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\ CHAPTER XLV 225 in the millyard during the strike that Harvey sustains the blow on the head that later makes him insane and causes him to kill Daw- kins. If you cannot identify Dawkins when you see him then you spend time which might better be devoted to following the play in wondering who he is. If you see him first at the office in the mill, the others all deferring to him, the fact that he is the mill owner has been established. It may not be necessary to show that his name is Dawkins, or this may be established later in a leader that says that "The men come to demand a raise from Dawkins." This not only starts the strike but it establishes the fact that Dawkins is the name of the man who owns the mill. 2. But it is not always necessary to resort to the familiar but sometimes clumsy expedient of establishing each character by writing in a succession of non-essential scenes. The play may be well ad- vanced before you even show Dawkins. If there has been talk about a strike at the mills and you see the man with the whiskers in front of a handsome house, you can guess this must be the owner. You do not first show him at the mill any more than you would first show a rural hero milking the cow or guiding the plow. If it is ap- parent that he is a farmer, then you have established the fact througl\ his dress. If you have met Tom, the protagonist, and now see an elderly lady kiss him, you can guess that it is his mother and not his wife or sweetheart. If it is his wife, whom he married for money, you may have to use a leader to establish this relationship, but if the scene explains itself do not insult the intelligence of the spectator by telling him a fact he should be able to arrive at un- assisted. 3. If the hero is seen with a younger woman let the action show the relationship. A wife, a sister or a sweetheart generally have different attitudes, and it is simple to invent some action that will show the precise relationship. If you see a man and woman at the breakfast table alone you presume them to be man and wife. Two men of different age probably are father and son. If they are Uncle and Nephew you can make that fact plain in a leader, but if the relationship is obvious, do not bore your spectator. 4. This applies to all persons of consequence in your story. You cannot have mysterious characters prowling through your plot to strip off crepe whiskers at the last moment and proclaim their iden- tities. Even where the identity can be explained without great de- lay you have detracted from your plot through the speculation you have roused. Suppose that as your play is rushing to its climax a leader announces that "The Detective denounces Maltravers." The scene opens. Three men are shown on the stage. The spectator does not follow the plot until he decides which one of these can be the detective. Plot and interest in the plot are sacrificed to curiosity. Perhaps none of the men present is the detective; an entirely new character enters and proves to be the officer. The scene, up to that point, has been ruined, and not alone that scene, but the whole play