it was a long while before he spoke. he was resting his head on his twohands, and looking down into the fire, so she could not read theexpression on his face.

\"i\"ll not deny but what th\" union finds it necessary to force a man intohis own good. i\"ll speak truth. a man leads a dree life who\"s not i\" th\"

union. but once i\" the\" union, his interests are taken care on better norhe could do it for himsel\", or by himsel\", for that matter. it\"s the onlyway working men can get their rights, by all joining together. more themembers, more chance for each one separate man hāving justice donehim. government takes care o\" fools and madmen; and if any man isinclined to do himsel\" or his neighbour a hurt, it puts a bit of a check onhim, whether he likes it or no. that\"s all we do i\" th\" union. we can\"tclap folk into prison; but we can make a man\"s life so heāvy to be borne,that he\"s obliged to e in, and be wise and helpful in spite of himself.

boucher were a fool all along, and ne\"er a worse fool than at th\" last.\"

\"he did you harm?\" asked margaret.

\"ay, that did he. we had public opinion on our side, till he and his sortbegan rioting and breaking laws. it were all o\"er wi\" the strike then.\"

\"then would it not hāve been far better to hāve left him alone, and notforced him to join the union? he did you no good; and you drove himmad.\"

\"margaret,\" said her father, in a low and warning tone, for he saw thecloud gathering on higgins\"s face.

\"i like her,\" said higgins, suddenly. \"hoo speaks plain out what\"s in hermind. hoo doesn\"t prehend th\" union for all that. it\"s a great power:

it\"s our only power. i ha\" read a bit o\" poetry about a plough going o\"er adaisy, as made tears e into my eyes, afore i\"d other cause for crying.

but the chap ne\"er stopped driving the plough, i\"se warrant, for all hewere pitiful about the daisy. he\"d too much mother-wit for that. th\"

union\"s the plough, making ready the land for harvest-time. such asboucher--\"twould be settin\" him up too much to liken him to a daisy;he\"s liker a weed lounging over the ground--mun just make up theirmind to be put out o\" the way. i\"m sore vexed wi\" him just now. so,mappen, i dunnot speak him fair. i could go o\"er him wi\" a ploughmysel\", wi\" a\" the pleasure in life.\"

\"why? what has he been doing? anything fresh?\"

\"ay, to be sure. he\"s ne\"er out o\" mischief, that man. first of a\" he mustgo raging like a mad fool, and kick up yon riot. then he\"d to go into

hiding, where he\"d a been yet, if thornton had followed him out as i\"dhoped he would ha\" done. but thornton, hāving got his own purpose,didn\"t care to go on wi\" the prosecution for the riot. so boucher slunkback again to his house. he ne\"er showed himsel\" abroad for a day ortwo. he had that grace. and then, where think ye that he went? why, tohamper\"s. damn him! he went wi\" his mealy-mouthed face, that turnsme sick to look at, a-asking for work, though he knowed well enoughthe new rule, o\" pledging themselves to give nought to th\" unions;nought to help the starving turn-out! why he\"d a clemmed to death, ifth\" union had na helped him in his pinch. there he went, ossing topromise aught, and pledge himsel\" to aught--to tell a\" he know\"d on ourproceedings, the good-for-nothing judas! but i\"ll say this for hamper,and thank him for it at my dying day, he drove boucher away, andwould na listen to him--ne\"er a word--though folk standing by, says thetraitor cried like a babby!\"

\"oh! how shocking! how pitiful!\" exclaimed margaret. \"higgins, i don\"tknow you to-day. don\"t you see how you\"ve made boucher what he is,by driving him into the union against his will--without his heart goingwith it. you hāve made him what he is!\"