... was leaner, the THE VALLEY OF THE MOON JACK LONDON BOOK 2 CHAPTER 8 Saxon went about her housework greatly troubled. She no longer devoted herself to the making of pretties. The materials ... vile abuse that it had brought the blush of shame to Saxon's cheeks. On the stoop of the house on the other side, Saxon had noted Mercedes, in the height of the beating up, looking on with ... already in the neighborhood, where lived the families of the shopmen who had gone out on strike. Among the small storekeepers, Saxon, in the course of the daily marketing, could sense the air of despondency....