BROWN. Aye. Yon Mackenzie. Ach, man, but yon creature would scunder you.

KATE. Aye.

BROWN. Ach! Cracking jokes and laughing that hearty at them, and I'm danged if a bat with one eye shut could make out what he was laughing at. (_Listening._) Here they are. I hear the wheels coming up the loaning. I'll have to go and put up the horse for them I suppose. (_He goes out by yard door._)

KATE. I wonder if the master seen them coming. (_She rapidly clears the table and then goes over to door into room._) I better tell him.

(_She knocks at the door._)

JOHN (_without_). Aye. (_He comes and opens the door, dressed in his best suit of clothes._) What's the matter?

KATE. They're just come, sir.

JOHN (_excitedly_). Are they? (_Comes into kitchen._) Is my tie right, Kate? And my clothes--is there any dirt on the back of them?

KATE (_inspecting him critically_). You'll do grand. I never seen you looking better.

JOHN. Where's Mary? Why isn't she here?

KATE. She went out about something. She'll be back in a minute.

JOHN. Right enough, it would do her all the good in the world to have a sensible woman looking after her. She just gets her own way a deal too much in this house. (_He goes to window and looks out._) Aye. Here they are! Tell Daniel to hurry. (KATE _goes off by door to rooms._) Sarah's looking bravely. Man, that woman could save me thirty, aye forty, pounds a year if she was here. (_Suddenly._) Ach! Is Daniel never ready yet? (_Calls._) Daniel! (_Louder._) Daniel!

DANIEL (_without_). Aye.

JOHN. Hurry, man. They've come. (JOHN _goes to yard door and goes out._)

DANIEL (_in an exasperated voice_). Ach!

(JOHN _comes in followed by_ ANDREW MCMINN, _an elderly non-descript sort of man, followed by_ SARAH, _a sour faced spinster of uncertain age. In the rear is_ DONAL MACKENZIE. _He is wearing a tourist costume of Norfolk jacket and knickers, and is a keen faced, hard, angular looking personage._)

JOHN. Yous are all welcome. Every one of you. You Andy and Sarah, and Mr. Mackenzie. The Scotch is aye welcome, Mr. Mackenzie.

MACKENZIE. Aye. That's what I said the last time I was in Ballyannis, and was verra thirsty, and went into a beer-shop to get a dram--Black and White it was. Verra guid. (_He laughs loudly at his own joke._)

SARAH. We brought Mr. Mackenzie along with us to see your brother, John. You see he's an engineer and knows a good deal about machinery and plans and things.

MACKENZIE. Aye. There's not much about machinery that I dinna ken, Mr.

Murray, from a forty thousand horse power quadruple expansion doon to a freewheel bicycle. (_Proudly._) I hae done spells work at all of them, you ken.

ANDY. I suppose Daniel's at home. Is he?

JOHN. Daniel? Oh aye, Daniel's at home. He's just tidying himself up a wee bit.

MACKENZIE. A wee bit paint and powder gangs a lang gait to make up defects, as you ken yourself, Miss McMinn. (_He laughs loudly._) That's a guid one.

ANDY (_looking slyly at Sarah_). He's up out of bed then?

JOHN (_innocently_). Oh aye. He sits up late of nights working out things. (_He points to the door of workshop._) That's his workshop.

MACKENZIE. He works then?

JOHN. Aye. He works in there. (_Andy goes over and goes into workshop._)

MACKENZIE. Because it doesna follow always, as I have discovered in my experience, that because a man has a workshop, he works. (_He laughs, evidently much pleased at his own humour._)

ANDY (_looking out again through door_). There's nothing much to see in this place except a lot of dirty papers.

JOHN. That's the plans of the bellows he's working at.

MACKENZIE (_going over to workshop_). Come out, Mr. McMinn, till I examine. (_Andy comes out and he pa.s.ses in._) Eh. This is the plan of the great bellows. (_He laughs loudly._)

ANDY. Is he making much headway with it, John?

JOHN. Indeed, now, I think he's doing bravely at it. He's keeping very close at it this day or two.

ANDY. There's a terrible amount of newspapers lying in there. Has he no other plans and drawings except what's there?

JOHN. Oh aye. He has plenty of plans and drawings somewhere, for I seen them once or twice.

MACKENZIE (_coming out_). I can't say much about that contrivance.

(_He laughs._) And, I say. Look here. He does more than draw bellows.

He draws corks as well. (_He produces a bottle of whiskey almost empty._)

JOHN. Ah, well. He's not a great transgressor either in the matter of a bottle. No, no.

ANDY. And the smell of smoke in the place!

SARAH. John, I think Daniel smokes far too much.

ANDY. He should be dressed by now.

JOHN. Aye. Oh, aye. He should right enough. He's a wee bit backward before women, you know, Sarah. (_Calls._) Daniel! (_He goes over and opens door into rooms._) Daniel!

DANIEL (_without_). Yes. (_He appears at the door struggling vainly with his collar._)

JOHN. Why didn't you come long ago. What kept you?

DANIEL. Your collar. (_He looks across at_ ANDY _and_ SARAH, _who have seated themselves at the back._) How do you do, Andy and Sarah? You're very welcome. (_He looks at_ MACKENZIE, _who stares curiously at him._)

ANDY. This is a friend of ours, Daniel, that happened to be stopping with us last summer at Newcastle in the same house, and he came over for his holidays to us this time. We brought him over to see you. They calls him Mackenzie.

DANIEL (_crossing over to the left and taking a seat near the door of the workshop._) How do you do?

MACKENZIE (_patronisingly_). I'm glad to see you at last, Mr. Murray, for I've heard a good deal about you.

SARAH. You see, Daniel, Mr. Mackenzie is an engineer in one of the great Scotch engineering yards. (DANIEL'S _face expresses his dismay, which he hurriedly tries to hide._) What place was it you were in, Mr.

Mackenzie?