United States or Christmas Island ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
"D'ye take me fur a bank clurk?" was a form of repudiation among corner loafers as forcible as it was unjustifiable.
No, my dear, 'tain't the clurk. 'Tis the li'bilities." "What are the liabilities?" asked Boy. "They're the devil, my dear," said the old man. "That's all I can tell you. Land you in the lock-up soon as look at you." Later that evening the girl went to call on her friend, Mr. Haggard. He was in his study among his books, and rose to greet her with that affectionate kindliness he reserved for her.
"A boy, eh?" "Well, that's what I think him. He's a young clurk in the City as I've known long enough, and I think him a boy. Of course you're always ready to believe harm of me that's nothing new. And if the truth was known, you go talkin' to Mrs. Bubb and them Cheesemans." "I don't! I told you I shouldn't, and I don't!" "You do!" "It's a lie!" "You're one yourself!" retorted Polly with heat.
Beg yer pardon, sir, but he's clean disappeared off the face o' the premises!" And the porter looked at us with shining eyes. "Well?" said Raffles. "Well, sir, they looked about, an' looked about, an' at larst they give him up for a bad job; thought he'd changed his mind an' didn't want to tip the clurk; so they shut up the place an' come away.
'E give 'isself up an' I takes 'im along I makes 'im walk in front o' me yer can't take no risks wi' them bastards. 'E turns rahnd an' says ter me in English 'e must 'a' bin a clurk or a scholard 'e says, sarcastic like, 'I s'pose yer think yer goin' ter win the war! I gets me rag out an' tells 'im ter mind 'is own bleed'n' business. I tells 'im if I catch 'im lookin' rahnd agin I'll kill 'im!
He had received with good humour, and then with silent contempt, the names of "Gussie the Bank Clurk," references to "broken-dahn torfs" and "tailor's bleedn' dummies," queries as to the amount of "time" he had got for the offence that made him a "Queen's Hard Bargain," and various the other pleasantries whereby Herbert showed his distaste for people whose accent differed from his own, and whose tastes were unaccountable.
"This afternoon a gen'leman comes arfter rooms, and I sent him to the orfice; one of the clurks, 'e goes round with 'im an' shows 'im the empties, an' the gen'leman's partic'ly struck on the set the coppers is up in now. So he sends the clurk to fetch the manager, as there was one or two things he wished to speak about; an' when they come back, blowed if the gent isn't gone!
"Perhaps a clerk's been taking some," said the girl eagerly. Once, but only once, there had been a clerk at Putnam's. The old man was not to be convinced. "Take a tidy-sized clurk to go off with five million in his pocket," he said. "Course I don't say he couldn't do it, Gob 'elpin' 'im. Only he'd be carryin' a lot o' dead weight, as the Psalmist said. Too 'eavily penalised, I should say.
Word Of The Day