The Machine's Victims Speak — The Iron Heel

Avis investigates Jackson's workplace accident case and discovers a web of corruption that shakes her worldview. She visits Jackson in his squalid home near the bay, where he makes rattan crafts to survive after losing his arm in the mill machinery. His simple explanation - that accidents happen when workers are exhausted from long hours - reveals a pattern of workplace dangers ignored by management. When Avis interviews Jackson's lawyer, she learns the harsh reality: the company hired expensive corporate attorneys while Jackson could only afford a struggling lawyer who knew he was outmatched.

The lawyer admits that law and justice are two different things, and that he had no real chance against Colonel Ingram's legal expertise. Most damaging are her conversations with the mill foremen who testified against Jackson. Peter Donnelly explains he lied under oath because telling the truth would have cost him his job - and his family depends on his income. James Smith, an educated man who once dreamed of becoming a naturalist, reveals that Colonel Ingram coached him on what testimony to give.

Both men know Jackson deserved compensation, but they're trapped by their need to feed their families. This investigation forces Avis to confront an uncomfortable truth: her comfortable life, funded by her father's mill dividends, comes at the cost of workers like Jackson. Ernest's earlier accusation that her gown is 'stained with blood' now makes painful sense. The chapter shows how economic systems create moral compromises at every level - from desperate workers to conflicted foremen to overwhelmed lawyers - while the wealthy remain insulated from consequences.