Sentimental Tommy - 1896 Author:James Matthew Barrie Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II BUT THE OTHEB GETS IN To Tommy, a swaggerer, came Shovel sour-visaged; having now no cap of his own, he exchanged with Tommy, would also have bl... more »ed the blooming mouth of him, but knew of a revenge that saves the knuckles: announced, with jeers and offensive finger exercise, that " it" had come. Shovel was a liar. If he only knowed what Tommy knowed ! If Tommy only heard what Shovel had hearn ! Tommy was of opinion that Shovel had n't not heard anything. Shovel believed as Tommy did n't know nuthin. Tommy wouldn't listen to what Shovel had heard. Neither would Shovel listen to what Tommy knew. If Shovel would tell what he had heard, Tommy would tell what he knew. Well, then, Shovel had listened at the door, and heard it mewling. Tommy knowed it well, and it never mewled. . How eould Tommy know it ? 'Cos he had been with it a long time. Gosh! Why, it had only corned a minute ago. This made Tommy uneasy, and he asked a leading question cunningly. A boy, was n't it ? No, Shovel's old woman had been up helping to hold it, and she said it were a girl. Shutting his mouth tightly, which was never natural to him, the startled Tommy mounted the stair, listened and was convinced. He did not enter his dishonored home. He had no intention of ever entering it again. With one salt tear he renounced — a child, a mother. On his way downstairs he was received by Shovel and party, who planted their arrows neatly. Kids cried steadily, he was told, for the first year. A boy one was bad enough, but a girl one was oh lawks. He must never again expect to get playing with blokes like what they was. Already she had got round his old gal who would care for him no more. What would they say about this in Thrums ? Shovel even insisted on return...« less