n a little schooner called the _Firefly_,
and seeing wot a silly, foolish kind o' man he was, I took a little bit
o' notice of 'im. Many and many a time when 'e was going to do something
he'd ha' been sorry for arterwards I 'ave taken 'im round to the Bear's
Head and stood 'im pint arter pint until he began to see reason and own
up that I was in the right.

His crew was a'most as bad as wot he was, and all in one month one o' the
'ands gave a man ten shillings for a di'mond ring he saw 'im pick up, wot
turned out to be worth fourpence, and another one gave five bob for a
meerschaum pipe made o' chalk. When I pointed out to 'em wot fools they
was they didn't like it, and a week arterwards, when the skipper gave a
man in a pub 'is watch and chain and two pounds to hold, to show 'is
confidence in 'im, and I told 'im exactly wot I thought of him, 'e didn't
like it.

"You're too sharp, Bill," he says, sneering like. "My opinion is that
the pore man was run over. He told me 'e should only be away five
minutes. And he 'ad got an honest face: nice open blue eyes, and a smile
that done you good to look at."

"You've been swindled," I ses, "and you know it. If I'd been done like
that I should never hold up my 'ead agin. Why, a child o' five would
know better. You and your crew all seem to be tarred with the same
brush. You ain't fit to be trusted out alone."

I believe 'e told his 'ands wot I said; anyway, two bits o' coke missed
me by 'arf an inch next evening, and for some weeks not one of 'em spoke
a word to me. When they see me coming they just used to stand up
straight and twist their nose.

It didn't 'urt me, o' course. I took no notice of 'em. Even when one of
'em fell over the broom I was sweeping with I took no notice of 'im. I
just went on with my work as if 'e wasn't there.

I suppose they 'ad been in the sulks about a month, and I was sitting
'ere one evening getting my breath arter a couple o' hours' 'ard work,
when one of 'em, George Tebb by name, came off the ship and nodded to me
as he passed.

"Evening, Bill," he ses.

"Evening," I ses, rather stiff.

"I wanted a word with you, Bill," he ses, in a low voice. "In fact, I
might go so far as to say I want to ask you to do me a favour."

I looked at him so 'ard that he coughed and looked away.

"We might talk about it over a 'arf-pint," he ses.

"No, thank you," I ses. "I 'ad a 'arf-pint the day before yesterday, and
I'm not thirsty."