The Stonecutter Read Online Free PDF Page B

news or bad. Either an offer of more work, or notification that you could go home from the quarry with your cap in hand. In general, Anders had faith that the news was good. He knew that he was skilled at his profession, and there were probably others who would get the boot before him if the work force were cut back. On the other hand, logic did not always win out. Politics and power struggles had sent home many a good stonecutter, so nothing was ever guaranteed. His strong involvement in the trade-union movement also made him vulnerable when the boss had to get rid of people. Politically active cutters were not appreciated.
    He cast a final glance at the stone block before he went to see the foreman. It was piecework, and every interruption in his work meant lost income. For this particular job he was getting two öre per paving stone, hence the name ‘two-örings.’ He would have to work hard to make up for lost time if the foreman was long-winded.
    ‘Good day, Larsson,’ said Anders, bowing with his cap in hand. The foreman was a stern believer in protocol. Failing to show him the respect he felt he deserved had gotten other cutters fired.
    ‘Good day, Andersson,’ muttered the rotund man, tugging on his moustache.
    Anders waited tensely.
    ‘Well, it’s like this. We’ve got an order for a big memorial stone from France. It’s going to be a statue, so we thought we’d have you cut the stone.’
    His heart hammered with joy at the news, but he also felt a stab of fright. It was a great opportunity to be given the responsibility to cut the raw material for a statue. It could pay considerably more than the usual work, and it was both more fun and more challenging. But at the same time it was an enormous risk. He would be responsible until the statue was shipped off, and if anything went wrong he wouldn’t be paid a single öre for all the work he had done. There was a legend about a cutter who had been given two statues to cut, and just as he was in the final stages of the work he made a wrong cut and ruined them both. It was said that he’d been so despondent that he took his own life, leaving behind a widow and seven children. But those were the conditions. There was nothing he could do about it, and the opportunity was too good to pass up.
    Anders spat in his hand and held it out to the foreman, who did the same so that their hands were united in a firm handshake. It was a deal. Anders would be in charge of the work on the memorial stone. It worried him a bit what the others would say, especially since there were many men who had considerably more years on the job than he did. Some would undoubtedly complain that the commission should have gone to them, especially since they had families to support. The extra money would have been a welcome windfall with winter coming on. Nonetheless, whether they admitted it publicly or not, they all recognized that Anders was the most skilled stonecutter among them, even as young as he was, and he hoped that consensus would dampen most of the backbiting. Besides, the assignment would allow Anders to choose some of them to work with him, and they knew he would choose fairly.
    ‘Come down to the office tomorrow and we’ll discuss the details,’ said the foreman, twirling his moustache. ‘The architect won’t be coming until sometime toward spring, but we’ve received the plans and can begin the rough cut.’
    Anders pulled a face. It would probably take a couple of hours to go over the drawings, and that meant even more time away from the job he was currently working on. He was going to need every öre now, because the terms stated that the work on the memorial stone would only be paid at the end, when everything was completed. That meant that he would have to get used to longer work-days, since he would have to make time to cut paving stones on the side. But the involuntary interruption of his work wasn’t the only reason that he didn’t want to go down to the office.