The Pillars Of The Earth Page 0,229

to English and called on him to outline the organization of the work.

"I shall be building the east wall of the cathedral and Alfred will be laying stone in the foundations," Tom began. "The aim, in both cases, is to show Bishop Henry how far advanced the building is."

"How many men will the two of you need to help you?" Philip asked.

"Alfred will need two laborers to bring the stones to him. He'll be using material from the ruins of the old church. He'll also need someone to make mortar. I'll also need a mortar maker and two laborers. Alfred can use misshapen stones in the foundations, as long as they're flat top and bottom; but my stones will have to be properly dressed, since they will be visible aboveground, so I've brought two stonecutters back from the quarry to help me."

Philip said: "All that is very important for impressing Bishop Henry, but most of the volunteers will be digging the foundations."

"That's right. The foundations are marked out for the whole of the chancel of the cathedral, and most of them are still only a few feet deep. Monks must man the winding gear-I've instructed several of you how to do it-and the volunteers can fill the barrels."

Remigius said: "What if we get more volunteers than we can use?"

"We can employ just about any number," Tom said. "If we haven't enough lifting devices, people can carry earth out of the holes in buckets and baskets. The carpenter will have to stand by to make extra ladders-we've got the timber."

"But there's a limit to the number of people who can get down in that foundation hole," Remigius persisted.

Tom had the feeling that Remigius was just argumentative. "It will take several hundred," he said testily. "It's a big hole."

Philip said: "And there's other work to be done, besides digging."

"Indeed," Tom said. "The other main area of work is carrying timber and stone up to the site from the riverside. You monks must make sure the materials are stacked in the right places on the site. The stones should go beside the foundation holes, but on the outside of the church, where they won't get in the way. The carpenter will tell you where to put the timber."

Philip said: "Will all the volunteers be unskilled?"

"Not necessarily. If we get people from the towns, there may be some craftsmen among them-I hope so. We must find out who they are and use them. Carpenters can build lodges for winter work. Any masons can cut stones and lay foundations. If there's a blacksmith, we'll put him to work in the village forge, making tools. All that sort of thing will be tremendously useful."

Milius the bursar said: "That's all quite clear. I'd like to get started. Some of the villagers are here already, waiting to be told what to do."

There was something else Tom needed to tell them, something important but subtle, and he was searching for the right words. Monks could be arrogant, and might alienate the volunteers. Tom wanted today's operation to be easygoing and cheerful. "I've worked with volunteers before," he began. "It's important not to... not to treat them like servants. We may feel that they are laboring to obtain a heavenly reward, and should therefore work harder than they would for money; but they don't necessarily take that attitude. They feel they're working for nothing, and doing a great kindness to us thereby; and if we seem ungrateful they will work slowly and make mistakes. It will be best to rule them with a light touch."

He caught Philip's eye and saw that the prior was suppressing a smile, as if he knew what misgivings underlay Tom's honeyed words. "A good point," Philip said. "If we handle them right, these people will feel happy and uplifted, and that will create a good atmosphere, which will make a positive impression on Bishop Henry." He looked around at the assembled monks. "If there are no more questions, let's begin."

Aliena had enjoyed a year of security and prosperity under the wing of Prior Philip.

All her plans had worked. She and Richard had toured the countryside buying fleeces from peasants all last spring and summer, selling to Philip every time they had a standard woolsack. They had ended the season with five pounds of silver.

Father had died just a few days after they saw him, although Aliena did not find out until Christmas. She had located his grave, after spending much hard-earned silver on bribes, in