Jonah

r customers by delivering the shirts and collars

; "but I'm changin' the 'abits of a

back rooms. A neighbour, who poked her head in, asked if she were moving. But when she had finished the cleaning, she surveyed the result with surprise. The room was scrubbed as bare as a shaven chin. So she took some coloured almanacs from the bedroom

ds. She generally sat on a box for safety. Finally, she constructed two forms out of the ironing-boards and some boxes. Then she fastened two rope

y her, rustled stiffly at every movement of their bodies, and they walked daintily as if they were treading on eggs. Both had gone to bed with their hair screwed in curling-pins, losing half their sleep with pain and discomfort, but the

used ter take 'arf a day ter doll meself up, an' then git down the street with a brass band playin' inside me silly

and soft white shirts with new black mufflers round their necks in place of collars-for the larrikin taste in dress runs to a surprising neatness. But

his face, and he thought with regret of his ferocious jest and her stinging reply. Pinkey grew uneasy under his eyes. Again the curious pink flush coloured her cheeks, and she turned her head with a light, scornful toss. That settled Chook. In five minutes he was looking at her

ied. "I'm glad yer don't know 'ow giddy yer look, els

ompliments, pretending not to hear them, feel

they're got up ter kill ter please yous. It's only te

Flood. Mrs Yabsley toiled in the rear of the bridal procession, fighting for wind on account of the hill. She kept her fist shut on the two half-dollars for the parson; the

ward over the church, that had grown grey in the service of God, like a fortress of the Lord planted on hostile ground.

ws. Their suspicious movements attracted the attention of the verger, and he followed them with stealthy movements, convinced that they meditated a burglary. When he learned their errand, he took charge of the party. They entered the ch

loke. 'E's wearin'

effort to repress their giggles. Mrs Yabsley was annoye

the two ends an' middle of a 'eathen. That's wot they c

to ripples of hysterical laughter. Then Chook saw the o

rgin, eh? Yer'd want a extra

. The women, to whom weddings were an afternoon's distraction, like the matinees of the richer, stared about the building. Mrs Yabsley, wedged with difficulty in the narrow pew, pretended that they were made uncomfortable on purpose to keep people awake during the serm

But, as he read the service, he was the priest again, solemn and austere, standing at the gates of Life and Death. He followed the ritual with scrupulous detail, scorning to give short measure to the poor. In

en they got outside. "I reckon 'e's

's cries of admiration at the sight of a large brooch set with paste diamonds, and fixed on a thin silver bracelet for her, and a necklace of imitation pearls, the size of peas, for Pinkey. Ada thrust her fat fingers through the rigid band of metal; it slipped over the joints and hung loosely on her wrist. Th

y were thirsty, and the pieman was not due for half an hour. A bottle was opened with infinite precaution, but the faint plop of the cork reached the sharp ears of Mrs Swadling, who was lounging at the end of the lane. The unusual movements of Mrs Yabsley had roused her suspic

ask yer about that ironmould

and she stood thunderstruck by this extravagance. But Ada, anxious to display her ring, was smoothing and patting her hair every few

e known wot yer were up to, an' me see a

ooked at Jona

Joe," she cried. "The

nah. "Let 'em all come.

was full of women, who were greatly impressed by the bottles of beer, a luxury for aristocrats. When Joey the pieman arrived, some were sitting on the veranda, as the room was crowded. Mrs Yabsley anx

t's only once

piece of paper in hieroglyphics known only to herself, as she was used to number the shirts and collars. Joey, impressed by the magnitude of the order, got down from his perch in the

scrap of paper in their hands, the hot grease sweating through the thin covering on to their fingers. The ladies hesitated, fearful of being thought vulgar if

nd they ate with solemn, serious faces, for it was not every day the chance came to fill their bellies with such dainties. Joey, with an eye to business, decided to stay in the street on the ch

ies, all 'o

Jonah and Chook went to the "Woolpack" with jugs, and the company settled down to the spree. At intervals the men offered to shout for a few friends, and, borrowing a dead marine f

Yabsley looke

er's Sunday, an' there ain't a b

ad forgotten her weekly shopping. It w

n the road wi' Mother, an' 'elp carry the t

p was in darkness, but they banged so fiercely on the door that he leaned over the balcony in his shirt, convinced that the Push had come to wreck his shop. Ye

he butcher's and the greengrocer's Mrs Yabsley, radiant with beer, gave her orders royally, her bodyguard, seizing on every purchase, fighting for the privil

he recognized Mrs Yabsley, and became suddenly excited, under the impression that she was being taken to the lock-up by the police. He lurched gallantly into the throng, ca

'ead. Take this," said Cho

you want it more than I d

sudden, zigzag steps. When the party reached the cottage, it was met with a howl of welcome from the crowd, which now reached to the opposite f

r has come aga

urely occur as the

me if you w

you into the

some wonder

e, swe

s set the ball rolling. Song followed song, the pick of the music-halls. Jonah gave a selection on the mouth-organ. Then Barney, who was

er age was fi

ank of course

amb believ

an M

Church I

e in a top

es in debt

t she's do

with laughter, digging their fingers into their neighbours' ribs to emphasize the details. But Barney, in trying

or fear of being thought shy, led off with a pathetic ballad. She sang in a thin, quavering voice, staring into, vacanc

one from u

e they mig

eached a fa

y-ee, f

eached a fa

y-ee, f

re to-day and gone to-morrow, pierced with a sense of the tragic brevity of Life, their he

lusty yell from the bedroom fell on their ears. Everyone smiled. But, as Mrs Yabsley crossed the room to pacify it, the women called for the baby to be brought out. When Mrs Yabsley appeared with th

the hunchback from his fellows. The guests howled with delight, clapping their hands, stamping their feet, trying to add to the din. It was a triumph, the sensation of the evening. Then Old Dad, shutting one eye to see more distinctly, proposed the healt

slaps the baby

fingers' ends. There was a dead silence, and Dad looked round in wond

the disagreeable stage, maudlin drunk or pugnacious, anxious to quarrel, but forgetting the cause of dispute. The police, who had looked on with a tol

Chook began to make love to Pinkey under his very eyes. And Stinky sat in sullen silence, refusing to open his mouth. Pinkey, amazed by Chook's impudence and annoyed that her lover should cut so poor a figure, encouraged him, with the feminine delig

digan Street was silent and deserted. The air was still hot and breathless, but little gusts of wind began to rise, the first sig

th all the street to keep the secret. There's no mistake, secrets are dead funny. Spend yer last penny to 'elp yer friend out of a 'o