very sorry, but he could not
let them have anything more without the money; he did not mind waiting
a few weeks for what was already owing, but he could not let the amount
get any higher; his books were full of bad debts already. In
conclusion, he said that he hoped Owen would not do as so many others
had done and take his ready money elsewhere. People came and got
credit from him when they were hard up, and afterwards spent their
ready money at the Monopole Company's stores on the other side of the
street, because their goods were a trifle cheaper, and it was not fair.
Owen admitted that it was not fair, but reminded him that they always
bought their things at his shop. The grocer, however, was inexorable;
he repeated several times that his books were full of bad debts and his
own creditors were pressing him. During their conversation the
shopkeeper's eyes wandered continually to the big store on the other
side of the street; the huge, gilded letters of the name 'Monopole
Stores' seemed to have an irresistible attraction for him. Once he
interrupted himself in the middle of a sentence to point out to Owen a
little girl who was just coming out of the Stores with a small parcel
in her hand.

'Her father owes me nearly thirty shillings,' he said, 'but they spend
their ready money there.'

The front of the grocer's shop badly needed repainting, and the name on
the fascia, 'A. Smallman', was so faded as to be almost indecipherable.
It had been Owen's intention to offer to do this work--the cost to go
against his account--but the man appeared to be so harassed that Owen
refrained from making the suggestion.

They still had credit at the baker's, but they did not take much bread:
when one has had scarcely anything else but bread to eat for nearly a
month one finds it difficult to eat at all. That same day, when he
returned home after his interview with the grocer, they had a loaf of
beautiful fresh bread, but none of them could eat it, although they
were hungry: it seemed to stick in their throats, and they could not
swallow it even with the help of a drink of tea. But they drank the
tea, which was the one thing that enabled them to go on living.

The next week Owen earned eight shillings altogether: a few hours he
put in assisting Crass to wash off and whiten a ceiling and paint a
room, and there was one coffin-plate. He wrote the latter at home, and
while he was doing it he heard Frankie--who was out in the scull