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The Beano Meeting the morning! Here it was nearly ten o'clock, and so far as he could see they had done Nothing!

When he was gone they drank the rest of the beer and then felt more inclined to laugh than work. What did they care for Hunter or Rushton either? To hell with both of 'em! They left off scraping and scrubbing, and began throwing buckets of water over the dresser and the walls, laughing uproariously all the time.

'We'll show the blighters how to wash down paintwork!' shouted the Semi-Drunk, as he stood in the middle of the room and hurled a pailful of water over the door of the cupboard. 'Bring us another bucket of water, Bill.'

Bill was out in the scullery filling his pail under the tap, and laughing so much that he could scarcely stand. As soon as it was full he passed it to the Semi-Drunk, who threw it bodily, pail and all, on to the bench in front of the window, smashing one of the panes of glass. The water poured off the table and all over the floor.

Bill brought the next pailful in and threw it at the kitchen door, splitting one of the panels from top to bottom; and then they threw about half a dozen more pailfuls over the dresser.

'We'll show the blighters 'ow to clean paintwork,' they shouted, as they hurled the buckets at the walls and doors.

By this time the floor was deluged with water, which mingled with the filth and formed a sea of mud.

They left the two taps running in the scullery, and as the waste pipe of the sink was choked up with dirt the sink filled up and overflowed like a miniature Niagara.

The water ran out under the doors into the back yard and along the passage out to the front door. But Bill Bates and the Semi-Drunk remained in the kitchen, smashing the pails at the walls and the doors of the dresser, and cursing and laughing hysterically.

They had just filled the two buckets and were bringing them into the kitchen when they heard Hunter's voice in the passage bellowing enquiries as to where all that water was coming from. Then they heard him advancing towards them and stood waiting, and directly he put his head in at the door they let fly at him with both pails at once. Unfortunately they were too drunk and excited to aim straight. One pail struck the middle of the door and the other the wall at the side of it. 301