Rollo went to the carriage to state the case to his father, and ask
his permission to see if he could not pitch the disks so as to cover one
of the plates on the board. His father hesitated.

"So far as trying the experiment is concerned," said Mr. Holiday, "as a
matter of dexterity and skill, there is no harm; but so far as the hope
of getting a prize by it is concerned, it is of the nature of gaming."

"I should think it was more of the nature of a reward for merit and
excellence," said Mr. George.

"No," said Mr. Holiday; "for in one or two trials made by chance
passengers coming along to such a place, the result must depend much
more on chance than on adroitness or skill.

"I will tell you what you may do, Rollo," continued Mr. Holiday. "You
may pay the man the two sous and try the experiment, provided you
determine beforehand not to take any prize if you succeed. Then you will
pay your money simply for the use of his apparatus, to amuse yourself
with a gymnastic performance, and not stake it in hope of a prize."

"Well," said Rollo, "that is all I want." And off he ran.

"It seems to me that that is a very nice distinction that you made,"
said Mr. George, as soon as Rollo had gone, "and that those two things
are very near the line."

"Yes," replied Mr. Holiday, "it is a nice distinction, but it is a very
true one. The two things are very near the line; but then, one of them
is clearly on one side, and the other on the other. For a boy to pay for
the use of such an apparatus for the purpose of trying his eye and his
hand is clearly right; but to stake his money in hopes of winning a
prize is wrong, for it is gaming. It is gaming, it is true, in this
case, on an exceedingly small scale. Still it is gaming, and so is the
beginning of a road which has a very dreadful end. Is not it so?"

"Yes," said Mr. George, "I think it is."

As might have been expected, Rollo did not succeed in covering one of
the disks. The disks that he threw spread all over the board. The money
that he paid was, however, well spent, for he had much more than two
sous' worth of satisfaction in making the experiment.

Rollo found a great many other things to interest him in the various
stalls and stands that he visited; but at length he got tired of them
all, and, coming back to the carriage, told his father that he was ready
to go home.

"Very well," said his father. "I don't know but that your uncle George
and I are ready, too, thou