The Project Gutenberg EBook of Odd Charges, by W.W. Jacobs

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net

Title: Odd Charges
Odd Craft, Part 13.

Author: W.W. Jacobs

Release Date: April 30, 2004 [EBook #12213]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ODD CHARGES ***

Produced by David Widger

ODD CRAFT

By W.W. Jacobs

ODD CHARGES

Seated at his ease in the warm tap-room of the Cauliflower, the stranger
had been eating and drinking for some time, apparently unconscious of the
presence of the withered ancient who, huddled up in that corner of the
settle which was nearer to the fire, fidgeted restlessly with an empty
mug and blew with pathetic insistence through a churchwarden pipe which
had long been cold. The stranger finished his meal with a sigh of
content and then, rising from his chair, crossed over to the settle and,
placing his mug on the time-worn table before him, began to fill his
pipe.

[Illustration: "Seated at his ease in the warm tap-room of the
Cauliflower."]

The old man took a spill from the table and, holding it with trembling
fingers to the blaze, gave him a light. The other thanked him, and then,
leaning back in his corner of the settle, watched the smoke of his pipe
through half-closed eyes, and assented drowsily to the old man's remarks
upon the weather.

"Bad time o' the year for going about," said the latter, "though I s'pose
if you can eat and drink as much as you want it don't matter. I s'pose
you mightn't be a conjurer from London, sir?"

The traveller shook his head.

"I was 'oping you might be," said the old man. The other manifested no
curiosity.

"If you 'ad been," said the old man, with a sigh, "I should ha' asked you
to ha' done something useful. Gin'rally speaking, conjurers do things
that are no use to anyone; wot I should like to see a conjurer do would
be to make this 'ere empty mug full o' beer and this empty pipe full o'
shag tobacco. That's wot I should ha' made bold to ask you to do if
you'd been one."

The traveller sighed, and, taking his short briar pipe from his mouth by
the bowl, rapped three times upon the table with it. In a very short
time a mug of ale and a pap