Just as they were in the roughest part of the mountains, there was a wild shriek of the whistle, a sudden scrunt of the air-brakes, and the train, with an abruptness that was just short of an accident, stopped.
But Jess would not budge, and all of a sudden I sees a white flash in the dark, and hears a rattle of harness, and a scrunt in the shafts as Jess shook her head clear of the blow.
noun
A beggar or destitute person.
verb
To beg or scrounge.
Four out of every five women are forced to stay at home or scrunt for a meagre existence.