"Any orders, gents?"
"Two bottles o' Bass, gov'nor," responded Millwaters promptly, dropping
into colloquial Cockney speech. He turned to Perkwite and winked. "Well,
an' wot abaht this 'ere bit o' business as I've come rahnd abaht,
Mister?" he went on, nudging his companion, in free-and-easy style.
"Yer see, it's this ere wy wiv us--if yer can let us have that there
stuff reasonable, d'yer see--" He drew Perkwite over to the window and
began to whisper, "That'll satisfy him," he said with a sharp glance at
the little room behind the hatch where the landlord was drawing corks.
"He'll think we're doing a bit of trade, so we've nothing to do but stand
in this window and keep an eye on the street. Out of this I'm not going
till I see whether that fellow comes out or stops in!"
Some time had passed, and Millwaters had been obliged to repeat his order
for bottled Bass before anything took place in the street outside.
Suddenly he touched his companion's elbow.
"Here's a taxicab coming along and slowing up for somewhere about
here," he whispered. "And--Lord, if there aren't two ladies in it--in a
spot like this! And--whew!" he went on excitedly.
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