“Shove it in your pocket and don’t let a soul see it,” ses the man, handing over the locket. “I might as well give it away a’most. But it can’t be ’elped.”
He went off up the ’ill shaking his ’ead, and Sam’s pal, arter watching him for a few seconds, said good-bye in a hurry and went off arter ’im to tell him to keep ’is mouth shut about it.
Sam walked back to his lodgings on air, as the saying is, and even did a little bit of a skirt-dance to a pianner-organ wot was playing. Peter and Ginger was out, and so was his land-lady, a respectable woman as was minding the rest of ’is money for him, and when he asked ’er little gal, a kid of eleven, to trust ’im for some tin she gave ’im a lecture on wasting his money instead wot took ’is breath away—all but a word or two.
He got some of ’is money from his landlady at eight o’clock, arter listening to ’er for ’arf an hour, and then he ’ad to pick it up off of the floor, and say “Thank you” for it.
He went to bed afore Ginger and Peter came in, but ’e was so excited he couldn’t sleep, and long arter they was in bed he laid there and thought of all the different ways of spending a ’undred pounds. He kept taking the locket from under ’is piller and feeling it; then he felt ’e must ’ave another look at it, and arter coughing ’ard two or three times and calling out to the other two not to snore—to see if they was awake—he got out o’ bed and lit the candle. Ginger and Peter was both fast asleep, with their eyes screwed up and their mouths wide open, and ’e sat on the bed and looked at the locket until he was a’most dazzled.
“’Ullo, Sam!” ses a voice. “Wot ’ave you got there?”
Sam nearly fell off the bed with surprise and temper. Then ’e hid the locket in his ’and and blew out the candle.
“Who gave it to you?” ses Ginger.
“You get off to sleep, and mind your own bisness,” ses Sam, grinding ’is teeth.
He got back into bed agin and laid there listening to Ginger waking up Peter. Peter woke up disagreeable, but when Ginger told ’im that Sam ’ad stole a gold locket as big as a saucer, covered with diamonds, he altered ’is mind.