lemonade would eat away the coats o'
Bill's stomach, and that if 'e kept on 'e might drop down dead at any
moment.

That frightened Bill a bit, and the next night, instead of 'aving
lemonade, 'e had five bottles o' stone ginger-beer, six of different
kinds of teetotal beer, three of soda-water, and two cups of coffee. I'm
not counting the drink he 'ad at the chemist's shop arterward, because he
took that as medicine, but he was so queer in 'is inside next morning
that 'e began to be afraid he'd 'ave to give up drink altogether.

He went without the next night, but 'e was such a generous man that 'e
would pay every fourth time, and there was no pleasure to the other chaps
to see 'im pay and 'ave nothing out of it. It spoilt their evening, and
owing to 'aving only about 'arf wot they was accustomed to they all got
up very disagreeable next morning.

"Why not take just a little beer, Bill?" asks Ginger.

Bill 'ung his 'ead and looked a bit silly. "I'd rather not, mate," he
ses, at last. "I've been teetotal for eleven months now."

"Think of your 'ealth, Bill," ses Peter Russet; "your 'ealth is more
important than the pledge. Wot made you take it?"

Bill coughed. "I 'ad reasons," he ses, slowly. "A mate o' mine wished
me to."

"He ought to ha' known better," ses Sam. "He 'ad 'is reasons," ses Bill.

"Well, all I can say is, Bill," ses Ginger, "all I can say is, it's very
disobligin' of you."

"Disobligin'?" ses Bill, with a start; "don't say that, mate."

"I must say it," ses Ginger, speaking very firm.

"You needn't take a lot, Bill," ses Sam; "nobody wants you to do that.
Just drink in moderation, same as wot we do."

"It gets into my 'ead," ses Bill, at last.

"Well, and wot of it?" ses Ginger; "it gets into everybody's 'ead
occasionally. Why, one night old Sam 'ere went up behind a policeman and
tickled 'im under the arms; didn't you, Sam?"

"I did nothing o' the kind," ses Sam, firing up.

"Well, you was fined ten bob for it next morning, that's all I know," ses
Ginger.

"I was fined ten bob for punching 'im," ses old Sam, very wild. "I never
tickled a policeman in my life. I never thought o' such a thing. I'd no
more tickle a policeman than I'd fly. Anybody that ses I did is a liar.
Why should I? Where does the sense come in? Wot should I want to do it
for?"

"All right, Sam," ses Ginger, sticking 'is fingers in 'is ears, "you
didn't, then."

"No, I didn't," ses Sam, "and don't yo