w you I could keep house every bit as well as that woman.
(DANIEL _appears at the door. He slips across to the workshop
unobserved._) Give me another chance, father. Don't marry her at all.
Let me stay with you--won't you?

JOHN. You're too late. She's trothed to me now.

MARY. Pooh. I'd think nothing of that. (DANIEL _comes out of the
workshop with a bag._) Uncle Dan! What's the matter?

DANIEL. Mary, I can't eat and sit beside that Scotchman. (_He notices_
JOHN _is absorbed in deep thought, and motions_ MARY _to slip out. She
does so, and he looks observingly at_ JOHN, _and then goes to the
table, and makes a noise with the bag on the table._ JOHN _watches him
a moment or two in amazed silence._)

JOHN. What are you doing, Daniel?

DANIEL. Just making a few preparations.

JOHN. Ah, but look here. I haven't settled about London yet, Daniel.

DANIEL. Oh, London, John. (_Deprecatingly._) Let that pass. I won't
worry you about that. (_Broken heartedly._) I'm leaving your house,
John.

JOHN (_astonished_). What?

DANIEL. You've been kind, John. Very kind. We always pulled well
together, and never had much cross words with one another, but--well,
circumstances are altered now.

JOHN. You mean because I'm going to marry Sarah.

DANIEL. Exactly. That puts an end to our long and pleasant sojourn
here together. I'll have to go.

JOHN (_affected_). Oh easy, Daniel. Ah, now, Sarah always liked you.
She thinks a deal of you, and I'm sure she'd miss you out of the house
as much as myself.

DANIEL. John, I know better. She wants me out of this, and I would
only be a source of unhappiness. I wouldn't like to cause you sorrow.
She doesn't believe in me. She brought that Scotchman over to try and
show me up. You all think he did. You think I mugged the thing. You
don't believe in me now yourself. (_He puts a few articles of
clothing, &c., into the bag._)

JOHN (_awkwardly_). Aye. Well--to tell you the truth, Daniel, you did
not make much of a hand at explaining, you----

DANIEL (_pathetically_). I thought so. Look here. One word. (_He
draws_ JOHN _aside._) Do you think Mackenzie invented that patent
reciprocating piston that he's so proud of?

JOHN (_looking at him in amazement_). What?

DANIEL (_impressively_). Well. I know something about that. He stole
it off another man, and took all the profits. I knew that. Do you
think I'm going to give away the product of my brains explaining it to
a man like that! No fea