keeping it from Harold summary
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Mr and Mrs Bramble were immensely proud of their
son Harold. Harold was ten years old, a prodigy and an
exceptional child by all standards. An intellectual, he won
prizes in competitions. He was very classy and so superior
that even his parents developed a complex. Harold was a
model of excellent behaviour and he respected his parents
a lot. Mr Bramble was a professional boxer and had been
proud of his fame but ever since Harold was born, he had
kept this as a secret. Harold was told that his father was a
commercial traveller. Mr Bramble who had thrived on his
feats in the boxing ring, trembled to see his name in print
now. Both Mr and Mrs Bramble were secretly a little afraid
of their son and did not wish to fall in his esteem. Mr
Bramble was already thirty-one years old and he had
decided to have his last boxing match and then retire. A
week away, Bill Bramble was scheduled to have his last
fight, the twenty-round contest with American Murphy at
the National Sporting Club, for which he was training at
the White Hart down the road.
Mrs Bramble sends Harold for a walk but she is
surprised to see her husband and her brother, Major Percy
Stokes in the doorway. She is shocked to know that Bill
has decided not to fight and there is lot of discussion
regarding his decision with Percy Stokes. Mrs Bramble
makes it clear that this step was unacceptable to her, even
if she did not like her husband’s profession. Bill Bramble
was supposed to win five hundred pounds, and one
hundred and twenty, even if he lost. This money was very
much needed to cater to Harold’s education. The trainer,
Jerry Fisher, enters at this juncture and he is also shocked
to discover that Bill has decided to back out at the eleventh
hour.
Jerry begs, pleads, cries and tempts Bill but he is
steadfast in his decision because this fight will be covered
by all newspapers and Harold will discover this secret.
Tempers are running high, and at this critical moment,
Harold makes his entry. Mr Jerry Fisher feels cheated, he
wants his revenge. So he spills over the entire story to
Harold, despite all opposition. Bill feels let down in front
of his son and tells him frankly that he was not a man of
wrath but just a professional boxer and he is withdrawing
from his last match. Harold who had been watching all,
suddenly surprises everyone. He is angry with his parents
for hiding this secret but the content of his speech takes
everyone’s breath away. Harold reveals that he was betting
his pocket money on the defeat of Jimmy Murphy and his
friends would have been awefully proud of him, had they
known that his father was ‘Young Porky’. He even
requests for a photograph of his father to impress his
friends. This talk encourages Jerry Fischer and Bill also
goes to complete his training. Harold reverts back to
playing games with his mother and continues with his
affectionate chat.