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

Ruth’s side - and the Semidrunk and the Besotted

Wretch, arranged to play a match of Hooks and Rings, the losers to pay

for drinks for all the party, including the two women. Crass and the

Semidrunk tossed up for sides. Crass won and picked the Besotted

Wretch, and the game began. It was a one-sided affair from the first,

for Easton and the Semidrunk were no match for the other two. The

end of it was that Easton and his partner had to pay for the drinks.

The four men had a pint each of four ale, and Mrs Crass had another

threepennyworth of gin. Ruth protested that she did not want any more

to drink, but the others ridiculed this, and both the Besotted Wretch

and the Semidrunk seemed to regard her unwillingness as a personal

insult, so she allowed them to get her another half-pint of beer,

which she was compelled to drink, because she was conscious that the

others were watching her to see that she did so.

 

The Semidrunk now suggested a return match. He wished to have his

revenge. He was a little out of practice, he said, and was only just

getting his hand in as they were finishing the other game. Crass and

his partner readily assented, and in spite of Ruth’s whispered

entreaty that they should return home without further delay, Easton

insisted on joining the game.

 

Although they played more carefully than before, and notwithstanding

the fact that the Besotted Wretch was very drunk, Easton and his

partner were again beaten and once more had to pay for the drinks.

The men had a pint each as before. Mrs Crass - upon whom the liquor

so far seemed to have no effect - had another threepennyworth of gin;

and Ruth consented to take another glass of beer on condition that

Easton would come away directly their drinks were finished. Easton

agreed to do so, but instead of keeping his word he began to play a

four-handed game of shove-ha’penny with the other three, the sides and

stakes being arranged as before.

 

The liquor was by this time beginning to have some effect upon Ruth:

she felt dizzy and confused. Whenever it was necessary to reply to

Mrs Crass’s talk she found some difficulty in articulating the words

and she knew she was not answering very intelligently. Even when Mrs

Crass introduced her to the interesting Mr Partaker, who arrived about

this time, she was scarcely able to collect herself sufficiently to

decline that fascinating gentleman’s invitation to have another drink

with himself and Mrs Crass.

 

After a time a kind of terror took possession of her, and she resolved

that if Easton would not come when he had finished the game he was

playing, she would go home without him.

 

Meantime the game of shove-ha’penny proceeded merrily, the majority of

the male guests crowding round the board, applauding or censuring the

players as occasion demanded. The Semidrunk was in high glee, for

Crass was not much of a hand at this game, and the Besotted Wretch,

although playing well, was not able to make up for his partner’s want

of skill. As the game drew near its end and it became more and more

certain that his opponents would be defeated, the joy of the

Semidrunk was unbounded, and he challenged them to make it double or

quits - a generous offer which they wisely declined, and shortly

afterwards, seeing that their position was hopeless, they capitulated

and prepared to pay the penalty of the vanquished.

 

Crass ordered the drinks and the Besotted Wretch - half the damage - a

pint of four ale for each of the men and the same as before for the

ladies. The Old Dear executed the order, but by mistake, being very

busy, he served two `threes’ of gin instead of one. Ruth did not want

any more at all, but she was afraid to say so, and she did not like to

make any fuss about it being the wrong drink, especially as they all

assured her that the spirits would do her more good than beer. She

did not want either; she wanted to get away, and would have liked to

empty the stuff out of the glass on the floor, but she was afraid that

Mrs Crass or one of the others might see her doing so, and there might

be some trouble about it. Anyway, it seemed easier to drink this

small quantity of spirits and water than a big glass of beer, the very

thought of which now made her feel ill. She drank the stuff which

Easton handed to her at a single draught and, handing back the empty

glass with a shudder, stood up resolutely.

 

`Are you coming home now? You promised you would,’ she said.

 

`All right: presently,’ replied Easton. ‘There’s plenty of time; it’s

not nine yet.’

 

`That doesn’t matter; it’s quite late enough. You know we’ve left the

child at home alone in the house. You promised you’d come as soon as

you’d finished that other game.’

 

`All right, all right,’ answered Easton impatiently. `Just wait a

minute, I want to see this, and then I’ll come.’

 

`This’ was a most interesting problem propounded by Crass, who had

arranged eleven matches side by side on the shove-ha’penny board. The

problem was to take none away and yet leave only nine. Nearly all the

men in the bar were crowding round the shove-ha’penny board, some with

knitted brows and drunken gravity trying to solve the puzzle and

others waiting curiously for the result. Easton crossed over to see

how it was done, and as none of the crowd were able to do the trick,

Crass showed that it could be accomplished by simply arranging the

eleven matches so as to form the word NINE. Everybody said it was very

good indeed, very clever and interesting. But the Semidrunk and the

Besotted Wretch were reminded by this trick of several others equally

good, and they proceeded to do them; and then the men had another pint

each all round as a reviver after the mental strain of the last few

minutes.

 

Easton did not know any tricks himself, but he was an interested

spectator of those done by several others until Ruth came over and

touched his arm.

 

`Aren’t you coming?’

 

`Wait a minute, can’t you?’ cried Easton roughly. `What’s your

hurry?’

 

`I don’t want to stay here any longer,’ said Ruth, hysterically. `You

said you’d come as soon as you saw that trick. If you don’t come, I

shall go home by myself. I don’t want to stay in this place any

longer.’

 

`Well, go by yourself if you want to!’ shouted Easton fiercely,

pushing her away from him. `I shall stop ‘ere as long as I please,

and if you don’t like it you can do the other thing.’

 

Ruth staggered and nearly fell from the force of the push he gave her,

and the man turned again to the table to watch the Semidrunk, who was

arranging six matches so as to form the numeral XII, and who said he

could prove that this was equal to a thousand.

 

Ruth waited a few minutes longer, and then as Easton took no further

notice of her, she took up the string-bag and the other parcels, and

without staying to say good night to Mrs Crass - who was earnestly

conversing with the interesting Partaker - she with some difficulty

opened the door and went out into the street. The cold night air felt

refreshing and sweet after the foul atmosphere of the public house,

but after a little while she began to feel faint and dizzy, and was

conscious also that she was walking unsteadily, and she fancied that

people stared at her strangely as they passed. The parcels felt very

heavy and awkward to carry, and the string-bag seemed as if it were

filled with lead.

 

Although under ordinary circumstances it was only about ten minutes’

walk home from here, she resolved to go by one of the trams which

passed by the end of North Street. With this intention, she put down

her bag on the pavement at the stopping-place, and waited, resting her

hand on the iron pillar at the corner of the street, where a little

crowd of people were standing evidently with the same object as

herself. Two trains passed without stopping, for they were already

full of passengers, a common circumstance on Saturday nights. The

next one stopped, and several persons alighted, and then ensued a

fierce struggle amongst the waiting crowd for the vacant seats. Men

and women pushed, pulled and almost fought, shoving their fists and

elbows into each other’s sides and breasts and faces. Ruth was

quickly thrust aside and nearly knocked down, and the tram, having

taken aboard as many passengers as it had accommodation for, passed

on. She waited for the next one, and the same scene was enacted with

the same result for her, and then, reflecting that if she had not

stayed for these trains she might have been home by now, she

determined to resume her walk. The parcels felt heavier than ever,

and she had not proceeded very far before she was compelled to put the

bag down again upon the pavement, outside an empty house.

 

Leaning against the railings, she felt very tired and ill. Everything

around her - the street, the houses, the traffic - seemed vague and

shadowy and unreal. Several people looked curiously at her as they

passed, but by this time she was scarcely conscious of their scrutiny.

 

Slyme had gone that evening to the usual `open-air’ conducted by the

Shining Light Mission. The weather being fine, they had a most

successful meeting, the disciples, including Hunter, Rushton, Sweater,

Didlum, and Mrs Starvem - Ruth’s former mistress - assembled in great

force so as to be able to deal more effectively with any infidels or

hired critics or drunken scoffers who might try to disturb the

proceedings; and - possibly as an evidence of how much real faith

there was in them - they had also arranged to have a police officer in

attendance, to protect them from what they called the `Powers of

Darkness’. One might be excused for thinking that - if they really

believed - they would have relied rather upon those powers of Light

which they professed to represent on this planet to protect them

without troubling to call in the aid of such a `worldly’ force as the

police. However, it came to pass that on this occasion the only

infidels present were those who were conducting the meeting, but as

these consisted for the most part of members of the chapel, it will be

seen that the infidel fraternity was strongly represented.

 

On his way home after the meeting Slyme had to pass by the

`Cricketers’ and as he drew near the place he wondered if Easton was

there, but he did not like to go and look in, because he was afraid

someone might see him coming away and perhaps think he had been in to

drink. Just as he arrived opposite the house another man opened the

door of the public bar and entered, enabling Slyme to catch a

momentary glimpse of the interior, where he saw Easton and Crass with

a number of others who were strangers to him, laughing and drinking

together.

 

Slyme hurried away; it had turned very cold, and he was anxious to get

home. As he approached the place where the trams stopped to take up

passengers and saw that there was a tram in sight he resolved to wait

for it and ride home: but when the tram arrived and there were only

one or two seats