Enter LILY—all mutter words of encouragement. General movement towards her. Everybody offers chairs in sympathy. She sits by her father.
CHARLEY. Look here now, just listen! It’s quite true I want to go. I want to do as Tennant’s done, chuck everything and try my luck in the Colonies. As soon as I had a fair start Lil would come out.
MASSEY. [interrupting.] Yes, and suppose you failed? You should have thought of that before you married. You can’t run off when you like when you’ve a wife.
CHARLEY. [excitedly.] But why not?
MRS. M. [interrupting.] Why not?—just hear him.
CHARLEY. It’s that I’m just sick of the office and the grind every week and no change!—nothing new, nothing happening. Why, I haven’t seen anything of the world. I just settled down to it—why?—just because other chaps do, because it’s the right thing. I only live for Saturday—
PERCY. So do I!—so does everybody!
CHARLEY. But they shouldn’t—
PERCY. You don’t mean to suggest, I hope, that we ought to like our work, do you?
MASSEY. Do you suppose I like plumbing? Do you think I ever did? No, but I stuck to it, and now look at me, got a nice little bit in the bank and bought my own house. [looks proudly round.] Of course, I hated it, just as you do.