The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot Read Free Book Online

the while she is secretly preparing a refutation of their
confident prophecies. Under these average boyish physiognomies that
she seems to turn off by the gross, she conceals some of her most
rigid, inflexible purposes, some of her most unmodifiable
characters; and the dark-eyed, demonstrative, rebellious girl may
after all turn out to be a passive being compared with this
pink-and-white bit of masculinity with the indeterminate
features.
    "Maggie," said Tom, confidentially, taking her into a corner, as
soon as his mother was gone out to examine his box and the warm
parlor had taken off the chill he had felt from the long drive,
"you don't know what I've got in
my
pockets," nodding his
head up and down as a means of rousing her sense of mystery.
    "No," said Maggie. "How stodgy they look, Tom! Is it marls
(marbles) or cobnuts?" Maggie's heart sank a little, because Tom
always said it was "no good" playing with
her
at those
games, she played so badly.
    "Marls! no; I've swopped all my marls with the little fellows,
and cobnuts are no fun, you silly, only when the nuts are green.
But see here!" He drew something half out of his right-hand
pocket.
    "What is it?" said Maggie, in a whisper. "I can see nothing but
a bit of yellow."
    "Why, it's–a–new–guess, Maggie!"
    "Oh, I
can't
guess, Tom," said Maggie, impatiently.
    "Don't be a spitfire, else I won't tell you," said Tom,
thrusting his hand back into his pocket and looking determined.
    "No, Tom," said Maggie, imploringly, laying hold of the arm that
was held stiffly in the pocket. "I'm not cross, Tom; it was only
because I can't bear guessing.
Please
be good to me."
    Tom's arm slowly relaxed, and he said, "Well, then, it's a new
fish-line–two new uns,–one for you, Maggie, all to yourself. I
wouldn't go halves in the toffee and gingerbread on purpose to save
the money; and Gibson and Spouncer fought with me because I
wouldn't. And here's hooks; see here–I say,
won't
we go
and fish to-morrow down by the Round Pool? And you shall catch your
own fish, Maggie and put the worms on, and everything; won't it be
fun?"
    Maggie's answer was to throw her arms round Tom's neck and hug
him, and hold her cheek against his without speaking, while he
slowly unwound some of the line, saying, after a pause,–
    "Wasn't I a good brother, now, to buy you a line all to
yourself? You know, I needn't have bought it, if I hadn't
liked."
    "Yes, very, very good–I
do
love you, Tom."
    Tom had put the line back in his pocket, and was looking at the
hooks one by one, before he spoke again.
    "And the fellows fought me, because I wouldn't give in about the
toffee."
    "Oh, dear! I wish they wouldn't fight at your school, Tom.
Didn't it hurt you?"
    "Hurt me? no," said Tom, putting up the hooks again, taking out
a large pocket-knife, and slowly opening the largest blade, which
he looked at meditatively as he rubbed his finger along it. Then he
added,–
    "I gave Spouncer a black eye, I know; that's what he got by
wanting to leather
me;
I wasn't going to go halves because
anybody leathered me."
    "Oh, how brave you are, Tom! I think you're like Samson. If
there came a lion roaring at me, I think you'd fight him, wouldn't
you, Tom?"
    "How can a lion come roaring at you, you silly thing? There's no
lions, only in the shows."
    "No; but if we were in the lion countries–I mean in Africa,
where it's very hot; the lions eat people there. I can show it you
in the book where I read it."
    "Well, I should get a gun and shoot him."
    "But if you hadn't got a gun,–we might have gone out, you know,
not thinking, just as we go fishing; and then a great lion might
run toward us roaring, and we couldn't get away from him. What
should you do, Tom?"
    Tom paused, and at last turned away contemptuously, saying, "But
the lion
isn't
coming. What's the use of talking?"
    "But I like to fancy how it would be," said Maggie, following
him. "Just think what you would do, Tom."
    "Oh, don't bother, Maggie! you're such a silly. I shall