SCANTLEBURY. Hear, hear--hear, hear!

WILDER. [Lashing himself.] If any one expects me to say to them
I've lost you fifty thousand pounds and sooner than put my pride in
my pocket I'll lose you another. [Glancing at ANTHONY.] It's--it's
unnatural! I don't want to go against you, sir.

WANKLIN. [Persuasively.] Come Chairman, we 're not free agents.
We're part of a machine. Our only business is to see the Company
earns as much profit as it safely can. If you blame me for want of
principle: I say that we're Trustees. Reason tells us we shall never
get back in the saving of wages what we shall lose if we continue
this struggle--really, Chairman, we must bring it to an end, on the
best terms we can make.

ANTHONY. No.

[There is a pause of general dismay.]

WILDER. It's a deadlock then. [Letting his hands drop with a sort
of despair.] Now I shall never get off to Spain!

WANKLIN. [Retaining a trace of irony.] You hear the consequences of
your victory, Chairman?

WILDER. [With a burst of feeling.] My wife's ill!

SCANTLEBURY. Dear, dear! You don't say so.

WILDER. If I don't get her out of this cold, I won't answer for the
consequences.

[Through the double-doors EDGAR comes in looking very grave.]

EDGAR. [To his Father.] Have you heard this, sir? Mrs. Roberts is
dead!

[Every one stages at him, as if trying to gauge the importance
of this news.]

Enid saw her this afternoon, she had no coals, or food, or anything.
It's enough!

[There is a silence, every one avoiding the other's eyes, except
ANTHONY, who stares hard at his son.]

SCANTLEBURY. You don't suggest that we could have helped the poor
thing?

WILDER. [Flustered.] The woman was in bad health. Nobody can say
there's any responsibility on us. At least--not on me.

EDGAR. [Hotly.] I say that we are responsible.

ANTHONY. War is war!

EDGAR. Not on women!

WANKLIN. It not infrequently happens that women are the greatest
sufferers.

EDGAR. If we knew that, all the more responsibility rests on us.

ANTHONY. This is no matter for amateurs.

EDGAR. Call me what you like, sir. It's sickened me. We had no
right to carry things to such a length.

WILDER. I don't like this business a bit--that Radical rag will
twist it to their own ends; see if they don't! They'll get up some
cock and bull story about the poor woman's dying from starvation. I
wash my hands of it.

ED