slatternly figure, unending toil in a foul and noi
some coffee-house that faced on an alley ten feet
between the walls, and a waterside environment
that was ugly and sickening to say the least.

"You ll be hin hagain to ave a look?" she ques
tioned wistfully, as I went out of the door.

And as I turned and looked at her, I realized to
the full the deeper truth underlying that very wise
old maxim: Virtue is its own reward.

I went back to her. " Have you ever taken a
vacation ? " I asked.

"Vycytion!"

"A trip to the country for a couple of days, fresh
air, a clay off, you know, a rest."

"Lor lumme ! " she laughed, for the first time
stopping from her work. " A vycytion, eh ? for the
likes o me? Just fancy, now! Mind yer feet!"
this last sharply, and to me, as I stumbled over
the rotten threshold.

Down near the West India Dock I came upon a
young fellow staring disconsolately at the muddy
water. A fireman s cap was pulled down across his
eyes, and the fit and sag of his clothes whispered
unmistakably of the sea.

"Hello, mate," I greeted him, sparring for a be
ginning. " Can you tell me the way to Wapping?"

"Worked yer way over on a cattle boat ? " he
countered, fixing my nationality on the instant.

[[33]]

p032 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p033w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p034

v?