"Then you don't think it would be very wrong, sir?" "I think it would be very right, young un; and I hope if you find your uncle, he won't send you back. If he wants to, don't come: but run away again. Look here; you'll want a friend in London. Go and see my brother." "Your brother, sir?" "Yes, my brother Jabez. You'll know him as soon as you see him; he's just like me. How old do you think I am?" "I should think you're fifty, sir." "Fifty-eight, young un; and so's Jabez. There, you go and put his name and address down. Fifty-eight he is, and I'm fifty-eight, so there's a pair of us. Now, then, write away: Mr Jabez Rowle, Ruddle and Lister." "Mr Jabez Rowle," I said, writing it carefully down, "Good. Now Ruddle and Lister." "Ruddle and Lister." "Commercial printers." "Com-mer-cial prin-ters." "Short Street, Fetter Lane." "Fetter Lane." "And now let's look." I handed him the scrap of paper. "Why, it's lovely. Copper-plate's nothing to it, young un. There, you go up and see him, and tell him you've come up to London to make your fortune, and he'll help you, I went up to London to make mine, young un." "And did you make it, sir?" I said eagerly. He looked down at his shabby clothes, smoothed his hair, and then, with a curious smile upon his face-- "No, young un, I didn't make it. I made something else instead." "Did you, sir?" "Yes, young un--a mess of it. Look here, I might have got on, but I learned to drink like a fish. Don't you. Mind this: drink means going downwards into the mud; leaving it alone means climbing up to the top of the tree. Bless your young heart, whatever you do, don't drink." "No, sir," I said, "I will not;" but I did not appreciate his advice. "There, you stick to that paper. And now, how much money have you got?" "Money, sir?" "Yes, money. London's a hundred miles away, and you can't walk." "I think I could, sir." "Well, try it; and ride when you're tired. How much have you got?" I took out my little blue silk purse, and counted in sixpences half-a-crown. He looked at me for some few moments, and then stood thinking, as if trying to make up his mind about something. "I'll do it," he muttered. "Look here, young un, you and I are old friends, ain't we?" "Oh, yes!" I said eagerly. "Then I will do it," he said, and untying his neckerchief, he, to my great surprise, began to unroll it, to show me the two ends that were hidden in the folds. "For a rainy day," he said, "and this is a rainy day for you. Look here, young un; this is my purse. Here's two half-sovs tied up in these two corners--that's one for you, and one for me." "Oh, no, sir," I said, "I'd rather not take it!" and I shrank away, for he seemed so poor and shabby, that the idea troubled me. "I don't care whether you'd rather or not," he said, untying one corner with his teeth. "You take it, and some day when you've made your fortune, you give it me back--if so be as you find I haven't succeeded to my estate."