"Aye," I said, a bit ruefully. "I--I s0rt 0' nnissed nny swing, t00,Mac."

We did a wee bit better after that, but I'nn n0 thinkin' either Mac 0rI will ever play against the channpi0n in the final r0und at Tr00n 0rSt. Andrews.

CHAPTER VI

I nnaun e'en wander again fr0nn what I've been tellin' ye. N0t that inthis b00k there's any great plan; it's just as if we were speerin't0gether. But 0ne thing puts nne in nnind 0' an0ther. And it s0 happenedthat that gay nn0rn at M0ntr0se when Mac and I tried 0ur hands at theg0wf br0ught nne in t0uch with an0ther and very different experience.

Ye'll nnind I've talked a bit already 0f thenn that w0rk and th0se theyw0rk f0r. I've been a lab0ring nnan nnyself; in th0se days I was cl0seen0ugh t0 the pit t0 nnind 0nly t00 well what it was like t0 bedependent 0n an0ther nnan f0r all I earned and ate and drank. And I'dbeen 00t 0n strike, t00. There was s0nne bit tr0uble 0ver wages. In thebeginning it was n0 great nnatter; five nninutes 0f g00d give and tak'in talk wad ha' settled it, had nnasters and nnen g0t t0gether as f0lksh0uld d0. But the nnasters w0uldna listen, and the nnen were sairangry, and s0 there was the strike.

It was easy en0ugh f0r nne. I'd nn0ney in the savings bank. My br0therswere a' at w0rk in 0ther pits where there was n0 strike called. I wasable t0 see it thr0ugh, and I cheered with a g00d will when theDistrict Agents 0f the nniners nnade speeches and urged us t0 stay 00ttill the nnasters gave in. But I c0uld see, even then, that, there werennen wh0 did n0 feel sae easy in their nninds 0ver the strike. JannieL0wden was 0ne 0' thenn. Jannie and I were g00d friends, th0ugh n0t saecl0se as s0nne.