And what have you got to say of these fine doings, Mr. Dabbs? Mrs. Mutimer asked him.
Why, its like this era, Mrs. Mutimer, Daniel began, having seated himself, with hands on widely-parted knees. As far as the theory goes, Im all for Dick; any man must be as knows his two times two. But about the Longwoods; well, I tell Dick theyve a perfect right to get rid of him, finding him a dangerous enemy, you see. It was all fair and above board. Young Stephen Longwood ups an saysleastways not in these words, but them as means the samesays he, Look ere, Mutimer, he says, weve no fault to find with you as a workman, but from what we hear of you, it seems you dont care much for us as employers. Hadnt you better find a shop as is run on Socialist principles? Thats all about it, you see; its a case of incompatible temperaments; theres no ill-feelin, not as between man and man, And thats what I say, too.
Now, Dick, said Mrs. Mutimer, before you begin your sermon, whos a-going to fetch my beer?
Right, Mrs. Mutimer! cried Daniel, slapping his leg. Thats what I call coming from theory to practice. Beer squares allleastways for the time beingonly for the time being, Dick. Wheres the jug? Better give me two jugs; weve had a thirsty night of it.
Well make capital of this! said Richard, walking about the room in Daniels absence. The great point gained is, theyve shown theyre afraid of me. Well write it up in the paper next week, see if we dont! Itll do us a sight of good.
And wheres your weekly wages to come from? inquired his mother.
Oh, Ill look after that. I only wish theyd refuse me all round; the more of that kind of thing the better for us. Im not afraid but I can earn my living.
Through all this Emma Vine had sat with her thoughtful eyes constantly turned on Richard. It was plain how pride struggled with anxiety in her mind. When Richard had kept silence for a moment, she ventured to speak, having tried in vain to meet his look.
Janes ill again, Richard, she said.
Mutimer had to summon his thoughts from a great distance; his endeavour to look sympathetic was not very successful.
Not the fever again?
Yes, it is, she replied sadly.
Going to work in the wet, I suppose?
He shrugged his shoulders; in his present mood the fact was not so much personally interesting to him as in the light of another case against capitalism. Emmas sister had to go a long way to her daily employment, and could not afford to ride; the fifth attack of rheumatic fever was the price she paid for being permitted to earn ten shillings a week.
Daniel returned with both jugs foaming, his face on a broad grin of anticipation. There was a general move to the table. Richard began to carve roast beef like a freeman, not by any means like the serf he had repeatedly declared himself in the course of the evenings oratory.
Her Royal Ighness out? asked Daniel, with constraint not solely due to the fact that his mouth was full.
Shes round at Mrs. Tooks, I should think, was Mrs. Mutimers reply. Staying supper, peraps.
Richard, after five minutes of surprising trencher-work, recommenced conversation. The proceedings of the evening at the hall, which was the centre for Socialist gatherings in this neighbourhood, were discussed by him and Daniel with much liveliness. Dan was disposed to take the meeting on its festive and humorous side; for him, economic agitation was a mode of passing a few hours amid congenial uproar. Whenever stamping and shouting were called for, Daniel was your man. Abuse of employers, it was true, gave a zest to the occasion, and to applaud the martyrdom of others was as cheery an occupation as could be asked; Daniel had no idea of sacrificing his own weekly wages, and therein resembled most of those who had been loud in uncompromising rhetoric. Richard, on the other hand, was unmistakably zealous. His sense of humour was not strong, and in any case he would have upheld the serious dignity of his own position. One saw from his way of speaking, that he believed himself about to become a popular hero; already in imagination he stood forth on platforms before vast assemblies, and heard his own voice denouncing capitalism with force which nothing could resist. The first taste of applause had given extraordinary impulse to his convictions, and the personal ambition with which they were interwoven. His grandfathers blood was hot in him to-night. Henry Mutimer, dying in hospital of his broken skull, would have found euthanasia, could he in vision have seen this worthy descendant entering upon a career in comparison with which his own was unimportant.
The high-pitched voices and the clatter of knives and forks allowed a new-comer to enter the kitchen without being immediately observed. It was a tall girl of interesting and vivacious appearance; she wore a dress of tartan, a very small hat trimmed also with tartan and with a red feather, a tippet of brown fur about her shoulders, and a muff of the same material on one of her hands. Her figure was admirable; from the crest of her gracefully poised head to the tip of her well-chosen boot she was, in line and structure, the type of mature woman. Her face, if it did not indicate a mind to match her frame, was at the least sweet-featured and provoking; characterless somewhat, but void of danger-signals; doubtless too good to be merely played with; in any case, very capable of sending a ray, in one moment or another, to the shadowy dreaming-place of graver thoughts. Alice Maud Mutimer was nineteen. For two years she had been thus tall, but the grace of her proportions had only of late fully determined itself. Her work in the City warehouse was unexacting; she had even a faint impress of rose-petal on each cheek, and her eye was excellently clear. Her lips, unfortunately never quite closed, betrayed faultless teeth. Her likeness to Richard was noteworthy; beyond question she understood the charm of her presence, and one felt that the consciousness might, in her case, constitute rather a safeguard than otherwise.
She stood with one hand on the door, surveying the table. When the direction of Mrs. Mutimers eyes at length caused Richard and Daniel to turn their heads, Alice nodded to each.
What noisy people! I heard you out in the square.
She was moving past the table, but Daniel, suddenly backing his chair, intercepted her. The girl gave him her hand, and, by way of being jocose, he squeezed it so vehemently that she uttered a shrill Oh!
Leave go, Mr. Dabbs! Leave go, I tell you! How dare you? Ill hit you as hard as I can!
Daniel laughed obstreperously.
Do! do! he cried. What a mighty blow that ud be! Only the left hand, though. I shall get over it.
She wrenched herself away, gave Daniel a smart slap on the back, and ran round to the other side of the table, where she kissed Emma affectionately.
How thirsty I am! she exclaimed. You havent drunk all the beer, I hope.
Im not so sure of that, Dan replied. Why, there aint more than arf a pint; thats not much use for a Royal Ighness.
She poured it into a glass. Alice reached across the table, raised the glass to her lips, andemptied it. Then she threw off hat, tippet, and gloves, and seated herself But in a moment she was up and at the cupboard.
Now, mother, you dontyou dont say as theres not a pickle!
Her tone was deeply reproachful.
Why, there now, replied her mother, laughing; I knew what it ud be! I meant to a got them last night. Youll have to make shift for once.
The Princess took her seat with an air of much dejection. Her pretty lips grew mutinous; she pushed her plate away.
No supper for me! The idea of cold meat without a pickle.
Whats the time? cried Daniel. Not closing time yet. I can get a pickle at the Dukes Arms. Give me a glass, Mrs. Mutimer.
Alice looked up slily, half smiling, half doubtful.
You may go, she said. I like to see strong men make themselves useful.
Dan rose, and was off at once. He returned with the tumbler full of pickled walnuts. Alice emptied half a dozen into her plate, and put one of them whole into her mouth. She would not have been a girl of her class if she had not relished this pungent dainty. Fish of any kind, green vegetables, eggs and bacon, with all these a drench of vinegar was indispensable to her. And she proceeded to eat a supper scarcely less substantial than that which had appeased her brothers appetite. Start not, dear reader; the Princess is only a subordinate heroine, and happens, moreover, to be a living creature.
Wont you take a walnut, Miss Vine? Daniel asked, pushing the tumbler to the quiet girl, who had scarcely spoken through the meal.
She declined the offered dainty, and at the same time rose from the table, saying aside to Mrs. Mutimer that she must be going.
Yes, I suppose you must, was the reply. Shall you have to sit up with Jane?
Not all night, I dont expect.
Richard likewise left his place, and, when she offered to bid him good-night, said that he would walk a little way with her. In the passage above, which was gas-lighted, he found his hat on a nail, and the two left the house together.
Dont you really mind? Emma asked, looking up into his face as they took their way out of the square.
Not I! I can get a job at Baldwins any day. But I dare say I shant want one long.
Not want work?
He laughed.
Work? Oh, plenty of work; but perhaps not the same kind. We want men who can give their whole time to the struggleto go about lecturing and the like. Of course, it isnt everybody can do it.
The remark indicated his belief that he knew one man not incapable of leading functions.
And would they pay you? Emma inquired, simply.
Expenses of that kind are inevitable, he replied.
Issuing into the New North Road, where there were still many people hastening one way and the other, they turned to the left, crossed the canalblack and silentand were soon among narrow streets. Every corner brought a whiff of some rank odour, which stole from closed shops and warehouses, and hung heavily on the still air. The public-houses had just extinguished their lights, and in the neighbourhood of each was a cluster of lingering men and women, merry or disputatious. Mid-Easter was inviting repose and festivity; to-morrow would see culmination of riot, and after that it would only depend upon pecuniary resources how long the muddled interval between holiday and renewed labour should drag itself out.
The end of their walk was the entrance to a narrow passage, which, at a few yards distance, widened itself and became a street of four-storeyed houses. At present this could not be discerned; the passage was a mere opening into massive darkness. Richard had just been making inquiries about Emmas sister.
Youve had the doctor?
Yes, were obliged; she does so dread going to the hospital again. Each time shes longer in getting well.
Richards hand was in his pocket; he drew it out and pressed something against the girls palm.
Oh, how can I? she said, dropping her eyes. NodontIm ashamed.
Thats all right, he urged, not unkindly. Youll have to get her what the doctor orders, and it isnt likely you and Kate can afford it.
Youre always so kind, Richard. But I amI am ashamed!
I say, Emma, why dont you call me Dick? Ive meant to ask you that many a time.
She turned her face away, moving as if abashed.
I dont know. It soundsperhaps I want to make a difference from what the others call you.
He laughed with a sound of satisfaction.
Well, you mustnt stand here; its a cold night. Try and come Tuesday or Wednesday.
Yes, I will.
Good night! he said, and, as he held her hand, bent to the lips which were ready.
Emma walked along the passage, and for some distance up the middle of the street. Then she stopped and looked up at one of the black houses. There were lights, more or less curtain-dimmed, in nearly all the windows. Emma regarded a faint gleam in the topmost storey. To that she ascended.
Mutimer walked homewards at a quick step, whistling to himself. A latch-key gave him admission. As he went down the kitchen stairs, he heard his mothers voice raised in anger, and on opening the door he found that Daniel had departed, and that the supper table was already cleared. Alice, her feet on the fender and her dress raised a little, was engaged in warming herself before going to bed. The object of Mrs. Mutimers chastisement was the youngest member of the family, known as Arry; even Richard, who had learnt to be somewhat careful in his pronunciation, could not bestow the aspirate upon his brothers name. Henry, aged seventeen, promised to do credit to the Mutimers in physical completeness; already he was nearly as tall as his eldest brother; and, even in his lankness, showed the beginnings of well-proportioned vigour. But the shape of his head, which was covered with hair of the lightest hue, did not encourage hope of mental or moral qualities. It was not quite fair to judge his face as seen at present; the vacant grin of half timid, half insolent, resentment made him considerably more simian of visage than was the case under ordinary circumstances. But the features were unpleasant to look upon; it was Richards face, distorted and enfeebled with impress of sensual instincts.
As long as you live in this house, it shant go on, his mother was saying. Sunday or Monday, its no matter; youll be home before eleven oclock, and youll come home sober. Youre no better than a pig!
Arry was seated in a far corner of the room, where he had dropped his body on entering. His attire was such as the cheap tailors turn out in imitation of extreme fashions: trousers closely moulded upon the leg, a huff waistcoat, a short coat with pockets everywhere. A very high collar kept his head up against his will; his necktie was crimson, and passed through a brass ring; he wore a silver watch-chain, or what seemed to be such. One hand was gloved, and a cane lay across his knees. His attitude was one of relaxed muscles, his legs very far apart, his body not quite straight.
What d you call sober, Id like to know? he replied, with looseness of utterance. Im as sober s anybody in this room. If a chap cant go out with s friends t Easter an all?
Easter, indeed! Its getting to be a regular thing, Saturday and Sunday. Get up and go to bed! Ill have my say out with you in the morning, young man.
Go to bed! repeated the lad with scorn. Tell you I aint had no supper.
Richard had walked to the neighbourhood of the fireplace, and was regarding his brother with anger and contempt. At this point of the dialogue he interfered.
And you wont have any, either, that Ill see to! Whats more, youll do as your mother bids you, or Ill know the reason why. Go upstairs at once!
It was not a command to be disregarded. Arry rose, but half-defiantly.
What have you to do with it? Youre not my master.