tch the dog.

While I stood there the man caught me up again, and he also came to a
stop, between myself and the waggons. He was quite young, probably not
more than one or two and twenty, tall and well-built, although he walked
with a slouching gait. He wore corduroy trousers fastened round the
waist by a narrow strap, and a blue shirt, with an unbuttoned jacket of
fustian. On his head was a limp-brimmed, dirty, drab felt hat, and in
his left hand he carried a red handkerchief, which apparently contained
all his possessions, and in his right a stout stick which had been
obviously cut from a hedge. His hair was extremely short and black, but
he could not have shaved for some days; his face was deeply sunburnt and
one of the most evil-looking I had ever seen. I imagined that he was
looking for a job at hay-making or harvesting, and in that case he would
have little difficulty in finding one at the present season.

Without entering the inn, he walked on towards the main street, which
contained two dozen or more of small shops, and a few minutes later I
took the same direction, soon beginning to look about for the kind of
shop I wanted. After I had passed the tramp a second time, I saw the
usual sign of a pawnbroker's, and, thinking it would look better to
remove my watch and chain before entering, I took the bar out of my
button-hole.

[Illustration: "The tramp stood outside, watching me with the greatest
intentness."]

Stopping outside the shop, I stood a few minutes gazing in at its
window, which was filled with a miscellaneous collection: teapots,
telescopes, knives, spoons, pipes, and one or two flutes and
concertinas. Presently I summoned enough resolution to enter, and going
to the counter, held out the watch and chain to the rather elderly man
behind it.

'I want to sell this watch and chain,' I said.

'Oh, you do, do you?' he answered, and opening the watch, he began to
examine the works. He looked so doubtful that I began to fear he would
refuse to buy, in which case I scarcely knew what to do, as it seemed
unlikely that I should find another such shop that day. It was already
past eleven o'clock, and after my walk I was beginning to feel hungry.
Certainly he had no right to buy the watch from a boy of my age, but I
suppose that after a little hesitation he was unable to resist the
temptation to make a bargain.

'How much do you want for it?' he asked, as he closed the lid with a
snap.

'Four pounds,' I