“Hereyouare！Wanderer——thethirdfavourite！“shoutstheopener。
“Isay，justgivememyticket，please，“remonstratesTadpole。
“Hullo！don’tbeinahurry，“breaksinFlashman；“what’llyousellWandererfornow？“
“Idon’twanttosell，“rejoinsTadpole。
“Oh，don’tyou！Nowlisten，youyoungfool:youdon’tknowanythingaboutit；thehorseisnousetoyou。Hewon’twin，butIwanthimasahedge。Now，I’llgiveyouhalfacrownforhim。“Tadpoleholdsout，butbetweenthreatsandcajoleriesatlengthsellshalfforoneshillingandsixpence——aboutafifthofitsfairmarketvalue；however，heisgladtorealizeanything，and，ashewiselyremarks，“Wanderermayn’twin，andthetizzyissafeanyhow。“
Eastpresentlycomesupanddrawsablank。SoonaftercomesTom’sturn。Histicket，liketheothers，isseizedandopened。
“Hereyouarethen，“shoutstheopener，holdingitup——
“Harkaway！——ByJove，Flashey，youryoungfriend’sinluck。“
“Givemetheticket，“saysFlashman，withanoath，leaningacrossthetablewithopenhandandhisfaceblackwithrage。
“Wouldn’tyoulikeit？“repliestheopener，notabadfellowatthebottom，andnoadmirerofFlashman。“Here，Brown，catchhold。“AndhehandsthetickettoTom，whopocketsit。
WhereuponFlashmanmakesforthedooratonce，thatTomandtheticketmaynotescape，andtherekeepswatchuntilthedrawingisoverandalltheboysaregone，exceptthesportingsetoffiveorsix，whostaytocomparebooks，makebets，andsoon；
Tom，whodoesn’tchoosetomovewhileFlashmanisatthedoor；
andEast，whostaysbyhisfriend，anticipatingtrouble。ThesportingsetnowgatheredroundTom。Publicopinionwouldn’tallowthemactuallytorobhimofhisticket，butanyhumbugorintimidationbywhichhecouldbedriventosellthewholeorpartatanundervaluewaslawful。
“Now，youngBrown，come，what’llyousellmeHarkawayfor？I
hearheisn’tgoingtostart。I’llgiveyoufiveshillingsforhim，“beginstheboywhohadopenedtheticket。Tom，rememberinghisgooddeed，andmoreoverinhisforlornstatewishingtomakeafriend，isabouttoaccepttheoffer，whenanothercriesout，“I’llgiveyousevenshillings。“Tomhesitatedandlookedfromonetotheother。
“No，no！“saidFlashman，pushingin，“leavemetodealwithhim；
we’lldrawlotsforitafterwards。Nowsir，youknowme:you’llsellHarkawaytousforfiveshillings，oryou’llrepentit。“
“Iwon’tsellabitofhim，“answeredTomshortly。
“Youhearthatnow！“saidFlashman，turningtotheothers。
“He’sthecoxiestyoungblackguardinthehouse。Ialwaystoldyouso。We’retohaveallthetroubleandriskofgettingupthelotteriesforthebenefitofsuchfellowsashe。“
Flashmanforgetstoexplainwhatrisktheyran，buthespeakstowillingears。Gamblingmakesboysselfishandcruelaswellasmen。
“That’strue。Wealwaysdrawblanks，“criedone——“Now，sir，youshallsellhalf，atanyrate。“
“Iwon’t，“saidTom，flushinguptohishair，andlumpingthemallinhismindwithhisswornenemy。
“Verywellthen；let’sroasthim，“criedFlashman，andcatchesholdofTombythecollar。Oneortwoboyshesitate，buttherestjoinin。EastseizesTom’sarm，andtriestopullhimaway，butisknockedbackbyoneoftheboys，andTomisdraggedalongstruggling。Hisshouldersarepushedagainstthemantelpiece，andheisheldbymainforcebeforethefire，Flashmandrawinghistrouserstightbywayofextratorture。
PoorEast，inmorepaineventhanTom，suddenlythinksofDiggs，anddartsofftofindhim。“Willyousellnowfortenshillings？“saysoneboywhoisrelenting。
Tomonlyanswersbygroansandstruggles。
“Isay，Flashey，hehashadenough，“saysthesameboy，droppingthearmheholds。
“No，no；anotherturn’lldoit，“answersFlashman。ButpoorTomisdonealready，turnsdeadlypale，andhisheadfallsforwardonhisbreast，justasDiggs，infranticexcitement，rushesintothehallwithEastathisheels。
“Youcowardlybrutes！“isallhecansay，ashecatchesTomfromthemandsupportshimtothehalltable。“GoodGod！he’sdying。
Here，getsomecoldwater——runforthehousekeeper。“
Flashmanandoneortwoothersslinkaway；therest，ashamedandsorry，bendoverTomorrunforwater，whileEastdartsoffforthehousekeeper。Watercomes，andtheythrowitonhishandsandface，andhebeginstocometo。“Mother！“——thewordscamefeeblyandslowly——“it’sverycoldto-night。“PooroldDiggsisblubberinglikeachild。“WhereamI？“goesonTom，openinghiseyes，“Ah！Iremembernow。“Andheshuthiseyesagainandgroaned。
“Isay，“iswhispered，“wecan’tdoanygood，andthehousekeeperwillbehereinaminute。“Andallbutonestealaway。HestayswithDiggs，silentandsorrowful，andfansTom’sface。
Thehousekeepercomesinwithstrongsalts，andTomsoonrecoversenoughtositup。Thereisasmellofburning。Sheexamineshisclothes，andlooksupinquiringly。Theboysaresilent。
“Howdidhecomeso？“Noanswer。“There’sbeensomebadworkhere，“sheadds，lookingveryserious，“andIshallspeaktotheDoctoraboutit。“Stillnoanswer。
“Hadn’twebettercarryhimtothesick-room？“suggestsDiggs。
“Oh，Icanwalknow，“saysTom；and，supportedbyEastandthehousekeeper，goestothesick-room。Theboywhoheldhisgroundissoonamongsttherest，whoareallinfearoftheirlives。
“Didhepeach？““Doessheknowaboutit？“
“Notaword；he’sastanchlittlefellow。“Andpausingamoment，headds，“I’msickofthiswork；whatbruteswe’vebeen！“
MeantimeTomisstretchedonthesofainthehousekeeper’sroom，withEastbyhisside，whileshegetswineandwaterandotherrestoratives。
“Areyoumuchhurt，dearoldboy？“whispersEast。
“Onlythebackofmylegs，“answersTom。Theyareindeedbadlyscorched，andpartofhistrousersburntthrough。Butsoonheisinbedwithcoldbandages。Atfirsthefeelsbroken，andthinksofwritinghomeandgettingtakenaway；andtheverseofahymnhehadlearnedyearsagosingsthroughhishead，andhegoestosleep，murmuring，-
“Wherethewickedceasefromtroubling，Andthewearyareatrest。“
Butafterasoundnight’srest，theoldboy-spiritcomesbackagain。Eastcomesin，reportingthatthewholehouseiswithhim；andheforgetseverything，excepttheiroldresolvenevertobebeatenbythatbullyFlashman。
Notawordcouldthehousekeeperextractfromeitherofthem，andthoughtheDoctorknewallthatsheknewthatmorning，heneverknewanymore。
Itrustandbelievethatsuchscenesarenotpossiblenowatschool，andthatlotteriesandbetting-bookshavegoneout；butIamwritingofschoolsastheywereinourtime，andmustgivetheevilwiththegood。
“WhereinI[speak]ofmostdisastrouschances，Ofmovingaccidentsbyfloodandfield，Ofhair-breadth’scapes。“-SHAKESPEARE。
WhenTomcamebackintoschoolafteracoupleofdaysinthesick-room，hefoundmattersmuchchangedforthebetter，asEasthadledhimtoexpect。Flashman’sbrutalityhaddisgustedmostevenofhisintimatefriends，andhiscowardicehadoncemorebeenmadeplaintothehouse；forDiggshadencounteredhimonthemorningafterthelottery，andafterhighwordsonbothsides，hadstruckhim，andtheblowwasnotreturned。However，Flasheywasnotunusedtothissortofthing，andhadlivedthroughasawkwardaffairsbefore，and，asDiggshadsaid，fedandtoadiedhimselfbackintofavouragain。TwoorthreeoftheboyswhohadhelpedtoroastTomcameupandbeggedhispardon，andthankedhimfornottellinganything。Morgansentforhim，andwasinclinedtotakethematterupwarmly，butTombeggedhimnottodoit；towhichheagreed，onTom’spromisingtocometohimatonceinfuture——apromisewhich，Iregrettosay，hedidn’tkeep。TomkeptHarkawayalltohimself，andwonthesecondprizeinthelottery，somethirtyshillings，whichheandEastcontrivedtospendinaboutthreedaysinthepurchaseofpicturesfortheirstudy，twonewbatsandacricket-ball——allthebestthatcouldbegot——andasupperofsausages，kidneys，andbeef-steakpiestoalltherebels。Lightcome，lightgo；
theywouldn’thavebeencomfortablewithmoneyintheirpocketsinthemiddleofthehalf。
TheembersofFlashman’swrath，however，werestillsmouldering，andburstouteverynowandtheninslyblowsandtaunts，andtheybothfeltthattheyhadn’tquitedonewithhimyet。Itwasn’tlong，however，beforethelastactofthatdramacame，andwithittheendofbullyingforTomandEastatRugby。Theynowoftenstoleoutintothehallatnights，incitedtheretopartlybythehopeoffindingDiggsthereandhavingatalkwithhim，partlybytheexcitementofdoingsomethingwhichwasagainstrules；for，sadtosay，bothofouryoungsters，sincetheirlossofcharacterforsteadinessintheirform，hadgotintothehabitofdoingthingswhichwereforbidden，asamatterofadventure，——justinthesameway，Ishouldfancy，asmenfallintosmuggling，andforthesamesortofreasons
