We awaited with much interest his final
decision. With an unpleasant flash of his dark eyes he cast the
stone to my end of the rude table, and quietly thrust the bar of
silver with his other possessions into his capacious pockets.
I tried hard to check the words that rose to my lips. Throughout
the afternoon I had noticed Tom's pointed objections to many things
I had done or had proposed to do. He had objected to Thora
accompanying us on the sealing expedition. He had disagreed with
the disposal of the dead hen harrier; other little incidents, most
of which had testified to his deep-rooted selfishness, I had not
failed to notice. More than all, I remembered how he had pocketed
the jewelled fragments of the helmet, and kept the knowledge of
their value from us all. As for the opinions of the other two lads
regarding him, it was Willie Hercus who had called him a "sneak" in
school that morning, and Robbie Rosson, I knew, had certainly no
love for Tom, who had persistently bullied him.
"Well, are you not satisfied?" said Kinlay, seeing my undisguised
indignation.
"Yes, with my own share," I replied. "But if you'd taken the
smaller piece of siller for yourself, and given Willie Hercus yon
piece you've taken, I'd have thought you more honourable."
And then I roundly accused him of having stolen the fragments of
the helmet.
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