sight o" the little ones clemming. Ay, clemming! Five shilling a weekmay do well enough for thee, wi" but two mouths to fill, and one on "ema wench who can welly earn her own meat. But it"s clemming to us. An"
I tell thee plain--if hoo dies as I"m "feard hoo will afore we"ve getten th"
five per cent, I"ll fling th" money back i" th" master"s face, and say, "Bedomned to yo"; be domned to th" whole cruel world o" yo"; that could naleave me th" best wife that ever bore childer to a man!" An" look thee,lad, I"ll hate thee, and th" whole pack o" th" Union. Ay, an" chase yo"
through heaven wi" my hatred,--I will, lad! I will,--if yo"re leading meastray i" this matter. Thou saidst, Nicholas, on Wednesday sennight--andit"s now Tuesday i" th" second week--that afore a fortnight we"d ha" themasters coming a-begging to us to take back our" work, at our ownwage--and time"s nearly up,--and there"s our lile Jack lying a-bed, tooweak to cry, but just every now and then sobbing up his heart for wanto" food,--our lile Jack, I tell thee, lad! Hoo"s never looked up sin" hewere born, and hoo loves him as if he were her very life,--as he is,--for Ireckon he"ll ha" cost me that precious price,--our lile Jack, who wakenedme each morn wi" putting his sweet little lips to my great rough fou"
face, a-seeking a smooth place to kiss,--an" he lies clemming." Here thedeep sobs choked the poor man, and Nicholas looked up, with eyesbrimful of tears, to Margaret, before he could gain courage to speak.
"Hou"d up, man. Thy lile Jack shall na" clem. I ha" getten brass, and we"llgo buy the chap a sup o" milk an" a good four-pounder this very minute.
What"s mine"s thine, sure enough, i" thou"st i" want. Only, dunnot loseheart, man!" continued he, as he fumbled in a tea-pot for what money hehad. "I lay yo" my heart and soul we"ll win for a" this: it"s but bearing onone more week, and yo just see th" way th" masters "ll come round,praying on us to come back to our mills. An" th" Union,--that"s to say, I-willtake care yo"ve enough for th" childer and th" missus. So dunnot turnfaint-heart, and go to th" tyrants a-seeking work."
The man turned round at these words,--turned round a face so white,and gaunt, and tear-furrowed, and hopeless, that its very calm forcedMargaret to weep.
"Yo" know well, that a worser tyrant than e"er th" masters were says"Clem to death, and see "em a" clem to death, ere yo" dare go again th"
Union." Yo" know it well, Nicholas, for a" yo"re one on "em. Yo" may bekind hearts, each separate; but once banded together, yo"ve no more pityfor a man than a wild hunger-maddened wolf."
Nicholas had his hand on the lock of the door--he stopped and turnedround on Boucher, close following:
"So help me God! man alive--if I think not I"m doing best for thee, andfor all on us. If I"m going wrong when I think I"m going right, it"s theirsin, who ha" left me where I am, in my ignorance. I ha" thought till mybrains ached,--Beli" me, John, I have. An" I say again, there"s no help forus but having faith i" th" Union. They"ll win the day, see if they dunnot!"
Not one word had Margaret or Bessy spoken. They had hardly utteredthe sighing, that the eyes of each called to the other to bring up from thedepths of her heart. At last Bessy said,"I never thought to hear father call on God again. But yo" heard him say,"So help me God!""
"Yes!" said Margaret. "Let me bring you what money I can spare,--let mebring you a little food for that poor man"s children. Don"t let them knowit comes from any one but your father. It will be but little."
Bessy lay back without taking any notice of what Margaret said. Shedid not cry--she only quivered up her breath,"My heart"s drained dry o" tears," she said. "Boucher"s been in these dayspast, a telling me of his fears and his troubles. He"s but a weak kind o"
chap, I know, but he"s a man for a" that; and tho" I"ve been angry, many atime afore now, wi" him an" his wife, as knew no more nor him how tomanage, yet, yo" see, all folks isn"t wise, yet God lets "em live--ay, an"
gives "em some one to love, and be loved by, just as good as Solomon.
An", if sorrow comes to them they love, it hurts "em as sore as e"er it didSolomon. I can"t make it out. Perhaps it"s as well such a one as Boucherhas th" Union to see after him. But I"d just like for to see th" mean asmake th" Union, and put "em one by one face to face wi" Boucher. Ireckon, if they heard him, they"d tell him (if I cotched "em one by one),he might go back and get what he could for his work, even if it weren"tso much as they ordered."
Margaret sat utterly silent. How was she ever to go away into comfortand forget that man"s voice, with the tone of unutterable agony, tellingmore by far than his words of what he had to suffer? She took out herpurse; she had not much in it of what she could call her own, but whatshe had she put into Bessy"s hand without speaking.
"Thank yo". There"s many on "em gets no more, and is not so bad off,-leastwaysdoes not show it as he does. But father won"t let "em want,now he knows. Yo" see, Boucher"s been pulled down wi" his childer,-andher being so cranky, and a" they could pawn has gone this lasttwelvemonth. Yo"re not to think we"d ha" letten "em clem, for all we"re abit pressed oursel"; if neighbours doesn"t see after neighbours, I dunnowho will." Bessy seemed almostafraid lest Margaret should think theyhad not the will, and, to a certain degree, the power of helping onewhom she evidently regarded as having a claim upon them. "Besides,"
she went on, "father is sure and positive the masters must give in withinthese next few days,--that they canna hould on much longer. But I thankyo" all the same,--I thank yo" for mysel", as much as for Boucher, for itjust makes my heart warm to yo" more and more."
Bessy seemed much quieter to-day, but fearfully languid a exhausted.
As she finished speaking, she looked so faint and weary that Margaretbecame alarmed.
"It"s nout," said Bessy. "It"s not death yet. I had a fearfu" night wi" dreams-orsomewhat like dreams, for I were wide awake--and I"m all in aswounding daze to-day,--only yon poor chap made me alive again. No!
it"s not death yet, but death is not far off. Ay! Cover me up, and I"ll maybe sleep, if th" cough will let me. Good night--good afternoon, m"appenI should say--but th" light is dim an" misty to-day."
