'
"'I understand,' she ses, biting her lip. 'There's no need for 'im to
know that I've been on the wharf at all.'
"I gave 'er a smile--I thought she deserved it--but she didn't smile
back. She was rather a nice-looking woman in the ordinary way, but I
could easy see 'ow temper spoils a woman's looks. She stood there giving
little shivers and looking as if she wanted to bite somebody.
"'I'll go and hide now,' she ses.
"'Not yet,' I ses. 'You'll 'ave to wait till that little blackbeetle in
the office 'as gorn.' 'Blackbeetle?' she ses, staring.
"'Office-boy,' I ses. 'He'd better not see you at all. S'pose you go
off for a bit and come back when I whistle?'
"Afore she could answer the boy came out of the office, ready to go 'ome.
He gave a little bit of a start when 'e saw me talking to a lady, and
then 'e nips down sudden, about a couple o' yards away, and begins to do
'is bootlace up. It took 'im some time, because he 'ad to undo it fust,
but 'e finished it at last, and arter a quick look at Mrs. Pratt, and one
at me that I could ha' smacked his 'ed for, 'e went off whistling and
showing 'is little cuffs.
"I stepped out into the road and watched 'im out o' sight. Then I told
Mrs. Pratt to pick up 'er bag and foller me.
"As it 'appened there was a big pile of empties in the corner of the
ware'ouse wall, just opposite the Eastern Monarch's berth. It might ha'
been made for the job, and, arter I 'ad tucked her away behind and given
'er a box to sit on, I picked up my broom and began to make up for lost
time.
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