a Claus would not object--he had probably meant them to have them,
but had forgotten to put them down.

Chapter 54

The End

The following evening Barrington called at Owen's place. He said he
was going home for the holidays and had come to say goodbye for a time.

Owen had not been doing very well during these last few months,
although he was one of the few lucky ones who had had some small share
of work. Most of the money he earned went for rent, to pay which they
often had to go short of food. Lately his chest had become so bad that
the slightest exertion brought on fits of coughing and breathlessness,
which made it almost impossible to work even when he had the
opportunity; often it was only by an almost superhuman effort of will
that he was able to continue working at all. He contrived to keep up
appearances to a certain extent before Rushton, who, although he knew
that Owen was not so strong as the other men, was inclined to overlook
it so long as he was able to do his share of work, for Owen was a very
useful hand when things were busy. But lately some of the men with
whom he worked began to manifest dissatisfaction at having him for a
mate. When two men are working together, the master expects to see two
men's work done, and if one of the two is not able to do his share it
makes it all the harder for the other.

He never had the money to go to a doctor to get advice, but earlier in
the winter he had obtained from Rushton a ticket for the local
hospital. Every Saturday throughout the year when the men were paid
they were expected to put a penny or twopence in the hospital box.
Contributions were obtained in this way from every firm and workshop in
the town. The masters periodically handed these boxes over to the
hospital authorities and received in return some tickets which they
gave to anyone who needed and asked for them. The employer had to fill
in the ticket or application form with the name and address of the
applicant, and to certify that in his opinion the individual was a
deserving case, 'suitable to receive this charity'. In common with the
majority of workmen, Owen had a sort of horror of going for advice to
this hospital, but he was so ill that he stifled his pride and went.
It happened that it turned out to be more expensive than going to a
private doctor, for he had to be at the hospital at a certain hour on a
particular morning. To do this he had to stay away from work. The
m