'Yes, sir,' whispered Humplebee.
'Ha! I see you already take an intelligent interest in things beyond
school. They tell me you are sixteen, Humplebee. Come, now; what are your
ideas about the future? I don't mean'--Mr. Chadwick rolled a laugh--'about
the future of mankind, or even the future of the English race; you and I
may perhaps discuss such questions a few years hence. In the meantime, what
are your personal ambitions? In brief, what would you like to be,
Humplebee?'
Under the eye of his master and of the commercial potentate, Humplebee
stood voiceless; he gasped once or twice like an expiring fish.
'Courage, my boy, courage!' cried Mr. Chadwick. 'Your father, I believe,
destines you for commerce. Is that your own wish? Speak freely. Speak as
though I were a friend you have known all your life.'
'I should like to please my father, sir,' jerked from the boy's lips.
'Good! Admirable! That's the spirit I like, Humplebee. Then you have no
marked predilection? That was what I wanted to discover--well, well, we
shall see. Meanwhile, Humplebee, get on with your arithmetic. You are good
at arithmetic, I am sure?'
'Not very, sir.'
'Come, come, that's your modesty.
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