Hooligan Nights | Page 5

of barrer. Well, we 'ung about, watchin' 'im go cross
the road and come back again, and presently I says to the uvvers, 'That
bloke don't seem to be doin' no trade worf mentionin'. Let's 'elp 'im.'
Well, the uvver boys didn't want asking more'n once to do a poor bloke
a good turn, so we just scatters and waits a bit till the butcher went
cross the way again for 'is wet; nor we didn't 'ave to wait long neither.
Soon as he goes into the pub we nips round and shifts his old barrer,
and 'fore you could say knife we had it froo the arches and in the
stable-yard here. We got the meat upstairs, and then we run the empty
barrer outside, and left it standin' in Paradise Street, where it couldn't
do no one any 'arm.'
'But didn't anyone see you shift the barrow?' I asked.
''Ow was they to know we wasn't in the employment of the butcher?' he
retorted. 'Besides, the uvver butchers wasn't likely to make a fuss. They
didn't want no strangers comin' and interferin' wiv their pitch.'
'And did you see any more of the butcher?' I inquired.
'What do you fink?' he said. 'Presently we went back again to the Walk,
and it wasn't all a minute before we saw the butcher tearin' up and
down lookin' for his barrer. Of course nobody 'adn't seen anyfink of it.
Then he started on the pubs, and went into every pub in the Walk askin'
after his barrer. He had a lot of wet, but he didn't find his barrer, nor no
meat neither. We went into one or two of the pubs after 'im, and gave
'im a lot of symperfy, jest abart as much as he could do wiv. One of the
boys says: 'Sims to me your legs 'ave taken to walkin' again, guv'nor.'
And the butcher couldn't 'ardly keep 'is 'air on. Then anuvver of the
boys says he never was so sorry for anyfink in all his life. Come all the
way from the Angel up at Islington, 'e 'ad, purpose to get a prime joint
at the new butcher's in the Walk. That butcher's joints was the fair talk
round Upper Street way, he says. What 'e'd say to the missus when 'e
come home empty-'anded he didn't know, he says.
Then I chipped in.

'"Well, guv'nor," I says, "they tell me you've beat all them uvver
butchers to-night. You've cleared out all your stock fore anyone else,
aven't you? And you ain't given none of it away, neither."
'Wiv that he fair got 'is monkey up, and he went off down the Walk
ragin' and roarin'; and me and the uvver boys went back to where we'd
planted the meat. There was meat goin' cheap that night down our
way--less than cawst-price, wiv no error. And some of them butchers
wasn't quite so pleased as they fort they was, when they found legs of
mutton sellin' at frippence a pound.'
'And what became of the unfortunate butcher?' I asked.
Last thing I see of him he'd had more'n enough already. And then he
got into a 'ouse--not what you might call a resky 'ome--and there they
put him to sleep, and went froo his pockets, and pitched him out in the
mornin', skinned--feer skinned 'e was. The cops found 'is barrer next
mornin', and wheeled it off. But the butcher never showed 'is dial again
in the Walk. Bit too 'ot.'
'Rather rough on the butcher, wasn't it?' I suggested. 'But you probably
didn't think of that.'
His eyes glanced quickly from mine to the yard below, and back to
mine again, and for a moment--perhaps it was the moonlight that
caught his face and gave it a weird twist--but for the moment he looked
like a rat.
'I got meself to fink abart,' he said; and if I went finkin' abart uvver
people I shouldn't be no good at this game. I wonder which of them
silly young blokes it was forgot that leg of mutton I chucked outer
winder.'
He peered over the sill, and the dog began barking again. But the step
in the lane outside passed on. And young Alf turned again to me and
expounded his philosophy of life.
'Look 'ere,' he said, if you see a fing you want, you just go and take it

wivout any 'anging abart. If you 'ang abart you draw suspicion, and you
get lagged for loiterin' wiv intent to commit a felony or some dam
nonsense like that. Go for it, strite. P'r'aps it's a 'awse and cart you see
as'll do you fine. Jump up and drive away as 'ard as you can, and ten to
one nobody'll say anyfink. They'll think it's