zoe is he hungry?
stephen (extends his hand to her smiling and chants to the air of the bloodoath in the dusk of the gods.)hangende hunger,
fragende frau,
macht uns alle kaput.
zoe (tragically.) hamlet, i am thy father's gimlet! (she takes his hand.) blue eyed beauty, i'll read your hand. (she points to his forehead.) no wit, no wrinkles. (she counts.) two, three, mars, that's courage. (stephen shakes his head.) no kid.
lynch sheet lightning courage. the youth who could not shiver and shake. (to zoe.) who taught you palmistry?
zoe (turns.) ask my ballocks that i haven't got. (to stephen.) i see it in your face. the eye, like that. (she frowns with lowered head.)lynch (laughing, slaps kitty behind twice.) like that. pandy bat.
(twice loudly a pandybat cracks, the coffin of the pianola flies open, the bald little round jack-in-the-box head of father dolan springs up.)father dolan any boy want flogging? broke his glasses? lazy idle little schemer. see it in your eye.
(mild, benign, rectorial, reproving, the head of don john conmee rises from the pianola coffin.)don john conmee now, father dolan! now. i'm sure that stephen is a very good little boy.
zoe (examining stephen's palm.) woman's hand.
stephen (murmurs.) continue. lie. hold me. caress. i never could read his handwriting except his criminal thumbprint on the haddock.
zoe what day were you born?
stephen thursday. today.
zoe thursday's child has far to go. (she traces lines on his hand.) line of fate. influential friends.
florry (pointing.) imagination.
zoe mount of the moon. you'll meet with a... (she peers at his hands abruptly.) i won't tell you what's not good for you. or do you want to know?
bloom (detaches her fingers and offers his palm.) more harm than good. here. read mine.
bella . (she turns up bloom's hand.) i thought so. knobby knuckles, for the women.