the wall anxiously twirling his hat round and round. "Yis,
we're very bad off," he contrived to say after much futile stammering.
"All the folks in the Corporation, but Mr. Dow, has got great bills
run up now at the stores, and thim that had money saved has lint to
thim that hadn't--'twill be long enough before anybody's free. Whin
the mills starts up we'll have to spind for everything at once. The
children is very hard on their clothes and they're all dropping to
pieces. I thought I'd have everything new for them this spring, they
do be growing so. I minds them and patches them the best I can." And
again Ellen was overcome by tears. "Mike an' me's always been
conthrivin' how would we get something laid up, so if anny one would
die or be long sick we'd be equal to it, but we've had great pride to
see the little gerrls go looking as well as anny, and we've worked
very steady, but there's so manny of us we've had to pay rint for a
large tenement and we'd only seventeen dollars and a little more when
the shut-down was. Sure the likes of us has a right to earn more than
our living, ourselves being so willing-hearted. 'Tis a long time now
that Mike's been steady. We always had the pride to hope we'd own a
house ourselves, and a pieceen o' land, but I'm thankful now--'tis as
well for us; we've no chances to pay taxes now."

Mike made a desperate effort to speak as his wife faltered and began
to cry again, and seeing his distress forgot her own, and supplied the
halting words. "He wants to know if there's army work he could get,
some place else than Farley. Himself's been sixteen years now in the
picker, first he was one of six and now he is one of the four since
you got the new machines, yourself knows it well."

The agent knew about Mike; he looked compassionate as he shook his
head. "Stay where you are, for a while at any rate. Things may look a
little better, it seems to me. We will start up as soon as anyone
does. I'll allow you twenty dollars a month after this; here are ten
to start with. No, no, I've got no one depending on me and my pay is
going on. I'm glad to share it with my friends. Tell the folks to come
up and see me, Ahern and Sullivan and Michel and your brother Con;
tell anybody you know who is really in distress. You've all stood by
me!"

"'Tis all the lazy ones 'ould be coming if we told on the poor boy,"
said Ellen gratefully, as they hurried home. "Ain't he got the good
heart? We'd ought to be very di