fills of skilly and bread was the measure of my
success. The man beside me ate his own share,
and mine to boot, scraped the pannikins, and looked
hungrily for more.

"I met a towny, and he stood me too good a
dinner," I explained.

"An I aven t ad a bite since yesterday mornin',
he replied.

"How about tobacco?" I asked. "Will the
bloke bother with a fellow now?"

"Oh, no," he answered me. " No bloody fear.
This is the easiest spike goin'. Y oughto see some
of them. Search you to the skin."

The pannikins scraped clean, conversation began
to spring up. " This super tendent ere is always
writin to the papers bout us mugs," said the man
on the other side of me.

"What does he say?" I asked.

"Oh, e sez we re no good, a lot o blackguards
an scoundrels as won t work. Tells all the ole
tricks I ve bin earin for twenty years an w ich I
never seen a mug ever do. Las thing of is I see,
e was tellin ow a mug gets out o the spike, wi
a crust in is pockit. An w en e sees a nice ole
gentleman comin along the street e chucks the
crust into the drain, an borrows the old gent s
stick to poke it out. An then the ole gent gi es
im a tanner " [sixpence].

[[103]]

p102 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p103w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p104

v?