Classic Bestsellers from Josephine Cox: Bumper Collection

Roy wouldn’t have it. ‘The boiler can’t be on,’ he argued through chattering teeth.

‘Come here!’ Like a mother-cat with a kitten, Jack got the little fella by the scruff of the neck and marched him to the wall. Pointing to the large, round meter attached to an army of pipes, he said, ‘There y’are. Up and working and warming the place as we speak. Leave your coat on, give it half an hour, and you’ll be warm as toast.’

Jack was right. Half an hour later the large open area was heated to the right temperature. The men were at work and Roy had taken off his coat and was looking much more comfortable.

From his vantage point at the top of the stairs, Jack oversaw the workforce. To his left, the men were waiting by the lorries and to his right, the rows of machine-hands, producing the many different brushes to be quickly stacked, were ready for inspection.

Deciding to take another look at the production line, he went down the stairs and across the loading bay, to where Amy’s father, Dave, along with two other drivers were waiting for the word.

‘Ready when you are, Jack.’ That was Dave. ‘We’re all back from the station run, and now we’re waiting on the brush delivery. The wagons are swept out and clean. All we need are the loads on, then we’ll be away.’

‘You did well getting the distribution orders out on time,’ Jack acknowledged. ‘I know Mr Hammond appreciates you all turning in extra early to get it done.’

‘So long as the appreciation shows up in us wage packets, that’s all right,’ Bert, Dave’s friend, who was a loader, laughed.

‘So, how long d’you think it might be afore we can be away with this new brush order?’ Dave asked.

‘Not too long,’ Jack promised. ‘Mr Hammond will be here shortly. As soon as he approves the quality, we’ll have them packed and loaded.’

Since meeting Amy and realising Dave was her father, Jack had been amazed at how alike they were; not in looks but in mannerism – both homely creatures with no pretence about them, and bright, ready smiles. He didn’t want to let Dave know that he had met his daughter. That was up to Amy, but only if and when she wanted to.

At the brush production line, the men were eager too.

‘He can examine ’em all he likes,’ an old work-hand told Jack, ‘but he’ll not find a single misshapen base or one loose bristle. Matter o’ fact, I’ll go so far as to say, me and the men have taken more care with this little lot than we’ve ever taken … and that’s not to say we’ve not allus been vigilant in turning out the best brushes in Lancashire.’

‘I already know that, Will,’ Jack assured him, ‘and so, I’m sure, does Mr Hammond. But you know how important this contract is – a new outlet, at top prices, and the promise of even more business to follow.’

‘Aye, we know that, Jack, and we’ll not let him down, ’cos if we do, it’ll be like letting ourselves down.’

‘You’re right!’ Jack agreed, ‘especially as Mr Hammond is pulling out all the stops – new machinery, new wagons and even a new boiler system. He intends taking us up and up. No matter how good we’ve already proven our merchandise to be, we’re on trial with every new customer. One shoddy piece of merchandise and it’s back to square one.’

One of the newly started young men stepped forward. ‘He’ll not find any shoddy workmanship here.’ Unlike the other men, he did not appreciate the fact that Jack had come straight to Hammonds when not much more than a bairn. From the start, he had been a quick learner and dedicated to his work. He knew the business inside out, and was fast becoming Luke Hammond’s right-hand man.

All this envious young upstart could see was that Jack was not much older than himself, yet he wore the foreman’s brown overall. ‘Like Will ’ere says, these brushes must be the best in the whole of Lancashire. Tek a look and see for yourself.’

And because he knew Luke Hammond would do the very same, Jack did exactly that.

A few moments later he told the men he was well satisfied. ‘But it’s not me who needs to be satisfied,’ he reminded them, ‘it’s the big man, and I’m sure he will be.’ That said, he thanked them and set off towards the office.

‘Cocky bugger!’ The young man’s envy was written all over his face. ‘It’s not right, somebody in his twenties telling you men what to do –’

He would have gone on, but was interrupted. ‘You don’t know what yer talking about, son!’ A big ruddy-faced man spoke for all of them. ‘Jack deserves the foreman’s overall; he’s earned it. What’s more, he deserves a bit more respect from the likes of you. He knows more about these machines and this business than you’ll ever know! We might be older and wiser than him in many ways, but he’s been here longer than many of us and Mr Hammond knows his value.’

The other men nodded in full agreement, but it was young Roy who spoke for them, ‘Aye, and it wouldn’t surprise any of us, if Jack weren’t running things round here one day.’

Unaware of these exchanges, Jack collected the paperwork from his office. Coming back down the stairs, he saw the supervisor enter through the main doors. He was a thin, sour-faced man who, because of his habitual lateness and lack of enthusiasm, was already under warning from Luke Hammond. He gave Jack the sign that Mr Hammond had turned into the outer gates.

Intending to have a word with him about not being around when he’d searched for him earlier, Jack merely acknowledged him for now and made his way to the main doors, where Luke was already in sight.

‘Morning, Mr Hammond.’

‘Morning, Jack. The men briefed, are they?’

‘They are, sir. They’re well aware of how important this new order is and, if you don’t mind me saying so, I think you’ll find they’ve done you proud.’

Luke smiled. ‘It sounds as though you’ve already inspected the order.’

‘I have, and I think it’s a fine batch of brushes.’

Luke nodded appreciatively. ‘Good! Right, let’s have a look, shall we?’

With Jack following, he walked along the line of brush machines, talking to each of the twelve operators as he went.

His first stop was the broom-heads, where he dipped at random into the stacks, to check both quality and bristle quantity. Next the scrubbing brushes and miscellaneous, then the small hand brushes, and finally the large yard broom-heads.

With each one he turned the brush over, checking for bristle quality, possible missed holes, and that the bristle bunches were driven deep into the holes. When that was done he turned the broom-head sideways to check the straightness of the cut, and that none was misshapen.

Finally he thanked the work hands and returned to the office with Jack, where he told Jack that he needed a word with the supervisor.

‘I’m not happy with him,’ Luke said. ‘He’s turned out to be shifty and lazy, and he’s never on time. The men see it all and it isn’t good. He’s already had too many chances and doesn’t seem to take a blind bit of notice.’

In a matter of minutes, Jack tracked down the thin, sour-faced individual.

Luke outlined the man’s lack of enthusiasm for his work, and his inability to take instruction, either from Luke or Jack. ‘The men are aware of what’s going on,’ Luke continued, ‘and it’s not acceptable. You’ll be paid a week’s wages and leave straight away. There’s no reason for you to serve out your notice, especially not when you haven’t the slightest interest in what you’re doing.’

The man swore and cursed and made many a threat, and even as Jack escorted him to the main doors, he was struggling, making it necessary for Jack to manhandle him roughly out of the building.

‘You’d best keep an eye out for that one,’ Luke told Jack. ‘He can be a nasty piece of work.’

He also asked Jack to search out a new supervisor.

‘I think we should look in the ranks of men we’ve already got,’ Jack suggested and, trusting him to make the best choice, Luke told him to use his own judgement.

After Luke had gone, Jack had a brief idea that he might train Roy as supervisor, but his better instinct told him that Roy was not yet ready, and that one of the older, more experienced men would serve the firm better.

Later, during tea-break, he told Roy how he had been half tempted to train him up.

Roy replied exactly as Jack might have expected. ‘I’m not ready. And besides, like you say, it wouldn’t go down well with the other men.’

‘That was my thinking,’ Jack admitted. His first concern was always the company, and both men knew that. ‘Your time will come, though,’ he promised Roy, and Roy’s confidence swelled a mile.

‘I’ll wait until you get your own firm,’ he told Jack with a wink. ‘I’ve a feeling it won’t be too long afore we see you as yer own boss.’

‘That’s a long way down the road yet,’ Jack answered. Though, in his heart it was all he wanted: to be his own boss, with his own business, and – the idea shot fully formed into his head – the lovely Amy to come home to every night.

That was his dream and he would settle for nothing else.

At six p.m. a whistle signalled the end of another working day. Roy lingered to wait for Jack, and they walked part-way home together.