ospapers. Howsomnever, _he_ never got any wheres."

"And what became of him?"

Mr. Joe then proceeded to take a long puff at his pipe, and winking at
his initiated friend, proceeded to narrate how that the injured gang
dealt in eggs.

"What has that to do with it?"

"Why you see eggs is not always eggs." Mr. Pouter then went on to state
that one night a long deal chest left the premises of the coiners,
marked outside, 'eggs,' for exportation. "They were duly shipped, a
member of the firm being on board. The passage was rough, the box was on
deck, and somehow or other, somebody tumbled it overboard."

"But what has this to do with the missing policeman?"

"The chest was six feet long, and----,"

Here Mr. Bethnal became uneasy.

"Vell," said the host, "the firm's broke up, and is past peaching up,
only it shows you, my green 'un, what we _can_ do."

I was shaken in my master's pocket by the violence of the dread which
Mr. Joe's story had occasioned him.

Mr. Bethnal, with the philosophy which was habitual to him, puffed away
at his pipe.

"The fact o' the matter is," said Mr. Joe, who was growing garrulous on
an obviously pet subject, "that we aint afeerd o' the p'lese in this
neighborhood, not a hap'orth; _we_ know how to manage them." He then
related an anecdote of another policeman, who had been formerly in his
own line of business. This gentleman being, as he observed, "fly" to all
the secret signs of the craft, obtained an interview with a friend of
his for the purpose of purchasing a hundred shillings. A package was
produced and exchanged for their proper price in currency, but on the
policeman taking his prize to the station house to lay the information,
he discovered that he had been outwitted. The rouleau contained a
hundred good farthings, for each of which he had paid two pence
half-penny.

"Then, what is the bad money generally worth?" asked Edward,
interrupting the speaker.

"As a general rule," was the answer, "our sort is worth about one-fifth
part o' the wallie it represents. So, a sovereign--(though we aint got
much to do with gold here--that's made for the most part in
Brummagem)--a 'Brum' sovereign may be bought for about four-and-six; a
bad crown piece for a good bob; a half-crown for about fippence; a bob
for two pence half-penny, and so on. As for the sixpennys and
fourpennys, we don't make many on 'em, their wallie bein' too
insignificant." Mr. Joe then proceeded with some further r