Thuesday was a day of similar unremetting toil . The speed with which Joe
worked won Martin' s admiration . Joe was a dozen of demons for work .
He was Keyed up to concert pitch , and there was never a moment
in the long day when he was not fighting for moments . He concentrated himself
upon his work and upon how to save time , pointing out to Martin where
he did in five motions what could be done in three , or in three motions
what could be in two . "Elimination of waste motion " , Martin
phrased it as he watched and patterned after . He was a good workman
himself , quick and deft , and it had always been a point of pride with him
that no man should do any of his work for him or outwork him . As a
result , he concentrated with a similar singleness of purpose , greedily
snapping up the hints and suggestions thrown out by his working mate .
He "rubbed out " collars and cuffs , rubbing the starch out from between
the double thicknesses of lines so that there would be no blisters when it
came to the ironing , and doing it at a pace that elicited Joe' s praise .

"Me for the tropics and no clothes ," Martin laughed .
"And me out of a job ," Joe answered seriously . "I don 't know nothing but
laudrying."
"And you know it well ."
"I ought to . Began in the Contra Costa in Oakland when I was eleven ,
shakin ' out for the mangle . That was eighteen years ago , an' I ' ve never
done a tap of anything else . Bit this job is the fiercest I ever had . Ought to
be one more man on it at least . We work tomorrow night . Always run the
mangle Wdnesday nights-collars an ' cuffs."
Martin set his alarm , drew up to the table , and opened Fiske . He did not finish the first paragraph . The lines blurred and ran together and his head
nodded . He walked up and down , batting his head savagely with his fists ,
but he could not conquer the numbness of sleep . He propped the book before him , and propped his eyelids whit his finger , and fell asleep with
his eyes wide open . Then he surrendered , and , scarcely conscious of what
he did , got off his clothes and into bed . He slept seven hours of heavy ,
animal-like sleep , and awoke by the alarm , feeling that he had not had
enought.