Mrs Nash eyed Jack suspiciously, and then said abruptly, "No room."

"Oh, bother! Can't he sleep with me, then?" I inquired.

"No," replied she, "he can't. It's not allowed."

"When will there be room?" Jack asked.

"Next week, may be."

"Oh, how jolly!" I exclaimed. "Then you will come, Jack, won't you?"

"How much is it?" inquired Jack of Mrs Nash.

"Three-and-six a week--in advance," said Mrs Nash; "no tick."

Jack pulled rather a long face.

"It'll be a tight fit," said he to me, "out of eight shillings a week."

"Oh, I can pay part," said I, too delighted at the prospect of Jack's company to admit of any obstacle. "My uncle pays my lodging, you know, so I have the eight shillings all to myself."

Jack, however, scouted the idea. After a little more parleying, to my unspeakable joy he told Mrs Nash he would come next week. I begged hard for him to be allowed to share my quarters in the meanwhile. The landlady was inexorable, so we had to submit.

Jack took me a long stroll through the London streets that evening, entertaining me with a description of his life as a grocer's shop-boy, now happily at an end. I forbore to ask him any questions on the mysterious subject of his home, and he of course never referred to it.

Our walk ended again at Beadle Square, where we parted for the night; he to return to some poor lodging in a distant part of the town, I to take part in the nine o'clock supper at Mrs Nash's.

I was rather nervous as I approached the parlour where were congregated my fellow-lodgers, and heard the sound of their noisy voices and laughter. I half repented that I had committed myself to sup on the premises; it would have been so much less embarra.s.sing to slip in just at ten o'clock and go straight to bed. However, I was in for it now.

I opened the door and entered the room. The parlour was full of boys-- two dozen or more--of all ages, and engaged in all sorts of occupations.

Some lounged lazily in front of the fireplace, some were indulging in rough horse-play in the corners, some were reading novels, some were writing, some were talking, some were laughing.

As I entered, however, everybody suddenly ceased his occupation and stared at me--everybody, that is, except the small group who were skirmishing in the corner nearest the door. These, with the most laudable presence of mind, took in my situation at once, and next moment I was one of the skirmishing party and having rather a lively time of it.

By this time the rest of the company had taken in the state of affairs.

"Pa.s.s him on there," some one called, and I was accordingly pa.s.sed on in rather a lively way to another party of skirmishers, who in turn, after buffeting me up and down a bit among themselves, pa.s.sed me on to another group, and so on, till, with back and limbs and head all rather the worse for wear, I had performed the tour of the room and found myself finally pitched head-first into the embrace of the lordly youth who that morning had condescended to point out to me the way to Hawk Street.

"Look here," cried he, kicking out somewhat savagely at my shins; "don't you be so jolly familiar, do you hear? Look what you have done to my shirt-front!"

"I beg your pardon," said I, rubbing my poor shin. "I couldn't help--"

"Yes, you could, you young cad!" cried he, kicking again.

"No, I couldn't, and--oh! I say, stop kicking, please!"

By this time most of the company had gathered round, some calling on the youth to "let me have it" others encouraging me "to go in and win." I felt very greatly tempted, especially after the receipt of the third kick, to act on the suggestion given, and might have done so, had not Mrs Nash at that moment entered the room with the supper.

This interruption created a new diversion.

"I say, Mrs Nash," cried my adversary, "who's this kid? We don't want him here."

"You'll have to have him whether you want him or not," replied Mrs Nash, in her usual gracious way. "He's a lodger here."

"What do you want to shove another lodger in for when you know we're chock-full?" demanded the youth.

"You hold your tongue, Mr Jackanapes," replied Mrs Nash.

"I say, don't you be so familiar," cried the young gentleman, greatly offended. "My name's Horncastle, not Jackanapes."

"Very well, then, Mr Horncastle, you'd better hold your tongue."

"I sha'n't hold my tongue. You've got a spite against us, that's what it is, or you wouldn't go crowding us out with kids like this."

"Crowding you out!" retorted Mrs Nash, scornfully. "You've got another kid coming next week, my beauty, so you'd better not talk of crowding out till then."

"What! another besides this young cad? Oh, that's too much! We won't stand it. That's all about that," cried Mr Horncastle, in tones of utter disgust.

"Won't you? Then you can cook your own sausages for supper, my man, and sh.e.l.l out what you owe on the nail. We'll see who won't stand it or not!"

This threat had the desired effect: Horncastle knuckled down as if by magic.

"Oh, don't be a brute, Mrs Nash," he said, in tones of agitation. "Do us those sausages, there's a good body, and you can cram in half a dozen kids if you like."

And so the question of my admission was settled satisfactorily, if not flatteringly, for me, and the fellows, the novelty of my appearance being once over, took no more notice of me than of any of the rest of their fellow-lodgers.

Mrs Nash's establishment appeared to be one to which fond parents in the country, whose darlings were about to launch out on the sea of life in London, were invited to confide their sons, under the promise of a comfortable, respectable, and economical home.

As to the comfortable, we who were best able to judge did not admit the description a true one. As to the respectable, that was a matter of opinion. If each of us had been the only lodger there, the place would have been undoubtedly respectable, but with all the rest there, we each of us considered the society rather "mixed." As to the economical, we were all agreed on that point. The place was fearfully and wonderfully economical!

By the time my first week in London was ended I had shaken down fairly well, both to my work at Merrett, Barnacle, and Company's and my quarters at Mrs Nash's. I still found the fellowship of Messrs.

Doubleday and Wallop and Crow rather distracting, and more than once envied Jack his berth among the Imports where, as a rule, silence reigned supreme. And yet I could hardly bring myself to dislike my fellow-clerks, who, all of them, as far as I had found out, were good- natured, and certainly very entertaining, and who, when they perceived that I was amused by their proceedings, relaxed a good deal in their att.i.tude to me.

I gradually came to be on talking, if not on chaffing terms with several of the fellows, and found myself, I never exactly knew how, installed in the position, lately vacated by Mr Crow, of messenger and confidential commission agent to the company. Most of my twenty minutes in the middle of the day was thus taken up in buying articles of comfort or decoration for one and another of my seniors, or else changing books at the library, taking messages to other clerks in other offices, and otherwise laying myself out for the general good--a self-denial which brought me more kicks than halfpence, but which, all the same, served to establish my footing as a regular member of the Export fraternity at Merrett, Barnacle, and Company's.

Smith, I discovered, was let in for something of the same work with the Imports, but to a much smaller extent. Indeed, he had so much less of it than me that I one day questioned him on the subject.

"I say, Jack, it seems to me the Exports want a jolly lot more things done for them than the Imports. To-day I've got to go to Mudie's to change a book, then I've to get a scarf-pin mended for Crow, and buy a pair of flannel drawers for Wallop, and go and offer two shillings for a five-shilling mariner's compa.s.s at the stores for Doubleday. I shall have to get my grub when I can to-day, I expect."

"Oh!" said Jack, "the Imports wanted to let me in for that sort of thing, but I didn't see the use of it, and told them so."

"What did they say?" asked I, astonished at his boldness.

"They didn't like it, of course," said Jack; "but I don't see why they shouldn't do their own jobs."

"Well," said I, "I wouldn't mind if I could stick out too, but somehow I'm in for it now."

And off I started on my round of errands.