\"a pretty nāvvy you\"d make! why, you couldn\"t do half a day\"s work atdigging against an irishman.\"

\"i\"d only charge half-a-day for th\" twelve hours, if i could only do half-aday\"swork in th\" time. yo\"re not knowing of any place, where theycould gi\" me a trial, away fro\" the mills, if i\"m such a firebrand? i\"d takeany wage they thought i was worth, for the sake of those childer.\"

\"don\"t you see what you would be? you\"d be a knobstick. you\"d betaking less wages than the other labourers--all for the sake of anotherman\"s children. think how you\"d abuse any poor fellow who waswilling to take what he could get to keep his own children. you andyour union would soon be down upon him. no! no! if it\"s only for therecollection of the way in which you\"ve used the poor knobsticks beforenow, i say no! to your question. i\"ll not give you work. i won\"t say, idon\"t believe your pretext for ing and asking for work; i knownothing about it. it may be true, or it may not. it\"s a very unlikely story,at any rate. let me pass. i\"ll not give you work. there\"s your answer.\"

\"i hear, sir. i would na ha\" troubled yo\", but that i were bid to e, byone as seemed to think yo\"d getten some soft place in, yo\"r heart. hoowere mistook, and i were misled. but i\"m not the first man as is misled

by a woman.\"

\"tell her to mind her own business the next time, instead of taking upyour time and mine too. i believe women are at the bottom of everyplague in this world. be off with you.\"

\"i\"m obleeged to yo\" for a\" yo\"r kindness, measter, and most of a\" for yo\"rcivil way o\" saying good-bye.\"

mr. thornton did not deign a reply. but, looking out of the window aminute after, he was struck with the lean, bent figure going out of theyard: the heāvy walk was in strange contrast with the resolute, cleardetermination of the man to speak to him. he crossed to the porter\"slodge:

\"how long has that man higgins been waiting to speak to me?\"

\"he was outside the gate before eight o\"clock, sir. i think he\"s been thereever since.\"

\"and it is now--?\"

\"just one, sir.\"

\"five hours,\" thought mr. thornton; \"it\"s a long time for a man to wait,doing nothing but first hoping and then fearing.\"

.t（／t／｜小／／说／//）

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