The Old Mans Bag | Page 4

But the old woman pulled him
back.
"You are forgetting the sixpence," she said, "and the piece of bread and
butter with jam on it."
"Of course, of course," said the old man, and he felt in his pocket for
sixpence while the old woman cut a nice large thick slice of bread and
covered it with butter and jam.
"Perhaps after all," said the old man, "we had better not open the door,
but hand the policeman the sixpence and the bread and butter with jam
on it through the window."
So he opened the window a little way and held out the sixpence and the
bread and butter with jam on it to the person outside.
"Thanks very much," said the person outside. And he put the sixpence
in his pocket and began to eat the bread and butter with jam on it. And
when he had finished eating he knocked again very loudly at the door.
"Go away," said the old man. "My wife is not coming out with you
to-day."
"I don't want your wife to come out with me," said the person at the
door; "I have called to look at the gas meter."

"We haven't got a gas meter now," said the old man, "we burn nothing
but electric light."
"Many, many thanks," said the person at the door, and he went away.
"I feel all of a flutter," said the old woman, sinking into a chair.
"So do I," said the old man. "And he has got my sixpence too."
CHAPTER VI.
In a little while the old woman began to put the breakfast things away.
Afterwards she took up the table-cover and went out into the garden
with it to shake off the bread crumbs. As she stepped out of the door
who should step in but the red policeman. The old woman trembled
very much when she saw him go in, and she shook the table-cover
several times over in order that she might think what to say to the red
policeman. Just then it began to rain. The old woman ran into the house
at once.
[Illustration: Who should step in but the red policeman.]
"Good morning, madam," said the red policeman, and he made a nice
bow.
"Good morning, sir," said the old woman. "What, might I ask, brings
you here?"
"I have called, madam," replied the red policeman, making another bow,
"for the purpose of taking you with me to prison for stealing a roll of
butter."
"Where is the roll of butter?" said the old woman.
The policeman looked very hard at the butter dish, but there was no
butter on it. The old man and his wife and the gas-man had eaten it all.
"I beg your pardon, I am sure," said the policeman.

"The idea!" said the old woman. "Besides you said you would not call
this morning unless the weather were fine, and you see for yourself that
it is now raining cats and dogs."
"I am truly sorry, madam," said the policeman, bowing once more.
"When I come to think of it, I did say that I would not call if it rained.
Pray forgive me. We all make mistakes sometimes, you know."
"I don't like such mistakes," said the old woman. "Now kindly leave the
house."
"Oh, please don't turn me out," said the red policeman, "it is raining
very hard indeed, and I might get my feet wet."
"We should always be kind," said the old woman, "even to policemen,
and as it is raining and I left my umbrella in an omnibus the other day, I
will lend you my sunshade. But please go."
The old woman put the sunshade into the policeman's hand. He looked
at it very hard.
"It is a blue one," he said. "It is not fashionable to wear a blue sunshade
with a red suit. Thank you all the same, but I think I will go without it."
He went.
The old man, who had been quietly laughing to himself, danced about
with joy when he saw the policeman leave. Then he ran to the window
and put his head out, and called out after the policeman, "I say. When
your clothes are quite wet enough be sure you come back and have
them dried."
But the red policeman took no notice of him.
CHAPTER VII.
The red policeman got so wet that by the time he reached his house all
the dye had come out of his suit. He felt very angry indeed.

"I must try not to make mistakes," he said, "sometimes they bring one
into fearful trouble. As my suit is spoilt I think I will give up being a
policeman. A policeman without a suit is no good at all."
So he went to