FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121  
122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   >>   >|  
m sheer wage-slavery; the first advance toward the ideal of that coming woman, who should be a man in her freedom and her strength and her power, and yet woman of woman in her love and her motherhood and wife-hood. Industry, so Sally knew, was taking the young girls by the million, overworking them, sapping them of body and soul, and casting them out unfit to bear children, untrained to keep house, undisciplined to meet life and to be a comrade of a man. And Sally knew, moreover, what could be done. She knew what she had accomplished with the hat-trimmers. Nevertheless, she hesitated, not quite sure that the moment had come. Joe's words detained her in a way no man's words had ever done before. But she thought: "I do this for him. I sharpen the edge of his editorial and drive it home. Words could never hurt Marrin--but I can." She got under the shelter of the doorway and with numb hand pulled a copy of _The Nine-Tenths_ from her pocket, unfolded it, and reread the burning words of: "Forty-five Treacherous Men." They roused all her fighting blood; they angered her; they incited her. "Joe! Joe!" she murmured. "It's you driving me on--it's you! Here goes!" It was in some ways a desperate undertaking. Once, in Newark, a rough of an employer had almost thrown her down the stairs, man-handling her, and while Marrin or his men would not do this, yet what method could she use to brave the two hundred and fifty people in the loft? She was quite alone, quite without any weapon save her tongue. To fail would be ridiculous and ignominious. Yet Sally was quite calm; her heart did not seem to miss a beat; her brain was not confused by a rush of blood. She knew what she was doing. She climbed that first flight of semi-circular stairs without hindrance, secretly hoping that by no mischance either Marrin or one of his sub-bosses might emerge. There was a door at the first landing. She passed it quickly and started up the second flight. Then there was a turning of a knob, a rustling of skirts, and a voice came sharp: "Where are you going?" Sally turned. The forelady stood below her--large, eagle-eyed woman, with square and wrinkled face, quite a mustache on her upper lip. Sally spoke easily. "Up-stairs." "For what?" "To see one of the girls. Her mother's sick." The forelady eyed Sally suspiciously. "Did you get a permit from the office?" Sally seemed surprised. "Permit? No! Do you have to get a permit?" T
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   97   98   99   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121  
122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
stairs
 

Marrin

 

forelady

 
permit
 
flight
 
confused
 

hoping

 

hindrance

 

secretly

 

circular


climbed
 
mischance
 

hundred

 

people

 

method

 

handling

 

ignominious

 

ridiculous

 

weapon

 

tongue


easily
 

mustache

 

square

 
wrinkled
 

Permit

 
surprised
 
mother
 

suspiciously

 

office

 

quickly


passed

 

started

 
thrown
 
landing
 

bosses

 
emerge
 

turned

 

turning

 

rustling

 

skirts


undisciplined

 

comrade

 
untrained
 

casting

 
children
 
moment
 

detained

 

hesitated

 
accomplished
 

trimmers