brooding over this—and then suddenly he straightened up and the blood rushed into his face. A man had come in—Jurgis could not see his features for the bandages that swathed him, but he knew the burly figure. It was Connor! A trembling seized him, and his limbs bent as if for a spring. Then suddenly he felt a hand on his collar, and heard a voice behind him: 'Sit down, you son of a—!'
He subsided, but he never took his eyes off his enemy. The fellow was still alive, which was a disappointment, in one way; and yet it was pleasant to see him, all in penitential plasters. He and the company lawyer, who was with him, came and took seats within the judge's railing; and a minute later the clerk called Jurgis' name, and the policeman jerked him to his feet and led him before the bar, gripping him tightly by the arm, lest he should spring upon the boss.
Jurgis listened while the man entered the witness chair, took the oath, and told his story. The wife of the prisoner had been employed in a department near him, and had been discharged for impudence to him. Half an hour later he had been violently attacked, knocked down, and almost choked to death. He had brought witnesses—
'They will probably not be necessary,' observed the judge and he turned to Jurgis. 'You admit attacking the plaintiff?' he asked.
'Him?' inquired Jurgis, pointing at the boss.
'Yes,' said the judge. 'I hit him, sir,' said Jurgis.
'Say 'your Honor,'' said the officer, pinching his arm hard.
'Your Honor,' said Jurgis, obediently.
'You tried to choke him?'
'Yes, sir, your Honor.'
'Ever been arrested before?'
'No, sir, your Honor.'
'What have you to say for yourself?'
Jurgis hesitated. What had he to say? In two years and a half he had learned to speak English for practical purposes, but these had never included the statement that some one had intimidated and seduced his wife. He tried once or twice, stammering and balking, to the annoyance of the judge, who was gasping from the odor of fertilizer. Finally, the prisoner made it understood that his vocabulary was inadequate, and there stepped up a dapper young man with waxed mustaches, bidding him speak in any language he knew.
Jurgis began; supposing that he would be given time, he explained how the boss had taken advantage of his wife's position to make advances to her and had threatened her with the loss of her place. When the interpreter had translated this, the judge, whose calendar was crowded, and whose automobile was ordered for a certain hour, interrupted with the remark: 'Oh, I see. Well, if he made love to your wife, why didn't she complain to the superintendent or leave the place?'
Jurgis hesitated, somewhat taken aback; he began to explain that they were very poor—that work was hard to get—
'I see,' said Justice Callahan; 'so instead you thought you would knock him down.' He turned to the plaintiff, inquiring, 'Is there any truth in this story, Mr. Connor?'
'Not a particle, your Honor,' said the boss. 'It is very unpleasant—they tell some such tale every time you have to discharge a woman—'
'Yes, I know,' said the judge. 'I hear it often enough. The fellow seems to have handled you pretty roughly. Thirty days and costs. Next case.'
Jurgis had been listening in perplexity. It was only when the policeman who had him by the arm turned and started to lead him away that he realized that sentence had been passed. He gazed round him wildly. 'Thirty days!' he panted and then he whirled upon the judge. 'What will my family do?' he cried frantically. 'I have a wife and baby, sir, and they have no money—my God, they will starve to death!'
'You would have done well to think about them before you committed the assault,' said the judge dryly, as he turned to look at the next prisoner.
Jurgis would have spoken again, but the policeman had seized him by the collar and was twisting it, and a second policeman was making for him with evidently hostile intentions. So he let them lead him away. Far down the room he saw Elzbieta and Kotrina, risen from their seats, staring in fright; he made one effort to go to them, and then, brought back by another twist at his throat, he bowed his head and gave up the struggle. They thrust him into a
