Hegotquiteangrysometimes，astheysattogetherofanightintheirstudy，atthisprovokinghabitofagreement，andwasonthepointofbreakingoutadozentimeswithalectureupontheproprietyofafellowhavingawillofhisownandspeakingout，butmanagedtorestrainhimselfbythethoughtthathemightonlyfrightenArthur，andtheremembranceofthelessonhehadlearntfromhimonhisfirstnightatNumber4。ThenhewouldresolvetositstillandnotsayawordtillArthurbegan；buthewasalwaysbeatatthatgame，andhadpresentlytobegintalkingindespair，fearinglestArthurmightthinkhewasvexedatsomethingifhedidn’t，anddog-tiredofsittingtongue-tied。
Itwashardwork。ButTomhadtakenitup，andmeanttosticktoit，andgothroughwithitsoastosatisfyhimself；inwhichresolutionhewasmuchassistedbythechafingofEastandhisotheroldfriends，whobegantocallhim“dry-nurse，“andotherwisetobreaktheirsmallwitonhim。Butwhentheytookotherground，astheydideverynowandthen，Tomwassorelypuzzled。
“Tellyouwhat，Tommy，“Eastwouldsay；“you’llspoilyoungHopefulwithtoomuchcoddling。Whycan’tyoulethimgoaboutbyhimselfandfindhisownlevel？He’llneverbeworthabuttonifyougoonkeepinghimunderyourskirts。“
“Well，butheain’tfittofighthisownwayyet；I’mtryingtogethimtoiteveryday，buthe’sveryodd。Poorlittlebeggar！
Ican’tmakehimoutabit。Heain’tabitlikeanythingI’veeverseenorheardof——heseemsallovernerves；anythingyousayseemstohurthimlikeacutorablow。“
“Thatsortofboy’snousehere，“saidEast；“he’llonlyspoil。
NowI’lltellyouwhattodo，Tommy。Goandgetanicelargeband-boxmade，andputhiminwithplentyofcotton-woolandapap-bottle，labelled’Withcare——thissideup，’andsendhimbacktomamma。“
“IthinkIshallmakeahandofhimthough，“saidTom，smiling，“saywhatyouwill。There’ssomethingabouthim，everynowandthen，whichshowsmehe’sgotplucksomewhereinhim。That’stheonlythingafterallthat’llwash，ain’tit，oldScud？Buthowtogetatitandbringitout？“
Tomtookonehandoutofhisbreeches-pocketandstuckitinhisbackhairforascratch，givinghishatatiltoverhisnose，hisonemethodofinvokingwisdom。Hestaredatthegroundwithaludicrouslypuzzledlook，andpresentlylookedupandmetEast’seyes。Thatyounggentlemanslappedhimontheback，andthenputhisarmroundhisshoulder，astheystrolledthroughthequadrangletogether。“Tom，“saidhe，“blestifyouain’tthebestoldfelloweverwas。Idoliketoseeyougointoathing。Hangit，IwishIcouldtakethingsasyoudo；butI
nevercangethigherthanajoke。Everything’sajoke。IfI
wasgoingtobefloggednextminute，Ishouldbeinabluefunk，butIcouldn’thelplaughingatitforthelifeofme。“
“BrownandEast，yougoandfagforJonesonthegreatfivescourt。“
“Hullo，though，that’spastajoke，“brokeoutEast，springingattheyounggentlemanwhoaddressedthem，andcatchinghimbythecollar——“Here，Tommy，catchholdofhimt’othersidebeforehecanholla。“
Theyouthwasseized，anddragged，struggling，outofthequadrangleintotheSchool-househall。Hewasoneofthemiserablelittleprettywhite-handed，curly-headedboys，pettedandpamperedbysomeofthebigfellows，whowrotetheirversesforthem，taughtthemtodrinkandusebadlanguage，anddidalltheycouldtospoilthemforeverything*inthisworldandthenext。Oneoftheavocationsinwhichtheseyounggentlementookparticulardelightwasingoingaboutandgettingfagsfortheirprotectors，whenthoseheroeswereplayinganygame。Theycarriedaboutpencilandpaperwiththem，puttingdownthenamesofalltheboystheysent，alwayssendingfivetimesasmanyaswerewanted，andgettingallthosethrashedwhodidn’tgo。ThepresentyouthbelongedtoahousewhichwasveryjealousoftheSchool-house，andalwayspickedoutSchool-housefagswhenhecouldfindthem。However，thistimehe’dgotthewrongsowbytheear。Hiscaptorsslammedthegreatdoorofthehall，andEastputhisbackagainstit，whileTomgavetheprisonerashakeup，tookawayhislist，andstoodhimuponthefloor，whileheproceededleisurelytoexaminethatdocument。
*Akindandwisecritic，anoldRugboean，noteshereinthemargin:“Thesmallfriendsystemwasnotsoutterlybadfrom1841-1847。“Beforethat，too，thereweremanynoblefriendshipsbetweenbigandlittleboys；butIcan’tstrikeoutthepassage。
Manyboyswillknowwhyitisleftin。
“Letmeout，letmego！“screamedtheboy，inafuriouspassion。“I’llgoandtellJonesthisminute，andhe’llgiveyouboththe——thrashingyoueverhad。“
“Prettylittledear，“saidEast，pattingthetopofhishat——
“Harkhowheswears，Tom。Nicelybroughtupyoungman，ain’the，Idon’tthink。“
“Letmealone，——you，“roaredtheboy，foamingwithrage，andkickingatEast，whoquietlytrippedhimup，anddepositedhimonthefloorinaplaceofsafety。
“Gently，youngfellow，“saidhe；“’tain’timprovingforlittlewhippersnapperslikeyoutobeindulginginblasphemy；soyoustopthat，oryou’llgetsomethingyouwon’tlike。“
“I’llhaveyoubothlickedwhenIgetout，thatIwill，“
rejoinedtheboy，beginningtosnivel。
“Twocanplayatthatgame，mindyou，“saidTom，whohadfinishedhisexaminationofthelist。“Nowyoujustlistenhere。We’vejustcomeacrossthefivescourt，andJoneshasfourfagstherealready——twomorethanhewants。Ifhe’dwantedustochange，he’dhavestoppedushimself。Andhere，youlittleblackguard，you’vegotsevennamesdownonyourlistbesidesours，andfiveofthemSchool-house。“Tomwalkeduptohim，andjerkedhimontohislegs；hewasbythistimewhininglikeawhippedpuppy。“Nowjustlistentome。Weain’tgoingtofagforJones。Ifyoutellhimyou’vesentus，we’lleachofusgiveyousuchathrashingasyou’llremember。“AndTomtoreupthelistandthrewthepiecesintothefire。
“Andmindyou，too，“saidEast，“don’tletmecatchyouagainsneakingabouttheSchool-house，andpickingupourfags。Youhaven’tgotthesortofhidetotakeasoundlickingkindly。“
Andheopenedthedoorandsenttheyounggentlemanflyingintothequadranglewithapartingkick。
“Niceboy，Tommy，“saidEast，shovinghishandsinhispockets，andstrollingtothefire。
“Worstsortwebreed，“respondedTom，followinghisexample。
“Thankgoodness，nobigfellowevertooktopettingme。“
“You’dneverhavebeenlikethat，“saidEast。“Ishouldliketohaveputhiminamuseum:Christianyounggentleman，nineteenthcentury，highlyeducated。Stirhimupwithalongpole，Jack，andhearhimswearlikeadrunkensailor。He’dmakearespectablepublicopenitseyes，Ithink。“
“Thinkhe’lltellJones？“saidTom。
“No，“saidEast。“Don’tcareifhedoes。“
“NorI，“saidTom。AndtheywentbacktotalkaboutArthur。
TheyounggentlemanhadbrainsenoughnottotellJones，reasoningthatEastandBrown，whowerenotedassomeofthetoughestfagsintheSchool，wouldn’tcarethreestrawsforanylickingJonesmightgivethem，andwouldbelikelytokeeptheirwordsastopassingitonwithinterest。
Aftertheaboveconversation，Eastcameagooddealtotheirstudy，andtooknoticeofArthur，andsoonallowedtoTomthathewasathoroughlittlegentleman，andwouldgetoverhisshynessallingoodtime；whichmuchcomfortedourhero。Hefelteveryday，too，thevalueofhavinganobjectinhislife——
somethingthatdrewhimoutofhimself；anditbeingthedulltimeoftheyear，andnogamesgoingaboutforwhichhemuchcared，washappierthanhehadeveryetbeenatschool，whichwassayingagreatdeal。
ThetimewhichTomallowedhimselfawayfromhischargewasfromlocking-uptillsupper-time。Duringthishourorhourandahalfheusedtotakehisfling，goingroundtothestudiesofallhisacquaintance，sparringorgossipinginthehall，nowjumpingtheoldiron-boundtables，orcarvingabitofhisnameonthem，thenjoininginsomechorusofmerryvoices——infact，blowingoffhissteam，asweshouldnowcallit。
Thisprocesswassocongenialtohistemper，andArthurshowedhimselfsopleasedatthearrangement，thatitwasseveralweeksbeforeTomwaseverintheirstudybeforesupper。Oneevening，however，herushedintolookforanoldchisel，orsomecorks，orotherarticleessentialtohispursuitforthetimebeing，andwhilerummagingaboutinthecupboards，lookedupforamoment，andwascaughtatoncebythefigureofpoorlittleArthur。Theboywassittingwithhiselbowsonthetable，andhisheadleaningonhishands，andbeforehimanopenbook，onwhichhistearswerefallingfast。Tomshutthedooratonce，andsatdownonthesofabyArthur，puttinghisarmroundhisneck。
“Why，youngun，what’sthematter？“saidhekindly；“youain’tunhappy，areyou？“
“Ohno，Brown，“saidthelittleboy，lookingupwiththegreattearsinhiseyes；“youaresokindtome，I’mveryhappy。“
“Whydon’tyoucallmeTom？LotsofboysdothatIdon’tlikehalfsomuchasyou。Whatareyoureading，then？Hangit！youmustcomeaboutwithme，andnotmopeyourself。“AndTomcastdownhiseyesonthebook，andsawitwastheBible。Hewassilentforaminute，andthoughttohimself，“LessonNumber2，TomBrown；“andthensaidgently，“I’mverygladtoseethis，Arthur，andashamedthatIdon’treadtheBiblemoremyself。DoyoureaditeverynightbeforesupperwhileI’mout？“
“Yes。“
“Well，Iwishyou’dwaittillafterwards，andthenwe’dreadtogether。But，Arthur，whydoesitmakeyoucry？“
“Oh，itisn’tthatI’munhappy。Butathome，whilemyfatherwasalive，wealwaysreadthelessonsaftertea；andIlovetoreadthemovernow，andtrytorememberwhathesaidaboutthem。
