“Penny for your thoughts, Bill,” she ses.  I didn’t answer her.

“Why don’t you speak to me?” she ses.

“You don’t know wot you’re asking for,” I ses.

I was hungry and sleepy, and ’ow I was going to get through the day I couldn’t think.  I went into a pub and ‘ad a couple o’ pints o’ stout and a crust o’ bread and cheese for brekfuss.  I don’t know wot she ’ad, but when the barman tried to take for it out o’ my money, I surprised ’im.

We walked about till I was ready to drop.  Then we got to Victoria Park, and I ’ad no sooner got on to the grass than I laid down and went straight off to sleep.  It was two o’clock when I woke, and, arter a couple o’ pork-pies and a pint or two, I sat on a seat in the Park smoking, while she kep’ dabbing ’er eyes agin and asking me to come ’ome.

At five o’clock I got up to go back to the wharf, and, taking no notice of ’er, I walked into the street and jumped on a ’bus that was passing.  She jumped too, and, arter the conductor had ’elped ’er up off of ’er knees and taken her arms away from his waist, I’m blest if he didn’t turn on me and ask me why I ’adn’t left her at ’ome.

We got to the wharf just afore six.  The John Henry ’ad gorn, but the skipper ’ad done all the ’arm he could afore he sailed, and, if I ’adn’t kept my temper, I should ha’ murdered arf a dozen of ’em.

The woman wanted to come on to the wharf, but I ’ad a word or two with one o’ the fore-men, who owed me arf-a-dollar, and he made that all right.

“We all ’ave our faults, Bill,” he ses as ’e went out, “and I suppose she was better looking once upon a time?”

I didn’t answer ’im.  I shut the wicket arter ’im, quick, and turned the key, and then I went on with my work.  For a long time everything was as quiet as the grave, and then there came just one little pull at the bell.  Five minutes arterwards there was another.

I thought it was that woman, but I ’ad to make sure.  When it came the third time I crept up to the gate.

“Halloa!” I ses.  “Who is it?”

“Me, darling,” ses a voice I reckernized as the potman’s.  “Your missus wants to come in and sit down.”

I could ’ear several people talking, and it seemed to me there was quite a crowd out there, and by and by that bell was going like mad.  Then people started kicking the gate, and shouting, but I took no notice until, presently, it left off all of a sudden, and I ’eard a loud voice asking what it was all about.  I suppose there was about fifty of ’em all telling it at once, and then there was the sound of a fist on the gate.

“Who is it?” I ses.

“Police,” ses the voice.

I opened the wicket then and looked out.  A couple o’ policemen was standing by the gate and arf the riff-raff of Wapping behind ’em.

“Wot’s all this about?” ses one o’ the policemen.

I shook my ’ead.  “Ask me another,” I ses.  “Your missus is causing a disturbance,” he ses.