Page:The moods of Ginger Mick.djvu/26

18 Up goes the lights; in comes the cops; an' there's a sudden rush; But the Johns 'as got 'em safe an' 'emmed 'em in; An' ev'ryone looks innercent. Then thro' the anxious 'ush The toff's voice frum the floor calls fer a gin... But Mick an' Rose, O where are they? Arst uv the silent night! They 'ad a date about a dawg, an' vanished out o' sight.

Then Foo an' orl 'is cousins an' the ducks torks orl at once, An' the tabbies pitch the weary Johns a tale, 'Ow they orl is puffick ladies 'oo 'ave not bin pinched fer munce; An' the crooks does mental sums concernin' bail. The cops they takes a name er two, then gathers in the toff. An' lobs 'im in a cold, 'ard cell to sleep 'is love-quest off.

But down in Rosie's kipsie, at the end uv Spadger's Lane, 'Er an' Mick is layin' supper out fer two. "Now, I 'ate the game," sez Ginger, "an' it goes agin the grain;   But wot's a 'elpless, 'ungry bloke to do?" An' 'e yanks a cold roast chicken frum the bosom uv 'is shirt, An' Rosie finds a ducklin' underneath 'er Sund'y skirt.

So, when a bloke fergits 'imself, an' soils a lady's name, Altho' Romance is dead an' in the dirt. In ole Madrid or Little Bourke they treats 'im much the same, An' 'e collects wot's comin' fer a cert. But, spite uv 'igh-falutin' tork, the fact is jist the same: Ole Ginger Mick wus out fer loot, an' played a risky game.