第29章

There were three or four chairs, and an oblong table, covered with a clean white tablecloth, set ready for tea.In the recess at the right of fireplace - an ordinary open grate - were a number of shelves filled with a miscellaneous collection of books, most of which had been bought second-hand.

There were also a number of new books, mostly cheap editions in paper covers.

Over the back of a chair at one side of the fire, was hanging an old suit of Owen's, and some underclothing, which his wife had placed there to air, knowing that he would be wet through by the time he arrived home...

The woman was half-sitting, half lying, on a couch by the other side of the fire.She was very thin, and her pale face bore the traces of much physical and mental suffering.She was sewing, a task which her reclining position rendered somewhat difficult.Although she was really only twenty-eight years of age, she appeared older.

The boy, who was sitting on the hearthrug playing with some toys, bore a strong resemblance to his mother.He also, appeared very fragile and in his childish face was reproduced much of the delicate prettiness which she had once possessed.His feminine appearance was increased by the fact that his yellow hair hung in long curls on his shoulders.The pride with which his mother regarded this long hair was by no means shared by Frankie himself, for he was always entreating her to cut it off.

Presently the boy stood up and walking gravely over to the window, looked down into the street, scanning the pavement for as far as he could see: he had been doing this at intervals for the last hour.

`I wonder wherever he's got to,' he said, as he returned to the fire.

`I'm sure I don't know,' returned his mother.`Perhaps he's had to work overtime.'

`You know, I've been thinking lately,' observed Frankie, after a pause, `that it's a great mistake for Dad to go out working at all.Ibelieve that's the very reason why we're so poor.'

`Nearly everyone who works is more or less poor, dear, but if Dad didn't go out to work we'd be even poorer than we are now.We should have nothing to eat.'

`But Dad says that the people who do nothing get lots of everything.'

`Yes, and it's quite true that most of the people who never do any work get lots of everything, but where do they get it from? And how do they get it?'

`I'm sure i don't know,' replied Frankie, shaking his head in a puzzled fashion.

`Supposing Dad didn't go to work, or that he had no work to go to, or that he was ill and not able to do any work, then we'd have no money to buy anything.How should we get on then?'

`I'm sure I don't know,' repeated Frankie, looking round the room in a thoughtful manner, `The chairs that's left aren't good enough to sell, and we can't sell the beds, or your sofa, but you might pawn my velvet suit.'

`But even if all the things were good enough to sell, the money we'd get for them wouldn't last very long, and what should we do then?'

`Well, I suppose we'd have to go without, that's all, the same as we did when Dad was in London.'

`But how do the people who never do any work manage to get lots of money then?' added Frankie.

`Oh, there's lots of different ways.For instance, you remember when Dad was in London, and we had no food in the house, I had to sell the easy chair.'

Frankie nodded.`Yes,' he said, `I remember you wrote a note and Itook it to the shop, and afterwards old Didlum came up here and bought it, and then his cart came and a man took it away.'

`And do you remember how much he gave us for it?'

`Five shillings,' replied Frankie, promptly.He was well acquainted with the details of the transaction, having often heard his father and mother discuss it.

`And when we saw it in his shop window a little while afterwards, what price was marked on it?'

'Fifteen shillings.'

Well, that's one way of getting money without working.

Frankie played with his toys in silence for some minutes.At last he said:

`What other ways?'

`Some people who have some money already get more in this way: they find some people who have no money and say to them, "Come and work for us." Then the people who have the money pay the workers just enough wages to keep them alive whilst they are at work.Then, when the things that the working people have been making are finished, the workers are sent away, and as they still have no money, they are soon starving.In the meantime the people who had the money take all the things that the workers have made and sell them for a great deal more money than they gave to the workers for making them.That's another way of getting lots of money without doing any useful work.'

`But is there no way to get rich without doing such things as that?'

`It's not possible for anyone to become rich without cheating other people.'

`What about our schoolmaster then? He doesn't do any work.'

`Don't you think it's useful and and also very hard work teaching all those boys every day? I don't think I should like to have to do it.'

`Yes, I suppose what he does is some use,' said Frankie thoughtfully.

`And it must be rather hard too, I should think.I've noticed he looks a bit worried sometimes, and sometimes he gets into a fine old wax when the boys don't pay proper attention.'

The child again went over to the window, and pulling back the edge of the blind looked down the deserted rain washed street.

`What about the vicar?' he remarked as he returned.

Although Frankie did not go to church or Sunday School, the day school that he had attended was that attached to the parish church, and the vicar was in the habit of looking in occasionally.

`Ah, he really is one of those who live without doing any necessary work, and of all the people who do nothing, the vicar is one of the very worst.'