The Human Boy

ve had a better time at a school for Jews in general; though in one way he wouldn't have done as well, and wo

ll had to pay back the money itself after a certain time. You signed a paper, and 134Gideon said that if chaps hadn't paid back the tin on the dates named it would be very serious for them. But it got serious for him after a bit, because Steggles, who knew quite as much about money as Gideon (though he never had any), borrowed a whole pound once, and promised to pay five shilling

ideon

first time I'

olly well, one way and another, and you've got two bats, and Lord knows how 135many india-rubber-balls, and cricket-balls, and silver pencils, and knives out of it, including Ashby minor's watch-chain, which i

told still more chaps, until, finally, a good many fellows who owed Gideon money felt there was no hurry about paying it back till it happened to be convenient. In fact, Gideon jolly soon saw he couldn't do any more good for himself like that

e had a broken blade, for instance, or a bat was slightly sprung, which happened with one, he always pointed it out, so that nobody could say he had been choused over it. Young Miller got back his bat for four shillings and eightpence; and Ashby minor got back his silver chain for thirteen shillings; but it wasn't much good to him, because, in order to raise the thirteen bob, he had to raffle the chain at once, at shilling shares; and he took one, hoping to be lucky, but he wasn't, Fowle unfortunately getting 137it. Gideon told me afterwards that the sale came out fairly, but not qu

for those which had been used once, and she thought, and said they would be worth at least three halfpence a dozen to her. He didn't say any more, but after that it was a rum thing how all the used baskets, which generally were seen kicking about the playground in shoals, disappeared. Nobody noticed it at the time, but afterwards we remembered clearly that they had disappeared. And just at the end of the term a chap, hurrying in late after the bell rang, came bang on Gideon and the old woman round a corner out of sight of the gates. And the chap saw Gideon give her a pile of baskets and get three halfpence. Of course, it was the last three halfpence he ever got that way, because when it became known the chaps rendered 139their baskets useless for com

and he ate about half before breakfast and had the rest cold in his desk during Monsieur Michel's les

nd scowl if anybody caught his eye. Various things, of course, went over the wall often, and it was one of the excitements of Dunston's to go into old Grimbal's garden and get them back. Twice only he caught a chap, and both times, despite his awful age and yellowness of skin, he thrashed the chap very fairl

ht me, and though not caring much about it, he couldn't help himself. Besides, though the champion of the Lower School, I was tons small

much like a spike screws into the sole of a cricket-boot. Gideon had fallen down-stairs when he was ten and knocked off half the tooth, so he told us; but Murray, who is well up in science, said that all Jews' front teeth are rather rocky, because in feudal times they were pulled out with pincers as a form of torture, and to make the

and a half. Then he was mopped up and dressed, and s

properly speaking, he hadn't any friends. Seeing there were nearly 200 boys at Dunston's, and that certainly half, including several fellows from the Sixth, took a pleasure in seeing the tooth, and didn't mind the rather high charge, Gideon did jolly well; and in the 143case of Nubby Tomkins, he made actually one shilling and threepence; because the

e tooth, and offered a shilling, in three instalments, to see it; which was too

hich I fortunately saw. Slade came up to Gideon in the very quiet way he has, and asked him in a perfectly gentlemanly voice for his front tooth. At fi

w business at Merivale. I told you once, and you have disobe

thing out of

tapult," s

ng to use your tooth instead of a

e guineas,"

de, still in a very gentlemanly sort of way. "W

. Slade being a wonderful shot with a catapult (having once shot a wood-pigeon), suddenly fired at the robin, and only missed it by about four inches. He said the sha

ather thought his father would be able to summon Slade; and before evening school, having marked down the spot where he fancied his tooth had hit Grimbal's house, he

open. I then hooked it, and ran almost on to old Grimbal. He had not opened the door at all, but was coming up the garden path at the critical moment. Of course, he caugh

sa

for trespassing in my garde

en fired into his garden that very day, about half-past one, by a cha

sa

the boy he had seen beating down the price of a purse at Wilkinson's in Merivale, and I said I was. Then he said, 'Come in and have a bit of cake, boy'; and I went in and had a bit of cake, and saw on a shelf in his room about fifty or sixty 147cricket-balls, and various things which he has collared when they went over. He asked me a lot of questions about different things, and I

me he had thousands of golden sovereigns,

sa

I gave you a check on my bankers in Merivale for five pounds to-day, and wro

very night, to put out at interest for me.' He said, 'That's right. Never give back money, or anything

ult of Gideon's visit to him came out. Old Grimbal had specially put him into his will by some legal method, and Doctor Dunston had Gideon into his study three days after old Grimbal kicked. It then was proved that old Grimbal had left Gideon all the things that came o

r, he told me afterwards, was so jolly pleased about the whole affair that he added nine hundred and fifty pounds to old Grimbal's fifty. Therefore, by shooting Gideon's front tooth

y good at French, and very at German; but of other things he knew rather little, except arithmetic, and his was the most beautiful arithmet