For fully an hour he lies there with his round eyes fixed on the ceiling.
Then he starts up.
“Yes,” he cries, half aloud, “I’ll do it, I’ll do it. My father will see whether I have any courage or not.”
He goes straight to the little money-box kennel that stood on the mantelpiece.
The canary and pigeon business had been profitable with Harry for some time past.
He was very wealthy indeed. More so even than he imagined, for now when he counted his horde it ran up to 4 pounds, 15 shillings, 6 pence.
“Splendid!” said Harry to himself; “I couldn’t have believed I was so rich.”
Then he knelt down and said his prayers, far more fervently than he was wont to do. Especially did he pray for blessings to fall on his dear mother and father.
“I don’t think it is quite right,” he said to himself, “what I am going to do, but it will be all right again in a few months.”
He lay down in bed and slept soundly for hours. But the stars were still shining thickly when he awoke and looked out of the window.