y against her red hair. The crowd moved, and Pinkey wriggled to the
other side.

"I'll cum wid yer, if yer feel lonely," said Chook as she passed.

"Yous git a move on, or yer'll miss the bus," cried Pinkey, as she
passed out of sight.

When Chook worked his way back to the corner, little Joe Crutch and
Waxy Collins stepped forward.

"W'ere the 'ell 'ave yer bin? We've bin waitin' 'ere this 'arf 'our,"
they cried indignantly.

"Wot liars yer do meet," said Chook, grinning.

The three entered the new market, an immense red-brick square with a
smooth, cemented floor, and a lofty roof on steel girders. It is here
the people amuse themselves with the primitive delights of an English
fair after the fatigue of shopping.

The larrikins turned to the chipped-potato stall as a hungry dog jumps
at a bone, eagerly sniffing the smell of burning fat as the potatoes
crisped in the spitting grease.

"It's up ter yous ter shout," cried Joe and Waxy.

"Well, a tray bit won't break me," said Chook, producing threepence
from his pocket.

The dealer, wearing the flat white cap of a French cook, and a clean
apron, ladled the potatoes out of the cans into a strainer on the
counter. His wife, with a rapid movement, twisted a slip of paper into
a spill, and, filling it with chips, shook a castor of salt over the
top. Customers crowded about, impatient to be served, and she went
through the movements of twisting the paper, filling it with chips, and
shaking the castor with the automatic swiftness of a machine.

When they were served, the larrikins stood on one side crunching the
crisp slices of potato between their teeth with immense relish as they
watched the cook stirring the potatoes in the cauldron of boiling fat.
Then they licked the grease off their fingers, lit cigarettes, and
sauntered on. But the chips had whetted their appetites, and the sight
of green peas and saveloys made their mouths water.

Men, women, and children sat on the forms round the stall with the
stolid air of animals waiting to be fed. When each received a plate
containing a squashy mess of peas and a luscious saveloy, they began to
eat with slow, animal satisfaction, heedless of the noisy crowd. The
larrikins sat down and gave their order, each paying for his own.

"Nothin' like a feed ter set a man up," said Chook, wiping his mouth
with the back of his hand.

As he turned, he was surprised to see Stinky Collins and Pinkey in
front of the electri