o see the funeral start, and
amongst them were Bill Bates and the Semi-drunk, who were both sober.
Barrington and Owen were also there, having left work for the day in
order to go to the funeral. They were there too in a sense as the
representatives of the other workmen, for Barrington carried a large
wreath which had been subscribed for voluntarily by Rushton's men.
They could not all afford to lose the time to attend the funeral,
although most of them would have liked to pay that tribute of regard to
their old mate, so they had done this as the next best thing. Attached
to the wreath was a strip of white satin ribbon, upon which Owen had
painted a suitable inscription.

Promptly at two o'clock the hearse and the mourning coach drove up with
Hunter and the four bearers--Crass, Slyme, Payne and Sawkins, all
dressed in black with frock coats and silk hats. Although they were
nominally attired in the same way, there was a remarkable dissimilarity
in their appearance. Crass's coat was of smooth, intensely black
cloth, having been recently dyed, and his hat was rather low in the
crown, being of that shape that curved outwards towards the top.
Hunter's coat was a kind of serge with a rather rusty cast of colour
and his hat was very tall and straight, slightly narrower at the crown
than at the brim. As for the others, each of them had a hat of a
different fashion and date, and their 'black' clothes ranged from rusty
brown to dark blue.

These differences were due to the fact that most of the garments had
been purchased at different times from different second-hand clothes
shops, and never being used except on such occasions as the present,
they lasted for an indefinite time.

When the coffin was brought out and placed in the hearse, Hunter laid
upon it the wreath that Barrington gave him, together with the another
he had brought himself, which had a similar ribbon with the words:
'From Rushton & Co. With deep sympathy.'

Seeing that Barrington and Owen were the only occupants of the
carriage, Bill Bates and the Semi-drunk came up to the door and asked
if there was any objection to their coming and as neither Owen nor
Barrington objected, they did not think it necessary to ask anyone
else's permission, so they got in.

Meanwhile, Hunter had taken his position a few yards in front of the
hearse and the bearers each his proper position, two on each side. As
the procession turned into the main road, they saw Snatchum