shadow of britain

Chapter 17 The Real Great Writer
In the tavern, besides beer glasses and a few sausages, there were some banknotes and coins on the table.

Both Arthur's and Elder's faces were hidden in shadows that the kerosene lamp could not illuminate.

Each of them held two cards in their hands. Arthur looked down at the cards in his hand. He had a pair of fives.

Elder also glanced at the cards, and then pushed all the chips on the table out.

"I'm all overwhelmed."

Arthur smiled and said, "Elder, are you crazy about losing? If you lose this one again, you won't even have the money to take the carriage home in a while."

Elder knocked on the table impatiently: "At worst, I'll swim back from the Thames River. Although I'm just a draftsman in the Royal Navy, I still make a living at sea anyway. I still have some water skills. You Don't worry about me, Arthur, will you follow me or not?"

Arthur didn't speak, he just glanced behind Elder.

The Red Devil Agares was standing there, he was laughing wildly, even his tongue was hanging out.

"Arthur, this kid is bluffing, he only has a pair of threes in his hand! Let's follow, we must win all his pants today!"

But after Arthur heard this, not only did he not choose to follow Agares' suggestion, but instead threw his cards on the table.

He said: "Elder, you win, I fold. Your momentum overwhelms me."

Elder hugged his head in pain when he heard Arthur discard his cards. He lay on the table with a face ashen.

"Damn it, Arthur! Didn't you keep following before? Why didn't you play this time? I finally got a big card once."

Elder spread out his cards, and he was holding a pair of kings.

Agares covered his mouth pretending to be surprised. He lied and said, "The lights here are really too dim. How could I see a pair of Kings as a pair of 3s?"

Arthur just grinned.

He knew that the devil would not be so kind.

The reason why Agares had been leaking Elder's cards to him before was to gain Arthur's trust and make him lose a lot in the last wave.

This is also the old routine of the Red Devil, and Arthur is familiar with it.

Arthur looked at Elder with an upset face, and said to him: "Come on, Elder. You are not suitable for playing cards. Everything in your hand is written on your face. Put the money on the table Take it back, today we are just playing for fun, not for real."

"Oh! Arthur. Are you serious?"

There was a light in Elder's eyes.

Seeing his slow look, Arthur raised his hand to collect the money on the table.

Unexpectedly, as soon as he stretched out his hand, Elder took the banknotes on the table like a storm.

Of course, he still left Arthur five pennies, which was Arthur's principal.

"Arthur, you've always been so generous. Today's drinks and meals are all mine. Let's have a good drink and celebrate you getting rid of the bloody Scotland Yard! Come on, let's have a drink for a good new life !"

Elder picked up his beer glass and bumped Arthur hard.

He only heard a few muffled sounds, and a pint of beer drank down his throbbing Adam's apple.

But on Arthur's side, he couldn't swallow after drinking half of it.

He has been poured four cups by Elder before, and now he really can't hold on.

He covered his stomach and waved his hands, "Elder, do all of you who live on the boat drink so much?"

Elder laughed loudly and said: "Of course. Alcohol is a good thing at sea. First of all, spirits are shelf-stable, and fresh water may be polluted, but wine will never be.

Secondly, if the crew is injured, wine can also be used to disinfect, and it can also help us resist disease and keep warm. You may not know how cold it is to sail in some places.

The most important thing is that life at sea is extremely boring. You have to face the same sea surface for months or even a year, the same scenery, the same life, and the same smelly old men.

Only wine can give us short-term happiness, forget our troubles, and temporarily numb ourselves.

Oh, Arthur, you don't know, we floaters at sea can't live without wine!

I have even heard of some old sailors who have never drank water all their lives, and they can live on wine alone. "

Arthur covered his dizzy head and asked, "Sounds like a fucking day. Haven't you thought about finding a good job on land? After all, you are different from me, and you have more connections than me. Much more."

"Of course I did. But I'll have to spend a few years at sea before I go back to land. When I've gained some experience, my uncle can find an opportunity to transfer me to the Admiralty Headquarters for some clerical work.

Arthur, you can be like me when the time comes.Or you can stay on the boat for two years, wait for a good opportunity, and then return to land.Although it was a recession when we graduated, haven't you noticed that the economy is slowly improving?

Now it seems that the construction of railways is being planned everywhere, and the docks in London are also expanding. When they are completed, you can find a railway or shipping company to work.

With the Royal Navy's resume there, it will be much easier for you to find a job in the future.Maybe you can become a university professor, after all, you are comparable to Shelley and Byron, don't you think? "

Arthur waved his hand, he was really a little drunk: "Come on, Elder, don't flatter me. I'm just a little policeman from Scotland Yard, and I was fired. Have you seen Bai Are Len and Shelley going to be cops? That's what they call cops."

As soon as Arthur finished speaking, a soft voice of questioning suddenly came from the side.

"Officer Arthur?"

"Ok?"

Arthur stared and turned his head to look, it was a young man who looked familiar.

"I seem to know you. You..." Arthur rubbed his head: "You seem to have been a court clerk, right? I've seen you a few times."

The clerk was pleasantly surprised when he heard the words: "I didn't expect you to know me. This is really great. I didn't expect to meet you every lunch. My news manuscript has just been finished, and I am planning to ask you to help me read it."

Arthur grinned, and his body was about to slip off the chair: "I don't know literature, you should ask the gentleman opposite me. He is a top student of classics, although he is from the University of London. "

Elder also drank a little too much, and he swaggered back when he heard this.

"No, no, you'd better ask Sergeant Arthur. He is comparable to Shelley and Byron, although he is from Scotland Yard."

The court clerk couldn't laugh or cry at this. He knew that the two alcoholics were drunk.

However, he still handed the rain-stained manuscript to Arthur.

Since the other party was so flattering, the alcoholic Arthur decided to make a comment without being polite.

He took the manuscript and read it aloud in the tavern without thinking.

"It was the best of times and it was the worst of times.

This is a wise age, this is a stupid age.

This is a time of trust, this is a time of doubt.

It's a season of light, it's a season of darkness.

This is the spring of hope, this is the winter of disappointment.

People have everything in front of them, and people have nothing in front of them.

People are on the road to heaven, and people are going to the gates of hell. "

When Arthur read this, the drunkenness accumulated in his head suddenly shook.

He always felt that this line of text was somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it before.

When the clerk heard this, his face turned red with embarrassment, and he hurriedly corrected him: "Mr. Arthur, this is the last paragraph. You should read the first paragraph first."

"Oh, it's my fault."

Arthur's wine slowly sobered up, and he looked up at the head of the article.

"The Strongest Voice from Scotland Yard - A Record of Great Britain's Best Police Constable Arthur Hastings"

Author: Charles Dickens
(End of this chapter)