hammer was too small, and get mad because Ona had
refused to let him pay fifteen cents more and get a bigger
hammer; and Ona would be invited to try it herself, and
hurt her thumb, and cry out, which necessitated the
thumb's being kissed by Jurgis. Finally, after everyone
had had a try, the nails would be driven, and something
hung up. Jurgis had come home with a big packing-box
on his head, and he sent Jonas to get another that he had
bought. He meant to take one side out of these tomorrow,
and put shelves in them, and make them into bureaus and
places to keep things for the bedrooms. The nest which
had been advertised had not included feathers for quite
so many birds as there were in this family.

They had, of course, put their dining-table in the
kitchen, and the dining-room was used as the bedroom of
Teta Elzbieta and five of her children. She and the two
youngest slept in the only bed, and the other three had a
mattress on the floor. Ona and her cousin dragged a
mattress into the parlor and slept at night, and the
three men and the oldest boy slept in the other room,
having nothing but the very level floor to rest on for
the present. Even so, however, they slept soundly --
it was necessary for Teta Elzbieta to pound more than once
on the at a quarter past five every morning. She
would have ready a great pot full of steaming black coffee,
and oatmeal and bread and smoked sausages; and then
she would fix them their dinner-pails with more thick
slices of bread with lard between them -- they could not
afford butter -- and some onions and a piece of cheese, and
so they would tramp away to work.

This was the first time in his life that he had ever really
worked, it seemed to Jurgis; it was the first time that he
had ever had anything to do which took all he had in him.
Jurgis had stood with the rest up in the gallery and
watched the men on the killing-beds, marveling at their
speed and power as if they had been wonderful machines;
it somehow never occurred to one to think of the flesh-and-
blood side of it -- that is, not until he actually got down
into the pit and took off his coat. Then he saw things in a

[[66]]

p065 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p066w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p067

v?