im.

"Could you describe the man who took it?"

"No." I said. "I did not see the man take it."

"Then how do you know that anybody took it?"

Of course I did not know that anybody had taken it but thought it highly
probable. "That won't do here," he said, settling down in his chair to
his tobacco. "I'll look into it. If I hear of it, why, next time you
come here, you shall have it."

"But my handkerchief," I said.

"Sixpence is my fee," the brute answered. "Do you want to rob a poor man
of his earnings? Why, what a rogue you must be, young master." I tried
to move him to recover my handkerchief, but without success. At last,
growing weary of the sound of my pipe, as he said, he rounded on me.

"If you don't run away 'ome," he said, "I'll commit you for a nuisance.
Think I'm goin' to be bothered by yer. Be off, now."

At that, I set off down to the river. There I found two dirty little
boys in my uncle's boat, busy with the dipper, trying to fill her with
water. I boxed the ears of one of them, when the other, coming behind
me, hit me over the head with the stretcher. I turned sharply, giving
him a punch which made his nose bleed. The other, seeing his chance
(my back being turned) promptly soused me with the dipper. I saw that I
would have to settle one of them at a time, so, paying no attention
to the dipper, I followed up my blow on the nose with one or two more,
which drove the stretcher-boy out of the boat. The other was a harder
lad; who would, perhaps, have beaten me, had not a waterman on the
stairs taken my part. He took my enemy by the ear. "Get out of that," he
said, giving him a kick. "If I catch you messing boats again, I'll give
you Mogador Jack." I pushed off from the stairs then, glad to get away
with both oars. My enemies, running along the banks, flung stones at
me as long as I was in range. If I had had my sling with me, would have
warmed their legs for them. When was out of range of their shot, I laid
in my oars, so that I could bail. The boys had poured about six inches
of water into the boat. If the plug had been less tightly hammered in,
they would no doubt have sunk her at her painter by pulling it out. Then
should have been indeed in difficulty. It took me about twenty minutes
to bail the boat clear. As I bailed her, I thought that Londoners must
be the most unpleasant people in the world, since, already, in two days,
I had met so many knaves. It did not occur to me at the time that I was