Page:Waylaid by Wireless - Balmer - 1909.djvu/258

Rh No,' he said in a hurt tone, 'yours are all here!'

Where?' I asked.

There in your shirt—mine were quite all drawn out!' he wailed, as though they were his teeth.

Oh, the studs and buttons!' I laughed at him. 'I meant my watch and money—the pool and all—are gone too!'

"That stuck him for a moment, and he almost forgot to poke about for his studs while he looked me over uncertainly. Then: 'Of course,' he said, as calmly as though it were a part of the ship's drill to remove a watch and a thousand dollars each morning from every berth, 'but your buttons are here!'

"The discrimination in that seemed to grieve him so that I thought he would cry, so I jumped down and rang the bell.

Steward—aw—steward.' I let Dunneston go at him first when the man came. 'I say, do you know, steward, whether the barber could furnish me—aw—cuff and shirt 232