"And there's over two pounds--isn't there over two pounds"?
She tried the basket.
"Yes," she answered doubtfully.
Then Paul fished out a little spray. He always brought her one spray,
the best he could find.
"Pretty!" she said, in a curious tone, of a woman accepting a
love-token.
The boy walked all day, went miles and miles, rather than own himself
beaten and come home to her empty-handed. She never realised this,
whilst he was young. She was a woman who waited for her children to grow
up. And William occupied her chiefly.
But when William went to Nottingham, and was not so much at home, the
mother made a companion of Paul. The latter was unconsciously jealous of
his brother, and William was jealous of him. At the same time, they were
good friends.
Mrs. Morel's intimacy with her second son was more subtle and fine,
perhaps not so passionate as with her eldest. It was the rule that Paul
should fetch the money on Friday afternoons. The colliers of the five
pits were paid on Fridays, but not individually. All the earnings of
each stall were put down to the chief butty, as contractor, and he
divided the wages again, either in the public-house or in his own home.
So that the children could fetch the money, school closed early on
Friday afternoons. Each of the Morel children--William, then Annie,
then Paul--had fetched the money on Friday afternoons, until they went
themselves to work. Paul used to set off at half-past three, with a
little calico bag in his pocket. Down all the paths, women, girls,
children, and men were seen trooping to the offices.
These offices were quite handsome: a new, red-brick building, almost
like a mansion, standing in its own grounds at the end of Greenhill
Lane. The waiting-room was the hall, a long, bare room paved with blue
brick, and having a seat all round, against the wall. Here sat the
colliers in their pit-dirt. They had come up early. The women and
children usually loitered about on the red gravel paths. Paul always
examined the grass border, and the big grass bank, because in it grew
tiny pansies and tiny forget-me-nots. There was a sound of many voices.
The women had on their Sunday hats. The girls chattered loudly. Little
dogs ran here and there. The green shrubs were silent all around.
Then from inside came the cry "Spinney Park--Spinney Park." All the folk
for Spinney Park trooped inside. When it was time for Bretty to be paid,
Paul went in among the crowd. The pay-room was quite small. A counter
went across, dividing it into half. Behind the counter stood two
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