Page 42 - An Australian Lassie

"Oh, Johnson and Roberts and Mrs. Wilkins. Mrs. Wilkins says you'll give it me in a will," said John
carelessly.

"Who the dickens is Mrs. Wilkins?"

John opened his eyes widely. Not to know Mrs. Wilkins was indeed to argue oneself unknown.

"Why the lady at the store next our school," he said. "She sells pea-nuts and chewing gum and everything."

"And she says T'll leave all my money to you, eh? Hum. Well, how'd you like it if T do?"

"T don't want it," said John with blunt force. He went on sturdily with his blanc-mange, arranging his
strawberry jam carefully, that he should have an excess of that for the last spoonful.

Captain Carew stared surprisedly at him.

"Eh? What's that?" he asked.

"When you were as old as me," said John, lifting his carefully trimmed spoon to his mouth, "were you as rich
as now?"

The question stirred the old man immediately. His eyes brightened, he put down his letter, pushed his glasses
up high on his forehead and struck the table with one hand.

"T should think not," he said excitedly, "T should rather think not. As rich as now--God bless my life!"

"T thought you weren't," said John calmly.

"T can't remember my father and mother," said Captain Carew, speaking a little more quietly as his thoughts
began to run backwards. "T lived with my uncle in London; he kept a ham and beef shop, and had thirteen or
fourteen youngsters of his own to bring up. He was going to put me to the butchering, but T settled all that
myself. T ran away."

"You ran away?" asked John breathlessly, and regarding the old man with more interest than he had ever
given him yet.

"Ay! When T was no older than you. Half a crown T had in my pocket, T remember. Tt was all the start in life I
ever got."

John put down his spoon and stared at his grandfather earnestly, eagerly, admiringly.

"You're a self-made man!" he said. And old as the Captain was, and young as was his admirer, he warmed
pleasantly at the words.

"Ay!" he said exultingly, "T'm a self-made man right enough. Every bit of me! T started life as an errand boy in
the London slums, and it seemed for a time as if T was going to die an errand boy in the London slums. At
least, it might have seemed so to most people. I'd made up my mind how it was to be, how it had got to be."

"What did you do?" asked John eagerly.

"Do--well, T had about a year at errand running and then T got a chance to go to sea, and T took it. T went first
to China. By gad, how well T remember that trip!"