The Drone | Page 6

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.
JOHN (softening). Thank you, Daniel.
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.
JOHN. I suppose that now.
DANIEL. Certainly, John, nothing surer. And look at the fortunes those
men made. But the great difficulty is trying to get someone to take up
your patent. You see these men had the eyes of the world fixed on them.
People knew all about them, and had their hands stretched out ready to
grab what they invented. (Pathetically). I----I'm just a poor unknown
man struggling in a wee dark corner.
JOHN (touched). Never mind, Danny. You'll make the name of the
Murray's known yet, maybe.
DANIEL. I'll do my best, John. But mind you it would take me to be
pushing on this thing that I have found out and bringing it before
people to notice. You see I've got it all ready now except for a few
small details.
JOHN (much interested). Have you now? I would like you sometime to
explain it to me, Daniel. I didn't quite get on to it the last time you were
telling me about it.
DANIEL. Some time again. Oh yes. But John--I'll have to go to some
of the towns soon to see people about it. The bigger the town the better
the chance, and John (impressively)--London's the place.

JOHN (aghast). London! In all the name of the world, yon place!
Would Belfast not do you?
DANIEL. No. I don't like Belfast. They're a mangy, stick-in-the-mud,
follow-in-the-old-ruts crowd. Never strike out anything new. It's a case
of London or nothing.
JOHN (dubiously). It will be a terrible expense this London visiting.
DANIEL. It'll be worth it.
JOHN. Now, Danny, I would like to oblige you, but what do you think
it would cost me?
DANIEL. Well, I could live cheap you know, John, and do without
meals an odd day, and go steerage and third class, and that sort of thing.
I would say about fifteen pounds roughly. That would let me stay more
than a week.
JOHN. Fifteen pounds! God bless me, Daniel, would you break me?
No, no, I couldn't afford to give you that much.
DANIEL. Maybe ten would do it. I could sleep out under the arches an
odd night or two, and----
JOHN. No, no. I'll not have that. A Murray aye had a bed to go to and a
sup to eat. (After a contemplative pause.) Here, I'll give you three
pounds and you can go to Belfast.
DANIEL. I don't care much about Belfast. You know I have been there
five times now, and I have never got anyone to look into the thing at all
proper.
JOHN. You're too backward, Daniel, when it comes to the like of that.
But ten pounds! No, I would like you to get on in the world right
enough, Daniel, but I couldn't afford it. You know the way this house is
being kept; it's lamentable. Tea and sugar and flour and things. Man,
I'm just after paying off ten pounds to the McAfees for one thing and

another, and it only a running account for two months. If I had a good
housekeeper now, maybe things would alter for the better.
MARY (coming out from the workshop followed by ALICK). O Uncle
Dan! He says he'll go at once and get it----(She stops short in confusion
on seeing her father.)
ALICK. How are you, Mr. Murray?
JOHN. O! bravely. What's the news with you?
ALICK. I was just looking over some of them ideas of Daniel's, about
the new fan bellows.
JOHN. Aye. Now what do you think of it?
ALICK (warned by DANIEL who nudges him). They're great
altogether.
JOHN. Do you think there will be any sale for it at all?
ALICK. I think so. (He perceives DANIEL motioning