ALICK. I'm just beginning to see a kind of way.
MARY (_appearing at door from inner rooms_). I can't see that thing anywhere. (_She suddenly sees_ ALICK.) Oh Alick! You here!
ALICK. Yes. It's a nice morning, and you're looking beautiful!
MARY. Oh, bother. (_She seems to suddenly recollect something._) Oh, I say! uncle! You remember? Uncle!
MARY (_motioning towards_ ALICK). Telegram to come to London.
MARY. Let's go into your workshop and tell Alick what we want. Come on.
ALICK. I'll do anything in the world you want.
(_They all go into the workshop. As they disappear,_ JOHN MURRAY, _sweating and angry looking, comes through from the yard followed by_ BROWN. JOHN _is a tall, stout man, with a rather dour countenance and somewhat stolid expression. He is a year or so the elder of Dan in age. He goes to the dresser, puts his hand on the top shelf, takes down a spanner and throws it down angrily on the table._)
JOHN. There. There you are, you stupid-looking, good for nothing, dunder-headed, Italian idiot you.
BROWN. You're something terrible cross this morning.
JOHN. (_heatedly_). Is it any wonder? Away out at once now and put her to rights and quick about it. (BROWN _meekly goes out._) The like of servant men nowadays, I never seen in my mortal days. A concern of ignorant bauchles, every one of them.
DANIEL (_opening door of workshop and peeping out. He sees_ JOHN _and goes over to him with a genial air_). Good morning John.
DANIEL. John, what do you think, I believe I have just come on to a great idea about----
JOHN. Ach! You and your great ideas! Here you've been blundering and blethering and talking these fifteen years and more, and I've never seen anything come of them yet.
DANIEL (_soothingly_). I know, John, I know. But I'm handicapped you know. Bad place to work in and all the rest of it: but you've been kind to me, John. Keeping a brother and helping him after he has lost all his money isn't a common thing with many men, but John a day will come sometime, and you'll get it all back. (_Impressively_). Every penny. Aye, and twice over.
DANIEL. You will, John, you will. But don't cast up things like that about the time I've been. It hurts me. A thing like this takes time to mature, you know, John. The great and chief thing for an inventor is time. Look at Palissy, the great French potter, who found out how to make porcelain glaze. Why he worked for years and years at his invention. And there was the man who found out how to make steam drive engines. Look at the years those men spent--and no one begrudged them.