The New Tenants
to let his front room, now that it was empty, to Mrs Linden, who would be sure to pay her rent, which would help Easton to pay his. Easton agreed and said he would mention it to Ruth; and a few minutes later they parted.
The next morning Nora found Ruth talking to Mary Linden and they all went round to look at the room.
The appearance of the Easton's house from outside was unaltered. The white lace curtains still draped the front window, and in the centre of the bay was what appeared to be a small round table covered with a red cloth, upon which stood a geranium standing in a saucer with a frill of coloured tissue paper round the pot. These things and the curtains, which fell close together, made it impossible for anyone to see that the room was, otherwise, absolutely bare. The 'table' consisted of an empty wooden box, with the lid of the scullery copper placed upside down upon it for a top, and covered with an old piece of red cloth. The purpose of this stratagem was to prevent people thinking that they were hard up, although they knew that nearly all their neighbours were in more or less similar straits.
It was not a very large room, considering that it would have to serve all purposes for herself and the two children, but Mrs Linden knew it was not likely that she would be able to get one as good elsewhere for the same price. So she agreed to take it from the following Monday at two shillings a week.
As the distance was so short they were able to carry most of the smaller things to their new home, and in the evening, when it was dark, Owen and Easton brought the remainder on a truck they borrowed for the purpose from Hunter.
Though trade was quiet in the ordinary way, during the months of January and February Rushton and Company had several 'boxing up' jobs to do, and as Crass not only polished the coffins, but assisted to take 'the box' home, helped to 'lift in' the corpse, and acted as bearer in the funeral, he frequently made as much as 6s. 9d. on each occasion, and sometimes a little more. But one of these funeral jobs led to a desperate encounter between Crass and Sawkins. The corpse was that of a well-to-do woman who had died of cancer, and although the disease is not supposed to be infectious, Sawkins was instructed to take all the bedding away to be destroyed at the Town Refuse Destructor. There was a feather bed, a bolster and two pillows, in such good condition that
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