"Then there are five magnifying glasses, seven pencil cases, and six
pens," said Norah. "All tokens of affection, Jim? I'll put them in the
middle drawer."
"What on earth I'm going to do with 'em all," said their harassed
owner, "I'm sure I don't know. Does any one chap use five magnifiers in
his life? Never used one yet! I wish the fellows hadn't been so kind--it
was awfully brickish of them, though, wasn't it? And the Doctor gave me
this." He held up a large and solemn--looking book.
"What is it?"
"'Self Help,' by a chap named Smiles. Shouldn't have thought there were
many smiles about a book looking like that, but it shows you can't tell
everything by the cover. And Mrs. Doctor gave me this tie--knitted it
herself. It was jolly decent of her, wasn't it? She's always been
awfully kind to me," said the big fellow, who had no idea of what "Mrs.
Doctor" thought of his cheerful habit of picking up two or three of her
babies and treating them to a wild ride round the school grounds on his
back; and who had on one occasion sat up all night with a sick
three-year-old who had cried unreasonably for "Yinton" to come and
carry him. The boy had recovered, somewhat against expectations, and
Jim had thought no more of the matter, except to drop gently and firmly
into a gorse bush a fellow who had chaffed him for being a nursemaid.
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