ROPE The setting of the story is in an apartuent high’ up in the Best Fifties. The action of the story is continuous; there are no time lepses of any kind.5 CHARACTERS (as they appear) BRANDON is in his early twenties, tall and of a striking appearance. This is more than mere good looks, more than his lithe, athletic frame, more than his expensive- iy perfect clothes, He hes the cool, calm surencss of someone who hes altays had money, position end the self-certainty that whatever he does is the right thing to do. His charm, bis good manners, his ep- perance, his socially facile tongue would make him Eminentiy likeable if it were not for the evidence of extreme egoism anc the obvious touch of arrogance. Lore, there is a feeling of carefully controlled intensity, brutelity almost; a feeling that Brandon is someone to fear, And actually, he is - becavse Bre don is psychopathic. ° PHILLIP 4s neurotic and the weaker of the two. He is tall, too, but younger than Brandon end better looting. Eis face, his body, his whole physicel being spells sensitivity. Despite his weakness, he is very likeebie beceus® of a naturel, boyish charm Inherently, hovever, Phillip wants to be and needs to be dominat: Bi tries to resist this, tries to resist his quick and rather extreme chances of mood. But it is difficult for him to be facile and glib, core difficult to control end conceel his feelings. His defense is to withdraw into himself, to drink or to play the piano, He has a good musical telent but he is so unsure of himeelf, besically, so frightened that his eventual defeat is inevitable. ERS. WILSON'S age is anyone's guess but she is certainly past fifty, long past. Her erns end legs are cigarette-thin, her hair is frizzy and hhennaed and her cheeks are spotted with the wrong shade of rouges She fe myopic and, unfortunetely, must wear very thick. glasses. She opesks very quietly and softly to suit fhe role she hae ehosen for herself; hostess of any house in which she is employed, Any party is her perty, enyone's business is her business« She is also & mistress of the non-sequitur and given to rather coy smirking, For all this, she has a genuine fonéness for her employers and feels like a mother to them.O KENNETH isa healthily attractive Princeton under- grecuate, He is not overly bright but is extremely Sweet and immediately likeable. Ordinarily, he is high spirited and cheerfully at case; Brandon, however, makes him feel uncomfortable. His back- ground of tutors, prep school and Princeton have given Him manners and self-possession, He is neither gauche nor shy, and though he does not possess wit himself, he is appreciative of it in others. He is sensitive to other people's feelings and very respondent to theme _.JANET is two or three years older than the boys and very attractive. She is slightly over-chic in the manner of girls who vork for magazines like Vogue - which she does» Her speech has the mannerisms and orna- mentations of cafe society and so does her manners Her family was almost 400 and had money until just about the time she entered her teens. Consequently, she now belongs neither to the class she is actually in nor the class she wents to be in, This hes left’ her With a feeling thet she must be gay end emusing to pay her wey into society end she works hard at it. She would like very muck to relax and be what she really is: @ rather nice, simple girl whose standards ere a bit off but who is fundementelly good. MR. KENTLEY 4s a wealthy, middle-aged gentleman with quiet charm and humor. He has great pride in his son and is intelligent and elert. His age and a neurotic wife (who decided to.b: practically bedridden a few years back) have combined to force him into collecting first editions, This preoccupation, plus his desire to live within himself and bis generai trust in people of his class mar his perceptivity, Thus, he is blind to Brandon's real nature and to the implications of his son's disappearance, MRS, ATWATER, his sister-in-lew, is an imposing if fatuous women, She 4s elegantly over-dressed and has a curious speech which she evidently believes is high society: an almost petulant, childlike drawl with affected English overtones. Hrs» Atweter cones from another city and 4s on one of her annuel visits to New Yorks She adores parties and, this year, astrology. She is out as observant as the dead and is intensely inter- ested in herself, It is cleer, however, that she is very warm-hearted and thus, she is very likeable. eee