Love on the Dole Read Online Free PDF Page B

ancient.
    lugubrious woman, round shouldered, wizened, with a dewdrop at the end of her hooked, prominent nose, pushed a man’s cheap serge suit to the spot where Mr Price stood when doing business. Then she stared, alarmed, into nothingness and clapped her bony hand to her placket as though something had bitten her leg. An expression of consternation appeared on her face, but only for a moment. She coughed, assumed an innocent air and drew the suit back to her side of the counter to stare, fixedly, at an imaginary stain on the lapel. Out of the tail of her eye she glanced this way and that, stealthily withdrew her hand from her placket and quickly slipped into one of the suit’s pockets her old age pension book. She pushed the suit back to its former place, coughed, unconcernedly, turned to her nearest neighbour, a tall, restless-eyed old woman name Mrs Nattle, who had fetched, in a bassinette, nine suits, a dozen frocks, any number of boots and shoes, two wedding rings, three watches and chains, not to mention a couple of barelegged, barefoot children whose mottled legs shivered with the cold whilst their scraggy arms ached with the bundles they carried - Mrs Dorbell, after the manoeuvre with the pension book, turned to Mrs Nattle and said, off hand: ‘It’s a wery cold mornin’ this mornin’, Mrs Nakkle,’ a mournful look then a slow inclination of the head towards the blank wall behind opposite which, across the street stood the public-house: ‘Ah wish they wus open,’ Mrs Dorbell said; ‘Could jus’ do wi’ a nip, Ah could. Ne’er slep’ a wink las’ night. Ah didn’t. Daily Express is right. Taint bin same since war. Before that started things was reas’nable. A body could get a drink wi’out hinterference wi’ this ‘ere early closin’ an late openin’. But Ah ne’er did hold wi’ Lloyd George nor wi’ any o’ t’ rest of ‘em neither. Vote for none on ‘em, say I. All same once they get i’ Parli’ment. It’s poor as ‘elps poor aaaall world over.’
    Mrs Nattle permitted her to finish, staring at her, meanwhile, with suspicion, her lips tightly pursed. Then she leaned towards her and whispered, out of the side of her mouth and very much after the manner of an amateur ventriloquist: 7 seed performance,’ she said, mysteriously, adding, explanatorily: 7 seed y’ slip pension book into pocket,’ she put back her head, raised her brows and stared at Mrs Dorbell accusingly.
    Mrs Dorbell opened her mouth and stared back. But Mrs Nattle turned to the two children who had accompanied her. She smiled at them and said: ‘Here, gie me the bungles. … Y’ can go, now. See me when Ah come back an’ Ah’ll gie y’ penny each.’ She relieved them of the bundles and they disappeared, as did the smile from Mrs Nattle’s lips. She addressed herself to Mrs Dorbell once again who was staring at her, stolidly. Making no immediate reference to what she had seen Mrs Nattle remarked: Them there’s two wery obligin’ childer o’ Mrs Cranford’s, Mrs Dorbell. Me round’s gettin’ that there big these times that Ah’ll not be able t’ manage it, soon.’ She looked up to the dirty ceiling waiting for Mrs Dorbell to reintroduce the subject of the pension book.
    ‘It don’t,’ said Mrs Dorbell, with a significant stare: ‘It don’t do t’ tell everybody all y’ know. Still tongue in a wise head. Wise as a sarpint, an’ ‘armless as a dove, as it says i’ Bible, though I haven’t bin t’ church for ‘ears an’ ‘ears. If it’s too far for parson to come t’ see me, it’s too far f me t’ go t’ see him.’ She sniffed: the dewdrop disappeared, but slowly grew again.
    Mrs Nattle nodded and announced, loudly: ‘Least said soonest mended, Mrs Dorbell,’ leaning towards her and whispering into her ear: Though Ah ne’er knew he tuk in pension books, bein’ agen law as is printed on book back an’ him bein’ a churchgoer an’ a magistrate,’ putting her head back and