Chapter Twenty Three.
The Use of Latin.
“There! Ahoy!” shouted Punch, and the black figure slowly raised his head and began to look round till he was gazing in quite the opposite direction to where the boy was hurrying towards him, and Punch had a full view of the stranger’s back and a ruddy-brown roll of fat flesh which seemed to be supporting a curious old hat, looking like a rusty old stove-pipe, perched horizontally upon the wearer’s head.
“Hi! Not that way! Look this!” cried Punch as he closed up. “Here, I say, where’s the nearest village?”
The stove-pipe turned slowly round, and Punch found himself face to face with a plump-looking little man who slowly closed the book he carried and tucked it inside his shabby gown.
“Morning!” said Punch.
The little man bowed slowly and with some show of dignity, and then gazed sternly in the boy’s face and waited.
“I said good-morning, sir,” said the boy; and then to himself, “what a rum-looking little chap!—Can you tell me—”
Punch got no further, for the little stranger shook his head, frowned more sternly, and shrugged his shoulders as he made as if to take out his book again.
“I ain’t a beggar, sir,” cried the boy. “I only want you to— Oh, he can’t understand me!” he groaned. “Look here, can you understand this?” And he commenced in dumb motions to give the stranger a difficult problem to solve.