led by the miners, saw the notice before
it had been ten minutes posted, and deliberately tore it down. He then
visited Peter Pegg and Andrew Marshall at the coal face.

"I suppose you an' Andrew are goin' to gather for Geordie Sinclair the
morn?" he said, addressing Peter.

"Ay," Peter answered, "we were thinkin' it was aboot time somethin' was
done. There's four bairns an' their two selves, an' though times are no'
very guid for ony of us now, it maun be a lot worse for them. Geordie
has been a guid while off."

"Do ye think, Peter, they are in such need?" asked Walker, with a hint
in his voice that was meant to convey he knew better.

"Lord, they canna be aught else!" decisively returned Peter. "How can
they be? I ken for mysel'," he went on, "that if it was me, I wad hae
been in starvation lang syne."

"Weel, wad ye believe me when I tell ye--an' it's a fact--they're about
the best-off family in this place, if ye only kent it."

"What!" cried Peter in surprise, "the best-off family in the place!
Lord, I canna take that in!"

"Maybe no'," said Walker, "but I ken, an' ye're no' the first that's
been taken in by Nellie Sinclair. If ye notice, she never tells any
thin' to anybody; but she lets ye carry the notion in your mind that
she's in great straits. She's a cute one, Nellie."

"Weel, Nellie does keep hersel' to hersel'," admitted Peter. "She's no'
given to clashin' and claverin' about the doors like some o' the rest o'
the women; but I canna' for the life o' me see where she can be onythin'
but ill aff at this time."

"Weel, I ken when folk are bein' imposed on," said Walker, in a knowing
tone, "an' I tore down your notice this mornin'. I didna want to see you
mak' a fool o' yersels. I ha'e been considerin' for a while," he went
on, speaking quickly, "about puttin' a stop to this collectin' business
at the office on pay Saturdays, for it just encourages some men to lie
off work when there's no' very muckle wrong wi' them; after they get the
collection they soon start work again. Ye had better no' stand the morn,
for I might as well begin at once and put a stop to it."

Up till now Andrew Marshall had not spoken; he was a silent man, given
more to thought than speech, but this was a way of doing things he did
not like.

"But ye might let us tak' the collection first, and then put up a notice
yersel sayin' that a' collections have to be stopped. It wad be best to
gi'e the men notice."

"No," said Walke