in a saloon. Each would stagger out into the darkness,
and make her way to the corner, where they met; or if
the others had already gone, would get into a car, and
begin a painful struggle to keep awake. When they got
home they were always too tired either to eat or to undress;
they would crawl into bed with their shoes on, and lie like
logs. If they should fail, they would certainly be lost;
if they held out, they might have enough coal for the
winter.

A day or two before Thanksgiving Day there came a
snow-storm. It began in the afternoon, and by evening
two inches had fallen. Jurgis tried to wait for the women,
but went into a saloon to get warm, and took two drinks,
and came out and ran home to escape from the demon;
there he lay down to wait for them, and instantly fell
asleep. When he opened his eyes again he was in the
midst of a nightmare, and found Elzbieta shaking him and
crying out. At first he could not realize what she was
saying -- Ona had not come home. What time was it, he
asked. It was morning -- time to be up. Ona had not
been home that night! And it was bitter cold, and a foot
of snow on the ground.

Jurgis sat up with a start. Marija was crying with
fright and the children were wailing in sympathy -- little
Stanislovas in addition, because the terror of the snow was
upon him. Jurgis had nothing to put on but his shoes and
his coat, and in half a minute he was out of the door.
Then, however, he realized that there was no need of
haste, that he had no idea where to go. It was still dark
as midnight, and the thick snowflakes were sifting
down -- everything was so silent that he could hear the
rustle of them as they fell. In the few seconds that he
stood there hesitating he was covered white.

He set off at a run for the yards, stopping by the way
to inquire in the saloons that were open. Ona might have
been overcome on the way; or else she might have met
with an accident in the machines. When he got to the
place where she worked he inquired of one of the watch~
men -- there had not been any accident, so far as the man

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p168 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p169w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p170

v?