The answer is: "She was up until long after midnight, turning out leaflets. She did it as if she might have been pounding chilies."
In the story "A Chip of Glass Ruby," by Nadine Gordimer, Mrs. Bamgee is an Indian living in South Africa during apartheid, and acquires a duplicating machine to fight against the injustices of the government and in favor of black people's rights. As a consequence, she is arrested and is committed to give her own life for people's equality, even without the support of her husband.