Part 11

“‘H’m!’ he ses, putting the watch back. ‘It’s a fortunate thing you met me when you did. Now let’s have a look at your chest.’

“Ginger unbuttoned ’is shirt, and the doctor, arter a good look at the ship wot was tattoed there, laid his ’ead on it amidships and listened.

“‘Say ninety-nine,’ he ses, ’and go on saying it.’

“‘Ninety-nine,’ ses Ginger, ‘ninety-nine, ninety-nine, ninety--if I get up to you, Sam, you’ll know it.’

“‘You’d laugh yourself if you could on’y see yourself, Ginger,’ ses Sam.

“‘H’sh!’ ses the doctor; ‘he ’asn’t got much to laugh about, poor chap.’

“He moved his ’ead a bit and told Ginger to keep quiet. Then he sat up and, buttoning Ginger’s shirt acrost ’is chest very careful, made a sign to Sam and Peter to keep quiet, and sat thinking.

“‘His ’art has moved,’ he ses at last; ‘it’s about two inches out of place.’

“‘Good-bye, mates,’ ses pore Ginger.

“‘There’s no need to say “good-bye,”’ ses the doctor, very sharp. ‘If you’ll keep quite quiet and do as I tell you, you’ll be all right agin, in time.’

“He sat thinking agin for a bit, and then ’e sent Peter downstairs for a jug of ’ot water and a tumbler, and while it was being fetched he told Sam ’e was to be head-nurse and told ’im all he was to do.

“‘You don’t want to pay two or three pounds a week for a nurse, I suppose?’ he ses, when Sam began to speak up for ’imself and tell ’im ’ow much he enjoyed ’is sleep.

“‘I shan’t be much trouble to ’im,’ ses Ginger. ‘I can ’elp myself.’

“‘You mustn’t move,’ ses the doctor. ‘You’ve got to lay quite still. Even if a fly settled on your nose you mustn’t brush it off. You don’t know ’ow bad you are. I want you to keep per-feck-ly still. Till to-morrow, at any rate.’

“He took the ’ot water from Peter and, after putting a little cold to it, put ’is arm round Ginger’s neck and ’eld the tumbler to ’is lips. He ’ad four tumblers, one arter the other, except for wot went down ’is chest, and then ’e laid his ’ead back on the piller without a word.

“‘That’ll do ’im good,’ ses the doctor, taking the ’arf-dollar wot Sam got out of Ginger’s pocket. ‘I’ll look round agin in the morning.’

“‘And wot about medicine?’ ses Sam.

“‘I’ll bring some with me,’ ses the doctor. ‘Good-bye.’

“Sam and Peter went to bed early. One thing there was nothing to do, and another thing was Ginger wouldn’t let ’em do it. Every time they moved ’e spoke about it and said wot it did to ’is ’art, and once, when Sam sneezed, ’e called ’im a murderer.

“It was about two o’clock in the morning when Sam woke up from a dream of a beautiful gal with yaller ’air and blue eyes wot kept calling ’im by ’is Christian name. He woke up with a smile on ’is lips and was just shutting ’is eyes to go on dreaming if ’e could, when he ’eard it again.

“‘Sam! Sam! Sam! Sam!’

“‘Hullo!’ he ses, sitting up in bed very cross.

“‘I thought you was dead,’ ses Ginger. ‘I’ve been calling you for ten minutes or more. It’s made my ’eart worse.’

“‘Wot d’ye want?’ ses Sam.

“‘I’ve got a nasty itching feeling between my shoulders,’ ses Ginger.

“‘D’you mean to say--d’you mean to say you woke me up just to tell me that?’ ses Sam, ’ardly able to speak for temper.

“‘I woke you up to come and rub it,’ ses Ginger. ‘And look sharp about it. You know I mustn’t move.’

“‘Hurry up, Sam!’ ses Peter Russet. ‘Wot are you waiting for? I want to get to sleep agin.’

“Sam got out o’ bed at last and stood rubbing Ginger’s back with ’is fist while Ginger kept telling ’im ’ow not to do it, and reminding ’im wot a delikit skin he ’ad got.

“He woke ’im up twice arter that. Once to give ’im a drink of water, and once to ask him ’ow old he thought the doctor was. Wot with being woke up and being afraid of being woke up, Sam ’ardly got a wink of sleep.

“Him and Peter Russet ’ad their brekfuss at a coffee-shop next mornin’, and they had ’ardly got back afore the doctor come in. He seemed pleased to ’ear that the pain was better, but ’e told Ginger that he’d ’ave to keep as still as he could for another day or two, and, arter putting ’is face on ’is chest agin, said that the ’art ’ad stopped moving.

“‘I mean moving out of place,’ he ses, as Ginger sat up making a ’orrible noise and threw ’is arms round his neck. ‘To-morrow I ’ope it will begin to move back.’

“He fished a bottle o’ medicine out of ’is pocket which he said would be another bob, and, arter telling Sam to ’ave a lump o’ sugar ready and pop it in quick, gave Ginger ’is fust dose. Sam popped it in all right, but unfortunately the medicine was so nasty that Ginger was quicker than wot ’e was. Anybody might ha’ thought he ’ad been killed the way ’e carried on.

“‘I’ll look in agin this evening,’ ses the doctor as he put a ’arf-dollar and a bob o’ Ginger’s in his pocket. ‘Don’t let ’im move more than can be helped and---- Hullo!’

“‘Wot’s the matter?’ ses Sam, taking ’is finger out of ’is mouth and staring at ’im.

“The doctor didn’t answer ’im. He lifted up ’is eyelids instead and looked at his eyes, and then he told Ginger to open ’is mouth, and looked at ’is teeth. Then he looked at Sam agin and felt all round ’is throat.

“‘Wot is it?’ ses Sam, going pale.

“‘It might be blood-poisoning,’ ses the doctor, ‘but I can’t tell yet. His teeth are in a very bad state.’

“‘’Ow shall I know if it is?’ ses Sam.

“‘You’ll know fast enough,’ ses the doctor, shaking his ’ead. ‘P’r’aps you’d better ’ave a quiet time at ’ome to-day and keep your friend company, and I’ll ’ave a look at you when I come in this evening. Keep your spirits up and be as cheerful as you can--for ’is sake.’

“He left ’em all staring at each other; and then Sam sat down on ’is bed and told Peter Russet wot ought to be done to Ginger before England would be fit for decent people to live in. Peter said it was a wonder ’ow he could think of it all, and Ginger said it was because he ’ad got a nasty mind, and he told ’im wot he’d do to ’im when ’e got well agin.

“They spent most of the day quarrelling, and on’y left off to find fault with Peter when ’e came in from enjoying ’imself to see ’ow they was getting on. Sam was the worst, cos Ginger was afraid of ’is ’eart if he got too excited, but arter the doctor saw ’im in the evening ’e was as quiet as Ginger was.

“He said the poison ’ad got from Sam’s finger down into ’is liver and an abscess was forming there. He showed Sam where ’is liver was--a thing he ’adn’t known afore--and found out where the abscess was with ’is thumb-nail. He found it twice, and was just going to find it agin when Sam pulled ’is shirt down.

“‘There’s no danger,’ he ses, ‘if you do just wot I tell you. If you keep quiet like your friend does, I’ll ’ave you up agin in a week. If you move about or ’ave any violent shock you’ll die afore you know where you are.’

“He sat talking with ’em for a little while, and, arter saying that Ginger’s ’art was not going back as fast as he could wish, ’e took ’is money and went off. Peter sat looking at ’em till Sam asked ’im whether he thought they was waxworks, and then, arter punching up their pillers and tickling Ginger’s toes, playful-like, ’e picked up ’is cap and went out. He spent most of ’is time out, and, when ’e did come in, all he could talk about was the drinks he’d been ’aving and ’ow glad ’e was that _his_ ’art and liver was as sound as a bell.

“‘I wonder you ain’t sick of bed,’ he ses, arter Ginger had ’ad four days of it.

“‘Sick of it!’ ses Ginger, choking. ‘Sick of it! Why, you ugly, mutton-faced son of a----’

“‘Mind your ’art, Ginger,’ ses Sam.

“‘I don’t believe in doctoring and laying in bed,’ ses Peter, picking ’is teeth with a pin. ‘I believe that if you and Sam was to get up and ’ave a little dance in your shirts it ’ud do you all the good in the world. _I’d_ ’um to you.’

“Mind your ’art, Ginger,’ ses Sam, very quick.

“Ginger minded it, but they was both so disagreeable that Peter got up and went out agin and didn’t come back until the pubs was closed. He woke ’em both up getting to bed, but when they tried to wake _’im_ up arterwards they might as well ’ave tried to wake the dead. All they did was to wake each other up and then ’ave words about it.

“They wouldn’t speak to Peter when ’e got up next morning, and, arter giving ’em both wot ’e called a bit of ’is mind, but wot other people would ’ave called nasty langwidge, ’e flung Ginger’s trowsis into Sam’s face and went off for the day.

“He didn’t come back until six-o’clock, but when ’e did come back ’e was a reg’lar sunbeam, smiling all over ’is face. He ’ad a look at Ginger and smiled, and then ’e went and smiled at Sam, with his ’and over ’is mouth.

“‘He’s drunk,’ ses Sam, trying to sneer.

“‘Mad _and_ drunk,’ ses Ginger.

“Peter didn’t say anything. He went and sat down on ’is bed and covered up ’is face with his ’andkerchief and the bed shook as if there was an earthquake sitting on it.

“‘’Ow--’ow--’ow’s the ’art, Ginger?’ he ses at last.

“Ginger didn’t answer ’im.

“‘And Sa--Sa--Sam’s pore old liver!’ ses Peter, going off agin.

“He wiped ’is eyes at last, and then ’e got up and walked up and down the room fighting for ’is breath and saying ’ow it hurt ’im. And when he saw them two pore invalids laying in bed and looking at each other ’elpless, ’e sat down and laughed till ’e cried.

“‘It’s the d-d-doctor,’ he ses at last. ‘The--the landlord told me.’

“‘Told you wot?’ ses Ginger, grinding ’is teeth.

“‘He--he ain’t a doctor,’ ses Peter, wiping ’is eyes; ‘he’s a bookmaker’s clerk, and you won’t see ’im agin ’cos the police are arter ’im.’

“You might have ’eard a pin drop, as the saying is, if it ’adn’t been for the choking noise in Sam’s throat.

“‘You ought to ’ave ’eard the landlord laugh when I told ’im about you and Sam,’ ses Peter. ‘It would ha’ done you good. ’Ow much money ’as he ’ad off of you, Ginger?’

“Ginger didn’t answer ’im. He got out of bed very slow, and put on ’is boots and ’is trowsis. Then ’e got up and locked the door.

“‘Wot are you doing that for?’ ses Sam, wot was sitting on the edge of ’is bed putting on ’is socks.

“‘I’m going to give Peter something else to laugh about,’ ses Ginger.”

THE END

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

Typos and mismatched puncutation (particularly quotation marks and apostrophes) corrected.

Some illustrations have been moved from their original positions to enhance readability. The page numbers in the list of illustrations remain unchanged from the original.

Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been left unchanged.