The Valley of the Moon

"You hear me, Saxon? Come on along. What if it is the Bricklayers? I'll have gentlemenfriends there, and so'll you. The Al Vista band'll be along, an' you know it plays heavenly.An' you just love dancin'--"Twenty feet away, a stout, elderly woman interrupted the girl's persuasions.

The elderlywoman's back was turned, and the back--loose, bulging, and misshapen-began aconvulsive heaving."Gawd!" she cried out. "O Gawd!"She flung wild glances, like those of an entrapped animal, up and down the bigwhitewashed room that panted with heat and that was thickly humid with the steam thatsizzled from the damp cloth under the irons of the many ironers.

From the girls and womennear her, all swinging irons steadily but at high pace, came quick glances, and laborefficiency suffered to the extent of a score of suspended or inadequate movements.

Theelderly woman's cry had caused a tremor of money-loss to pass among the piece-workironers of fancy starch.She gripped herself and her iron with a visible effort, and dabbed futilely at the frail,frilled garment on the board under her hand