"Hadn't we better open 'em? I _am_ hungry, but they're rather small and
square for cakes."
"Get out!" I said. "Cakes indeed! Here, let's see."
"Whose shall we open first?" whispered Mercer.
"Yours."
"No, yours."
"Both together then."
"Right. Draw knives--Open knives--Cut!"
The strings were divided to the moment, and then the sealing-wax which
fastened the brown paper further was broken, and two white paper packets
were revealed, also carefully sealed up. This wax was broken in turn,
and with trembling hands we removed the white paper, to find within
something hard and square wrapped in a quantity of tissue paper.
We paused again, feeling breathless with excitement, and looked at each
other.
"Ready?" I said, and we tore off the tissue till a couple of little
morocco cases were revealed, and again we paused before unhooking the
fastenings, and opening little lids lined with white satin, while below,
in crimson velvet, tightly-fitting beds, lay a couple of bright silver
watches.
Oh, the delight of that first watch! It fixed itself so in my memory
that I shall never forget it. The bright, dazzling look of the engine
turning, showing different lights and seeming to be in motion as the
position of the watch is changed; the round spot in the ring where the
spring was pressed for the case to fly open and show the face with its
Roman numerals; and then the ticking--that peculiar metallic sound like
nothing else. Words will not describe the satisfaction we boys felt as
we stood examining our presents.
"Why, they're both exactly alike," said Mercer at last. "I say, take
care, or we shall get 'em mixed."
There was no fear of that after the first few minutes, for further
examination showed that they were numbered, and those numbers were
burned into our memories at once.
"Oh, I say," cried Mercer at last, "talk about watches! these are
something like. Why, one of 'em's worth a dozen of old Eely's."
"Don't talk about it!" I said, with a shiver; and after carefully
opening mine so as to gaze at the works, Mercer of course following
suit, the watches were carefully returned to their cases and placed in
our pockets.
"What shall we do now?" asked Mercer; "go and show them to the boys?"
"No; it will only make them disappointed. Let's go down at once to Bob
Hopley's."
"What for?"
"To take this."
Mercer looked at the smaller packet I had for a few moments.
"What is it?" he said.
"A present from my mother for Polly."
"Oh! Why, it must be a watch."
"No," I said; "I think it's a brooch or a pair of earrings."
"Oh, won't she be pleased!"
We walked down to the lodge, where Polly met us at the door, eager to
point to a tin of jam pigs which she had just drawn from the oven.
"I was wishing some of you young gentlemen would come," she said.
"They're red currant and raspberry. You're just in time."
Polly's ideas of our visits to the cottage were always connected with
tuck, and she looked at me wonderingly when I said we had not come for
that.
"There aren't nothing more the matter, is there?" she cried, as she set
down her tin.