"Give me an
old suit of clothes for them. Hurry up. There's a lovely frock."
"Blimey," said the man, staring, "I've only got these clothes. Wot d'yer
take me for? A dook?"
"Well, get me some somewhere," said Tommy. "If you don't the cap'n 'll
have to come in these, and I'm sure he won't like it."
"I wonder what he'd look like," said the man, with a grin. "Damme if I
don't come up and see."
"Get me some clothes," pleaded Tommy.
"I wouldn't get you clothes, no, not for fifty pun," said the man
severely. "Wot d'yer mean wanting to spoil people's pleasure in that
way? Come on, come and tell the cap'n what you've got for 'im, I want to
'ear what he ses. He's been swearing 'ard since ten o'clock this
morning, but he ought to say something special over this."
He led the way up the bare wooden stairs, followed by the harassed boy,
and entered a small dirty room at the top, in the centre of which the
master of the Sarah Jane sat to deny visitors, in a pair of socks and
last week's paper.
"Here's a young gent come to bring you some clothes, cap'n," said the
man, taking the sack from the boy.
"Why didn't you come before?" growled the captain, who was reading the
advertisements.
The man put his hand in the sack, and pulled out the clothes.
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