Thady, however, disregarded him; and as the master knew that the
influence of the boy's father could at any time remove him from the
parish, his anger subsided without any very violent consequences. The
parish priest was his avowed patron, it is true; but if the parish
priest knew that Mr. O'Rorke was dissatisfied with him, that moment
he would join Mr. O'Rorke in expelling him: from the neighborhood. Mr.
O'Rorke was a wealthy and a hospitable man, but the schoolmaster was
neither the one nor the other.

During school-hours that day, many a warm-hearted urchin entered into
conversation with the poor scholar; some moved by curiosity to hear his
brief and simple history; others anxious to offer him a temporary asylum
in their father's houses; and several to know if he had the requisite
books, assuring him if he had not they would lend, them to him. These
proofs of artless generosity touched the homeless youth's heart the more
acutely, inasmuch as he could perceive but too clearly that the eye
of the master rested upon him, from time to time, with no auspicious
glance.

When the scholars were dismissed, a scene occurred which was calculated
to produce a smile, although it certainly placed the poor scholar in a
predicament by no means agreeable. It resulted from a contest among
the boys as to who should first bring him home. The master who, by that
cunning for which the knavish are remarkable, had discovered in the
course of the day that his designs upon the boy's money was understood,
did not ask him to his house. The contest was, therefore, among the
scholars; who, when the master had disappeared from the school-room,
formed themselves into a circle, of which Jemmy was the centre, each
pressing his claim to secure him.