Immediately he got any money he would pay his debts; if there
was any over he would spend it; if there was not--and there seldom was--he
would begin to go on tick again.
His finance was always based upon the supposition that he should go back
to school with 1 pound in his pocket--of which he owed say a matter of
fifteen shillings. There would be five shillings for sundry school
subscriptions--but when these were paid the weekly allowance of sixpence
given to each boy in hall, his merit money (which this half he was
resolved should come to a good sum) and renewed credit, would carry him
through the half.
The sudden failure of 15/- was disastrous to my hero's scheme of finance.
His face betrayed his emotions so clearly that Theobald said he was
determined "to learn the truth at once, and _this time_ without days and
days of falsehood" before he reached it. The melancholy fact was not
long in coming out, namely, that the wretched Ernest added debt to the
vices of idleness, falsehood and possibly--for it was not
impossible--immorality.
How had he come to get into debt? Did the other boys do so? Ernest
reluctantly admitted that they did.
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