Page 164 - sons-and-lovers

ing in his hands, he dashed through a door and down some
stairs, into the basement where the gas was burning. They
crossed the cold, damp storeroom, then a long, dreary room
with a long table on trestles, into a smaller, cosy apartment,
not very high, which had been built on to the main build-
ing. In this room a small woman with a red serge blouse,
and her black hair done on top of her head, was waiting like
a proud little bantam.
‘Here y’are!’ said Pappleworth.
‘I think it is ‘here you are’!’ exclaimed Polly. ‘The girls
have been here nearly half an hour waiting. Just think of the
time wasted!’
‘YOU think of getting your work done and not talking
so much,’ said Mr. Pappleworth. ‘You could ha’ been finish-
ing off.’
‘You know quite well we finished everything off on Sat-
urday!’ cried Pony, flying at him, her dark eyes flashing.
‘Tu-tu-tu-tu-terterter!’ he mocked. ‘Here’s your new lad.
Don’t ruin him as you did the last.’
‘As we did the last!’ repeated Polly. ‘Yes, WE do a lot of
ruining, we do. My word, a lad would TAKE some ruining
after he’d been with you.’
‘It’s time for work now, not for talk,’ said Mr. Papple-
worth severely and coldly.
‘It was time for work some time back,’ said Polly, march-
ing away with her head in the air. She was an erect little
body of forty.
In that room were two round spiral machines on the
bench under the window. Through the inner doorway

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