We soon made friends in The Chequers, and before midnight we were
confidential. On my expressing wonder at seeing a Barking lad among us,
Jack winked with profound meaning, and said, "I ain't Barking at all,
only for this trip. My gal's a Lowestoft gal, and she've come up here,
so I'm ready for her Sunday out to-morrow. See?"
Our second interview took place next day, and I saw the sweetheart. She
was an ordinary pretty servant-girl, such as most of the fishermen pick
up when they marry out of their own class; but I could see that she was
likely to make some difference in John's rather convivial habits. She
spoke like an ignorant woman with strong natural sense, and when Jack
proposed having some beer, she said, "Ay, so! That's the way you fare to
go. I've seen them, as soon as ever they leaves the pay-office, turning
into the public-house. And a master lot o' good that do, doan't it now?
Men workin' like beasts for two months, and then dropping all their
money into the till in a week, and then off to sea short of clothes,
besides very likely getting into trouble.
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