't help hearing you
say the dinner was shocking. So we thought as you're an Indian, perhaps
you're very poor'--I didn't like to tell him we had heard the dreadful
truth from his own lips, so I went on, 'because of "Lo, the poor
Indian"--you know--and you can't get a good dinner every day. And we are
very sorry if you're poor; and won't you come and have dinner with
us to-morrow--with us children, I mean? It's a very, very good
dinner--rabbit, and hardbake, and coconut--and you needn't mind us
knowing you're poor, because we know honourable poverty is no disgrace,
and--' I could have gone on much longer, but he interrupted me to
say--'Upon my word! And what's your name, eh?'

'Oswald Bastable,' I said; and I do hope you people who are reading this
story have not guessed before that I was Oswald all the time.

'Oswald Bastable, eh? Bless my soul!' said the poor Indian. 'Yes, I'll
dine with you, Mr Oswald Bastable, with all the pleasure in life. Very
kind and cordial invitation, I'm sure. Good night, sir. At one o'clock,
I presume?'

'Yes, at one,' I said. 'Good night, sir.'

Then I went in and told the others, and we wrote a paper and put it on
the boy's dressing-table, and it said--

'The poor Indian is coming at one. He seemed very grateful to me for my
kindness.'

We did not tell Father that the Uncle was coming to dinner with us,
for the polite reason that I have explained before. But we had to tell
Eliza; so we said a friend was coming to dinner and we wanted everything
very nice. I think she thought it was Albert-next-door, but she was in
a good temper that day, and she agreed to cook the rabbit and to make a
pudding with currants in it. And when one o'clock came the Indian Uncle
came too. I let him in and helped him off with his greatcoat, which was
all furry inside, and took him straight to the nursery. We were to have
dinner there as usual, for we had decided from the first that he would
enjoy himself more if he was not made a stranger of. We agreed to treat
him as one of ourselves, because if we were too polite, he might think
it was our pride because he was poor.

He shook hands with us all and asked our ages, and what schools we went
to, and shook his head when we said we were having a holiday just now. I
felt rather uncomfortable--I always do when they talk about schools--and
I couldn't think of anything to say to show him we meant to treat him
as one of ourselves. I did ask if he played cricket. He s