things tied up inside. Anywhere else in Chicago he
would have stood a good chance of being arrested; but
the policemen in Packingtown were apparently used to
these informal movings, and contented themselves with a
cursory examination now and then. It was quite wonder~
ful to see how fine the house looked, with all the things in
it, even by the dim light of a lamp: it was really home,
and almost as exciting as the placard had described it.
Ona was fairly dancing, and she and Cousin Marija took
Jurgis by the arm and escorted him from room to room,
sitting in each chair by turns, and then insisting that he
should do the same. One chair squeaked with his great
weight, and they screamed with fright, and woke the
baby and brought everybody running. Altogether it
was a great day; and tired as they were, Jurgis and Ona
sat up late, contented simply to hold each other and gaze
in rapture about the room. They were going to be mar~
ried as soon as they could get everything settled, and a
little spare money put by; and this was to be their home
-- that little room yonder would be theirs!

It was in truth a never-ending delight, the fixing up of
this house. They had no money to spend for the pleasure
of spending, but there were a few absolutely necessary
things, and the buying of these was a perpetual adventure
for Ona. It must always be done at night, so that Jurgis
could go along; and even if it were only a pepper-cruet,
or half a dozen glasses for ten cents, that was enough for
an expedition. On Saturday night they came home with
a great basketful of things, and spread them out on the
table, while everyone stood round, and the children climbed
up on the chairs, or howled to be lifted up to see. There
were sugar and salt and tea and crackers, and a can of lard
and a milk-pail, and a scrubbing-brush, and a pair of shoes
for the second oldest boy, and a can of oil, and a tack-ham~
mer, and a pound of nails. These last were to be driven
into the walls of the kitchen and the bedrooms, to hang
things on; and there was a family discussion as to the
place where each one was to be driven. Then Jurgis
would try to hammer, and hit his fingers because the

[[65]]

p064 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p065w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p066

v?