The Project Gutenberg EBook of Dual Control, by W.W. Jacobs

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Title: Dual Control
Ship's Company, Part 8.

Author: W.W. Jacobs

Release Date: January 1, 2004 [EBook #10568]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DUAL CONTROL ***

Produced by David Widger

SHIP'S COMPANY

By W.W. Jacobs

DUAL CONTROL

"Never say 'die,' Bert," said Mr. Culpepper, kindly; "I like you, and so
do most other people who know what's good for 'em; and if Florrie don't
like you she can keep single till she does."

Mr. Albert Sharp thanked him.

"Come in more oftener," said Mr. Culpepper. "If she don't know a steady
young man when she sees him, it's her mistake."

"Nobody could be steadier than what I am," sighed Mr. Sharp.

Mr. Culpepper nodded. "The worst of it is, girls don't like steady young
men," he said, rumpling his thin grey hair; "that's the silly part of
it."

"But you was always steady, and Mrs. Culpepper married you," said the
young man.

Mr. Culpepper nodded again. "She thought I was, and that came to the
same thing," he said, composedly. "And it ain't for me to say, but she
had an idea that I was very good-looking in them days. I had chestnutty
hair. She burnt a piece of it only the other day she'd kept for thirty
years."

[Illustration: A very faint squeeze in return decided him]

"Burnt it? What for?" inquired Mr. Sharp.

"Words," said the other, lowering his voice. "When I want one thing
nowadays she generally wants another; and the things she wants ain't the
things I want."

Mr. Sharp shook his head and sighed again.

"You ain't talkative enough for Florrie, you know," said Mr. Culpepper,
regarding him.

"I can talk all right as a rule," retorted Mr. Sharp. "You ought to hear
me at the debating society; but you can't talk to a girl who doesn't talk
back."

"You're far too humble," continued the other. "You should cheek her a
bit now and then. Let 'er see you've got some spirit. Chaff 'er."

"That's no good," said the young man, restlessly. "I've tried it. Only
the other day I called her 'a saucy little kipper,' and the way she went
on, anybody would have