Not until he heard his wife moving about in the kitchen below did he relax the severity of his countenance. Then his expression changed to one of extreme anxiety, and he restlessly paced the room seeking for light. It came suddenly.
“Jenkins,” he gasped, “Jenkins and Mrs. Cluffins, and I was going to tell Cluffins about him writing to his wife, I expect he knows the letter by heart.”
MONEY-CHANGERS
“’Tain’t no use waiting any longer,” said Hairy Pilchard, looking over the side of the brig towards the Tower stairs. “’E’s either waiting for the money or else ’e’s a spending of it. Who’s coming ashore?”
“Give ’im another five minutes, Harry,” said another seaman persuasively; “it ’ud be uncommon ’ard on ’im if ’e come aboard and then ’ad to go an’ get another ship’s crew to ’elp ’im celebrate it.”
“’Ard on us, too,” said the cook honestly. “There he is!”
The other glanced up at a figure waving to them from the stairs. “’E wants the boat,” he said, moving aft.
“No ’e don’t, Steve,” piped the boy. “’E’s waving you not to. He’s coming in the waterman’s skiff.”
“Ha! same old tale,” said the seaman wisely. “Chap comes in for a bit o’ money and begins to waste it directly. There’s threepence gone; clean chucked away. Look at ’im. Just look at ’im!”
“’E’s got the money all right,” said the cook; “there’s no doubt about that. Why, ’e looks ’arf as large again as ’e did this morning.”