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 used to wonder
'ow he passed the time. Then one night I found out.

"I had just come out of the Bear's Head, and stopped to look round afore
going back to the wharf, when I see a couple o' people standing on the
swing-bridge saying 'Good-bye' to each other. One of 'em was a man and
the other wasn't.