“I’m not so young as I was.  It was a warm evening, and I ’adn’t got even a bus fare on me.  I ’ad to walk all the way, and, by the time I got there, I was ’arf melted.  It was a tidy-sized shop, with three or four nice-looking gals behind the counter, and things like babies’ high chairs for the customers to sit onlong in the leg and ridikerlously small in the seat.  I went up to one of the gals and told Per I wanted to see Mr. Watson.

“‘On private business,’ I ses.  ‘Very important.’

“She looked at me for a moment, and then she went away and fetched a tall, bald-headed man with grey side-whiskers and a large nose.

“’Wot d’you want?” he ses, coming up to me.

I want a word with you in private,’ I ses.

“‘This is private enough for me,’ he ses.  ’Say wot you ’ave to say, and be quick about it.’

“I drawed myself up a bit and looked at him.  ’P’r’aps you ain’t missed ‘im yet,’ I ses.

“’Missed ‘im?’ he ses, with a growl.  ‘Missed who?’

“‘Your-son.  Your blue-eyed son,’ I ses, looking ’im straight in the eye.

“‘Look here!’ he ses, spluttering.  ’You be off.  ’Ow dare you come here with your games?  Wot d’ye mean by it?’

“‘I mean,’ I ses, getting a bit out o’ temper, ’that your boy has run away to go to sea, and I’ve come to take you to ‘im.’

“He seemed so upset that I thought ’e was going to ’ave a fit at fust, and it seemed only natural, too.  Then I see that the best-looking girl and another was having a fit, although trying ’ard not to.

“‘If you don’t get out o’ my shop,’ he ses at last, ’I’ll ’ave you locked up.’

“‘Very good!’ I ses, in a quiet way.  ’Very good; but, mark my words, if he’s drownded you’ll never forgive yourself as long as you live for letting your temper get the better of you—­you’ll never know a good night’s rest agin.  Besides, wot about ‘is mother?’

“One o’ them silly gals went off agin just like a damp firework, and Mr. Watson, arter nearly choking ‘imself with temper, shoved me out o’ the way and marched out o’ the shop.  I didn’t know wot to make of ’im at fust, and then one o’ the gals told me that ’e was a bachelor and ’adn’t got no son, and that somebody ’ad been taking advantage of what she called my innercence to pull my leg.

“’You toddle off ‘ome,’ she ses, ‘before Mr. Watson comes back.’

“’It’s a shame to let ‘im come out alone,’ ses one o’ the other gals.  ‘Where do you live, gran’pa?’

“I see then that I ‘ad been done, and I was just walking out o’ the shop, pretending to be deaf, when Mr. Watson come back with a silly young policeman wot asked me wot I meant by it.  He told me to get off ’ome quick, and actually put his ’and on my shoulder, but it ’ud take more than a thing like that to push me, and, arter trying his ’ardest, he could only rock me a bit.

“I went at last because I wanted to see that boy agin, and the young policeman follered me quite a long way, shaking his silly ’ead at me and telling me to be careful.