It was at the end of this rail's progress that Jurgis got
his chance. They had to be moved by men with crowbars,
and the boss here could use another man. So he took off
his coat and set to work on the spot.

It took him two hours to get to this place every day
and cost him a dollar and twenty cents a week. As this
was out of the question, he wrapped his bedding in a
bundle and took it with him, and one of his fellow-work~
ing-men introduced him to a Polish lodging-house, where
he might have the privilege of sleeping upon the floor for
ten cents a night. He got his meals at free-lunch counters,
and every Saturday night he went home -- bedding and
all -- and took the greater part of his money to the family.
Elzbieta was sorry for this arrangement, for she feared
that it would get him into the habit of living without
them, and once a week was not very often for him to see
his baby; but there was no other way of arranging it.
There was no chance for a woman at the steel-works, and
Marija was now ready for work again, and lured on from
day to day by the hope of finding it at the yards.

In a week Jurgis got over his sense of helplessness and
bewilderment in the rail-mill. He learned to find his way
about and to take all the miracles and terrors for granted,
to work without hearing the rumbling and crashing. From
blind fear he went to the other extreme; he became reck~
less and indifferent, like all the rest of the men, who took
but little thought of themselves in the ardor of their work.
It was wonderful, when one came to think of it, that these
men should have taken an interest in the work they did;
they had no share in it -- they were paid by the hour, and
paid no more for being interested. Also they knew that
if they were hurt they would be flung aside and forgotten
-- and still they would hurry to their task by dangerous
short-cuts, would use methods that were quicker and more
effective in spite of the fact that they were also risky.
His fourth day at his work Jurgis saw a man stumble while
running in front of a car, and have his foot mashed off;
and before he had been there three weeks he was witness

[[248]]

p247 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p248w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p249

v?