The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bill's Lapse, by W.W. Jacobs

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Title: Bill's Lapse
Odd Craft, Part 4.

Author: W.W. Jacobs

Release Date: April 29, 2004 [EBook #12204]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BILL'S LAPSE ***

Produced by David Widger

ODD CRAFT

By W.W. Jacobs

BILL'S LAPSE

Strength and good-nature--said the night-watchman, musingly, as he felt
his biceps--strength and good-nature always go together. Sometimes you
find a strong man who is not good-natured, but then, as everybody he
comes in contack with is, it comes to the same thing.

The strongest and kindest-'earted man I ever come across was a man o' the
name of Bill Burton, a ship-mate of Ginger Dick's. For that matter 'e
was a shipmate o' Peter Russet's and old Sam Small's too. Not over and
above tall; just about my height, his arms was like another man's legs
for size, and 'is chest and his back and shoulders might ha' been made
for a giant. And with all that he'd got a soft blue eye like a gal's
(blue's my favourite colour for gals' eyes), and a nice, soft, curly
brown beard. He was an A.B., too, and that showed 'ow good-natured he
was, to pick up with firemen.

He got so fond of 'em that when they was all paid off from the _Ocean
King_ he asked to be allowed to join them in taking a room ashore. It
pleased every-body, four coming cheaper than three, and Bill being that
good-tempered that 'e'd put up with anything, and when any of the three
quarrelled he used to act the part of peacemaker.

[Illustration: "When any of the three quarrelled he used to act the part
of peacemaker."]

The only thing about 'im that they didn't like was that 'e was a
teetotaler. He'd go into public-'ouses with 'em, but he wouldn't drink;
leastways, that is to say, he wouldn't drink beer, and Ginger used to say
that it made 'im feel uncomfortable to see Bill put away a bottle o'
lemonade every time they 'ad a drink. One night arter 'e had 'ad
seventeen bottles he could 'ardly got home, and Peter Russet, who knew a
lot about pills and such-like, pointed out to 'im 'ow bad it was for his
constitushon. He proved that the