| OCR Text |
Show I LIGHTFRSl ICf "Tattooing JJ S'ft',;.,t,wlVJ8UtlSi - night watchman, linnly. " -1S , ho a Kin, ns you cuii. wOl.sce. A "'-JJ , ',18 to know wot V. ia going to UU oo , n 'w to do there's mo r bb.n. out or altering. It's a K", 1 J" " isan't bo loiirnt. I knew a m an once i.s used to tattoo a cabin boy .HI ovrr .... v'v'i... trv to learn. -uVhvT AtakinK sort, o' man. and I I.h0 ln.lgwidgC l.lWO bO 1 SO 1 tO UM. while 'o was at work would ard liu believed, but 'o 'ad to giv i ip tr " ...... ..i i r.rt.Mi vmnrs :wiu illKu Img nricr iiuuut iniw. I to crochet-work instead. . '-Soiiio men won t be tattoocj . t all. boini' proud o' their skins or su'li-liKo, ri d fo n good many years Ginger Sick, a munVvc spoke to you or To; fore : was one o' that sort. Ijikc many S'Sod men 'c 'ad a very white skiif, which 'o was very proud of, but nl list owinc to a unforUut idea o makXg Ma fortune, 'c let hisself bo tl0"jt como about in this way: -Him and old Sam Small and Peter llnssc ad been paid off from , their slur . .u J was 'aving a very 'appy. pleasant tinio ashore. Thev was caret ul men in a way - and they 'ad taken a room down East India Road way, and paid up the rent for a month. It came cheaper Mian a lodging-'dnsc, besides being a bit more private and respectable, respect-able, a Ihing old Sam was always very portieklor about. "They 'ad been ashore about three weeks when one day old Sam and 1 e-tor e-tor wont off alono becos Ginger said o wasn't going with 'em. Ho said a lot moro things, too; 'ow Je was L-oinf; o boo- wot it. felt like to be in bed with-n with-n fni nlrt man irroaning is I'orirt out and another one knocking on the mantelpiece all night with two-I)enc'o two-I)enc'o and wanting to know why he wasn't being served. "Ginger Dick fell into a qnict sleep artCT they'd gone; then 'o woke up .and 'ad a sip from tho water ing -lio'd 'a had more, only somebody ad dropped the soap in it and then dozed off uo-iii. Ft was late in the afternoon when" 'o woke, and then 'c see Sam and Peter Russet standing by tlic uido o' the bed looking at 'mi. " 'Where've you been?' scs Gmgor, stretching hisself and yawning. ' Bisness,' scs Sam, sitting down an' looking very important. 'While you've been laying on your back all dav mo an' Peter Russet 'as been doing do-ing a littlo 'eadwork.' "'Oh!' ses Ginger. 'Wot with?' "Sam coughed and Peter began to whistle, an' Ginger ho laid still and smiled up at tho ceiling, and began to fee.1 good-tempered agin. " 'Well, wot's tile- business?' he scs, at last. , , "Sam looked al Peter, but Peter he shook Ms 'cad at him. ,i 1113. .. J Viannac I II 3 Jllnl. a lltuu UIV u uiii.iw-wo uiii.iw-wo 'appened to drop on,' ses Sam. at last, 'me an' Peter, and I think that, with luck and management, we're in a fair way to make our fortunes. Peter, Pe-ter, 'ere, ain't given to looking on tho cheerful side o' tilings, but 'c thinks so, too.' " 'I do,' ses Peter, 'but it won't be managed right if you go blabbing it to ovexybody.' ' ' ' We must 'avc another man in it, Peter,' scs Sam, 'and, wot's more, 'e must 'avc gingnr-colorod 'air. That being so, it's only right and proper that our dear old pal Ginger should 'avc the fust offer.' "Jt, wasn't often that Sam was so affeckslninate, and Ginger couldn't at all make it out. Ever sineo 'o'd H? known 'mi the old man 'ad boon lull H o' plans o' making money without K earning it. Stupid plans they was, H too, but tho stupider tlioy was the B moro old Sam liked 'tun. B " 'Well, wot ia itV asks Ginger, H "Old Sam walked over to tho door H and shut it; then 'o sat down on the H bed and spoke low, so that Ginger 'c H eould hardly 'car 'im. H " 'A little public-'ousc,' lie scs, 'to B say nothing of 'onnc properly, and a H red-'aired old landlady wot's a widdor. H As nice a old lady as any one could H vish for, for a mother.' f " 'For a mother!' scs Ginger, utnr- H 'And a lovely barmaid with blue H eyes and yellow 'air, wot 'uljjbo tho roiVMidcd .nun's n. " We've been in a 1 lit Uo, P "'ASr!- wam into' turned up safe and sound, vntL re Wl5&SSck at' P and looked at 'cm w thSu a word;hon -o Rot up out o' bed, an' push ng old Sam out, of tho way'bean to dress, and at last 'c tuned round and asked Sam wncm or ho was drunk or only ma"- .f " 'All right.' scs Sam, 'H 7n on f iiUo it on we'll find somebody as wU , h t's afl- there's no call to get huffy !K.t it ' You, ain't the on'y reel-'aired reel-'aired man m the worid. , "dinger didn't answer im; he ont on dressing, but even' now- nd then 'c'd look at Sam and giyo a little ian wot made Sam's blood boil. ' . " 'You'vo cot nothin' to inn at, Ginger,' he sos at last, 'the landlady's boy 'u l be about the same age as wot vou arc now; 'c 'ad a scar over the left eyebrow same as wot you've got. al though I don't suppose he got . u . bj fighting a chap tlncc times 'is siy M5 'ad bright blue eyes, a small, well-shaned well-shaned nose, and a nice mouth. "Saino as you, Ginger,' scb tcicr, looking out of the winder. 'Ginger coughed and looked rathor thoughtful. . , , " 'It sounds all right, mates.' 'e scs at last, 'but I don't sec 'ow we ro to go to work. I don't want to got locked up for deceiving.' "'You can't get locked up scs Sam, 'if vou let 'or aiscovcr yon and claim vou" 'ow can you get locked up for itt Wo shall go in an' sec 'cr ain, and lam all there is tcr larn. especially es-pecially about the tattoo marks, and then J " 'Tattoo marks!' scs Ginger. " 'That's tho strong p'int,' scs Sam. 'Er boy 'ad a sailor dancing a 'orn-pipo 'orn-pipo on 'is left wrist, an' a couplo o' dolphins on his right. On 'is chest 'o 'ad a full rigged ship, and on 'is back between his shoulder-blades was tho letters of Ms name C. R. S.: Charles Robert Smith.' " 'Well, you silly old fool,' scs Gin-gor, Gin-gor, starting up "in a temper, 'that spiles it all. I ain't got a mark on mo. ' "Old Sam smiles at 'im and pats - 41. r-l,,.l,1.- "Vhnt'a Ttrlinrn you show your want of intcllock, Ginger,' Gin-ger,' ho scs, kindly. 'Why don't you think afore you speak? Wot's easier than to 'avo" 'cm put on?' "'Wot?' screams Ginger. 'Tattoo me! Spile nry skin with a lot o' beastly beast-ly bluo marks! Not mo, not if I know it. I'd liko to see nnvbody try it, that's all.' "TJc was that mad 'c wouldn't listen lis-ten to reason, and, as old Sam said, 'c couldn't have made moro fuss if they'd offered to Bkin 'im alive, an' Peter Russot tried to provo that a man's skin was mado to bo tattooed on, or else thorc wouldn't be tattoocrs; same as a man 'ad been given two legs so as 'e could wear trousers. But reason was chucked away on Ginger, an' 'e wouldn't list on to 'oin. "They started on 'im agin the next day, but all Sam and PeUr could say didn't move 'im, although Sam spoke so feeling about the joy of a pore widdor woman getting 'cr son back agin aitcr all these years that 'e nearly near-ly cried. "They went down agin to the pub that ovqnuig, and Ginger, who said 'c was curious to Bee, wuntcd to go, too. Sam, who still 'ad 'opes of 'im, would not 'car of it; but at last it was arranged ar-ranged that 'o wasn't to go inside, but should take a peep through the door. They got on a tram "at Aldgate, and Giugor didn't like it becos Sam and ' Peter talked it over between their-Belvcs their-Belvcs in whispers and pointed out likely red-'aired men in' tbc road. t-i-h like it. when ther I "And 'o d.dn ' j 1 , 6am and , cot to the Plnor ,,0"icft 'im outside, Fctcr went m and iu lanfl. : peeping throu.gh tho oor. ; lady shook n"u;nrmaia, a llne-look-f riendly, and tho barn , in 'S Ginger watched about t ee of Pctcr- couple of hours. I outside for noarlj co P and at last lhe cam ft whltc larfing, with 1 .etcr n roso wot tho .barmnik tQ "Ginger px-'S- Siting all that ft.1,0Ut,!fPSam S.S hat tney'd been time, b"i c informatiou, an' the getting valuable i h C!is,er,the moro -c C0U 1f'cLLan' then him an' job appeared to ut, -y ,r (1. Peter wished for to bia dtiredfrlenYo' Peter's named -T w-t in j afl a few drinks at l.rst n thi artcr a ti.no Ginger nn , ,nA hc. in-'i different light " jot q ,. i fore, an' to bo art . , t ft selfishness and o called . , . loving cup, mKW no ill-feeling. , 0f it to show ,liere was no q altliouRh Sam kep tell.n j so excited about it that m u - ; pa'C"n.eymall went off 'ome with their S arms' Sund each other ; f ? cA-. but nrtT n.Wt the o an' 'o slopped and Sfe'StauVSr-ter about it Peter ? then''e 1 rat8 down" and fell asleep GiScS'wShe last one fo wake p i ?hc morning, an' before, e woke ' c kept making a moaning no.c. His Vid felt as thoueh it was going to bus 'is tongue felt Tike a bnek, and ' chest was so sore 'e con d hardly breathe Then at last 'o opened 'is eyoH and looked up and saw Sam and Peter and a little man with a black mCheer up. Ginger.' ses Sam in a Vindvoice. ' t's going on beautiful, lundmce ; afalilnV ses Ginger with a groan, 'an' T vo got pins an' needles all over my chest. " 'Needles.' ses the man with .tho black mustache. 'I never use pins; they'd pison the flesh. . '''Ginger sat up in bed an' stared at Mm; then 'o bent Ms cad down an of U fhftst. and next moment 'o was out of bed and all throe ot j -'em was holding Mm down on the floor io prevent Mm breaking the tattoocr s neck, which 'c'd set -is 'eart upon doing, do-ing, 'and explaining to 'im that the iattooer was at the top or is profession, profes-sion, and that it was only by a stroke of luck 'e had got 'im. And Sam reminded re-minded Mm of wot 'n 'ad said the night before, and said lie d live .o thank Mm for it. ""'Ow much is there done?' ses Ginccr, at last, in a dosprit voice. ''Sam told Mm, and Ginger lay still and called the tattooer all tho names he could think of; which took Mm some time. , . ... ., . -" 'It's no good eoing on like that. Ginger,' ses Sam. 'Your chest is quite spiled at present, but if yon on'y let Mm finish it'll be a perfeck picter.' " 'I take pride in it,' ses the tattooer; tat-tooer; 'working on your skin, mate, is like painting on a bit o' silk.' "Ginger gave in at last, and told the man io go on with the job and finish it, and 'e oven wont so far as to do a little bit o' tattooing Mmself on Sam whnn hrt wasn't lookinir. 'E onlv made one mark, becos the needle broke off, and Sam made such a fuss that Ginger said any one would ha' thought 'e'd linrt Mm. "It took three days to do Ginger altogether, and hc was that sore 'e could 'ardly move or breathe, and all the time 'e was laying on Ms bed of pain Sam and Peter "Russet was round at tho Blue Lion enjoying theirselves and picking up information. The second sec-ond day was the worst, owing to tho tattooer being the wors for licker. Blink affects different people in different dif-ferent ways, and Ginger said the way it affected that chap was to make Mm think 'c was sewing buttons on instead in-stead o' tattooing. " 'Owcvor. 'o was done at last; his chest and Ms arms and Ms shoulders, and hc nearly broke down when Sam j borrowed a bit o' looking glass and let Mm sec hisself. Then the tattooer rubbed in eonic stuff to make Ms skin soft again, and some more stuff to make the marks look a bit old. "Sam wanted to draw up an agreement, agree-ment, but Ginger Dick and Tctcr Russot Rus-sot wouldn't 'ear of it. They both said that that sort o' thing wouldn't look well in writing, not if anj'bod else happened to seo it. that is, be- j sides which Giuger said it was impossible impos-sible for Mm to say 'ow -much money ho would 'avc the handling of. Once iho tattooing was done 'c began to ta-ko a 'most kindly to tho plan, an' being be-ing an orflu, bo far as 'o knew, ho almost al-most bogan to persuade hisself that ind to discover the y&UF. worked up a squeal . ""HBSn tended to bo ug dbHM pretended to bo tb?3tB over agm,Wthc oSyll?SB-ing oSyll?SB-ing caused by pct ffifBF a screech every timeSS- ',i3 chest wot set 'Ii iKi'-' Girlger(1potflmo th aSB nioulii water,0 CCr tho last tinic.gj01 your fortin, drop out 'Iff JlK! r dessay wc shall look u ?2RF- six months' tinio, and u9K; " SijbB mustn 't' f orfrcf'thi? v'H us postoflicc nioncv itieB " G inger said 'o wouldnVR they shook 'arids all toHI drink together, and the MliH Sam and Peter went tolSH for a last visit. back. Giiigcr wasurprl and hc said so, out 'eSI prised when 'c heaid " ' Tt carnc over us aSH we'd been doing wrong' 'SH ting down with a sieli, iH " 'Come over ua likea'nH sos Peter. H i;oing wrong!' sqOiH ing. Wot aro you t.ilVjJH "'Something the Uiftl showed us as wc was don? old Sam, very solemn; 'it tl in a. flash.' 1 " ' Like lightning,' su nl " 'All of a sudden i cruel, 'ard thing it vrasUH and deceive a poor Tiid4H scs Sam, in a 'usky vol see it at once.' 'H "Ginger Dick loob at ;H did. and then, 'e scs, jeo'uH " 'T 'spose you don't postoflicc money orders t then?' hc scs. yH " 'No,' says 'Sam and Fj together. H ' 'You mav have 'cmalVB 'but if you'll be ruled bjiH 3ou '11 give it np, same as you'll sleep the sweeter fH '"'Give it up!" dancing up an' down being tattooed all overl.H must be crazy, Sam woVH tcr with you?' " Tt ain't fair plar agix one poor old woman, thsfj feel, Ginger.' H " ' Well, I don't feel TSbjM Ginger; 'you please yoQntjfiH please myself.' " M2 went off in a morning 'c was do dmrfJH Sam an' Peter went and board a steamer called which was to sail the dajlrijB parted bad friends all miiM ger Dick gave Peter a ca-'7.1H and Sam said that when uiiH to sec things in a prortr he'd be sorry for wot VdslH 'c said that Mm and Peter bsB cd to look on his face agio. 'S "Ginger Dick was abitH nrter thev'd gone, bat 'm'M better to let a few days plH 'c went and adopted thttM landladv. lie waited a last, unable to wait anylM went out and 'ad a shave mB ened hisself up, and went fl Bluo Lion. JM "It was about 3 o'(lxi cot there, and the littlo pjM the jug-and-bottle entnste.'. stopped outside a minute or U and stop Ms trembling, vfr walks into the private wrss tho counter. i' " 'Glass o' bitter, m'as, he ses to the old lauy.asaej o' the little parlor at the W ba"Tho old lady drey tit j then stood with ono 'and M beer-pull and the other on tit looking at Ginger Dick m jersey and cloth cap. J ' ' - Lovely weather, ma im,, ger, putting his left arm of tcr and showing the sailor ing the hornpipe. .. catchinc sight of 'kjmsl D, at it. 7I suppose you saioj weather?' J " 'Yes, ma'am,' sto OiV. his elbows on tho counter, s tattoo marks on both imsta.j ing. 'Pine weather an a a SUItS's a 'ard life, the J ''kept in front o'f 'im over a d an' o' could seo 'cr -JJ wrists .as though sho eonM i lievo her eyes Then jg the parlor, aud inSeL Ae-1 poring, and by and Jg "J Egiaffwiththeblnc-ey Continued on Pe imM 1 L A MARKED MAN. Continued from Page Four. " 'Ilavc you been at sea long?' scs the old ladr. " 'Over twcnt3'-thrce years, ma'am,' scs Ginger, avoiding the "barmaid's eye, wot was fixed on 'is wrists, 'aiid IJve been shipwrecked four times; the fust thuo when I was a little nipper 0' fourteen.' four-teen.' " Pore thing scs the landlady, shaking 'cr 'cad. 'I can feel for 3'ou: my bo3' went to sea at that age, and I've never seen 'im since.' " 'I'm sony to 'ear it, ma'am,' ses Ginger, very rcBpectful-liko. 'I suppose sup-pose I've lost my mother, so I can feel for 3ou.' " 'Suppose you've lost your mother!' moth-er!' ses tho barmaid; 'don't you know Avhcther 3011 have?' " 'No,' ses Ginger Dick, very sad. 'When I was wrecked-the fust time I was in a open boat for three weeks, and, wot with tho exposure and 'ardly any food, I got brain fever and lost IU3' memoiy.' ' 'Pore thing,' scs the landlady agin. " 'I might as well be a orfin,' ses Ginger, looking down; 4 sometimes I seem to see a kind, 'andsomo face bending over me, and fai)C3' it's my mother's, but I can't remember 'cr name, or 1113' name, or aivythhik about 'cr.' " 'You remind me 0' niy boy very much,' scs tho landlacty, shaking 'e"r 'ead; '3'ou'vo got the" same colored 'air, and, wot's extraordinar', 3'ou'vc got tho same tattoo marks on your wrists. Sailor-boy dancing on ono and a couple of dolphins on the other. And '0 'ad a little scar on 'is e3'ebrow, much tho same- as yours.' "'Good 'evins. scs Ginger Dick, starting back and looking as though 'e was trying to remember something. "'I s'pose they're common among seafaring men?' scs tho landlad-, going go-ing off to attend to a customer. " "Ginger Dick would ha' lOced to ha' seen 'cr a bit more excited, but 'c ordered another glass 0' bitter from tho barmaid, and tried to think . 'ow ho was to bring out about the ship on Ids chest and the letters on 'is back. The landlady served a couple 0' men, and b3r and 1)3 sho came back and began be-gan talking agin. " 4 1 like sailors,' she ses; 'one thing is. m3' b03' was a sailor; and another thing is, they'vo got such feclin' 'carts. There was Wo' of 'em in 'ore the other day, -who'd been in 'ere once or twice, and one of 'cm was that kind 'cartod 1 thought he would ha' 'ad a jJ fit at something I told him.' " 4 Ho,' ses Ginger, pricking up his jf cars, 'wot for?' " 'I was just talking to 'im about jf my boy, same as I might be to you,' scs the old lady, 'and I was just telling 'im about the poor child losing a fin-gcr fin-gcr ' " 'Losing 'is wot?' ses Ginger, turning pale and staggering back. " 'Finger,' scs the landlady. 'E was t only ten year old at the linfe, and I'd sent 'im out to Wot's the matter? Ain't 3'ou well?' "Ginger didn't answer a word. TTe couldn't, 'E went on going backwards until 'e got to the door, and then 'e suddenly fell through it Into tho Btrcot, jH and tried to think. "Then '0 romcinborcd Sam and Pe-tor, Pe-tor, and when 'e thought of them safe and sound aboard the Penguin he near- )y broke down altogether, as 'e thought jH how lonesome 'c was. jH "All '0 wanted was 'is arms round both their ncclcs same as they was the jH night nfore they 'ad 'im tattooed." |
