Harman looked surprised for a moment, and then responded with a sneer—for he was not a kind-hearted boy, but, on the contrary, very selfish, and disposed to injure rather than do good to others—"Oh dear, how wonderful wise you are! No doubt you can tell how many moons Jupiter has? Come, let us hear."
"Jupiter has four moons," answered James, with something of exultation in his tone.
"And no doubt you can tell how many rings it has?"
"Jupiter has no rings. Saturn has rings, and Jupiter belts," replied James, in a decisive tone.
For a moment or two Harman was silent with surprise and mortification, to think that his father's apprentice, whom he esteemed so far below him, should be possessed of knowledge equal to his on the points in reference to which he had chosen to question him; and that he should be able to convict him of an error into which he had purposely fallen.
"I should like to know how long it is since you became so wonderful wise," Harman at length said, with a sneer.
"Not very long," replied James, calmly. "I have been reading one of your books on astronomy."
"Well, you are not going to have my books, mister, I can tell you. Anyhow, I should like to know what business you had to touch one of them? Let me catch you at it again, and see if I don't cuff you soundly. You had better a great deal be minding your work."
"But I did not neglect my work, Harman. I read at night, after my work was done. And I did not hurt your book."
"I don't care, if you didn't hurt it. You are not going to have my books, I can tell you. So do you just let them alone."