y into
the torture chambers of wheels and teeth within, while from the rear of
the Spreader trickled out the new-created sliver. Great scales hung
beside Sarah and from time to time she weighed fresh loads of long line
and recorded the amount.

Her arms flashed upwards, the divided stricks came down to be laid in
rotation on the running carriage, and ceaselessly she and her fellow
worker chattered despite the din around them.

"My Aunt Nelly's coming to see me this morning," said Sarah. "She's
driving over to talk to Mister Waldron about his apple orchard and have
a look round. Last year she bought the whole orchard for cider; and if
she thinks well of it, she'll do the same this year."

"I wonder you stop here," answered the other girl, "when you might go to
your aunt and work in her public-house. I'd a long sight sooner be there
than here."

"You wouldn't if you was engaged to Mister Roberts," answered Sarah.
"Of course seeing him every day makes all the difference. And as to
work, there's nothing in it, for everybody's got to work at 'The Seven
Stars,' I can tell you, and the work's never done there."

"It's the company I should like," declared the other. "I'd give a lot to
see new people every day. In a public they come and go, before you've
got time to be sick of the sight of 'em. But here, you see the same
people and hear the same voices every day of your blessed life; and
sometimes it makes me feel right down wicked."

"It's narrowing to the mind I dare say, unless you've got a man like
Mister Roberts with a lot of general ideas," admitted Sarah. "But you
know very well for that matter you could have a man to-morrow. Benny
Cogle's mate is daft for you."

The other sniffed.

"It's very certain he ain't got no general ideas, beyond the steam
engine. He can only talk about the water wheel to-day and the boilers
to-morrow. When I find a chap, he'll have to know a powerful lot more
about life than that chap--and shave himself oftener also."

"He'd shave every day if you took him, same as Mister Roberts does,"
said Sarah.

Elsewhere Mr. Best was starting a run of the Gill Spinner, a machine
which took sliver straight from the Drawing Frames and spun it into a
large coarse yarn. A novice watched him get the great machine to work,
make all ready and then, at a touch, connect it with the power and set
it crashing and roaring. Its voice was distinctive and might be heard by
a practised ear above the prevailing