“Did he send any other message?”
“Yes: he told me to tell you there’s a job to be started Monday morning—a couple of rooms to be done out somewhere. Got to be finished by Thursday; and there’s another job ’e wants you to do this afternoon—after dinner—so you’ve got to come to the yard at one o’clock. ’E told me to tell you ’e meant to leave a message for you yesterday morning, but ’e forgot.”
“What did he say to you about the fire—anything?”
“Yes: they both of ’em came about an hour after you went away—Misery and the Bloke too—but they didn’t kick up a row. I wasn’t arf frightened, I can tell you, when I saw ’em both coming, but they was quite nice. The Bloke ses to me, ‘Ah, that’s right, my boy,’ ’e ses. ‘Keep up a good fire. I’m going to send you some coke,’ ’e ses. And then they ’ad a look round and ’e told Sawkins to put some new panes of glass where the winder was broken, and—you know that great big packing-case what was under the truck shed?”
“Yes.”
“Well, ’e told Sawkins to saw it up and cover over the stone floor of the paint-shop with it. It ain’t ’arf all right there now. I’ve cleared out all the muck from under the benches and we’ve got two sacks of coke sent from the gas-works, and the Bloke told me when that’s all used up I’ve got to get a order orf Miss Wade for another lot.”
At one o’clock Owen was at the yard, where he saw Misery, who instructed him to go to the front shop and paint some numbers on the racks where the wallpapers were stored. Whilst he was doing this work Rushton came in and greeted him in a very friendly way.
“I’m very glad you let me know about the boy working in that paint-shop,” he observed after a few preliminary remarks. “I can assure you as I don’t want the lad to be uncomfortable, but you know I can’t attend to everything myself. I’m much obliged to you for telling me about it; I think you did quite right; I should have done the same myself.”
Owen did not know what to reply, but Rushton walked off without waiting...