8. Harmon 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! how wonderfully wise you are all at once! And no doubt you can tell how many moons Jupiter has? Come, let us hear."
9. "Jupiter has four moons," James answered, 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," James replied, in a decisive tone.
10. For a moment or two Harmon 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, and 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.
11. "I should like to know how long it is since you became so wonderfully wise," said Harmon, with a sneer.
"Not very long," James replied calmly. "I have been reading one of your books on astronomy."
12. "I should like to know what business you have to touch one of my books! You had better be minding your work."
"I did not neglect it, Harmon; I read at night, after I was done with my work; 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, you just let them alone."