And he was so honest that he was simply ridiculous.

The curious ways that that Jacob had, surpassed everything.
He wouldn't play marbles on Sunday, he wouldn't rob birds' nests, he wouldn't give hot pennies to organ-grinders' monkeys; he didn't seem to take any interest in any kind of rational amusement.

So the other boys used to try to reason it out and come to an understanding of him, but they couldn't arrive at any satisfactory conclusion.

As I said before, they could only figure out a sort of vague idea that he was "afflicted," and so they took him under their protection, and never allowed any harm to come to him.
This good little boy read all the Sunday-school books; they were his greatest delight.

This was the whole secret of it.