- end_line
- 882
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:48:14.838Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 804
- text
- “And pray,” said I, “how much will you let me have for my gun, by way
of a pawn?”
“Well, I suppose it’s worth six dollars, and seeing you’re a boy, I’ll
let you have three dollars upon it”
“No,” exclaimed I, seizing the fowling-piece, “it’s worth five times
that, I’ll go somewhere else.”
“Good morning, then,” said he, “I hope you’ll do better,” and he bowed
me out as if he expected to see me again pretty soon.
I had not gone very far when I came across three more balls hanging
over a shop. In I went, and saw a long counter, with a sort of
picket-fence, running all along from end to end, and three little
holes, with three little old men standing inside of them, like
prisoners looking out of a jail. Back of the counter were all sorts of
things, piled up and labeled. Hats, and caps, and coats, and guns, and
swords, and canes, and chests, and planes, and books, and
writing-desks, and every thing else. And in a glass case were lots of
watches, and seals, chains, and rings, and breastpins, and all kinds of
trinkets. At one of the little holes, earnestly talking with one of the
hook-nosed men, was a thin woman in a faded silk gown and shawl,
holding a pale little girl by the hand. As I drew near, she spoke lower
in a whisper; and the man shook his head, and looked cross and rude;
and then some more words were exchanged over a miniature, and some
money was passed through the hole, and the woman and child shrank out
of the door.
I won’t sell my gun to that man, thought I; and I passed on to the next
hole; and while waiting there to be served, an elderly man in a
high-waisted surtout, thrust a silver snuff-box through; and a young
man in a calico shirt and a shiny coat with a velvet collar presented a
silver watch; and a sheepish boy in a cloak took out a frying-pan; and
another little boy had a Bible; and all these things were thrust
through to the hook-nosed man, who seemed ready to hook any thing that
came along; so I had no doubt he would gladly hook my gun, for the long
picketed counter seemed like a great seine, that caught every variety
of fish.
At last I saw a chance, and crowded in for the hole; and in order to be
beforehand with a big man who just then came in, I pushed my gun
violently through the hole; upon which the hook-nosed man cried out,
thinking I was going to shoot him. But at last he took the gun, turned
it end for end, clicked the trigger three times, and then said, “one
dollar.”
“What about one dollar?” said I.
“That’s all I’ll give,” he replied.
“Well, what do you want?” and he turned to the next person. This was a
young man in a seedy red cravat and a pimply face, that looked as if it
was going to seed likewise, who, with a mysterious tapping of his
vest-pocket and other hints, made a great show of having something
confidential to communicate.
But the hook-nosed man spoke out very loud, and said, “None of that;
take it out. Got a stolen watch? We don’t deal in them things here.”
Upon this the young man flushed all over, and looked round to see who
had heard the pawnbroker; then he took something very small out of his
pocket, and keeping it hidden under his palm, pushed it into the hole.
“Where did you get this ring?” said the pawnbroker.
“I want to pawn it,” whispered the other, blushing all over again.
“What’s your name?” said the pawnbroker, speaking very loud.
“How much will you give?” whispered the other in reply, leaning over,
and looking as if he wanted to hush up the pawnbroker.
At last the sum was agreed upon, when the man behind the counter took a
little ticket, and tying the ring to it began to write on the ticket;
all at once he asked the young man where he lived, a question which
embarrassed him very much; but at last he stammered out a certain
number in Broadway.
- title
- Chunk 2