ched his head. There was
now a laugh amongst the surrounders, which evidently nettled the fellow,
who forthwith thrust his hand into his pocket, and pulling out all his
silver treasure, just contrived to place the value of the guinea on the
table. "Them that finds wins, and them that can't find--_loses_,"
interrupted Jack, lifting up a thimble, out of which rolled a pea.
"There, paddy, what do you think of that?" said he, seizing the heap of
silver with one hand, whilst he pocketed the guinea with the other. The
thimble-engro stood, for some time, like one transfixed, his eyes glaring
wildly, now at the table, and now at his successful customers; at last he
said, "Arrah, sure, master!--no, I manes my lord--you are not going to
ruin a poor boy!" "Ruin you!" said the other; "what! by winning a
guinea's change? a pretty small dodger you--if you have not sufficient
capital, why do you engage in so deep a trade as thimbling? come, will
you stand another game?" "Och, sure, master, no! the twenty shillings
and one which you have cheated me of were all I had in the world."
"Cheated you," said Jack, "say that again, and I will knock you down."
"Arrah! sure, master, you knows that the pea under the thimble was not
mine; here is mine, master; now give me back my money." "A likely
thing," said Jack; "no, no, I know a trick worth two or three of that;
whether the pea was yours or mine, you will never have your twenty
shillings and one again; and if I have ruined you, all the better; I'd
gladly ruin all such villains as you, who ruin poor men with your dirty
tricks, whom you would knock down and rob on the road, if you had but
courage; not that I mean to keep your shillings, with the exception of
the two you cheated from me, which I'll keep. A scramble, boys! a
scramble!" said he, flinging up all the silver into the air, with the
exception of the two shillings; and a scramble there instantly was,
between the rustics who had lost their money and the urchins who came
running up; the poor thimble-engro tried likewise to have his share; and
though he flung himself down, in order to join more effectually in the
scramble, he was unable to obtain a single sixpence; and having in his
rage given some of his fellow-scramblers a cuff or two, he was set upon
by the boys and country fellows, and compelled to make an inglorious
retreat with his table, which had been flung down in the scuffle, and had
one of its legs broken. As he retired, th