Page 282 - sons-and-lovers

The miner turned up his eyes, showing the whites in his
black face.
‘Has ter, lass. What took thee there?’
‘That Arthur!’
‘Oh—an’ what’s agate now?’
‘He’s only enlisted.’
Morel put down his knife and leaned back in his chair.
‘Nay,’ he said, ‘that he niver ‘as!’
‘And is going down to Aldershot tomorrow.’
‘Well!’ exclaimed the miner. ‘That’s a winder.’ He con-
sidered it a moment, said ‘H’m!’ and proceeded with his
dinner. Suddenly his face contracted with wrath. ‘I hope he
may never set foot i’ my house again,’ he said.
‘The idea!’ cried Mrs. Morel. ‘Saying such a thing!’
‘I do,’ repeated Morel. ‘A fool as runs away for a soldier,
let ‘im look after ‘issen; I s’ll do no more for ‘im.’
‘A fat sight you have done as it is,’ she said.
And Morel was almost ashamed to go to his public-house
that evening.
‘Well, did you go?’ said Paul to his mother when he came
home.
‘I did.’
‘And could you see him?’
‘Yes.’
‘And what did he say?’
‘He blubbered when I came away.’
‘H’m!’
‘And so did I, so you needn’t ‘h’m’!’
Mrs. Morel fretted after her son. She knew he would not

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