nd you can't expect nothin' from a pig
but a grunt.'

During the morning, as Easton and Owen were working together in the
drawing-room, the former remarked:

'Did I tell you I had a room I wanted to let, Frank?'

'Yes, I think you did.'

'Well, I've let it to Slyme. I think he seems a very decent sort of
chap, don't you?'

'Yes, I suppose he is,' replied Owen, hesitatingly. 'I know nothing
against him.'

'Of course, we'd rather 'ave the 'ouse to ourselves if we could afford
it, but work is so scarce lately. I've been figuring out exactly what
my money has averaged for the last twelve months and how much a week do
you think it comes to?'

'God only knows,' said Owen. 'How much?'

'About eighteen bob.'

'So you see we had to do something,' continued Easton; 'and I reckon
we're lucky to get a respectable sort of chap like Slyme, religious and
teetotal and all that, you know. Don't you think so?'

'Yes, I suppose you are,' said Owen, who, although he intensely
disliked Slyme, knew nothing definite against him.

They worked in silence for some time, and then Owen said:

'At the present time there are thousands of people so badly off that,
compared with them, WE are RICH. Their sufferings are so great that
compared with them, we may be said to be living in luxury. You know
that, don't you?'

'Yes, that's true enough, mate. We really ought to be very thankful:
we ought to consider ourselves lucky to 'ave a inside job like this
when there's such a lot of chaps walkin' about doin' nothing.'

'Yes,' said Owen: 'we're lucky! Although we're in a condition of
abject, miserable poverty we must consider ourselves lucky that we're
not actually starving.'

Owen was painting the door; Easton was doing the skirting. This work
caused no noise, so they were able to converse without difficulty.

'Do you think it's right for us to tamely make up our minds to live for
the rest of our lives under such conditions as that?'

'No; certainly not,' replied Easton; 'but things are sure to get better
presently. Trade hasn't always been as bad as it is now. Why, you can
remember as well as I can a few years ago there was so much work that
we was putting in fourteen and sixteen hours a day. I used to be so
done up by the end of the week that I used to stay in bed nearly all
day on Sunday.'

'But don't you think it's worth while trying to find out whether it's
possible to so arrange things that we may be able to live