"Ho!" she ses, calling out. "Ain"t you gone to meet that gal at Cleopatra"s Needle yet? You ain"t going to keep "er waiting, are you?"
"H"sh!" I ses.
"H"sh! yourself," she ses, shouting. "I"ve done nothing to be ashamed of. I don"t go to meet other people"s husbands in a blue "at with red roses. I don"t write "em love-letters, and say "H"sh!" to my wife when she ventures to make a remark about it. I may work myself to skin and bone for a man wot"s old enough to know better, but I"m not going to be trod on. Dorothy, indeed! I"ll Dorothy "er if I get the chance."
Mrs. Smithers, wot "ad been listening with all her ears, jumped up, and so did the skipper, and Mrs. Smithers came to the side in two steps.
"Did you say "Dorothy," ma"am?" she ses to my missis.
"I did," ses my wife. "She"s been writing to my husband."
"It must be the same one," ses Mrs. Smithers. "She"s been writing to mine too."
The two of "em stood there looking at each other for a minute, and then my wife, holding the letter between "er finger and thumb as if it was pison, pa.s.sed it to Mrs. Smithers.
"It"s the same," ses Mrs. Smithers. "Was the envelope marked "Private"?"
"I didn"t see no envelope," ses my missis. "This is all I found."
Mrs. Smithers stepped on to the wharf and, taking "old of my missis by the arm, led her away whispering. At the same moment the skipper walked across the deck and whispered to me.
"Wot d"ye mean by it?" he ses. "Wot d"ye mean by "aving letters from Dorothy and not telling me about it?"
"I can"t help "aving letters any more than you can," I ses. "Now p"r"aps you"ll understand wot I meant by calling "er a forward hussy."
"Fancy "er writing to you!" he ses, wrinkling "is forehead. "Pph! She must be crazy."
"P"r"aps it ain"t a gal at all," I ses. "My belief is somebody is "aving a game with us."
"Don"t be a fool," he ses. "I"d like to see the party as would make a fool of me like that. Just see "im and get my "ands on him. He wouldn"t want to play any more games."
It was no good talking to "im. He was "arf crazy with temper. If I"d said the letter was meant for "im he"d "ave asked me wot I meant by opening it and getting "im into more trouble with "is missis, instead of giving it to "im on the quiet. I just stood and suffered in silence, and thought wot a lot of "arm eddication did for people.
"I want some money," ses my missis, coming back at last with Mrs.
Smithers.
That was the way she always talked when she"d got me in "er power. She took two-and-tenpence-all I"d got-and then she ordered me to go and get a cab.
"Me and this lady are going to meet her," she ses, sniffing at me.
"And tell her wot we think of "er," ses Mrs. Smithers, sniffing too.
"And wot we"ll do to "er," ses my missis.
I left "em standing side by side, looking at the skipper as if "e was a waxworks, while I went to find a cab. When I came back they was in the same persition, and "e was smoking with "is eyes shut.
They went off side by side in the cab, both of "em sitting bolt-upright, and only turning their "eads at the last moment to give us looks we didn"t want.
"I don"t wish her no "arm," ses the skipper, arter thinking for a long time. "Was that the fust letter you "ad from "er, Bill?"
"Fust and last," I ses, grinding my teeth.
"I"ve been married longer than wot you have," I ses, "and I tell you one thing. It won"t make no difference to us whether they do or they don"t,"
I ses.
And it didn"t.
THE VIGIL
I"m the happiest man in the world," said Mr. Farrer, in accents of dreamy tenderness.
Miss Ward sighed. "Wait till father comes in," she said.
Mr. Farrer peered through the plants which formed a welcome screen to the window and listened with some uneasiness. He was waiting for the firm, springy step that should herald the approach of ex-Sergeant-Major Ward. A squeeze of Miss Ward"s hand renewed his courage.
"Perhaps I had better light the lamp," said the girl, after a long pause. "I wonder where mother"s got to?"
"She"s on my side, at any rate," said Mr. Farrer.
"Poor mother!" said the girl. "She daren"t call her soul her own. I expect she"s sitting in her bedroom with the door shut. She hates unpleasantness. And there"s sure to be some."
"So do I," said the young man, with a slight shiver. "But why should there be any? He doesn"t want you to keep single all your life, does he?"
"He"d like me to marry a soldier," said Miss Ward. "He says that the young men of the present day are too soft. The only thing he thinks about is courage and strength."
She rose and, placing the lamp on the table, removed the chimney, and then sought round the room for the matches. Mr. Farrer, who had two boxes in his pocket, helped her.
They found a box at last on the mantelpiece, and Mr. Farrer steadied her by placing one arm round her waist while she lit the lamp. A sudden exclamation from outside reminded them that the blind was not yet drawn, and they sprang apart in dismay as a grizzled and upright old warrior burst into the room and confronted them.
"Pull that blind down!" he roared. "Not you," he continued, as Mr.
Farrer hastened to help. "What do you mean by touching my blind? What do you mean by embracing my daughter? Eh? Why don"t you answer?"
"We-we are going to be married," said Mr. Farrer, trying to speak boldly.
The sergeant-major drew himself up, and the young man gazed in dismay at a chest which seemed as though it would never cease expanding.
"Married!" exclaimed the sergeant-major, with a grim laugh. "Married to a little tame bunny-rabbit! Not if I know it. Where"s your mother?" he demanded, turning to the girl.
"Upstairs," was the reply.
Her father raised his voice, and a nervous reply came from above. A minute later Mrs. Ward, pale of cheek, entered the room.
"Here"s fine goings-on!" said the sergeant major, sharply. "I go for a little walk, and when I come back this-this infernal c.o.c.kroach has got its arm round my daughter"s waist. Why don"t you look after her? Do you know anything about it?"