e of them had thrown off
his fatigue sufficiently to show a friend a fancy step of which he was
somewhat vain. It was a difficult and intricate step for a crowded bar,
and panic-stricken men holding their beer aloft called wildly upon him
to stop, while the barman, leaning over the counter, strove to make
his voice heard above the din. The dancer's feet subsided into a sulky
shuffle, and a tall seaman, removing the tankard which had obscured his
face, revealed the honest features of Joe. The sight of him and the
row of glasses and hunches of bread and cheese behind the bar was
irresistible. The skipper caught a departing customer by the coat and
held him.

"Do me a favour, old man," he said, heartily.

"Wot d'ye want?" asked the other, suspiciously.

"Tell that tall chap in there that a friend of his is waiting outside,"
said Flower, pointing to Joe.

He walked off a little way as the man re-entered the bar. A second or
two later, the carman came out alone.

"'E ses come inside 'e ses if you want to see 'im."

"I can't," said Flower.

"Why not?" asked the other, as a horrible suspicion dawned upon him.
"Strewth, you ain't a teetotaler, are you?"

"No," replied the skipper, "but I can't go in."

"Well 'e won't come out," said the other; "'e seems to be a
short-tempered sort o' man."

"I must see him," said the skipper, pondering. Then a happy thought
struck him, and he smiled at his cleverness. "Tell him a little flower
wants to see him," he said, briskly.

"A little wot?" demanded the carman, blankly.

"A little flower," repeated the other.

"Where is she?" enquired the carman, casting his eyes about him.

"You just say that," said the skipper, hurriedly. "You shall have a pint
if you do. He'll understand."

It was unfortunate for the other that the skipper had set too high an
estimation on Joe's intelligence, for the information being imparted
to him in the audible tones of confidence, he first gave his mug to Mr.
William Green to hold, and then knocked the ambassador down. The loud
laugh consequent on the delivery of the message ceased abruptly, and in
the midst of a terrific hubbub Joe and his victim, together with two
or three innocent persons loudly complaining that they hadn't finished
their beer, were swept into the street.

"He'll be all right in a minute, mate," said a bystander to Joe,
anxiously; "don't run away."

"'Tain't so likely," said Joe, scornfully.

"Wot did you 'it me for?" de