Captains All and OthersJacobs, W. W. (William Wymark)
General
Captains All and Others
Jacobs, W. W. (William Wymark)
England -- Social life and customs -- Fiction; Humorous stories, English; River life -- Fiction
Gerty Mitchell—that was the gal's name—'adn't heard of Bob's accident,
and when she did she gave a little scream, and putting 'er arms round
his neck, began to kiss 'im right in front of George and her mother.
“You ought to give him one too,” ses Mrs. Mitchell, pointing to George.
George wiped 'is mouth on the back of his 'and, but Gerty pretended not
to 'ear.
“Fancy if you'd been drownded!” she ses, hugging Bob agin.
“He was pretty near,” ses George, shaking his 'ead. “I'm a pore swimmer,
but I made up my mind either to save 'im or else go down to a watery
grave myself.”
He wiped his mouth on the back of his 'and agin, but all the notice
Gerty took of it was to send her young brother Ted out for some beer.
Then they all 'ad supper together, and Mrs. Mitchell drank good luck to
George in a glass o' beer, and said she 'oped that 'er own boy would
grow up like him. “Let 'im grow up a good and brave man, that's all I
ask,” she ses. “I don't care about 'is looks.”
“He might have both,” ses George, sharp-like. “Why not?”
Mrs. Mitchell said she supposed he might, and then she cuffed young
Ted's ears for making a noise while 'e was eating, and then cuffed 'im
agin for saying that he'd finished 'is supper five minutes ago.
George and Bob walked 'ome together, and all the way there George said
wot a pretty gal Gerty was and 'ow lucky it was for Bob that he 'adn't
been drownded. He went round to tea with 'im the next day to Mrs.
Mitchell's, and arter tea, when Bob and Gerty said they was going out to
spend the evening together, got 'imself asked too.
They took a tram-car and went to a music-hall, and Bob paid for the
three of 'em. George never seemed to think of putting his 'and in his
pocket, and even arter the music-hall, when they all went into a shop
and 'ad stewed eels, he let Bob pay.
As I said afore, Bob Evans was chock-full of gratefulness, and it seemed
only fair that he shouldn't grumble at spending a little over the man
wot 'ad risked 'is life to save his; but wot with keeping George at his
room, and paying for 'im every time they went out, he was spending a lot
more money than 'e could afford.
“You're on'y young once, Bob,” George said to him when 'e made a remark
one arternoon as to the fast way his money was going, “and if it hadn't
ha' been for me you'd never 'ave lived to grow old.”
Wot with spending the money and always 'aving George with them when they
went out, it wasn't long afore Bob and Gerty 'ad a quarrel. “I don't
like a pore-spirited man,” she ses. “Two's company and three's none,
and, besides, why can't he pay for 'imself? He's big enough. Why should
you spend your money on 'im? He never pays a farthing.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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