But I had not gone much farther when Tom Walsh, who was in the same class I was, came softly up behind me, and, thinking he would give me a start, jumped suddenly on my back. I did not hear him coming, and the jerk he gave me sent the money out of my hand, and it rolled along the pavement. Tom ran away, laughing, and left me to pick it up, which I thought was very rude and unkind. The shillings rolled in all directions. I ran after than as quickly as I could, and picked them up but to my horror and dismay I discovered, when I came to count them, that I had only found four of them.
Where could the other shilling be? What had become of it? I hunted for it all over. I looked on the pavement, in the gutter, on the road, everywhere; but it was nowhere to be seen. There was an iron grating over the drain, close by; it must have rolled in there. If so, it was gone forever, and it was of no use hunting any more. I turned away from the place in despair.
"What shall I do?" I said to myself.
I had not a penny in the world. We did not get much pocket-money, and all my little hoard of savings had been spent on Salome's birthday present.
I knew what I ought to do. I ought to tell my father of my loss, and ask him to give me another shilling. But I felt very much afraid to do this, for the thing which made him most angry was any kind of carelessness. If we broke anything, or tore anything, or lost anything, he always punished us very severely. And yet I could not bear the thought of the disgrace and humiliation of having to go back to school, and confess my loss to my master. He would never trust me again, and I should be filled with shame and confusion if I had to acknowledge my carelessness before my companions.
What was to be done? My conscience told me that I ought to tell my mother about it when I got in; but I did not want to spoil Salome's birthday, and there she was at the shop door looking out for me.
I wrapped up the four remaining shillings in the bill, gave her the nuts out of my pocket, and put the bill and money in their place.
Salome was so merry and happy, I could not bear to make her cry on her birthday, and I knew she would cry if father was angry with me. So I resolved to say nothing about my loss to any one at least, not until the evening.
