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I b'lieve the improvement in them since they went up above there is somethin'" Jack paused for an adjective and finally selected "outrageous." "Tay, they do be tellin' me, at two and thruppence a pound no less, an' mate wanst and twice in the day, an' a sup o' punch at night the way they'd sleep sound! Sure, it's somethin' altogether" again a pause "unmintionable!"
"Why, making them pay their thruppence for those wretched stamps. I believe Mrs. Castor does. How she's got the face to I can't imagine." "Why, aren't you going to make them pay, Mabel?" Mabel was quite indignant. "Is it likely? I should hope not!" "Really? Haven't you been making High and Low pay their share of the stamps all this time?" "Of course I've not."
"Nicest old woman as ever was: I say," he added, as if struck by a sudden thought, "how much money have you got?" The Skipper told him, and the man laughed. "More'n I have. Spent some, give the old ooman the rest. On'y got thruppence left. Look here: you and me's shipmets, travellers. S'pose we jyne?" "A ship?" faltered Bob. "No! jyne in a boat. I'll work it: I'm bigger than you.
At that he put his finger to his nose. "Thruppence py the day." I shook my head. He looked at me queerly. "How old you pe, twelve, yes?" Now I had no notion of telling him. So I said: "Is this the Charlestown road?" "Fourpence!" he cried, "dot is riches." "I will go for sixpence," I answered. "Mein Gott!" he cried, "sixpence. Dot is robbery."
It was the first but not the last disappointment we suffered in Switzerland. A friend in London had congratulated us upon going to the Vaud in the grape season. "For thruppence," he said, "they will let you go into the vineyards and eat all the grapes you can hold."
'Maybe the kilt had something to dae wi' it, Willie modestly allowed. 'They a' adore the kilt. Can ye no spare saxpence . . . weel, thruppence? 'I could spare ye a bat on the ear, but I'll tell ye what I'll dae. I've got some money comin' the morn, an' I'll present ye wi' twa bob, if ye'll tak' yer oath to spend them baith on gi'ein' the fat yin a treat. Willie gasped.
A man stood in the doorway, a man with bent shoulders, grey hair and bent back. His face was yellow and unhealthy-looking; his eyes were filmed and colourless. He seemed half asleep as he looked round over his shoulder suspiciously. "Missus have you got a tray bit?" he whispered. "What's that?" she asked. "A tray bit, missus just thruppence a mouldy thruppence to get a livener."
Ten shillin's worth of stuff in that. An' ten for the makin'. An' that's twinty. I'll take ten, an' I couldn't afford to take a penny less. Will ye have it? Don't all spake at once. Ye won't. But I'll make ye. I'll take five shillin', four, three, two, one, I'll take sixpence. Here! Have it for thruppence. Ye won't? Sweet bad luck to the one of ye is worth thruppence.
'Dardanelles! Macgregor repeated as he gave his friend a hand up. 'Oh ! groaned Willie, rubbing the back of his head. 'But what'll ye bet? 'What ha'e ye got? 'I'll bet ye thruppence the thruppence ye lent me the day afore yesterday. 'Done! If ye win, we'll be quits; if ye loss 'Na, na! If I win, ye'll ha'e to pay me 'Ach, I've nae time to listen to ye. I've twa letters to write.
"Oh, that's all right, Jack," answered the sea-lawyer. "He's a perfect right to. Ain't he just as liable to lose his wages as the rest of us?" "Wouldn't give thruppence for them!" Jack sniffed back. He had been planning to go home and see his family in Chelsea when he was paid off, and he was now feeling rather blue over the highly possible loss, not only of his pay, but of his liberty.
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