Phyllis. (Quickly) The war?
(All show surprise and interest.)
Celia. Yes, you see he sailed this morning on board a troop ship, for Somaliland. It was just within an hour of his leaving that he--spoke to me.
Faraday. But during that hour he might have told you something about himself.
Phyllis. Oh, Father! How absurd! On occasions of that kind, an hour passes very quickly, (Turns to Tarver and smiles.)
(All laugh.)
Faraday. Well, I remember that when I proposed to your mother, I told her my life history three times over in the first hour. (Goes up stage.)
Evelyn. (Deprecatingly) Oh, Father! (To Celia) What's his regiment?
Celia. Oh, it is a very good one, Evelyn dear. It's one of the West African ones, you know. It has green thing-a-majigs all down the front.
(Evelyn goes up L. and crosses R.)