Marian, standing on the
edge of the jetty, waiting for me to come up. He said that, not finding
me on the wharf, 'e made sure that I must 'ave tumbled overboard, as he
felt certain that I wouldn't neglect my dooty while there was breath in
my body; but 'e was sorry to find 'e was mistook. He stood there talking
like a little clergyman, until one of the carmen knocked his 'at over 'is
eyes, and then he forgot 'imself for a bit.

"Arter that I used to wait until he 'ad gorn afore I 'ad my arf-pint. I
didn't want my good name taken away, and I had to be careful, and many's
the good arf-pint I 'ad to refuse because that little imitation monkey
was sitting in the office drawing faces on 'is blotting-paper. But
sometimes it don't matter 'ow careful you are, you make a mistake.

"There was a little steamer, called the Eastern Monarch, used to come up
here in them days, once a week. Fat little tub she was, with a crew o'
fattish old men, and a skipper that I didn't like. He'd been in the
coasting trade all 'is life, while I've knocked about all over the world,
but to hear 'im talk you'd think he knew more about things than I did.

"Eddication, Bill,' he ses one evening, 'that's the thing! You can't
argufy without it; you only talk foolish, like you are doing now.'

"'There's eddication and there's common sense,' I ses. 'Some people 'as
one and some people 'as the other. Give me common sense.'

"'That's wot you want,' he ses, nodding.

"'And, o' course,' I ses, looking at 'im, 'there's some people 'asn't got
either one or the other.'

"The office-boy came out of the office afore he could think of an answer,
and the pair of 'em stood there talking to show off their cleverness,
till their tongues ached. I took up my broom and went on sweeping, and
they was so busy talking long words they didn't know the meaning of to
each other that they was arf choked with dust afore they noticed it.
When they did notice it they left off using long words, and the skipper
tried to hurt my feelings with a few short ones 'e knew.

"'It's no good wasting your breath on 'im,' ses the boy. 'You might as
well talk to a beer-barrel.'

"He went off, dusting 'imself down with his little pocket-'ankercher, and
arter the skipper 'ad told me wot he'd like to do, only he was too sorry
for me to do it, 'e went back to the ship to put on a clean collar, and
went off for the evening.

"He always used to go off by hisself of a evening, and I