To all of these things our friends would listen openmouthed—it
seemed to them impossible of belief that anything
so stupendous could have been devised by mortal man.
That was why to Jurgis it seemed almost profanity
to speak about the place as did Jokubas, skeptically;
it was a thing as tremendous as the universe—the
laws and ways of its working no more than the universe
to be questioned or understood. All that a mere
man could do, it seemed to Jurgis, was to take a thing
like this as he found it, and do as he was told; to
be given a place in it and a share in its wonderful
activities was a blessing to be grateful for, as one
was grateful for the sunshine and the rain. Jurgis
was even glad that he had not seen the place before
meeting with his triumph, for he felt that the size
of it would have overwhelmed him. But now he had
been admitted—he was a part of it all!
He had the feeling that this whole huge establishment
had taken him under its protection, and had become
responsible for his welfare. So guileless was
he, and ignorant of the nature of business, that he
did not even realize that he had become an employee
of Brown’s, and that Brown and Durham were supposed
by all the world to be deadly rivals—were
even required to be deadly rivals by the law of the
land, and ordered to try to ruin each other under penalty
of fine and imprisonment!
Chapter 4
Promptly at seven the next morning Jurgis reported
for work. He came to the door that had been pointed
out to him, and there he waited for nearly two hours.
The boss had meant for him to enter, but had not said
this, and so it was only when on his way out to hire
another man that he came upon Jurgis. He gave
him a good cursing, but as Jurgis did not understand
a word of it he did not object. He followed the
boss, who showed him where to put his street clothes,
and waited while he donned the working clothes he
had bought in a secondhand shop and brought with him
in a bundle; then he led him to the “killing
beds.” The work which Jurgis was to do
here was very simple, and it took him but a few minutes
to learn it. He was provided with a stiff besom,
such as is used by street sweepers, and it was his
place to follow down the line the man who drew out
the smoking entrails from the carcass of the steer;
this mass was to be swept into a trap, which was then
closed, so that no one might slip into it. As
Jurgis came in, the first cattle of the morning were
just making their appearance; and so, with scarcely
time to look about him, and none to speak to any one,
he fell to work. It was a sweltering day in July,
and the place ran with steaming hot blood—one
waded in it on the floor. The stench was almost
overpowering, but to Jurgis it was nothing. His
whole soul was dancing with joy—he was at
work at last! He was at work and earning money!
All day long he was figuring to himself. He was
paid the fabulous sum of seventeen and a half cents
an hour; and as it proved a rush day and he worked
until nearly seven o’clock in the evening, he
went home to the family with the tidings that he had
earned more than a dollar and a half in a single day!
