FIRST HEAVER. And yet we are the foundations of society. If the coal is not unloaded, then there will be no fire in the kitchen stove, in the parlour grate, or in the factory furnace; then the light will go out in streets and shops and homes; then darkness and cold will descend upon you—and, therefore, we have to sweat as in hell so that the black coals may be had—And what do you do for us in return?
THE LAWYER. [To THE DAUGHTER] Help them!—[Pause] That conditions cannot be quite the same for everybody, I understand, but why should they differ so widely?
A GENTLEMAN and A LADY pass across the stage.
THE LADY. Will you come and play a game with us?
THE GENTLEMAN. No, I must take a walk, so I can eat something for dinner.
FIRST HEAVER. So that he can eat something?
SECOND HEAVER. So that he can——?
Children enter and cry with horror when they catch sight of the grimy workers.
FIRST HEAVER. They cry when they see us. They cry——
SECOND HEAVER. Damn it all!—I guess we'll have to pull out the scaffolds soon and begin to operate on this rotten body——