'Well, I shall have to give you a shilling's worth of coppers,' answered the conductor.
'All right—all right, it can't be helped,' said Mr. Parsons, and, of course, I knew that he had already several pennies in his pockets.
'There was the change out of the wax lights and the ginger-beer,' I suggested.
'So there was,' he cried, with a sharp glance over his shoulder, as if to make certain that the conductor had left the roof.
When the omnibus stopped at our turning, I rose quickly, always on the look-out for a chance to escape, but I felt a grip on my knee.
'Age before honour, Jacky,' said Mr. Parsons, who took the precaution to alight first and to help me down the last step.
'Once upon a time,' he remarked, as we walked towards the house, 'I knew a lad about your age who was just a leetle too clever, and perhaps you would like to hear what happened to him.'
'What?' I inquired with a shudder.
'That little lad, Jacky, was licked with a strap. The little lad, Jacky, was kept in one room without any food till he learnt how to behave and keep his thoughts to himself. See, Jacky?'
'Yes,' I answered, 'I see,' and I felt helpless.