第6章
BeingexpelledfromschoolSamforthwithwasbroughtbyhisfathertotheofficeofthemills，wherehehimselfwasemployed。ThereheintroducedhissontothenoticeofMr。GrantMaitland，withrequestforemployment。
Theoldmanlookedtheboyover。
“Whathashebeendoing？“
“Nothin’。’E’sjustleftschool。“
“HighSchool？“
“Naw。PublicSchool。“WigglesworthSr。’stoneindicatednoexaltedopinionofthePublicSchool。
“PublicSchool！Whatgrade，eh？“
“Grade？Idinnaw。Wotgrade，Samuel？Come，speak(h)up，cawn’tyeh？“
“Uh？“Sam’smentalfacultieshadbeenoccupiedinobservingtheactivitiesandguessingtheprobablefateofalumber-jackgailydeckedinscarletsashandblueoveralls，whowasthecentralfigureuponaflamingcalendartackedupbehindMr。Maitland’sdesk，settingforththecommercialadvantagesoftradingwiththeDepartmentalStoresofStillwell&Son。
“Wotgradeinschool，thebossis(h)askin’，“saidhisfathersharply。
“Grade？“enquiredSam，returningtothecommonplaceofthemoment。
“Yes，whatgradeinthePublicSchoolwereyouinwhenyouleft？“
Theblueeyesofthebosswas“borin’’oles“throughSamandthevoicepiercedlikea“bleedin’gimblet，“asWigglesworth，Sr。，reportedtohisspousethatafternoon。
Samhesitatedabaresecond。“Fourthgradeitwas，“hesaidwithsullenreluctance。
“’Adn’tnochance，Samuel’adn’t。Beenadelicatechildeversince’ismotherstoppedsuckin’’im，“explainedthefatherwithasympatheticshakeofhishead。
Thecoldblueeyeappraisedtheboy’shulkingmass。
“’Edon’tlookit，“continuedMr。Wigglesworth，notingthekeenglance，“but’e’sneverbeen(h)abletobidesteadyattheschool。
(H)It’s’isbrain，sir。“
“His——ah——brain？“Againtheblueeyesappraisedtheboy，thistimescanningcriticallyhisfaceforindicationofunduebrainactivity。
“’Isbrain，sir，“earnestlyreiteratedthesympatheticparent。
“’Watchthat(h)infant’sbrain，’seztheDoctortothemissuswhensheput’imonthebottle。Andyouknow，we’averealdoctorsin(H)England，sir。’Watch’isbrain，’sez’e，and，myword，thecare’isma’astookofthatboy’sbrainiswunnerful，isfairbeautiful，sir。“Mr。Wigglesworth’svoicegrewtremulousattheremembranceofthatmaternalsolicitude。
“Andwasthatwhyheleftschool？“enquiredtheboss。
“Well，sir，not(h)exackly，“saidMr。Wigglesworth，momentarilytakenaback，“thoughw’enIcomestothinkonitthatmustabeenatthebottomofit。Yousee，w’enSamuelwentat’isbooksofanight’e’dnomorethanbeginatasuman’’e’dsayto’isma，’Mybrain’sa-whirlin’，ma’，justlikethat，and’ismawould’avetopull’isbookaway，justdragitaway，youmightsay。Oh，’e’s’ada’ardtime，’asSamuel。“Atthispointthebossreceivedadistinctshock，for，ashiseyeswererestinguponSamuel’sfacemeditativelywhilehelistenedsomewhatapathetically，itmustbeconfessed，tothefather’smovingtale，theeyeoftheboyremotefromthefatherclosedinaslowbutsignificantwink。
Thebosssatup，galvanisedintoalertattention。“Eh？What？“heexclaimed。
“Yes，sir，’e’scaused’ismamanya(h)anxioushour，’asSamuel。“
Againtheeyeclosedinaslowandsolemnwink。“Andwethought，’ismaandme，thatwewouldliketogetSamuelintosomeeasyjob——“
“Aneasyjob，eh？“
“Yes，sir。Somethingintheoffice，’ere。“
“Buthisbrain，yousay，wouldnotlethimstudyhisbooks。“
“Oh，itwasthemsums，sir，an’theJographyandthe’Istoryan’
theComposition，an’，an’——wotelse，Samuel？Yousee，these’ereschoolsain’tabitliketheschoolsat’ome，sir。They’resoconfusingwiththeirsubjecks。WotIsayis，whynotsticktoreal(h)eddication，withoutthefiddlefaddles？“
“Soyouwantaneasyjobforyourson，eh？“enquiredMr。Maitland。
“Boy，“hesaidsharplytoSamuel，whoseeyeshadagainbecomefixeduponthegayanddaringlumber-jack。Samuelrecalledhimselfwithvisibleeffort。“Whydidyouleaveschool？Thetruth，mind。“The“borin’“eyeswereattheirwork。
“Fired！“saidSampromptly。
Mr。Wigglesworthbeganasputteringexplanation。
“Thatwilldo，Wigglesworth，“saidMr。Maitland，holdinguphishand。“Sam，youcomeandseemetomorrowhereateight。Doyouunderstand？“
Samnodded。AftertheyhaddepartedtherecamethroughtheclosedofficedoorthesoundofMr。Wigglesworth’svoiceliftedinviolentdeclamation，butfromSamnoansweringsoundcouldbeheard。
TheschoolsufferednonoticeablelossintheintellectualqualityofitsactivitiesbytheremovalofthewhirlingbrainandincidentallyitsphysicalintegumentofSamuelWigglesworth。TothesmallerboystheabsenceofSambroughtunboundedjoy，moreespeciallyduringthehoursofrecessfromstudyandontheirhomewardwayfromschoolafterdismissal。
Morethananyother，littleSteveWickesrejoicedinSam’sdeparturefromschool。OwingtosomemysteriousarrangementofSam’sbraincellsheseemedtopossessanabnormalinterestinobservingthesufferingsofanyanimal。Thesquirmingofanunfortunateflyuponapinfascinatedhim，thesightofawretcheddogdrivenmadwithterrorrushingfranticallydownastreet，withatincandanglingtoitstail，convulsedhimwithshriekingdelight。Themorehighlyorganisedthesufferinganimal，thekeenerwasSam’sjoy。Achild，forinstance，flyinginaparoxysmoffearfromSam’shideouslycontortedfacefurnishedacutesatisfaction。ItfellnaturallyenoughthatlittleSteveWickes，thetimid，shrinking，humpbackedsonofthedeadsoldier，StephenWickes，affordedSammanyopportunitiesofrarepleasure。ItwasSamthatcoinedand，withtheaidofhissycophanticfollowingneverwantingtoabully，fastenedtothechildthenicknameof“HumpyWicksy，“workingtherebywrithingagonyinthelad’shighlysensitivesoul。ButSamdidnotstayhishandattheinflictionofmerelymentalanguish。Itwasoneofhisfavoriteformsofsporttoseizethechildbythecollarandbreechesand，swinginghimhighoverhead，holdhimthereinananguishofsuspense，awaitingthethreateneddrop。ItistobeconfessedthatSamwasnotentirelywithoutprovocationatthehandsoflittleSteve，fortheladhadatrulyuncannycunninghiddeninhispencil，bymeansofwhichSamwasheldupincaricaturetothesurreptitiousjoyofhisschoolmates。Sam’sdeparturefromschooldeprivedhimofthefullopportunityheformerlyenjoyedofindulginghimselfinhisfavouritesport。Onthisaccounthetookthemoreeageradvantageofanyopportunitythatofferedstilltogratifyhistasteinthisdirection。
Saunteringsullenlyhomewardfromhisinterviewwiththebossandwithhistemperraspedtoarawedgebyhisfather’swrathfulcommentsuponhis“dommedwaggin’tongue，“hewelcomedwithquiteunusualeagernesstheopportunityforindulginghimselfinhispastimeofbaitingHumpyWicksywhomheovertookonhiswayhomefromschoolduringthenoonintermission。
“Hello，Humpy，“heroaredatthelad。
LikeafrightenedrabbitStevescurrieddownalane，Samwhoopingafterhim。
“Comeback，youlittlebeast。Doyouhearme？I’lllearnyoutocomewhenyou’recalled，“heshouted，catchingtheterrifiedladandheavinghimaloftinhisusualdouble-handedgrip。
“Letmedown，you！Leavemealonenow，“shriekedtheboy，squirming，scratching，bitinglikeaninfuriatedcat。
“Bite，wouldyou？“saidSam，flingingtheboydown。“Nowthen，“
catchinghimbythelegsandturninghimoveronhisstomach，“we’llmakeawheelbarrowofyou。Geeup，Buck！Wantaride，boys？“heshoutedtohisadmiringgalleryoftoadies。“Allaboard！“
WhiletheunhappySteve，shriekingprayersandcurses，wasstrugglingvainlytoextricatehimselffromthehandsgrippinghisankles，AnnettePerrotte，steppingsmartlyalongthestreetonherwayfromtheboxfactory，camepasttheentrancetothelane。Byhersidestrodeabroad-shouldered，upstandingyouth。ArrestedbySteve’soutcriesandcursesshepaused。
“Whatarethoseboysat，Iwonder？“shesaid。“There’sthatbigloutofaWigglesworthboy。He’suptonogood，Ibetyou。“
“Oh，akids’rowofsomekindorither，adoot，“saidtheyouth。
“Comealong。“
“He’shurtingsomeone，“saidAnnette，startingdownthelane。
“What？Ibelieveit’sthatpoorchild，SteveWickes。“LikeawrathfulfuryshedashedinuponSamandhiscompanyoftormentorsand，knockingthelittleonesrightandleft，shespranguponSamwithafiercecry。
“Yougreatbrute！“SheseizedhimbyhisthatchofthickredhairandwithonemightyswingshehurledhimclearofSteveanddashedhimheadonagainstthelanefence。SheersurpriseheldSamsilentforafewseconds，butashefeltthetrickleofwarmbloodrundownhisfaceandsawitreduponhishand，hissurprisegaveplacetoterror。
“Ouw！Ouw！“hebellowed。“I’mkilled，I’mdying。Ouw！Ouw！“
“Ihopeso，“saidAnnette，holdingSteveinherarmsandseekingtoquiethissobbing。Butasshesawthestreamingbloodherfacepaled。
“FortheloveofMike，Mack，seeifhe’shurt，“shesaidinalowvoicetohercompanion。
“Nothe！He’smakin’toomuchnoise，“saidtheyoungman。“Here，youyoungbull，waittillIseewhat’swrangwi’ye，“hecontinued，stoopingoverSam。
“Getawayfromme，Itellyou。Ouw！Ouw！I’mdying，andthey’llhangher。Ouw！Ouw！I’mkilled，andI’mjustgladIam，forshe’llbehungtodeath。“HereSambrokeintoavigorousstreamofprofanity。
“Ay，he’simprovin’Adoot，“saidMack。“Letusbegoing。“
“’Ello！Wot’s(h)up？“criedavoice。ItwasMr。Wigglesworthonhiswayhomefromthemill。“Why，blessmylivinglights，ifitbean’tSamuel。Who’sbeenabeatin’ofyou，Sammy？“Hiseyesweptthecrowd。“’Aveyoubeenatmylad？“heasked，steppingtowardtheyoungman，whomAnnettenamedMack。
“Aw，steadyup，man。There’snaethin’muchwrangwi’thelad——aweescratchontheheidfraefa’in’againstthefenceyonder。“
“Who’it’im，Isay？“shoutedMr。Wigglesworth。“Wasityou？“headded，squaringuptotheyoungman。
“No，itwasn’t，Mr。Wigglesworth。Itwasme。“Mr。WigglesworthturnedonAnnettewho，nowthatSam’sbellowinghadmuchabatedwiththeappearanceofhisfatheruponthescene，hadsomewhatregainedhernerve。
“You？“gaspedMr。Wigglesworth。“You？MySamuel？It’salie，“hecried。
“Hey，mon，guairrdy’retongueabit，“saidMack。“Mindye’respeakin’toaleddy。“
“Alidy！Alidy！“Mr。Wigglesworth’svoicewaseloquentofscorn。
“Aye，aleddy！“saidMack。“An’mindwhatyesayaboothertae。
Mindy’remanners，man。“
“Mymanners，hey？An’’oomayyoube，tolearnmemanners，youbloomin’(h)ignorantScotch(h)ass。Yougiveme(h)anyofyour(h)imperancean’I’llknocky’rebloomin’block(h)off，Iwill。“
AndMr。Wigglesworth，throwinghimselfintotheapprovedpugilisticattitude，begandancingabouttheyoungScot。
“Hoot，mon，awa’hamewi’ye。Tak’yonyoungtykewi’yean’giehimabitwash，he’sneedin’it，“saidMack，smilingpleasantlyattheexcitedandbelligerentMr。Wigglesworth。
AtthispointCaptainJack，slowlymotoringbythelanemouth，turnedhismachinetothecurbandleapedout。
“What’stherowhere？“heasked，makinghiswaythroughtheconsiderablecrowdthathadgathered。“What’sthetrouble，Wigglesworth？“
“They’reknockin’myboyabaht，sotheybe，“exclaimedMr。
Wigglesworth。“But，“withgrowingandrighteouswrath，“they’llfind(h)outthat，wotsomevertheydotoakid，w’entheycome(h)upaginJoeWigglesworththey’vestrucksomethin’’ard——’ard，d’ye’ear？’Ard！“AndMr。WigglesworthmadeapassattheyoungScot。
“Holdon，Wigglesworth，“saidCaptainJackquietly，catchinghisarm。“Wereyoubeatingupthiskid？“heasked，turningtotheyoungman。
“Naebuddie’sbeatin’upthelad，“saidMackquietly。
“Itwasme，“saidthegirl，turningadefiantfacetoCaptainJack。
“You？Why！greatScot！Blestifitisn’tAnnette。“
“Yes，it’sme，“saidthegirl，herfaceaflameofcolour。
“ByJove，you’vegrownup，haven’tyou？Anditwasyouthat——“
“Yes，thatbigbrutewasabusingStevehere。“
“What？LittleSteveWickes？“
“Hewas，andIpitchedhimintothefence。Hehithisheadandcutit，Iguess。Ididn’tmean——“