{"id":"01KG8AKS6973MJRB8GG0XCT3EJ","cid":"bafkreid2d2kpclhkevo4yowklt4dcemh73irgsf5pflydqjpoj4ynvjtke","type":"chunk","properties":{"end_line":815,"extracted_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:14.838Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"Chunk 1","source_file":"01KG89J1GP71YDJ60P8SRH97MF","start_line":749,"text":"CHAPTER IV.\r\nHOW HE DISPOSED OF HIS FOWLING-PIECE\r\n\r\n\r\nNext day I went alone to the shipping office to sign the articles, and\r\nthere I met a great crowd of sailors, who as soon as they found what I\r\nwas after, began to tip the wink all round, and I overheard a fellow in\r\na great flapping sou’wester cap say to another old tar in a shaggy\r\nmonkey-jacket, “Twig his coat, d’ye see the buttons, that chap ain’t\r\ngoing to sea in a merchantman, he’s going to shoot whales. I say,\r\nmaty—look here—how d’ye sell them big buttons by the pound?”\r\n\r\n“Give us one for a saucer, will ye?” said another.\r\n\r\n“Let the youngster alone,” said a third. “Come here, my little boy, has\r\nyour ma put up some sweetmeats for ye to take to sea?”\r\n\r\nThey are all witty dogs, thought I to myself, trying to make the best\r\nof the matter, for I saw it would not do to resent what they said; they\r\ncan’t mean any harm, though they are certainly very impudent; so I\r\ntried to laugh off their banter, but as soon as ever I could, I put\r\ndown my name and beat a retreat.\r\n\r\nOn the morrow, the ship was advertised to sail. So the rest of that day\r\nI spent in preparations. After in vain trying to sell my fowling-piece\r\nfor a fair price to chance customers, I was walking up Chatham-street\r\nwith it, when a curly-headed little man with a dark oily face, and a\r\nhooked nose, like the pictures of Judas Iscariot, called to me from a\r\nstrange-looking shop, with three gilded balls hanging over it.\r\n\r\nWith a peculiar accent, as if he had been over-eating himself with\r\nIndian-pudding or some other plushy compound, this curly-headed little\r\nman very civilly invited me into his shop; and making a polite bow, and\r\nbidding me many unnecessary good mornings, and remarking upon the fine\r\nweather, begged me to let him look at my fowling-piece. I handed it to\r\nhim in an instant, glad of the chance of disposing of it, and told him\r\nthat was just what I wanted.\r\n\r\n“Ah!” said he, with his Indian-pudding accent again, which I will not\r\ntry to mimic, and abating his look of eagerness, “I thought it was a\r\nbetter article, it’s very old.”\r\n\r\n“Not,” said I, starting in surprise, “it’s not been used more than\r\nthree times; what will you give for it?”\r\n\r\n“We don’t _buy_ any thing here,” said he, suddenly looking very\r\nindifferent, “this is a place where people _pawn_ things.” _Pawn_ being\r\na word I had never heard before, I asked him what it meant; when he\r\nreplied, that when people wanted any money, they came to him with their\r\nfowling-pieces, and got one third its value, and then left the\r\nfowling-piece there, until they were able to pay back the money.\r\n\r\nWhat a benevolent little old man, this must be, thought I, and how very\r\nobliging.\r\n\r\n“And pray,” said I, “how much will you let me have for my gun, by way\r\nof a pawn?”\r\n\r\n“Well, I suppose it’s worth six dollars, and seeing you’re a boy, I’ll\r\nlet you have three dollars upon it”\r\n\r\n“No,” exclaimed I, seizing the fowling-piece, “it’s worth five times\r\nthat, I’ll go somewhere else.”\r\n\r\n“Good morning, then,” said he, “I hope you’ll do better,” and he bowed\r\nme out as if he expected to see me again pretty soon.\r\n\r","title":"Chunk 1"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG8AJNGCKNDZNTV99M6T23FX","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG89J1GP71YDJ60P8SRH97MF","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG8AKS697QVENMHVA1ZM277R","peer_type":"chunk","predicate":"next"}],"ver":2,"created_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:15.561Z","ts":"2026-01-30T20:48:23.354Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF0H3YRP9ZSM033AM0QJ47H"}}