despises me,' I thought. 'So I, too, am contemptible in his eyes. He

would never have stooped to this himself! He would not have accepted

presents from Nastasey. But what am I to do now?'

Give back the watch? Impossible!

I did try to talk to David, to ask his advice. He told me that he

never gave advice to anyone and that I had better do as I thought

best. As I thought best!! I remember I did not sleep all night

afterwards: I was in agonies of indecision. I was sorry to lose the

watch--I had laid it on the little table beside my bed; its ticking

was so pleasant and amusing ... but to feel that David despised me

(yes, it was useless to deceive myself, he did despise me) ... that

seemed to me unbearable. Towards morning a determination had taken

shape in me ... I wept, it is true--but I fell asleep upon it, and as

soon as I woke up, I dressed in haste and ran out into the street. I

had made up my mind to give my watch to the first poor person I met.

IV

I had not run far from home when I hit upon what I was looking for. I

came across a barelegged boy of ten, a ragged urchin, who was often

hanging about near our house. I dashed up to him at once and, without

giving him or myself time to recover, offered him my watch.

The boy stared at me round-eyed, put one hand before his mouth, as

though he were afraid of being scalded--and held out the other.

'Take it, take it,' I muttered, 'it's mine, I give it you, you can

sell it, and buy yourself ... something you want.... Good-bye.'

I thrust the watch into his hand--and went home at a gallop. Stopping

for a moment at the door of our common bedroom to recover my breath, I

went up to David who had just finished dressing and was combing his

hair.

'Do you know what, David?' I said in as unconcerned a tone as I could,

'I have given away Nastasey's watch.'

David looked at me and passed the brush over his temples.

'Yes,' I added in the same businesslike voice, 'I have given it away.

There is a very poor boy, a beggar, you know, so I have given it to

him.'

David put down the brush on the washing-stand.

'He can buy something useful,' I went on, 'with the money he can get

for it. Anyway, he will get something for it.'

I paused.

'Well,' David said at last, 'that's a good thing,' and he went off to

the schoolroom. I followed him.

'And if they ask you what you have done with it?' he said, turning to

me.

'I shall tell them I've lost it,' I answered carelessly.

No more was said about the watch between us that day; but I had the

feeling that David not only approved of what I had done but ... was to

some extent surprised by it. He really was!

V

Two days more passed. It happened that no one in the house thought of

the watch. My father was taken up with a very serious unpleasantness

with one of his clients; he had no attention to spare for me or my

watch. I, on the other hand, thought of it without ceasing! Even the

approval ... the presumed approval of David did not quite comfort me.

He did not show it in any special way: the only thing he said, and

that casually, was that he hadn't expected such recklessness of me.

Certainly I was a loser by my sacrifice: it was not counter-balanced

by the gratification afforded me by my vanity.

And what is more, as ill-luck would have it, another schoolfellow of

ours, the son of the town doctor, must needs turn up and begin

boasting of a new watch, a present from his grandmother, and not even

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