“Oh!” said the Earl, “you like them, do you?”
“I like them so much—well, I couldn’t tell you how much!” said Fauntleroy, his face glowing with delight. “There’s one that’s like [base-ball.] I tried to teach Dawson, but she couldn’t quite understand it just at first. But you know all about it, don’t you?”
[“I’m afraid I don’t,”] replied the Earl. “It’s an American game, isn’t it? Is it something like cricket?”
“I never saw cricket,” said Fauntleroy; “but Mr. Hobbs took me several times to see base-ball. It’s a splendid game. You get so excited! Would you like me to go and get my game and show it to you? Perhaps it would amuse you and make you forget about your foot. Does your foot hurt you very much this morning?”
“More than I enjoy,” was the answer.
“Then perhaps you couldn’t forget it,” said the little fellow, anxiously. “Perhaps it would bother you to be told about the game. Do you think it would amuse you, or do you think it would bother you?”
“Go and get it,” said the Earl.
It certainly was a novel entertainment this—making a companion of a child who offered to teach him to play games, but the very novelty of it amused him. [There was a smile lurking] about the Earl’s mouth when Cedric came back with the box containing the game in his arms, and an expression of the most eager interest on his face.
“May I pull that little table over here to your chair?” he asked.
“Ring for Thomas,” said the Earl. “He will place it for you.”