Harry sighed. ‘It’s two things. This morning when I looked at ’last field of corn I thought it looked almost perfect. Another two days of sun and it would be ready. Ozzie would have been ecstatic. I’d been waiting for Charlesworth to give me ’go-ahead for harvesting; it would have been for ’very last time, so I said to him we ought to be getting extra men in; and he said, no we shouldn’t. I’ve sold the crop; we don’t need to do anything, it’ll be harvested and cleared by the buyer. I just stood and stared at him. I couldn’t believe what he was saying, and then he said, when it’s done we’ll be sowing grass for more sheep.

‘Then Josh came to tell me he’d be finishing at ’end of week and I asked him where he was going. He said he was going to try Hull; that he was onny forty and couldn’t afford to finish work, and he’d heard there were plenty of labouring jobs in town.’

‘But you’re not a labourer,’ Ellen reminded him. ‘You’re an experienced farmhand.’

‘And soon I’ll be an out-of-work farmhand; there are few good jobs available in farming and those in work are hanging on by their fingertips. Machines are tekking ’place of labourers.’ His expression was grim. ‘To be honest, I’d wait until Hirings, but I hate ’notion of standing in line waiting for somebody to look me over; that’s why I’ve put ’word about that I’m looking for another position. Ozzie had a good reputation and the fact that I’ve worked for him since I was a lad should be recommendation enough, but there’s been nothing. Nobody has come forward to enquire, and I reckon’ – he clenched his fists – ‘I reckon that Charlesworth will become a laughing stock afore long and I don’t want to be associated with him. I don’t want my name being tarnished by his.’

‘I can understand that,’ Ellen murmured. ‘But what kind of labouring work would it be in town?’

‘Josh said he was going to ’timber docks first, then mebbe ’railway dock. They’ll want lads wi’ muscles there. There are several docks in Hull; there’s Queen’s Dock, where shipping and trade comes in, then Humber Dock, and Junction Dock, and there are plans to extend Victoria Dock.’ He paused. ‘And there are plenty of mills, oil mills and seed-crushing mills, and I know about seed and grain.’

‘So you do,’ she whispered, watching his face. ‘So – mebbe it will be all right.’

‘Do you think so, Ellen?’ He looked earnestly at her. ‘Cos I wouldn’t want to do anything if you weren’t happy about it.’