"I'll come into the shop with you, Uncle William," John said, glancing towards the scullery where his mother was. "I want to have a word or two with you!"
"Very good," Uncle William replied, leading the way into the shop.
They sat down together in the little counting-house while John told his Uncle of his desire to go away from home.
"And where in the earthly world do you want to go to?" Uncle William demanded.
"Anywhere. London, mebbe! I'm near in the mind to go to America. Mebbe, I'll just travel the world!"
"A hundred and eighty pounds'll not carry you far," Uncle William exclaimed.
"It'll take me a good piece of the way, and if I can't earn enough to take me the rest of it, sure, what good am I?"
Uncle William shrugged his shoulders. "You must do as you please, I suppose, but I'll miss you sore when you do go. It'll be poor pleasure for me to live on here, with you gone and your Uncle Matthew dead!"
"I'll come back every now and then to see you," John promised. "I'm not going to cut myself off from you altogether. You know that rightly. I just want to see a bit of the world. I ... I want to find out things!"
"What things, John?"