About nine
the boys came in, the boys who used to push the old prize-fighter about,
and Hubert soon began to perceive how representative they were of all
vices--gambling, theft, idleness, and cruelty were visible in their faces.
They were led by a Jew boy who sold penny jewellery at the corner of Oxford
Street, and they generally made for the tables at the end of the room, for
there, unless custom was slack indeed, they could defeat the vigilance of
the serving-maid and play at nap at their ease. The tray of penny jewellery
was placed at the corner of a table, and a small boy set to watch over it.
His duty was also to shuffle his feet when the servant-maid approached, and
a precious drubbing he got if he failed to shuffle them loud enough. The
''ot un,' as he was nicknamed, always had a pack of cards in his pocket,
and to annex everything left on the tables he considered to be his
privilege. One day, when he was asked how he came by the fine carnation in
his buttonhole, he said it was a present from Sally, neglecting to add that
he had told the child to steal it from a basket which a flower-girl had
just put down.
[Illustration: "'A dirty, hignominious lot, them boys is.'"]
Hubert hated this boy, and once could not resist boxing his ears.
Pages:
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40