[Illustration:  “He put his arm round Mrs. Jennings’s waist and made ’er dance to a piano-organ.”]

“Don’t take no notice of ’im,” ses Emma.

“I must,” ses Mrs. Jennings, who was arf crying with rage.

“Well, if you go ’ome, I shall go,” ses Emma.  “I don’t want ’is company.  I believe he’s doing it on purpose.

“Behave yourself, Charlie,” ses Ted.

“All right, old man,” ses Charlie.  “You look arter your young woman and I’ll look arter mine.”

“Your wot?” ses Mrs. Jennings, very loud.

“My young woman,” ses Charlie.

“Look ’ere,” ses Emma.  “You may as well know first as last—­Sophy ’as got a young man.”

“O’ course she ’as,” ses Charlie.  “Twenty-seven on the second of next January, he is; same as me.”

“She’s going to be married,” ses Emma, very solemn.

“Yes, to me,” ses Charlie, pretending to be surprised.  “Didn’t you know that?”

He looked so pleased with ’imself at his cleverness that Emma arf put up her ’and, and then she thought better of it and turned away.

“He’s just doing it to get rid of you,” she ses to Mrs. Jennings, “and if you give way you’re a bigger silly than I took you for.  Let ’im go on and ’ave his own way, and tell your intended about ’im when you see ’im.  Arter all, you started it.”

“I was only ‘aving a bit o’ fun,” ses Mrs. Jennings.

“Well, so is he,” ses Emma.

“Not me!” ses Charlie, turning his eyes up.  “I’m in dead earnest; and so is she.  It’s only shyness on ’er part; it’ll soon wear off.”

He took ’old of Mrs. Jennings’s arm agin and began to tell ’er ’ow lonely ’is life was afore she came acrost his path like an angel that had lost its way.  And he went on like that till she told Emma that she’d either ’ave to go off ’ome or scream.  Ted interfered agin then, and, arter listening to wot he ’ad got to say, Charlie said as ’ow he’d try and keep his love under control a bit more.

“She won’t stand much more of it,” he ses to Ted, arter they ’ad got ’ome that night.  “I shouldn’t be surprised if she don’t turn up to-morrow.”

Ted shook his ’ead.  “She’ll turn up to oblige Emma,” he ses; “but there’s no need for you to overdo it, Charlie.  If her young man ’appened to get to ’ear of it it might cause trouble.”

“I ain’t afraid of ’im,” ses Charlie, “not if your description of ’im is right.”

“Emma knows ’im,” ses Ted, “and I know she don’t think much of ’im.  She says he ain’t as big as I am.”

Charlie smiled to himself and laid awake for a little while thinking of pet names to surprise Mrs. Jennings with.  He called ’er a fresh one every night for a week, and every night he took ‘er a little bunch o’ flowers with ’is love.  When she flung ’em on the pavement he pretended to think she ’ad dropped ’em; but, do wot he would, ’e couldn’t frighten ’er into staying away, and ’is share of music-’alls and bus rides and things like that was more than ’e cared to think of.  All the time Ted was as happy as a sand-boy, and one evening when Emma asked ’im to go ’ome to supper ’e was so pleased ’e could ’ardly speak.