'Not much,' said Oswald in gloomy dejection. 'Have a peppermint? They're extra strong.'
When the pigman had had one he went on talking.
'There's a young chap, now,' he said, 'broke out of Dover Gaol. I 'appen to know what he's in for--nicked a four-pound cake, he did, off of a counter at a pastrycook's--Jenner's it was, in the High Street--part hunger, part playfulness. But even if I wasn't to know what he was lagged for, do you think I'd put the coppers on to him? Not me. Give a fellow a chance is what I say. But don't you grizzle about them there Tommies. P'raps it'll be the making of 'em in the end. A slack-baked pair as ever wore boots. _I_ seed 'em. Only next time just you take and think afore you pipes up--see?'
We said that we saw, and that next time we would do as he said. And we went home again. As we went Dora said:
'But supposing it was a cruel murderer that had got loose, you ought to tell then.'
'Yes,' said Dicky; 'but before you do tell you ought to be jolly sure it _is_ a cruel murderer, and not a chap that's taken a cake because he was hungry. How do you know what _you'd_ do if you were hungry enough?'
'I'm not so sure,' said Dicky; and they argued about it all the way home, and before we got in it began to rain in torrents.
Conversations about food always make you feel as though it was a very long time since you had had anything to eat. Mrs. Beale had gone home, of course, but we went into the larder. It is a generous larder. No lock, only a big wooden latch that pulls up with a string, like in Red Riding Hood. And the floor is clean damp red brick. It makes ginger-nuts soft if you put the bag on this floor. There was half a rhubarb pie, and there were meat turnovers with potato in them. Mrs. Beale is a thoughtful person, and I know many people much richer that are not nearly so thoughtful.
We had a comfortable feast at the kitchen table, standing up to eat, like horses.
Then we had to let Noël read us his piece of poetry about the soldier; he wouldn't have slept if we hadn't. It was very long, and it began as I have said, and ended up:
'Poor soldiers, learn a lesson from to-day, It is very wrong to run away; It is better to stay And serve your King and Country--hurray!'