"Ah, my little man," he said; "why, are not you the same small chap that held my horse in the Strand this morning?"
"Yes, sir; and, please, I have come to tell you that you gave me yellow money by mistake amongst the pence—a whole sovereign! So I have brought it for you." And he took the little packet out of his pocket and held it to him.
"What do you mean, my boy?" said Sir John Tralaway, for such was the name of the gentleman. "There surely was no gold amongst the coppers I gave you?" and he undid the paper.
A smile passed over his lips as he examined the contents. Then he looked attentively at Dick. "And so," said he, "you have brought the money back to me because you thought I had given you more than I intended. How did you find out where I lived?"
"I heard you tell the shopman to send some things to No.— Grosvenor Square," said Dick, "and so I thought I had better come here."
"You are an honest, good boy," said Sir John; "and though you have made a mistake, and taken a bright new farthing fresh from the Mint for a sovereign, yet it is all the same thing in the sight of God, and in my eyes too, as if it had been indeed a piece of gold. Did you ever see a sovereign?" he asked.
"Never but once or twice," replied Dick, "and they looked exactly like that;" and he pointed to the bright yellow farthing in Sir John's fingers.
"Your mistake is a very natural one, my boy. Eyes more accustomed than yours to look at gold might easily have been deceived. Now come in with me and tell me all about yourself, and where you learned to be so honest."
Sir John took him into a little room by the side of the hall door, and asked him many questions. He was a man of well-known benevolence, who was ever doing some deed of public or private charity. The circumstance of Dick bringing him what he supposed to be a sovereign given by mistake touched him greatly. He listened with interest to what he told him about Walters, who was evidently a character rarely to be met with in his class of life, and told Dick to ask him to call and see him the next day at a given hour.
When he dismissed him, he gave him half-a-crown, and said he should not lose sight of him. Dick did not quite understand what he meant by that, but was sure it was something kind, and he ran off, one of the happiest little boys in all London.