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Updated: May 23, 2025
The others had sprung to their feet, astonished at this prodigal waste of a delicacy fit for kings. Chook stood for a moment, glowering with rage, and then ran at his enemy; but Pinkey jumped between them. "You do! you do!" she cried, pushing him away with the desperate valour of a hen defending her chickens. "Orl right, not till next time," said Chook, smiling grimly.
She had bought a pig's cheek, some German sausage, and a dozen scones at seven for threepence. This was flanked by bread-and-butter, and a newly opened tin of jam with the jagged lid of the tin standing upright. She thought, with pride, that the young man would see he was in a house where no expense was spared. She requested Chook to sit next to Pinkey, and talked with feverish haste.
"Ye're only kiddin'," said Chook, cheerfully; "an' wot'll 'e do ter yous?" "Me! 'E niver rouses on me. W'en 'e gits shirty, I just laugh, an' 'e can't keep it up." "Right-oh!" said Chook. "Look out fer a song an' dance nex' Sunday." About five o'clock on the following Sunday afternoon, Chook, beautifully attired in the larrikin fashion, sauntered up to the door and tried the knocker.
Pinkey broke the silence with a question that was furthest from her thoughts. "'Ow are yez sellin' yer peas?" Chook dropped his basket and roared with laughter. "If yer only come ter poke borak, yer better go," cried Pinkey, with an angry flush. Chook sobered instantly. "No 'arm meant," he said, quite humbly, "but yer gimme the knock-out every time I see yer. But wot are yez doin'?" he asked.
She ended the dispute by seizing a bag and trudging out into the rain, bent double beneath the load, leaving Chook to curse and follow. Halfway through breakfast Pinkey caught Chook's eye fixed on her in a peculiar manner. "Wot are yez thinkin' about?" she asked, with a smile. "Well, if yer want ter know, I'm thinkin' wot a fool I was to marry yer," said Chook, bitterly.
"Yous keep a civil tongue in yer head," she cried, and the curious pink flush spread over her white skin. "Orl right, wot are yer narked about?" inquired Chook. He noticed, with surprise, that she was pretty, with small regular features; her eyes quick and bright, like a bird's. Under the gaslight her hair was the colour of a new penny.
He ignored Chook's friendly nod, and they stood motionless, wedged in that sea of human bodies until it chose to move. Chook felt the girl's frail body pressed against him.
"An' 'er ginger 'air was scorchin' all 'er back," he sang in parody, suddenly cutting a caper and snapping his fingers. The girl's white skin flushed pink with anger, her eyes sparkled with hate. "Ugly swine! I'll smack yer jaw, if yer talk ter me," she cried. "Blimey, 'ot stuff, ain't it?" inquired Chook. "Cum on, Pinkey. Never mind 'im," cried Ada, moving off.
Chook held the candle in his hand to show the little dresser with the cups and saucers and plates arranged in mathematical precision. The pots and pans were already hung on hooks. They had all seen service, and in Chook's eyes seemed more at home than the brand-new things that hung in the shops. As Chook looked round with pride, he became aware that Partridge was pushing something into his hand.
"Yes, I lost a bit, but I pulled up, an' I'm a couple of dollars to the good," said Chook, feeling in his pocket for some half-crowns. "Well, give it to me," said Pinkey, "an' I'll go straight termorrer and pay ten shillings on a machine." "Wot would yer 'ave said if I'd won ten or fifteen quid?" asked Chook.
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