
getting the divorce, James spoke of its impossibility. Now Ruth said to James that she was anxious to
take care of Falder, for she loved him. At this James said that she could take the best care only by
leaving him alone, Falder was surprised to hear it, so he said that he could not leave her. Ruth assured
James that she had never lived with Falder. Being a clever man James made her say that she had led an
immoral life in the past. At this she agreed to leave Falder. Now Falder realized that Ruth had become a
corrupt woman. He began to tremble with the agony of his mind. In response to a stirring appeal from
Walter, James agreed to reappoint Falder who was now very much grieved at the discovery of Ruth’s
immorality. He covered his face in despair. It was at this time that Cokeson sends the two lovers into
the clerk's room for Wister has come up to arrest Falder again.
 The Tragic Death of Falder:
• Wister wanted to know the whereabouts of Falder whom he had arrested in the office. Cokeson and James
tried to get rid of the detective but in vain. The detective informed both of them how he had failed to report
himself to the police and how he had obtained some job by submitting false or forged certificates and
testimonials. He was now a wanted man. Cokeson asked him to visit the office again. James tried to avoid
Wister. On seeing Falder's hat on the table Wister said that James wanted to hide a criminal. The detective rises
as if to leave the office, but he suddenly went into the clerk's room and arrested Falder there. When he came
out Falder laughed desperately. He threw a glance at Ruth also. While dragging Wister down the stairs Falder
threw himself down and broke his neck. He passed away soon. Sweedle and Wister brought the dead body
into the room by this time Ruth had fainted for a while. All the people stood near the dead body. She wept
bitterly. Cokeson tried to console her. He said in a pathetic voice. "No one will touch him now! Never again!
He is safe with gentle Jesus!" Then he raised his hand as if he showed his sympathy for poor Ruth.