"P'raps she'll carry 'im 'ome," I ses, very fierce and sarcastic.

"And we don't want none of your lip," ses the carman, who was in a bad
temper because he 'ad got a fearful kick on the shin from somewhere.

I got up very slow and began to put my coat on again, and twice I 'ad to
tell that silly woman that when I wanted her 'elp I'd let 'er know. Then
I 'eard slow, heavy footsteps in the road outside, and, afore any of 'em
could stop me, I was calling for the police.

I don't like policemen as a rule; they're too inquisitive, but when the
wicket was pushed open and I saw a face with a helmet on it peeping in, I
felt quite a liking for 'em.

"Wot's up?" ses the policeman, staring 'ard at my little party.

They all started telling 'im at once, and I should think if the potman
showed him 'is ear once he showed it to 'im twenty times. He lost his
temper and pushed it away at last, and the potman gave a 'owl that set my
teeth on edge. I waited till they was all finished, and the policeman
trying to get 'is hearing back, and then I spoke up in a quiet way and
told 'im to clear them all off of my wharf.

"They're trespassing," I ses, "all except the skipper and mate here.
They belong to a little wash-tub that's laying alongside, and they're
both as 'armless as they look."

It's wonderful wot a uniform will do. The policeman just jerked his 'ead
and said "out-side," and the men went out like a flock of sheep. The
on'y man that said a word was the carman, who was in such a hurry that 'e