“‘And wot about leaving the wharf and my dooty?’ I ses, staring.

“‘I’ll put Joe on to keep watch for you,’ he ses, pressing the money in my ’and.  ’I rely on you, Bill, and I’ll never forget you.  You won’t lose by it, trust me.’

“He nipped off and tumbled aboard the ship afore I could say a word.  I just stood there staring arter ’im and feeling the money, and afore I could make up my mind Mrs. Plimmer came up.

“I thought I should never ha’ got rid of ’er.  She stood there chatting and smiling, and seemed to forget all about the cap’n, and every moment I was afraid that the other one might come up.  At last she went off, looking behind ’er, to the ship, and then I went outside and put my back up agin the gate and waited.

“I ’ad hardly been there ten minutes afore the other one came along.  I saw ’er stop and speak to a policeman, and then she came straight over to me.

“‘I want to see Cap’n Tarbell,’ she ses.

“‘Cap’n Tarbell?’ I ses, very slow; ’Cap’n Tarbell ’as gone off for the evening.’

“‘Gone off!’ she ses, staring.  ’But he can’t ‘ave.  Are you sure?’

“‘Sartain,’ I ses.  Then I ’ad a bright idea.  ’And there’s a letter come for ‘im,’ I ses.

“‘Oh, dear!’ she ses.  ’And I thought it would be in plenty of time.  Well, I must go on the ship and wait for ‘im, I suppose.’

“If I ’ad only let ‘er go I should ha’ saved myself a lot o’ trouble, and the man wot deserved it would ha’ got it.  Instead o’ that I told ’er about the music-’all, and arter carrying on like a silly gal o’ seventeen and saying she couldn’t think of it, she gave way and said she’d go with me to find ’im.  I was all right so far as clothes went as it happened.  Mrs. Plimmer said once that I got more and more dressy every time she saw me, and my missis ’ad said the same thing only in a different way.  I just took a peep through the wicket and saw that Joe ’ad taken up my dooty, and then we set off.

“I said I wasn’t quite sure which one he’d gone to, but we’d try the Pagoda Music-’all fust, and we went there on a bus from Aldgate.  It was the fust evening out I ’ad ’ad for years, and I should ’ave enjoyed it if it ‘adn’t been for Miss Lamb.  Wotever Cap’n Tarbell could ha’ seen in ’er, I can’t think.

“She was quiet, and stupid, and bad-tempered.  When the bus-conductor came round for the fares she ’adn’t got any change; and when we got to the hall she did such eggsterrordinary things trying to find ’er pocket that I tried to look as if she didn’t belong to me.  When she left off she smiled and said she was farther off than ever, and arter three or four wot was standing there ’ad begged ’er to have another try, I ’ad to pay for the two.

“The ’ouse was pretty full when we got in, but she didn’t take no notice of that.  Her idea was that she could walk about all over the place looking for Cap’n Tarbell, and it took three men in buttons and a policeman to persuade ‘er different.  We were pushed into a couple o’ seats at last, and then she started finding fault with me.