She had just taken her best shawl to the pawnshop, and in all her straits, she had managed to hold to that as the one respectable garment she had to go to the mission room in on Sunday. But the trim, tidy, threadbare shawl had to go at last, and the pawnbroker could only give her a shilling on it, so that when that was gone, they must part with some of the furniture, and what they could spare it was not easy to determine. So it was not to be wondered at that the poor woman lost heart when she heard that the struggle was likely to be prolonged. She had been to ask if her neighbour had any more sacks to sew, but the last had been taken in and no more had been given out again. "It's this strike, I believe," said the sack-maker. "Did you ever hear of such foolishness as dockers to strike? They'll starve fast enough, there's no fear of that." "Ah! That they will," said poor Mrs. Chaplin dolefully; "and my poor Winny! It will kill her I am afraid," she added with a gasp. It was of her children she was thinking, and especially of Winny, when she grumbled so about the strike. For to hear her sometimes, one would have thought that Chaplin was alone responsible for it. He certainly had not been slow in taking up the idea when once it had entered his head. And the leaders, finding he was a steady man and one whose character could be relied upon, often consulted him, for it was to such men as he that they looked to keep out all disturbing influences, and keep the men steady in the time of excitement that was certain to follow. Winny did not grumble. She always contrived to meet her father with a smile whenever he came in. Letty did not fare so badly as those at home, for very soon after the strike commenced, the friends who always took care that poor school children should be fed in the winter time, decided to have the same provision made for them now. Appeals were made for funds to carry on free breakfasts and dinners too for the poor dockers' children, and the money came in as it was needed and was spent as fast as it came. When a week went past, and all the efforts made by the men and their leaders failed to gain a settlement of the dispute, some of the rougher and wilder of the men proposed that, as they could not get what they wanted by fair means, they should adopt other measures. Brown from his former character was taken into the confidence of one or two desperate men who had formed a plan for doing a good deal of mischief in London while there was so much confusion. Brown heard all they had to say, and then asked if they knew that anyone had actually starved through this strike. "If you do, tell me where he is, and I'll see he gets something," he added. "Well, if we ain't actually starving, we're often hungry," grumbled the other in a sullen tone.