nevy,
Ginger.'

"'Share and share alike.' ses Russet. 'It's a very good plan o' yours,
Ginger.'

"Ginger holds 'is 'ead up and looks at 'im 'ard.

"'I thought o' the plan,' 'e ses, speaking very slow and deliberate.
'Sam's 'is uncle, and 'e's the wild man. Threes into a 'undered go--'

"'You needn't bother your fat 'ead adding up sums, Ginger,' ses Russet,
very polite. 'I'm going to 'ave my share; else I'll split to Ted
Reddish.'

"None of 'em said a word about me: two of 'em was sitting on my bed;
Ginger was using a 'ankerchief o' mine wot 'e found in the fireplace,
and Peter Russet 'ad 'ad a drink out o' the jug on my washstand, and yet
they never even mentioned me. That's firemen all over, and that's 'ow it
is they get themselves so disliked.

"It took 'em best part of an 'our to talk round young Beauty, an' the
langwidge they see fit to use made me thankful to think that the parrots
didn't live to larn it.

"You never saw anything like Beauty when they 'ad finished with 'im.
If 'e was bad in 'is cloes, 'e was a perfeck horror without 'em. Ginger
Dick faked 'im up beautiful, but there was no pleasing 'im. Fust he
found fault with the winder-blind, which 'e said didn't fit; then 'e
grumbled about going bare-foot, then 'e wanted somethink to 'ide 'is
legs, which was natural considering the shape of 'em. Ginger Dick
nearly lost 'is temper with 'im, and it was all old Sam could do to stop
himself from casting 'im off forever. He was finished at last, and
arter Peter Russet 'ad slipped downstairs and found a bit o' broken
clothes-prop in the yard, and 'e'd been shown 'ow to lean on it and make
a noise, Ginger said as 'ow if Ted Reddish got 'im for a 'undered pounds
'e'd get 'im a bargain.

"'We must 'ave a cab,' ses old Sam.

"'Cab?' ses Ginger. 'What for?'

"'We should 'ave half Wapping following us,' ses Sam. 'Go out and put
your ring up, Ginger, and fetch a cab.'

"Ginger started grumbling, but he went, and presently came back with the
cab and the money, and they all went downstairs leading the wild man
by a bit o' line. They only met one party coming up, and 'e seemed to
remember somethink 'e'd forgotten wot ought to be fetched at once.

"Ginger went out fust and opened the cab-door, and then stood there
waiting becos at the last moment the wild man said the winder-blind was
slipping down. They got 'im out at last, but before 'e could get in the
cab was going up the road at ten miles an hour, with Gin