“Ho!” ses Charlie.  “Well, it’ll be my turn to laugh to-morrow night.  We’ll see whether she can shake me off agin.”

Ted looked at ’im a bit worried.  “It’s a bit orkard,” he ses, speaking very slow.  “You see, they made it up arterwards, and then they both made me promise not to tell you, and if you come, they’ll know I ’ave.”

Charlie did a bit o’ thinking.  “Not if I pretend to make love to Mrs. Jennings?” he ses, at last, winking at ’im.  “And it’ll serve her right for being deceitful.  We’ll see ‘ow she likes it.  Wot sort o’ chap is the young man—­big?”

“Can’t be,” ses Ted; “cos Emma called ’im a little shrimp.”

“I’ll come,” ses Charlie; “and it’ll be your own fault if they find out you told me about it.”

They fell asleep talking of it, and the next evening Charlie put on a new neck-tie he ’ad bought, and arter letting Ted have arf an hour’s start went out and met ’em accidental.  The fust Mrs. Jennings knew of ’is being there was by finding an arm put round ’er waist.

“Good-evening, Sophy,” he ses.

“’Ow—­’ow dare you?” ses Mrs. Jennings, giving a scream and pushing him away.

Charlie looked surprised.

“Why, ain’t you pleased to see me?” he ses.  “I’ve ’ad the raging toothache for over a week; I’ve got it now a bit, but I couldn’t stay away from you any longer.”

“You behave yourself,” ses Mrs. Jennings.

“Ted didn’t say anything about your toothache,” ses Emma.

“I wouldn’t let ’im, for fear of alarming Sophy,” ses Charlie.

Mrs. Jennings gave a sort of laugh and a sniff mixed.

“Ain’t you pleased to see me agin?” ses Charlie.

“I don’t want to see you,” ses Mrs. Jennings.  “Wot d’ye think I want to see you for?”

“Change your mind pretty quick, don’t you?” ses Charlie.  “It’s blow ’ot and blow cold with you seemingly.  Why, I’ve been counting the minutes till I should see you agin.”

Mrs. Jennings told ’im not to make a fool of ’imself, and Charlie saw ’er look at Emma in a puzzled sort of way, as if she didn’t know wot to make of it.  She kept drawing away from ’im and he kept drawing close to ’er; other people on the pavement dodging and trying to get out of their way, and asking them which side they was going and to stick to it.

“Why don’t you behave yourself?” ses Emma, at last.

“We’re all right,” ses Charlie; “you look arter your own young man.  We can look arter ourselves.”

“Speak for yourself,” ses Mrs. Jennings, very sharp.

Charlie laughed, and the more Mrs. Jennings showed ’er dislike for ’is nonsense the more he gave way to it.  Even Ted thought it was going too far, and tried to interfere when he put his arm round Mrs. Jennings’s waist and made ’er dance to a piano-organ; but there was no stopping ’im, and at last Mrs. Jennings said she had ’ad enough of it, and told Emma she was going off ’ome.