At present the penny was doubly dear to him, having been long lost and lately found.

In a noble moment he had dropped it into a charity box hanging forlorn against the wall of a shop, where it lay very lonely by itself, so that when Tommy was that way he could hear it respond if he shook the box, as acquaintances give each other the time of day in passing.

Thus at comparatively small outlay did he spread his benevolence over weeks and feel a glow therefrom, until the glow went, when he and Shovel recaptured the penny with a thread and a bent pin.
This treasure he sadly presented to the girl, and she accepted it with glee, putting it on her finger, as if it were a ring, but instead of saying that she would go now she asked him, coolly, "Oo know tories ?" "Stories!" he exclaimed, "I'll--I'll tell you about Thrums," and was about to do it for love, but stopped in time.

"This ain't a good stair for stories," he said, cunningly.

"I can't not tell stories on this stair, but I--I know a good stair for stories." The ninny of a girl was completely hoodwinked; and see, there they go, each with a hand in the muff, the one leering, oh, so triumphantly; the other trusting and gleeful.