s
money and gave it to his gal to keep for 'im, and the time I'm speaking
of she'd got seventy-two pounds of 'is and seventeen-and-six of 'er own
to set up house-keeping with.

Then a thing happened that I've known to 'appen to sailormen afore. At
Sydney 'e got silly on another gal, and started walking out with her, and
afore he knew wot he was about he'd promised to marry 'er too.

Sydney and London being a long way from each other was in 'is favour, but
the thing that troubled 'im was 'ow to get that seventy-two pounds out of
Emma Cook, 'is London gal, so as he could marry the other with it. It
worried 'im all the way home, and by the time we got into the London
river 'is head was all in a maze with it. Emma Cook 'ad got it all saved
up in the bank, to take a little shop with when they got spliced, and 'ow
to get it he could not think.

He went straight off to Poplar, where she lived, as soon as the ship was
berthed. He walked all the way so as to 'ave more time for thinking, but
wot with bumping into two old gentlemen with bad tempers, and being
nearly run over by a cabman with a white 'orse and red whiskers, he got
to the house without 'aving thought of anything.

They was just finishing their tea as 'e got there, and they all seemed so
pleased to see 'im that it made it worse than ever for 'im. Mrs. Cook,
who 'ad pretty near finished, gave 'im her own cup to drink out of, and
said that she 'ad dreamt of 'im the night afore last, and old Cook said
that he 'ad got so good-looking 'e shouldn't 'ave known him.

"I should 'ave passed 'im in the street," he ses. "I never see such an
alteration."

"They'll be a nice-looking couple," ses his wife, looking at a young
chap, named George Smith, that 'ad been sitting next to Emma.

Charlie Tagg filled 'is mouth with bread and butter, and wondered 'ow he
was to begin. He squeezed Emma's 'and just for the sake of keeping up
appearances, and all the time 'e was thinking of the other gal waiting
for 'im thousands o' miles away.

"You've come 'ome just in the nick o' time," ses old Cook; "if you'd done
it o' purpose you couldn't 'ave arranged it better."

"Somebody's birthday?" ses Charlie, trying to smile.

Old Cook shook his 'ead. "Though mine is next Wednesday," he ses, "and
thank you for thinking of it. No; you're just in time for the biggest
bargain in the chandlery line that anybody ever 'ad a chance of. If you
'adn't ha' come back we should have 'ad to h