Jonah | Page 6

the women were shrill and self-possessed,
scolding their hearers, demanding an instant surrender to the Army,

whose advantages they pointed out with a glib fluency as if it were a
Benefit Lodge.
Then the men knelt in the dust, the women covered their faces, and the
Captain began to pray. His voice rose in shrill entreaty, mixed with the
cries of the shopmen and the noise of the streets.
The spectators, familiar with the sight, listened in nonchalance,
stopping to watch the group for a minute as they would look into a shop
window. The exhibition stirred no religious feeling in them, for their
minds, with the tenacity of childhood, associated religion with churches,
parsons and hymn-books.
The Push grew restless, divided between a desire to upset the meeting
and fear of the police.
"Well I used ter think a funeral was slow," remarked Chook, losing
patience, and he stepped behind Jonah.
"'Ere, look out!" yelled Jonah the next minute, as, with a push from
Chook, he collided violently with one of the soldiers and fell into the
centre of the ring.
"'E shoved me," cried Jonah as he got up, pointing with an injured air to
the grinning Chook. "I'll gi' yer a kick in the neck, if yer git me
lumbered," he added, scowling with counterfeit anger at his mate.
"If yer was my son," said the Captain severely--"If yer was my son..."
he repeated, halting for words.
"I should 'ave trotters as big as yer own," cried Jonah, pointing to the
man's feet, cased in enormous bluchers. The Push yelled with derision
as Jonah edged out of the circle ready for flight.
The Captain flushed angrily, and then his face cleared.
"Well, friends," he cried, "God gave me big feet to tramp the streets
and preach the Gospel to my fellow men." And the interrupted service

went on.
Jonah, who carried the brains of the Push, devised a fresh attack,
involving Chook, a broken bottle, and the big drum.
"It'll cut it like butter," he was explaining, when suddenly there was a
cry of "Nit! 'Ere's a cop!" and the Push bolted like rabbits.
Jonah and Chook alone stood their ground, with reluctant valour, for
the policeman was already beside them. Chook shoved the broken
bottle into his pocket, and listened with unusual interest to the last
hymn of the Army. Jonah, with one eye on the policeman, looked
worried, as if he were struggling with a desire to join the Army and
lead a pure life. The policeman looked hard at them and turned away.
The pair were making a strategic movement to the rear, when the two
girls who had exchanged shots with Chook at the corner passed them.
The fat girl tapped Jonah on the back. He turned with a start.
"Nit yer larks!" he cried. "I thought it was the cop."
"Cum 'ere, Joe; I want yer," said the girl.
"Wot's up now?" he cried, following her along the street.
They stood in earnest talk for some minutes, while Chook
complimented the red-headed girl on her wit.
"Yer knocked me sky-'igh," he confessed, with a leer.
"Did I?"
"Yer did. Gi' me one straight on the point," he admitted.
"Yous keep a civil tongue in yer head," she cried, and the curious pink
flush spread over her white skin.
"Orl right, wot are yer narked about?" inquired Chook.

He noticed, with surprise, that she was pretty, with small regular
features; her eyes quick and bright, like a bird's. Under the gaslight her
hair was the colour of a new penny.
"W'y, I don't believe yer 'air is red," said Chook, coming nearer.
"Now then, keep yer 'ands to yerself," cried the girl, giving him a
vigorous push. Before he could repeat his attack, she walked away to
join Ada, who hailed her shrilly.
Jonah rejoined his mate in gloomy silence. The Push had
scattered--some to the two-up school, some to the dance-room. The
butcher's flare of lights shone with a desolate air on piles of bones and
scraps of meat--the debris of battle. The greengrocer's was stripped
bare to the shelves, as if an army of locusts had marched through with
ravenous tooth.
"Comin' down the street?" asked Chook, feeling absently in his
pockets.
"No," said Jonah.
"W'y, wot's up now?" inquired Chook in surprise.
"Oh, nuthin'; but I'm goin' ter sleep at Ada's tonight," replied Jonah,
staring at the shops.
"'Strewth!" cried Chook, looking at him in wonder. "Wot's the game
now?"
"Oh! the old woman wants me ter put in the night there. Says some
blokes 'ave bin after 'er fowls," replied Jonah, hesitating like a boy
inventing an excuse.
"Fowls!" cried Chook, with infinite scorn. "Wants yer to nuss the
bloomin' kid."
"My oath, she don't," replied Jonah, with great heartiness.

"Well, gimme a