'Now, William,' said Billy King's great-uncle, 'you are old enough to
earn your own living, so I shall find you a nice situation in an office,
and you will not return to school.'
The blood of Billy King ran cold in his veins. He looked out over the
brown wire blinds into Claremont Square, Pentonville, which was where
his uncle lived, and the tears came into his eyes; for, though his uncle
thought he was old enough to earn his own living, he was still young
enough to hate the idea of having to earn it in an office, where he
would never do anything, or make anything, or see anything, but only add
up dull figures from year's end to year's end.
'I don't care,' said Billy to himself. 'I'll run away and get a
situation on my own--something interesting. I wonder if I could learn
how to be a pirate captain or a highwayman?'
And next morning Billy got up very early, before anyone was about, and
ran away.
He ran till he was out of breath and then he walked, and he walked till
he was out of patience, and then he ran again, and between walking and
running he came at last plump up to the door of a shop. And over the
shop there were big painted letters saying, 'Registry office for all
sorts of persons out of employment.'
'I'm out of employment, anyway,' said he. The window of the shop had big
green-baize-shutter sort of things in them, with white cards fastened
on to them with drawing-pins, and on the cards were written the kind of
persons out of employment the registry office had got places for. And in
the very first one he read there was his own name--King!
'I've come to the right shop,' said Billy, and he read the card through.
'Good general King wanted. Must be used to the business.'
'That's not me, I'm afraid,' thought Billy, 'because whatever a general
King's business is I can't be used to it till I've tried it.'
The next was: 'Good steady King wanted. Must be quick, willing, and up
to his work.'
'I'm willing enough,' said Billy, 'and I'm quick enough--at any rate,
at fives or footer--but I don't know what a steady King's work is.' So
he looked at another card.
'Wanted, respectable King to take entire charge of Parliament, and to
assist in Cabinet Councils and Reform of the Army, to open Bazaars and
Schools of Art, and make himself generally useful.'
Billy shook his head.
'I think that must be a very hard place,' said he.