the ragged trousered philanthropists-第32章

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ot　want　him　to　know　that。　　He　wished　to　convey　the　impression　that　he　was　almost　indifferent　whether　Owen　did　the　work　or　not。　　In　fact；　he　wished　to　seem　to　be　conferring　a　favour　upon　him　by　procuring　him　such　a　nice　job　as　this。

‘I'll　tell　you　what　I　CAN　do；'　Owen　replied。　　‘I　can　make　you　a　watercolour　sketch　…　a　design　…　and　if　you　think　it　good　enough；　of　course；　I　can　reproduce　it　on　the　ceiling　and　the　walls；　and　I　can　let　you　know；　within　a　little；　how　long　it　will　take。'

Rushton　appeared　to　reflect。　　Owen　stood　examining　the　photograph　and　began　to　feel　an　intense　desire　to　do　the　work。

Rushton　shook　his　head　dubiously。

‘If　I　let　you　spend　a　lot　of　time　over　the　sketches　and　then　Mr　Sweater　does　not　approve　of　your　design；　where　do　I　come　in？'

‘Well；　suppose　we　put　it　like　this：　I'll　draw　the　design　at　home　in　the　evenings　…　in　my　own　time。　　If　it's　accepted；　I'll　charge　you　for　the　time　I've　spent　upon　it。　　If　it's　not　suitable；　I　won't　charge　the　time　at　all。'

Rushton　brightened　up　considerably。　　‘All　right。　　You　can　do　so；'　he　said　with　an　affectation　of　good　nature；　‘but　you　mustn't　pile　it　on　too　thick；　in　any　case；　you　know；　because；　as　I　said　before；　'e　don't　want　to　spend　too　much　money　on　it。　　In　fact；　if　it's　going　to　cost　a　great　deal　'e　simply　won't　'ave　it　done　at　all。'

Rushton　knew　Owen　well　enough　to　be　sure　that　no　consideration　of　time　or　pains　would　prevent　him　from　putting　the　very　best　that　was　in　him　into　this　work。　　He　knew　that　if　the　man　did　the　room　at　all　there　was　no　likelihood　of　his　scamping　it　for　the　sake　of　getting　it　done　quickly；　and　for　that　matter　Rushton　did　not　wish　him　to　hurry　over　it。　　All　that　he　wanted　to　do　was　to　impress　upon　Owen　from　the　very　first　that　he　must　not　charge　too　much　time。　　Any　profit　that　it　was　possible　to　make　out　of　the　work；　Rushton　meant　to　secure　for　himself。　He　was　a　smart　man；　this　Rushton；　he　possessed　the　ideal　character：　the　kind　of　character　that　is　necessary　for　any　man　who　wishes　to　succeed　in　business　…　to　get　on　in　life。　　In　other　words；　his　disposition　was　very　similar　to　that　of　a　pig　…　he　was　intensely　selfish。

No　one　had　any　right　to　condemn　him　for　this；　because　all　who　live　under　the　present　system　practise　selfishness；　more　or　less。　　We　must　be　selfish：　the　System　demands　it。　　We　must　be　selfish　or　we　shall　be　hungry　and　ragged　and　finally　die　in　the　gutter。　　The　more　selfish　we　are　the　better　off　we　shall　be。　　In　the　‘Battle　of　Life'　only　the　selfish　and　cunning　are　able　to　survive：　all　others　are　beaten　down　and　trampled　under　foot。　　No　one　can　justly　be　blamed　for　acting　selfishly　…　it　is　a　matter　of　self…preservation　…　we　must　either　injure　or　be　injured。　　It　is　the　system　that　deserves　to　be　blamed。　What　those　who　wish　to　perpetuate　the　system　deserve　is　another　question。

‘When　do　you　think　you'll　have　the　drawings　ready？'　inquired　Rushton。　‘Can　you　get　them　done　tonight？'

‘I'm　afraid　not；'　replied　Owen；　feeling　inclined　to　laugh　at　the　absurdity　of　the　question。　　‘It　will　need　a　little　thinking　about。'

‘When　can　you　have　them　ready　then？　　This　is　Monday。　　Wednesday　morning？'

Owen　hesitated。

‘We　don't　want　to　keep　'im　waiting　too　long；　you　know；　or　'e　may　give　up　the　idear　altogether。'

‘Well；　sat　Friday　morning；　then；'　said　Owen；　resolving　that　he　would　stay　up　all　night　if　necessary　to　get　it　done。

Rushton　shook　his　head。

‘Can't　you　get　it　done　before　that？　　I'm　afraid　that　if　we　keeps　'im　waiting　all　that　time　we　may　lose　the　job　altogether。'

‘I　can't　get　them　done　any　quicker　in　my　spare　time；'　returned　Owen；　flushing。　　‘If　you　like　to　let　me　stay　home　tomorrow　and　charge　the　time　the　same　as　if　I　had　gone　to　work　at　the　house；　I　could　go　to　my　ordinary　work　on　Wednesday　and　let　you　have　the　drawings　on　Thursday　morning。'

‘Oh；　all　right；'　said　Rushton　as　he　returned　to　the　perusal　of　his　letters。

That　night；　long　after　his　wife　and　Frankie　were　asleep；　Owen　worked　in　the　sitting…room；　searching　through　old　numbers　of　the　Decorators'　Journal　and　through　the　illustrations　in　other　books　of　designs　for　examples　of　Moorish　work；　and　making　rough　sketches　in　pencil。

He　did　not　attempt　to　finish　anything　yet：　it　was　necessary　to　think　first；　but　he　roughed　out　the　general　plan；　and　when　at　last　he　did　go　to　bed　he　could　not　sleep　for　a　long　time。　　He　almost　fancied　he　was　in　the　drawing…room　at　the　‘Cave'。　　First　of　all　it　would　be　necessary　to　take　down　the　ugly　plaster　centre　flower　with　its　crevices　all　filled　up　with　old　whitewash。　　The　cornice　was　all　right；　it　was　fortunately　a　very　simple　one；　with　a　deep　cove　and　without　many　enrichments。　　Then；　when　the　walls　and　the　ceiling　had　been　properly　prepared；　the　ornamentation　would　be　proceeded　with。　　The　walls；　divided　into　panels　and　arches　containing　painted　designs　and　lattice…work；　the　panels　of　the　door　decorated　in　a　similar　manner。　The　mouldings　of　the　door　and　window　frames　picked　out　with　colours　and　gold　so　as　to　be　in　character　with　the　other　work；　the　cove　of　the　cornice；　a　dull　yellow　with　a　bold　ornament　in　colour　…　gold　was　not　advisable　in　the　hollow　because　of　the　unequal　distribution　of　the　light；　but　some　of　the　smaller　mouldings　of　the　cornice　should　be　gold。　　On　the　ceiling　there　would　be　one　large　panel　covered　with　an　appropriate　design　in　gold　and　colours　and　surrounded　by　a　wide　margin　or　border。　　To　separate　this　margin　from　the　centre　panel　there　would　be　a　narrow　border；　and　another　border　…　but　wider　…　round　the　outer　edge　of　the　margin；　where　the　ceiling　met　the　cornice。　　Both　these　borders　and　the　margin　would　be　covered　with　ornamentation　in　colour　and　gold。　　Great　care　would　be　necessary　when　deciding　what　parts　were　to　be　gilded　because　…　whilst　large　masses　of　gilding　are　apt　to　look　garish　and　in　bad　taste　…　a　lot　of　fine　gold　lines　are　ineffective；　especially　on　a　flat　surface；　where　they　do　not　always　catch　the　light。　　Process　by　process　he　traced　the　work；　and　saw　it　advancing　stage　by　stage　until；　finally；　the　large　apartment　was　transformed　and　glorified。　　And　then　in　the　midst　of　the　pleasure　he　experienced　in　the　planning　of　the　work　there　came　the　fear　that　perhaps　they　would　not　have　it　done　at　all。

The　question；　what　personal　advantage　would　he　gain　never　once　occurred　to　Owen。　　He　simply　wanted　to　do　the　work；　and　he　saw　so　fully　occupied　with　thinking　and　planning　how　it　was　to　be　done　that　the　question　of　profit　was　crowded　out。

But　although　this　question　of　what　profit　could　be　made　out　of　the　work　never　occurred　to　Owen；　it　would　in　due　course　by　fully　considered　by　Mr　Rushton。　　In　fact；　it　was　the　only　thing　about　the　work　that　Mr　Rushton　would　think　of　at　all：　how　much　money　could　be　made　out　of　it。　　This　is　what　is　meant　by　the　oft…quoted　saying；　‘The　men　work　with　their　hands　…　the　master　works　with　his　brains。'



Chapter　12

The　Letting　of　the　Room


It　will　be　remembered　that　when　the　men　separated；　Owen　going　to　the　office　to　see　Rushton；　and　the　others　on　their　several　ways；　Easton　and　Slyme　went　together。

During　the　day　Easton　had　found　an　opportunity　of　speaking　to　him　about　the　bedroom。　　Slyme　was　about　to　leave　the　place　where　he　was　at　present　lodging；　and　he　told　Easton　that　although　he　had　almost　decided　on　another　place　he　would　take　a　look　at　the　room。　　At　Easton's　suggestion　they　arranged　that　Slyme　was　to　accompany　him　home　that　night。　　As　the　former　remarked；　Slyme　could　come　to　see　the　place；　and　if　he　didn't　like　it　as　well　as　the　other　he　was　thinking　of　taking；　there　was　no　harm　done。

Ruth　had　contrived　to　furnish　the　room。　　Some　of　the　things　she　had　obtained　on　credit　from　a　second…hand　furniture　dealer。　　Exactly　how　she　had　managed；　Easton　did　not　know；　but　it　was　done。

‘This　is　the　house；'　said　Easton。　　As　they　passed　through；　the　gate　creaked　loudly　on　its　hinges　and　then　closed　of　itself　rather　noisily。

Ruth　had　just　been　putting　the　child　to　sleep　and　she　stood　up　as　they　came　in；　hastily　fastening　the　bodice　of　her　dress　as　she　did　so。

‘I've　brought　a　gentleman　to　see　you；'　said　Easton。

Although　she　knew　that　he　was　looking　out　for　someone　for　the　room；　Ruth　had　not　expected　him　to　bring　anyone　home　in　this　sudd