and on the hole in the hedge by which spectators were to enter Farmers Jenks’ field was pinned another notice.
THIS WAY T
O WEMBL
EY DE L
UCKS.
At 2.30 which was the time advertised for the opening a small and suspicious-looking group of four school children had gathered at the stile. William, his face and bare legs thickly covered with boot blacking and tightly clutching an old sack across his chest, met them, frowning sternly.
“One penny each please!” he said aggressively. “An’ I’m part of the exhibition an’ I’m a native an’ come this way please an’ hurry up.”
There was a certain amount of bargaining on the part of the tallest boy who refused to give more than a halfpenny, saying that he could black himself and look in the looking glass for nothing if that was all there was ’n a nexhibition, and there was a small scene caused by a little girl who refused to pay anything at all, and yet insisted on accompanying them in spite of William’s stern remonstrances, and finally followed in the wake of the party howling indignantly, “I’m not a cheat. You’re a cheat—you narsy ole black boy an’ I won’ give you a penny an’ I will come to your narsy old show, so there! Boo-oo-oo-oo!”
William shepherded his small flock through the hole in the hedge. Then he took his stand behind a little piece of wood on which were ranged pieces of half-dry plasticine tortured into strange shapes. With a dramatic gesture William flung aside his piece of sacking and stood revealed in an old pale blue bathing costume that had belonged to his sister Ethel in her childhood.
“Now you can look at me first,” he said in a deep unnatural voice. “I’m a native of South Africa dressed in native coschume an’ this here is native orn’ments made by me an’ you can buy the orn’ments for a penny each,” he added not very hopefully.
“Yes,” said the tallest boy, “an’ we can do without buyin’ ’em equ’ly well.”
“Yes, an’ I’d jus’ as soon you din’ buy ’em,” said William proudly but untruthfully, “’cause they’re worth more’n a penny an’ I’ll very likely get a shillin’ each for ’em before the exhibition’s over.”
“Huh!” said the boy scornfully. “Well, wot’s next? ’S not worth a penny so far.”