menu_book Chapter 19

chapter nineteen the scarlet horse coterie one of the indirect results of millie's romance was the four gathering each friday night under the hospitable roof of the scarlet horse of a number of congenial and convivial spirits it was bindle's practice to spend the two hours during which millie and charlie dixon were at the cinema in drinking a pint of beer at the scarlet horse and exchanging ideas with any one who showed himself conversationally inclined in time bindle's friends and acquaintance got to know of this practice and it became their custom to drop into the worst ere old joe tell the tale ginger would come over from chiswick huggles from west kensington wilkes from hammersmith and one man regularly made the journey from tottenham court road

at first they had met in the public bar but later through the diplomacy of bindle who had explained to the proprietor that yer gets more thirsty in a little place than what yer does in a big un cause it's otter they had been granted the use of a small room sometimes the proprietor himself would join the company one september evening having handed over millie to her cavalier with strict injunctions to be outside the cinema at ten sharp bindle turned his own steps towards the scarlet horse as he entered he was greeted with that cordiality to which he had become accustomed calling for a pint of beer he set himself beside a rough-looking labourer known as ruddy bill on account of the extreme picturesqueness and sustained directness of his language on bindle's arrival bill had been delivering himself of an opinion accompanied by a string of explicatory oaths and obscenities that obviously embarrassed his hearers rough though they were waiting his opportunity bindle presently remarked quite casually words such as dam and ell like beer and tobacco was sent to sort of help us along specially them what is married where'd i be with mrs b if i hadn't ell and a few other things to fall back on

no he continued after a moment's pause i don't old wi swearin he turned and looked at ruddy bill as if seeking confirmation of his view o the blinkin e'l've orst wot you old wi've demanded bill truculently and with much adornment of language bindle proceeded deliberately to light his pipe as if he had not heard the question then when it was drawing to his entire satisfaction he raised his eyes and gazed at bill over the lighted match no one ole sport yer always gets the good things for nothing like twins and lodgers bill resented the laugh that greeted bindle's reply and proceeded to pour forth his views on those given to shovin in their decorated snouts when he had exhausted his eloquence bindle remarked good-humouredly it'd take a bucket full of carbolic and a damn big brush to clean the dirty words out of your mouth sweet william bill growled out further obscenities i ain't religious continued bindle i don't suppose none of us is i don't seem to see uggles wi wings an ginger ain't exactly fitted for sittin on a cloud o pullin up arp strings

but if yer want to come ere an listen to my talk an wilkes's cough sweet william you gotta clean up that talk o yours a bit ain't that so mates the rest of the company made it abundantly clear that bindle had expressed its sentiments and ruddy bill subsided into soroboce blasphemies during these friday nights at the scarlet horse many subjects came up for discussion marriage politics religion were dealt with in turn but it was impossible to keep the talk away from the war to which time after time it returned with the same persistency that the needle of the compass flutters back to the north i'd sooner be like earty than a german bindle once remarked with decision if they'd only come over ere i'd get a smack at em spite of me various veins his forced inaction was to bindle a tragedy of which he seldom spoke but when he did it was generally to the point and more than one man enlisted as a direct result of bindle's views on the wars

for the slacker he had one question you got various veins he would inquire and on hearing that the man had not he would say then you're got to join to those who suggested that he himself should enlist he made only one reply you get me in the army all sport and i'll give yer anythink i got god strike me dead if i won't and impressed by bindle's earnestness almost without exception the questioner had the grace to feel ashamed of himself one man had cast some doubt upon the genuineness of bindle's refusal by the authorities come along then yelled bindle in a passion come along and see and seizing the astonished man by the arm he marched him round to the nearest recruiting station followed by those who had heard the challenge before the skeptic had recovered his self-possession he found himself a soldier and bindle once more convicted of various veins well ginger remarked bindle pleasantly after the pause that followed ruddy bill's discomfiture

what i've yer been doin that yer can talk about without urtin sweet william's ears any news i been enjoined grumbled ginger as if he had committed one of the seven deadly sins ginger said bindle approvingly the next pint yer as yer drinks wi me see after a pause bindle continued now yer got to kill three germans ginger as a sort of apology for avin three babies that'll square things I don't want to kill Germans, growled Ginger. And why did yer do it? asked Wilkes. That's all through that rosy song. Blimey, I get fair sick of it.

Vindel laughed joyously. I thought you was going to ammer the next cove as said it, Ginger. Why didn't yer? he remarked. I couldn't ammer the old yard, could I? They used to sing it every time I come in, so I listed.

There was a general laugh at this. well ginger you been and done the right thing ogles may laugh wilks may show that he ain't got no teeth and bill may pump up dirty words but you done right i wish he added reflectively i hadn't various veins i'd look tasty and khaki at trying to keep ogles from running away how about you weary the last remark was addressed to a heavy-looking man who seemed half asleep i'm going to eat and see the man replied with a strange movement of his lips which his intimates were able to recognize as a smile you're one of them bloomin wait-and-see radicals one of these days they'll see things what they won't wait for if you wait and see remarked wilkes you don't get married and that saves a lot of trouble he trailed off into a cough wilkes was always coughing yes said bindle reflectively it also saves your explaining how it happened i'm glad you woke up wilkie marriage is a funny thing continued bindle meditatively filling his pipe

i've seen it quite change men sometimes for better sometimes for worse sometimes neither one thing nor the other there was a mate of mine what got married and it ruined him he was a rare sport used to back horses and wink at women and get drunk yes he used to do everything what a decent man ought to do then he took up with a gal and married her and she started addressing him up so that all his mates used to laugh when they met him last time i saw him he was wearin a white weskit a black coat and a pale blue tie and top-at he saw me comin and tried to look the other way but i crossed over and taken off me cap bowed to em both and he raised his at and then i watched him after he'd passed and he couldn't get it on right again he fidgeted about with the bloomin thing until he was out o sight no you're asked to be born to a top at just as you're asked to be born to an ump like a camel women ain't what they was the remark came from a small man with gray side-whiskers who as soon as he had spoken and attracted to himself the attention of the company fidgeted as if he regretted his temerity

what d'yer know about the ornamental jezebels ruddy bill struck in ullo you woke up too sweet william grinned bindle you're right tom cave he continued turning to the man who had spoken they ain't and it's all through the fashions how's that fashions don't make women it's them as makes the fashions ventured huggles fashions is funny things huggles when i was a boy women was a bit shy about their ankles and now they sort of takes a pride in them i given up going in tubes bindle added with a grin i get ot all over them short skirts oh naughty naughty and he put his fingers before his eyes it's women everywhere now they're on buses drivin vans shovin burrs you can't get away from em said wilkes resentfully that's right for you wilkie saves yer lookin for trouble ole son said bindle hope they haven't been chasin yer too much charlie you ain't no sprinter what's the war about that's what i want to know why are we fightin the germans ginger broke in irrelevantly looking round him aggressively as if for some one to attack no one seemed desirous of answering ginger's question all looked instinctively towards bindle who to gain time began filling his pipe with great care and deliberation

you got war on the brain ginger remarked ruddy bill what's the war about joe asked wilkes about the silliest thing i ever eard of said bindle everybody says they wanted peace only they was attacked as far as i can see germany wanted what she calls a place in the sun she was sort of gettin chilly in the shade so she says to the alleys sun or blazes the choice is wi you mates and the alleys says blazes it is old sport and starts a firin back and that's how it all come about why don't they arbitrate inquired the little man with the gray whiskers bindle looked at him pitifully cave you're surprised me if uggle's ear wanted your trousers and started a pullin away at the legs would you say we'll arbitrate no you'd fetch him one on the jaw what's arbitration demanded ruddy bill arbitration sweet william is something you're always advising other people to do but never does yourself now if you and ginger both wanted to stand to me my next pint and was going to fight about it some one might say arbitrate that is to say let another cove decide what adn't no interest in the matter and p'r'aps he'd get the beer then why didn't they arbitrate instead of blowing each other to bits demanded a whiskered man known as ted because war comes about by someone wanting what ain't is replied bindle oracularly what did you say if i said i wanted your watch

i'd see you're to blinkin nowhere fust was the reply well that's just what the gents say what we votes for only they says it prettier than what you can old son bindle grinned contentedly at his exposition of international ethics we're fighting just because germany went for belgium remarked a heavy-bearded man who had not previously spoken it ain't our scrap and we've been let in for it by a lot of stuttering toffs what us working men sends to parliament it makes me fair sick and beer going up like ell there was a murmur that showed the man had voiced the general opinion of the room what you got to say to that joe demanded ruddy bill aggressively i got a good deal to say to it sweet william remarked bindle removing his pipe from his mouth and speaking with great deliberation i got quite a lot to say supposin i see a couple of big chaps a hammerin your missus and kickin your kids about and i says it ain't nothing to do wi me and takes no notice would any of yer ever want to speak to me again bindle looked around him inquiringly but there was no reply well that's what germany's done to belgium and the other place and that's why we chipped in

look ere mates if any of yer thinks yer can live thinkin only o yerselves yer mistaken we got a fine ole country an a good king an we can tell a archbishop to go to ell if we want to out gettin pinched for it an when yer got all them things an there ain't no other country wot as then it's worth avin a scrap now and then to keep em but we should have had em all the same germany didn't want to fight us protested the whiskered man ain't you a silly old huggins and you with all that air on your face ought to be a man the germans that have come for us next when they'd beaten the others besides yer don't always fight for beer and baccy sometimes yer does it because something's been irt what can't it back got it whiskers the man addressed us whiskers subsided finding that opinion had veered round to bindle's point of view an when's it going to end inquired a huggles in an aggrieved tone it'll end my lovely huggles just as soon as a fight twin you an me'd end when one of us ad ad enough that's going to be the jermans almost shouted ginger well up to this evenin i wasn't sure ginger but now i ere you're a-goin o course i'm puttin me money on the old lyin

i don't owe the war grumbled ginger s'elp me if i do well mates bindle remarked as he rose to go the hands of the clock on the mantelpiece pointing to ten minutes to ten i'm due at the war office an they don't like to be kep waitin lord ow the kaiser must ate me so long and he set out to meet and escort milly home chapter nineteen read by don w jenkins rancho san diego california shaggybark blogspot dot com