quivering with pain. He would ha' bitten his hand to keep down his
moans, but couldn't, his face hurt him so if he moved it e'er so
little. He could scarce mind me when I telled him about Jonas; he
did squeeze my hand when I jingled the money, but when I axed his
wife's name, he shrieked out, 'Mary, Mary, shall I never see you
again? Mary, my darling, they've made me blind because I wanted to
work for you and our own baby; O Mary, Mary!' Then the nurse came,
and said he were raving, and that I had made him worse. And I'm
afeard it was true; yet I were loth to go without knowing where to
send the money. . . . . So that kept me beyond my time, chaps."

"Did you hear where the wife lived at last?" asked many anxious
voices.

"No! he went on talking to her, till his words cut my heart like a
knife. I axed th' nurse to find out who she was, and where she
lived. But what I'm more especial naming it now for is this,--for
one thing I wanted you all to know why I weren't at my post this
morning; for another, I wish to say, that I, for one, ha' seen
enough of what comes of attacking knob-sticks, and I'll ha' nought
to do with it no more."

There were some expressions of disapprobation, but John did not mind
them.

"Nay! I'm no coward," he replied, "and I'm true to th' backbone.
What I would like, and what I would do, would be to fight the
masters. There's one among yo called me a coward. Well! every man
has a right to his opinion; but since I've thought on th' matter
to-day I've thought we han all on us been more like cowards in