“‘Captain Pratt,’ she ses, drawing ’erself up. ‘I’m Mrs. Pratt. He left yesterday morning, and I’ve come up ’ere by train to give ’im a little surprise.’
“You might ha’ knocked me down with a feather, and I stood there staring at her with my mouth open, trying to think.
“‘Take care,’ I ses at last. ‘Take care as you don’t give ’im too much of a surprise!’
“‘Wot do you mean?’ she ses, firing up.
“‘Nothing,’ I ses. ‘Nothing, only I’ve known ’usbands in my time as didn’t like being surprised—that’s all. If you take my advice, you’ll go straight back home agin.’
“‘I’ll tell ’im wot you say,’ she ses, ’as soon as ’is ship comes in.’
“That’s a woman all over; the moment they get into a temper they want to hurt somebody; and I made up my mind at once that, if anybody was going to be ’urt, it wasn’t me. And, besides, I thought it might be for the skipper’s good—in the long run.
“I broke it to her as gentle as I could. I didn’t tell ’er much, I just gave her a few ’ints. Just enough to make her ask for more.
“‘And mind,’ I ses, ‘I don’t want to be brought into it. If you should ’appen to take a fancy into your ’ed to wait behind a pile of empties till the ship comes in, and then slip out and foller your ’usband and give ’im the little surprise you spoke of, it’s nothing to do with me.’
“‘I understand,’ she ses, biting her lip. ‘There’s no need for ’im to know that I’ve been on the wharf at all.’