Page:The Wouldbegoods.djvu/263

 Meanwhile Alice said:

"We've got some ginger-beer; my brother's getting it. I hope you won't mind drinking out of our glass. We can't wash it, you know—unless we rinse it out with a little ginger-beer."

"Don't ye do it, miss," he said, eagerly; "never waste good liquor on washing."

The glass was beside us on the wall. Oswald filled it with ginger-beer and handed down the foaming tankard to the tramp. He had to lie on his young stomach to do this.

The tramp was really quite polite—one of Nature's gentlemen, and a man as well, we found out afterwards. He said:

"Here's to you!" before he drank. Then he drained the glass till the rim rested on his nose.

"Swelp me, but I was dry," he said. "Don't seem to matter much what it is, this weather, do it? so long as it's suthink wet. Well, here's thanking you."

"You're very welcome," said Dora; "I'm glad you liked it."

"Like it?" said he. "I don't suppose you know what it's like to have a thirst on you. Talk of free schools and free libraries, and free baths and wash-houses and such! Why don't some one start free drinks? He'd be a 'ero, he would. I'd vote for him any day of the week and one over. Ef yer don't objec I'll set down a bit and put on a pipe."

He sat down on the grass and began to smoke. We asked him questions about himself, and he told us many of his secret sorrows—especially about