Page:Ragged Trousered Philanthropists.djvu/305

 CHAPTER XXVIII

the end of March the outlook began to improve. By the middle of April Rushton and Company were working eleven and a half hours a day. In May, as the jobs increased and the days grew longer, they were allowed to put in overtime; and as the summer months came round, once more the crowd of ragged trousered philanthropists began to toil and sweat at their noble and unselfish task of making money for Mr Rushton. Papering, painting, whitewashing, distempering, digging up drains, repairing roofs, their zeal and enthusiasm was unbounded. Their operations extended all over the town. At all hours of the day they were to be seen going to or returning from jobs, carrying planks and ladders, paint and whitewash, chimney pots and drainpipes, a crowd of tattered Imperialists, in broken boots, paint-splashed caps, their clothing saturated with sweat and plastered with mortar. The daily spectacle of the workmen, tramping wearily home along the pavement of the Grand Parade, caused some annoyance to the better classes, and a letter appeared in 'The Obscurer' suggesting that it would be better if they walked on the road. When they heard of this letter most of the men adopted the suggestion and left the pavement for their betters.

On the jobs themselves, meanwhile, the same old conditions prevailed, the same frenzied hurry, the same scamping the work, slobbering it over, cheating the customers; the same curses behind the foreman's back, the same grovelling in his presence, the same strident bellowing from Misery: 'Get it Done! For Gord's sake get it Done! 'Aven't you finished yet? We're losing money over this! If you chaps can't tear into it we'll 'ave a Alteration!' and the result was that the philanthropists often tore into it to such an extent that they worked themselves out of a job, for business fluctuated, and occasionally everybody was 'stood off' for a few days. Still, on the 293