But I disputed with him over the outrageous difference between prices and values, till I quite disabused him of the notion, and he settled down to drive a hard bargain with a hard customer.In the end I selected a pair of stout though well-worn trousers, a frayed jacket with one remaining button, a pair of brogans which had plainly seen service where coal was shovelled, a thin leather belt, and a very dirty cloth cap.My underclothing and socks, however, were new and warm, but of the sort that any American waif, down in his luck, could acquire in the ordinary course of events.
'I must sy yer a sharp 'un,' he said, with counterfeit admiration, as I handed over the ten shillings finally agreed upon for the outfit.
'Blimey, if you ain't ben up an' down Petticut Lane afore now.Yer trouseys is wuth five bob to hany man, an' a docker'ud give two an'
six for the shoes, to sy nothin' of the coat an' cap an' new stoker's singlet an' hother things.'
'How much will you give me for them?' I demanded suddenly.'I paid you ten bob for the lot, and I'll sell them back to you, right now, for eight.Come, it's a go!'
But he grinned and shook his head, and though I had made a good bargain, I was unpleasantly aware that he had made a better one.