'Fust of all you put it down,
and then it climbs up and soaks wot little brains you've got. Wot you
want is a kind friend to prevent you from getting it.'
"I don't know wot it was, but I 'ad a sort of sinking feeling inside as
'e spoke, and next evening, when I saw 'im walk to the end of the jetty
with the office-boy and stand there talking to 'im with his 'and on his
shoulder, it came on worse than ever. And I put two and two together
when the guv'nor came up to me next day, and, arter talking about 'dooty'
and 'ow easy it was to get night-watchmen, mentioned in 'a off-'and sort
of way that, if I left the wharf at all between six and six, I could stay
away altogether.
"I didn't answer 'im a word. I might ha' told 'im that there was plenty
of people arter me ready to give me double the money, but I knew he could
never get anybody to do their dooty by the wharf like I 'ad done, so I
kept quiet. It's the way I treat my missis nowadays, and it pays; in the
old days I used to waste my breath answering 'er back.
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