Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell (read novel full TXT) 📖

creature slunk past.

 

Harlow also laughed, and Barrington regarded them curiously. He

thought it strange that they did not seem to realize that they might

some day become like this man themselves.

 

`I’ve often wondered what they does with all them dirty old rags,’

said Philpot.

 

`Made into paper,’ replied Harlow, briefly.

 

`Some of them are,’ said Barrington, `and some are manufactured into

shoddy cloth and made into Sunday clothes for working men.

 

`There’s all sorts of different ways of gettin’ a livin’,’ remarked

Sawkins, after a pause. `I read in a paper the other day about a

bloke wot goes about lookin’ for open trap doors and cellar flaps in

front of shops. As soon as he spotted one open, he used to go and

fall down in it; and then he’d be took to the ‘orspital, and when he

got better he used to go and threaten to bring a action against the

shopkeeper and get damages, and most of ‘em used to part up without

goin’ in front of the judge at all. But one day a slop was a watchin’

of ‘im, and seen ‘im chuck ‘isself down one, and when they picked ‘im

up they found he’d broke his leg. So they took ‘im to the ‘orspital

and when he came out and went round to the shop and started talkin’

about bringin’ a action for damages, the slop collared ‘im and they

give ‘im six months.’

 

`Yes, I read about that,’ said Harlow, `and there was another case of

a chap who was run over by a motor, and they tried to make out as ‘e

put ‘isself in the way on purpose; but ‘e got some money out of the

swell it belonged to; a ‘undered pound I think it was.’

 

`I only wish as one of their motors would run inter me,’ said Philpot,

making a feeble attempt at a joke. `I lay I’d get some a’ me own back

out of ‘em.’

 

The others laughed, and Harlow was about to make some reply but at

that moment a cyclist appeared coming down the hill from the direction

of the job. It was Nimrod, so they resumed their journey once more

and presently Hunter shot past on his machine without taking any

notice of them…

 

When they arrived they found that Rushton had not been there at all,

but Nimrod had. Crass said that he had kicked up no end of a row

because they had not called at the yard at six o’clock that morning

for the ladder, instead of going for it after breakfast - making two

journeys instead of one, and he had also been ratty because the big

gable had not been started the first thing that morning.

 

They carried the ladder into the garden and laid it on the ground

along the side of the house where the gable was. A brick wall about

eight feet high separated the grounds of `The Refuge’ from those of

the premises next door. Between this wall and the side wall of the

house was a space about six feet wide and this space formed a kind of

alley or lane or passage along the side of the house. They laid the

ladder on the ground along this passage, the `foot’ was placed about

half-way through; just under the centre of the gable, and as it lay

there, the other end of the ladder reached right out to the front

railings.

 

Next, it was necessary that two men should go up into the attic - the

window of which was just under the point of the gable - and drop the

end of a long rope down to the others who would tie it to the top of

the ladder. Then two men would stand on the bottom rung, so as to

keep the `foot’ down, and the three others would have to raise the

ladder up, while the two men up in the attic hauled on the rope.

 

They called Bundy and his mate Ned Dawson to help, and it was arranged

that Harlow and Crass should stand on the foot because they were the

heaviest. Philpot, Bundy, and Barrington were to `raise’, and Dawson

and Sawkins were to go up to the attic and haul on the rope.

 

`Where’s the rope?’ asked Crass.

 

The others looked blankly at him. None of them had thought of

bringing one from the yard.

 

`Why, ain’t there one ‘ere?’ asked Philpot.

 

`One ‘ere? Of course there ain’t one ‘ere!’ snarled Crass. `Do you

mean to say as you ain’t brought one, then?’

 

Philpot stammered out something about having thought there was one at

the house already, and the others said they had not thought about it

at all.

 

`Well, what the bloody hell are we to do now?’ cried Crass, angrily.

 

`I’ll go to the yard and get one,’ suggested Barrington. `I can do it

in twenty minutes there and back.’

 

`Yes! and a bloody fine row there’d be if Hunter was to see you! ‘Ere

it’s nearly ten o’clock and we ain’t made a start on this gable wot we

ought to ‘ave started first thing this morning.’

 

`Couldn’t we tie two or three of those short ropes together?’

suggested Philpot. `Those that the other two ladders was spliced

with?’

 

As there was sure to be a row if they delayed long enough to send to

the yard, it was decided to act on Philpot’s suggestion.

 

Several of the short ropes were accordingly tied together but upon

examination it was found that some parts were so weak that even Crass

had to admit it would be dangerous to attempt to haul the heavy ladder

up with them.

 

`Well, the only thing as I can see for it,’ he said, `is that the boy

will ‘ave to go down to the yard and get the long rope. It won’t do

for anyone else to go: there’s been one row already about the waste of

time because we didn’t call at the yard for the ladder at six o’clock.’

 

Bert was down in the basement of the house limewashing a cellar.

Crass called him up and gave him the necessary instructions, chief of

which was to get back again as soon as ever he could. The boy ran

off, and while they were waiting for him to come back the others went

on with their several jobs. Philpot returned to the small gable he

had been painting before breakfast, which he had not quite finished.

As he worked a sudden and unaccountable terror took possession of him.

He did not want to do that other gable; he felt too ill; and he almost

resolved that he would ask Crass if he would mind letting him do

something else. There were several younger men who would not object

to doing it - it would be mere child’s play to them, and Barrington

had already - yesterday - offered to change jobs with him.

 

But then, when he thought of what the probable consequences would be,

he hesitated to take that course, and tried to persuade himself that

he would be able to get through with the work all right. He did not

want Crass or Hunter to mark him as being too old for ladder work.

 

Bert came back in about half an hour flushed and sweating with the

weight of the rope and with the speed he had made. He delivered it to

Crass and then returned to his cellar and went on with the

limewashing, while Crass passed the word for Philpot and the others to

come and raise the ladder. He handed the rope to Ned Dawson, who took

it up to the attic, accompanied by Sawkins; arrived there they lowered

one end out of the window down to the others.

 

`If you ask me,’ said Ned Dawson, who was critically examining the

strands of the rope as he passed it out through the open window, ‘If

you ask me, I don’t see as this is much better than the one we made up

by tyin’ the short pieces together. Look ‘ere,’ - he indicated a part

of the rope that was very frayed and worn - `and ‘ere’s another place

just as bad.’

 

`Well, for Christ’s sake don’t say nothing about it now,’ replied

Sawkins. `There’s been enough talk and waste of time over this job

already.’

 

Ned made no answer and the end having by this time reached the ground,

Bundy made it fast to the ladder, about six rungs from the top.

 

The ladder was lying on the ground, parallel to the side of the house.

The task of raising it would have been much easier if they had been

able to lay it at right angles to the house wall, but this was

impossible because of the premises next door and the garden wall

between the two houses. On account of its having to be raised in this

manner the men at the top would not be able to get a straight pull on

the rope; they would have to stand back in the room without being able

to see the ladder, and the rope would have to be drawn round the

corner of the window, rasping against the edge of the stone sill and

the brickwork.

 

The end of the rope having been made fast to the top of the ladder,

Crass and Harlow stood on the foot and the other three raised the top

from the ground; as Barrington was the tallest, he took the middle

position - underneath the ladder - grasping the rungs, Philpot being

on his left and Bundy on his right, each holding one side of the ladder.

 

At a signal from Crass, Dawson and Sawkins began to haul on the rope,

and the top of the ladder began to use slowly into the air.

 

Philpot was not of much use at this work, which made it all the harder

for the other two who were lifting, besides putting an extra strain on

the rope. His lack of strength, and the efforts of Barrington and

Bundy to make up for him caused the ladder to sway from side to side,

as it would not have done if they had all been equally capable.

 

Meanwhile, upstairs, Dawson and Sawkins - although the ladder was as

yet only a little more than half the way up - noticed, as they hauled

and strained on the rope, that it had worn a groove for itself in the

corner of the brickwork at the side of the window; and every now and

then, although they pulled with all their strength, they were not able

to draw in any part of the rope at all; and it seemed to them as if

those others down below must have let go their hold altogether, or

ceased lifting.

 

That was what actually happened. The three men found the weight so

overpowering, that once or twice they were compelled to relax their

efforts for a few seconds, and at those times the rope had to carry

the whole weight of the ladder; and the part of the rope that had to

bear the greatest strain was the part that chanced to be at the angle

of the brickwork at the side of the window. And presently it happened

that one of the frayed and worn places that Dawson had remarked about

was just at the angle during one of those momentary pauses. On one

end there hung the ponderous ladder, straining the frayed rope against

the corner of the brickwork and the sharp edge of the stone sill, at

the other end were Dawson and Sawkins pulling with all their strength,

and in that