CHAPTER XVIII
Ruth
One evening, Crass and Slyme met by appointment at the corner of the street, and proceeded on their way down town. It was about half past six o'clock; the shops and streets were brilliantly lighted, and as they went along they saw numerous groups of men talking together in a listless way. Most of them were artizans and labourers out of employment and evidently in no great hurry to go home. Some of them had neither tea nor fire to go to, and stayed away from home as long as possible so as not to be compelled to look upon the misery of those who were waiting for them there. Others hung about hoping against all probability that they might even yet—although it was so late—hear of some job about to be started somewhere or other.
As they passed one of these groups they recognised and nodded to Newman and old Jack Linden, and the former left the others and came up and walked along with them.
'Anything fresh in, Bob?' he asked.
'No; we ain't got 'ardly anything,' replied Crass. 'I reckon we shall finish up at "The Cave" next week, and then I suppose we shall all be stood orf. We've got several plumbers on, and I believe there's a little gasfitting work in, but next to nothing in our line.'
'I suppose you don't know of any other firm what's got anything?'
'No; I don't, mate. Between you and me I don't think any of 'em has; they're all in about the same fix.'
'I've not done anything since I left, you know,' said Newman, 'and we've just about got as far as we can get, at home.'
Slyme and Crass said nothing in reply to this. They wished that Newman would take himself off, because they did not want him to know where they were going.
194
