THE DEPRIVED... Part 16.

A continuation of my book...

Many of the big houses on the outskirts of the East-End had their own private cesspits dug in fields to the back of the house and it was the first of many houses that Michael was to work on that night.
Big John had pulled the cart up in a field and climbing down he knocked loudly on the side of the cart with a club.
“Let’s get busy!” he shouted.
“Careful, Michael.” warned Joe. “There are some climbing rungs on the side of the cart here. That’s it, climb up and you can get down the ladder on the other side.”
Big John had put the ladder back to the outside and waited impatiently as the four men climbed down.
“Follow me.” said Big John.
He had lit a lantern and the four men followed him till he held out a warning hand and pointed downwards to a wide open pit from which came a foulest of smells.
“Get busy.” he ordered.
Joe told Michael to raise his arms and tied a rope around Michael’s waist.
“Are you ready, Michael?” asked Joe.
Michael nodded and was lowered down into the Cesspit by the rope Joe held. Hitching the rope to the cart, Joe then lowered a large tub which Michael began filling with the sludge and body wastes of the family from the house. He tried not to be sick, the smell of effluence and body-soil, as it was called, was overpowering. As soon as one tub was filled so another was lowered, the Tub-Men tipping the tubs into the back of the cart until it was full.
“Let’s go!” ordered Big John, climbing up into the driving seat and the four men walked behind, following the cart as Big John drove it out into the country to where the farm stretched out to the fields beyond.
Waiting in a small pony and trap sat the farmer, who dismounted and came over to look up at Big John.
“I want that field over there fertilised.” instructed the farmer and Big John issued the instructions to the men who stood at the back of the cart.
It was Michael’s job now to stand on a cross-board above the sludge, filling the tubs and lifting them over the side of the cart and down to the waiting hands of Joe who then gave them to Lemmy and Vincent whose job it was carry the tubs to the field and spread it.

The work went on till six o’clock the next morning and Michael returned home extremely exhausted, too tired to speak.
“Well you can’t get into bed smelling like that.” said Mary as she set the tin bath down on the floor and filled it with water.
Michael sat in the bath and allowed Mary to scrub him till his skin smarted from the hard brush. Drying himself and without eating, Michael fell on the bed and was fast asleep within seconds.
“Let your father sleep.” Mary warned Beth and Sam who had risen and were demanding breakfast.
The loud knocking at the door had Mary hurrying to open it and there stood Eli Dolsman.
“Are you ready to come down and do the cleaning, you and your daughter? And you boy, I want me fire all lit and warm.” he demanded.
“We’ll be down in a minute, once the children have eaten.” answered Mary coldly.
“Well hurry up.” said the landlord, starting to go back down the stairs. “We has a deal, your husband and me.” he complained, the words losing their strength as Mary closed the door.

The next night when Michael had arrived to meet Big John and the others, Jed Riley was waiting by the dung cart.
“Big John told me you work very well and so I’m allowing you to have the job full time along with a sixpenny rise if you keep it up."
Michael looked up to where Big John sat on the driver’s seat but Big John did not meet his eyes.
“I’m obliged to you Big John.” said Michael.
Big John shrugged his shoulders, hunching them up without replying.
Michael turned back to Jed Riley.
“And I’m more obliged to you for the job.” he said.
“Then let’s get you off to work. The others are already in the back of the cart.” said Jed Riley as he unhooked the ladder from the side of the cart, holding it till Michael had climbed up and dropped into the cart then hung it back in place before shouting for Big John to move off.
Joe and the others welcomed Michael and then sat in the bottom of the cart as it rattled its way out into the suburbs.
“There’s two horse carcases which needs scraping up and putting in the cart.” said Big John when the cart had drawn up behind one of the large houses. “They’re over there in that shed so look lively and let’s get them in the cart.”
Michael controlled his feelings as he worked, the stench robbing him of his breath though the other three seemed not to notice the smell.
“That’s because we are used to it.” chuckled Joe. “Born and bred to the muck.” added Lemmy, while Vincent chided Michael about having breathed the clean Irish air for a good part of his life.
“You’ll get used to it.” said Joe.