Adventure stories; Boys -- Fiction; East End (London, England) -- Fiction; Grandfathers -- Fiction; London (England) -- Fiction
"Unnerstand?" the limy man went on. "I'm about done with the pair on 'em
now, but I ain't goin' to inform. 'E come 'ere a day or two back an'
claimed shelter; an' seein' as I was goin' up to Wappin' to-night, 'e
wanted me to tell you where 'e was. Well, I've done that, an' I ain't
goin' to do no more; see? 'E ain't none o' mine, an' I won't 'ave part
nor parcel with 'im, nor any of ye. I keep myself decent, I do. I shan't
say 'e's 'ere an' I shan't say 'e ain't; an' the sooner 'e goes the
better 'e'll please me. See?"
"Yes, Mr. Grimes, sir; but tell me where he is!"
The limy man took his pipe from his mouth, and pointed with a
comprehensive sweep of the stem at the sheds round about. "You can go
an' look in any o' them places as ain't locked," he said off-handedly.
"The dog's chained up. Try the end one fust."
Grimes the wharfinger resumed his pipe, and Mag scuffled off to where
the light from the window fell on the white angle of a small wooden
shelter. The place was dark within, dusted about with lime, and its door
stood inward. She stopped and peered.
"All right," growled Dan Ogle from the midst of the dark. "Can't ye see
me now y' 'ave come?" And he thrust his thin face and big shoulders out
through the opening.
"O Dan!" the woman cried, putting out her hands as though she would take
him by the neck, but feared repulse. "O Dan! Thank Gawd you're safe,
Dan! I bin dyin' o' fear for you, Dan!"
"G-r-r-r!" he snorted. "Stow that! What I want's money. Got any?"
CHAPTER XIX
ON THE COP
It was at a bend of the river-wall by the Lea, in sight of Kemp's Wharf,
that Dan Ogle and his sister met at last. Dan had about as much regard
for her as she had for him, and the total made something a long way
short of affection. But common interests brought them together. Mrs.
Grimes had told Mag that she knew of something that would put money in
Dan's pocket; and, as money was just what Dan wanted in his pocket, he
was ready to hear what his sister had to tell: more especially as it
seemed plain that she was unaware--exactly--of the difficulty that had
sent him into hiding.
So, instructed by Mag, she came to the Cop on a windy morning, where,
from the top of the river-wall, one might look east over the Abbey
Marsh, and see an unresting and unceasing press of grey and mottled
cloud hurrying up from the flat horizon to pass overhead, and vanish in
the smoke of London to the West. Mrs. Grimes avoided the wharf; for she
saw no reason why her brother-in-law, her late employer's faithful
servant, should witness her errand. She climbed the river-wall at a
place where it neared the road at its Bromley end, and thence she walked
along the bank-top.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account