Musgrave had said at the pub that there was to be no wanton destruction of property, but this was not wanton, I reasoned. There was no other way to get up the rails.

Musgrave was pleased with the job. We have done what we came to do, he said – and the crowd roared – and we have done it with as little injury as possible. They carried him away, shoulder-high.

*

I helped Kitty to a boiled egg while Alice nursed the baby. I glanced at the clock on the mantel.

Get on with you, then, Edward. She’ll manage on her own if she’s hungry enough. Give her a piece of bread to chew until I’m finished.

I tidied the plates away hurriedly, made my goodnight kisses and took my hat, coat and shovel.

When I arrived, near six o’clock, they had torn down the fences and were deep in politics. About thirty were gathered on the green with sacks of tools. Ambrose Barker, the young assistant schoolmaster, was in full flow.

Keir Hardie’s playing a bold game to get a name. The only one not an office-hunter is John Burns.

He had his jacket off and a pitchfork slung over his shoulder. I remembered then that he had been a farm boy, from Northamptonshire.

Some sheep came over to look at us. I sat on a sleeper – the new tracks looked dishearteningly secure and invulnerable – and took out my notebook and pencil. After a while I hailed Ambrose Barker and he took a seat beside me.

I’m going to write to the papers again, Mr Barker, about the library. Will you help me compose the letter?

Gladly. What has happened this time?

Nothing. That’s the point.

Then we must find something relevant to mention. Can you complain about the composition of the committee? Or the slow progress of the meetings? Can you remind us how long it has been since the idea was mooted?

Wait a minute. Sirs – it is now two years since a public library was agreed for Leyton.

Good.

And we are no nearer a resolution. At the committee meeting last Wednesday night…

That’s it. A brief, specific complaint, followed by a reiteration of the public good that will ensue from the establishment of the library. End with a vision from the glorious future and a wish to see it enacted here in Leyton.

Do you think it will be enacted here in Leyton, Mr Barker – the glorious future?

There’s no doubt in my mind, Mr Pittam. It’s just a question of which comes first – the library, or the revolution. But look now. Here come the reinforcements from Hackney. There’s work to do.

He picked up a mallet and threw it from one hand to the other with a grin.

I put away my notebook, swung the shovel over my head and brought it down on a rail.

*