He never touched a drop of anything, not even ginger-beer, while he was straight, and he kept us all going from nine o'clock in the morning till three in the afternoon, summer and winter, for more than six years.

Then he died, poor old chap--found dead in his bed one morning.

Many a basting he gave me and Jim with an old malacca cane he had with a silver knob to it.

We were all pretty frightened of him.

He'd say to me and Jim and the other boys, 'It's the best chance of making men of yourselves you ever had, if you only knew it.