recollect having met before, has collected a small crowd in
a convenient corner; his stock-in-trade consists of an
innocent-looking basket, with a linen-cover, upon which are a
sharpened skewer and a narrow strip of cloth._

_The Sportsman._ I'll undertake to show you more fun in five minutes,
than you'll get over there in two: (_with a vague suspicion that this
is rather a lame conclusion_)--in ten, I _should_ say! This 'ere's a
simple enough little game, when you know the trick of it, and I'm
on'y a _learnin'_ it myself. I ain't doin' this for money. I got money
enough to sink a ship--it's on'y for my own amusement. Now you watch
me a doin' up this garter--keep yer eye on it. (_He coils up the
strip._) It goes _up_ 'ere, ye see, and down _there_, and _in_ 'ere
agin, and then round. Now, I'm ready to bet anything from a sovereign
to a shilling, nobody 'ere can prick the middle. I'll tell ye if ye
win. I'm ole BILLY FAIRPLAY, and I don't cheat! (_A Spotty-faced Man,
after intently following the process, says he believes he could find
the middle._) Well, don't tell--that's all. I'm 'ere all alone, agin
the lot o' ye, and I want to win if I can--one dog to a bone! (_The_
S.-F.M. _produces a florin from a mouldy purse, and stakes it, and
makes a dab at the coil with the skewer._) No, ye're wrong--that's
outside! (_O.B.F. pulls the strip out._) By Gum, ye've done it, after
all! 'Ere's four bob for you, and I'm every bit as pleased as if I'd
won myself! 'Oo'll try next?

_A Smart Young Man_ (_with a brilliant pin in a dirty necktie, to
JOE_). I don't see how it's done--do you?

_Joe._ Ye will if you don't take yer eyes off it--theer, I could tell
ye the middle now, I could.