"That tragedy sometimes occurs," responded Mr. Marwood. "Often, too, a piece with many colors and much gold work on it has to be fired several times, and is therefore in jeopardy more than once. In addition to these risks you must remember the number of hands through which an article passes from the time of its moulding to its final arrival from the glost-kiln. A delicate piece of ware is in peril every second. It may be dropped and broken; chipped in handling; its clay body may crack when exposed to the heat; the colors in the decoration may fire out unsatisfactorily; or at the very end there may be a defect in the glaze." "Great Scott!" gasped Theo. "Why, I never should expect to get a single perfect piece of porcelain." "On the contrary, we get a great many," smiled Mr. Marwood. "They are almost all perfect. The imperfect piece is the exception. But each piece represents untold care. We sometimes laugh at the old adage of a bull in the china-shop, but let me assure you that a poor workman can do almost as much damage in a porcelain factory." Mr. Marwood drew out his watch. "I believe we shall now have just about time before luncheon to go down to the kilns," he observed presently. "Should you like to?" "Indeed I should." "There is not much that we can see, I am afraid. However, we may be able to catch a glimpse of some of the ware being packed in the saggers." "What is a sagger?" "It is a large clay container in which unfired pottery or porcelain is packed while it is passing through the firing process. These large clay vessels have come into general use as the best thing for the purpose. They stand the heat and at the same time are less liable to break or chip the goods than are containers of any other material. We make them ourselves here in the mills. In fact, there is an entire section in the clay-shop devoted to nothing but sagger making. Special machinery grinds and mixes the clay; special men fashion by hand the great containers; while other men do nothing but work in the wad-mills where rolls of clay to cover the top of the saggers and protect the unfired ware from smoke are made." "Don't the clay saggers ever break?" questioned Theo. "Sometimes, alas!" admitted Mr. Marwood. "When they do the china in them must be rescued from the kilns and put into new saggers. The old saggers are then broken up; the clay in them ground and sifted; and after being moistened again and mixed with fresh clay other saggers are modeled." "Is the same sort of clay sagger used for the glazed as well as for the unglazed wares?" "No. For the glazed china we generally use glost saggers that have been covered on the inner side with a coating of enamel." All this time as they talked they had been passing through the mill and they now entered a low hot building where a series of brick ovens with arching tops covered the floor.