In Which the Man of the Hill Continues His History
- The MotH (Man of the Hill) goes free from prison, but his reputation in Oxford is dirt.
- He's so ashamed that he doesn't feel he can go back to his father's house.
- So the MotH goes back to London.
- But he has no money and no friends there. He's on the edge of starvation.
- Then one day, someone calls out to him as he's walking down the street.
- It's a man named Watson, who was in the class a year above him at Oxford.
- Watson takes the MotH out to lunch.
- As they are chatting (and drinking), it becomes clear that Watson knows all about the MotH's thieving.
- Watson holds out a pair of dice.
- He says it's through gambling that you can really strip a lot of money off an easy mark.
- Watson has a game to go to, and he suggests that the MotH come with him to see how it's done.
- It's time to pay the bill, and Watson pulls out the money for his half.
- But he won't pay for the MotH.
- He hands the MotH the money in his hand (which is still only enough for half the check).
- He advises the MotH to keep the money and run off without paying, which is what the MotH does.
- Once the MotH gets to the gaming tables, he sees Watson pull out a huge chunk of money.
- Watson settles down and proceeds to lose a hundred pounds.
- The MotH plays with the money Watson gave him for dinner.
- By the end of the afternoon, both Watson and the MotH are broke again.
- Watson borrows two guineas from a friend and gives one of them to the MotH.
- The two of them go back to the same tavern they just cheated.
- The MotH uses his new guinea to cover the original bill, and he and Watson settle in again.
- A lot of the guys from the gambling tables come to the tavern to have a drink.
- They start gambling again, and continue throughout the night.
- Weirdly, everyone at the table keeps saying they are losing.
- And yet, somehow, all the money has disappeared over the course of the evening.
- Someone must have taken it, but it isn't clear who.
- (Partridge thinks the money was snatched by the devil. Tom thinks Partridge is an idiot.)