'Jacky, my lad, you haven't forgotten the story I told you about the boy who was too clever?'
'Still,' I replied, 'one needn't be a fool although one needn't be what you call too clever.'
'True for you, my lad,' said Mr. Parsons.
'Only,' I continued, playing my part with as much skill as I possessed, and more than I could have believed myself capable of a few days ago, 'I don't want to get locked up.'
'No, no,' he answered, 'I don't want you to get locked up either, Jacky. I should miss you, you know, very much. But you act sensibly, and you will be all right. What's more, I will show you how to make your fortune before we have done.'
'I should like to make a fortune,' I said, with perfect truth. But, still, as we walked home by a round-about way, without attempting any further business that morning, I could not quite make up my mind whether I had succeeded in hoodwinking my companion or not.
