England -- Social life and customs -- Fiction; Humorous stories, English; River life -- Fiction
“He was that mad ’e wouldn’t listen to reason, and, as old Sam said, ’e
couldn’t have made more fuss if they’d offered to skin ’im alive, an’
Peter Russet tried to prove that a man’s skin was made to be tattooed
on, or else there wouldn’t be tattooers; same as a man ’ad been given
two legs so as ’e could wear trousers. But reason was chucked away on
Ginger, an’ ’e wouldn’t listen to ’em.
“They started on ’im agin next day, but all Sam and Peter could say
didn’t move ’im, although Sam spoke so feeling about the joy of a pore
widder woman getting ’er son back agin arter all these years that ’e
nearly cried.
“They went down agin to the pub that evening, and Ginger, who said ’e
was curious to see, wanted to go too. Sam, who still ’ad ’opes of ’im,
wouldn’t ’ear of it, but at last it was arranged that ’e wasn’t to go
inside, but should take a peep through the door. They got on a tram at
Aldgate, and Ginger didn’t like it becos Sam and Peter talked it over
between theirselves in whispers and pointed out likely red’-aired men
in the road.
“And ’e didn’t like it when they got to the Blue Lion, and Sam and
Peter went in and left ’im outside, peeping through the door. The
landlady shook ’ands with them quite friendly, and the barmaid, a
fine-looking girl, seemed to take a lot o’ notice of Peter. Ginger
waited about outside for nearly a couple of hours, and at last they
came out, talking and larfing, with Peter wearing a white rose wot the
barmaid ’ad given ’im.
“Ginger Dick ’ad a good bit to say about keeping ’im waiting all that
time, but Sam said that they’d been getting valuable information, an’
the more ’e could see of it the easier the job appeared to be, an’ then
him an’ Peter wished for to bid Ginger good-bye, while they went and
’unted up a red-’aired friend o’ Peter’s named Charlie Bates.
“They all went in somewhere and ’ad a few drinks first, though, and
arter a time Ginger began to see things in a different light to wot ’e
’ad before, an’ to be arf ashamed of ’is selfishness, and ’e called
Sam’s pot a loving-cup, an’ kep’ on drinking out of it to show there
was no ill-feeling, although Sam kep’ telling him there wasn’t. Then
Sam spoke up about tattooing agin, and Ginger said that every man in
the country ought to be tattooed to prevent the smallpox. He got so
excited about it that old Sam ’ad to promise ’im that he should be
tattooed that very night, before he could pacify ’im.
“They all went off ’ome with their arms round each other’s necks, but
arter a time Ginger found that Sam’s neck wasn’t there, an’ ’e stopped
and spoke serious to Peter about it. Peter said ’e couldn’t account for
it, an’ ’e had such a job to get Ginger ’ome that ’e thought they would
never ha’ got there. He got ’im to bed at last an’ then ’e sat down and
fell asleep waiting for Sam.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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