It can be inferred that the narrator means that they had no other option but to make to for obey their "harsh mistress".
<h3>Who is a narrator?</h3>
A narrator is a person via whose perspective a story is being told. Types of narrators are:
First-Person Narrative
Second-Person Narrative
Third-Person Narrative
Omniscient Third-Person Narrator.
From the above text, it can be concluded or inferred that the narrator and others with him were in a place that was difficult as far as the mistress was concerned but had not option but to endure it.
