Chapter 1

[_The kitchen in the_ M'Ganns' _house_. Mrs. M'Gann, Sheila M'Gann, Molly M'Gann, Aloysius Murphy, _and_ Jeremiah Dunphy _sit round the fire, top left centre. The door is top right centre. On the left side is a window. Four large grandfather clocks are standing here and there round the room. In front of the fire is seated a little wee bit of a pigeen. The Stranger is seated by the window, apart from the rest. As the curtain rises one of the clocks strikes two, another strikes eleven, while the others remain silent. It is thus impossible to tell what time it is. The Stranger gazes out of the window. No one speaks. The curtain falls._