And, what's more, I don't
want a situation. I've got all the situation as I need. But I
never refuse money, nor beer neither. Never did, and I'm forty
years old next month.'
'I suppose burgling doesn't pay very well, does it?' Sir Jee
boldly ventured.
William Smith laughed coarsely.
'It pays right enough,' said he. 'But I don't put my money on my
back, governor, I put it into a bit of public-house property when
I get the chance.'
'It may pay,' said Sir Jee. 'But it is wrong. It is very anti-social.'
'Is it, indeed?' Smith returned dryly. 'Anti-social, is it? Well,
I've heard it called plenty o' things in my time, but never that.
Now, I should have called it quite sociablelike, sort of making
free with strangers, and so on. However,' he added, 'I come across
a cove once as told me crime was nothing but a disease and ought
to be treated as such. I asked him for a dozen o' port, but he
never sent it.'
'Ever been caught before?' Sir Jee inquired.
'Not much!' Smith exclaimed. 'And this'll be a lesson to me, I can
tell you. Now, what are you getting at, governor? Because my
time's money, my time is.'
Sir Jee coughed once more.
'Sit down,' said Sir Jee.
And William Smith sat down opposite to him at the table, and put
his shiny elbows on the table precisely in the manner of Sir Jee's
elbows.
Pages:
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144