JOHN. Very well. I'll do my best.
JABEZ. Just make him see which side his bread's buttered. He's too clever by half. I can't make him out sometimes. He's got notions in his head about coddling the men and giving them better wages before they ask for them, as if it wasn't enough to have the Factory Acts and the Government Inspectors poking their noses round. Dangerous trades! It was good enough for their fathers, and, by God! it 'ull have to be good enough for them. I don't run my place for charity, and the sooner they get that into their thick heads the better. (Irritably.) Where the devil is Charlie?
JOHN. He said he'd come on here from the works if he wasn't home to dinner.
JABEZ. Then why isn't he here?
JOHN. Experimenting again, I suppose.
JABEZ. Hang his experiments!
(Enter l. Charlie Bunting greatly excited. He has the face of a visionary and his high forehead contrasts with a weak, receding chin; he has convictions and ideals, but it is doubtful if he has the courage to live up to them.)
JABEZ. Oh, there you are, sir. About time, too. (Seeing Charlie's agitation.) Hello, what's wrong with you?
CHARLIE. There's been an accident. (He gasps.) Jabez. Fatal?
CHARLIE. Yes.