CRILLY Albert, you don't know how these financial things work out. Do you think would his brother settle? ALBERT Settle with whom? CRILLY Well ... with any of the ... any of the people that have ... I don't know. It's a cursed town. If I had joined the police at your age, I'd have a pension by this, and I mightn't care for any of them. ALBERT I wish I had a job and I'd wait on the pension. CRILLY Oh, you'll be all right. The grandfather is seeing about your job. ALBERT If the grandparent gets me that job I'll want two new suits at least. CRILLY 'Pon my soul, Albert, I don't know what's to be done. ( _His mind wanders off)_ I suppose the abstracts have to go out in the morning. ALBERT They have. And damn all the old man has done to them. CRILLY The Guardians hear that he's late in the mornings, Albert, and some of them are beginning to question his fitness to check the stores. ALBERT The old man ought to resign. CRILLY I suppose he ought. I'm not wishing for his resignation myself, Albert. You know your mother regards it as a settled thing that he should come and live with us. ALBERT The mother and Anna are preparing for the event. CRILLY How's that, Albert? ALBERT Mother has James Scollard in her eye for the new Master. CRILLY Right enough! Scollard would get it, too, and then he would marry Anna. ALBERT That's the arrangement, I expect. CRILLY It mightn't be bad. Scollard mightn't want Nancy's money under that arrangement. Still I don't like the idea of the old man living in the house. ALBERT The mother would never think of letting him take himself and his pension anywhere else. CRILLY I don't think she would. ALBERT I wouldn't be surprised if he did go somewhere else. I hear he often goes up to that cottage in Stradrina. CRILLY What cottage, Albert? ALBERT Briar Cottage. I hear he sits down there, and talks of coming to live in the place. CRILLY _(warningly)_ Albert, don't clap hands behind the bird. Take my word, and say nothing about it. ALBERT All right. CRILLY We'd have no comfort in the house if your mother's mind was distracted. _Mrs. Crilly enters from corridor. She is a woman of forty, dressed in a tailor-made costume. She has searching eyes. There is something of hysteria about her mouth. She has been good-looking._ CRILLY Good night, Marianne. MRS. CRILLY Are you finishing the abstracts, Albert? ALBERT I'm working at them. It's a good job we didn't leave the old man much latitude for making mistakes. MRS. CRILLY _(closing door)_ He'll have to resign. CRILLY Good God, Marianne. _(He rises)_ MRS. CRILLY Well. Let him be sent away without a pension. Of course, he can live with us the rest of his life and give us nothing for keeping him. CRILLY I don't know what's in your mind at all, Marianne. _(He crosses over to the cabinet, opens it, and fills out another glass of whisky)_ ALBERT Let the old man do what suits himself.