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out of the Harrington Arms at the end of the street, and
soon after they all went to bed: Bell, who slept nearest the
door, made his way across the room by jumping from bed to
bed, and even when he got to his own would not stop talk-
ing. At last everything was silent but for the steady snoring
of the soldier, and Philip went to sleep.
He was awaked at seven by the loud ringing of a bell, and
by a quarter to eight they were all dressed and hurrying
downstairs in their stockinged feet to pick out their boots.
They laced them as they ran along to the shop in Oxford
Street for breakfast. If they were a minute later than eight
they got none, nor, once in, were they allowed out to get
themselves anything to eat. Sometimes, if they knew they
could not get into the building in time, they stopped at the
little shop near their quarters and bought a couple of buns;
but this cost money, and most went without food till dinner.
Philip ate some bread and butter, drank a cup of tea, and at
half past eight began his day’s work again.
‘First to the right. Second on the left, madam.’
Soon he began to answer the questions quite mechani-
cally. The work was monotonous and very tiring. After a
few days his feet hurt him so that he could hardly stand: the
thick soft carpets made them burn, and at night his socks
were painful to remove. It was a common complaint, and
his fellow ‘floormen’ told him that socks and boots just rot-
ted away from the continual sweating. All the men in his
room suffered in the same fashion, and they relieved the
pain by sleeping with their feet outside the bed-clothes. At
first Philip could not walk at all and was obliged to spend