The sun., 1909-01-24

muscle rigid with effort. Anunseen task,
master was driving me forward. for
/ got the sharp ache In my ankles and the
knife pain between my shoulders.
thought Of nothing but finishing another
mould OF fruit.
workers quit. but the packers went ,.pr
until the angry voice OF the boss called
NO more" Even then an old Sicilian
! wrinkled and fellow like bit OF leather
! tried 20 elude him, but he went over and
jerked her from the table by her arm.
Screaming on the saints 10 bear witness
| that she had come five minutes late that
morning and needed the money, shaking
| her scrawny fist in his face, she tried t.
struggle back TO her place. The man
/ dragged himself free. but between them
her last trav Of figs fell TO the floor. Jab-
| bering wildly the old woman went down
on her knees. while the man turned away
laughing. She picked them up alone
mumbling 10 herself. the big, gold hoops
| in her ears beating a mad dance. When
she had finished she tied a green shawl
over her head and went away.
After lunch We began again. IL was
not hard work as such work goes-l know
that now: but the awful monotony of
those endless figs BY ? ! could scarcely
stopping. They cal il good day, one
like that, when the fruit pours in an ever
lasting stream from the separator and
nothing stops the hqttening Of the figs.
BY it was stiflr&. Outside the heat
palpitated as il the very earth were
struggling TO finish her task, to force
the growing things to maturity before
nightfall By $50 had made 80 cents.
They told me had done well for green
hand and when had been at IL for sew
eral seasons Would be sure 10 make my
81 a day. They also told me that would
boon get used to the awful pain in my
shoulders. or wouldn't feel it. don't
remember which.
They we're quite right. By the fifth day
the sharpness OF the pain was gone. At
night felt only deadly. stupidity tired
By the end Of the week l was making
90 cents on good days, but the life and
color was all gone out Of II. 1t was not
until long after ] had left II that | could
see again as ! hid seen on the first day,
BY the middle Of the second week the
others existed only as they made more
or less than !. The white haired old Eng
lish woman who packed 90 slowly, so
accurately at the far end Of the table
and who stopped every few moments
to wipe her glasses and give little sigh,
had fought with the boss and owned a
row Of fats and had bank account, and
Little Diamonds. the pretty Armenian
next TO me, whose money went into paw
ments on the family orchard, 30 that she
couldn't stop working and marry the pale,
quiet young fellow who stood all day at
the throttle OF the separator and gazed
at her with dark. sad Eastern eyes-they
had all gone down together, drowned in
that endless cataract OF figs.
By the end OF the second week l had
become a machine-a machine for the
Of figs. / had not tried to do
IL. I had just stood steadily packing and
packing and packing.
Then l lost my place. Something
happened somewhere 20 the fig supply
and half the packers we're let out No !
one explained the reason and none Of
us asked.
For two days / went from one place |
to another my paper of lunch under one |
arm, my apron under the other ready |
to begin. No one wanted me. Some |
Of the forewomen we're Indifferent and |
some were really sorry that they had |
nothing for me; some we're sympathetic |
and had the manner OF remembering the |
distant days when they also had been |
looking for job" Some we're as supe-
rior as the secretary who gathered sta |
tistics for the little red book.
On the third day began going TO the |
same places in the afternoon and in the !
hoping that some girl had failed !
10 come back and that | would get her
place. Others tried the same thing.
| met an untidy, stupid Russian peas
ant three times in one afternoon coming
Dut as ] went in. The third time we
smiled at each other kindly and I under
'tood whv the unemployed band to-
yether. The world had readjusted