The more he was laughed at, the more he insisted, saying at last,—
“I’ll give you five cents, Jimmy Dunlee, for every toad you’ll find that hasn’t got eyes back of his head! Bring ’em along, sir, and let my papa see ’em, and I’ll give you fi—ive cents apiece!”
So Jimmy, expecting to make a small fortune, had roamed far and wide, and collected five toads; for he could not spare his tame ones. But when he took them to Major Irwin’s, Dick only said,—
“What you s’pose I want o’ those toads?”
Jimmy was angry.
“You told me to bring ’em! Look at ’em now; look this minute! You said they had eyes back o’ their heads!”
Dick was laughed at by the whole family, and made to confess that these were the first horned toads he had ever seen. His father called him “a little braggart;” and for once in his life the boy was ashamed, and ran crying down cellar to hide.
Jimmy threw back his shoulders proudly. It was a great triumph to have humbled Dick Somers! And then, besides that, to have earned twenty-five cents!
But when he modestly asked for his money, what did those people all do but fall to laughing again?
And the wider his honest brown eyes opened with surprise, the harder they all laughed!