There was now a laugh amongst the surrounders, which evidently nettled the fellow, who forthwith thrust his hand into his pocket, and pulling out all his silver treasure, just contrived to place the value of the guinea on the table.

"Them that finds, wins; and them that can't finds--_loses_," interrupted Jack, lifting up a thimble, out of which rolled a pea.

"There, Paddy, what do you think of that ?" said he, seizing the heap of silver with one hand, whilst he pocketed the guinea with the other.

The thimble-engro stood for some time like one transfixed, his eyes glaring wildly, now at the table, and now at his successful customer; at last he said, "Arrah, sure, master!--no, I manes my lord--you are not going to ruin a poor boy!" "Ruin you!" said the other; "what! by winning a guinea's change?
a pretty small dodger you--if you have not sufficient capital, why do you engage in so deep a trade as thimbling?
come, will you stand another game ?" "Och, sure, master, no! the twenty shillings and one which you have cheated me of were all I had in the world." "Cheated you!" said Jack; "say that again, and I will knock you down." "Arrah! sure, master, you knows that the pea under the thimble was not mine; here is mine, master; now give me back my money." "A likely thing," said Jack; "no, no, I know a trick worth two or three of that; whether the pea was yours or mine, you will never have your twenty shillings and one again; and if I have ruined you, all the better; I'd gladly ruin all such villains as you, who ruin poor men with your dirty tricks, whom you would knock down and rob on the road if you had but courage: not that I mean to keep your shillings, with the exception of the two you cheated from me, which I'll keep.

A scramble, boys! a scramble!" said he, flinging up all the silver into the air, with the exception of the two shillings; and a scramble there instantly was, between the rustics who had lost their money and the urchins who came running up; the poor thimble-engro tried likewise to have his share; but though he flung himself down, in order to join more effectually in the scramble, he was unable to obtain a single sixpence; and having in his rage given some of his fellow-scramblers a cuff or two, he was set upon by the boys and country-fellows, and compelled to make an inglorious retreat with his table, which had been flung down in the scuffle, and had one of its legs broken.