CHAR. And if anything striking occurs, I'll send a cable. The novelty will be worth it. [_Coming just inside the door with the spade in his hand._] For the rest, I'll describe one day and you can tick it off for the whole lot of the others. Rise at 7, breakfast; catch the 8.30, City-- _The door-bell is heard._ Who on earth--! _He goes into the garden._ LILY. Maggie, I expect. _She goes out._ _TENNANT, after making a step towards the garden, turns to the door, only to meet MAGGIE MASSEY and LILY. MAGGIE is of medium height, well-proportioned, good-looking without being pretty._ MAGGIE. [_shaking hands with TENNANT._] How do you do? LILY. What _do_ you think, Maggie? Mr. Tennant is going to leave us. Guess what for! MAGGIE. He's going to be married? CHAR. Good Lord! There's another. MAGGIE. Hullo, Charles, you there! LILY. He's going to leave England. MAGGIE. How nice for him! LILY. [_emphatically._] Nice! But he's got nothing to do there! MAGGIE. [_to TENNANT._] Are you going to emigrate? TENNANT. Yes; I'm going to Australia to try my luck. CHAR. Isn't he an idiot? MAGGIE. Do you think so? CHAR. Throwing up a nice snug little place at Molesey's and rushing himself on to the already overstocked labour market of the Colonies. MAGGIE. You are really going on your luck? TENNANT. Yes. MAGGIE. How fine! LILY. Maggie! Think of the risk! MAGGIE. He's a man. It doesn't matter. LILY. If he'd been out of work, it would have been so very different. MAGGIE. That would have spoilt the whole thing. I admire his pluck. LILY. Well, he's got no one depending on him, so he will suffer alone. MAGGIE. You're not very encouraging, Lil. I have heard of a married man doing the same. CHAR. [_quickly._] Who was that? LILY. How very foolish! MAGGIE. Oh, he was already out of work. LILY. That is different--although even then-- MAGGIE. His wife went to live with her people again and he went out to the Colonies and made a home for her. LILY. [_sceptically._] How did he do that? MAGGIE. I don't know. _You_ are quite free to do as you like, aren't you, Mr. Tennant? How does that feel? TENNANT. I have only just started to think about it. Directly the idea came into my head, off I had to go. _CHARLEY, who has stood listening, turns slowly and walks away._ MAGGIE. You are lucky to have found it out in time. TENNANT. In time? MAGGIE. Before you got too old to do anything. _Pause._ CHAR. [_near the garden window but outside._] Climb on to the dustbin, only mind the lid's on tight. TENNANT. That's Leslie coming over. I'll go. [_goes._] _Enter from the garden MORTON LESLIE, a big fair man, clean-shaven, lazy and good-natured. CHARLEY follows._ LESLIE. I nearly smashed your husband, Mrs. Wilson . . . Good day, Miss Maggie--and I'm sure I've absolutely killed Mr. Wilson's beans. CHAR. If you don't the birds will--and if they don't the worms will--and--how can you expect anything to grow in that garden?