“Right. Draw knives—Open knives—Cut!”
The strings were divided to the moment, and then the sealing-wax which fastened the brown paper further was broken, and two white paper packets were revealed, also carefully sealed up. This wax was broken in turn, and with trembling hands we removed the white paper, to find within something hard and square wrapped in a quantity of tissue paper.
We paused again, feeling breathless with excitement, and looked at each other.
“Ready?” I said, and we tore off the tissue till a couple of little morocco cases were revealed, and again we paused before unhooking the fastenings, and opening little lids lined with white satin, while below, in crimson velvet, tightly-fitting beds, lay a couple of bright silver watches.
Oh, the delight of that first watch! It fixed itself so in my memory that I shall never forget it. The bright, dazzling look of the engine turning, showing different lights and seeming to be in motion as the position of the watch is changed; the round spot in the ring where the spring was pressed for the case to fly open and show the face with its Roman numerals; and then the ticking—that peculiar metallic sound like nothing else. Words will not describe the satisfaction we boys felt as we stood examining our presents.
“Why, they’re both exactly alike,” said Mercer at last. “I say, take care, or we shall get ’em mixed.”
There was no fear of that after the first few minutes, for further examination showed that they were numbered, and those numbers were burned into our memories at once.
“Oh, I say,” cried Mercer at last, “talk about watches! these are something like. Why, one of ’em’s worth a dozen of old Eely’s.”
“Don’t talk about it!” I said, with a shiver; and after carefully opening mine so as to gaze at the works, Mercer of course following suit, the watches were carefully returned to their cases and placed in our pockets.
“What shall we do now?” asked Mercer; “go and show them to the boys?”