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diff --git a/21137.txt b/21137.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5651614 --- /dev/null +++ b/21137.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11820 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Parkhurst Boys, by Talbot Baines Reed + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Parkhurst Boys + And Other Stories of School Life + +Author: Talbot Baines Reed + +Release Date: April 18, 2007 [EBook #21137] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PARKHURST BOYS *** + + + + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + + + + +Parkhurst Boys +And other stories of School Life + +By Talbot Baines Reed +________________________________________________________________________ +This is a collection of short stories and articles, mostly about boys at +school. There are four groups of these stories: seven about a school +called Parkhurst, detailing major events such as matches and boat races. + +The second section consists of eleven discourses on different types of +boy, such as "The Sneak". The third section contains twelve stories +about boys who have played their part in English History, such as the +two young "Princes in the Tower", Dick Whittington, Edward the Sixth, +and so on. + +The final section consists of seven general stories of greater length +than the foregoing. + +The whole book, though not really long, is quite amusing, though of +course very dated. You'll enjoy it. I personally prefer to listen to +these books. NH. +________________________________________________________________________ + +PARKHURST BOYS +AND OTHER STORIES OF SCHOOL LIFE + +BY TALBOT BAINES REED + +Part one. Parkhurst Sketches. + + + +CHAPTER ONE. + +MY FIRST FOOTBALL MATCH. + +It was a proud moment in my existence when Wright, captain of our +football club, came up to me in school one Friday and said, "Adams, your +name is down to play in the match against Craven to-morrow." + +I could have knighted him on the spot. To be one of the picked +"fifteen," whose glory it was to fight the battles of their school in +the Great Close, had been the leading ambition of my life--I suppose I +ought to be ashamed to confess it--ever since, as a little chap of ten, +I entered Parkhurst six years ago. Not a winter Saturday but had seen +me either looking on at some big match, or oftener still scrimmaging +about with a score or so of other juniors in a scratch game. But for a +long time, do what I would, I always seemed as far as ever from the +coveted goal, and was half despairing of ever rising to win my "first +fifteen cap." Latterly, however, I had noticed Wright and a few others +of our best players more than once lounging about in the Little Close, +where we juniors used to play, evidently taking observations with an eye +to business. Under the awful gaze of these heroes, need I say I exerted +myself as I had never done before? What cared I for hacks or bruises, +so only that I could distinguish myself in their eyes? And never was +music sweeter than the occasional "Bravo, young 'un!" with which some of +them would applaud any special feat of skill or daring. + +So I knew my time was coming at last, and only hoped it would arrive +before the day of the Craven match, the great match of our season-- +always looked forward to as _the_ event of the Christmas term, when +victory was regarded by us boys as the summit of all human glory, and +defeat as an overwhelming disgrace. + +It will therefore be understood why I was almost beside myself with +delight when, the very day before the match, Wright made the +announcement I have referred to. + +I scarcely slept a wink that night for dreaming of the wonderful +exploits which were to signalise my first appearance in the Great +Close--how I was to run the ball from one end of the field to the other, +overturning, dodging, and distancing every one of the enemy, finishing +up with a brilliant and mighty kick over the goal. After which I was to +have my broken limbs set by a doctor on the spot, to receive a perfect +ovation from friend and foe, to be chaired round the field, to be the +"lion" at the supper afterwards, and finally to have a whole column of +the _Times_ devoted to my exploits! What glorious creatures we are in +our dreams! + +Well, the eventful day dawned at last. It was a holiday at Parkhurst, +and as fine a day as any one could wish. + +As I made my appearance, wearing the blue-and-red jersey of a "first +fifteen man" under my jacket, I found myself quite an object of +veneration among the juniors who had lately been my compeers, and I +accepted their homage with a vast amount of condescension. Nothing was +talked of during the forenoon but the coming match. Would the Craven +fellows turn up a strong team? Would that fellow Slider, who made the +tremendous run last year, play for them again this? Would Wright select +the chapel end or the other, if we won the choice? How were we off +behind the scrimmage? + +"Is Adams to be trusted?" I heard one voice ask. + +Two or three small boys promptly replied, "Yes"; but the seniors said +nothing, except Wright, who took the opportunity of giving me a little +good advice in private. + +"Look here, Adams; you are to play half-back, you know. All you've got +to take care of is to keep cool, and never let your eyes go off the +ball. You know all the rest." + +A lecture half an hour long could not have made more impression. I +remembered those two hints, "Keep cool, and watch the ball," as long as +I played football, and I would advise every half-back to take them to +heart in like manner. + +At noon the Craven team came down in an omnibus, and had lunch in hall +with us, and half an hour later found us all in a straggling procession, +making for the scene of conflict in the Great Close. There stood the +goals and the boundary-posts, and there was Granger, the ground-keeper, +with a brand-new lemon-shaped ball under his arm. + +"Look sharp and peel!" cried our captain. + +So we hurried to the tent, and promptly divested ourselves of our outer +garments, turned up the sleeves of our jerseys, and tied an extra knot +in our bootlaces. As we emerged, the Craven men were making their +appearance on the ground in battle array. I felt so nervous myself that +I could not, for the life of me, imagine how some of them could look so +unconcerned, whistling, and actually playing leapfrog to keep themselves +warm! + +An officer in the Crimean War once described his sensation in some of +the battles there as precisely similar to those he had experienced when +a boy on the football field at Rugby. I can appreciate the comparison, +for one. Certainly never soldier went into action with a more solemn +do-or-die feeling than that with which I took my place on the field that +afternoon. + +"They've won the choice of sides," said somebody, "and are going to play +with the wind." + +"Take your places, Parkhurst!" shouted our captain. + +The ball lies in the centre of the ground, and Wright stands ten yards +or so behind it, ready for the kick-off. Of our fifteen the ten +forwards are extended in a line with the ball across the field, ready to +charge after it the moment it goes flying. The two best runners of our +team are stationed quarter-back, where they can skirmish on the +outskirts of the scrimmage. I am posted a little in rear of them at +half-back--an unusual post for so young a player, but one which was +accorded to me by virtue of my light weight and not inconsiderable +running powers. Behind me are the two backs, on whom, when all else +fails, the issue of the conflict depends. The Craven players are +similarly disposed, and waiting impatiently for our captain's kick. + +"Are you ready?" he shouts. + +Silence gives consent. + +He gives a quick glance round at us, then springs forward, and in an +instant the ball is soaring high in the direction of the Cravens' goal +amid the shouts of onlooking friend and foe. + +Our forwards were after it like lightning, but not before a Craven back +had got hold of it and run some distance in the direction of our goal. +He did not wait to be attacked, but by a clever drop-kick, a knack +peculiar to all good backs, sent it spinning right over the forwards' +heads into the hands of one of our quarter-backs. He, tucking it under +his arm and crushing his cap on to his head, started to run. Going +slowly at first, he steered straight for the forwards of the enemy till +within a pace or two of them, when he doubled suddenly, and amid the +shouts of our partisans slipped past them and was seen heading straight +for the Craven goal. But although he had escaped their forwards, he had +yet their rearguard to escape, which was far harder work, for was not +one of that rearguard the celebrated Slider himself, who by his prowess +had last year carried defeat to our school; and the other, was it not +the stalwart Naylor, who only a month ago had played gloriously for his +county against Gravelshire? + +Yet our man was not to be daunted by the prestige of these distinguished +adversaries, but held on his way pluckily, and without a swerve. It was +a sight to see those two cunningly lay wait for him, like two spiders +for a fly. There was nothing for it but to plunge headlong into their +web in a desperate effort to break through. Alas! brave man! Naylor +has him in his clutches, the Craven forwards come like a deluge on the +spot, our forwards pour over the Craven, and in an instant our hero and +the ball have vanished from sight under a heap of writhing humanity. + +"Down!" cries a half-choked voice, from the bottom of the heap. It was +rather an unnecessary observation, as it happens, but it served as a +signal to both parties to rise to their feet and prepare for a +"scrimmage." + +Now, if truth must be told, our school always had the reputation of +being second to none in "going through a scrimmage," so while the +players are scrambling to their feet, and waiting for the ball to be +"grounded," I will explain what our method of doing the thing was. + +It was nothing more nor less than a carrying out of the principle of the +wedge. The ball formed the apex; the fellows got up close to it, so as +never to let it out of reach of their four feet. Behind these two came +three with locked arms, and behind the three, four. The men in the +middle pushed straight ahead, and those at the sides inwards towards the +ball, while the two or three remaining forwards lent their weight to one +side or other of the base, according as the exigencies of the scrimmage +demanded. Thus our wedge, embodying a concentrated pressure in the +direction of the ball, the farther it advanced the farther it scattered +asunder the foe, who fell off from its gradually widening sides without +hope of getting again within reach of the ball except by retreating to +the rear and beginning the struggle over afresh. When this manoeuvre +was well executed, it was almost certain to carry the ball through the +scrimmage, and when that happened, then was the time for us half and +quarter-backs to look out for our chance. + +Our men went at it with their customary vigour and address, and +presently the ball emerged on the far side of the scrimmage. In an +instant it was caught up by one of the Craven quarter-backs, and in an +instant our men were upon him again before he could get a start for a +run. Scrimmage after scrimmage ensued, the ball was constantly in +Chancery, but each crush brought us a yard or so nearer the enemy's goal +than we had been before. + +All this time I was little better than a spectator, for the ball never +once came within reach of my fingers, and I was beginning to think that, +after all, a big match was not so exciting a thing as one is apt to +imagine. + +At last, however, after one scrimmage more desperate than any that had +gone before, the ball flew out suddenly, and bounded off one of the +Craven men into my grasp. Now was my chance. "If only I could--" + +The next thing I was conscious of was that about twenty people had +fallen to the ground all of a heap, and that I and the ball were at the +bottom. + +"Down!" I cried. + +"Pack up there, Parkhurst!" sang out Wright. + +I extricated myself as quickly as I could, and got back to my place in +the rear, thinking to myself, after all, there _was_ some little +excitement in football. + +At last the ball got well away from the scrimmage, and who should secure +it but the redoubtable Slider! I felt a passing tremor of deep despair, +as I saw that hero spring like the wind towards our goal. + +"Look out, Adams!" shouted Wright. + +Sure enough he was coming in my direction! With the desperation of a +doomed man I strode out to meet him. He rushed furiously on--swerving +slightly to avoid my reach, and stretching out his arm to ward off my +grasp. I flung myself wildly in his path. There was a heavy thud, and +the earth seemed to jump up and strike me. The next moment I was +sprawling on my back on the grass. I don't pretend to know how it all +happened, but somehow or other I had succeeded in checking the onward +career of the victorious Slider; for though I had fallen half stunned +before the force of his charge, he had recoiled for an instant from the +same shock, and that instant gave time for Wright to get hold of him, +and so put an end for the time to his progress. + +"Well played!" said some one, as I picked myself up. So I was +comforted, and began to think that, after all, football was rather a +fine game. + +Time would fail me to tell of all the events of that afternoon--how +Wright carried the ball within a dozen yards of our opponents' goal; how +their forwards passed the ball one to another, and got a "touch-down" +behind our line, but missed the kick; how Naylor ran twenty yards with +one of our men hanging on his back; how our quarter-back sent the ball +nearly over their goal with as neat a drop-kick as ever it has been my +lot to witness. + +The afternoon was wearing. I heard the time-keeper call out, "Five +minutes more!" The partisans of either side were getting frantic with +excitement. Unless we could secure an advantage now, we should be as +good as defeated, for the Craven had scored a "touch-down" to our +nothing. Was this desperate fight to end so? Was victory, after all, +to escape us? But I had no time for reflection then. + +"Now, Parkhurst," sang out Wright, "pull yourselves together for once!" + +A Craven man is standing to throw the ball out of "touch," and either +side stands in confronting rows, impatient for the fray. Wright is at +the end of the line, face to face with Naylor, and I am a little behind +Wright. + +"Keep close!" exclaims the latter to me, as the ball flies towards us. + +Wright has it, but in an instant Naylor's long arms are round him, +bearing him down. + +"Adams!" ejaculates out captain, and in a trice he passes the ball into +my hands, and I am off like the wind. So suddenly has it all been done +that I have already a yard or two start before my flight is discovered. +There is a yelling and a rush behind me; there is a roar from the crowds +on either side; there is a clear "Follow up, Parkhurst!" from Wright in +the rear; there is a loud "Collar him!" from the Craven captain ahead. +I am steering straight for their goal; three men only are between me and +it--one, their captain, right back, and Slider and another man in front +of him. + +I see at a glance that my only hope is to keep as I am going and waste +no time in dodging, or assuredly the pursuing host will be upon me. +Slider and his companion are closing in right across my path, almost +close together. With a bound I dash between them. Have they got me, or +have I escaped them? A shout louder than ever and a "Bravo!" from +Wright tell me I am clear of that danger, and have now but their last +defence to pass. He is a tall, broad fellow, and a formidable foe to +encounter, and waits for me close under their goal. The pace, I feel, +is telling on me; the shouting behind sounds nearer, only a few yards +divides us now. Shall I double, shall I venture a kick, or shall I +charge straight at him? + +"Charge at him!" sounds Wright's voice, as if in answer to my thought. +I gather up all my remaining force, and charge. There is a flash across +my eyes, and a dull shock against my chest. I reel and stagger, and +forget where I am. I am being swept along in a torrent; the waters with +a roar rush past me and over me. Every moment I get nearer and nearer +the fatal edge--I am at it--I hang a moment on the brink, and then-- + +"Down!" shouts a voice close at my ear, and there is such a noise of +cheering and rejoicing that I sit up and rub my eyes like one waking +bewildered from a strange dream. + +Then I find out what has happened. When I charged at the Craven captain +the shock sent me back staggering into the very arms of Wright and our +forwards, who were close at my heels, and who then, in a splendid and +irresistible rush, carried me and the ball and the half of the other +side along with them right behind the enemy's goal-line, where we fall +_en masse_ to the earth--I, with the ball under me, being at the bottom. + +Even if I had been hurt--which I was not--there was no time to be wasted +on condolences or congratulations. The time-keeper held his watch in +his hand, and our goal must be kicked at once, if it was to be kicked at +all. So the fifteen paces out were measured, the "nick" for the ball +was carefully made, the enemy stood along their goal-line ready to +spring the moment the ball should touch the earth. Wright, cool and +self-possessed, placed himself in readiness a yard or two behind the +ball, which one of our side held an inch off the ground. An anxious +moment of expectation followed; then came a sharp "Now!" from our +captain. The ball was placed cunningly in the nick, the Craven forwards +rushed out on it in a body, but long before they could reach it, +Wright's practised foot had sent it flying straight as an arrow over the +bar, and my first football match had ended in a glorious victory for the +Old School. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +The terms used here describe the Rugby game as it used to be played +prior to 1880. + + + +CHAPTER TWO. + +THE PARKHURST PAPER-CHASE. + +"The meet is to be at one o'clock, sharp, in the Dean's Warren--don't +forget!" + +So said Forwood, the "whipper-in" of the Parkhurst Hare and Hounds Club, +to me, one March morning in the year 18--. I had no need to be reminded +of the appointment; for this was the day of the "great hunt" of the +year, always held by the running set at Parkhurst School to yield in +interest to no other fixture of the athletic calendar. + +In fine weather, and over good country, a paper-chase is one of the +grandest sports ever indulged in--at least, so we thought when we were +boys--and the "great hunt" was, of course, the grandest run of the year, +and looked forward to, consequently, with the utmost eagerness by all +lovers of running in our school. + +This year, too, I had a special interest in the event, for it was my +turn to run "hare"--in other words, to be, with another fellow, the +object of the united pursuit of some twenty or thirty of my +schoolfellows, who would glory in running me down not a whit less than I +should glory in escaping them. + +For some weeks previously we had been taking short trial runs, to test +our pace and powers of endurance; and Birch (my fellow-"hare") and I had +more than once surveyed the course we proposed to take on the occasion +of the "great hunt," making ourselves, as far as possible, acquainted +with the bearings of several streams, ploughed fields, and high walls to +be avoided, and the whereabouts of certain gaps, woods, and hollows to +be desired. We were glad afterwards that we had taken this precaution, +as the reader will see. + +I can't say if the Parkhurst method of conducting our "hunts" was the +orthodox one; I know _we_ considered it was, as our rules were our own +making, or rather a legacy left to us by a former generation of runners +at the school. + +We were to take, in all, a twelve miles' course, of nearly an oval +shape, six miles out and six miles home. Any amount of dodging or +doubling was to be allowed to us hares, except crossing our own path. +We were to get five minutes' clear start, and, of course, were expected +to drop our paper "scent" wherever we went. + +Luckily for me, Birch was an old hand at running hare, and up to all +sorts of dodges, so that I knew all it was needful for me to do was to +husband my "wind," and run evenly with him, leaving him to shape our +course and regulate our pace. + +It was a lively scene at the Dean's Warren, when we reached it a few +minutes before the appointed time that afternoon. The "pack"--that is, +the twenty or thirty fellows who were to run as "hounds"--were fast +assembling, and divesting themselves of everything but their light +flannels. The whipper-in, conspicuous by the little bugle slung across +his shoulders, and the light flag in his hand, was there in all the +importance of his office; and, as usual, the doctor and a party of +visitors, ladies and gentlemen, had turned out to witness the start. + +"Five minutes, hares!" shouts Forwood, as Birch and I came on the spot. + +We use the interval in stripping off all unnecessary apparel, and +girding ourselves with our bags of "scent," or scraps of torn-up paper, +which we are to drop as we run. Then we sit and wait the moment for +starting. The turf is crisp under our feet; the sun is just warm enough +to keep us from shivering as we sit, and the wind just strong enough to +be fresh. Altogether it is to be doubted if a real meet of real hounds +to hunt real hares--a cruel and not very manly sport, after all--could +be much more exciting than this is. + +"Half a minute!" sings out the whipper-in, as we spring to our feet. + +In another thirty seconds we are swinging along at a good pace down the +slope of the warren, in the direction of Colven meadows, and the hunt +has begun. + +As long as we were in sight of the pack we kept up a good hard pace, but +on reaching cover we settled down at once to a somewhat more sober jog- +trot, in anticipation of the long chase before us. + +We made good use of our five minutes' start, for by the time a distant +bugle note announced that the hounds were let loose on our track we had +covered a good piece of ground, and put several wide fields and ditches +and ugly hedges between us and our pursuers. + +Now it was that Birch's experiences served us in good stead. I never +knew a fellow more thoroughly cunning; he might have been a fox instead +of a hare. Sometimes he made me run behind him and drop my scent on the +top of his, and sometimes keep a good distance off, and let the wind +scatter it as much as it could. When we came to a gap, instead of +starting straight across the next field he would turn suddenly at right +angles, and keep close up under the hedge half-way round before striking +off into the open. Among trees and bushes he zigzagged and doubled to +an alarming extent, so that it seemed as if we were losing ground every +moment. So we should have been if the chase had been by sight instead +of by _scent_; but that would have been against all rules. + +If the hounds were to see the hares twenty yards in front of them, and +the scent lay half a mile round, they would be bound, according to our +rules, to go the half-mile, however tempting the short cut might seem. + +It was after a very wide circuit, ending up on the top of a moderate +rise, that we first caught sight of our pursuers. As they were a full +six minutes behind us, we agreed to sit down under cover for a minute +and watch them. + +At that moment they had evidently lost the scent, and were ferreting +about among some low trees and bushes in search of it. We saw the flag +of the whipper-in marking the spot where it was last visible, and round +this, on all sides, the hounds were exploring busily in search of the +"new departure." Then, presently, came a cry of "Forward!" and off they +all started in our direction; and as the scent after that seemed to lie +pretty clear we considered it high time for us to resume our flight. + +So we made off again, and being refreshed by our brief halt, made over a +couple of ploughed fields, which Birch suggested "would make a few of +the hounds look foolish"; and so on till we reached the first water we +had encountered since the start. This was a trout-stream, well known to +some of us who were fond of fishing--nowhere more than half a foot deep, +and in some places easily passable, dry shod, on stepping-stones. +Birch, however, avoided these, and boldly splashing into the stream over +his ankles, bade me follow. + +"We'll soon dry up," he said, "and this will gain us a minute or two." + +Instead of going straight across, the wily hare began to paddle up the +middle of the stream for twenty or thirty yards, and, of course, in so +doing our scent was soon drifted away down the current. So we flattered +ourselves, when we at last did make the opposite bank, that our pursuers +would be puzzled for a minute or two to know what had become of us. + +After a further quarter of a mile we thought we might venture to take +another brief halt on the strength of this last manoeuvre. We were +unable to do so where we could command a view of the hounds, but as we +reckoned we had at least gained three minutes, we felt we could quite +afford to take it easy for that length of time. + +Fancy, then, our horror when, after about a couple of minutes, we heard +a cry of "Forward!" close to us, and evidently on this side of the +stream. + +Off we dashed like mad, in a regular panic, and never checked our pace +till we had put three ploughed fields and a couple of wide ditches to +our credit. We did not discover till it was all over how it was our +cunning scheme to perplex the hounds had thus miscarried. Then we were +told that some of the scent, instead of dropping into the water, as we +intended, had lodged on the top of some stones in mid-stream, and this +had at once betrayed our dodge to the practised eyes of the foremost +hounds. It was a caution to be more careful another time. + +We had to work hard to make up for the ground we had lost by this +mistake, but our next sight of the hounds showed that we were fairly +ahead again, and that the ploughed fields had (as Birch predicted) told +on a good portion of the pack, who now (at least, those of them who were +at all well up) scarcely numbered a dozen. + +Half a mile farther brought us to Wincot village, down the main street +of which we sped, greatly to the admiration of the inhabitants, who +turned out in force to see the sport. + +By this time we had fairly got our "second winds," and began to realise +the benefit of the steady training of the past fortnight. At an +ordinary pace, with the second wind well laid on, we felt we ought to be +able to hold out for the run home, unless some very unexpected accident +should intervene. + +Past the village, we rattled on till we came to the railway embankment, +across which we trespassed, not without some difficulty, as it was steep +and railed off on either side by high palisades. Once over this, we +turned at right angles, and ran for half a mile close alongside the +line, and past Wincot station. Here it was necessary to recross the +line (down a cutting this time), and as we were doing so we caught +sight, on our left, of the leading hounds scrambling to the top of the +embankment, which we had passed only a minute or two before. + +Clear of the railway, there remained a good steady piece of work cut out +for us to reach home, across an awful country, full of hedges and +ditches, and as hilly as a pie-crust. + +But Birch and I were well in the humour of the thing by this time, and +determined it should not be our fault if the "great hunt" of this year +ended in a victory for the hounds. So we spurted for nearly a mile, +jumping most of the narrow ditches and low hedges that crossed our path, +and making as straight a course as the hilly ground allowed of. But, +despite all our efforts, the occasional glimpses which we caught of our +pursuers showed us that we were unable to shake off four or five of the +leading hounds, who, with Forwood at their head, were coming on at a +great pace, and, if not gaining on us, at least not losing ground. + +This would never do. It would be all up if things went on so, we could +see; so the cunning Birch had once again to resort to his dodges to gain +time. + +Suddenly altering our track, and leaving the fields, he struck a dusty +lane, which wound in and out in the direction of Parkhurst. Now, as +this was a very dusty and a very chalky lane, and as the wind was +blowing the dust about very freely, it was easy to see why the artful +Birch made use of it on the present occasion. Our white scraps of +paper, falling on the white road, and being fallen on by the white dust, +had a good chance of escaping detection, unless looked after very +carefully; and to make matters more secure, we dodged off into the +fields, and back again into the lane, pretty often, leaving our pursuers +a ditch to jump each time. + +This manoeuvre answered fairly well, for the next time we saw the hounds +they were searching about by the side of a ditch for our track, a good +way to the rear. + +We had now to face the hardest bit of work of the afternoon. The last +two miles home were over a perfectly flat bit of country--so flat that +the hounds would have us in view nearly all the way, and, consequently, +to dodge or double would be simply useless. Our only course was a +straight hard run for it, trusting to our legs and our wind to pull us +through. So we settled down to the task with a will. Scarcely had we +emerged into the open ground for a couple of minutes, when we saw a +figure dash out of the lane in full cry after us. + +It was Forwood, the whipper-in, a terrible "scud" across country, and he +was only fifty yards or so ahead of three others, also celebrated for +their pace. So we hares had our work cut out for us, and no mistake! + +For a mile we ran as hard as we well could, turning neither to right nor +left, and halting neither at ditch nor dyke. Parkhurst Towers rose +before us in the distance, and more than one boy was already strolling +out in our direction to witness the finish. + +How we wished we were as fresh as they! + +"Put it on, hares!" shouted the first who met us, "you'll do it yet." + +"Hounds are gaining!" cried the next we passed--a young urchin sitting +on a bank and eating toffee. + +And now there met us not single spectators only, but groups, who cheered +loudly, backing, some the hares and some the hounds, till we hardly knew +where we were. Some even began to run along with us, at a respectful +distance, in order to be "in at the death." + +The playground wall was now visible only half a mile away, on the other +side of the Gravelshire Canal, which had to be crossed by a bridge which +we were fast approaching. + +I gave a rapid look back. Forwood was now only a hundred yards behind +us, with lots of running still in him. He would certainly run us down +in the next half-mile. + +"Birch," I said, as I ran beside him, "are you good for a swim?" + +"Rather!" he exclaimed; "if you are. Quick!" + +We swerved suddenly in our course, and, to the amazement of all +spectators, left the bridge on our left. In another minute we were on +the margin of the canal, and the next moment the splash of a double +"header," and the shouts of the assembled onlookers, proclaimed that we +had made a plunge for it. The canal was only about thirty feet wide, +and we were across it in a twinkling, our light flannel clothes scarcely +interfering with our swimming, and certainly not adding much to the +weight we carried after being soaked through. + +Three hundred yards now! Ah! that cheer behind means that Forwood has +followed our plunge. What are they laughing at, though? Can he have +foundered? No! Another shout! That means he is safe over, and hard at +our heels. + +For the last three hundred yards we run a regular steeplechase. The +meadows are intersected with lines of hurdles, and these we take one +after another in our run, as hard as we can. Only one more, and then we +are safe! + +Suddenly I find myself on my face on the grass! I have caught on the +last hurdle, and come to grief! + +Birch in an instant hauls me to my feet, just as Forwood rises to the +leap. Then for a hundred yards it is a race for very life. What a +shouting there is! and what a rushing of boys and waving of caps pass +before our eyes! On comes Forwood, the gallant hound, at our heels; we +can hear him behind us distinctly! + +"Now you have them!" shouts one. + +"One spurt more, hares!" cries another, "and you are safe!" + +On we bound, and on comes the pursuer, not ten yards behind--not _ten_, +but more than _five_. And that five he never makes up till Birch and I +are safe inside the school-gates, winners by a neck--and a neck only--of +that famous hunt. + +The pack came straggling in for the next hour, amid the cheers and +chaffing of the boys. Three of them, who had kept neck and neck all the +way, were only two minutes behind Forwood; but they had shirked the +swim, and taken the higher and drier course--as, indeed, most of the +other hounds did--by way of the bridge. Ten minutes after them one +other fellow turned up, and a quarter of an hour later three more; and +so on until the whole pack had run, or walked, or limped, or ridden +home--all except one, little Jim Barlow, the tiniest and youngest and +pluckiest little hound that ever crossed country. We were all anxious +to know what had become of this small chap of thirteen, who, some one +said, ought never to have been allowed to start on such a big run, with +his little legs. "Wait a bit," said Forwood; "Jim will turn up before +long, safe and sound, you'll see." + +It was nearly dusk, and a good two hours after the finish. We were +sitting in the big hall, talking and laughing over the events of the +afternoon, when there came a sound of feet on the gravel walk, +accompanied by a vehement puffing, outside the window. + +"There he is!" exclaimed Forwood, "and, I declare, running still!" + +And so it was. In a minute the door swung open, and in trotted little +Jim, dripping wet, coated with mud, and panting like a steam-engine, but +otherwise as self-composed as usual. + +"How long have you fellows been in?" he demanded of us, as he sat down +and began to lug off his wet boots. + +"Two hours," replied Birch. + +The little hero looked a trifle mortified to find he was so far behind, +and we were quite sorry for him. + +"Never mind," he said, "I ran on the scent every inch of the way, and +only pulled up once, at Wincot, for five minutes." + +"You did!" exclaimed one or two voices, as we all stared admiringly at +this determined young hound. + +"Yes; and a nice dance you gave a chap my size over the railway and +across those ditches! But I didn't miss a single one of them, all the +same." + +"But what did you do at the canal?" asked Forwood. + +"Why, swam it, of course--obliged to do it, wasn't I, if the hares went +that way? I say, is there any grub going?" + +Plucky little Jim Barlow! After all, he was the hero of that "big +hunt," though he did come in two hours late. + +This was the last big "hare and hounds" I ever ran in. I have many a +time since ridden with a real hunt over the same country, but never have +I experienced the same thrill of excitement or known the same exultation +at success as when I ran home with Birch, two seconds ahead of the +hounds, in the famous Parkhurst Paper-chase of 18 hundred and something. + + + +CHAPTER THREE. + +THE PARKHURST BOAT-RACE. + +"Adams is wanted down at the boat-house!" Such was the sound which +greeted my ears one Saturday afternoon as I lolled about in the +playground at Parkhurst, doing nothing. I jumped up as if I had been +shot, and asked the small boy who brought the message who wanted me. + +"Blades does; you've got to cox the boat this afternoon instead of +Wilson. Look sharp!" he said, "as they're waiting to start." + +Off I went, without another word, filled with mingled feelings of +wonder, pride, and trepidation. I knew Wilson, the former coxswain of +the school boat, had been taken ill and left Parkhurst, but this was the +first I had ever heard of my being selected to take his place. True, I +had steered the boat occasionally when no one else could be got, and on +such occasions had managed to keep a moderately good course up the Two +Mile Reach, but I had never dreamed of such a pitch of good fortune as +being called to occupy that seat as a fixture. + +But now it wanted only a week of the great race with the Old Boys, and +here was I summoned to take charge of the rudder at the eleventh hour, +which of course meant I would have to steer the boat on the occasion of +the race! No wonder, then, I was half daft with excitement as I hurried +down to the boathouse in obedience to the summons of Blades, the stroke +of the Parkhurst Four. + +I should explain that at Parkhurst we were peculiarly favoured in the +matter of boating. The River Colven flowed through the town only half a +mile from the school boundaries, and being at that place but a short +distance from the sea, it was some fifty yards broad, a clear, deep +stream, just the sort of water one would choose for rowing. There was +no lock for six miles or so up, and the few craft which came in from the +sea rarely proceeded beyond Parkhurst; so that we had a long, +uninterrupted stretch of water for our boats, which, as soon as ever the +spring set in, and the weather became too hot for football and hare and +hounds, appeared in force every half-holiday on its surface. + +Some of the fellows on such occasions used to amuse themselves by +starting off for a long, leisurely grind up-stream; or else with set +sail to tack down the lower reaches towards the sea; but most of us who +laid claim in any degree to the name of enthusiastic oarsmen, confined +our operations mainly to the Two Mile Reach, on which most of the club +races were rowed, chief of which was the Old Boys' Race, already +referred to. + +This race had been instituted some years before my time at the school, +by an old Parkhurstian, who presented a cup, to be rowed for annually, +between the best four-oared crew of the present school, and any crew of +old pupils who had been at Parkhurst within two years. + +This race was the all-absorbing topic in our boat-club for several weeks +before the event. How carefully the crew were selected, how strictly +they trained, how patiently Mr Blunt, one of the masters, and an old +Cambridge oar, "coached" or tutored them; how regularly the boat went +over the course morning after morning, before breakfast; how eagerly the +fellows criticised or commended the rowers; how impatiently we all +looked forward to the coming contest! + +This year our prospects were doubtful. The Old Boys had got together a +strong crew, who were reported by some who had been over to see them to +be very fast, and in splendid form; while we, at the last moment, had +had the disadvantage to lose our coxswain and have to fill his place +with a less experienced hand. Still, the school "four" was a good one, +carefully drilled, with plenty of power; one which Mr Blunt pronounced +ought to hold its own with any other average crew. So, on the whole, +there was no saying how the chances stood. + +I found I had all my work before me to get accustomed to my new duties +before the day of the race. Daily I was out with the four, and several +times besides I was taken over the course in a punt, and carefully shown +all the shallows, and bends, and eddies of the stream, and made familiar +with the ins and outs of either bank. + +Luckily, I was a light weight to begin with, so that I did not lose much +by my limited period of training, being indeed not so heavy as the +former coxswain of the boat, whom I had succeeded. + +Well, the eventful day came at last. The Old Boys arrived the day +before, and from the two trial rows which they took over the course, we +could see they were a first-rate crew and formidable opponents. Still +our "coach," who had watched them minutely, told us we had the better +stroke of the two, and if we could only hold out, ought to win after +all. This was comforting information, for the showy style of our +opponents had struck terror into not a few of those whose sympathies +were on the side of the present boys. + +The school turned out in force to witness the event. The towing-path +was lined with spectators, many of them from a distance, attracted by +the prospect of an exciting race. A goodly muster of old fellows +revisited the haunts of their school days, and congregated about the +winning-post, while others, of a more athletic turn, prepared to run +along with the race from beginning to end. + +Meanwhile, in the boat-house, we had stripped for action and launched +our boat. As we were ready to put off, and make for the starting-point, +Mr Blunt came up and said to Blades, our "stroke",-- + +"Now remember, row a steady stroke all through. Don't be flurried if +they get the best of the start. If you can stick to them the first half +of the way, you ought to be able to row them down in the last; and mind, +Adams," he said, addressing me, "don't let them force you out of your +straight course, and don't waste time in trying to bother them. Keep as +straight as an arrow, and you can't go wrong." + +As our fellows put off for the starting-place, their long clean stroke +elicited no little admiration from the onlookers, who saw much in it +that augured well for the success of our boat. Thanks to Mr Blunt, our +crew had learned to master that steady, strong sweep of the oars which +is universally admitted to be the perfection of rowing style and the +most serviceable of all strokes. Rowed well through from first to last, +gripping the water the instant the oar is back and the body and arms +forward, and dragged clean through without jerk or plunge, the swing of +the bodies regular as clockwork, the feather clear and rapid--this +essentially is the kind of rowing which not only puts most pace into the +boat, but is capable of being sustained far longer than any other. + +Not long after us our opponents embarked, and we had an opportunity of +criticising their style as they paddled up to where we lay waiting for +them. It certainly looked pretty and taking. The stroke was quicker +than ours, and equally regular, but it seemed to end in a spasmodic jerk +as the oars left the water, which, though it succeeded in making the +boat travel quickly, appeared to try the powers of the rowers rather +more than our style did. Still, there was no mistaking that they were a +fast and a powerful crew, and I remember to this day the passing +thought, "I wish we were at the end of it!" that flashed through my mind +as I gathered my rudder lines together, ready for the start. + +Mr Blunt is to act as starter, and is coming towards us in a boat, with +his watch in his hand. Our rivals' boat is lying close beside ours, and +I can see their stroke is leaning forward and saying something to the +coxswain. I wonder it it's about me? Perhaps he is telling him to push +me out of my course, or perhaps they are saying how nervous I am +looking! Well, I _am_ nervous. I begin to think I shall forget which +way I have to go. Perhaps I shall pull the right-hand line instead of +the left; or possibly I shall omit to pull either line at all! What +lasting disgrace will then be mine! Then suddenly I remember what Mr +Blunt said, that it's all up with a race if the "cox" loses his head, +and by a violent effort I banish my qualms, and resolve, come what may, +_nothing_ shall unsteady me. Still, my hands tremble as I grasp the +lines. + +"Adams," says Blades, "make my stretcher fast, will you?" + +The voice of a human being close to me, somehow, has the effect of +helping me to recover my wits completely; and as I kneel and make fast +the stretcher, and then once again take my seat in the stern of the +boat, I feel quite myself again, and wonder at myself for being such an +ass. + +"Back water half a stroke!" calls out Mr Blunt to us from his skiff. + +We obey him, and then find the other boat is a little in front of us. +We therefore move a quarter of a stroke forward. Still the boats are +not quite level. The other boat must come back a foot or two. Not +quite enough; our boat must advance a few inches. There, now they are +level. + +"Are you ready?" No, our boat has drifted forward again, and must be +moved back. All this takes time, but presently we are once again level, +and the question is repeated-- + +"Are you ready?" + +The only answer this time is the leaning forward of both crews, with +arms stretched and oars well back, in readiness for the signal. + +What ages it seems! And there I actually the wind has blown our rivals' +bows across the stream, and before we start another two minutes must be +spent in manoeuvring her back into position. Once again-- + +"Are you ready?" + +No answer, save the quick reach forward and silent suspense. + +"Then go!" and I feel the boat half lifted in the water under me. The +first stroke is rather a scramble, and so is the second, but by the +third the boat has begun to get its "way" on, and in a stroke or two +more our men have settled down to their customary swing. + +But what of our opponents? At the first stroke their boat had dashed +away an inch or two in advance of ours, at the third that distance had +become a foot, and presently they were far enough ahead to enable me to +catch sight of their coxswain's back. As we both settled down to work, +they were rowing at a considerably quicker pace than we, wrenching the +boat forward at each stroke, and inch by inch improving their advantage. + +All this I noticed before the shout with which the spectators hailed the +start had died away. I had a dim vision of a body of runners starting +along with us on the banks, and of eager cries to one crew or the other +from sympathising onlookers; but I had enough to do to keep my eye fixed +ahead, without gaping at the crowd. + +Remembering Mr Blunt's advice, I selected a landmark in front, and +steered our course direct for it; a plan of which I had cause to be glad +pretty early in the race. For the Old Boys' boat, drawing steadily +ahead to about half a boat's length, began very gradually to insinuate +its nose a little over in our direction, so that, had I not had a fixed +point on which to steer, I should have been strongly tempted to give way +unwittingly before it, and so abandon an inch or two of the water that +fairly belonged to our boat. As it was, however, I was able both to +detect and defeat this manoeuvre, for, keeping on a perfectly straight +course, the others were obliged to draw in their horns, and return to a +straight course too, having lost some little ground in the process. +Still, they seemed to be forging ahead, and the shouts from the banks +announced that thus far, at any rate the Parkhurst boat was getting the +worst of it. + +I stole a look at Blades. His face was composed and unconcerned, and it +was easy to see he knew what he was about. He kept up his long steady +swing, being well backed up by the three men behind him, and lifted the +boat well at the beginning of the stroke, never letting it down till the +end. I could see that he knew exactly how far the others were ahead, +and at what rate they were rowing; and yet he neither quickened nor +altered his stroke, but plodded on with such a look of easy confidence +that I at once felt quite satisfied in my own mind as to the result. It +was not long before our opponents gave indication of abating somewhat +the quick stroke they had hitherto maintained, and by virtue of which +they had already got nearly a boat's length ahead. At the same moment +Blades slightly quickened his stroke, and instantly our boat began to +crawl up alongside that of our rivals, amid the frantic cheers of the +onlookers. Slowly and surely we forged ahead, till our stroke's oar was +level with their coxswain. Then a spurt from the Old Boys kept the two +boats abreast for a few seconds, but it died away after a little, and +once more their boat travelled slowly back, as we drew level, and began +in our turn to take the lead. Now was our time to-- + +What is that ahead on the water, drifting right across the bows of our +boat? A shout from the banks apprises me that others besides myself +have taken the sudden alarm. An empty boat, insecurely moored to the +bank, has got adrift, and is calmly floating up with the tide in mid- +stream along our very course! What is to be done? The other boat, +being on the opposite side, can easily clear the obstacle, but not so +ours. Either we must put our bows across our enemy's water, and so run +the risk of a "foul," and consequent defeat, or else we must lose ground +by slackening our pace and going out of our course to avoid the unlucky +boat. There are not ten seconds in which to decide; but that suffices +me to choose the latter alternative, trusting to the rowing powers of +our crew to make up the disadvantage. + +"Look to your oars, stroke side!" I cry, and at the same time pull my +rudder line quickly. + +It was as I expected. The boat lost ground instantly, and I could see, +out of the corner of my eye, the Old Boys' boat shoot forward with a +quickened stroke, and hear the triumphant shouts of their partisans. + +A second or two sufficed to get past the obstructing boat, our oars on +the stroke side just scraping it as we did so; but as we headed again +into our proper course, we saw our opponents two clear boats' lengths in +front, their men pulling with all the energy of triumph and confidence. + +It was a sight to make one despair. How were we ever to make up that +tremendous gap? + +"How much?" Blades inquires, as he swings forward towards me. + +"Two!" I reply. + +He sets his face determinedly, and quickens his stroke. The men behind +him do not at first get into the altered swing, and for a moment or two +the rowing is scrambling, and our boat rolls unsteadily, a spectacle +hailed with increased joy by the partisans of the Old Boys' boat. + +"Steady now!" cries Blades, over his shoulder, and next moment the boat +rights itself; the four oars dip and feather simultaneously. I, sitting +in the stern, can feel the swing as of one man, and the boat dashes +forward like a machine. Our fellows on the banks mark the change and +cheer tremendously. + +"Well spurted, Parkhurst!" "Put it on now!" "You're gaining!" "Rowed +indeed!" Such were the cries which, as I heard them, set my blood +tingling with excitement. + +It was a long time before any perceptible gain was noticeable from where +I sat. The Old Boys had taken advantage of their lead to come across +into our water, and all I could see of them was the blades of their oars +on in front, which rose and fell swiftly and with a regular beat. + +Still the shout from the bank was, "You're gaining!" and presently I saw +their boat edging off again into their own water, by which I concluded +we had pulled up sufficiently to make this necessary to avoid a foul. + +Our men pulled splendidly. Cool, determined, and plucky, each rowed his +best, his eyes fixed on the back of the man before him, keeping perfect +time, and pulling each stroke through with terrible energy. I could see +by their pale looks that they shared the common excitement, but there +was no sign of flurry or distress, nothing but a quiet determination, +which augured better for the result of their efforts than all the shouts +of the onlookers. + +Where are we now? Those willows on my left are, I know, just half a +mile from the winning-post. Shall we, in that distance, be able to pull +up the length which now divides us and our rivals? There is a chance +yet! The leading boat is not going as fast as it was a minute ago. I +can tell that by the eddies from their oars which sweep past. + +"How much?" inquired Blades again, as he swung forward. + +"One!" I replied. + +I could see by the gleam in his eyes that he had hope still of making +that one length nothing before the winning-post was reached. + +That shout from the bank means something, surely! + +"Well rowed indeed, Parkhurst!" + +"They're overlapped!" + +Yes, those who could see it were watching the little pink flag at the +prow of our boat creeping, inch by inch, up the stern of our rivals'. +The eddies from their oars came past nearer now, and the "thud" of their +outriggers sounded closer. + +Yes, we are gaining without doubt; but shall we overtake them in time to +avoid defeat? I can see a mass of people ahead on the banks, and know +that they are gathered opposite the winning-post. It can't be a quarter +of a mile off now! + +Again that shout from the bank. Ah, yes, our bow oar is level with +their stroke. "Now you have it!" shout our fellows. + +Blades turns his head for half a second, and cries to his men as he +quickens up to his final spurt. + +What a shout then rent the air! Our boat no longer crawled up beside +the Old Boys, but began to fly. On, on! Their coxswain seems to be +gliding backwards towards me. In vain they attempt to answer our spurt; +they have not the rowing left in them to do it. Nothing can stop us! +In another moment we are abreast, and almost instantly there come such +cheers after cheers from the bank that even the dash of the oars was +drowned in it. + +"Parkhurst's ahead!" + +"Ah, well rowed!" + +"Now, Old Boys!" + +"It's a win!" + +On, on! What sensation so glorious, so madly exciting, as that of one +of the crew of a winning boat within twenty yards of the goal? I am +tempted to shout, to wave my hat, to do something ridiculous, but I set +my teeth and sit still, holding my breath. Four strokes more will do +it. One! I am level with the stroke of the Old Boys' boat. Two! Our +fellows pull as if they had another half-mile to go still. Three! The +judge at the winning-post is lifting his hand and cocking his pistol. +Four! Crack goes the signal! and as our men cease rowing, and the boat +shoots forward with the impetus of that last terrific stroke, amid the +cheers and shouts of the assembled crowd, I breathe again, knowing that +the Parkhurst boat has won, by three yards, the grandest race in which +it was ever my lot to take part. + + + +CHAPTER FOUR. + +PARKHURST VERSUS WESTFIELD. + +"Now, Parkhurst, turn out sharp! They are going in first." So shouted +Steel, the captain of our eleven, putting his head in at the door of the +tent in which we were arraying ourselves in flannels and spiked shoes, +and otherwise arming for the great match against Westfield School, which +was now about to commence. + +We always looked upon these Westfield fellows as our most dangerous +rivals on the cricket field (much in the light in which we esteemed +Craven where football was concerned), and the match in which our +respective pretensions were yearly settled was, I need hardly say, +regarded as _the_ match of the season, and made the object of untiring +practice and feverish excitement. + +Year after year, for twelve years, our rival elevens had met, always on +the last Saturday of June, one year at Parkhurst and the next at +Westfield, and so far the result had been that each school had won six +matches. Fancy then the state of our feelings this year, as we started +off in the early morning on our omnibus from Parkhurst, to engage in the +decisive contest which (unless it ended in a draw) must turn the balance +either in favour of our school, or to the glorification of our rivals. +We could not bear to think of the possibility of a defeat; it would be +too tragical, too shameful. So as we drove over to Westfield that +morning, we talked of nothing but victory, and felt very like those +determined old Spartans who, when they went to the wars, made a vow they +would return either with their shields or on them. + +Of course there was a regular swarm of people to see the match. Old +Parkhurst "bats," who had played in the first match, thirteen years ago, +were there, with big beards, and very majestic to look at; Old Boys, now +settled in life, were there with their wives and children; carriages +full of our own and Westfield's fathers and mothers; and shoals of young +brothers and sisters, crammed the space beyond the flags; the "doctors," +as usual, had driven over; and almost gave offence to some of our most +enthusiastic partisans by "chumming up" publicly with the head master of +our rivals! And then, besides, there was a host of outsiders, drawn +together by simple curiosity or love of cricket; so that altogether, as +we emerged from our tent in our snow-white flannels and pink belts, we +felt that the eyes of the world were upon us, and were more convinced +than ever that anything short of victory would be the most terrible of +all calamities which could fall on our youthful heads. + +Our great hope was in Steel, our captain, one of the best cricketers +Parkhurst had ever produced; and for coolness and self-confidence +without his equal anywhere. We all adored him, for he never snubbed +youngsters, or made light of their doings. If, during practice, a +fellow bowled, batted, or fielded well, Steel took care to encourage +him; but if any one played carelessly, or bungled, Steel scowled, and +that unlucky man's name disappeared for a season from the list of +candidates for a place in the first eleven. + +See him now stroll up to the wickets, with his wicket-keeping pads on, +talking on the way to one of the two men who are to officiate first with +their bats on behalf of Westfield. + +We youngsters can't understand such coolness, and keep our eyes on him, +as if every moment we expected to see him fell his rival to the earth. +It's a great matter to be used to a thing. I, who was now making my +first appearance in the first eleven, felt as if the world began, +continued, and ended within the area of this Westfield meadow; but here +was some one who, to all appearances, made no more of the great match +than he would of his dinner. + +But away now with all thoughts but cricket! The ball we have been +tossing about idly is taken into custody by the umpire; Steel is behind +the wickets, looking round to see if we fielders are all in our places, +and motioning one or two of us to stand deeper or closer in, as he deems +advisable. The Westfield batsman who is to receive the first over is +getting "middle"; our bowler is tucking up his sleeves, and gripping the +brand-new ball in his hand; the ground-keeper is chasing a few small +boys back behind the ropes; and the scorers in the big tent are dipping +their pens in the ink. + +Altogether, it is a critical moment in my life--a moment that seems as +long as a whole day. + +"Play!" cries the umpire; and our bowler delivers his first ball--not a +very alarming one, and evidently meant more as a test of the ball and +the pitch than as a serious attack on the enemy's wicket. My readers of +course do not expect me to give a full, true, and particular account of +every ball bowled on that eventful day. That would be as tedious for +them as for me. But I shall do my best to recall the chief features of +the game as they presented themselves to me from my post, first at +cover-point, and (while our side was batting) from the tent and the +wickets. + +The first few overs were not eventful. They rarely are. Our men had to +get used to the ground and the ball; and the batsmen chose to be +exceedingly careful how they hit out at first. In the third over a +single run was made, and of course the Westfield fellows cheered as if +the match were already won. Then gradually came one or two more +singles, a two, another one, a three, and then, just as the two batsmen +were getting into good humour and fancying they might lay about them a +little more freely, down went the first wicket amid the cheers of our +fellows, and we saw the figures 12 posted up on the telegraph, as +indicating the score so far standing to the credit of Westfield. + +We had not long to wait for the next man in, and still less long to see +him out, poor fellow! for the very first ball sent his bails flying over +Steel's head, and he had to trudge back to the tent and take off his +pads almost before he had got used to the feel of them on his legs. + +In the over following the arrival of his successor an easy catch by +point disposed of another wicket. + +"This is something like!" I exclaimed to myself. "Three men out for +fourteen runs. If it goes on like this, we shall have it all our own +way"; and in my satisfaction I ventured to communicate my ideas to the +man fielding at point. + +"Adams, will you attend to the game?" It was Steel who spoke, and at +the sound of his voice I started like one shot, and discovered that the +next man was in and ready to begin. I stepped back to my place in an +instant, and would sooner have had one of Hurley's swiftest balls catch +me on the bare shin than be thus publicly called to order before the +whole field. I can safely say that never in my life since that moment +have I caught myself talking during "play" in a cricket match. + +I felt in disgrace, and got nervous; I dared not look at Steel, for fear +of meeting his eye. I wished myself a mile away, and repented of my +satisfaction of being in the first eleven. Most devoutly I hoped no +ball would chance near me, as I should assuredly miss it. As the +thought passed my mind the man who was batting cut a ball hard and low +in my direction. It was so hard and so low that under any circumstances +it would have been a most difficult ball to field, still more to catch. +It flew towards me a few inches from the ground, and I was in despair. +I knew every eye in the field was on me--Steel's in particular. Here +would be some hundreds of witnesses to my utter imbecility! Would that +the ground would swallow me! I sprang forward and tripped as I sprang. +In my fall the ball dashed into my hand, and fell from it to the earth. +I had missed the catch, and my disgrace was complete. Fancy then my +astonishment when I heard Steel's awful voice cry, "Well tried, sir!" +and when a distant sound of clapping reached me from the tents! I could +not understand it at first; but I afterwards found out that by my lucky +trip I had more nearly succeeded in catching the ball than a more +experienced player would have done had he kept his balance, and so I got +credit for a good piece of play which I did not in the least deserve. +However, it served to recover me from my nervousness and bad spirits, +and incite me to a desire to accomplish something for which I could +honestly take credit. + +Never was such a determination more called for than now. Driver, the +captain of the Westfield eleven, was at the wickets, a most tremendous +hitter. All bowling came alike to him. The swifter the ball the +happier he was; sending one over the bowler's head, another nearly into +the scorers' tent, another among the spectators behind the ropes. The +score, hitherto so slow, began to fly up. Forty, fifty, sixty, seventy +we saw posted up in rapid succession, and wondered how it all would end. +He seemed to have as many lives as a cat. Some easy catches were +missed, and some "runs out" were only just avoided. Still he scored, no +matter who his partner was (and one or two came and went while he was +in); he hit away merrily, and the cheers of Westfield grew almost +monotonous from their frequency. + +We on the "off" side, however, had not much to do, for nearly all +Driver's hits were to the "on," and, curiously enough, nearly all found +their way between two of our men, the "mid-wicket on" and the "long on," +just out of the reach of either. I could not help wondering why neither +of these fellows altered his place, so as to guard the weak point. + +It is curious how sometimes in cricket the same thing occurs to two +people at the same time. While I was inwardly speculating on the result +of this change of position, Steel appeared to become aware of the same +necessity, for I saw him behind the batsman's back silently motioning +"mid-wicket on" to stand farther back, and "mid on" to come round to a +"square" position. This manoeuvre, however, did not escape the wily +Driver, who sent his next ball to leg, and the next to the identical +spot "mid-wicket on" had just quitted. Still, Steel motioned to them to +remain in their new posts. He knew well enough that if a man has a +habit of hitting in any one direction, however studiously he tries to +avoid the place. Nature will sooner or later assert herself, and the +ball will fly where it has been wont to fly. So it was in this case. +He could _not_ resist an impulse to lift one specially tempting ball in +the direction of his old haunt, and sure enough in so doing he sent it +clean into "long on's" hands, and with his own innings ended, to our +great relief, the innings of his side, for a total score of 174, of +which he had contributed quite the odd 74. + +It was a good round score to overtake, and things did not promise +cheerfully for us at the commencement of our innings. The Westfield men +were happy in possessing two swift bowlers, who made havoc of the first +two or three on our side who presented themselves. I was one of these. + +When I started for the wickets, armed with pads and gloves and bat, I +did not feel happy; still, I was in hopes I might at least succeed in +"breaking my duck's egg," which was more than could be said for either +of my predecessors. + +I felt rather important as I requested the umpire to give me "middle," +and hammered the mark a little with my bat. Still, my feet fidgeted; +there was a sort of "cobwebby" feeling on my face, and a tickling +sensation in the small of my back, as I stood ready for my first ball, +which convinced me I was by no means at home in my new position. + +"Play!" cries the umpire. + +The bowler starts to run, with arm extended. He makes a sort of curve +round the wicket, and balances himself on one foot as he discharges his +ball. It comes like lightning, right on to my bat, twisting it in my +grasp, and then is snatched up in an instant by "point," who tosses it +to the wicket-keeper, who returns it to the bowler. All this is very +alarming. Here are eleven men banded together with the one object of +putting me out, and they are all so quiet and determined about it that I +feel like a guilty thing as I stand there to defend my wicket. + +The bowler starts again for his sinuous run, and again the ball whizzes +from his hand. I lift my bat in an attempt to strike it; it slips under +it; there is a little "click" behind my back, and then the ball flies +aloft, and I discover that my services at the wicket are no longer +required. + +So ended my first innings. Happily for our side, some of the men who +went in afterwards made a better show than we three unfortunates who had +opened the ball had done. Steel made forty, and two others about twenty +each, which, added to the odds and ends contributed by the rest of our +side, brought the Parkhurst score up to 102--72 runs behind our +competitors. + +There was great jubilation among the Westfield partisans, as their +heroes entered on their second innings under such promising auspices, +especially when the redoubtable Driver went in first with the bat which +had wrought such wonders in the former innings. There seemed every +probability, too, of his repeating his late performance with even +greater vigour, for the first ball which reached him he sent flying far +and high right over the tents for six, a magnificent hit, which fairly +deserved the praise it received, not from the Westfield fellows only, +but from ours, who for a moment could forget their rivalry to admire a +great exploit. The next three balls were delivered to his partner at +the wickets, who blocked carefully, evidently bent on acting on the +defensive while his companion made the running. From the fifth ball of +that over a bye was scored, which brought Driver once again to the end +facing the bowler. The next ball came slightly to the "off," and he +tried to cut it. Either he miscalculated, or was careless about the +direction he gave it, for he lodged it clean into my hands, a safe and +easy catch, but a catch of enormous importance to our side, as it +disposed once and for all of our most dreaded opponent. + +Bereft of their champion, the Westfield fellows only succeeded in +putting together the moderate score of fifty in their second innings, of +which twenty-four were contributed by one man. So our spirits revived +somewhat, as we discovered we had only 123 to make to win. That was +indeed plenty against such bowling, but it was a good deal less than we +had dreaded. + +Well, the decisive innings began, as soon as we had fortified ourselves +with lunch, provided for us by our hospitable rivals. The afternoon was +getting on, but still the crowd of spectators kept together patiently, +determined to see the end of the match. + +"Shall we do it?" I heard some one ask of Steel. + +"Do what?" was the evasive reply. + +"Win," said the other. + +"How do I know?" was our captain's curt answer. + +If there was one thing that annoyed Steel above others, it was to be +asked foolish questions. + +He sent in two steady men first, with orders not to be in a hurry to +score, but to "break the back" of the bowling. And this advice they +faithfully acted upon. For over after over there was nothing but +blocking. In vain the bowlers strained every nerve to get round or +under those stubborn bats. They could not do it! Runs came few and far +between--the field had nothing to do--and altogether the game became +very monotonous. But those fellows did better service to our side than +many who scored more and played in more brilliant style. We could see +their prolonged stand was not without its effect on the Westfield +bowlers. Their bowling became less and less steady, and their style +seemed to lose its precision, as ball after ball fell hopelessly off +those obstinate bats. This was evidently just what Steel wanted, and we +could tell by his frequent "Played, sir!" how thoroughly he approved of +the steady discipline of his men. After a time the very monotony of the +game seemed to excite the spectators, who answered each neat "block" +with a cheer, which showed they, too, could appreciate the tactics of +our captain. + +It was getting desperate for Westfield, and humiliating too, when one of +their bowlers happened to change his style. Instead of the slashing +round-arm balls which he had hitherto sent in, he suddenly and without +warning put in an underhand lob--an easy, slow, tempting ball, +apparently bound to rise exactly on the player's bat. + +Our man fell into the snare. I could hear Steel, who was near me, +groan, as we watched him lift the bat which had till now remained so +well under control, and stepping forward prepare for a terrific "slog." +Alas! the deceitful ball never rose at all, but pitching quietly a foot +before the crease, shot forward along the ground, and found its way at +last to the wicket, amid the tremendous shouts of all the crowd. + +A parting being thus made between the two steady partners, the survivor, +as is so often the case, did not long remain behind his companion, and +when Steel went in, three wickets had already fallen with only fifteen +runs. + +Will our captain save us from defeat? See him stand coolly at the +wicket--how sure of himself he seems!--how indifferent to that imposing +combination of bowlers and fielders which surround him! He takes his +time to get comfortably settled at his wicket, and kneels down to +tighten a shoestring, as if nobody was waiting for him. Then pulling +down the peak of his cap to shade his eyes from the sun, he leisurely +turns his face to the bowler, and announces himself ready for the worst +that desperate character can do to him. + +We watched breathlessly the result of his first over, and with an +excitement strangely in contrast with the indifferent and apparently +careless demeanour of the batsman himself. It was soon apparent, +however, that we might dismiss all anxiety from our minds as to his +safety, for he set briskly to work, punishing every ball that came to +him, yet never giving a single chance. I have rarely seen such good +"all-round play." Unlike the Westfield captain, who was strong only on +the leg side of the wicket, he was thoroughly at home from whatever side +the attack was delivered. Some balls he hit to "leg," and some he cut +with terrific force past "cover-point." No ball came amiss to him; he +was up to "twisters," and "lobs," and "thunderbolts," and walked into +them all with faultless dexterity. + +Up went our score. Twenty grew to forty, and forty to fifty. It was +all a matter of time now. If the five remaining men still to go in +could together make a stand long enough to enable him to overtake the +enemy's score, he would assuredly do it, unless some unforeseen accident +prevented it. Of these five I was next in order; nor was it long before +my turn arrived, and I found myself sallying forth to join my captain at +the wickets. Remembering the poor figure I had cut in the first +innings, I was not very sanguine of distinguishing myself on this +occasion. Still, there was something in being opposite Steel which gave +me confidence, and relieved me of the nervous sensations which marked my +late _debut_. + +The first ball or two after my arrival fell to the lot of Steel, who +sent them flying promptly, and gave me some running to do in +consequence. This helped still more to make me comfortable, so that +when at last my turn came to be bowled at, I experienced none of the +desolate feeling which had rendered my former brief innings so unhappy. + +I manage to block the first ball, and the second also. Then comes a +third, under which I contrive to get my bat and send it flying. + +"Come!" shouts Steel, and I run. + +"Another!" he cries; and I run again, and am safe back before the ball +returns to the wicket-keeper's hands. + +Positively I had scored two! I felt as proud as if I had been elected +an M.P. The next ball went for two more, and I could hear a cheer from +the tent, which made me feel very valiant. I glanced to the signal- +board; our score was ninety-six, only twenty-seven to win! Why should +not I be able to hold out until Steel made up the figure, and so defeat +Westfield by four wickets? At any rate I would try; and I sent my next +ball for a single. + +Then it was Steel's turn to bat. Of course he would send it flying. + +Horrors! He has missed it! A deafening shout proclaims that his +glorious innings is at an end, and I feel like an orphan as I watch him, +with his bat under his arm, quitting the wicket at which he had put +together sixty-six runs in as fine a style as any player ever did. It +was good to hear the applause which welcomed him back to the tent. + +But what was to become of us? Here were twenty-six runs to get, and the +four weakest batsmen of our side to play. However, one can but do his +best. + +So I played as carefully as I could, becoming gradually accustomed to +the bowling, and knocking an occasional one or two on to the score. My +new companion, however, kept me company but a short time, and his +successor shorter still. This fellow coming in now is our last man. +Will he and I ever be able to stick together till these fifteen runs +which are now required can be made up? + +"Steady, Tom," I whisper, as he passes me on the way to his wicket. He +winks his answer. + +It is a responsible thing for us two youngsters, with the whole fate of +the school depending on us. But we keep cool, and play our very best. +One by one the score runs up. Ten to win--now eight, seven. It is +getting exciting. The crowd hangs eagerly on the result of each ball. +Another two from my companion. The Westfield fellows look nervously at +the signal-board, as if by watching it they could make our figure grow +less. But, no! Another two, from my bat this time, and then a single. +Only two to win! The next ball gets past my comrade's bat, and skims +within a hair's-breadth of his bails. + +"Steady, now!" cries Steel, cheerily. "Mind what you're at!" + +Steady it is. The next two balls are blocked dead. + +Then my companion makes a single. Hurrah! We are equal now. At any +rate defeat is averted! Now for victory! It is my turn to bat; but +this ball is not the sort of one to play tricks with; so with an effort +I keep my bat square, and stop it without hitting. + +"Played, sir!" cries some one, approvingly, and I feel my self-denial +rewarded. + +But the next ball is not so dangerous. I can see it is a careless one, +which I may safely punish. Punish it I will; so I step forward, and +catching it on the bound, bang it I know not and care not where. + +What shouting! what cheering as we run, one, two, three, four, five +times across the wickets! The match is ours, with a wicket to spare; +and as we ride back that evening to Parkhurst, and talk and laugh and +exult over that day's victory, we are the happiest eleven fellows, +without exception, that ever rode on the top of an omnibus. + + + +CHAPTER FIVE. + +A BOATING ADVENTURE AT PARKHURST. + +Once, and once only, did I play truant from Parkhurst, and that +transgression was attended with consequences so tragical that to this +day its memory is as vivid and impressive as if the event I am about to +record had happened only last week, instead of a quarter of a century +ago. + +I shall recall it in the hope of deterring my readers from following my +foolish example--or at least of warning them of the terrible results +which may ensue from a thoughtless act of wrong-doing. + +I have already mentioned that Parkhurst stood some two or three miles +above the point at which the River Colven flows into the sea. From the +school-house we could often catch the hum of the waves breaking lazily +along the shore of Colveston Bay; or, if the wind blew hard from the +sea, it carried with it the roar of the breakers on the bar mouth, and +the distant thunder of the surf on the stony beach. + +Of course, our walks and rambles constantly took the direction of the +shores of this bay; and though, perhaps, a schoolboy is more readily +impressed with other matters than the beauties of nature, I can remember +even now the once familiar view from Raven Cliff as if my eyes still +rested upon it. + +I can see, on a hot summer afternoon, the great curve of that beautiful +bay, bounded at either extremity by headlands, bathed in soft blue haze. +I can see the cliffs and chines and sands basking, like myself, in the +sun. On my right, the jagged outline of a ruined sea-girt castle stands +out like a sentinel betwixt is land and water. On my left I can detect +the fishermen's white cottages crouching beneath the crags. I can see +the long golden strip of strand beyond; and, farther still, across the +wide estuary of the Wraythe, the line of shadowy cliffs that extend like +a rugged wall out to the dim promontory of Shargle Head. + +Above all, I can see again the sea, bluer even than the blue sky +overhead; and as it tumbles languidly in from the horizon, fringing the +amphitheatre of the bay with its edge of sparkling white, my ears can +catch the murmur of its solemn music as they heard it in those days long +gone by. + +Well I remember, too, the same bay and the same sea; but oh, how +changed! + +Far as the eye could reach the great white waves charged towards the +land, one upon another, furious and headlong; below us they thundered +and lashed and rushed back upon their fellows, till we who watched could +not hear so much as our own voices. In the distance they leapt savagely +at the base of the now lowering headlands, and fought madly over the +hidden rocks and sands. They sent their sleet and foam-flakes before +them, blinding us where we stood on the cliff-top; they seethed and +boiled in the hollows of the rocks, and over the river bar they dashed +and plunged till far up the stream their fury scarcely spent itself. + +At such times no ship or boat ventured willingly into Colveston Bay; or +if it did, it rarely, if ever, left it again. + +But such times were rare--very rare with us. Indeed, I had been months +at Parkhurst before I witnessed a real storm, and months again before I +saw another. So that my acquaintance with the bay was almost altogether +connected with its milder aspects, and as such it appeared both +fascinating and tempting. + +It was on a beautiful August holiday morning that four of us were +lounging lazily in a boat down at the bar mouth, looking out into the +bay and watching the progress of a little fishing smack, which was +skipping lightly over the bright waves in the direction of Shargle Head. +Her sails gleamed in the sunlight, and she herself skimmed so lightly +across the waters, and bounded so merrily through their sparkling +ripples, that she seemed more like a fairy craft than a real yacht of +boards and canvas. "I'd give a good deal to be in her!" exclaimed Hall, +one of our party, a sea captain's son, to whom on all nautical matters +we accorded the amplest deference. "So would I," said Hutton. "How +jolly she looks!" + +"Ever so much more fun than knocking about on this stupid old river," +chimed in I. + +"I say, you fellows," cried Hall, struck by a sudden idea, "why +shouldn't we have a little cruise in the bay? It would be glorious a +day like this!" + +"I'm not sure old Rogers," (that was the disrespectful way in which, I +regret to say, we were wont to designate Dr Rogers, our head master) +"would like it," I said; "he's got some notion into his head about +currents and tides, and that makes him fidgety." + +"Currents and fiddlesticks!" broke in Hall, with a laugh; "what does +_he_ know about them? I tell you, a day like this, with a good sailing +breeze, and four of us to row, in case it dropped, there'd be no more +difficulty in going over there and back than there would in rowing from +here back to Parkhurst." + +"How long would it take to get to Shargle?" inquired Hutton. + +"Why, only two hours, and perhaps less. The wind's exactly right for +going and coming back too. We can be back by four easily, and that +allows us an hour or two to land there." + +It certainly was tempting; the day was perfection, and Colveston Bay had +never looked more fascinating. The headlands stood out so distinctly in +the clear air that it was hard to imagine Shargle Head was five miles +distant from where we sat. + +When the proposition had first been made I had felt a passing +uncomfortableness as to the lawfulness of such an expedition without the +distinct sanction of the head master; but the more I gazed on the bay, +and the more Hall talked in his enthusiastic manner of the delights of a +cruise, and the longer I watched the fairy-like progress of the little +white-sailed fishing-boat, the less I thought of anything but the +pleasure which the scheme offered. + +So when Hall said, "Shall we go, boys? What do you say?" I for one +replied, "All serene." + +All this while one of our party had been silent, watching the fishing- +boat, but taking no part in our discussion. He was Charlie Archer, a +new boy at Parkhurst, and some years our junior. But from the first I +had taken a remarkable fancy to this clever, good-humoured, plucky boy, +who henceforth had become my frequent companion, and with me the +companion of the others who now composed our party. He now looked up +and said, greatly to our surprise-- + +"I say, I don't want to go!" + +"Why not?" we all asked. + +"Oh, it doesn't matter," he replied, in evident confusion. "I don't +want to spoil your fun, you know, but I'd rather not go myself." + +"Why, what on earth's the matter with you, Charlie?" I asked. "I +thought you were always ready for an adventure." + +"I'd rather not go, please," he repeated. "You can put me ashore." + +"Why not?" again inquired Hall, this time testily. He never liked +Charlie quite as much as Hutton and I did, and was evidently displeased +to have him now putting forward objections to a proposition of his own +making. "Why not?" + +"Because--because," began the boy hesitatingly--"because I don't want to +go." + +Hall became angry. Like most boys not sure of the honesty of their own +motives, he disliked to have it suggested that what he was urging was +wrong. He therefore replied, with a taunt keener than any persuasion-- + +"Poor little milksop, I suppose he's afraid of getting drowned, or of +doing something his mamma, or his grandmamma, or somebody wouldn't like +their little pet to do. We'd better put him ashore, boys; and mind his +precious little boots don't get wet while we're about it!" + +It was a cruel blow, and struck home at Archer's one weak point. + +Plucky and adventurous as he was, the one thing he could not endure was +to be laughed at. And his face flushed, and his lips quivered, as he +heard Hall's brutal speech, and marked the smile with which, I am +ashamed to say, we received it. + +"I'm _not_ afraid," he exclaimed. + +"Then why don't you want to go?" + +He was silent for some time. A struggle was evidently going on in his +mind. But the sneer on Hall's face determined him. + +"I do want to go. I've changed my mind!" + +"That's the style," said Hutton, patting him on the back. "I knew you +were one of the right sort." + +Hall, too, condescended to approve of his decision, and at once began to +busy himself with preparations for our immediate start. + +I, however, was by no means comfortable at what had taken place. It was +plain to see Charlie had yielded against his better judgment, and that +with whatever alacrity he might now throw himself into the scheme, his +mind was not easy. Had I been less selfishly inclined towards my own +pleasure, I should have sided with him in his desire not to engage in a +questionable proceeding; but, alas! my wishes in this case had ruled my +conscience. Still, I made one feeble effort on Archer's behalf. + +"Hall," whispered I, as I stooped with him to disengage the ropes at the +bottom of the boat, "what's the use of taking Charlie when he doesn't +want to go? We may as well put him ashore if he'd sooner not go." + +"Archer," said Hall, looking up from his ropes, "did you say you wanted +to go, or not?" + +The question was accompanied by a look which made it hard for the boy to +reply anything but-- + +"I want to go." + +"And it's your own free will, eh?" + +"Yes." + +So ended my weak effort. If only I had been more determined to do +right; if, alas! I had imagined a thousandth part of what that day was +to bring forth, I would have set Archer ashore, whether he would or not, +even if to do so had cost me my life. + +But this is anticipating. + +For half an hour we were busy getting our boat trim for her voyage. She +was a somewhat old craft, in which for many years past we had been wont +to cruise down the seaward reaches of the Colven, carrying one lug-sail, +and with thwarts for two pairs of oars. She was steady on her keel, +and, as far as we had been able to judge, sound in every respect, and a +good sailor. Certainly, on a day like this, a cockleshell would have +had nothing to fear, and we were half sorry we had not a lighter boat +than the one we were in to take us across to Shargle. + +Hall, who assumed the command from the first, impressed us not a little +by the businesslike way in which he set to work to get everything ship- +shape before starting. He knew clearly the use of each rope and pulley; +he knew precisely the necessary amount of ballast to be taken, and the +proper place for stowing it; he discoursed learnedly on knots and +hitches, and aroused our sympathy by his laments on the absence of a +bowsprit and foresail. Hutton was sent ashore to buy provisions. +Charlie was set to baling out the boat. I occupied myself with mopping +the seats, and generally "swabbing her up," as Hall called it, so that +in due time we were ready to sail, well provisioned and well equipped, +on our eventful voyage. + +Up went the sail; we watched it first flap wildly, and then swell +proudly in the wind as the sheet rope was drawn in, and Hall's hand put +round the helm. Then, after a little coquetting, as if she were loth to +act as desired without coaxing, she rose lightly to the rippling waves, +and glided forward on her way. + +"Adams," said Hall, "you'd better make yourself snug up in the bows; +Hutton, sit where you are, and be ready to help me with the sail when we +tack. Charlie, old boy, come down astern, beside me; sit a little +farther over, Hutton. Now she's trim." + +Trim she was, and a strange feeling of exhilaration filled my breast as +we now darted forward before the steady breeze, dancing over the waves +with a merry splash, tossing them to either side of our prow, and +listening to them as they gurgled musically under our keel. + +"There's Neil!" cried Charlie, as we passed the coastguards' boathouse, +"spying at us through the telescope." + +"Let him spy," laughed Hall; "I dare say he'd like to be coming too. +It's slow work for those fellows, always hanging about doing nothing." + +"What's he waving about?" inquired I from the bows, for we could see +that the sailor had put down his glass, and was apparently trying to +catch our attention by his gesticulations. + +Hall looked attentively for a moment, and then said-- + +"Oh, I see, he's pointing up at the flagstaff to show us the wind's in +the north-east. I suppose he thinks no one knows that but himself." + +"Let's see," said Hutton, "we are going north-west, aren't we?" + +"Yes, so we shall be able to make use of the wind both ways, with a +little tacking." + +"He's shouting something now," said Charlie, with his eyes still on +Neil. + +"Oh, he's an old woman," said Hall, laughing; "he's always wanting to +tell you this and that, as if no one knew anything about sailing but +himself." And he took off his hat and waved it ceremoniously to the old +sailor, who continued shouting and beckoning all the while, though +without avail, for the only words that came to us across the water were +"fresh" and "afternoon," and we were not much enlightened by them. + +"I'm afraid he's fresh in the morning," laughed Hutton. + +A short sail brought us to the bar mouth, over which, as the tide was in +and the sea quiet, we passed without difficulty, although Hall had bade +us have the oars ready in case of emergency, should it be necessary to +lower our sail in crossing. But of this there was no need, and in a +minute we were at last in the bay, and fairly at sea. + +"Do you see Parkhurst over the trees there, you fellows?" cried Charlie, +pointing behind us. "I never saw the place from the bay before." + +"Nor I," I answered; "it looks better here than from any other side." + +We were all proud of the old school-house, and fully impressed with its +superiority over any other building of the kind in the kingdom. + +The view in the bay was extremely beautiful, Shargle Head stood out +opposite us, distinct and grand, towering up from the water, and +sweeping back to join the moorland hills behind. On our left, close +beside the bar mouth, rose Raven Cliff, where we so often had been wont +to lie and look out on this very bay; and one by one we recognised the +familiar spots from our new point of view, and agreed that from no side +does a grand coast look so grand as from the sea. + +Our boat scudded along merrily, Hall keeping her a steady course, well +up to the wind. After a few lessons we got to know our respective +duties (so we thought) with all the regularity of a trained ship's crew. +With the wind as it was, right across our course, we had not much need +to tack; but when the order to "stand by" did arrive, we prided +ourselves that we knew how to act. + +Hall let go the sheet, and Hutton lowered the sail, Charlie put round +the helm, and I in the bows was ready to aid the others in shifting the +canvas to the other side of the mast and hauling up the sail again. +Then Hall resumed charge of the helm and drew in the sheet, Charlie and +Hutton "trimmed" over to the other side of the boat, and once again our +little craft darted forward. + +We were all in exuberant spirits that lovely summer morning; even +Charlie seemed to have forgotten his uneasiness at first starting, for +he was now the life and soul of our party. + +He told us wonderful stories about this very bay, gathered from some of +his favourite histories. How, after the defeat of the Spanish Armada, +when the proud vessels of Spain were driven partly by tempest, partly by +the pursuit of our admiral, headlong along: this very coast, one of them +had got into Colveston Bay, and there been driven ashore at the base of +Raven Cliff, not one man of all her crew surviving that awful wreck. +And he repeated one after another the legends connected with Druce +Castle, whose ruined turrets we could discern away behind us, and of all +the coves and crags and caves as we passed them, till, in our +imagination, the bay became alive once more with ships and battle, and +we seemed to watch the gleam of armour on the castle walls, and the +glare of beacons on the headlands, and to hear the thunder of cannon +from the beach; when presently Hall's cheery call to "stand by" wakened +us into a sudden recollection of our present circumstances. And then +what songs we sang! what famous sea stories Hall told us! how Hutton +made us roar with his recitations! how the time seemed to fly, and the +boat too, and we in it, until at last we found the Great Shargle +towering over our heads, and knew we had all but reached our +destination. + +Hall looked at his watch. + +"That was a good run, boys," said he; "not quite two hours--an +uncommonly good run for an old tub like this. Now where shall we land?" + +"I vote we land on Welkin Island," said Charlie. + +Welkin Island was separate about three-quarters of a mile from the +mainland, famous for its caves and shells. + +"All serene," said Hall, putting the boat about; "stand by." + +So we made our last tack, and very soon were close up at the island. +After some cruising we selected an eligible creek for landing, into +which Hall ran our boat as neatly as the most experienced helmsman in +Her Majesty's Navy. + +Then we landed, and dragging ashore our hamper of provisions, picnicked +at the edge of the rocks, with the water on three sides of us, with +Shargle Head across the narrow channel rising majestically above us, and +the great amphitheatre of the bay extended like a picture beyond. + +Need I say what a jovial repast it was; what appetites we had, what zest +our situation lent to our meal, how each vied with each in merriment! +But Charlie was the blithest of us all. + +Then we wandered over that wonderful island. We waded into the caves, +and climbed to the cliff tops; we filled our pockets with shells, we +bathed, we aimed stones into the sea, we raced along the strand, we cut +our names in a row on the highest point of the island, in commemoration +of our expedition, and there they remain to this day. + +"I say, I hope it's not going to rain," said Hutton, looking up at the +clouds, which had for some time been obscuring the sun. + +"Who cares if it does?" shouted Charlie. "Hullo, there goes my roof!" +cried he, as a sudden gust of wind lifted his hat from his head, and +sent it skimming down the rocks. + +"I think it's time we started home," said Hall hurriedly. + +There was something in the uneasy look of his face as he said this which +made me uncomfortable. + +So we turned to embark once more in our boat. + +We could not conceal from ourselves, as we made our way to the creek +where we had left her moored, that the weather, which had thus far been +so propitious to our expedition, was not holding out as we could have +wished. The wind, which had been little more than a steady breeze +during the morning, now met us in frequent gusts, which made us raise +our hands to our hats. A few ugly-looking black clouds on the horizon +had come up and obscured the sun, threatening not only to shut out his +rays, but to break over the bay in a heavy downpour of rain. Even on +the half-sheltered side of the island where we were, the water, which +had hitherto moved only in ripples, now began to heave restlessly in +waves, which curled over as they met the breeze, and covered the sea +with little white breakers. There was an uncanny sort of moan about the +wind as it swept down the hollows of the rocks, and even the seagulls, +as they skimmed past us on the surface of the now sombre water, seemed +uncomfortable. + +However, the sea was not rough, and though the sun happened to be hidden +from us, we could see it shining brightly away in the direction of +Parkhurst. The wind, too, though stronger than it had been in the +morning, was still not violent, and we had little doubt of making as +quick, if not a quicker passage back than we had already made. + +So, although in our secret hearts each one of us would perhaps have +preferred the weather of the earlier part of the day to have continued, +we did not let our uneasiness appear to our fellows, or allow it to +interfere with our show of good spirits. + +"I tell you what," said Charlie, laughing, as we came down to our boat, +"it would be a real spree to have a little rough water going back, just +for the fun of seeing old Hutton seasick." + +"I shall be very pleased to give you some amusement," replied Hutton; +"and perhaps Adams will assist, for I saw him looking anxiously over the +bows once or twice as we were coming." + +"So did I," said Charlie; "he must have seen a ghost in the water, for +he looked awfully pale." + +"Shut up, you fellows," cried I, who was notoriously a bad sailor, and +easily disturbed by a rough sea; "perhaps we shall all--" + +"I say," called out Hall from the boat, where he was busy tying up a +reef in our sail, "I wish you fellows would lend a hand here, instead of +standing and chaffing there." + +We obeyed with alacrity, and very soon had our boat ready for starting. + +"Now, Adams and Hutton, take the oars, will you? and pull her out of +this creek: we had better not hoist our sail till we are clear of these +rocks." + +As we emerged from our little harbour the boat "lumped" heavily over the +waves that broke upon the rocks, and we had a hard pull to get her clear +of these and turn her with her stern to Shargle. + +"Now stand by," shouted Hall. + +We shipped our oars, and in a moment the sail, shortened by one reef, +was hauled up, and the boat began to scud swiftly forward. + +"You'll have to sit right over, you two," said Hall to Hutton and me, +"to keep her trim. Look sharp about it!" + +As he spoke a gust took the sail, and caused the boat to heel over far +on to her side. She righted herself in an instant, however, and on we +went, flying through the water. + +"How do you feel, Adams?" called out Charlie mischievously, from his end +of the boat. + +"Pleasant motion, isn't it?" put in Hutton, laughing. + +"Look here, you fellows," said Hall abruptly, "stop fooling now, and +look after the boat." + +"Why, what's the row?" said Hutton, struck with his unusually serious +tone. "It's all right, isn't it?" + +"It's all right," said Hall curtly, "if you'll only attend to the +sailing." + +Our merriment died away on our lips, for it was plain to be seen Hall +was in no jesting humour. + +Then several things struck us which we had not previously noticed. One +was that the wind had shifted farther north, and was blowing hard right +into the bay, gathering strength every minute. Hall, we noticed, was +sailing as close as possible up to it, thus making our course far wider +than that which had brought us in the morning. + +"Why are you steering out like that?" I ventured to ask. + +"Because if I didn't-- Look out!" he exclaimed, as a sudden gust caught +the boat, making her stagger and reel like a drunken man. In an instant +he had released the sheet rope, and the sail flapped with a tremendous +noise about the mast. It was but an instant, however, and then we saw +him coolly tighten the cord again, and put back the helm to its former +course. After that I did not care to repeat my question. + +Reader, have you ever found yourself at sea in an open boat, a mile or +so from land, in a gathering storm; with the wind in your teeth and the +sea rising ominously under your keel; with the black clouds mustering +overhead, and the distant coastline whitening with breakers? Have you +marked the headlands change from white to solemn purple? Have you +listened to that strange hiss upon the water, and that moaning in the +wind? Have you known your boat to fly through the waves without making +way, and noted anxiously by some landmark that she is rather drifting +back with the current, instead of, as it seems, tearing before the wind? + +If so, you can imagine our feelings that afternoon. + +It was useless to pretend things were not as bad as they looked; it was +useless not to admit to ourselves we were fairly in for it now, and must +brave it out as best we could; it was useless to maintain we had not +been foolish, wickedly foolish, in starting on so venturesome an +expedition; it was useless to deny that it would have been better had we +remained at Shargle, or returned to Parkhurst by land. + +We were in for it now. + +The one thing which gave us confidence was Hall's coolness, now that the +danger was unmistakable. He neither allowed himself to get flurried nor +alarmed, but sat with closed lips watching the sail--one hand on the +tiller and the other grasping the sheet, ready to let it go at a +moment's notice. + +As for us, we wished we could do anything more active than sit still and +trim the boat. But even that was some use, and so we remained, watching +anxiously the clouds as they rolled down the sides of the hills and half +obscured Shargle Head from our view. + +Presently, however, Hall said-- + +"Get the oars out, will you? we haven't made any way for an hour." + +No way for an hour! Had we then been all that time plunging through the +waves for nothing? With what grim earnestness we set to work to row +through this unyielding current! + +But to no effect--or scarcely any. The little white cottage on Shargle, +which we looked round at so anxiously from time to time, to ascertain +what progress had been made, remained always in the same position, and +after twenty minutes' desperate pulling it seemed as if the total +distance gained had been scarcely half a dozen yards. + +It was disheartening work, still more so as the sea was rising every +minute, and the rain had already begun to fall. + +"We're in for a gale," said Hall, as a wave broke over the side, +drenching Hutton and me, and half-filling the bottom of the boat with +water. "Look sharp, Charlie, and bale out that before the next comes." + +Charlie set to work with a will, and for a time we rowed steadily on, +without saying a word. + +"What's the time?" I asked presently of Hall, as I saw him take out his +watch. + +"Five," said he. + +It was an hour after the time we had expected to be back at Parkhurst, +and we were not yet clear of Shargle. The same thought evidently +crossed the minds of the other three, for they all glanced in the +direction of Raven Cliff, now scarcely visible through the heavy rain. + +"I wish we were safe home," muttered Hutton, the most dispirited of our +crew. "What fools we were to come!" + +We said nothing, but pulled away doggedly at the oars. + +Now it really seemed as if we were making some progress out of that +wretched current, for the white cottage on the cliff appeared farther +astern than it had done since we began to row, and we were beginning to +congratulate ourselves on our success, when Hall, who had for some time +been anxiously watching the shore, cried out-- + +"For goodness' sake pull hard, you fellows! we are drifting in fast. +Here, Charlie, take the helm, and keep her the way she is, while I get +down the sail. It's no use now. Mind your heads, but don't stop +rowing," he shouted to us, as he let down the sail suddenly, and lowered +the mast. "Keep her head out, Charlie, whatever you do. Let go that +rope beside you. That's right. Now take hold of that end of the mast +and slip it under the seat." + +So saying he managed to get down the mast and stow it away without +impeding either the rowing or the steering, and immediately the +advantage of the step was manifest in the steadier motion of the boat, +although we groaned inwardly at the thought of having now all the +distance to row. At least I groaned inwardly. Hutton was hardly as +reserved. + +"I tell you what," he said to me, stopping rowing, "I don't know what +you and the other fellows intend to do, but I can't row any more. I've +been at it an hour together." + +"What are we to do, then?" inquired I. + +"Why shouldn't Hall take a turn? He's been doing nothing." + +"He's been steering," replied I, "and he's the only fellow who knows +how, and Charlie's not strong enough to row." + +"Well, all I can say is, I don't mean to row any longer." + +All this had been said in an undertone to me, but now Hall cried out-- + +"What are you shopping for, Hutton? Pull away, man, or we shall never +get out of this." + +"Pull away yourself!" said Hutton sulkily. "I've had enough of it. You +brought us here, you'd better take us back!" + +Hall's face at that moment was a study. I fancy if this had been a ship +and he the skipper, he would not have hesitated an instant how to deal +with this unexpected contingency. But now he did hesitate. It was +bitter enough punishment to him to be there exposed to all the dangers +of a sudden storm, with the safety, and perhaps the life, not only of +himself, but of us whom he had induced to accompany him, on his hands; +but to have one of those comrades turn against him in the moment of +peril was more than he had looked for. + +"I'll take an oar," said Charlie, before there was time to say anything. + +"No," said Hall, starting up; "take the helm, Charlie. And you," added +he, to Hutton, "give me your oar and get up into the bows." + +The voice in which this was spoken, and the look of scorn which +accompanied it, fairly cowed Hutton, who got up like a lamb and crawled +into the bows, leaving Hall and me to row. + +"Keep her straight to the waves, whatever you do! it's all up if she +gets broadside on!" said the former to Charlie. + +And so for another half-hour we laboured in silence; then almost +suddenly the daylight faded, and darkness fell over the bay. + +I rowed on doggedly in a half-dream. Stories of shipwrecks and +castaways crowded in on my mind; I found myself wondering how and when +this struggle would end. Then my mind flew back to Parkhurst, and I +tried to imagine what they must think there of our absence. Had they +missed us yet? Should I ever be back in the familiar house, or--but I +dared not think of that. Then I tried to pray, and the sins of my +boyhood came up before my mind as I did so in terrible array, so that I +vowed, if but my life might be spared, I would begin a new and better +life from that time forward. Then, by a strange impulse, my eyes rested +on Charlie, as he sat there quietly holding the tiller in his hands and +gazing out ahead into the darkness. What was it that filled me with +foreboding and terror as I looked at the boy? The scene of the morning +recurred to my mind, and my halfhearted effort to prevent him from +accompanying us. Selfish wretch that I had been! what would I not now +give to have been resolute then? If anything were to happen to Charlie, +how could I ever forgive myself? + +"I think we've made some way," he cried out cheerily. "Not much," said +Hall gloomily; "that light there is just under Shargle Head." + +"Had we better keep on as we are?" I asked. "I don't see what else is +to be done. If we let her go before the wind, we shall get right on to +the rocks." + +"You've a lot to answer for," growled Hutton from where he lay, half- +stupid with terror, in the bows. + +Hall said nothing, but dashed his oar vehemently into the water and +continued rowing. + +"I wonder if that light is anywhere near Parkhurst?" presently asked +Archer. "Do you see?" + +We looked, and saw it; and then almost instantly it vanished. At the +same time we lost sight of the lights on Shargle Head, and the rain came +down in torrents. "A mist!" exclaimed Hall, in tones of horror. Well +indeed might he and we feel despair at this last extinguisher of our +hopes. With no landmark to steer by, with wind and sea dead in our +teeth, with the waves breaking in over our sides, and one useless +mutineer in our midst, we felt that our fate was fairly sealed. Even +Hall for a moment showed signs of alarm, and we heard him mutter to +himself, "God help us now!" Next moment a huge wave came broadside on +to us and emptied itself into our boat, half filling us with water. In +the sudden shock my oar was dashed from my hand and carried away +overboard! + +"Never mind," said Hall hurriedly, "it would have been no use; put her +round, Charlie, quick--here, give me the tiller!" + +In a moment the boat swung round to the wind (not, however, before she +had shipped another sea), and then we felt we were simply flying towards +the fatal rocks. + +"Bale out, all of you!" shouted Hall; and we obeyed, including even +Hutton, who seemed at last, in very desperation, to be awakening to a +sense of his duty. + +The next few minutes seemed like an age. As we knelt in our half- +flooded boat scooping up the water there in our hats, or whatever would +serve for the purpose, we could hear ahead of us the angry roar of +breakers, and knew every moment was bringing us nearer to our doom. + +By one impulse we abandoned our useless occupation. What was the use of +baling out a boat that must inevitably in a few minutes be dashed to +pieces on the rocks? Hutton crawled back into the bows, and Charlie and +I sat where we were on the seat and waited. + +I could not fail, even in such a situation, to notice and admire Hall's +self-possession and coolness. Desperate as our case was, he kept a +steady hand on the helm, and strained his eyes into the mist ahead, +never abating for a moment either his vigilance or his courage. But +every now and then I could see his eyes turn for a moment to Charlie, +and his face twitch as they did so, with a look of pain which I was at +no loss to understand. + +"How far are we from the rocks?" asked Charlie. + +"I can't say; a quarter of an hour, perhaps." + +"Whereabouts are we?" I asked. + +"When the lights went out we were opposite Raven Cliff," replied Hall. + +We were silent for another minute; then Hall took out his watch. + +"Eight o'clock," said he. + +"They'll be at prayers at Parkhurst," said Charlie; and in the silence +that followed, need I say that we too joined as we had never done before +in the evening prayers of our schoolfellows? + +"Charlie, old boy," said Hall, presently, "come and sit beside me, will +you?" + +Poor Hall! had it been only _his_ own life that was at stake, he would +never have flinched a muscle; but as he put his arm round the boy whom +he had led into danger he groaned pitiably. + +"I wonder if Neil's out looking for us," Hutton said from the bows. + +"Not much use," said Hall. "If only this mist would lift!" + +But it did not lift. For another five minutes we tore through the +waves, which as we neared the shore became wilder and rougher. Our +boat, half full of water, staggered at every shock, and more than once +we believed her last plunge had been taken. + +On either side of us, for the little distance we could see through the +mist, there was nothing but white foam and surging billows; behind us +rushed the towering waves, overtaking us one by one, tossing us aloft +and dashing us down, till every board of our boat creaked and groaned. +Above us the rain poured in torrents, dashing on to our bare heads, and +blinding us whenever we turned our faces back. + +Then Hall cried out, "Listen! those must be breakers behind us!" + +Assuredly they were! On either side we could hear the deafening thunder +of the surf as it dashed over the rocks. + +"Then, thank God!" exclaimed Hall, "we must have got in between two +reefs; perhaps we shall go aground on the sand!" + +The next two minutes are past description. Hutton crawled down beside +me where I sat, and I could feel his hand on my arm, but I had no eyes +except for Charlie, who sat pale and motionless with Hall's arm round +him. + +"Now!" shouted Hall, abandoning the tiller, and tightening his hold on +the boy. + +There was a roar and a rush behind us, our boat swooped up with the +wave, and hung for a moment trembling on its crest, then it fell, and in +an instant we were in the water. + +Hutton was beside me as the rush back of that huge wave swept us off our +feet. I seized him by the arm, and next moment we were struggling to +keep our heads up. Then came another monster, and lifted us like +straws, flinging us before it on to the strand, and then rolling and +foaming over us as we staggered to our feet. + +Hutton, half stunned, had been swept from my hold, but mercifully was +still within reach. Clutching him by the hair, I dragged him with all +my might towards the land, before the returning wave should once more +sweep us back into the sea. By a merciful Providence, a solitary piece +of rock was at hand to aid us; and clinging to this we managed to +support that terrific rush, and with the next wave stagger on to solid +ground. + +But what of Charlie? Leaving my senseless companion, I rushed wildly +back to the water's edge, and called, shouted, and even waded back into +the merciless surf. But no answer: no sign. Who shall describe the +anguish of the next half-hour? I was conscious of lights and voices; I +had dim visions of people hurrying; I felt something poured down my +throat, and some one was trying to lift me from where I sat. But no! I +would not leave that spot till I knew what had become of Charlie, and in +my almost madness I shrieked the boy's name till it sounded even above +the roaring waves. + +Presently the lights moved all to one spot, and the people near me moved +too. Weak as I was, I sprang to my feet and followed. + +Good heavens! what did I see? Two sailors, half naked, stooped over +something that lay on the sand between them, What, who was it? I cried; +and the crowd made way for me as I fought my way to the place. + +Two figures lay there; the smaller locked in the arms of his protector! +But dead or living? Oh, if I could but hear some voice say they were +not dead! Another person was kneeling over them beside me. Even in +that moment of confusion and terror I could recognise his voice as that +of the Parkhurst doctor. + +"Look after this one here," he said; "he has a broken arm. Carry up the +little fellow to the cottage." + +Then I knew Charlie was dead! + +It was weeks before I was sufficiently recovered in body or mind to hear +more than I knew. Then the doctor told me:-- + +"Hall is getting better. He broke his arm in two places, trying to +shield the boy from the rocks. He will not speak about it himself, and +no one dares mention Archer's name to him. There was neither bruise nor +scratch on the little fellow's body, which shows how heroically the +other must have tried to save him." + +I soon recovered, but Hall was ill for many weeks--ill as much from +distress of mind as from the injuries he had received. He and I are +firm friends to this day; and whenever we meet, we speak often of little +Charlie Archer. Hall is a sea captain now, and commands his own vessel +in distant seas; but though he has been through many a peril and many a +storm since, I can confidently say he never showed himself a better +sailor than he did the night we sailed back from the Shargle. + + + +CHAPTER SIX. + +"FIVERS" VERSUS "SIXERS" AT PARKHURST. + +"I tell you what it is, you fellows, I shall learn to swim!" The +speaker was Bobby Jobson, a hero of some thirteen summers, who, in +company with four of us, his schoolfellows, sat on the bank of the +Colven, under some willows, dabbling his shins in the clear water of the +river. + +The summer had been tremendously hot. Cricket was out of the question, +and boating equally uninviting. The playground had been left deserted +to bake and scorch under the fierce sun, and the swings and poles in the +gymnasium had blistered and cracked in solitude. The only place where +life was endurable was down by the river, and even there it was far too +hot to do anything but sit and dabble our feet under the shelter of the +trees, and think of icebergs! + +A few of the fellows, to our unbounded envy, bathed. They could swim, +we could not; and if any rule at Parkhurst was strict, it was the rule +which forbade any boy who could not swim to bathe in the river, except +with special leave and under the care of a master. And so, like so many +small editions of Tantalus, we sat on the bank and kicked our heels in +the water, and bemoaned the fate which had brought us into the world +without web-feet. + +Young donkeys that we were! The idea of _learning_ to swim had never +occurred to any of us till Bobby Jobson, in a happy moment, gave birth +to the idea in his ejaculation, "I tell you what it is, you fellows, I +shall learn to swim!" + +"How?" I inquired. + +"How?" said Jobson; "why, you know, how does every body learn?" and then +he was polite enough to call me a duffer. + +"I'll tell you the way," said Ralley, one of our set. "Lie across a +desk on your stomach, two or three hours every day, and kick out with +your arms and legs." + +"Corks and bladders," mildly suggested some one else. + +"Get old Blades," (that was the boatman) "to tie a rope round your +middle and chuck you into the Giant's Pool," kindly proposed another. + +"Just tumble in where you are," said Ralley, "and see if it doesn't come +naturally." + +"Ugh!" said Jobson, with a grimace, giving a sidekick in the water in +the direction of the last speaker. "I'm not sure that _that_ dodge +would pay." + +While he spoke, to our unbounded horror, the bank on which he and his +next neighbour were sitting suddenly gave way, and next moment, with a +shout and a splash, our two comrades were floundering helplessly in five +feet of water! + +Help, happily, was at hand, or there is no saying what might have been +the end of the adventure. We did all we could by reaching out our hands +and throwing them our jackets to help them, while, with our shouts, we +summoned more effective aid. Old Blades, who providentially happened to +be passing, was with us in less than a minute, and fished out the two +poor half-drowned boys, scarcely a moment before they needed it. They +were more frightened, I fancy, than damaged; anyhow, we smuggled them +home, dripping as they were, and helped them to bed; and when, next +morning, they turned up as usual, nothing the worse for their first +swimming lesson, we were, as you may imagine, infinitely relieved. + +This little adventure was the origin of the Parkhurst Swimming Club. +The doctor, on hearing of the affair, took the proper course; and, +instead of forbidding us the river, he secured the services of one or +two instructors, and had us all taught the art of swimming. For three +months, every day of the week, the School Creek was full of sputtering, +choking youngsters. Every new boy was hunted down to the river in turn, +and by the end of the year there was hardly a boy at Parkhurst who could +not keep his chin up in deep waters. + +But this is a long introduction. + +One day, two summers after that in which young Jobson and his friend had +tumbled into the Colven, a large party of us were down at the bathing- +place, indulging in what had now become a favourite summer pastime. It +so happened that our party was made up entirely of boys in the two +senior classes of the school--the fifth and the sixth. Most of us were +landed and dressing, and while so occupied had leisure to watch the +performances of those who still remained in the water. + +Two of these specially interested us, who were swimming abreast about a +hundred yards from the landing-place, evidently racing home. One of +these chanced to be a sixth-form boy and the other a fifth, and a sudden +impulse seized us of the latter class to cheer our man vehemently, and +back him to be the first to reach home. The sixth-form fellows, thus +challenged, became equally excited in backing _their_ man, and so, +without premeditation, a regular match was made. The two swimmers, +hearing our shouts, entered into the spirit of the thing, and a +desperate race ensued. They came on, neck and neck, towards us, cheered +like mad by their respective supporters, both sides deeming the honour +of his form at stake in the event. Within a yard or two of the finish +they were still level, when the sixth-form man put on a terrific spurt, +to our huge disgust, and just landed himself in a nose ahead. + +Of course, we were not going to be beaten thus, and there and then +demanded our revenge. Whereupon the company--half of them in a very +elementary stage of dressing, and the other half in no stage at all-- +resolved itself into a meeting on the spot, and fixed that day week for +a formal trial of prowess between the two classes. Three events were to +be contested--a half-mile race, a hundred yards, and a duck hunt--and, +of course, the winner of two out of the three would carry the day. + +Then, in great excitement, we finished our toilets and hurried back to +the school, where, naturally, the news of the coming contest spread like +wildfire and caused a great commotion. The school divided itself +forthwith into two factions, calling themselves the "fivers" and +"sixers." The selection of representatives to compete in the races was +a matter of almost as much excitement as the races themselves, and I +need hardly say it was a proud day for me when I was informed I was to +act in the capacity of "hunter" for the fifth in the duck hunt. I +accepted the honour with mingled pride and misgivings, and spent a busy +week practising for my arduous duties. + +Well, the eventful day came at last, and nearly the whole school +mustered at Cramp Corner to see the sport. For the half-mile race, +which was to come off first, there were only two fellows competing. Our +man was Barlow--of paper-chase celebrity--while the sixth were very +confident of winning with Chesney, a hero nearly six feet high. +Certainly, as the two stood on the spring-board waiting the signal to +go, there seemed very little chance for the small Jim against his lanky +antagonist, although some of us comforted ourselves with the +contemplation of our man's long arms and the muscles in his legs. The +course was to be once up Cramp Reach and back--just half a mile. The +swimmers were at liberty to swim in any manner they chose, and bound +only to one rule--to keep their right side. + +They were not long kept waiting in their scanty attire on the planks. +The doctor himself gave the signal to start, and at the word they darted +with two "swishes" into the water. Jim's head was up first, and off he +started at a steady chest-stroke, meaning business. Chesney's dive was +a long one, and, considering he had a half-mile race before him, a +foolish one, for he taxed his breath at the outset, which might have +been avoided, had he thought less about elegance and more about the +race. However, he did not seem at first to be any the worse off for he +took a slight lead of Jim, going through the water swiftly and easily, +with as pretty a side-stroke as any fellow's at the school. In point of +style there was no comparison between the two. Jim pounded along +monotonously, but steadily, with a square front, preserving all along +the same regular stroke, the same pace, and the same dogged expression +of countenance with which he had entered the water. His rival, on the +other hand, delighted the spectators by all kinds of graceful variety. +Now he darted forward on his side, now on his back. Sometimes he +refreshed himself by a swift dive, and sometimes he swung his arms like +a windmill. In fact, there was scarcely any accomplishment possible in +rapid swimming which he did not give us the benefit of. + +But it was evident some of his friends did not approve of his style. I +heard one of them, running near me, growl, "I wish he would give over +his capers and swim like a rational animal." + +"Rational or not, he's keeping his lead," said another, and so he was. +Plodding Jim, with his everlasting chest-stroke, was half a dozen yards +or so behind, and did not look like picking up either. Nevertheless, we +cheered him like mad, and kept up our hopes that he would "stay out" the +better of the two. + +When both turned at the top of the reach, Chesney gave up his fanciful +swimming, and, to our alarm, settled down to a side-stroke, which for a +time looked powerful and effective. But he had been too confident all +along, and now, when he reckoned on shaking off his opponent and getting +a clear lead, he found out he was destined to do just the reverse. What +long faces the "sixers" pulled as their man began to puff and slacken +pace! A half-mile race is no joke, believe me; and so Chesney began to +find out. Before half the distance back was covered he showed +unmistakable signs of going to pieces, and--a very ominous sign--took to +changing from one side to another at very frequent intervals. + +Of course we "fivers" howled with delight! Our man had never turned a +hair, and was now pulling up at every stroke. As he drew level, Chesney +gathered up all his remaining strength for a spurt. But it came to +nothing. Jim held on his way almost remorselessly, and headed his man +fifty yards from the winning-post; and the next thing we saw was Chesney +pulling up dead, and making for the bank in a very feeble condition. +Jim quietly swam on amid our frantic plaudits, and landed pretty nearly +as fresh as when he started. + +So far so good. Loud and long were our exultations, for we had hardly +expected to win this race; we had put our chief confidence on the +hundred yards, which was to follow. In this race three a side were +entered, and of our three we knew no one in the school who could beat +Halley at a hundred yards. It was rumoured, indeed, that Payne, one of +the three "sixers," had been doing very well in training, but the +reports of him were not sufficiently decided to shake our faith in our +own hero. + +It was an anxious moment as they stood there waiting for the doctor's +signal. If only we could win this race, we should have our two races +out of the three in hand without further combat. + +"Go!" cried the doctor; and at the word six youthful forms plunge into +the water, and for a second are lost to sight. But the moral of the +half-mile race has evidently been taken to heart by these six boys. +They waste neither time nor wind under the surface, but rising quickly, +dash to their work. After the first few strokes Payne showed in front, +greatly to the delight of the "sixers," who felt that everything +depended on their man. We, however, were glad to see our man sticking +close up, and keeping stroke for stroke after his rival. Of the others, +one only--little Watson--of the sixth seemed to hold his own, and that +was a good three yards in the rear of Halley: while the three others +fell off hopelessly from the very beginning. + +The race was short, but eventful. To our delight, Halley overhauled +Payne before half-way was reached, and we felt now absolutely sure of +the race. It never occurred to us to think of young Watson at all. But +all of a sudden it became apparent that that young man meant business. +He changed his front, so to speak, in a very unexpected manner, and just +as we were beginning to exult over our man's certain victory, he lay +over on his side, and, with a peculiar, jerky side-stroke, began to work +his little carcase through the water at a wonderful pace. + +Before long he had overtaken his fellow-"sixer," and almost immediately +drew up to our champion. We were in consternation. Twenty yards more +would end the race, and if only our man could hold out and keep his +lead, we were all right. At first it looked as if he would, for, +encouraged by our cheers, and seeing his peril, he spurted, and kept a +good yard ahead of this audacious young "sixer." But the latter put one +spurt on to another, and drew up inch by inch. Ten yards from home they +were level; then, for a stroke or two, there was a frantic struggle; +then the "sixers" sent forth a shout that must have frightened the very +fishes; and well they might, for their man had won the race, a yard and +a half clear ahead of our champion. + +One race each! And now for the "duck hunt" to settle the match. But +before I go further I ought to explain, for the benefit of those who +have not been initiated into the mysteries of the pastime, how a duck +hunt was managed at Parkhurst. + +The part of the river selected was close to the mouth, where the stream +at high water is about a quarter of a mile broad. Two boundary boats, +one above and one below, were anchored at half a mile distance, and +between these limits the hunt was to take place. The "duck" was +provided with a little punt, about five feet long and pretty wide, in +which he was to escape as best he might from a cutter manned by four +rowers and a coxswain, and carrying in its bows a "hunter." As long as +he chose, or as long as he could, the duck might dodge his pursuers in +his punt; but when once run down he would have to take to the water, and +by swimming make good his escape from his pursuers, whose "hunter" would +be ready at any moment to jump overboard and secure him. If, however, +after twenty minutes the duck still remained uncaught, he was to be +adjudged winner. + +Such was the work cut out for us on this memorable afternoon. The duck +on the present occasion was a sixth-form fellow called Haigh, one of the +best divers and swimmers in the school, while, as I have already said, I +had been selected to act as hunter on behalf of the fifth. + +The duck, arrayed in the slightest of costumes, was not long in putting +in an appearance in his little punt, which, being only five feet long, +was so light that it seemed to jump through the water at every stroke of +the oars; while a single stroke either way sufficed to change its course +in a moment. The cutter, in the prow of which I (as slenderly attired +as the duck) was stationed, was also a light boat, and of course, with +its four rowers, far swifter than the punt; but when it came to turning +and dodging, it was, because of its length, comparatively unwieldy and +clumsy. + +All now was ready for the chase. The duck was to get a minute's clear +start, and at the signal off he darted up the stream. The minute seemed +to us in the cutter as if it were never going to end, and we watched +with dismay the pace at which our lively fugitive was "making tracks." + +"Ready all, in the cutter!" cries the doctor. "Off!" and next moment we +are flying through the water in full cry. As we gradually pull up to +the duck he diminishes his pace, and finally lies on his oars and coolly +waits for us. + +"Put it on, now!" calls out our coxswain, and our boat shoots forward. +When within a few yards, the duck, apparently alive to his danger, +dashes his oars into the water and darts ahead. But we are too fast for +him. Another two strokes and we shall row him down. + +"Now then!" cries our coxswain. + +Ah! At a tremendous pace our boat flew forward over the very place +where, a second before, our duck had been. But where was he? By a turn +of the hand he had twisted round his punt, and as our fellows dug their +oars wildly into the water and tried to pull up, there was he, calmly +scuttling away in an opposite direction, and laughing at us! + +In due time we had swung round, and were after him again, the wiser for +this lesson. + +Next time we overhauled him we made our approach in a far more gingerly +manner. We kept as little way as possible on our boat, determined not +to lose time again by overshooting our mark. As long as he could, our +duck led us down stream, then, when we had all but caught him, he made a +feint of swooping off to the right, a manoeuvre which our coxswain +promptly followed. But no sooner was our rudder round than the rogue +deftly brought his punt sharp to the left, and so once more escaped us. + +This sort of thing went on for a long time, and I was beginning to think +the hunt was likely to prove a monotonous affair after all, when our +coxswain suddenly called to me down the boat-- + +"Be ready, Adams." + +Then it began gradually to dawn on me our coxswain after all knew what +he was about. There was a rather deep bay up near the top of the +course, bounded by two prominent little headlands, and into this bay the +duck, in a moment of carelessness, had ventured. It was a chance not to +be let slip. A few strokes brought our cutter up to the spot, and once +there, our cunning coxswain carefully kept us pointed exactly across the +bay. The duck, seeing his danger, made a dash to one corner, hoping to +avoid us; but he was too late, we were there before him, and before he +could double and make the other corner our boat had back-watered to the +spot. Thus gradually we hemmed him in closer and closer to the shore, +amid the cheers of our friends, until at last it was evident to every +one the punt was no longer of use. + +Still, he let us sidle close up to him before he abandoned his craft; +then with a sudden bound he sprang overboard and disappeared from view. + +It was no use going after him, I knew, till I could see where he would +rise, and so I waited, ready for a plunge, watching the water where he +would probably turn up. Several seconds passed, but there were no signs +of him. He was a good diver, we all knew, but this was surely a very +long dive. Had an accident happened to him? A minute elapsed, two, and +yet he never appeared! We in the boat were aghast; he must have come to +grief. Ah! what were the people on the bank laughing at? Could there +be some trick? Next instant the coxswain called out, laughing-- + +"He's hanging on to the rudder; over you go, Adams!" + +At the word I slipped overboard and gave chase. And now began an +exciting pursuit. Haigh, though perfectly at home in the water, was not +a rapid swimmer; but in point of diving and dodging he had a tremendous +advantage over any of his pursuers. The moment I got near him, and just +as I was thinking to grab him, he would disappear suddenly and come up +behind me. He would dive towards the right and come up towards the +left. He would dodge me round the boat, or swim round me in circles, +but no effort of mine could secure him. The time was getting on, and I +was no nearer having him than before. With all his dodges, too, he +never seemed to take his eyes off me for an instant, either above or +below the water. + +Once, as I was giving him chase, he suddenly dived, and the next +intimation I had of his whereabouts was a sly pinch of my big toe as he +came up behind me. This was adding insult to injury, so I dashed round, +and made at him. Again he dived; and this time, without waiting an +instant, I dived too. I could see him distinctly under the water, +scuttling away in a downward direction just below me. Shutting my lips +tight, I dug my way down after him; but, alas! under water I was no +match for Haigh. I felt an irresistible temptation to gasp; my nose +smarted, and the water round my head seemed like lead. As quickly as +possible I turned my hands up, and struck out for the surface. + +What ages it seemed before I reached it! A second--half a second +longer, and I should have shipped a mouthful, perhaps a chestful of +water. I reached the surface at last, and, once above water, felt all +right again. I looked about anxiously for my duck. But he was still +down below. I reckoned, from the direction in which he had dived, that +he would not be able to go far to either side, and therefore would rise +close to me, probably exhausted, and if so, I had a good chance at last +of catching him. So I waited and watched the place, but he never came. + +Remembering my own sensations, and how nearly I had come to grief, I +took a sudden fright, and concluding he must be in straits down below, +shouted to the boat to come to the place, and then dived. I groped +about, and looked in all directions, but saw no sign of him, and +finally, in a terrible fright, made once more for the surface. + +The first thing I was conscious of, on getting my head up, was a great +shouting and laughing, and then I caught sight of that abominable duck, +who had come up behind me, and had been laughing all the while behind my +back, while I had been hunting for him in a far more serious way than I +need ever have done! + +Before I could turn and make towards him "Time!" was shouted from the +bank; and so the Parkhurst Swimming Contest ended in a lamentable, +though not disgraceful, defeat of the "fivers." + + + +CHAPTER SEVEN. + +ATHLETIC SPORTS AT PARKHURST. + +The last Saturday before the summer holidays was invariably a great day +at Parkhurst. The outdoor exercises of the previous ten months +culminated then in the annual athletic sports, which made a regular +field-day for the whole school. Boys who had "people" living within a +reasonable distance always did their best to get them over for the day; +the doctor--an old athlete himself--generally invited his own party of +friends; and a large number of spectators from Parkhurst village and the +neighbourhood were sure to put in an appearance, and help to give +importance to the occasion. Athletic sports without spectators (at +least, so we boys thought) would be a tame affair, and we were sure to +get through our day's performances all the better for a large muster of +outsiders on the ground. + +The occasion I am about to recall was specially interesting to me, as it +was the first athletic meeting in which I, a small boy just entering my +teens, ever figured. I was only down to run in one of the races, and +that was the three-legged race; and yet I believe there was not a boy in +the school so excited at the prospect of these sports as I was. I +thought the time would never come, and was in positive despair when on +the day before it a little white cloud ventured to appear in the blue +sky. A wet day, so I thought, would have been as great a calamity as +losing the whole circle of my relatives, and almost as bad as having my +favourite dog stolen, or my fishing-rod smashed; and I made a regular +fool of myself in the morning of the eventful day by getting up first at +two a.m., then at three, then at four, and four or five times more, to +take observations out of the window, till at last my bedfellow declared +he would stand it no longer, and that since I was up, I should stay up. + +Ah! he was an unsympathetic duffer, and knew nothing of the raptures of +winning a three-legged race. + +Well, the day was a splendid one after all--a little hot, perhaps, but +the ground was in grand order, and hosts of people would be sure to turn +up. My race yoke-fellow and I went out quite early for a final spin +over the course, and found one or two of the more diligent of our +schoolfellows taking a similar advantage of the "lie-abeds." Of course, +as _we_ were of opinion that the three-legged race was the most +important and attractive of all the day's contests, we paid very little +heed to what others were doing, but sought out a retired corner for +ourselves, where, after tying our inside legs together, and putting our +arms round one another's necks in the most approved fashion, we set to +and tore along as fast as we could, and practised starts and falls, and +pick-ups and spurts, and I don't know what else, till we felt that if, +after all, we were to be beaten, it would not be our faults. With which +comfortable reflection we loosed our bonds and strolled back to +breakfast. + +Here, of course, the usual excitement prevailed, and one topic engrossed +all the conversation. I sat between a fellow who was in for the Junior +100 yards, and another who was down for the "hurdles." Opposite me was +a hero whom every one expected to win in throwing the cricket-ball, and +next to him a new boy who had astonished every one by calmly putting his +name down for the mile race before he had been two hours at Parkhurst. +In such company you may fancy our meal was a lively one, and, as most of +us were in training, a very careful one. + +The first race was to be run at twelve, and we thought it a great +hardship that the lower school was ordered to attend classes on this of +all days from nine to eleven. Now I am older, it dawns on me that this +was a most wholesome regulation; for had we small chaps been allowed to +run riot all the morning, we should have been completely done up, and +fit for nothing when the races really began. We did not do much work, I +am afraid, at our desks that morning, and the masters were not +particularly strict, for a wonder. The one thing we had to do was to +keep our seats and restrain our ardour, and that was no easy task. + +Eleven came at last, and off we rushed to the mysteries of the toilet. +What would athletic sports be like without flannel shirts and trousers, +or ribbons and canvas shoes? At any rate, we believed in the importance +of these accessories, and were not long in arraying ourselves +accordingly. I could not help noticing, however, as we sallied forth +into the field, that fine feathers do not always make fine birds. There +was Tom Sampson, for instance, the biggest duffer that ever thought he +could run a step, got up in the top of the fashion, in bran-new togs, +and a silk belt, and the most gorgeous of scarlet sashes across his +shoulders; while Hooker, who was as certain as Greenwich time to win the +quarter-mile, had on nothing but his old (and not very white) cricket +clothes, and no sash at all. And there was another thing I noticed +about these old hands: they behaved in the laziest of manners. They +sprawled on the grass or sat on the benches, appearing disinclined for +the slightest exertion; while others, less experienced, took preliminary +canters along the tracks, or showed off over the hurdles. Fine fellows, +no doubt, they thought themselves; but they had reason to be sorry for +this waste of energy before the day was out. + +Programmes! With what excitement I seized mine and glanced down it! +There it was! "Number 12. Three-legged Race, 100 yards, for boys under +15. 1, Trotter and Walker (pink); 2, White and Benson (green); 3, Adams +and Slipshaw (blue)." Reader, have you ever seen your name in print for +the first time? Then you may imagine my sensations! + +Things now begin to look like business. The doctor has turned up, and a +party of ladies. The visitors' enclosure is fast filling up, and there +is a fair show of carriages behind. Those big fellows in the tall hats +are old Parkhurstians, come to see the young generation go through its +paces, and that little knot of men talking together in the middle of the +ground consists of the starter, judge, and umpire. Not a few of us, +too, turn our eyes wistfully to that tent over yonder, where we know are +concealed the rewards of this day's combats; and in my secret heart I +find myself wondering more than once how it will sound to hear the names +"Adams and Slipshaw" called upon to receive the first prize for the +three-legged race. + +Hark! There goes a bell, and we are really about to begin. "Number 1, +Junior 100 yards, for boys under 12," and 24 names entered! Slipshaw +and 1, both over 12, go off to have a look at "the kids," and a queer +sight it is. Of course, they can't all, 24 of them, run abreast, and so +they are being started in heats, six at a time. The first lot is just +starting. How eagerly they toe the line and look up at the starter! + +"Are--" he begins, and two of them start, and have to be called back. +"Are you ready?" he says. Three of them are off now, and can't +understand that they are to wait for the word "Off!" But at last the +starter gets to the end of his speech and has them fairly off. The +little fellows go at it as if their lives depended on it. Their mothers +and big brothers are looking on, their "chums" are shouting to them +along the course, and the winning-post is not very far ahead. On they +go, but not in a level row. One has taken the lead, and the others +straggle behind him in a queer procession. It doesn't last long. Even +a Junior 100 yards must come to an end at last, and the winner runs, +puffing, into the judge's arms, half a dozen yards ahead of the next +boy, and 50 yards ahead of the last. The other three heats follow, and +then, amid great excitement, the final heat is run off, and the best man +wins. + +For the Senior 100 yards which followed only three were entered, and +each of these had his band of confident admirers. Slipshaw and I were +very "sweet" on Jackson, who was monitor of our dormitory, and often +gave us the leavings of his muffins, but Ranger was a lighter-built +fellow, and seemed very active, while Bruce's long legs looked not at +all pleasant for his opponents. The starter had no trouble with them, +but it was no wonder they all three looked anxious as they turned their +faces to him; for in a 100 yards' race the start is everything, as poor +long-legged Bruce found out, for he slipped on the first spring, and +never recovered his lost ground. Between Ranger and Jackson the race +was a fine one to within twenty yards of home, when our favourite's +"fat" began to tell on him, and though he stuck gallantly to work he +could not prevail over the nimble Ranger, who slipped past him and won +easily by a yard. + +This was a damper for Slipshaw and me, who, as in duty bound, attended +our champion back to where he had left his coat, and so missed the +throwing of the cricket-ball, which was easily won by the favourite. + +But though we missed that event, we had no notion of missing the high +jump, which promised to be the best thing (next to the three-legged +race) that day. Four fellows were in for it, and of these Shute and +Catherall were two of the best jumpers Parkhurst had ever had; and it +was well known all over the school that in practice each had jumped +exactly 5 foot 4 inches. Who would win now? The two outsiders were +soon got rid of, one at 4 foot 10 inches, and the other at 5 foot; and +the real interest of the event began when Shute and Catherall were left +alone face to face with the bar. Shute was a tall fellow, of slight +make and excellent spring. Catherall was short, but with the bounce of +an india-rubber ball in him, and a wonderful knack of tucking his feet +up under him in jumping. It was a pretty sight to watch them advance +half-inch by half-inch, from 5 foot to 5 foot 3 inches. There seemed +absolutely nothing to choose between them, they both appeared to clear +the bar so easily. At 5 foot 31/2 inches. Shute missed his first jump, +greatly to the dismay of his adherents, who saw Catherall clear it with +complete ease. If he were to miss the second time, he would be out of +it, and that would be a positive tragedy. So we all watched his next +jump with breathless anxiety. He stood looking at the bar for a second +or two, as if doubting his own chance. Then his face cleared up, and he +sprang towards it. To our delight he rose beautifully and cleared it +easily. At 5 foot 4 inches both missed the first jump, but both cleared +it at the second trial. And now for the tug of war. Both had +accomplished the utmost he had ever hitherto achieved, and it remained +to be seen whether the excitement of the occasion would assist either or +each to excel himself. Shute came to grief altogether at 5 foot 41/2 +inches, and again, to our dismay, Catherall bounded over the bar at his +first effort. Shute's friends were in despair, and if that hero had +been a nervous fellow he might have been the same. But he was a very +cool fish, and instead of losing his nerve, sat down on the grass and +tightened the lace of his shoe. Then he slowly rose to his feet and +faced his task. At that moment I forgot all about the three-legged +race, and gave my whole heart up to the issue of this jump. He started +to run at last, slow at first, but gathering pace for his final leap. +Amid breathless silence he sprang forward and reached the bar, and +then--then he coolly pulled up and walked back again. This looked bad; +but better to pull up in time than spoil his chance. He kept us waiting +an age before he was ready to start again, but at last he turned for his +last effort. We could tell long before he got to the bar that this +time, at any rate, he was going to jump, whether he missed or no. Jump +he did, and, to our unbounded delight, just cleared the bar--so narrowly +that it almost shook as he skimmed over it. That was the end of the +high jump; for though both attempted the 5 foot 5 inches, neither +accomplished it, and the contest was declared to be a dead heat. + +After this several unimportant races followed, which I need hardly +describe. Number 12 on the list was getting near, and I was beginning +to feel a queer, hungry sort of sensation which I didn't exactly like. +However, the mile was to be run before our turn came, and that would +give me time to recover. + +For this race we had many of us looked with a curious interest, on +account of the new boy, of whom I have spoken, being one of the +competitors in it. He didn't look a likely sort of fellow to win a +race, certainly, for he was slightly bow-legged and thick-set, and what +seemed to us a much more ominous sign, was not even arrayed in flannels, +but in an ordinary white shirt and light cloth trousers. However, he +took his place very confidently at the starting-post, together with +three rivals, wearing respectively black, red, and yellow for their +colours. + +The start for a mile race is not such a headlong affair as for a hundred +yards, and consequently at the word "Off!" there was comparatively +little excitement among us spectators. + +Yellow went to the front almost immediately, with red and black close +behind, while the new boy seemed to confirm our unfavourable impression +by keeping considerably in the rear. The mile was divided into three +laps round the field, and at the end of the first the positions of the +four were the same as at starting. But it was soon evident yellow was +not destined to continue his lead, for before the half distance was +accomplished, red and black, who all along had been neck and neck, were +up to him and past him, and by the end of the lap the new boy had also +overtaken him. + +And now we became considerably more interested in the progress of this +new boy, who, it suddenly occurred to us, seemed to be going very +easily, which was more than could be said of red, who was dropping a +little to the rear of black. A big boy near me said, "That fellow's got +the wind of a balloon," and I immediately began to think he was not far +wrong. For in this third lap, when two of the others were slacking +pace, and when the third was only holding his own, the new boy freshened +up remarkably. We could watch him crawl up gradually nearer and nearer +to red, till a shout proclaimed him to be second in the running. But +black was still well ahead, and in the short space left, as the big boy +near me said, "He could hardly collar his man." + +But see! The fellow is positively beginning to tear along! He seems +fresher than when he started. "Look out. Black!" shout twenty voices. +All very well to say, "Look out!" Black is used up, and certainly +cannot respond to this tremendous spurt. Thirty yards from home the new +boy is up to his man, and before the winning-post is reached he is a +clear ten yards ahead. + +"Bellows did it," said the big boy; "look at his chest"; and then for +the first time I noticed where the secret of this hero's triumph lay. + +But, horrors! the next race is Number 12, and Slipshaw and I scuttle off +as hard as we can go, to get ready. + +How miserable I felt then! I hated athletic sports, and detested +"three-legged races." As we emerged from the tent, we and the other two +couples, ambling along on our respective three legs, a shout of laughter +greeted our appearance. I, for one, didn't see anything to laugh at, +just then. + +"Adams," said Slipshaw, as we reached the starting-place, "take it easy, +old man, and mind you don't go over." + +"All right," said I, feeling very much inclined to go over at that +instant. Then that awful starter began his little speech. + +"Are you ready?" he asked. + +"Not at all," inwardly ejaculated I. + +"Off!" he cried; and almost before I knew where I was, Slipshaw and I +were hopping along on our three legs amid the cheers of the crowd. + +"Steady!" said he, as I stepped out rather _too_ fast. + +Alas! we were last. The other two couples were pounding along ahead at +a wonderful pace. + +"Steady!" growled Slipshaw again, as I began to try to run, and nearly +capsized him. + +You may laugh, reader, but it was no joke, that three-legged race. The +others ahead of us showed no signs of flagging; they were going hard, +one couple close at the heels of the other, and we a full five yards +behind. I was giving one despairing thought to the pots and prizes in +the tent, when a great roar of laughter almost made me forget which foot +to put forward. + +What could it be?--and Slipshaw was laughing too! + +"Steady, now," he said, "and come along!" + +The laughter continued, and looking before me, I suddenly detected its +cause. The leading couple in a moment of over-confidence had attempted +to go too fast, and had come on their noses on the path, and the second +couple, too close behind them, had not had time to avoid the obstacle, +but had plunged headlong on to the top of them! It was all right now! +Slipshaw and I trotted triumphantly past the prostrate heap, and after +all won our prize! You may fancy I was too excited to think of much +else after that, except indeed the hurdle race, which was most exciting, +and won most cleverly by Catherall, who, though he came to grief at the +last hurdle, was able to pick himself up in time to rush in and win the +race by a neck from the new boy, whom we found to be almost as good at +jumping as he was at running. + +Then followed a two-mile race--rather dull to watch--and with that the +sports were at an end. + +Need I say how proudly Slipshaw and I marched up arm-in-arm to receive +the prize for our race, which consisted of a bat for me and a telescope +for my companion?--or how the new boy was cheered?--or how Shute and +Catherall were applauded? + +Before I left Parkhurst I was an old hand at athletic sports, but I +don't think I ever thought any of them so interesting as the day on +which Slipshaw and I, with our legs tied together, came in first in the +three-legged race! + + + +CHAPTER EIGHT. + +THE SNEAK. + +Sneak! It's an ugly name, but not ugly enough, believe me, for the +animal it describes. + +Like his namesake, the snake, he may be a showy enough looking fellow at +first sight, he may have the knack of wriggling himself into your +acquaintance, and his rattle may amuse you for a time, but wait till he +turns and stings you! + +I am at a loss how to describe in a few words what I--and, I expect, +most of us--mean when we talk of a sneak. He is a mixture of so many +detestable qualities. There is a large amount of cowardice in his +constitution, and a similar quantity of jealousy; and then there are +certain proportions of falsehood, ingratitude, malice, and officiousness +to complete his ugly anatomy, to say nothing of hypocrisy and self- +conceit. When all these amiable ingredients are compounded together, we +have our model sneak. + +How we detest the fellow! how our toes tingle when he comes our way! how +readily we go a mile round to avoid him! how we hope we may never be +like _him_! + +Let me tell you of one we had at our school. Any one who did not know +Jerry would have said to himself, "That's a pleasant enough sort of +fellow." For so he seemed. With a knack of turning up everywhere, and +at all times, he would at first strike the stranger as only an extremely +sociable fellow, who occasionally failed to see he wasn't as welcome as +one would think he deserved to be. But wait a little. Presently he'd +make up to you, and become very friendly. In your pleasure at finding +some one to talk to after coming away from home to a new and lonely +place, you will, in the innocence of your heart, grow confidential, and +tell him all your secrets. You will perhaps tell him to whom your +sister is engaged; how much pocket-money your father allows you. You'll +show him a likeness of the little cousin you are over head and ears in +love with, and tell him about the cake your old nurse has packed up +among the schoolbooks in your trunk. He takes the greatest interest in +the narration; you feel quite happy to have had a good talk about the +dear home, and you go to bed to dream of your little sweetheart and your +new friend. + +In the morning, when you wake, there is laughter going on in the beds +round you. As you sit up and rub your eyes, and wonder where you are-- +it's all so different from home--you hear one boy call out to another-- + +"I say, Tom, don't you wish you had a nurse to make you cakes?" + +That somehow seems pointed at you, though addressed to another, for all +the other boys look round at you and grin. + +"Wouldn't I?" replies the Tom appealed to. "Only when a chap's in love, +you know, he's no good at cakes." + +"Cakes!" "in love!" They must be making fun of you; but however do they +know so much about you? Listen! "If _I_ had a sister, I'd take care +_she_ didn't go and marry a butter-man, Jack, wouldn't you?" + +It must be meant for you; for you had told Jerry the evening before that +your sister was going to marry a provision merchant! Then all of a +sudden it flashes upon you. You have been betrayed! The secrets you +have whispered in private have become the property of the entire school; +and the friend you fancied so genial and sympathising has made your +open-hearted frankness the subject of a blackguard jest, and exposed you +to all the agony of schoolboy ridicule! + +With quivering lips and flushed face, half shame, half anger, you dash +beneath the clothes, and wish the floor would open beneath you. When +the getting-up bell sounds, you slink into your clothes amid the titters +of your companions. It is weeks before you hear the end of your nurse, +your pocket money, your sister, and your sweetheart; and for you all the +little pleasure of your first term at school has gone. + +But what of Jerry? He comes to you in the morning as if nothing had +happened, with a "How are you, old fellow?" + +You are so indignant you can't speak; all you are able to do is to glare +in scorn and anger. + +"Afraid you're not well," remarks the sneak; "change of scene, you know. +I hope you'll soon be better." + +Just as he is going you manage, though almost bursting with the effort, +to stammer out--"What do you mean by telling tales of me to all the +fellows?" He looks perplexed, as if at a loss for your meaning. "Tell +tales of you?" says he. "I don't know what you mean, old chap." + +"Yes, you do. How did they all know all about me this morning, if you +hadn't told them?" + +Then, as if your meaning suddenly dawned upon him, he breaks into a +forced laugh, and exclaims-- + +"Oh, the chaff between Tom and Jack! I was awfully angry with Jack for +beginning it--awfully angry. We happened to be talking last night, you +know, about home, and I just mentioned what you had told me, never +thinking the fellow would be such a cad as to let it out." + +You are so much taken aback at the impudence of the fellow, that you let +him walk away without another word. If you have derived no other +advantage from your first day at school, you have at least learned to +know the character of Jerry. And you find it out better as you go on. + +If you quarrel with him, and threaten him with condign punishment, he +will report you to the doctor, and you'll get an imposition. If you sit +up beyond hours reading, he'll contrive to let the monitors know, and +your book will be confiscated; if you happen to be "spinning a yarn" +with a chum in your study, you will generally find, if you open the door +suddenly, that he is not very far from the keyhole; if you get up a +party to partake of a smuggled supper in the dormitory, he will conduct +a master to the scene, and get you into a row. There's no secret so +deadly he won't get hold of; nothing you want kept quiet that he won't +spread all round the school. In fact, there's scarcely anything he does +not put his finger into, and everything he puts his finger into he +spoils. + +If, in a weak moment of benevolence, you take him back into your +confidence and friendship, no one will be more humble and forgiving and +affable; but he will just use your new favour as a weapon for paying +back old grudges, and sorely will you repent your folly. + +In fact, there is only one place for Jerry--that place is Coventry. +That city is famous for one sneak already. Let Jerry keep him company. +There he can tell tales, and peep and listen and wriggle to his heart's +content. He'll please himself, and do no one any harm. + +A sneak has not always the plea of self-interest for his meanness. +Often enough his tale-bearing or his mischief-making can not only do his +victims incalculable harm, but cannot do him any possible good. + +What good did the snake in the fable expect who, having been rescued, +and warmed and restored to life by the merciful woodcutter, turned on +his deliverer and stung him? No wonder the good fellow knocked him on +the head! I knew another sneak once who seemed to make a regular +profession of this amiable propensity. He seemed to consider his path +in life was to detect and inform on whatever, to his small mind, seemed +a culpable offence. In the middle of school, all of a sudden his raspy +voice would lift itself up in ejaculations like these, addressed to the +master,-- + +"Please, sir," (he always prefaced his remarks with "Please, sir"), +"Please, sir, Tom Cobb's eating an apple!" + +"Please, sir, Jenkins has made a blot!" + +"Please, sir, Allen junior is cutting his name on the desk!" + +Perhaps the indignant Allen junior would here take occasion to +acknowledge his sense of this attention by a private kick under the +desk. Then it would be-- + +"All right, Joe Allen; _I'll sneak of you_, you see if I don't!" + +No one could do it better. + +Amiable little pet, how we all loved him! + +Sneaking seems to be a sort of disease with some people. There's no +other way of accounting for it. It sometimes seems as if the mere sight +of happiness or success in others is the signal for its breaking out. +As we have said, its two leading motives are cowardice and jealousy. +Just as the cur will wait till the big dog has passed by, and then, +slinking up behind, give a surreptitious snap at his heels, so the +sneak, instead of standing face to face with his rival, and instead of +entering into fair competition with him, creeps up unobserved and +inflicts his wound on the sly. + +Thus it has been with all traitors and spies and deserters and mischief- +makers since the world began. What a list one could give of the sneaks +of history, beginning at that arch-serpent who marred the happiness of +Eden, down to some of the informers and renegades of the present day! + +Boys cannot be too early on their guard against sneaking habits. No +truly English boy, we are glad to think, is likely to fall into them; +still, even among our own acquaintance, it is sad to think how many +there are who are not wholly free from the reproach. + +The child in the nursery who begins to tell tales to his mother of his +little brothers and sisters will, if not corrected, grow up to be just +such another sneak as Jerry; and Jerry, unless he cures himself of his +vice, will become a mere odious meddler and scandalmonger in society, +and may arrive at the unenviable distinction of being the most detested +man of his generation. + +Every disease has its cure. Be honest, be brave, be kind, and have +always a good conscience, and you _cannot_ be a sneak. + + + +CHAPTER NINE. + +THE SULKY BOY. + +We all know him. He might be a good-looking fellow, perhaps, if it +weren't for the scowl over his eyes and the everlasting pout about his +lips. He skulks about with his hands in his pockets, and his head hung +down. We all make room for him, and give him a wide berth; no one is +anxious to be chosen upon the same side with him at chevy, or to get the +desk next his in school. It's a fact we are all afraid of him, though +we all despise him. He makes everybody unhappy, by being miserable +himself for no reason at all. + +Sometimes, indeed, he can be jolly enough--when he chooses. No one +could tell at such times that there was anything queer about him; but +then all of a sudden he shows in his true colours (and dingy enough +colours they are), and then it is all up with enjoyment till he takes +himself off, which he generally does before long. + +All this is very sad; and if I say a word or two about sulkiness now, it +will be in the hope of inducing my readers to give no encouragement to +so ugly a vice. + +There are two ways of showing anger, when one is unfortunate enough to +be under the necessity of being angry. You can't always help it. Some +people are never put out. However much you rile them, they are always +good-humoured, always cool, always friendly. You might as well try to +talk the sun behind a cloud as to get them in a rage. Happy the few who +have this art! They always get the best of it, they always win the +greatest respect, they always are the least likely people for any one to +quarrel with. + +I don't count these among the two classes of angry people, because they +are not angry. But angry people are generally either in a rage or in +the sulks. Neither is pleasant to meet, yet for my own part I would +sooner have to do with the fellow in the rage. There's no deception +about him; he's angry, and he lets you know it; he's got a grievance, +and he blurts out what it is; he hits straight out from the shoulder, +and you know what you've to expect. With such a one it is generally +soon all over. Just as the April shower, sharp enough while it lasts, +gives place in time to the sun, so Will Hothead generally gets all right +as soon as he has let the steam off; and when he shakes hands and makes +it up, you are pretty sure he thinks none the worse of you, and bears no +malice. + +Don't imagine I'm trying to justify exhibitions of temper. Far from it. +I say every boy who can't control his temper has yet to learn one of +the greatest lessons of life. What I want to show is that even passion, +bad as it is, is not so bad as sulkiness. + +For just consider what a miserable sort of boy this Tom Sulks, that we +all of us know, is. Why, almost before he could speak he had learned to +pout. If a toy was denied him, he neither bellowed like his little +brother nor raved like his little sister, but toddled off and sulked in +a corner all day long. When he grew a little older, if he was not +allowed to play in the garden because it was damp, he refused to play in +the nursery, he refused to come down to the dining-room, he refused to +say his prayers at bedtime. When he was old enough to go to school, he +would either play marbles the way he was used to (which was the wrong +way), or not at all. If found fault with for not knowing his lesson, he +pushed his books from him, and endured to be stood in the corner, or +punished some other way, rather than learn his task. The vice only +became worse and worse as time went on, and to-day Tom is an odious +fellow. Look at him playing at cricket. He steps across the wickets to +hit at a ball, but, instead, stops it with his foot. "How's that, +umpire?" cries the bowler. "Out, leg before," is the answer. + +Tom still keeps his place. + +"Out, do you hear, leg before?" + +"It wasn't!" growls Tom. + +"The umpire gives it out," is the unanswerable reply. + +Thereupon Tom's face clouds over, his eyebrows gather, and his lips +shape themselves into a pout, as he drops his bat and walks from the +wicket without a word. No one takes any notice of him, for the event is +too common, alas, to occasion surprise. We know what his sulks mean. +No one will get a word from him for hours, perhaps a day; no attempts at +conciliation will tempt him back to the game, no friendly talk will +chase the cloud from his face. There he goes, slouching up the +playground into the house, and he will skulk upstairs to his study and +slam the door, and that's all we shall see of Tom till suppertime. + +Once, I remember, young Jim Friendly, a new boy, tried hard to coax Tom +back into good humour. They had been having a match at something, I +forget what, and Jim happened to say that something Tom did was against +the rules. Tom, as usual, grew sulky and walked off. + +"What, you aren't going in?" said Jim, disconcerted. No answer. "I +didn't mean to offend you, old fellow; you may be right, after all." No +answer. "I beg your pardon, Tom. I wouldn't have said it if I thought +you'd have minded." No answer. "Don't be angry with a fellow, I didn't +mean--" + +No answer. And so Jim went on apologising, as if he had been all in the +wrong and the other all in the right, and getting no word in reply, only +the same scowl and uncompromising sullenness. "I'll take jolly good +care not to stroke that fellow the wrong way again," said Jim, +afterwards; "and if I should, I won't waste my time in stroking him the +right way." + +Just fancy what sort of man such a fellow as Tom is likely to turn out. +Is he likely to have many friends? Unless he can get a few of his own +sort, I'm afraid he'll be rather badly off in that respect. And then, +oh, horrors! fancy half a dozen Tom Sulks together! What a happy family +they would be! When Tom goes to business, he had better make up his +mind to start a concern of his own, for I'm afraid he would have some +difficulty in getting a partner, or, at any rate, keeping one. I could +quite fancy some important question arising where Tom and his partner +might hold different views. Tom insists he's right, the partner insists +he's right. Tom consequently stays away for a week from the office, +during which the poor partner has to manage as best he can. + +Whatever Tom will do about marrying I don't know; and when he is +married, what his wife will do, I know still less--it's no use +speculating on such a matter. But now, letting Tom be, let us inquire +whether the sulky boy is more to be blamed than pitied. That he is an +odious, disagreeable fellow, there is no doubt. But perhaps it's not +_all_ his own fault. Some boys are of duller natures than others. The +high-spirited, healthy, sanguine fellow will flare up at a moment's +notice, and let fly without stopping to think twice of the injury done +him, while the dull boy is altogether slower in his movements: words +don't come to his lips so quickly, or thoughts don't rush into his mind +as promptly as in others; he is like the snail who, when offended, +shrinks back into its shell, leaving nothing but a hard, unyielding +exterior to mark his displeasure. A great many boys are sulky because +they have not the boldness to be anything else; and a great many others +are so because to their small minds it is the grandest way of displaying +their wrath. If only they could see how ridiculous they are! + +I once knew two boys who for some time had been firm friends at school. +By some unlucky chance a misunderstanding occurred which interrupted +this friendship, and the grievance was, or appeared to be, so sore, that +neither boy would speak to the other. Well, this went on for no less +than six months, and became the talk of the whole school. These silly +boys, however, were so convinced of the sublimity of their respective +conducts that they never observed that every one was laughing at them. +Daily they passed one another, with eyes averted and noses high in the +air; daily they fed their memories with the recollection of their smart. +For six months never a word passed between them. Then came the summer +holidays, in the course of which it suddenly occurred to both these +boys, being not altogether senseless boys, that after all they were +making themselves rather ridiculous. And the more they thought of it, +the more ashamed of themselves they grew, till at last one sat down and +wrote,-- + +"Dear Dick, I'm sorry I offended you; make it up," to which epistle +came, by return post, a reply,-- + +"Dear Bob, _I'm_ sorry _I_ offended you; let's be friends." + +And the first day of next term these two met and shook hands, and +laughed, and owned what fools they had both been. + +A great many of the faults of this life come from the lack of a sense of +humour. Certainly, if sulky boys had more of it, they would be inclined +to follow the example of these two. + +But, although there is a great deal about the sulky boy that merits pity +rather than blame, there is much that deserves merciless censure. Why +should one boy, by a whim of selfish resentment, mar the pleasure, not +only of those with whom he has his quarrel, but with every one else he +comes in contact with? "One dead fly," the proverb says, "makes the +apothecary's ointment unsavoury"; and one sulky boy, in like manner, may +destroy the harmony of a whole school. Isn't it enough, if you must be +disagreeable, to confine your disagreeableness to those for whom it is +meant, without lugging a dozen other harmless fellows into the shadow of +it? Do you really think so much of your own importance as to imagine +all the world will be interested in your quarrel with Smith, because he +insisted a thing was tweedledum and you insisted it was tweedledee? Or, +if you have the grace to confine your sulkiness to Smith alone, for his +private benefit, do you imagine you will convince him of the error of +his ways by shutting yourself up and never looking or speaking to him? + +It used to be a matter of frequent debate at school what ought to be +done to Tom Sulks. + +"Kick him," said some. "Laugh at him," said others. "Send him to +Coventry," put in a third. "Lecture him," advised others. "Let him +alone," said the rest. + +And this, after all, is the best advice. If a sulky fellow won't come +round of his own accord, no kicks, or laughs, or snubs, or lectures will +bring him. + +Surely none of the readers of this chapter are sulky boys! It is not to +be expected you will get through life without being put out--that is +sure to happen; and then you've three courses open to you: either to +take it like a man and a Christian, not rendering evil for evil, not +carried away by revengeful impulse, but bearing what can honourably be +borne with a good grace; and for the rest, if action is necessary, +righting yourself without malice or vindictiveness; or else you can fly +into a rage, and slog out blindly in wild passion; or you can sulk like +a cur in a corner, heeded by no one, yet disliked by all, and without a +friend--not even yourself. + +You will know which of the three best becomes a British boy. Be +assured, that which worst becomes him is _sulking_. + + + +CHAPTER TEN. + +THE EASY-GOING BOY. + +It is a common complaint in these degenerate days that we live harder +than our fathers did. Whatever we do we rush at. We bolt our food, and +run for the train; we jump out of it before it has stopped, and reach +the school door just as the bell rings; we "cram" for our examinations, +and "spurt" for our prizes. We have no time to read books, so we +scuttle through the reviews, and consider ourselves up in the subject; +we cut short our letters home, and have no patience to sit and hear a +long story out. We race off with a chum for a week's holiday, and +consider we have dawdled unless we have covered our thirty miles a day, +and can name as visited a string of sights, mountains, lakes, and +valleys a full yard long. + +If such charges are just (and they are, we fear, not wholly unfounded), +it is at least a satisfaction to know that there is one brilliant +exception to the rule, and that is in the person of Master Ned Easy. + +Whatever other folk do, _he_ has no notion of hurrying himself. Some +one once said of him that he was a fellow who looked as if he'd been +born with his hands in his pockets. He takes his time about everything +he does. If the breakfast bell rings before he is dressed, then--well, +breakfast must wait. If breakfast is over before he has well begun, +then everybody else must wait while he, in a leisurely way, polishes off +his viands. In the classes, his is sure to be the last paper to be +handed up; and when the boys are dismissed, he saunters forth to the +playground in the rear of all the others. When he is one of a fishing- +party, and everybody but he is ready, he keeps them all waiting till +their patience is completely exhausted, while he gets together his +tackle, laces his boots, and selects his flies. + +"Come on! look alive!" is the cry that is for ever being hurled at him, +"All serene, old fellow; what's the hurry?" is his invariable reply. + +I well remember the first time I made Ned's acquaintance, and I will +recall the incident, as giving a fair specimen of the fellow and his +peculiarity. + +It was a big cricket match, the afternoon was far advanced, the light +was getting uncertain, and time was almost up. Our school's ninth +wicket had fallen, and yet there were five runs to get to win, which we +could just do, if our last man in was quick. + +"Now, Ned!" calls out our captain, coming up to the tent; "look sharp +in." + +Ned coolly sat down on the bench in our tent and proceeded to put on a +pad. + +"Never mind about that! there's no time," said our captain impatiently, +"and they are bowling slow." + +"Oh, it won't take a minute," says Ned, discovering he had been putting +the pad on upside down, and proceeding to undo it. We stood round in +feverish impatience, and the minute consumed in putting on those +miserable leg-fenders seemed like a year. + +Ned himself, however, did not seem in the least flurried by our +excitement. + +"Pity they don't make these things fasten with springs instead of +straps," he observed, by way of genial conversation. + +Oh, how we chafed and fumed! + +"_Will_ you look sharp, if you're going to play at all?" howls our +captain. + +"All _right_, old chap; I can't be quicker than I am; where are the +gloves?" + +The gloves are brought like lightning, but not like lightning put on. +No, the india-rubber gauntlets must needs be drawn with the greatest +care and deliberation over his fingers, and even then require a good +deal of shifting to render them comfortable. Then he was actually (I +believe) going to take them off in order to roll up his shirt sleeves, +had not two of us performed that office for him with a rapidity which +astonished him. + +"Upon my word, this is too bad," says our captain, flinging down the bat +he was holding, and stamping with vexation. "We might as well give the +whole thing up!" + +"I'm awfully sorry," drawled Ned, in an injured tone; "but how could I +help it? I'm ready now." + +"Ready! I should hope you were. Off you cut now; it only wants five +minutes to the time." + +He starts to go, but turns before he has well left us, and says-- + +"Oh, I say, Jim, lend us your bat, will you? This one is sprung, and +one of the--" + +"Here you are," we shout, running to him with a dozen bats at +once--"only look sharp." + +"I only want one," he says. "Let me see this; no, this will do. +Thanks, old man," and off he saunters again. + +The other side is lying comfortably on the grass, very well satisfied at +the delay which every moment adds to their chance of victory. What +centuries Ned appears to be taking in strolling up to the wickets! + +"I wish I was behind him with a red-hot poker," says one; "I'd make him +trot!" + +"Not a bit of it," growls our captain; "Ned would want more than that to +start him." + +Look at him now, getting "middle" as if he'd the whole afternoon before +him! And that done, he slowly and deliberately taps the end of his bat +on the place till we almost yell with rage. + +"It's no use now!" groans our captain in absolute despair; and so, +indeed, we and our smiling adversaries all thought. + +"Play!" cries the bowler. + +"Wait a bit," says the aggravating Ned, dipping his hands in the +sawdust! "now!" + +The ball comes at last, and Ned lets fly. It is a grand hit; the ball +comes whizzing right past where we stand, and with delight as great as +our previous agony we cheer till we are hoarse. + +Three runs are added to our score, and now we only want one more to +equal our opponents, and two to win; but we shall never do it in the +time, unless fortune favours us strangely. For see, it is "over," and +the fielders will consume half of the remaining two minutes in changing +their position. + +Then again "play" is called. + +Would you believe it? Ned calls out for "middle" again at the new +wicket, and repeats the same pottering operation when he has got it. +"Well, if ever _I_ saw--" + +What our captain is about to say no one ever hears, for at that moment +the ball is delivered, and Ned blocks it dead. + +There is just time for one ball more, and on that all our hopes depend. + +It comes, and Ned bangs at it! It's a run! No, it isn't! yes it is! +The fielder has missed it. Hurrah! we are equal! + +Actually they are running another! They won't do it. Up comes the ball +to the wicket-keeper, and forward darts Ned's bat over the crease. + +"How's that, umpire?" cries the wicket-keeper. + +"Not out!" + +"Time's up!" + +Oh, how we cheer! How we rush forward and shoulder Ned home to the +tent. Never was such a close shave of a match! + +Ned himself by no means shares in the general excitement. + +"Why, what a hurry you fellows were in!" he says. "Look here, George, +I'll show you now what I meant about the springs on the pads." + +Now you will understand what a very aggravating fellow this Ned Easy +was; and yet he generally managed to come off best in the end. He +generally managed to scrape in at the finish of whatever he undertook. + +I am certain that if he were a prisoner of war _let_ out on parole, with +a pledge to return in one hour or suffer death, he would turn up cool +and comfortable on the sixtieth tick of the sixtieth minute of that +hour, and look quite surprised at the men who were loading their muskets +for his execution. + +But some day the chances are he will be late in earnest, and then he +will have to repent in a hurry of his bad speed. + +A fellow who is easy-going about his time is generally easy-going about +his friends, his money, and his morals. + +Not that Ned is the sort of fellow to turn out a rascal exactly. He has +not the energy, even if he had the inclination. A rascal, to be at all +successful, must be brisk, and an observer of times and seasons, and +that is altogether out of Ned's line. No; he'll be careless about what +he does, and about what people think of him; he will lend a sovereign +with as little idea of getting it back as he has of returning the pound +he himself had borrowed; he will think nothing of keeping a friend +waiting half a day; neither will he take offence if his own good nature +is drawn on to an unlimited extent. + +He is, after his fashion, an observer of the golden rule, for although +he is constantly annoying and exasperating people by his easy-going +ways, he is never afflicted if others do _to him_ as he does to them. +He goes through life with the notion that every one is as complaisant +and comfortable as himself. "Easy-going-ness" (if one may coin a word +for the occasion) is, many people would say, a combination of +selfishness and stupidity, but I think such people judge rather too +hardly of Ned and his compeers. It's all very well for some of us, who +perhaps are of an active turn of mind, to talk about curing oneself of +this fault; but perhaps, if we knew all, we should find that it would be +about as easy as for a fair-complexioned person to make himself dark. +Ned's disposition is due more to his constitution than his upbringing, +and those who are blindly intolerant of his ways do him a wrong. I'm +sure he himself wishes he were as smart as some boys he sees, but he +can't be, and you might just as well try to lash an elephant into a +gallop as Ned into a flurry. + +It is generally found that what he does he does well, which in a measure +makes up for the length of time he takes in doing it; he is good- +natured, brave, harmless, and cheery, and has lots of friends, whom he +allows full liberty both to abuse and laugh at him (and what can friends +want more?) and for the rest, he's neither vicious nor an idiot; and if +nobody were worse than he is, the world would perhaps be rather better +than it is. + +An artificial "easy-going-ness" is undoubtedly a vice. It's a forgery, +however, easily detected, and generally brings its own punishment. I +advise none of my readers to try it on. If they are naturally energetic +and smart, they have a much better chance of rising in the world than +Ned has; but let them, when they laugh at Ned and abuse him, remember +the fable of the hare and the tortoise. + +I must just tell one more story of Ned in conclusion. + +One night our whole school was startled by an alarm of "Fire!" We +sprang from our beds, and, without waiting to dress, rushed to the +quarter from which the cry had proceeded. It was only too true; a barn +at one end of the buildings was in flames, and there seemed every +prospect of the school itself catching fire. + +We hurried back in a panic towards the staircase leading to the front +door, and in doing so discovered Ned was not with us. + +One of us darted off to the dormitory, where he lay in bed sound asleep. + +A rough shake roused him. + +"What's the row?" he drawled, stretching himself. + +"Get up quick, Ned; there's a fire!" + +"Where?" asked Ned, without stirring. + +"In the doctor's wing." + +The doctor's wing was that farthest removed from our dormitories. + +Ned yawned. + +"Then it couldn't possibly reach here for half an hour. Call us again +in twenty minutes, Ben, there's a good fellow!" + + + +CHAPTER ELEVEN. + +THE BOY WHO IS "NEVER WRONG." + +One might fancy at the first blush, that such a boy is one to be envied, +admired, and caressed above all others. Never wrong! What would not +some of us give to have the same said of us? Aren't _we_ always +blundering and losing our way and making asses of ourselves every day of +our lives? What wonder then if to us a being who is "never wrong" +should appear almost superhuman in his glory? + +But, so far from being the noble, delightful creature one would expect, +the boy I am speaking of is an odious fellow, and as ridiculous as he is +odious, and I will tell you why. + +The principal reason is, because he requires us to believe, on his own +unaided testimony, that he is the infallible being he professes to be; +and the second and hardly less important reason is, that, so far from +being always right, he is as often, if not oftener, wrong than other +people; in short, he's a hum! + +"Never wrong," indeed! If all the British Association were to declare +as much of any one man, we should hardly be inclined to swallow it; but +when our sole authority in the matter is Master Timothy Told-you-so +himself, it becomes a joke, and a very poor joke too. + +Let us just take stock of Timothy for a minute or two, to explain what +we mean. + +He's in class, and the lesson is history. He does not look happy, but +of course that can't be because he doesn't know the lesson. Timothy not +know a lesson indeed! + +"Timothy," says the master, "tell me in whose reign the Reformation was +introduced into England, will you?" + +"James the First," replies Timothy. + +"Next boy?" + +"Henry the Eighth." + +"Right; go up." + +"Oh, sir," says Timothy, "that's what I meant; _I mistook the name_ for +a moment!" And he goes down with the air of an injured and resigned +boy. + +In the geography class which follows Tim has another opportunity of +displaying his learning. + +"On what river does Berlin stand?" is the question. + +Tim hums and haws. "On the--oh--the--the, on the--er--the--" + +"Next boy?" + +"Berlin is on the Spree, sir." + +"Ah, of course! It slipped me," mutters Tim with a thoughtful frown. +"Any one knows Berlin is on the Spree!" And down he goes again, as if +it were the common lot of all clever boys. + +Arithmetic ensues. "Tell me, Timothy, if a man earns four shillings and +sixpence halfpenny a day, how much does he make in a week of six days?" + +This enormous problem Tim takes due time to cogitate. Of course he +could tell you straight off if he chose; but as it is the practice to +work out sums in the head, he condescends to the common prejudice. At +length the oracle speaks. + +"One pound three and two pence halfpenny." + +"Quite wrong; what do you make it, Edward?" + +"One pound four." + +"Wrong. Next?" + +"One pound seven and threepence." + +"That's right." + +"Oh yes, to be sure!" exclaims Tim, with the gesture of one who clutches +at the very words of his own lips uttered by another; "of course, +_that's what I meant_!" + +"Timothy," says the master, gravely, "if you meant it, why did you not +say it?" + +Why not, indeed? That is one of the very few questions, reader, in all +this world's philosophy which Timothy is unable to answer. + +Of course every one laughs at Timothy, but that does not afflict him. +So fortified is he in the assurance of his own infallibility, that the +scorn of the ignorant is to him but as the rippling of water at the base +of a lighthouse. + +Do not mistake me, Tim is not a dunce. For every question he answers +wrongly, perhaps he answers half a dozen correctly. If he chose to take +his stand on his general proficiency, he would pass for a fairly clever +fellow. But that will by no means satisfy him. He will never admit +himself beaten. There is always some trivial accident, some unforeseen +coincidence, without which his success would have been certain and +recognised; but which, as it happens, slightly interfere with his +triumph. + +It is the same in games as in the class-room. If he is beaten in a +race, it is because he has slipped in starting; if he is clean bowled +first ball at cricket, it is because there was a lump in the grass just +where the ball pitched; if he lets the enemy's halfback pass him at +football, it is because he made sure Perkins had collared him-- +otherwise, of course, he would have won the race, made top score at the +wickets, and saved his goal. As it happens, he does neither. + +There is a touch of dishonesty in this, though perhaps Tim does not +intend it. Why cannot he own he is "out of it" now and then? His +fellows would respect him far more and laugh at him far less; he would +gain far more than he lost, besides having the satisfaction of knowing +he had not tried to deceive anybody. But I sometimes think, when Tim +makes his absurd excuses, he really believes what he says; just as the +ostrich, when he buries his head in the sand, really believes he is +hidden from the sight of his pursuers. + +It is natural in human nature not to relish the constant admission of +error or failure. Who of us is not glad to feel at times (even if we do +not say it) that "it's not our fault"? The person who is always making +little of himself, and never admitting what small merit he might fairly +claim, is pretty much the same sort of deception as Tim, and we despise +him almost as much. We would all of us, in fact (and what wonder?) like +to be "always right," and perhaps our tendency is to let the wish become +father to the thought rather too often. + +But to return to Timothy. Nothing, of course, could astonish him; +nothing was ever news to him; nothing could evoke his applause. "Tim," +perhaps some one would say, "do you know old Grinder (the head master) +is going to be married, and we are to get a week extra holiday?" + +"Ah," says Tim, to whom this is all news, "I always thought there was +something of the kind up. For my own part, I thought we should get a +fortnight extra." + +"Buck made a good jump yesterday, Tim," says another. "Five feet and +half an inch." + +"Sure it wasn't three-quarters of an inch?" is Tim's provoking answer. + +Of all irritating things, perhaps the most irritating is to have your +big bundle of news calmly opened and emptied, and its contents +appropriated without scruple or acknowledgment. + +Tim this very day has the gratification of amazing half the school with +the news of Dr Grinder's approaching marriage and the consequent extra +holidays, and of seeing the enthusiastic astonishment of others to whom +he retails the latest achievement of the athletic Buck. + +But he did not always come off so easily. Once he was made the victim +of a joke which, in any one less self-satisfied, might have effectually +checked his foolish propensity. It was a wet day, and the boys were all +assembled in the big play-room, not knowing exactly what to do, and +ready for the first bit of fun which might turn up. + +"Couldn't somebody draw Tim out?" one of us whispered. + +The idea caught like wildfire, and after a brief pause Tidswell, the +monitor, said, amid the hushed attention of the company-- + +"By the way, Tim, wasn't that a queer account of the sea-serpent in the +paper the other day?" + +"Awfully queer," replied the unsuspecting Tim; "I didn't know you had +seen it." + +"Fancy a beast a mile and a half long from head to tail!" + +"It's a good size," said Tim, "but nothing out of the common for a sea- +serpent, you know." + +"Now I come to think of it, though," said Tidswell, "it didn't say that +the _serpent_ was a mile and a half long; it was a mile and a half from +the ship when it was seen, wasn't that it?" + +"Yes, a mile and a half from the ship. I _thought_ you were drawing the +long bow in saying it was so big as all that." + +"They saw it a mile and a half off, and just fancy feeling its breath at +that distance?" + +"I'm not astonished at that," said Tim, "for all those beasts have +enormous lungs." + +"How absurd of me! I should have said it seemed to all appearances +lifeless when they saw it," said Tidswell. + +"Yes; dead, in fact," put in Tim, getting into difficulties. + +"And then suddenly it stood erect on its tail, and shot forward towards +the vessel." + +"Shows the strength of their backs. I couldn't help thinking that when +I saw the account." + +"What am I talking about?" exclaimed Tidswell, hastily correcting +himself; "it was the ship stood in towards the monster and shot at him." + +"Ah, yes; so it was. I made the same mistake myself, see. Yes, they +fired a broadside at him." + +"No; only one shot at his head." + +"That was all. Isn't that what you said?" + +"And then he turned over in the water--" + +"Dead as a leg of mutton!" put in Tim. + +"No; the shot missed him, and he wasn't touched." + +"No. I meant they all thought he was as dead as a leg of mutton; but he +was not so much as grazed." + +All this while the amusement of the listeners had been growing gradually +beyond control, and at this point smothered explosions of laughter from +one and another fell on Tim's ears, like the dropping of musketry fire. +But he did not guess its meaning, and continued turning towards +Tidswell, and waiting for the conclusion of the story. + +"And the last they saw of him," resumed that worthy, his voice quailing +with the exertion to keep it grave and composed--"the last they saw of +him was, he was spinning away at the rate of twenty knots an hour, with +his tail in his mouth, in the direction of the North Pole." + +"I fancied it was only eighteen knots an hour," put in Tim seriously. + +Another moment, and the laughter would assuredly burst upon him. + +"Not in the account I saw. What paper did you see it in, Tim?" + +"Eh? Why, the same as you," replied Tim hurriedly, beginning to suspect +the crimson faces of his comrades meant something more than admiration +of his wisdom. "Where did you get the tale from? I forget." + +"I got the tale out of my head--like the serpent, you humbug!" roared +Tidswell; and for the next five minutes Tim sat on his stool of +repentance, amid the yells of laughter with which his companions hailed +his discomfiture. + +When silence was restored, of course he tried to explain that "he knew +all along it was a joke, and only wanted to see how far he could gammon +the fellows, and fancied he succeeded," and presently quitted the room, +an injured but by no means humiliated boy. + +One last word. Timothy and his friends are amusing up to one point, and +detestable up to another point; but when they come to you in the hour of +your deepest sorrow and distress, and, with bland smile, say to you, "I +told you so!" they are beyond all endurance, and you hope for nothing +more devoutly than that you may never see their odious faces again. + +The best cure possible for Tim is a homoeopathic one. Find some other +boy equally conceited, equally foolish, equally unscrupulous, and set +him at Tim. I will undertake to say that--unless the two devour one +another down to the very tips of their tails, like the famous Kilkenny +cats--they will bring one another to reason, and perhaps modesty, in +double-quick time. + +The great and wise Newton once said of himself that, so far from knowing +all things, he seemed to himself to be but as a boy gathering pebbles on +the seashore, while the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before +him. + +Newton was, in his way, almost as fine a fellow as Timothy Told-you-so, +and if Timothy would but stoop to have more of Newton's spirit, he might +in time come to possess an atom or two of Newton's sense. + + + +CHAPTER TWELVE. + +THE UNTIDY BOY. + +Look at him! You could tell he was an untidy fellow at a single glance. +One of his bootlaces is hanging loose, and the band of his scarf has +slipped up above his collar. Though it is a fine day, his trouser legs +are splashed up to the knee; and as for a parting to his hair, you might +as well expect an Indian jungle to be combed. His hands are all over +ink, and the sticky marks about his mouth tell their own tale. In +short, Jack Sloven is a dirty boy, and is anything but a credit to the +school he belongs to. + +I wish you could see his school books. The pages look like well-used +drum parchments, and I am certain Jack must often find it hard to +decipher the words upon them. His exercises look as if they had been +left out in an ink shower, and the very pen he uses is generally wet +with ink up to the very tip of the handle, which, by the way, he usually +nibbles when he's nothing better to do. Who shall describe his desk? +It is generally understood that a schoolboy's desk is the receptacle for +a moderately miscellaneous assortment of articles, but Jack's seemed +like a great pie, into which everything under the sun was crammed and +stored up. The lid never shut; but if you were to open it, its contents +would astonish you as much as the contents of that wonderful pie in the +nursery rhyme astonished the king when he lifted the crust. + +There were books, papers, hooks, balls, worms, stale sandwiches, +photographs, toffee, birds' eggs, keys, money, knives, cherry stones, +silkworms, marbles, pencils, handkerchiefs, tarts, gum, sleeve links, +and walnut shells. Any one venturesome enough to take a header through +these might succeed in reaching the layer of last year's apple peel +below, or in penetrating to the crumb heaps in the bottom corners; but +few there were who possessed that amount of boldness. Of course, Jack +had no notion of what his worldly goods consisted. He had a way of +shying things into his desk and forgetting them; and only when it became +so full that the lid stood nearly wide open did he apprehend the +necessity of a "clear-out." + +But if there was ever anything more awful to behold than Jack's desk, it +was one of these "clear-outs." The event generally got wind when it was +about to happen, and never failed to create a sensation in the school. +All who had a right took care to be present at the ceremony, and I do +believe if Jack had had the sense to issue reserved seat tickets, he +might have made a nice thing out of it. At any rate, he made a nice +thing out of that desk. + +Quite indifferent to our presence and laughter, he began leisurely to +take out its contents and spread them in glorious array upon the floor, +with a view (as he was kind enough to explain to some one who asked him) +"to sort them up." The books and papers went in a pile by themselves; +all loose papers were thrust inside the covers of the books; and all +books without covers were jammed into all the covers without books that +seemed likely to fit. Then all the pens and pencils were put into a +pencil case, and if any happened to be too long, they were broken to the +required shortness. This being satisfactorily done, Jack used next to +turn his attention to the miscellaneous articles of food of which he +found himself possessed. The sandwiches, if not more than a week old, +he either ate or generously offered to some of us; the toffee he put +into his pocket, and the tarts (if the jam were not already dried up) he +put aside for private consumption hereafter. The shells, stones, peel, +etcetera, he heaped up in one place on the floor, and trusted to +Providence to dispose of them. The fish-hooks and baits, the birds' +eggs that were not broken, the silkworms, the photographs, pencils, +knives, and other articles of use or ornament, he sorted carefully, and +then put back into the desk. By this time it would occur to him he had +been long enough over this business, so he shovelled the books and +papers in anyhow, and anything else which happened still to be left out, +and then finding that the lid would shut within an inch, he sighed with +the relief of a man who has well discharged a painful duty. + +How was it to be expected Jack could ever find anything he wanted? +Sometimes he would sit grubbing in his desk, or among his books, to find +a certain exercise or paper for half an hour, and finally, when +everything was upside down, he would remember he had it in his waistcoat +pocket, from the recesses of which he produced it crumpled, greasy, and +almost illegible. On Sundays he always had a hunt for his gloves; and +at the end of the term, when he undertook his own packing, he generally +first of all contrived to pack up his keys in the very bottom of the +trunk, and so had to take everything out before he could get them, and +then when (with the aid of some dozen of us sitting on the top of the +unfortunate receptacle, to cram down the jumble of things inside to a +shutting point) he had succeeded in triumphantly turning the lock, it +was a wonder if he had not to open and unpack it all again to find his +straps. + +As to his dress, I can safely say that, though Jack always had good +clothes, he always looked much less respectable than other boys whose +parents could not afford them anything but common material. Not only +did he lose buttons, and drop grease over his coat and trousers, but he +never folded or brushed them, or had them mended in time, as a tidy boy +would have done. We were quite ashamed to be seen walking with him +sometimes, he looked so disreputable, but no reproofs or persuasions +could induce him to take more pains about his appearance. + +"A place for everything, and everything in its place," was a lesson Jack +could not learn; the result was constant and incalculable trouble. If +people could only realise the amount of time lost by untidiness, I think +they would regard the fault with positive horror. Why, Jack Sloven, at +the very mildest computation, must have lost half an hour a day. Half +an hour a day, at the end of the year, makes a clear working fortnight +to the bad, so that in twenty-five years, if he goes on as he has begun, +he will have one year of which it will take him all his time to give an +account. + +But not only does untidiness waste time, and render the person who falls +into it a disreputable member of society, but it seriously endangers his +success in life. Jack Sloven was naturally a clever fellow. When he +could find his books, he made good use of them; none of us could come up +to him in translations, and he had the knack of always understanding +what he read. If it had not been for this wretched habit, he might have +got prizes at school, and still higher honours in after life; but as it +was, he always came to grief. The notes he had made on his work were +never to be found; he spent more time in collecting his materials than +he had to spare for using them; most of his work had to be scrambled +through at the last moment, and was accordingly imperfect. If Jack goes +to business, he has a very poor chance of getting on, for untidiness and +business will no more go together than oil and water. Few things are +more against a man in business than untidiness; people fight shy of him. +If his dress is untidy, his letters slovenly, his habits unpunctual, +and his accounts confused, he will be regarded as a man not reliable, +and not to be trusted, and people will refuse to transact with him. If +he has a house of his own, he will never succeed in keeping his servants +long, for they--so they say--have quite enough to do without unnecessary +work. In fact, I don't see how Jack is to get on at all unless he mends +his ways. + +Is it possible for an untidy boy to become tidy? Try. And if at first +you don't succeed--try again. You are sure to succeed if you stick to +it. Don't aim at apple-pie order--everything in lavender--never to be +touched, and all that sort of thing. That's as bad as the boy who once +possessed a desk, which he would never use, for fear of marking the +blotting-paper, and breaking the paper bands round the envelopes. + +No; if you can get into the way of always putting the book you read back +into its place on the shelf, and the paper you want where you will be +certain to find it again--if you encourage a jealousy of rubbish, and a +horror of dirt--if you take to heart the proverb I quoted just now, "A +place for everything, and everything in its place"--you will be as tidy +as you ever need be; and Jack Sloven's troubles and misfortunes will +never be yours. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTEEN. + +THE SCAPEGRACE. + +The fellow's always in a row! No matter what it's about; no matter +whose fault it is; no matter how he tried to keep out of it; it's always +the same--he's in a row. + +To fancy him not in a row would involve a flight of imagination of which +we, at any rate, are utterly incapable. He has lived in an atmosphere +of rows--rows in the nursery, rows at the dinner table, rows in the +schoolroom, rows in the playground. His hands are like leather, so +often have they been caned; his ears are past all feeling, so often have +they been boxed; and solitary confinement, impositions, the corner, and +the head master's study, have all lost their horrors for him, so often +has he had to endure them. + +Sam Scamp of our school was, without exception, the unluckiest fellow I +ever came across. It was the practice in the case of all ordinary +offences for the masters of the lower forms to deal out their own +retribution, but special cases were always reserved for a higher court-- +the head master's study. Hither the culprits were conducted in awful +state and impeached; here they heard judgment pronounced, and felt +sentence executed. It was an awful tribunal, that head master's study! +"All hope abandon, ye who enter here," was the motto--if not written, at +least clearly implied--over the door. The mere mention of the place was +enough to make one's flesh creep. Yet, somehow or other, Sam Scamp, was +always finding himself there. He must have abandoned hope once a week +at least during his school life, and before he left school I am certain +he must have worn that awful carpet threadbare, for all _his_ offences +were special offences. When half a dozen boys had spent one afternoon +in throwing stones over a certain wall, the stone which broke the +doctor's conservatory window was, as might be expected, Sam's. On the +occasion of the memorable battle of the dormitories--that famous fight +in which fifteen boys of Ward's dormitory, arrayed in their nightgowns +and armed with bolsters, engaged at dead of night in mortal combat with +twenty boys of Johnson's dormitory for the possession of a certain new +boy who had arrived that day with a trunk full of cakes--when the +monitors appeared on the scene, one boy, and one only, was captured, and +that was Sam. When a dozen fellows had been copying off one another, +the exercise book from which the discovery was made would be sure to be +Sam's; and when, in the temporary absence of the master, the schoolroom +became transformed into a bear-garden--as it sometimes will--if suddenly +the door were to open the figure which would inevitably fall on the +master's eye would be that of Sam, dancing a hornpipe in the middle of +the floor, shouting at the top of his voice, and covered from head to +foot with the dust he had himself kicked up. + +On such occasions he was led off to the doctor's study. I happened to +be there once when he was brought up, and so had an opportunity of +witnessing a scene which, if new to me, must have been very familiar to +my unfortunate schoolfellow. (By the way, the reason _I_ was in the +doctor's study was merely to return a book he had lent me, mind that, +reader!) + +"What, here again, Samuel?" said the doctor, recognising his too-well- +known visitor. + +"I'm very sorry, sir," says Sam, humbly. "I can't make out how it is. +I try all I know--I do indeed--but somehow I'm always in trouble." + +"You are," replies the doctor. "What is it about this time, Mr +Wardlaw?" + +"I can tell you, sir--" begins Sam eagerly. + +"Be silent, sir! Well, Mr Wardlaw?" + +"The boy has been very disrespectful, sir. When I came into the class- +room this morning and opened my desk, I found it contained a guinea-pig +and two white mice, who had--" + +Here the unlucky Sam, after a desperate effort, in the course of which +he has almost choked himself with a handkerchief, bursts into a laugh. + +"What do you mean, sir?" thunders the doctor. + +"Oh, sir, I couldn't help it--really I couldn't; I would rather have +choked than do it--it's just like me!" + +And he looks so distressed and humble that the doctor turns from him, +and invites Mr Wardlaw to resume his impeachment. + +"I have only to say that this boy, on being charged with the deed, +confessed to having done it." + +"Oh yes, sir, that's all right--I did it; I'm very sorry; somehow I +can't make out how it is I'm so bad," says Sam, with the air of one +suffering from the strain of a constant anxiety. + +"Don't talk nonsense, sir!" says the doctor, sternly; "you can make it +out as well as I can." + +"Shall I hold out my hand, sir?" says Sam, who by this time has a good +idea of the routine of practice pursued in such interviews. + +"No," says the doctor. "Leave him here, Mr Wardlaw; and you," adds he, +for the first time remembering that I was present--"you can go." + +So we departed, leaving Sam shivering and shaking in the middle of the +carpet. It was half an hour before he rejoined his schoolfellows, and +this time his hands were not sore. But somehow he managed to avoid +getting into scrapes for a good deal longer than usual. But there is no +resisting the inevitable. He did in due time find himself in another +row; and then he suddenly vanished from our midst, for he had been +expelled. + +Now, with regard to Sam and boys like him, it is of course only natural +to hold them up as examples to others. No boy can be a scamp and not +suffer for it some way or other; and as to saying it's one's misfortune +rather than one's fault that it is so, that is as ridiculous as to say, +when you choose to walk north, that it is your misfortune you are not +walking south. + +But, in excuse for Sam, we must say that he was by no means the worst +boy in our school, though he did get into the most rows, and was finally +expelled in disgrace. If he had been deceitful or selfish, he would +probably have escaped oftener than he did; but he never denied his +faults or told tales of others. We who knew him generally found him +good-natured and jovial; he looked upon himself as a far more desperate +character than we ourselves did, and once I remember he solemnly charged +me to take warning by his evil fate. + +Still, you see, Sam sinned once too often. Even though his crimes were +never more serious than putting guinea-pigs into the master's desk, yet +that sort of conduct time after time is not to be tolerated in any +school. The example set by a mischievous boy to his fellows is not +good; and if his scrapes are winked at always, the time will come when +others will be encouraged to follow in his steps, and behave badly too. +Sam, no doubt, deserved the punishment he got; and because one bad boy +who is punished is no worse than a dozen bad boys who get off, that does +not make him out a good boy, or a boy more hardly treated than he +merited. + +Scapegraces are boys who, being mischievously inclined, are constantly +transgressing the line between right and wrong. Up to a certain point, +a boy of good spirits and fond of his joke, is as jolly a boy as one +could desire; but when his good spirits break the bounds of order, and +his jokes interfere with necessary authority, then it is time for him to +be reminded nothing ought to be carried too far in this world. + +One last word about scapegraces. Don't, like Sam, get it into your +heads that you are destined to get into scrapes, and that therefore it +is no use trying to keep out of them. That would be a proof of nothing +but your silliness. I can't tell you how it was Sam's stone always +broke the window, or why the master's eye always fell on him when there +was a row going on; but I can tell you this, that if Sam hadn't thrown +the stone, the window would not have been broken; and that if he had +behaved well when the master's eye was turned away, he would not have +cut a poor figure when the door was opened. Some boys make a boast of +the number of scrapes they have been in, and fondly imagine themselves +heroes in proportion to the number of times they have been flogged. +Well, if it pleases them to think so, by all means let them indulge the +fancy; but we can at least promise them this--nobody else thinks so! + + + +CHAPTER FOURTEEN. + +THE UNORIGINAL BOY. + +It takes one a long time to discover that there is something wanting in +the character of Ebenezer Ditto; and it takes a longer time still to +make out exactly what that something is. He's an ordinary-looking and +ordinarily-behaved boy. There's nothing amiss with the cut of his +coat--it's neither extra grand nor extra shabby; there's nothing queer +about his voice--he doesn't stammer and he doesn't squeak; there's +nothing remarkable about his conversation or his actions--he's not a +dunce, though he's not clever; he's not a scamp, though he's not goody; +he never offends any one, though he never becomes great friends with any +one. What is it makes us not take to Ebenezer? Why is it, on the +whole, we rather despise him, and feel annoyed when in his society? +For, it is the truth, we _don't_ much care about him. + +Well, the answer to this question may be, as I have said, not very +readily discovered; but if you watch Master Ditto carefully, and make up +your mind, you will get at the bottom of the mystery, you will find that +it is this very "ordinary" manner about him to which you object. The +fellow is dull--he is unoriginal. + +You feel sometimes as if you would give a sovereign to see Ebenezer +stand on his head, by way of variety. It annoys you when he sits there +with his eyes on you, smiling when you smile, frowning when you frown, +talking about the weather when you talk about the weather, and when you +whistle "Nancy Lee" whistling his everlasting "Grandfather's Clock." It +is a relief, by the way, even to hear him whistle a different tune, for +it is about the only thing in which he does take an independent course. +But, if truth were known, it would come out he only knows this one tune, +and that is the reason. He has not originality enough in him to learn a +second. + +It _is_ an annoying thing to be copied and imitated by any one, most of +all by a fellow one's own age. We can understand the little child +imitating its father, and we enjoy seeing what capers it sometimes cuts +in the attempt, but there's nothing either interesting or amusing in the +way Ebenezer goes on. When, for instance, by a sudden inspiration of +genius, you take it into your head to shy a slice of apple across the +room at Jack Sleepy just while he is in the act of yawning, with his +mouth open wide enough to let a wheelbarrow down, it is not pleasant +that immediately afterwards some one at your side should hurl a walnut +at the same person and wound him seriously in the eye. Besides making a +row, it takes away from the fun of your achievement, and makes the whole +affair more than a joke. Or, being asked, let us suppose, to name your +favourite hero in fiction, you are careful to select a somewhat out-of- +the-way name, and reply, "Sidney Carton." You are rather pleased to +think you have thereby not only named some one whom no one else is +likely to hit upon, but also you have delicately let your master see you +have lately read a very good book. It is rather vexing when Ebenezer +replies to the same question, "Sidney Carton," in a knowing sort of +manner, although you are positive he has never read the _Tale of Two +Cities_, and doesn't even know that Dickens was its author. Of course, +your distinction in the matter has gone, and if your answer is judged +the best, you only get half the credit you deserve. Or, to take one +more example, supposing one day, being utterly sick of Ebenezer's +society, and longing to get a little time by yourself, you decline the +tempting offer of a cricket match in which you know he also is likely to +play. You mean to read this afternoon, you say. Well, isn't it too bad +when next moment you hear that wretched Ebenezer saying, in answer to +the same invitation, "Very sorry, but I mean to read this afternoon," +and then have him come and sit down on a bench beside you with his book? +And the worst of it is, you know if you now change your mind and go in +for the match after all, he will change _his_ mind and do the same. + +The most aggravating thing about unoriginal fellows is that you cannot +well get in a rage with them, for if you find fault with them, you find +fault with yourselves. + +"What a young ass you are not to play in the match!" you say to +Ebenezer, hardly able to contain yourself. + +"Why aren't _you_ playing in it?" he replies. + +"Oh! I've some particular reading I want to do," you say. + +"So have I," replies he. + +You cannot say, "You have no business to read when cricket is going on," +nor can you say, "What do you mean by it?" + +Clearly, if _you_ do it, you are not the person to say _he_ shall not. + +I doubt if Ebenezer knows to what an extent he carries this trick of +his. It is so natural for him to do as he sees others do that he fails +to see how his actions appear in the same light as that in which others +see them. Sometimes, indeed, he appears to be conscious of following +his copy pretty closely, for we catch him trying to make some slight +variation which will prevent it being said he does exactly the same. +For instance, if you give a little select supper party in your study to +two friends off roast potatoes and sardines, he will probably have three +friends to breakfast off eggs and bread and jam; or if you hang up the +portraits of your father and sister over your mantelpiece, he will +suspend the likenesses of his mother and brother on his wall. He +generally, you will find, tries to improve on you--which, of course, is +not always hard to do. But sometimes he comes to grief in the attempt, +as happened in the case of his wonderful "hanging shelves." Ted Hammer, +quite a mechanical genius, had made to himself a set of these shelves, +which for neatness, simplicity, and usefulness were the marvel of the +school. Of course Ebby got to know of it, and was unhappy till he could +cap it with something finer still. So he made all sorts of excuses for +coming constantly into Ted's room and inspecting his work of art, till +at last he felt quite sure he could make a set for himself. So he +started to manufacture a set, twice the size, and with double the number +of shelves. In due time he had it done and suspended on his wall, and +it seemed as if Ted's nose was completely out of joint, for Ebby's +shelves held not only his books, but his jam-pots and tumblers, and all +sorts of odds and ends besides. But that very night there was a crash +in his room, the like of which had never been heard before. We all +rushed to the place. There were books, jam pots, ink pots, tumblers, in +one glorious state of smash on the floor, and the unlucky shelves on the +top of them; for Ebenezer had driven the small nail that supported the +structure into nothing better than ordinary loose plaster. The only +wonder was how the thing stayed up two minutes. So Ted Hammer's nose +was not out of joint after all. + +This reminds us of the story of the two rival shoemakers, who lived +opposite one another, and always strove each to outdo the other in every +branch of their trade. One day, one of the two painted over his door +the highly appropriate Latin motto, "Mens conscia recti." His neighbour +gnashed his teeth, of course, and vowed to improve on the inscription. +And next day, when cobbler Number 1 and the world awoke, they beheld +painted in huge characters over the fellow's shop-front the startling +announcement, "_Men's and Women's_ conscia recti." + +It is the easiest thing possible (where the operator is not quite such a +fool as this shoemaker) to improve on another's production. When some +genius brings out a machine over the plans of which he has spent half an +anxious lifetime, a dozen copyists will in a year have out a dozen +"improved machines," each of them better than the first one, and +therefore each helping to ruin the inventor. He had all the labour and +all the knowledge. All the others did was to add a few slight +improvements, for which they get all the credit due to the man without +whom they would not have had an idea. This is, alas! very common, and +cannot be avoided. + +You can't make a law against one boy imitating another, or even against +his stepping into the credit due to you. + +It is as easy to be unoriginal as it is hard at times to be original. +Everybody falls into the fault more or less. Why is it we can never +find anything to begin a conversation with except the weather? +Somebody, I suppose, began on that topic once. Why is it we always wear +the shaped coats that everybody else does? Somebody must have +astonished the world by setting the fashion in the first instance. + +There is a touch of envy in Ebenezer, I'm afraid; but the kindest way of +accounting for his annoying ways is to believe he is not clever. No +more he is. If he were, he would at least see how ridiculous he +sometimes makes himself. The original boys, on the other hand, _are_ +clever, and they are quick in their ideas, which Ebenezer is not. The +great thing in originality is to have your idea out before any one else. +As long as it's in your head and no one knows of it, you are no better +off than the unoriginal many; but give your idea a shape and a name, and +you are one of the original few. And the glory of being one of them is +that you are sure to have one or two of Ebenezer's sort at your tail! + +Unoriginality is more a failing than a crime. Sometimes it may lead to +actions which do real injury to another, but injury is rarely intended. +It is stupidity more than anything else. But there is a point at which +unoriginality may become a sin. Every boy has in him the power to say +"Yes" or "No," and he has also the conscience in him which tells him +when he ought to say the one or the other. Now, when every one is +saying "Yes" to a thing about which your conscience demands that you +shall say "No," it becomes your positive duty for once in your life to +be original, and say it. + +After all, most of us are medium sort of fellows. We are not geniuses, +and we trust we are not dolts. The best thing we can do is to look out +that we don't lose all our originality while knocking through this +world. The more we can keep of it, the more good we shall do; and if we +find we have enough of it to entitle us to some "followers," let us see +to it we turn them out, if anything, better fellows than they were when +first they "jumped up behind." + + + +CHAPTER FIFTEEN. + +THE DUFFER. + +What school is without its duffer, I wonder? Of course, none of us +answer to the name, but we all know somebody who does, and it's a +curious thing nobody ever thoroughly dislikes a duffer. Why? Well, one +reason may be that there's nothing as a rule objectionable about such +fellows, and another is that we are always ready enough to forgive one +who makes us laugh; but I have an idea that the best reason why we are +all so tolerant of duffers is that we are able to remind ourselves, when +laughing at them, how very much the reverse of duffers we are ourselves. + +However that may be, we had a glorious duffer at our school, who got +himself and us into all sorts of scrapes, and yet was quite a favourite +among his schoolfellows. + +Billy Bungle (that was his name) was not by any means an idiot. He knew +perfectly well that two and two made four, and yet, such a queer chap as +he was, he would take any amount of pains to make five of it. + +If there were two ways of doing anything, a right way and a wrong way, +he invariably selected the latter; and if there seemed only one way, and +that the right way, then he invented a wrong one for the occasion. + +One day, one of the little boys in the school had a letter telling him +to come home at once. He was not long in packing up his carpet bag, and +getting the doctor's leave to depart. But the doctor was unwilling for +such a little helpless fellow as he to undertake the long journey all +alone. He came down to the playground where we were, and beckoning to +Billy, who happened to be the nearest at hand, said, "Bungle, will you +go with this boy to the station, and see him off by the twelve train to +X--? Here is the money to get his ticket; and carry his bag for him, +there's a man." + +Billy readily accepted the commission, and we watched him proudly +marching from the playground with his small charge on one side and the +carpet bag on the other. The station was a mile off, and it was nearly +one o'clock when he returned home. We were in class at the time. + +"Well, did you see him off?" asked the doctor. + +"Yes, sir, all right; we caught an earlier train than the one you said-- +at a quarter to," replied Billy, with the tone of a clever man. + +"But the quarter to doesn't go to X--. Didn't I tell you to see him off +by the twelve train?" + +"I thought it would be all the better to catch the early one." + +"Stupid boy, don't you know that train doesn't _go to_ X--?" + +"No one said it didn't, sir," put in Billy, with an injured face. + +"Did any one say it did?" + +"I didn't hear," said Billy; "shall I go back and ask?" + +"That would not be the least use," said the master, too vexed almost to +speak. + +Billy stood before him, staring at him, and looking anything but +cheerful. + +"I shall have to go down to the station myself," said the doctor. "You +are the stupidest boy I ever had to do with." + +Billy looked resigned; then fumbling in his waistcoat pocket, he pulled +out a bit of blue cardboard. "Oh, here's the ticket, sir." + +"What! Wasn't it enough to send the poor boy off by a wrong train, +without keeping his ticket? Go away, sir, this instant, to your room, +and stay there till I give you leave to quit it!" + +Billy obeyed, evidently unable to make the affair out. + +By dint of telegrams and messengers, the missing boy turned up again; +but it was a long time before Billy was allowed to forget the way he had +"seen him off." + +This is just one specimen of our unlucky schoolfellow's blunders. He +was always in some trouble of the kind. He had to cease taking lessons +in chemistry, because one time he nearly succeeded in blowing himself +and three or four of us up by mixing certain combustibles together by +mistake; and another time he upset a bottle of sulphuric acid over his +clothes. + +He was always very near the bottom of his class, because he _would_ +prepare the wrong lessons, or misunderstand the questions asked him. +And yet he was always anxious to get on. Once, I remember, he +confidentially asked me, if he were to learn Liddell and Scott's Lexicon +by heart, whether I thought he would be able to get the Greek prize? +But he bungled more in the playground than anywhere. Perhaps it was +because we laughed at him and made him nervous. + +It was rarely any one cared to have him on their side at cricket. He +missed the easiest catches, he got leg before wicket, he stopped still +in the middle of a run to see if he would have time to finish it, and +whenever he did manage to score one he was sure, in his excitement, to +knock down his own wicket with a flourish of his bat. + +In football it's no exaggeration to say he was more often on the ground +than the ball itself, and was invariably of more service to the other +side than to his own. In fact, the possession of him got to be quite a +joke. + +"Who's going to win?" asks some one, before a match begins. + +"Which side is Billy Bungle on?" is the counter question. + +"Oh, he's on our side." + +"Then of course the other fellows will win," is the uncomplimentary +conclusion; and Billy, poor boy, who overhears it, half chokes with +wounded feelings, and tucks up his sleeves and goes into the game, +determined for once he will disappoint those who mock at him. Alas I +scarcely has the ball been kicked off than he gets in the way of +everybody he ought not to get in the way of, and lets the others pass +him; he collars his own men, and kicks the ball towards his own goal, +and falls down just in time to cause half a dozen of his side to tumble +over him, and just as the ball rises, straight as an arrow, to fly over +the enemy's goal, his unlucky head gets in the way and spoils +everything. No wonder he is in very poor demand as an ally. + +Now, the question is, is it altogether Billy's fault he is such a +duffer? Of course it is, say nineteen out of every twenty of my +readers. Any one with an ounce of brains and common sense could avoid +such stupid blunders. But the twentieth is not quite so positive. +"Perhaps it's not altogether Billy's fault," he says. And I must +confess I am inclined to agree with this. Of course, a great deal of +his "duffingness" (I believe that's the proper word) is due to his +carelessness. If he took the trouble to think about what he was doing, +he would never translate a French exercise into Latin, or learn his +arithmetic by heart instead of his history; he would never mix together +(under his nose) two chemicals that would assuredly explode and nearly +blow his head off. For he has a few brains in that head, which makes +such blunders all the less excusable. But I am not sure if a good deal +of his bad luck is not due to the merciless way in which he was laughed +at, and called "duffer," and taught to believe that he could no more do +a thing right than a bull could walk through a china-shop without making +a smash. He got it into his head he was a duffer, and therefore did not +take the pains he might have done. + +"What's the use of my bothering? I'm sure to make a mess of it!" + +Fancy a boy saying this to himself at cricket, while a ball is flying +beautifully towards him, an easy catch, even for a duffer. Do you +suppose he will catch it? Not he. He will stand where he is, and put +up his hands, and look another way. In fact, he won't do his best. And +why? Because all of us never expect him to catch it; and if he did, we +should probably call it a "fluke," and laugh at him all the more. Yes, +it's our fault in a certain measure that Billy is the awful "duffer" he +is. + +Sometimes, as in the game of football we have referred to, he does make +up his mind to do his best; but even then the idea that "destiny" is +against him, and that everybody is expecting him to make a fool of +himself, as usual, is enough to make any fellow nervous and a duffer. + +However, whatever excuses we may make for Billy, he was undoubtedly a +duffer. I have named one reason of his bad luck--want of thought--and +another was hurry. In fact, the two reasons become one, for it was +chiefly because Billy would never give himself time to think that he +made so many mistakes. All his thinking came after the thing was done. +As soon as the chemicals had blown up, for instance, it entered his head +he had mixed the wrong ingredients, and as soon as the ball was flying +to the wrong goal it occurred to him he had kicked it in a wrong +direction. + +And this really brings me to the moral of my discourse. Don't despair, +if you are a duffer, for you may cure yourself of it, if you will only +_think_ and _take your time_. If we are not quick-witted, it does not +follow we have no wits, and if we only use them carefully, we shall be +no greater duffers than some of our sharp fellows. + +The great philosopher Newton once appeared in the light of a great +duffer. He had a cat, and that cat had a kitten, and these two +creatures were continually worrying him by scratching at his study door +to be let either in or out. A brilliant idea occurred to the +philosopher--he would make holes in the bottom of his door through which +they might pass in or out at pleasure without troubling him to get up +and open the door every time. And thereupon he made a big hole for the +cat and a little hole for the kitten, as if both could not have used the +big hole! + +Well, you say, one could fancy Billy Bungle doing a thing like that, but +what an extraordinary error for a philosopher to fall into! It was, but +the reason in both cases is alike. Neither thought sufficiently about +what he was doing. Newton was absorbed with other things, and Billy was +thinking of nothing, and yet both he and Newton were duffers, which goes +to prove that without care any one may belong to that class. + +How many men who have begun life as reputed "duffers" have turned out +great men! but you will find that none of them ever did themselves any +good till they had cured themselves of that fault. That's what you, and +I, and Billy Bungle must all do, boys. + +Just two words more about Billy. We all liked him, as I have said, for +he was imperturbably good-tempered. He bore no malice for all our +laughing, and now and then, when he was able to see the joke, would +assist in laughing at himself. + +And then he never tried to make himself out anything but what he was. +Of all detestable puppies, the duffer who tries to pass himself off for +a clever man is the most intolerable; for nothing will convince him of +his error, and nothing will keep him in his place. He's about the one +sort of character nobody knows how to deal with, for he sets everybody +else but himself down as duffers. What can anybody do to such a one? + +But there is another extreme. Billy's great fault was that he was too +ready to believe others who called him a duffer. Don't take it for +granted you are a duffer because any one tells you so. Find it out for +yourself, and when you've found it out--"don't be a duffer!" + + + +CHAPTER SIXTEEN. + +THE DANDY. + +Fine feathers make fine birds. This is a proverb which a great many +people in our country--especially young people--most devoutly believe +in, and they show their belief in a very emphatic way. They rig +themselves out in the height of the fashion, no matter how ridiculous it +is, or how uncomfortable; they take airs upon themselves which do not +properly belong to them; they try to pass for something finer than they +are, and if they do not end by being laughed at it is no fault of +theirs. + +You never saw such a dandy as we had at our school. He rejoiced in the +name of Frederick Fop, and seemed possessed of the notion that his +dainty person was worthy of the utmost amount of decoration that any one +person could bestow upon it. No one objects to a fellow having a good +coat and trousers, and a respectable hat; but when it comes to canary- +coloured pantaloons, and cuffs up to the finger ends, and collars as +high as the ears, and a hat as shiny as a looking-glass, the fellow gets +to be rather a nuisance. Indeed, we had just as much objection to +walking out with Fred Fop as we had with Jack Sloven; one was quite as +unpleasantly conspicuous as the other. + +It was often a marvel to some of us how it came to be allowed for a boy +to dress as Fred did. You should have seen him coming down the stairs +on Sunday, as we were about to start for church, putting on a lavender +glove, and taking a couple of minutes to adjust his hat to the proper +angle on his head. + +How he minced along the pavement, dreading to speck his exquisite boots, +and how artlessly he would carry one glove in his hand, in order to show +off his elegant ring. His umbrella was the size of an ordinary young +lady's parasol, and as for his collars--of course it was impossible to +turn his head one way or the other with those things sticking up on +either side. He always insisted on having the inside of the pavement, +in order to avoid the splashing of the cabs; and invariably entered +church last, having occupied a certain time in the porch (so it was +said) to make sure his necktie was properly tied, and that the corner of +his handkerchief was hanging sufficiently far out of his breast-pocket, +and that the expression of his countenance was sufficiently interesting. +Having satisfied himself on these points, he advanced up the aisle in +procession with himself, and scented the whole building in his triumphal +progress. + +It is hardly to be wondered at that Master Fop became the victim of all +sorts of practical jokes. If by any chance one of the fellows should +happen to be pitching water out of the window, it was an extraordinary +coincidence that Fred in his grand hat was nearly always walking +underneath. Another time, when some of the elder boys were allowed to +attend a grand concert in the village, Fred of course was in his glory, +and took every means to create a sensation by his elaborate toilet. And +so he did! For as he sauntered beautifully up the hall to his seat in +front, he was wholly unconscious that a startling label was hanging +gracefully on the back buttons of his coat with this legend inscribed +thereon-- + +"Look here! Our noted 50 shilling suit! A bargain!" + +It was not till he went to sit down that he discovered the heartless +joke, and then--but we may as well draw a veil over his confusion. +Suffice it to say he did not enjoy the concert a bit. + +But he was by no means cured of his vanity. No, not even by a +subsequent and still more embarrassing adventure. + +Several of the boys, among whom were Fred and Jack Sloven, were one day +down at the river bathing, when a sudden thought seized certain of +Fred's tormentors to play him a very unkind trick. So while he was +swimming by himself some distance off, they scuttled ashore and made +off, taking with them Jack Sloven dressed up in Fred's clothes, and, of +course, leaving that disreputable young gentleman's garments behind for +the dandy. They made home as fast as they could, and Jack, as quickly +as possible, divested himself of his unwonted finery, and put on another +of his own suits. Then the conspirators assembled in the playground +with as many of us as had heard what was going on, and awaited the +return of poor Fred. He was a long time coming, and before he arrived +the head master and two ladies had appeared on the scene. + +But the end came to our suspense at last, and we saw our hero march home +in state. Such a spectacle you never saw! being rather tall, Sam's +greasy and ink-stained breeches came down only half-way below his knees, +and fitted as tight as gloves. The elegant wrists, usually shrouded +beneath their snowy cuffs, now stuck out like skewers from two very +short, very tight, and very shabby sleeves. Fred had not attempted to +don the shirt and collar which had been left for him, and it was pretty +evident by the way he shivered that if any one had unbuttoned the coat +and grimy waistcoat he would not have discovered much more in the shape +of vestments. But he had Jack's great muddy boots on, and his +disgracefully caved-in hat. In this guise he had to perambulate the +village, and now, worst of all, he found himself face to face not only +with a whole body of his schoolfellows, but with the doctor and two +ladies! + +If the whole scene had not been so ludicrous, one would have felt +sympathy for the poor fellow; as it was, every one burst out laughing +the moment he appeared. Even the doctor had to turn suddenly and walk +towards the house. + +But we heard of the affair again presently; for the doctor always +visited severely any act of unkindness done even in joke, and the +offenders in this case were duly punished. To his credit be it said, +Fred did not exult over his vindication; the only revenge he took was +when he had arrayed himself once more in his usual faultless get-up. He +came down to the schoolroom where we were all assembled, and walking up +to Jack Sloven, drawled out in a voice which everybody could hear, "Oh, +you'll find your things in the bath-room--all but your shirt. I really +couldn't touch _that_, so it's lying on the river bank still, where you +left it!" + +There is one peculiarity about dandies. They are hardly ever persons of +great minds. When the exquisite, on being asked how on earth he came by +the wonderful necktie he had got on, replied, "Well, you see, I gave my +whole mind to it!" he probably spoke the truth. But then you know a +mind that exhausts all its energy in the production of a "choker," +however remarkable, cannot be a great one. + +I should be sorry to hurt any one's feelings, but it is nevertheless a +fact that an unhealthy craving after finery is very often a symptom of +something not very far short of idiocy. I do not mean to say Fred Fop +was an idiot. He had a certain amount of sense; but he would have had a +vast deal more if he had not given so much of his mind to the decoration +of his person. And with it all he never succeeded, at school at any +rate, in passing himself off for any one more important than he was. It +is as much a sign of being no gentleman to over-dress as to dress like a +sloven, but, as in every other case, the secret is to find the golden +mean. I have often seen working-men dressed in a more gentlemanly way +than certain gorgeous snobs of my acquaintance; not that their clothes +were grander or cost more, but because they were _neat_. That really is +the secret. It always seems to me a sign of a man being well dressed +when one never notices how he is dressed at all. If he were badly +dressed, or if he were over-dressed, one would notice it; and it is a +sure sign of his having hit the happy mean when his dress leaves no +impression on your mind at all. + +But I am not going to set up as a tailor, and so I will bring this paper +to a close with this one piece of advice; when there is nothing else +left to think about, then by all means let us give our whole mind to the +cut of our coats. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. + +THE GROWLER. + +Who doesn't know Growler, of our school? He was a sort of fellow +nothing and nobody could satisfy. If Growler were a week in an African +desert without a drop of water to drink, and some one were then to come +and offer him a draught, you may depend upon it the fellow would have +something to find fault with. The rim of the bowl would be too thick, +or there would be a flavour of sand in the water, or the Good Samaritan +who held it to his parched lips wouldn't tilt it up exactly when he +ought to do so. If his rich uncle were to give him a splendid gold +hunter watch and chain, he would growl because there wasn't a seal +hanging on the latter. If he were to succeed in getting a third prize, +he'd growl because he had not got the second. If he got the second, +he'd growl because he had not got the first. And if he should win the +first prize of all, then he would growl because there was not a higher +one possible. Was ever such a hopeless fellow to have to deal with! + +I dare say you have heard the story of the Scotch elder who, on the +question being raised what service he could render at the church +meetings, replied briskly, "I can always object." Well, Growler's one +strong point was his talent for objecting, and gallantly he used it. + +He was one of those fellows who think a great deal more about the thorn +of the rose than the flower, and who, feeing quite sure that nothing +under the sun is perfect, set themselves to discover the imperfections +in all things. + +I remember once a lot of us had planned a most delightful picnic for a +certain holiday. We were to take two boats some miles up the river to a +certain little island, where we proposed to land and erect a tent. Each +fellow was to bring some contribution to the picnic, which we were to +partake of with grand ceremony under the willows. Then we were to have +some music, and generally take it easy. Afterwards we were to bathe, +and then row some mile or two farther up to the woods, and have a +squirrel hunt; and towards evening, after a picnic tea, drift down with +the stream in time for the nine o'clock bell. It seemed a perfect plan, +and as we sat and discussed it our spirits rose, and we found ourselves +already enjoying our picnic in prospect. But presently Growler came +into the room, and as he was to be one of the party, we had to go over +all the plans again to him. Well, it was too bad! Not a single detail +in our programme pleased him. + +"Row?" he said; "don't we get enough rowing, without having to give up +holidays to it? besides, what's the fun of sitting in a tent, or eating +your food among all the wasps and gnats up in that place? You surely +aren't going to take that wretched concertina; that'll be enough to give +us the blues, even if it doesn't rain, which it's pretty sure to do. I +suppose you know the island's about the worst place for bathing--" + +"Come, now, old man, it's a first-rate place." + +"Well, you may think so; I don't. In fact, I don't see the fun of +bathing after dinner at all. You don't expect _me_ to make a fool of +myself hunting squirrels, do you, in those horrid woods? And you'll +have to have tea, as you call it (though you might as well make one meal +do for both), jolly early if you expect to drift down here by nine. +Why, you won't do it in anything like the time, and fine fun it will be, +sitting like dummies in a boat going at a mile an hour." + +This was cheerful, and no amount of argument would do away with our +desirable friend's objections. The result was, we went, but tried to +alter our programme in some points to please him: But he growled all the +more, and would not enjoy the day himself, nor let us do so; and our +grand picnic, thanks to him, was quite a failure. + +It wouldn't have been so bad if the result of Growler's grumblings had +been to give us something better in place of what he wanted us to give +up. But that is a thing he never did. He could pick holes to any +extent, but he couldn't fill them up. There was no scheme or project he +couldn't pull to pieces with the utmost industry, but I never remember +his originating any scheme of his own to take its place. This was +hardly fair. If you take something away from a person, and give him +nothing in exchange, it is robbery, and in this respect Growler was an +awful thief. + +Isn't it true that if you set yourself to it, you could find fault with +nearly everything? But in order to do it, you would have to be very +selfish in the first place, and very hard-hearted in the next. The dog +in the manger is a good type of this happy combination. He trampled on +the hay that the cows thought so sweet, and wouldn't touch it himself, +and he wouldn't let them touch it either; and that is precisely the +charge to which Growler lays himself open. Let us hope he is not quite +such a bad sort as this dog. He had got into a regular habit of +growling, and it would be against his nature altogether to praise +anything cordially. + +Supposing Growler to be grown to a man, now; what a desirable creature +he must be! What a fine man to get on to a committee, or into +parliament! What a delightful partner to have in business! Why, he'd +wear out an ordinary man in a month. What complainings, and +questionings, and disapprovals, and censures would he ever be loading on +the head of his colleagues!--how ready people would be to avoid him and +give him a wide berth! For, assuredly, if in anything there was to be +found a fault, Growler was the boy to find it. I remember a fairy tale +about some folk who wanted to find out if a certain lady were a fairy +princess or not; and the way they did it was to lay a pea on the floor +of her room, and cover it with twenty feather beds one on the top of the +other. Next morning they asked how she slept. + +"Not at all," said she, "for there was a dreadful lump in the bed." + +Then they knew she must be a fairy! Perhaps it would be a little too +much to compare Growler with a fairy; but he certainly had a wonderful +knack of discovering peas under the bed; and where there were none to +discover, he found out something else. Now, you and I, I expect, in +talking of the sun, would speak of it as a glorious light and heat- +giving orb, without which we could none of us get on for a moment. But +Growler's version of the thing would be quite different. + +"A thing full of great ugly spots, that goes scorching up one part of +the earth and leaving another in the cold, and is generally hidden by +clouds from all the rest." + +Such is the genial, bright view of things taken by our old schoolmate. + +There are two sorts of growlers. There is the man who honestly attacks +what is really wrong for the sake of making it right, and there is the +man who instinctively grumbles at everything for the mere sake of +growling. The former class is as useful as the latter is tiresome, and +if we must growl, by all means let us find out some real grievance to +attack. Grumbling is a habit that grows quickly and with very little +encouragement, and those who go in for it must make up their minds to +have to do with very few friends. For who would consent to be the +friend of a growler? It would be as bad as becoming the servant of a +man who kept an electrical machine--he would always be trying it on you! +And he must be content also to find that very few people sympathise +with him. For when a man is a confirmed grumbler at everything, no one +afflicts himself much about his lamentations, but puts it all down to +his infirmity. + +"Poor fellow, his digestion isn't good, or his liver's out of order!" +they will say, and think no more about it. + +Growler of our school was an able fellow in his way; and successful, +too, but he wasn't liked. Some were afraid of him, some detested him, +and most cared very little about him. I don't suppose he will ever do +much good in the world, for this reason--his influence is so small. One +would like to know if he is really as unhappy as he would make every one +believe. I have a notion he is not, but is the victim of a habit which +he has allowed to grow on him till it is past shaking off. Moral, boys: +When you catch yourselves grumbling, make sure the grievance is a real +one. If it is, don't be content with grumbling, but follow it up till +the wrong is put right. But if you find yourself growling merely +because it sounds a fine thing to do, then let growl number one be not +only the first but the last performance of the kind; and no one then +will be able to growl at you. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. + +THE BULLY. + +There are bullies and bullies. There is the big brother, for instance, +who considers it as much part of his duty to administer an occasional +cuff to his youthful relative, as he does to stroke his own chin for the +first sign of a beard, or to wear his tall hat on Sundays. That is not +the sort of bullying any one complains of. Pretty sort of fellows some +of us would have turned out if we hadn't come in for a little wholesome +knocking about in our day! What's the use of big brothers, we should +like to know, if it's not to chastise youngsters! and what are younger +brothers made for, if they are not to be occasionally "whopped!" + +When I first reached a "bullyable" age, I found myself number three of a +set of five boys. I had looked on in awe at the discipline inflicted by +my eldest brother on number two; I had been a trembling spectator of +scuffles and tears, and pulled ears and sore knuckles, and knew my turn +for the same hardships was coming. And so it did. Number one went to +college, and then number two was cock of the walk, and didn't I catch it +then? The ears that had recently smarted between another's finger and +thumb were now deaf to my lamentations, and the knuckles that I had seen +bruised and sore now played on my poor countenance as if it had been a +tambourine. It wasn't pleasant while it lasted, of course; but then it +was all in the regular course of things, and had to be grinned at and +borne; and besides it was a splendid training for me, when I came to be +left ruler of the roost with young number four at my mercy. Poor number +four! he had a hard time of it. He was a meek sort of fellow, and took +a lot of bullying. I've a broken-backed lexicon to this day which often +used to fly across the room at his devoted head, and which he as +regularly picked up and handed back to me. + +Never was a czar more absolute than I during the brief years of my +supremacy. + +But it was monotonous work bullying a fellow who never showed fight; and +one day, in reply to a touching lamentation on his part, I demanded, +"Why don't you say you won't, then, and stick to it?" Would you believe +it? the ungrateful fellow took me at my word! Next time I issued a +decree, he made my hair stand on end by shouting, "Shan't!" I could not +believe my wits; and when he not only refused, but (in accordance with +my own unlucky advice) positively defied me, I was fairly nonplussed! +In vain the lexicon performed its airy flight; in vain my ruler +flourished over his knuckles; in rain I stormed and raged. No martyr at +the stake was ever more sublimely firm; and from that day my reign was +over. + +It was over as far as he was concerned; but as he resolutely declined to +do his duty in knocking about number five, I had to sacrifice myself for +the family good, and take that young scamp in hand too, and as he was +the youngest, he had nothing to do but wait till he grew up, and then-- +when he suddenly discovered he was six feet high--he took a turn at +bullying me, who by that time was a married man with a family. + +Now, perhaps, this sort of bullying within ordinary bounds does no great +harm. In our case we almost seemed to like one another the better for +it, though each in his turn rent the air with his howls and +lamentations. Perhaps, however, we were exceptional boys, and I am not +going to recommend the system. + +The dog mother who routs up her little pup from his comfortable nap, and +shakes him with her teeth, and knocks him down and rolls him over and +worries him till he yaps and yelps as if his last day had come, is not +such a bully as the cat who holds a mouse under his paw, and plays with +it and torments it previous to making a meal of it. + +In one case the discipline is salutary and serves a good end; in the +other it is sheer cruelty. + +Just let me introduce you to a bully of the true sort--one whom we might +call a _professional_ bully--as contrasted with the _amateur_ big- +brother bullies of whom I have been speaking. + +Bob Bangs of our school was a big, ill-conditioned, lazy, selfish, +cross-grained sort of fellow. He was nearly the tallest fellow in the +fifth form, but by no means the strongest. He was narrow across the +chest, and shaky about the knees, though we youngsters held him too much +in awe to take this into account at the time. To the big boys of the +sixth form Bob was cringing and snivelling; nothing was too menial, so +only as he could keep in their good graces. If he had known how, I dare +say he would have blacked their boots or parted their hair; as it was, +he laid himself out to fetch and carry, to go and come just as their +lordships should direct; and their lordships, I have a notion, winked at +one another and gave him plenty to do. + +But to us youngsters Bob was wholly different. For one of us to come so +much as across his path was sufficient provocation to his spite. Like a +spider in its web, he would waylay and capture the wretched small fry of +our school and haul them away to his den. There he would screw their +arms and kick them, just for the pleasure of seeing their faces and +hearing their howls. Generally, indeed, he managed to invent some +pretext for his chastisement. This one had made a grimace at him across +the room yesterday; that one had spilt some ink on his desk; poor Jack +Flighty had had the cheek to laugh outside his door while he was +reading; or Joe Tyler had bagged his straw hat instead of his own. + +One day, I remember, I, a little unfortunate of ten summers, fell into +his awful clutches. + +"Come here, you young beggar!" I heard him call out. + +I dared not disobey, and stood before him shaking in my shoes. + +"What are you laughing at?" he says. + +"I'm not laughing," I said, feeling anything but in the humour for +jocularity. + +"Yes, you are, I tell you--take that!" and a smart box on the ear +followed. + +I writhed, but tried hard to suppress my ejaculation of pain. + +"What's that you called me?" demanded the bully. + +"Nothing," I faltered, rubbing my head. + +"Yes, you did," he said; "take that for telling a cram, and that for +calling me names!" and suiting the action to the word he bestowed one +cuff and one kick on my unoffending person, each of which I acknowledged +by a howl. + +"Now then," said he, "what did you mean by borrowing Tom Groby's +_Gulliver's Travels_ yesterday when you knew I wanted to read it, eh?" + +And he caught hold of my hand and gave my arm a suggestive preliminary +screw. + +"I didn't," I said. + +"Yes, you did," said he, tightening the pressure, so as to make me catch +my under lip in my teeth. "You knew well enough I was half through it." + +"I mean, I _didn't_ borrow it. I never saw the book," I shrieked, truly +enough too, for this was clearly a case of mistaken identity. + +"Yes, you did, for I was told so." + +"I didn't; oh, let me go!" I cried, twisting under the torture; "it +wasn't me!" + +"I tell you it was;" another screw, and another dance and howl from me; +"and what's the use of you saying it wasn't?" + +"Indeed it wasn't!" I yelled, for by this time I was on my knees, and +half dead with agony. "Oh! You'll break my arm! Oh! Oh!" + +"Say you took it, then," replied my tormentor. + +"It wasn't me," I shrieked. "Oh! _Yes it was_! Let go!" + +Then he let go, and catching me by the collar of my coat with one hand, +pulled my ear with the other, saying-- + +"What do you mean by telling lies, you young cub?" + +"I only said I took it," whimpered I, nursing my sore arm, "because you +made me." + +"Then you mean to say you didn't, do you?" cried the bully, with another +grab at my hand. + +What would have become of me I don't know, had not a sixth-form fellow +come by at that moment, at the sight of whom Master Bangs let go my arm, +smiled benevolently on me and cringingly on him, and then slunk away to +his den, never to find me again within reach of his ten fingers if I +could help it. + +It would be hard to say what object Bob had in this conduct. He +certainly had not much to gain. Sometimes, indeed, he succeeded in +compelling his victims to empty their pockets to him, and hand over the +little treasures in the way of eatables, penknives, or india-rubber to +which he might take a fancy, but this was comparatively rare. Nor was +his bullying actuated by the lofty motive of administering wholesome +discipline on his young schoolfellows. In fact, so far from doing them +good, he made sneaks and cowards of a good many of them, and, as +happened in my case, led them to tell falsehoods in order to escape his +clutches. + +I should be sorry to think that Bob Bangs was influenced by sheer spite +and cruelty of heart, or by a wanton delight in witnessing and +contributing to the suffering of others; yet so one was often forced to +believe. It is bad enough when one fellow stands by and, without +lifting a finger to help, lets another suffer; but when, instead of +that, he actually makes himself the instrument of torture, he is nothing +short of a brute. + +Perhaps, however, it would hardly be fair to say that Bob was quite so +bad as this. We are bound to give the worst characters their due; and +without attempting to excuse or justify a single blow the Bully ever +struck, we must bear in mind this one thing. + +There is a certain class of people to whom power becomes a ruling +passion. Somebody must be made to feel, and somebody must be brought to +acknowledge it. These people are generally those who have the greatest +possible aversion to enduring oppression in their own persons, or who +have themselves in their time been roughly handled. They love to see +others quail before them, as they themselves would be ready to quail +before those they hold in awe; and it is no small set-off against their +own terrors to feel themselves in turn objects of terror to others. +People of this sort are of course generally cowards and toadies, and in +bullying they find the fullest gratification of their craving for power. + +Bob may sometimes feel a passing pity for the poor little wretch he is +tormenting; but until that poor little wretch consents to knuckle under, +to apologise, to obey, to accuse himself, in the manner Bob selects, he +must not be spared. + +Boys who want to understand what real bullying is, should call to mind +that parable about the servant who, having quailed and cringed and +implored before his lord until he was forgiven his huge debt, forthwith +pounced on a poor fellow-servant who happened to owe him a few +shillings, and, deaf to the very entreaties which he himself had but a +minute before used, haled him off to gaol till the last farthing should +be paid. + +He was bad enough; but the wolf in Aesop's fable was still worse. The +poor lamb there owed nothing; it only chanced to be drinking of the same +stream. + +"What do you mean by polluting my water?" growls the wolf. + +"I am drinking lower down than you," replies the innocent, "and so that +cannot be." + +"Never mind, you called me names a year ago." + +"Please, sir, a year ago I wasn't born." + +"Well, then, it was your father, and it's all the same thing; and, +what's more, you need not think I'm going to be done out of my breakfast +by your talk--so here goes!" And we all know what became of the poor +lamb. A gentleman cannot be a bully, and a bully cannot be a gentleman. +By gentleman I mean not the vulgar use of the word. The rich snob who +keeps his carriages, and counts his income with five or six figures, and +considers that sufficient title to the name, may be, and often is, a +bully. His servants may lead the lives of dogs, his tradesmen dread the +sound of his voice, and his dependants shake in their shoes before him. +But a gentleman--a man (or boy) of honour, kindliness, modesty, and +sense--could no more be a bully than black could be white. + +Bullying is essentially vulgar, and stamps the person who indulges in it +as ill-conditioned and stupid. He tries to pass off his lack of brains +with bluster, and to make up by tyranny for the contempt which his ill- +bred manners would naturally secure for him. But he deceives nobody but +himself. The youngsters tremble before him; but they despise him; in a +year or two they will laugh at him, and after that--thrash him. + +Yes; I am sorry to counsel that physic for anybody, but really it is the +only one which can possibly cure the bully. The time must come when the +little boy will find himself grown up and possessed of a muscle, and +then the bully will find, to his astonishment, that he has tried his art +once too often. + +So it was with Bob Bangs. He found himself on his back one day with a +small army of youngsters executing a war dance round him. He got +roughly used, poor fellow, and at last changed his tune from threats to +whines, and eventually, with the aid of a few parting kicks, was +permitted to depart in peace. And he never tried on bullying with us +again, except indeed when he was fortunate enough to get hold of one of +us singly in a lonely comer. And even then he generally heard of it +afterwards. + +But, boys, mind this. There's nothing more likely than that in your +struggle for independence you will, if victorious, be tempted to become +bullies yourselves. In your anxiety to "pay out" your old enemy, you +may forget that you are yourselves falling into the very transgression +for which you have chastised him. That would be sad indeed. A boy that +can bear malice, and refuse quarter to a fallen foe, is very little +different from a bully himself. + +Rather be careful to show yourselves Christians and gentlemen, even in +the way you rid yourselves of bullies. It is one thing, in self- +defence, to right yourself, and it is another to return evil for evil. +The best revenge you can have is, instead of dancing on his prostrate +body, to set him an example of forbearance and self-control in your own +conduct, which shall point him out a surer road to respect and authority +than all the bullying in the world could ever give him. + + + +CHAPTER NINETEEN. + +WILLIAM THE ATHELING; OR, THE WRECK OF THE "WHITE SHIP." + +The eager crowd thronged the little Norman seaport of Barfleur. Knights +in armour, gay ladies and merry children mingled in the narrow streets +which led down to the bustling harbour, in which lay at anchor a gay +fleet of ships, decked with pennons and all the marks of festivity and +rejoicing. One man's name was on every lip, and in expectation of that +man's arrival this brave company lined the seashore and its approaches. +Presently was heard a distant trumpet note, and then a clatter of many +horses. + +"He comes!" shouted the crowd. "Long live our Duke Henry!" And at the +shout there appeared the royal troop, with King Henry of England at its +head, followed by his sons and daughter and nobles, amid the plaudits of +the loyal crowd. + +"All bids fair," said the king to one who was near him, as he rode +slowly towards the harbour; "the sea is calm and the wind is propitious; +an emblem of the happy peace we have concluded with France, and the +prosperous years that he before us." + +"Long live Henry of England!" shouted the crowd again. With that the +troop reached the sunny harbour. + +Here ensued all the bustle and confusion of an embarkation. Baggage and +horses and armour were transferred speedily from the shore to shipboard. +Henry himself inspected the vessel which was to convey him and his +household across the sea, while the loyal Norman crowd pressed round, +eager to bid their liege good speed on his voyage. + +The afternoon was advancing, and the order had already been given to +embark, when, through the crowd which thronged King Henry, there +struggled forward a man dressed in sailor guise, who advanced and fell +on one knee before his sovereign. + +"My liege," said he, "a boon for me!" + +"Who art thou?" inquired the king. + +"My lord duke, Stephen, my father, served thy father, William of +Normandy, all his life. He it was who steered the vessel which carried +the duke to the conquest of England. Permit me, my lord, a like honour. +See where my `White Ship' waits to receive her captain's noble +sovereign." + +Henry looked in the direction pointed, and saw the gallant vessel, +gleaming like silver with its white poop and oars and sails in the sun; +surely as fair a ship as ever crossed the sea. + +"Brave son of a brave father," replied the king, "but that my word has +been given, and my baggage is already embarked on another's vessel, thy +request should not have been in vain. But, to show that I hold thy +father's son worthy of his name, see, I entrust to thee my son William, +heir to my throne, in all confidence that thou wilt conduct him safely +over. Let him go with thee, while I myself do set sail in the vessel I +had chosen." + +Fitz-Stephen bowed low, and the young Prince William, a lad of eighteen +years, stepped forward gaily towards him, and cried-- + +"Come, comrade! thou shalt find a king's son as good company as his +father. In token of which, bid thy brave men feast at my charge with as +much to eat and drink as they have a fancy to. Then, when that is done, +we will start on our merry voyage." + +Almost immediately afterwards King Henry embarked, leaving the Prince +William, and two other of his children, Richard and Adela, to follow +that same night in the "White Ship." + +"Farewell, my father!" shouted the young prince, as the oars of the +king's vessel struck the water; "perchance I shall be on the farther +side before thee!" + +So the king started. + +It was late before the merrymakers on board the "White Ship" set their +faces seaward. The prince himself had honoured the feast, and bidden +every man to fill his cup and drink deep and long. So when about +midnight they addressed themselves to the voyage, the rowers splashed +wildly with their oars, and the crew pulled at the ropes with unsteady +hands. + +Far across the calm waters might have been heard the song and the +laughter of the two hundred voyagers. In a few hours, thought they, we +shall be across, and then will we renew our feast in England. + +"Fitz-Stephen!" cried the prince, flushed with wine himself, and in a +tone of excitement--"Fitz-Stephen, how far say you is my father's ship +before ours?" + +"Five leagues," replied the sailor, "or more." + +"Then may we not overtake him before the night is past? You know this +coast; can we not steer closer in, and so gain on them?" + +"My lord," said Fitz-Stephen, "there are many sunken rocks on this +coast, which the mariner always avoids by keeping out to sea." + +"Talk not to me of rocks on a night when the sea is calm and the wind so +gentle it scarce fills the sails, and the moon so clear we can see a +mile before us! What say you, my men? Shall we overtake the king? +Fitz-Stephen," he added, "thou earnest a king's son to-night. If thou +and thy men can set me on English ground before my father, I will never +sail more, as long as I live, save in thy ship." + +The sailor yielded, and turned his helm nearer to the coast, and the +crew, clamouring loudly with excitement, pulled wildly at the oars, +while the prince and the nobles, with song and laughter, made the quiet +night to resound. So they went for two hours. Then the prince's sister +Adela, Countess of Perche, stepped up to him timidly, and said-- + +"My brother, what sound is that, like the roar of distant thunder?" + +"It is nothing, my sister; go down again and sleep." + +"It sounds like the breaking of wares on the rocks." + +"How can that be, when the sea is scarcely ruffled?" + +"I fear me we run a risk, sailing so close to shore," said the maiden. +"I myself heard Fitz-Stephen say that the currents ran strong along this +coast of Normandy." + +"Be easy, sister; no danger can befall a night like this." + +Louder and louder rose the shouting and the revelry. The rowers sang as +they rowed. And the knights and nobles, who made merry always when the +prince made merry, sang too. + +But all the while the maiden, as she lay, heard the roar of the breakers +sound nearer and nearer, and was ill at ease, fearing some evil. + +"Now, my merry men," shouted the prince, "row hard, for the night is +getting on!" + +Fitz-Stephen at that instant uttered an exclamation of horror, and +wildly flung round his helm. There was a sudden roar ahead, and a gleam +of long lines of broken water. + +"Pull for your lives!" shouted the captain, "or we shall be on the Ras +de Catte!" + +It was too late. The treacherous current swept them on to the reef. +There was a sudden tossing of the "White Ship," then a great shock as +she struck--then a cry of terror from two hundred lips. + +King Henry in his vessel, three leagues away, heard that sudden awful +cry across the still waters. But little guessed he that it was the +death cry of his own beloved children. + +Every man on board the "White Ship" was startled by that shock into +instant sobriety. The brave Fitz-Stephen left the now useless helm, and +rushed to where the prince, entrusted to his care, was clinging to the +mast of the fast-filling vessel. With his own hand he cut loose the +small boat which she carried, and by sheer force placed William in it, +and a few of the crew. + +"Row for the shore!" he shouted to the men, waving his hand; "lose not +a moment!" + +William, stupefied and bewildered, sat motionless and speechless. + +The men had already dipped their oars, and the frail boat was already +clear of the sinking vessel, when there fell on the prince's ear the +piercing shriek of a girl. + +Looking behind him, he saw his poor sister clinging to the deck of the +doomed ship, and stretching a hand appealingly in the direction of his +boat. + +In an instant his senses returned to him. + +"Put back, men!" he cried, frantically. + +"It is certain death!" cried one of the crew. + +"Must William the Atheling order a thing twice?" thundered the prince, +in a tone so terrible, that the men immediately turned and made for the +wreck. + +"My sister!" shouted William, as they came under the spot where Adela +clung; "throw yourself into my arms!" + +She did so; but, alas! at the same moment, fifty more, in the +desperation of terror, jumped too, and the little boat, with all that +were in her, turned over, and was seen no more. + +Then the waters poured over the "White Ship," and with a great plunge +that gallant vessel went down. + +With her went down all the souls she carried save three. One of these +was the brave Fitz-Stephen. Rising to the surface, he saw the two +others clinging to a spar. Eagerly he swam towards them. + +"Is the prince saved?" he asked. + +"We have seen nothing of him," replied they. + +"Then woe is me!" exclaimed he, as he turned in the water and sank +beneath it. + +Of the other two, one only, a butcher, survived to carry the dreadful +news to England. + +For many days, Henry, impatient for his son's arrival, waited in +ignorance of his sad fate. + +Then went to him a little child, who, instructed what to say, told him +in his own artless way the whole story; and King Henry the First, so +they say, after he had heard it, was never seen to smile again. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY. + +JOHN PLANTAGENET, THE BOY WHO BROKE HIS FATHER'S HEART. + +A youth was pacing restlessly to and fro in a wood bordering on the old +town of Tours, in France. He was scarcely twenty years of age, and of a +forbidding countenance. Cruelty and cunning were stamped on his +features, and as he strode aimlessly among the trees, muttering to +himself, and striking often with his sheathed sword at the bushes and +twigs in his path, he seemed to be the victim of an evil passion, with +nothing to make a man love him or desire his acquaintance. + +His muttering not unfrequently rose to the pitch of talking aloud, when +one might have heard sentences like these. + +"Why should I longer delay? Am not I John, the son of Henry of England, +a man? and shall I submit to be treated for ever as a child? Are my +brothers, who have rebelled against their father, to have ah the spoil, +and I, who have remained obedient, to go portionless and penniless? +What means my father's meeting here with the King of France, who has +espoused the cause of Richard, my brother, in his rebellion, if it be +not to yield to the traitor the kingdoms _I_ have earned by my +obedience? But I will delay no longer. I have been obedient too long! +Henceforth this sword shall be my obedience!" + +And as he spoke he unsheathed his weapon, and struck savagely at the +graceful branch of a fir tree before him, and brought it down crashing +at his feet. At the same instant there appeared coming towards him a +man of middle age, clad like a soldier, who saluted respectfully the +young prince. + +"Whence come you, Ralph Leroche?" inquired John. + +"From the meeting of the Kings of France and England." + +"And what went forward there?" asked the prince, leading his companion +in among the trees. + +"I know only what I am told," said the knight, "for the meeting of your +father and King Philip was secret." + +"And what have you been told?" inquired John, impatiently, and with +clouding brows. + +"I have been told that the King of France demanded that your father +should do him homage, and should acknowledge your brother Richard as +King of England." + +"And what said my father?" broke in John. + +"He said that Richard, by his conduct, deserved only the death of a +traitor, but--" + +John's brow darkened as he seized Ralph's arm, and ejaculated, "But +what? did he yield? Speak!" + +"But for the sake of peace he would receive him back to the heart which +he by his disobedience had wellnigh broken, and make him heir to his +crown." + +"He said so, did he?" almost shouted the prince, his face livid with +fury. + +"I am told so by one who knows," replied the other. + +"And did he say more?" + +"He blessed heaven before them all that he had one son left him who was +true to him, and in whose love he might end the shattered remnant of his +life." + +Loud and cruelly laughed Prince John at those words, till the woods +echoed again. "Is it thus you comfort yourself, my father?" he +exclaimed. "Ralph," added he, in tones thick with passion, "all my life +till now I served my father, and never failed in my duty to him. Henry, +my brother, rebelled, and died in his rebellion while I was a child. +Geoffrey rebelled too, and is dead. Richard for years has been in arms +against his parent. I, of all his sons, have never lifted hand against +him. Had not I a right to look for my reward? Had not I a right to +count upon the crown which my brothers' disobedience had forfeited? Had +not--" + +He stopped, unable from the vehemence of his passion to proceed, and +Ralph Leroche answered calmly: "Obedience is its own reward, and worth +more than a kingdom. It is not obedience that calculates on profit. +But you know not, prince, what your father may yet have in store for +you." + +"Speak not to me of my father," exclaimed John; "I hate him!" + +"Heaven forgive you that word!" replied the fearless knight. "Be +advised, I entreat; and repent--" + +"Dotard!" exclaimed the prince, as in blind rage he struck him in the +mouth with his clenched fist. "Keep thy advice for dogs, and not for +princes!" + +How the scene would have ended, one cannot say. At that moment a +flourish of trumpets raised the echoes of the wood, and a gay procession +passed down the forest road towards Tours. + +Alas, for Prince John! He recognised in the two men who rode at its +head, Philip of France, his father's enemy, and Richard, his own rebel +elder brother. Goaded by passion, burning with resentment towards his +father for the supposed injustice he had suffered, he rushed recklessly +into the arms of this sudden temptation. Striding through the thickets, +and heedless of the warnings of the loyal Ralph, he emerged on to the +road in front of the cavalcade. + +The leaders halted their horses in sudden surprise. + +"What brave lad have we here?" asked Philip, perplexed. + +John stepped forward, and answered for himself. + +"I am John Plantagenet, once son of the King of England, but now vassal +to the King of France!" + +Great was the astonishment on every face, and on none more than on those +of Philip and Richard. + +The latter flushed, half in anger, half in shame, as he exclaimed, "Boy, +thou art mad!" + +"Nay," said Philip, "the lad is a lad of sense, and bears a worthy name +that will serve our cause exceedingly." + +So saying, he summoned one of his knights, and bidding him dismount, +gave the young prince his horse, and made him ride beside him. + +"But tell us, lad," he said, when they had proceeded a little way, "how +is it thy father's dutiful and cherished son (for so I have heard him +speak of thee) comes thus among the ranks of his foemen, and that at a +time like this, when peace has been almost completed?" + +"Ask me no questions," replied the prince, gloomily; "I am here because +I choose." + +And so they rode into Tours. + +A few days later, a silent group was standing round the sickbed of the +King of England, listening to the broken utterances which fell from the +lips of that old and wellnigh worn-out warrior. Those who thus stood +round him were his favourite knights and barons, not a few of whom were +moved to tears as he spoke. + +"I have sinned, and I have had my punishment. My kingdom is gone, and +my glory. Henceforward Henry Plantagenet will be the name but of a +vanquished and feeble old man. The one whom I loved, and would have +forgiven as many times as they had asked forgiveness, have all, save +one, left me and turned against me. I am like a man, wrecked and +tempest-tossed, clinging for hope to a single spar. Yet I bless Heaven +for that. Ruin I can submit to, dishonour I can survive, defeat I can +endure, while yet there is one child left to me of whom it can be said, +`He loved his father to the end.' And such a son is John. I charge you +all, honour him as you honour me, for though I have sworn to yield the +crown of England to his brother, Normandy, and all I possess besides, +belongs to _him_. But where is he? Why tarries he? A week has passed +since he was here. Where stays he?" + +Before any of the attendants could reply, a knocking was heard without, +and entrance demanded for the messengers of Philip of France. "We are +come," said they, "from our sovereign with the articles of treaty +between yourself and him, arranged at your late conference, and which +now await your ratification." + +Henry motioned to them to proceed to business; and as each article was +read--declaring his allegiance to the crown of France and his cession of +his own crown to Richard--he inclined his head mechanically in token of +his assent, manifesting little or no interest in the proceeding. But +his attention became more fixed when the article was read which provided +for the free pardon of all who had in any way, secretly or openly, been +engaged in the cause of his rebel son. + +He turned in his bed towards the reader, and said: "A king must know the +names of his enemies before he can pardon them. Read me, therefore, the +list of those who have rebelled, that I may forgive them each and all, +beginning with the noblest, down to the meanest." + +He lay back on his bed, and half closed his eyes as he listened. + +The messenger of Philip then said, "The first and foremost of your +majesty's enemies is John Plantagenet, your youngest son." + +He sprang with a sudden cry of pain into a sitting posture, and +trembling in every fibre, and with a voice half choked, cried, "Who says +that?" Then glaring wildly at the envoy, he whispered, "Read it again!" + +"The first and foremost of your majesty's enemies is John Plantagenet, +your youngest son." + +"Can it be true?" gasped the poor father, in helpless despair. "Has he +also deserted me? Then let everything go as it will; I care no more for +myself, nor for the world." + +So saying, with his heart broken, he sank back upon the bed, from which +he never rose again. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. + +ARTHUR OF BRITTANY, THE BOY WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN KING OF ENGLAND. + +The fierce storm beats down on the gloomy Norman Castle of Falaise, in a +deep dungeon of which lies imprisoned the boy Prince Arthur, lawful heir +to the crown of England, but now, alas! a helpless victim of the cruelty +and injustice of his bad uncle, John Plantagenet, the usurper of his +throne. The thunder peals so loudly, and the wind rages so angrily, +that Hubert de Burgh, the warden, does not for a long time distinguish +the sound of a knocking and shouting at the outer gate of the castle. +Presently, however, in a lull of the wind, his ears catch the noisy +summons, and he instantly gives orders to his men to let down the +drawbridge, and admit the new-comers. These were three in number: one +attired as a king's messenger, and mounted on a richly caparisoned +horse; the other two in the garb of common men, and on foot. When they +had come into the presence of the warden, the king's messenger said-- + +"I am charged by His Majesty King John of England to deliver to you this +letter, and require your faithful discharge of its commands." + +So saying, he handed to Hubert de Burgh a sealed letter, which the +latter eagerly broke open and read. As he read, his face clouded. It +was a long letter, and couched in vague terms, but its substance was +this. That whereas the peace of England and of King John's possessions +in France was constantly being disturbed by the partisans of the young +Prince Arthur, desiring to see him king instead of his uncle, and taking +up arms to enforce their claim, it was necessary, in order to put an end +to this rebellion, that the young prince should be rendered unfit for +governing; and as no people would be likely to choose a blind boy for +their king, Hubert de Burgh was instructed to have Arthur's eyes put +out; and the two men who had arrived with the king's messenger were +come, so the letter said, to carry out this design. + +Hubert de Burgh said nothing as he put by the letter, and dismissed his +three visitors from his presence. Cruel man as he had been, his heart +had still some pity left, and he shrank from obeying his master by so +brutal an act of cruelty upon the innocent boy in his charge. + +However, the order of the king was peremptory; and if the deed must be +done, thought he, the sooner the better. + +So he ordered the two villains to get ready their instruments, and +follow him to the dungeon. + +"Stay here," said he, as they reached the young prince's door, "while I +enter alone and prepare him for his fate." + +So those two set down their fire and the red-hot irons, and waited +outside for their summons. + +When Hubert entered the dungeon, the poor boy was just waking from a +sleep. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, being dazzled by the light which +Hubert carried in his hand. + +"You are welcome," said he (for Arthur, with so few to love him, loved +even his surly, though not unkind, jailor). "I have been in my dreams +away in merry England, where I thought I was living in a beautiful +palace, with food and servants, and rich clothing, and that there was a +crown on my head. And so it shall be some day, Hubert, when I get my +rights; and then because you have not been as unkind to me as some in my +adversity, you shall be a great and rich man. But why look you so +solemn? What ails you?" + +The warden stood silent for some moments before he spoke, and then his +voice was thick and hoarse. + +"Prince," he said, "take your last look on the light, for you may never +see it again." + +The boy sprang from his bed, and seized Hubert by the knees. + +"What! Are they going to kill me? Must they take away my life?" + +"Not so," said Hubert; "it is not thy life that is required, but thine +eyes." And as he spoke he stamped on the floor, as the signal to those +two who waited without to enter. + +At sight of their horrid instruments, the cords which were to bind him, +and the cruel faces of the executioners, Arthur fell on his knees and +implored mercy of the stubborn Hubert. + +It was a strange and pitiful sight to see that weak and helpless boy +kneeling, and with tears entreating that stout old warrior, whose bosom +heaved and whose ringers twitched, and whose face winced, as he +listened; while the two others stood motionless, grasping their irons +and cords, ready for the word of command to step forward and do their +cruel deed. + +But the cries and entreaties of the helpless and beautiful prince +prevailed. Hubert wavered and hesitated; he bade the men advance, and +then bade them withhold; he looked at the prince, and he looked at the +glowing irons; he pushed the suppliant from him, and then suffered him +to cling to him. The executioners themselves were moved to pity, and +lay down their instruments. Finally, with a mighty effort, the warden +yielded, and said, "Retire, men, and take with you your tools, till I +require you." Then turning to Arthur, he said, "Prince, thou shalt keep +thy sight and thy life while I am by to protect thee." And the rough +hand of the old warrior stroked the hair of the weeping boy as it might +have been his own son's. + +The answer that Hubert de Burgh sent back that day by the king's +messenger was an earnest appeal for mercy on behalf of his young and now +beloved charge. + +But King John was a stranger to all feelings of pity, and his vengeance +was quick and dreadful. Foiled of his cruel design upon the eyesight of +his hapless nephew, he determined now to have his life. So he ordered +him to be removed from Falaise, and the custody of the humane De Burgh, +to the castle of Rouen, under whose walls flowed the waters of the River +Seine. But the prince did not remain long there. One night a jailor +entered his dungeon, and, waking him from his sleep, ordered him to +follow him. The boy obeyed in silence, as the jailor conducted him down +the winding staircase which led to the foot of the tower, beside which +the Seine flowed. A boat was waiting at the bottom, in which sat two +men. The torch of the jailor cast a sudden glare over the dark waters, +and by its light Arthur recognised, with horror and despair, in one of +the two the cruel features of his Uncle John. It was useless for him to +pray and entreat; it was useless for him to struggle or cry out. They +dragged him into the boat, and held him fast as she drifted under the +shadow of those gloomy walls into mid stream. What happened then no one +can tell; but had any listened that still, dark night, they might have +heard a boy's wild cry across the waters, and then a dull, heavy +splash--and that was all. + +The story is that of those two, King John with his own hand did the foul +deed. However that may be, Arthur of Brittany was never even heard of +more. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. + +RICHARD THE SECOND, THE BOY WHO QUELLED A TUMULT. + +A vast, disorderly rabble thronged the great open space of Smithfield, +in London, on one side of which stood the venerable Abbey of Saint +Bartholomew, now occupied by the hospital of that name. The men who +composed it were rough and wild, and, for the most part, shouted and +clutched their clubs and bows in a meaningless sort of way, which +plainly showed that they were not very clear in their own minds as to +the object of their assembling together, but that they came and shouted +and threatened because their leaders did so. + +These leaders were few in number, and but that they were mounted, and +armed with swords and daggers, not to be distinguished from their +followers, for they were rough, wild men--men too whose occupation +seemed to be more in the way of herding cattle and plying their hammers +than leading an army of 20,000 rioters, or brandishing their swords +against a government. + +Yet, though many of these rebels seemed not to comprehend the why and +the wherefore of their demonstration, there were not a few who looked +very much--nay, cruelly--in earnest, who talked vehemently and scowled, +and seemed, by the way they gripped their arms, determined to enforce +their demands against any man, be he noble, or baron, or king. From +some of the groups one might have heard excited utterances like the +following:-- + +"We will have our rights or die! Why do our leaders halt?" + +"The king is expected!" + +"Nay, then, let us slay him, who is the head of all our wrongs!" + +"Not so; the king has already granted what we first demanded; and we are +gathered now because Wat Tyler demands yet more." + +"God save Wat Tyler! Was it not he who struck the first blow against +the tyrant?" + +"It was. The nobles demanded a poll tax on every man, woman, boy, and +girl in the land; and when one of their collectors would exact it from +Wat Tyler, at his place in Dartford, and (disbelieving his word +concerning the age of his young daughter) vilely insulted the maiden, he +arose and slew the wretch with his hammer. And so this business began." + +"Huzzah for Wat Tyler! Down with the tyrant!" + +"Nay, friend; our cause was a good one when it began, but since then Wat +and his friends have, to my mind, done us and themselves damage by their +bloodthirstiness and their unreasonableness. Have they not demolished +palaces and temples? Have they not butchered an archbishop and nobles +and harmless citizens? Have they not insulted noble ladies? And now, +when their demands have all been satisfied by the young king, they +demand yet more, and become themselves the tyrants." + +"A traitor!--a traitor! Who speaks against our brave Wat Tyler? Kill +the traitor! Down with tyranny! Death to the king! God save the +people!" + +With such clamour and angry talk did the crowd agitate itself, till +suddenly there arose a cry. "The king comes!" + +And there rode up fearlessly, at the head of sixty men, a boy, only +fifteen years old, at sight of whom these rebels hung their heads and +let their wild clamour die on their lips. A few of the most determined +looked black as they regarded the royal boy, and noted the effect his +frank carriage had on their followers. + +"I am come," said King Richard, rising on his horse at a few paces from +the front of the crowd, "as I promised, to confer with my subjects and +hear their grievances. Let your leader advance and speak with me." + +Then Wat Tyler turned to his followers and said to them, "I will go +speak with him; do you abide my signal, then come on and slay all save +the young king; he will serve us better as a humble captive in our +hands, to lead through the land and bring all men to our service, than +as a slaughtered tyrant at our feet." + +So he put spurs to his horse and advanced towards the king, whom he +approached so close that the flank of the horse touched that of the +king's. Richard, nothing daunted by this threatening demeanour, turned +courteously towards him and waited for him to speak. + +"Do you see this concourse of people?" began Wat, rudely, pointing +towards the now silent crowd. + +"I see them," said the boy. "What have you to ask on their behalf?" + +"These men," said Tyler, "have sworn, one and all, to obey me in all +things, and to follow in whatever enterprise I shall lead them, and they +will not go hence till you grant us our petition." + +"And I will grant it," replied the boy, frankly, for the demands to +which Wat Tyler now alluded had reference to the rights of the people to +hunt and fish on common lands. "I will grant it." + +What followed history does not very clearly record. Among the followers +of the king, Wat, it is said, caught sight of a knight whom for some +reason he hated. Turning his attention from the king, he glared angrily +at his enemy, and, putting his hand on the hilt of his dagger, +exclaimed, "By my faith, I will never eat bread till I have thy head!" +At that same instant up rode Sir William Walworth, the Lord Mayor of +London, who, seeing the menacing gesture of the insurgent leader, and +hearing his threatening speech, immediately concluded he was about to +attack the person of the young king. Quick as thought, Sir William drew +his dagger, and before any one could interpose or hold him back, he +struck Wat Tyler in the throat, and his attendants following with +repeated blows, the leader of the people fell from his horse a dead man! +All this was so suddenly done, and so astonished the onlookers, that +Wat Tyler was already dead before a hand was moved or a voice raised on +either side. Then there rose an angry shout from those twenty thousand +rebels, as they saw their leader down. "We are betrayed!" they cried; +"they have killed our leader!" And with that they raised their bows and +pointed their shafts at the heart of the young king. + +But they lowered them in amazement when, instead of shrinking and +cowering behind his knights, they saw the lad put spurs to his horse and +gallop, all by himself, up to the very place where they stood. "Men," +he cried, "follow me; I am your king, and I will be your captain! Wat +Tyler was a traitor; no ill shall befall you if you make me your +leader." + +The brave words disarmed that great crowd as if by magic; the men who +had just now shouted, "Long live Wat Tyler!" now shouted with a mighty +shout, "Long live our King Richard!" + +The insurrection was at an end, the confidence of the people returned +once more to their rulers, and they marched that day from Smithfield, +under the leadership of their young king, as far as the country hamlet +of Islington, there quietly to disperse to their own homes and resume +once again their ordinary pursuits. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. + +RICHARD WHITTINGTON, THE SCULLERY BOY WHO BECAME LORD MAYOR. + +A poor boy, meanly clad, and carrying in his hand a small bundle, +trudged sadly along the road which led over the moor of Finsbury to +Highgate. The first streak of dawn was scarcely visible in the eastern +sky, and as he walked, the boy shivered in the chill morning air. More +than once he dashed from his eyes the rising tears, and clutched his +little wallet and quickened his pace, as if determined to hold to some +desperate resolve, despite of all drawings to the contrary. As the road +rose gradually towards Highgate, the sun broke out from behind the +clouds on his right, and lit up fields and trees and hills with a +brightness and richness which contrasted strangely with the gloom on the +boy's face, and the poverty of his appearance. The birds in the hedges +began to sing, and the cattle to low and tinkle their bells; the whistle +of the herdsmen came up from the valley, and all nature seemed to wake +with a cry of gladness to greet the new day. + +Even poor Dick Whittington could not wholly resist the cheering +influence of that bright summer morning. It was impossible to believe +that everything was miserable in the midst of so much gladness, and +Dick's face brightened and his step became brisker almost without his +knowing it, as he trudged higher and higher up that steep road. His +thoughts, too, took a less desponding turn. + +"After all," said he to himself, "perhaps I am foolish to be running +away from my master's house. I had better be the scullery boy of good +Master Fitzwarren, although his cook does ill-treat me and lead me a +dog's life, than the vagabond idle boy which I am now. And yet I cannot +endure the thought of returning to that cruel woman. Would that I knew +what to do!" + +Thus he thought and questioned with himself, when he came to a stone set +by the wayside; and here he sat to rest, and ruminate further upon his +evil fortune. + +"If some voice would but say `Return,' I would return," said he, "even +though she scold and beat me, for I know not what to do, without a +friend in the world. Was ever such a wretched boy as I?" + +And he buried his face in his hands and gave himself over to his misery. +Suddenly in the quiet morning air there came to his ears a wonderful +sound, up from the valley, where, in the sun, shone the towers and +steeples of London town. + +It was the sound of distant bells, and as the boy listened, it came +clearer and clearer, and seemed to fill the air with the very voice for +which he had but a minute since been longing. But what a strange voice +and what a strange story the bells told!-- + +Turn again, Whittington, Thrice Lord Mayor of London! + +Over and over again they said the same words. Over and over again Dick +persuaded himself he was dreaming, yet felt sure he was awake. "Turn +again!" that was plain enough, and he could believe it, even though Bow +Bells said it. But--"Thrice Lord Mayor of London!" what could that +mean? That was never meant for the poor ill-used scullery boy of Master +Fitzwarren, the mercer in the Minories! And yet what could be more +distinct than the voice of those bells? + +He sprang from his seat, turned his face in the direction of that +wonderful sound, and ran. And that morning, when the family of Master +Fitzwarren assembled for their early meal, and the scolding cook took +possession of the kitchen, Dick Whittington was in his place, scouring +the pots and pans in the scullery, singing to himself a tune no one had +ever heard before. + +Only a few days after this adventure of Dick's, news came of the arrival +in port of one of Master Fitzwarren's vessels with a valuable cargo on +board. Now it was the custom in those days, in some houses, for all the +servants of a family to invest something in the fortunes of any vessel +their master might send out; and when, many months before this, Master +Fitzwarren had been equipping the vessel now in question, he had +summoned all his servants together, and beginning with the chief, had +called upon them to put their savings into his venture, promising each a +fair return of whatever profit his share should entitle him to at the +end of the voyage. + +Dick, poor boy, had no money; nothing in the world but a cat, whom he +loved as his only friend, and to whom he owed no common gratitude for +the manner in which she had protected him against the rats that infested +his garret. When it came to his turn to put his share into the voyage, +he had not the heart to offer this companion--and he had nothing else he +could call his own--so he begged to be excused. His master, however, +insisted that, as his servant, he must put down whatever he had, however +little, and even though this cat had cost only a penny, to sea she must +go, and Dick should have full value for her when the voyage was over. + +Dick wept at this, and the young daughter of Master Fitzwarren, being +moved to pity, offered from her own money what would preserve to the lad +his four-footed friend. But not even this would the stern merchant +allow, and Dick therefore had to bid a tearful farewell to his +favourite, and resign himself to his loss. + +All this had taken place many months ago. + +Now when the "Unicorn"--that was the name of the vessel--returned to +port, great was the astonishment of everybody (and no one's greater than +Dick's) to find that the principal portion of the treasures on board +belonged to the little scullery boy of Master Fitzwarren. + +The very first day of its arrival there was brought to the house a +cabinet of jewels, forming part of the boy's share, which was considered +too precious to be left on board ship. And the men who brought it told +this marvellous story: + +When the ship reached Algiers, in Africa, the ruler of the land ordered +all the crew to wait upon him with presents, which accordingly they did, +after which he prepared a feast, and invited them all to partake. But +no sooner were the covers removed then a swarm of rats, attracted by the +scent of the good things, came and devoured all the victuals before +their very faces. This, the governor told them, was no unusual thing, +for rats were the plague of his land, and he would give any price to +know of a means to be rid of them. Then one of the sailors bethought +him of Dick Whittington's cat--who had already distinguished herself on +shipboard by her industry in her art--and accordingly next day, when the +feast was served, and the rats, as usual, prepared to make away with it, +puss was produced, and not only drove away the pest, but killed a +considerable number. This happening for several days, his highness was +so delighted that he instantly offered an enormous sum for the +possession of so remarkable an animal, and loaded the crew with +presents, in token of his joy and gratitude. + +Such was the story of the men, which explained this wonderful prize +which fell to the share of the fortunate Dick Whittington. + +He, poor lad, could not understand it all, and went on with his drudgery +in the scullery as if nothing had happened, until his master compelled +him to quit it, and from being his boy-of-all-work made him his partner +in business. + +Then Dick remembered the words the bells had sung to him a while ago, +and rejoiced that he had obeyed their call. + +He rejoiced at another thing too, which was that the kind young daughter +of Master Fitzwarren, who had pitied him in his poverty, did not avoid +him in his prosperity, but smiled happily upon him when he took his seat +at the family table to eat out of the dishes he had so recently scoured. + +So this scullery boy became a rich merchant, and being just and +honourable as well as wealthy, he gained the respect and love of all +with whom he had to do. When he grew to be a man, he married the kind +Miss Fitzwarren, which made him happier than all his wealth. + +Not only did merchants look up to him, but nobles and even kings came to +him in their money difficulties, and he was the same upright gentleman +to all men. Honours increased, and at last the prophecy of Bow Bells +came true, and Sir Richard Whittington was made Lord Mayor of London. + +In that capacity he grew still in riches and fame; and when his first +term was expired, his admiring fellow-citizens, after a few years, made +him Lord Mayor for a second time, and when the second term was past, for +a third. His third mayoralty happened in 1419, when King Henry the +Fourth was on the throne of England; and then it was his honours rose to +their highest pitch, for he entertained at his own table the king and +queen of the land in such grand style that Henry said of him, "Never +king had such a subject." + +And never poor had such a friend. He never forgot the little forlorn +boy on Highgate Hill, and it was his delight to his latest day to make +the hearts of the needy glad, and show to all that it is not for money +nor grandeur but for an honest soul and a kind heart that a man is to be +loved and honoured by his fellows. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR. + +EDWARD THE BLACK PRINCE, THE BOY WHO WON A BATTLE. + +The sun rose brightly over the little village of Crecy on the morning of +Saturday, August 26, 1346. The golden corn was standing in the fields, +the cattle were quietly grazing in the meadows, the birds were +twittering in the woods, and in the still morning air rose the gentle +murmur of a joyous stream. Everything spoke of peace that bright summer +morning; little could one have dreamed that before that sun should have +set in the west the din and thunder of battle would wake the echoes of +those quiet woods, or that those sunny fields would be torn and +desolated by the angry tread of thousands of feet, or strewn with heaps +of dead or dying! Yet so it was to be. A large army was even then +halting in the cover of the forest over against the village, and far, +far away, if any one had listened, might have been heard, mingling with +the voices of the morning, the sound of a great host of horsemen and +soldiers advancing in hot pursuit, with now and then a trumpet blast +which echoed faintly among the hills. + +The English soldiers, as they rose from their beds of turf and grass, +heard those far-off sounds, and knew--who better?--they must fight like +men to-day or perish. + +So they sprang to their feet and seized their arms and armour, ready at +any instant to obey the summons to action. + +Suddenly along the ranks came the cry, "The king and the prince!" and +directly afterwards appeared the great King Edward the Third of England +riding slowly down the line of his army, and at his side a stately boy +of sixteen years, dressed in black armour and mounted on a black horse. +Never was king more honoured or king's son more loved than were these +two as they passed with cheery word and dauntless bearing among their +loyal and devoted soldiers. + +The king stopped when he had reached a spot from which a good portion of +his host could hear him, and raised his hand. + +Every man stood silent as he spoke. + +"My loyal subjects, we must meet to-day a host greater than we in +number, but not greater in valour. Fight, I charge you, for the honour +of your country. My son here leads the first division of my army. This +is his first battle, and sure I am he will quit himself like a man. Do +you the same, and God will give us the victory." + +With such encouraging and confident words the king addressed his men, +who cheered him and the brave prince long and loud. + +Then every man took his helmet and his bow, and waited for the enemy. + +The morning passed, but still no foe appeared. But the distant murmur +was now grown to a loud and ever-increasing din; and as they sat the +English could hear shouts and the neighing of horses and the tumult of +many voices, which betokened the near approach of the host of King +Philip of France. + +It was not till about three in the afternoon that the French army came +in sight of Crecy. They had had a rapid and fatiguing march since +daybreak, and were now in no condition, even with their vastly superior +numbers, to grapple with the refreshed and inspirited Englishmen. So +thought and said many of Philip's officers, and did their best to +persuade him to put off the encounter till next day. + +But however much Philip might have been inclined to adopt this good +advice, his army was in such a state of confusion and disorder, owing to +their rapid march, that they were quite unmanageable. When the officers +bade those in front to halt, those behind, shouting and impatient, still +pressed on, so much so that the king and all his nobles were carried +along with them into the very face of the English, who stood awaiting +the attack. + +When Philip saw the collision could not be put off, that the battle was +inevitable, he shouted loudly, "Bring forward the Genoese bowmen!" + +Now these bowmen, 15,000 in number, on whom Philip depended to scatter +and drive from the field the main portion of his enemy's force, were in +no sort of condition for beginning a battle after their long, fatiguing +march, and with the strings of their crossbows all loose with damp, and +with a dazzling sun now glaring full in their eyes. But Philip, too +confident to heed any such trifles, impatiently, nay, angrily, ordered +them to the front, and bade them shoot a volley against the English +archers, who stood opposite. + +So these foreigners stepped forward, and, as their manner was, gave +three leaps in the air, with the idea of terrifying the foes, and then +raised their bows to their cheeks, and let fly their arrows wildly in +the direction of the English. + +The trusty English archers, with the sun behind them, were not the men +to be intimidated by leapings into the air, nor panic-struck by a +discharge so ill-aimed that scarce one arrow in ten even grazed their +armour. + +Their reply to the Genoese was a sudden step forward, and a sharp, +determined twang of their bow-strings. Then the air was white with the +cloud of their arrows, and next moment the foremost ranks of the Genoese +were seen to drop like one man. + +This was enough for those already dispirited hirelings. They fell back +in panic disorder; they cut their bow-strings; they rushed among the +very feet of the horsemen that Philip, in his rage, had ordered "to ride +forward and cut down the cowardly villains!" Then the confusion of the +French army was complete. + +The English followed up their first advantage steadily and quickly. +Knight after knight of the French dropped from his horse, troop after +troop fell back, standard after standard tottered. + +Nowhere was the fight fiercer than where the young Black Prince led the +van of the English; and from a windmill on a near hill, the eager eyes +of King Edward watched with pride that figure clad in black armour ever +in the thick of the fight, and never halting an instant where danger or +duty called. + +It would be too long to tell of all the fighting that day. Philip, with +his great army, could not dislodge his compact foe from their position; +nor could he shelter his men from the deadly flight of their arrows. +Bravely he rushed himself into the fray to rally his men, but to no +avail. Everywhere they fell back before their invincible enemy. + +Once, indeed, it seemed as if his brave knights would surround and drive +back the division of which the boy prince was leader. An English noble +sent post-haste a message to Edward to say, "Send help; the prince is in +danger." + +But Edward knew more of battles than most of his officers. He replied +coolly-- + +"Is the prince slain?" + +"No." + +"Is he wounded?" + +"No." + +"Is he struck down?" + +"No." + +"Then go, tell him the battle he has won so far shall be his, and his +only. To-day he must win his own spurs." + +The words flew like wildfire among the English ranks, and our brave men +fought with renewed valour. + +That evening, as the sun was getting low in the west, Philip and his +host turned their backs on Crecy and fled--all that were left of them-- +anywhere to be out of the reach of the army of that invincible boy. +Horsemen and footmen, bag and baggage, they fled, with the English close +at their heels, and never drew rein till night and darkness put an end +to the pursuit. + +Meanwhile, there were rejoicing and thanksgiving on the field of Crecy. +The English king hastened from his post of observation, and, in the +presence of the whole army, embraced his brave son, and gave him the +honours of that glorious victory, wherein two kings, eleven princes, +1,200 knights, and 30,000 men had fallen. A sad price for glory! +"Sweet son," said he, "God give you good perseverance. You are my true +and valiant son, and have this day shown yourself worthy of a crown." + +And the brave boy bowed low before his father, and modestly disclaimed +the whole glory of the victory. + +Loud and long did the loyal knights and soldiers cheer their brave king +and their heroic prince; and when they saw the latter bind on his helmet +the plume of three ostrich feathers, worn by the most illustrious of his +slain foemen, John, King of Bohemia, with the noble motto _Ich dien_ ("I +serve") beneath, their enthusiasm knew no bounds. And the motto has +descended from prince to prince since then, and remains to this day as a +glorious memorial of this famous boy, who earned it by doing his duty in +the face of danger, and setting an example to all about him that "he who +serves rules." + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE. + +HENRY OF MONMOUTH, THE PRINCE WHOM A JUDGE SENT TO PRISON. + +A strange crowd thronged the Court of King's Bench one memorable day +four and a half centuries ago. Nobles and commoners alike jostled their +way into the sombre hall, every one intent on securing a good place, +some talking loudly, others arguing angrily, all highly excited and +impatient. It was evident that the trial about to take place was one of +unusual interest and extraordinary importance, for the gloomy court was +not used to be so crowded, and seldom attracted so mixed and so eager a +throng as that which now filled it. + +Suddenly a lull fell on the scene, heads were uncovered, the jostling +and wrangling ceased, and order prevailed. + +The judge, Lord Justice Gascoigne, entered and took his seat. He was a +grave, quiet man, but there was something in his look so dignified and +so firm, that it awed into respectful silence all within that place as +if by a spell. Then he said--"Bring hither the prisoner." + +All eyes turned now to the door by which the officer of the court went +out to obey the order. + +Presently it swung back, and there entered, between two jailors, a man +of dissipated appearance and reckless demeanour, whose flushed cheeks +and extravagant attire told only too plainly their own sad tale of +intemperance and debauchery. + +He regarded with an indifferent look judge, jury, and the crowd which +his trial had drawn together, and took his place at the bar rather with +the air of a man harassed and ill-used than of one guilty and overawed. + +The trial began. The story of the man's crime was a short and simple +one. He had been ringleader in a highway robbery lately committed, and +taken in the very act, with the booty upon his person. The evidence was +clear as daylight; no one attempted to dispute it or deny the +accusation. + +Was this, then, all that had brought the assembly together? The man was +of a name known to comparatively few of those present. His crime was an +ordinary felony, and his defence appeared to be hopeless. It was +evidently something else than this for which these onlookers had crowded +into court, and it was not long before their curiosity was satisfied. + +A witness stood forward to be questioned as to the associates of the +prisoner. He gave several names, and then stopped. + +"Have no others joined him in these expeditions?" inquired the judge. + +The witness hesitated. + +"The law requires that you shall tell the whole truth," calmly said the +judge. "Have no others joined the prisoner in these expeditions?" + +Then the truth came out. + +"The Prince Henry of Wales has borne the prisoner company on divers +occasions." + +What! A Prince of Wales, the coming King of England, implicated in a +disgraceful, discreditable highway robbery! Though the crowd had heard +of it already, a buzz of astonishment passed through their midst, as the +fact was thus clearly and indisputably established. + +"Was the prince concerned in the robbery for which the prisoner is now +charged?" + +Witness could not say. + +In reply to further questions, however, it was stated that the prince +frequently formed one of the party which indulged in these illegal +practices; that he was as lawless and desperate as the worst of them; +and that he was known to boast among his boon companions of his exploits +as a common highwayman, and to exhibit proudly the plunder he had thus +acquired. + +It was enough. The judge reminded the court that they were met to try, +not the prince, but the prisoner at the bar; and painful as the fact +was, it was no affair of theirs at that time to investigate the conduct +of another man, except in as far as it threw light on the present case. + +The good judge was not the only man in England who had watched the +dissipated career of the young prince with sorrow and concern. All to +whom the honour of their country was dear bewailed the wasted youth and +misused talents of this boy, whom his father's jealousy and illiberality +had driven into courses of riot and debauchery. They longed for the +time to come, ere it was too late, when the serious duties of the camp +or the throne would call out those better traits of his disposition +which at present lay hidden beneath what was discreditable and wretched. +They saw in him a nobility disfigured and a chivalry marred, still +capable of asserting itself, but which as yet every rebuke and every +warning had failed to arouse; and on this account the good people of +England sorrowed with a jealous sorrow over their "Prince Hal," and +looked forward with trembling to see how all this would end. + +But to return. The case against the prisoner was full and complete, and +nothing now remained but to pronounce him guilty, and sentence him to +the penalty his crime required. This duty the judge was proceeding to +discharge, when at the door of the court was heard a commotion. For a +moment the judge's words were drowned in the shuffling of feet and the +sound of voices; then the door opened, and in walked a youth, scarcely +more than a boy, tall, slender, and handsome, with flushed cheeks and +wild eye, fashionably dressed, with a sword at his side and a plumed hat +upon his head. + +"The Prince of Wales!" broke from the lips of a score of onlookers, as +they recognised in that youth the heir to the crown, towards whose +delinquencies their thoughts had that moment been turned. + +He advanced gaily and recklessly to the bench, the crowd falling back on +either side to give him passage. As he passed the bar at which the +prisoner stood awaiting his sentence, he stopped, and, nodding +familiarly, exclaimed-- + +"What ho, comrade! I heard thou wast in trouble, and have come myself +to ease thee; so cheer up, lad!" Then approaching the judge, he said, +"Good Master Gascoigne, your prisoner is a friend of mine, too gay a +comrade to languish in bonds for a trifling scrape like this. Spare +yourself, therefore, further pains on his account, and come, solace your +gravity with a party of boon companions who assemble to-night to +celebrate their hero's emancipation from your clutches!" + +Gravely and sorrowfully the judge regarded the prince who thus +flippantly defied the law of which he was the guardian, but his face was +firm and his voice authoritative as he replied-- + +"Prince, my duty is to defend the laws of the king, your father, not to +break them. As you entered, I was passing the sentence of imprisonment +on the prisoner which he has merited by his evil deeds. That sentence +must now be put in force." + +Prince Henry's face clouded, and he scowled as he exclaimed-- + +"What I would you defy the Prince of Wales to his very face? Liberate +my comrade, I charge you, at once, or it shall be the worse for you!" + +"Be warned, prince. They who obstruct the law incur the penalties of +the law, be they princes or peasants. Officers, remove the prisoner." + +Henry flushed angrily, and his eyes glared like fire. Advancing a step, +he laid his hand on the hilt of his sword, and drew it from its +scabbard. + +The judge rose quietly to his feet, and laying his hand gently on the +foolish boy's shoulder, said, in a voice calm and clear, which all could +hear-- + +"Henry, Prince of Wales, I arrest thee in the name of the king, your +father, whose laws you have defied, and whose court you have insulted! +Officers, remove the prince in custody." + +There was a strange and solemn pause as the judge resumed his seat, and +all eyes turned on Henry. The firmness of the judge had touched the +right chord at last. The sword dropped back into its sheath, the scowl +of passion gave place to the flush of shame, the wild eyes sought the +ground, and the haughty head hung down in confusion. Without a word he +submitted to the officers of the court, and accompanied them to the +place of his confinement, humble and repentant. + +Years after this a gay throng of courtiers were assembled at court to do +homage to King Henry the Fifth of England on his accession to the +throne. There were there princes and nobles and ladies--some the +friends of the late king, some the friends of the new. In the faces of +not a few of the former might be detected traces of uneasiness and +anxiety; while the latter talked and looked, for the most part, +confident and triumphant. It was easy to guess the cause of this +strange variety of feeling. The gay young reveller was now king. There +were some there who had made no secret of their disapproval of his wild +courses as a prince. How would he regard them now the crown was on his +head? Others there were who had borne him company in his excesses, +drinking from the same bowl, and sharing in all the lawlessness of his +lawless youth. Was not the time for their advancement come, now that +the fountain of honour was in the person of their own boon companion and +comrade? + +Amid waving and acclamation, the young king stepped into the presence +chamber to receive the homage of his subjects. + +In general appearance he was not much changed from the tall, handsome +youth who, a few years ago, had openly defied the law and insulted its +dignity; but the more serious expression of his face, and the more +sedate pose of his lips, betokened an inward change of no small +importance. And now that the whole court was eagerly looking for some +indication of his conduct under the new honours and duties which had +this day devolved upon him, he was not long in satisfying their +curiosity in a decided and significant manner. + +Glancing for a moment among the gay throng which surrounded him, his eye +lit on a grave, dignified man, with clear eye and firm mouth, now +advanced in years, and clad in the robes of a judge. + +King Henry stepped towards him, and, with a friendly smile, took him by +the hand. + +"Good Master Gascoigne," he said, "I know you of old. What my father +said of you, let me say too, in the hearing of all these people. _Happy +is the king that has such a man who dares to execute justice even on the +king's son_. You did well by me when you once committed me to prison; +you shall still be my councillor and the trusted guardian of my laws." + +The judge bowed low as he replied, "My lord, your father added yet +another word to that you have yourself recalled. _Happy_, said he, _the +king that has such a son, who will submit even his princely self to the +hand of justice_." + +And a tear stood in the grave man's eye as he kissed the hand of him who +had once been his prisoner, but was now his king and his friend. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY SIX. + +LAMBERT SIMNEL, THE BAKER'S BOY WHO PRETENDED TO BE A KING. + +A scene of unwonted excitement was being enacted in Dublin. The streets +were thronged with people, the houses were gay with flags, soldiers +lined the paths, and nobles in their grand carriages went by in +procession. The common folk shouted till they were hoarse, and pressed +forward on every hand towards the great church of the city, to witness +the ceremony which was taking place there. + +Whence was all this excitement? How came the Irish capital into such a +state of festivity and holiday-making? The story is a short one and a +strange. + +Some weeks before, a man in the dress of a priest, accompanied by a +good-looking boy, had landed in Dublin, and made his way to the +residence of the governor of the place, with whom he sought an +interview. On being admitted, he much astonished that nobleman by the +tale he told. + +It was well known that Richard the Third had during his lifetime shut up +in prison the young Earl of Warwick, his nephew, whose title to the +crown was better than his own. The cruel uncle, who seemed unable to +endure the presence of any of those whom he had so basely robbed of +their inheritance, had already, as is well known, murdered those other +two nephews whose claims were most prominent and unmistakable. The +young Earl of Warwick, however, was allowed to keep his life, but +remained a close prisoner in a castle in Yorkshire. + +When Henry the Seventh took the crown from Richard and became king, he +was by no means disposed to liberate a prince who was clearly nearer to +the throne than himself. So he had him removed from Yorkshire to the +Tower of London, where he remained almost forgotten amid the bustle of +coronation festivities of the new king. + +Now the story told by the priest was that this prince had succeeded in +escaping from the Tower, and indeed was none other than the lad who now +stood at his side, having made his way to Ireland in the company of his +tutor and friend, to beg the aid of the Governor of Dublin in an effort +to recover his lawful inheritance. + +The Earl of Kildare (that was the governor's name) looked in +astonishment from one to the other, and bade them repeat their story, +asking the boy many questions about his childhood and the companions of +his youth, which the latter answered so glibly and unhesitatingly that +the foolish governor was fully persuaded this was no other than the +rightful King of England. + +He caused the lad to be treated with all the honour due to royalty; he +gave him a guard of soldiers, he showed him to the populace, who +welcomed him with enthusiasm, and he set to work to organise an army +which should follow to enforce his claim to the throne of England. + +The boy took all this sudden glory in a half-bewildered manner, but +adhered so correctly to his plausible story that none of those generous +Irish folk doubted that he was any other than the disinherited prince he +professed to be. + +Had they only known that the youth about whom they were so enthusiastic +was no better than a baker's son, named Lambert Simnel, they might have +been less pleased. + +Well, in due time it was decided to crown the new king with all honour. +And this was the occasion about which, as we have seen, Dublin was in +such a state of festivity and holiday. + +The boy was conducted with great pomp to church, amid the shouts of the +people, and there crowned with a diadem taken from a statue of the +Virgin Mary. Afterwards, according to custom, he was borne on the +shoulders of a huge Irish chieftain back to the castle, where he lived +as a king for some time. + +All this while the real Earl of Warwick was safe in the Tower, and now +when the rumour of Lambert Simnel's doings in Ireland reached King +Henry, he had him brought out from his prison and exhibited in public, +so that every one might be convinced of the imposture of the boy who set +himself up to be the same person. + +But though the people of England were thus kept from being deceived, as +the Irish had been, there were a good many of them who heartily disliked +King Henry, and were ready to join in any movement against him, +irrespective of right or wrong. The consequence was, Lambert Simnel--or +rather the people who instigated him in his falsehood--found they might +count on a fair amount of support even from those who discredited their +story; and this encouraged them to attempt an invasion of England, and +venture their scheme on the field of battle. So, with a force of about +8,000 men, they landed in Lancashire. There is no need to tell the +result of this expedition. After many disappointments occasioned by the +reluctance of the people to join them, they encountered the king's army +near Newark, and after a desperate battle were defeated, and lost all +their leaders. Lambert Simnel and the priest were taken prisoners, and +for a time there was an end of this silly attempt to deceive the nation. + +In the following years of Henry's reign, any one entering the royal +kitchens might have observed a boy, meanly dressed, following his +occupation as a turnspit; and that boy, had he felt disposed to give you +his history, would have told you how once upon a time he was crowned a +king, and lived in a palace, how nobles bowed the knee before him, and +troops fought at his bidding. He would have told how people had hailed +him as King Edward of England, and rushed along beside his carriage, +eager to catch so much as a glance from his eye. And then he would go +on to tell how all this was because designing men had put into his head +foolish ambitions, and taught him to repeat a likely-looking story. And +if one had questioned him further, doubtless he would have confessed +that he was happier far now as a humble turnspit than ever he had been +as a sham king, and would have warned one sadly that cheats never +prosper, however successful they may seem for a time; and that +contentment with one's lot, humble though it be, brings with it rewards +infinitely greater than riches or power wrongly acquired. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN. + +EDWARD AND RICHARD PLANTAGENET, THE BOYS WHO WERE MURDERED IN THE TOWER. + +A horseman stood at the gate of the Tower of London, and demanded +entrance in the name of the king, Richard Iii. + +On hearing the summons, and the authority claimed by the stranger, the +governor, Sir Thomas Brackenbury, directed that he should be admitted, +and deliver his message. + +"Read this," said the man, handing a missive sealed with the royal +seal. + +Sir Thomas read the document hastily, and as he read his face grew +troubled. For a long time he was silent; then addressing the king's +messenger, he said-- + +"Know you the contents of this letter?" + +"How should I know?" replied the other evasively. + +"The king directs me here," said Sir Thomas, "to do a deed horrible and +unworthy of a man. He demands that I should rid him of the two lads now +lying in this Tower in my custody." + +"And what of that?" said the king's messenger. "Is it not necessary to +the country's peace? And will _you_, Sir Thomas, render so base an +ingratitude for the favours you have received at the king's hands by +refusing him this service?" + +"Not even with the sanction of a king will Thomas Brackenbury hire +himself out as a butcher. My office and all I have," he added, "I hold +at His Majesty's pleasure. He may take them from me if he will, but my +hands shall at least stay free from innocent blood!" + +With that he bade the messenger return to his master and deliver his +reply. + +When Richard, away in Gloucestershire, heard of the refusal of the +Governor of the Tower to execute his commands, he was very wroth, and +vowed he would yet carry out his cruel purpose with regard to his two +helpless nephews. + +These two boys, the sons of Edward the Fourth, were the principal +obstacles to Richard's undisturbed possession of the throne he had +usurped. The elder of them, a boy of thirteen, had already been crowned +as Edward the Fifth, but he was a king in name only. Scarcely had the +coronation taken place when his bad uncle, under the pretence of +offering his protection, got him into his power, and shut him up, with +his young brother Richard, in the Tower, while he himself plotted for +the crown to which he had neither right nor title. + +How he succeeded in his evil schemes history has recorded. + +By dint of falsehood and cunning he contrived to make himself +acknowledged king by an unwilling people; and then, when the height of +his ambition had been attained, he could not rest till those whom he had +so shamefully robbed of their inheritance were out of his path. + +Therefore it was he sent his messenger to Sir Robert Brackenbury. + +Foiled in his design of making this officer the instrument of his base +scheme, he summoned to his presence Sir James Tyrrel, a man of reckless +character, ready for whatever might bring him profit or preferment; and +to him he confided his wishes. + +That same day Tyrrel started for London, armed with a warrant entrusting +him with the Governorship of the Tower for one day, during which Sir +Robert Brackenbury was to hand over the fortress and all it contained to +his keeping. + +The brave knight had nothing for it but to obey this order, though he +well knew its meaning, and could foretell only too readily its result. + +In a lofty room of that gloomy fortress, that same summer evening, the +two hapless brothers were sitting, little dreaming of the fate so nearly +approaching. + +The young king had indeed for some time past seemed to entertain a vague +foreboding that he would never again breathe the free air outside his +prison. He had grown melancholy, and the buoyant spirits of youth had +given place to a listlessness and heaviness strangely out of keeping +with his tender years. He cared neither for talk nor exercise, and +neglected both food and dress. His brother, two years younger than +himself, was of a more hopeful demeanour, perhaps realising less fully +the hardships and dangers of their present imprisonment. As they sat +this evening in their lonely chamber, he tried to rally his elder +brother from his melancholy. + +"Look not so black, brother; we shall soon be free. Why should we give +up hope?" + +The young king answered nothing, and apparently did not heed his +brother's words. + +"Nay," persisted the latter, "should we not be glad our lives are spared +us, and that our imprisonment is made easy by the care of good Sir +Robert, our governor?" + +Still Edward remained absorbed in his own gloomy reflections, and the +younger lad, thus foiled in his efforts at cheerfulness, became silent +too, and sad, and so continued till a warder entered their chamber with +food, and remained to attend them to bed. + +They tasted little that evening, for the shadow of what was to come +seemed already to have crept over their spirits. + +"Will Sir Robert come to see us, as is his wont, before we retire to +rest?" inquired Richard of the warder. + +"Sir Robert is not now Governor of the Tower," curtly replied the man. + +Now indeed they felt themselves utterly friendless, and as they crept to +their bed they clung one to the other, in all the loneliness of despair. + +Then the warder took his leave, and they heard the key turn in the lock +behind him, and counted his footsteps as he descended the stairs. + +Presently sleep mercifully fell upon their weary spirits, and closed +their weeping eyes with her gentle touch. + +At dead of night three men stole up the winding staircase that led to +their chamber, armed, and carrying a light. The leader of these was Sir +James Tyrrel, and his evil-looking companions were the men he had hired +to carry out the cruel order of the king. The key turned in the door, +and they entered the apartment. + +It was a sight to touch any heart less hard than those of the three +villains who now witnessed it, to see those two innocent boys sleeping +peacefully in each other's arms, dreaming perhaps of liberty, and +forgetting the sorrow which had left its traces even yet on their closed +eyes. But to Tyrrel and his two assassins, Forest and Deighton, the +spectacle suggested neither pity nor remorse. + +At a signal from Tyrrel, who remained outside the room while the deed +was being done, the ruffians snatched the pillows from under the heads +of the sleepers, and ere they could either resist or cry out the poor +lads were stifled beneath their own bedclothes, and so perished. + +Then these two murderers called to Tyrrel to enter and look on their +work, and bear witness that the king's command had been faithfully +executed. + +The cup of Richard's wickedness was now full. He concealed for some +time the fate of his two victims, and few people knew what had become of +their rightful king and his brother. But the vengeance of Heaven fell +on the cruel uncle speedily and terribly. His own favourite son died, +his family turned against him, his people rebelled: the kingdom so +evilly gained was taken from him, and he himself, after months of +remorse, and fear, and gathering misfortunes, was slain in battle, +lamented by none, and hated by all. + +Two centuries later, in the reign of King Charles the Second, some +workmen, digging in the Tower, discovered under the stairs leading to +the chapel of the White Tower a box containing the bones of two +children, corresponding to the ages of the murdered princes. These were +found to be without doubt their remains, and in a quiet comer of +Westminster Abbey, whither they were removed, a simple memorial now +marks their last resting-place, and records the fact of their cruel +murder by perhaps the worst king who ever sat upon the throne of +England. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT. + +EDWARD OF LANCASTER, THE BOY WHOSE LIFE A ROBBER SAVED. + +A terrible scene might have been witnessed near the small town of +Hexham, in Northumberland, one May afternoon in the year 1464. A great +battle had just been fought and won. Civil war, with all its hideous +accompaniments, had laid desolate those fair fields where once cattle +were wont to browse and peasants to follow their peaceful toil. But now +all was confusion and tumult. On the ground in heaps lay men and +horses, dead and dying--the vanquished were crying for mercy, the +victors were shouting for vengeance. The country for miles round was +alive with fugitives and their pursuers. Women, children, and old men, +as well as soldiers, joined in that panic flight; and shrieks, and +shouts, and groans told only too plainly of the slaughter and terror of +the pursuit. To slaughter the victors added robbery and outrage. Far +and wide they scoured the country in quest of victims and booty; houses +were burned, villages were desolated, fields were laid bare, nor till +night mercifully fell over the land did that scene of terror end. War +is indeed a terrible scourge, and civil war the most terrible of all. + +But while many of those who pursued did so in a blind thirst after +plunder and blood, there were others more determined in their going, +whose object was rather to capture than to slay, who passed without +heeding the common fugitives, and gave chase only to such parties as +seemed to be covering the flight of persons of distinction from the +scene of their disaster. Of such parties one was known to contain the +King of England, nobles, and officers, whom the victors desired to make +captive and get into their power; while it was also rumoured that the +Queen herself, with her youthful son, was among the fugitives. The +soldiers of the Duke of York would indeed have been elated, had they +succeeded in getting into their power the king and his son, whose throne +they had seized for their own leader, and so they followed hard after +the flying host in all directions. + +That same evening, as the sun was sinking, and the distant sounds of +battle were growing faint in the air, a tall, stately woman, leading by +the hand a boy of scarcely six years, walked hastily in the direction of +a wood which skirted the banks of the River Tyne. It was evident from +her dress and the jewels she wore that she was a lady of no ordinary +importance, and a certain imperious look in her worn face seemed to +suggest that she was one of those more used to ruling than obeying, to +receiving honour rather than rendering it. The boy who accompanied her +was also richly dressed, and reflected in his handsome face the proud +nature of his mother, as this lady seemed to be. Just at present, +however, his expression was one of terror. He clung eagerly to the hand +of his protectress, and once and again cast a frightened look behind, as +if expecting to get sight of the pursuers, from whose clutches they were +even now seeking shelter. + +"Mother," said the lad, as they entered the wood, and for the first time +abated somewhat of their hurried progress, "I am weary and hungry. May +we not rest here awhile and eat something?" + +"My child," said the lady, "there is naught here to eat, and we must go +farther ere we are safe from our cruel foes." + +So they went on, deep into the gloomy shade of the wood, till they were +far beyond the sight of the outer world, and where the rays of the +setting sun scarce gave the feeblest light. + +"Mother," said the boy presently, "this is an awful place; we shall die +here." + +"Fear not, my child," replied the lady bravely. "Heaven will protect us +when none else can." + +"But do not robbers abound in these woods? Have I not heard you say +so?" + +"It is true; but they will not hurt thee or me. Remember whose son thou +art." + +"Ay, I am the king's son; but I would fain have a morsel to eat." + +Just then there was a crackling among the underwood, and a sound of +voices approaching the spot. + +The boy clutched his mother's hand and trembled. She stood pale and +motionless. + +The sound of feet grew nearer, and presently the voices of those who +spoke became distinguishable. + +"Some will be sure to find their way to this wood," said one. + +"I hope such as do may have full purses," said another. "I have taken +nothing these three days." + +"Ay, truly, and these wars have made folk so poor, they are not worth +robbing when we do find them." + +"Soft! methought I heard a voice!" suddenly said one of the speakers. + +The band halted and listened, and then, hearing nothing, pushed on. + +"It's as likely as not we might fall in with royalty itself this night, +for I hear the king's rout has been complete at Hexham." + +"And more than that, he has fled from the field in one direction, while +his queen and son have sought another!" + +"Hist!" again cried he who had spoken before. "I certainly heard a +voice. This way, my men; follow me." + +And advancing at as rapid a pace as the wooded ground allowed of, he +conducted them in the direction of the voices. Suddenly they emerged +into a clearing, where confronted them the lady and her boy. + +Loud laughed these greedy robbers, for they spied the jewels on the +lady's person and the rich robes on her and her son. + +Like cowardly ruffians, as _they_ were, they rushed forward, heedless of +the sex or age of their victims, and threatening to slay them should +they resist, tore away jewels, and gold, and silk--all that was of +value, roughly handling the two in so doing, and meeting every attempt +to speak or resist with the menace of a drawn sword. + +It was a rich plunder, for the lady's jewels were large and precious, +and, besides, she bore about her no small quantity of gold and other +treasure. When they had taken all they could lay their wicked hands on, +the men fell to dividing among themselves their ill-gotten booty, +glorying as they did so in their crime, and laughing brutally at the +expense of their two defenceless victims. + +As might be supposed, the task of dividing the spoil was one not quietly +accomplished. The robbers began to argue as to the division, and from +arguing they went on to disputing, and from disputing they came to +fighting, in the midst of which the lady and her boy took an opportunity +to escape unobserved into the thicket, and hasten as best they might +from the reach of their plunderers. + +Thus they fled, robbed and penniless, exposed to the cold evening air, +famishing for lack of food, smarting under insult and wrong, and not +knowing where next to turn for shelter or safety. + +The courage of the lady, hitherto so conspicuous, now fairly gave way. +She sat down on the ground, and taking her boy to her arms, abandoned +herself to a flood of tears. "My son," she cried, "better if we had +died by the sword of our enemies, than die a shameful death in these +woods! Alas! was ever woman so miserable as I?" + +"But, mother," said the boy, who now in turn took upon him the office of +comforter, "the robbers left us with our lives, and we shall surely find +some food here. Cheer up, mother; did you not tell me God would take +care of us when no one else could?" + +The mother's only answer was to take her boy in a closer embrace and +kiss him passionately. + +Suddenly there appeared before them a man of fierce aspect, holding in +his hand a drawn sword. + +Escape was impossible; robbed as they already were, they had nothing but +their lives to offer to this wild ruffian. And would he scruple to +murder where he could not rob? + +The courage of the lady, in this desperate case, returned as quickly as +it had lately deserted her. + +A sudden resolution gleamed in her face; then, rising majestically to +her feet, and taking by the hand her trembling boy, she advanced proud +and stately towards the robber. The man halted wonderingly. There was +something in the imperious bearing of this tall, beautiful lady-- +something in the appealing looks of the gallant boy--which for a moment +cowed his lawless resolve, and made him hesitate. + +Noticing this, the lady advanced close to him, and said in clear, +majestic tones,-- + +"Behold, my friend, I commit to your care the safety of your king's +son!" + +The man started back in astonishment, the sword dropped from his hand, +and a look, half of alarm, half of perplexity, took possession of his +face. + +Then he fell on one knee, and respectfully bowed almost to the earth. + +"Art thou, then, our good Queen Margaret?" + +"I am she." + +"And this youth, is he indeed our royal master's son?" + +"Even so." + +Once more the wild man bowed low. Then the queen bade him arise, told +him how she and the young prince had come into the plight, and ended by +asking if he could give them food and shelter for a short time. + +"All I have is your majesty's," said the man, "even my life. I will at +once conduct you to my humble dwelling." And he lifted the weary boy +tenderly in his arms, and led the queen to his cottage in the wood, +where they got both food and shelter, and every care and attention from +the robber's good wife. + +"Mother," said the young prince that night, "thou saidst right, that +Heaven would protect us." + +"Ay, my boy, and will still protect us!" + +For some days they rested at the cottage, tended with endless care by +the loyal robber and his wife, until the pursuit from the battle of +Hexham was over. Then, with the aid of her protector, the queen made +her way to the coast, where a vessel waited to convey her and the prince +to Flanders. Thus, for a time they escaped from all their dangers. Had +the young prince lived to become King of England, we may be sure that +the kind act of the robber would not have been suffered to die +unrewarded. But, alas! Edward of Lancaster was never King of England. + +The Wars of the Roses, as we all know, resulted in the utter defeat of +the young prince's party. He was thirteen years old when the rival +Houses of York and Lancaster fought their twelfth battle in the meadow +at Tewkesbury. On that occasion Edward fought bravely in his own cause, +but he and his followers were completely routed by the troops of King +Edward the Fourth. Flying from the field of battle, he was arrested and +brought before the young king. + +"How dared you come here?" wrathfully inquired the usurper. + +"To recover my father's crown and my own inheritance," boldly replied +the prince. + +Whereat, the history says, Edward struck at him with his iron gauntlet, +and his attendants fell upon him and slew him with their swords. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY NINE. + +EDWARD THE SIXTH, THE GOOD KING OF ENGLAND. + +It was a strange moment in the history of England when the great King +Henry the Eighth. ("Bluff King Hal," as his subjects called him) +breathed his last. However popular he may have been on account of his +courage and energy, he possessed vices which must always withhold from +him the name of a _good_ king, and which, in fact, rendered his reign a +continuous scene of cruelty and oppression. People were sick of hearing +of the king and his wives--how he had beheaded one, and put away +another, and ill-treated another, for no reason at all but his own +selfish caprice. And men trembled for their lives when they remembered +how Wolsey, and More, and Cromwell, and others had been sacrificed to +the whimsical temper of this tyrannical sovereign. England, in fact, +was tired out when Henry the Eighth died. + +It was, at any rate, a change for them to find that their new king was +in every respect the opposite of his father. Instead of the burly, hot- +headed, self-willed, cruel Henry, they were now to be ruled by a frail, +delicate, mild boy of nine, inheriting neither his father's vices nor +his faults, and resembling him as little in mind as in body. But the +chief difference of all was this--that this boy-king was _good_. + +A _good_ King of England. It was indeed and, alas! a novelty. How +many, counting back to the day when the country first knew a ruler, +could be so described? Had not the sceptre of England passed, almost +without exception, down a line of usurpers, murderers, robbers, and +butchers, and was it not a fact that the few kings who had not been +knaves had been merely fools? + +But now England had a good king and a clever king, what might not be +expected of him? + +On the day of his coronation all sorts of rumours were afloat respecting +young Edward. Boy though he was, he was a scholar, and wrote letters in +Latin. Young in years, he was mature in thought, he was a staunch +Protestant, an earnest Christian. Tudor though he was, he loved peace, +and had no pleasure in the sufferings of others. Was ever such a king? + +"Alas," said some one, "that he is but a boy!" + +The sight which presented itself within the walls of that gloomy +fortress, the Tower of London, on the day of Edward the Sixth's +proclamation, was an impressive one. Amidst a crowd of bishops and +nobles, who bowed low as he advanced, the pale boy-king came forward to +receive the homage of his new subjects. + +Surely, thought some, as they looked, that little head is not fitted to +the wearing of an irksome crown. But, for the most part, the crowd +cheered, and shouted, "God save the king!" and not one was there who +found it in his heart to wish young Edward Tudor ill. + +The papist ceremony which had always before accompanied the coronation +of English kings was now for the first time dispensed with. With joy +the people heard good old Archbishop Cranmer urge the new king to see +God truly worshipped, according to the doctrines of the Reformed +religion; and with joy they heard the boy declare before them all his +intention to rule his country according to the rules of God's Word and +the Protestant faith. + +Still, as we have said, many in the midst of their joy sighed as they +looked at the frail boy, and wondered how so young a head would bear up +amid all the perils and dangers of kingship; and well they might pity +him. + +The reign of Edward the Sixth is chiefly a history of the acts of his +uncle, the Duke of Somerset, the Protector, and of the dissensions which +embittered the government of that nobleman, leading finally to his death +on the scaffold. Of Edward himself we do not hear much. We have +occasional glimpses of him at his studies, under tutors chosen and +superintended by Cranmer; but he does not seem to have taken much part-- +how could a boy of his age be expected to do so?--in the active duty of +governing. + +We know that such acts as the removal of popish restrictions from the +clergy and people, the publication of the Book of Common Prayer, and the +discouragement of all idolatrous and superstitious practices, had his +hearty sympathy. In these and in such-like useful measures he +interested himself, but as for the troubles and commotions of his reign, +he had nothing to do with them. + +His nobles, on the other hand, were by no means so passive. They made +war in the king's name on Scotland, to capture a baby-wife for the poor +boy, who was scarcely in his teens; they--accused and impeached one +another; they brought their death warrants to Edward to sign, whether he +liked or no (and he never did like); they persecuted those who disagreed +with them; they goaded the common people into rebellion; they schemed +how they should make their own fortunes after the young invalid was +dead, and to that end worked upon his weakness and his timidity actually +to disinherit his own sisters. + +In the midst of all this disturbance, and scheming, and distress, we can +picture the poor, confused, sickly boy seeking refuge in his books, +shrinking from the angry bustle of the court, and spending his days with +his grave tutors in quiet study. Reluctantly, once and again, he was +forced to come out from his retreat to give the sanction of his +authority to some act of his ambitious nobles. With what trembling hand +would he sign the death warrants they presented! with what weariness +would he listen to their wrangles and accusations! with what distress +would he hear discussions as to who was to wear that crown of his when +he himself should be in the grave! + +That time was not long in coming. He was not fifteen when an attack of +smallpox laid him on his deathbed; and while all the court was busy +plotting and counterplotting as to the disposal of the crown, the poor +boy-king lay there almost neglected, or watched only by those who waited +the moment of his death with impatience. As the disease took deeper and +fatal hold of him, all forsook him save an incompetent quack nurse; and +how far she may have helped on the end no one can tell. + +But for him death was only a happy release from a world of suffering. A +few hours before his end he was heard to speak something; and those who +listened discovered that the boy, thinking himself alone, was praying. +One has recorded those closing words of that strange, sad life: "Lord, +deliver me out of this wretched and miserable life, and take me among +Thy chosen: howbeit not my will, but Thine be done. Lord, I commit my +spirit to Thee. O Lord, Thou knowest how happy it were for me to be +with Thee; yet, for the sake of Thy chosen, send me life and health, +that I may truly serve Thee. O my Lord God, bless Thy people, and save +Thine inheritance. O Lord God, save Thy chosen people of England. O my +Lord God, defend this realm from papistry, and maintain Thy true +religion, that I and my people may praise Thy holy name, for Thy Son +Jesus Christ's sake." + +And with these words on his lips, and these prayers for England in his +heart, the good young king died. Who knows if by his piety and his +prayers he may not have brought more blessing to his country than many a +battle and many a law of less Godfearing monarchs? + +What he would have done for England had he been spared to manhood, it is +not possible to say. A diary which he kept during his life affords +abundant proof that even at his tender age he possessed not a little of +the sagacity and knowledge necessary to good kingship; and a manhood of +matured piety and wisdom might have materially altered the course of +events in the history of England of that time. + +One boon at least he has left behind him, besides his unsullied name and +example. Scattered about the counties of England are not a few schools +which bear his name. It is possible that a good many of my readers are +to be found among the scholars of the Bluecoat School, and of the King +Edward Grammar Schools in various parts of the country. They, at least, +will understand the gratitude which this generation owes to the good +young king who so materially advanced the learning of which he himself +was so fond, by the establishment of these schools. He was one of the +few of his day who saw that the glory of a country consists not in its +armies and exchequers, but in the religious and moral enlightenment of +its people; and to that glory his own life was, and remains still, a +noble contribution. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY. + +HENRY STUART, THE BOY WHOM A NATION LOVED. + +In the courtyard of a Scottish castle, over which floated the royal +banner, a curious scene might have been witnessed one morning nearly +three centuries ago. The central figures of the scene were a horse and +a boy, and the attendant crowd of courtiers, grooms, lackeys; while from +an open window, before which every one in passing bowed low, an +ungainly-looking man watched what was going on with a strangely anxious +excitement. The horse was saddled and bridled, but, with an ominous +roll of his eyes, and a savage expansion of his nostrils, which bespoke +only too plainly his fierce temper, defied every attempt on the part of +the grooms to hold him steady. The boy, scarcely in his teens, was +evidently a lad of distinction, as might be inferred from his gallant +dress, and the deferential demeanour of those who now advanced, and +endeavoured to dissuade him from a rash and perilous adventure. + +"Beware, my lord," said one, "how you peril your life in this freak!" + +"The animal," said another, "has never yet been ridden. See how even +now he nearly pulls the arms of the grooms from their sockets." + +"Lad," cried the ungainly man from the window, "dinna be a fool, I tell +ye! Let the beast be." + +But the boy laughed gaily at them all. + +"Such a fuss about an ordinary horse! Let him go, men, and leave him to +me." + +And he advanced and boldly took the rein, which the grooms unwillingly +relinquished. + +There was something about the resolute bearing of the boy which for a +moment seemed to impress the horse himself, for, pricking his ears and +rolling his bloodshot eyes upon him, he desisted from his struggles and +stood still. + +The lad put out a hand and patted his neck, and in doing so secured a +firm clutch of the mane in his hand; the next instant his foot was in +the stirrup, and the next he had vaulted into the saddle, before the +horse had recovered from his astonishment. + +Once in, no effort of the untamed beast could succeed in ousting him +from his seat. In vain it reared and plunged; in vain it pulled and +careered round the yard; he stuck to his seat as if he grew there, and +with cool eye and quiet smile seemed even to enjoy his position. After +many unavailing efforts the horse seemed to yield his vicious will to +the stronger will of his rider, and then the boy, lashing him into a +gallop, fairly put him through his paces before all the spectators, and +finally walked him quietly up to the window at which the ungainly man, +trembling, and with tears in his eyes, had all the while watched his +exploit. Here he halted, and beckoning to his attendants, dismounted +and gave back the horse to their charge, saying as he did so-- + +"How long shall I continue a child in your opinion?" + +Such is one of the recorded characteristic anecdotes of Prince Henry +Stuart, eldest son of James the First of England. + +Henry was only nine years old when a certain event entirely changed the +prospects and circumstances of his early home. Instead of being the +poor king of a poverty-stricken country, his father suddenly became +monarch of one of the richest and most powerful countries of Europe. In +other words, on the death of Queen Elizabeth James the Sixth of Scotland +found himself James the First of England. + +He came to the throne amid the mingled joy and misgivings of his new +subjects. How soon he destroyed the one and confirmed the other, +history has recorded, and we are not going to dwell upon that here, +except to say that one of the few redeeming points about James the First +in the eyes of the people was that he had a son who promised to make up +by his virtues for all the vice and silliness of his father. They could +endure the whims of their ill-conditioned king all the better for +knowing that after him was to come a prince after their own heart, one +of English sympathies and English instincts; one who even as a boy had +won their hearts by his pluck, his frankness, and his wit, and who, as +he grew up, developed into a manhood as vigorous and noble as that of +his father was mean and imbecile. + +Henry was, as we have said, emphatically an English boy--not in birth, +for his father was Scotch and his mother a Dane--but in every other +respect in which an English boy has a distinctive character. He was +brave and honest, and merry and generous; his delight was in athletic +exercise and manly sports; the anecdote we have quoted will testify to +his skill and pluck. We read of him living at one time at Richmond, and +swimming daily in the Thames; of his riding more than 100 miles in one +day; of his hunting, and tennis playing, and shooting. The people could +not fail to love one who so thoroughly entered into their sports, or to +admire him all the more for his proficiency in them. + +But, unlike some boys, Henry did not cultivate physical exercises at the +expense of his mind. Many stories are related of his wit and his +learning. A joke at his expense was generally a dangerous adventure, +for he always got the best at an exchange of wit. Among his friends +were some of the greatest and best men of the day, notably Raleigh; and +in such society the lad could not fail to grow up imbued with principles +of wisdom and honour, which would go far to qualify him for the position +he expected to hold. + +His ambition was to enter upon a military career, such as those in which +so many of his predecessors had distinguished themselves. In this he +received more encouragement from the people than from his own timid +father, who told him his brother Charles would make a better king than +he, unless Henry spent more time at his books and less at his pike and +his bow. The people, on the other hand, were constantly comparing their +young prince with the great Henry the Fifth, the hero of Agincourt, and +predicting of him as famous deeds as those recorded of his illustrious +namesake. However, as it happened, there was no war into which the +young soldier could enter at that time, so that he had to content +himself with martial exercises and contests at home, which, though not +so much to his own taste, made him no less popular with his father's +subjects. + +In Henry Stuart the old school of chivalry had nearly its last +representative. The knightly Kings of England had given place, after +the Wars of the Roses, to sovereigns whose strength lay more in the +council chamber than on the field of battle; but now, after a long +interval, the old dying spirit flickered up once more in the person of +this boy. Once again, after many, many years, the court went to witness +a tournament, when in the tiltyard of Whitehall, before king and queen, +and lords and ladies, and ambassadors, the Prince of Wales at the head +of six young nobles defended the lists against all comers. There is +something melancholy about the record--the day for such scenes had gone +by, and its spirit had departed from the nation. The boy had his sport +and his honestly earned applause; but when it was all over the old +chivalry returned to the grave, never to appear again. + +Henry himself only too soon, alas! sunk into that grave also. The +closing years of his life leave many a pleasing trace of kindness, and +justice, and earnestness. The boy was no mere boisterous schoolboy. He +pondered and prepared himself for what he thought was his path in life; +he foresaw its responsibilities, and he faced its duties, and set +himself like a man to bear his part as a true king should. + +It was not to be. Suddenly his health failed him--the tall boy had +overgrown his strength before he knew it. Heedless of fatigue and +exposure, he pursued his vigorous exercises, and what had been his life +became his death. A cold taken during a game of tennis, when he was in +his eighteenth year, developed into a fever, and for days he lay between +life and death. The nation waited with strange anxiety for the issue, +and a cloud seemed to fall over the length and breadth of the land. + +Then he became worse. + +"My sword and armour!" he cried; "I must be gone!" and after that the +brave boy died. + +The people mourned him as their own son; and years after, when England +was plunged deep in the miseries and horrors of civil war, many there +were who cried in their distress,-- + +"If but our Henry had lived, all this had not been!" + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY ONE. + +THE TROUBLES OF A DAWDLER. + +I was born a dawdler. As an infant, if report speaks truly, I dawdled +over my food, over my toilet, and over my slumbers. Nothing (so I am +told) could prevail on me to stick steadily to my bottle till it was +done; but I must needs break off a dozen times in the course of a single +meal to stare about me, to play with the strings of my nurse's cap, to +speculate on the sunbeams that came in at the window; and even when I +did bring myself to make the effort, I took such an unconscionable time +to consume a spoonful that the next meal was wellnigh due before I had +made an end of a first. + +As to dressing me in the morning, it took a good two hours. Not that I +rebelled and went on strike over the business, but it was really too +much of an effort to commit first one foot and then the other for the +reception of my socks, and when that operation was accomplished a long +interval always elapsed before I could devote my energy to the steering +of my arms into sleeves, and the disposal of my waist to the adjustment +of a sash. Indeed, I believe I am doing myself more than justice when I +put forward two hours as the time spent in personal decoration during +those tender years. + +But of all my infant duties the one I dawdled over most was going to +sleep. The act of laying me in my little cot seemed to be the signal +for waking me to a most unwonted energy. Instead of burying my nose in +the pillows, as most babies do, I must needs struggle into a sitting +posture, and make night vocal with crows and calls. I must needs chew +the head of my indiarubber doll, or perform a solo on my rattle-- +anything, in fact, but go to sleep like a respectable, well-conducted +child. + +If my mother came and rocked my cradle, I got alarmingly lively and +entered into the sport with spirit. If she, with weary eyes and +faltering voice, attempted to sing me to sleep, I lent my shrill treble +to aid my own lullaby; or else I lay quiet with my eyes wide open, and +defied every effort to coax them into shutting. + +Not that I was wilfully perverse or bad--I am proud to say no one can +lay that to my charge; but I was a dawdler, one who from my earliest +years could not find it in me to settle down promptly to anything--nay, +who, knowing a certain thing was to be done, therefore deferred the +doing of it as long as possible. + +Need I say that as I grew older and bequeathed my long clothes and cot +to another baby, I dawdled still? + +My twin brother's brick house was roofed in before my foundations were +laid. Not that I could not build as quickly and as well as he, if I +chose. I could, but I never chose. While he, with serious face and +rapt attention, piled layer upon layer, and pinnacle upon pinnacle, +absorbed in his architectural ambition, I sat by watching him, or +wondering who drew the beautiful picture on the lid of my box, or +speculating on the quantity of bricks I should use in my building, but +always neglecting to set myself to work till Jim's shout of triumph +declared his task accomplished. Then I took a fit of industry till my +tower was half built, and by that time the bricks had to be put away. + +When we walked abroad with nurse I was sure to lag behind to look at +other children, or gaze into shops. Many a time I narrowly escaped +being lost as the result. Indeed, one of my earliest recollections is +of being conducted home in state by a policeman, who had found me +aimlessly strolling about a churchyard, round which I had been +accompanying the nurse and the perambulator, until I missed them both, a +short time before. + +My parents, who had hitherto been inclined to regard my besetting sin +(for even youngsters of four may have besetting sins) as only a childish +peculiarity, at last began to take note of my dawdling propensities, and +did their best to cure me of them. My father would watch me at my play, +and, when he saw me flagging, encourage me to persevere in whatever I +was about, striving to rouse my emulation by pitting me against my +playmates. For a time this had a good effect; but my father had +something better to do than always preside at our nursery sports, and I +soon relapsed into my old habits. + +My mother would talk and tell stories to us; and always, whenever my +attention began to fail, would recall me to order by questions or direct +appeals. This, too, as long as it was fresh, acted well; but I soon got +used to it, and was as bad as ever. Indeed, I was a confirmed dawdler +almost before I was able to think or act for myself. + +When I was eight, it was decided to send me and Jim to school--a day +school, near home, presided over by a good lady, and attended by some +dozen other boys. Well, the novelty of the thing pleased me at first, +and I took an interest in my spelling and arithmetic, so that very soon +I was at the top of my class. Of course my father and mother were +delighted. My father patted me on the head, and said, "I knew he could +be diligent, if he chose." + +And my mother kissed me, and called me her brave boy; so altogether I +felt very virtuous, and rather pitied Jim, who was six from the top, +though he spent longer over his sums than I did. + +But, alas! after the first fortnight, the novelty of Mrs Sparrow's +school wore off. Instead of pegging along briskly to be in time, I +pulled up once or twice on the road to investigate the wonders of a +confectioner's window, or watch the men harness the horses for the +omnibus, till suddenly I would discover I had only five minutes to get +to school in time, and so had to run for my life the rest of the way, +only overtaking Jim on the very doorstep. Gradually my dawdling became +more prolonged, until one day I found myself actually late. Mrs +Sparrow frowned, Jim looked frightened, my own heart beat for terror, +and I heard the awful sentence pronounced, "You must go to the bottom of +the class." + +I made up my mind this should be the last occasion on which such a +penalty should be mine. But, alas! the very next day the confectioner +had a wonderful negro figure in his window made all of sweets, his face +of liquorice and his shirt of sugar, his lips of candy and his eyes of +brandy-balls. I was spellbound, and could not tear myself away. And +when I did, to add to my misfortunes, there was a crowd outside the +omnibus stables to watch the harnessing of a new and very frisky horse. +Of course I had to witness this spectacle, and the consequence was I got +to school half an hour late, and was again reprimanded and stood in the +corner. + +This went on from bad to worse. Not only did I become unpunctual, but I +neglected my lessons till the last moment, and then it was too late to +get them off, though I could learn as much in a short time as any of the +boys. All this grieved poor Mrs Sparrow, who talked to my parents +about it, who talked very seriously to me. My father looked unhappy, my +mother cried; Mrs Sparrow (who was present at the interview) was +silent, and I wept loudly and promised to reform--honestly resolving I +would do so. + +Well, for a week I was a model of punctuality and industry; but then the +confectioner changed his sugar negro for an elephant made all of toffee, +and I was once more beguiled. Once more from top of my class I sank to +the bottom; and though after that I took fits and starts of regularity +and study, I never was able for long together to recover my place, and +Mrs Sparrow fairly gave me up as a bad job. + +What was to be done? I was growing up. In time my twelfth birthday +arrived, and it was _time_ I went to boarding school. + +I could see with what anxiety my parents looked forward to the time, and +I inwardly reproached myself for being the cause of their trouble. +"Perhaps," thought I, "I shall get all right at Welford," and having +consoled myself with that possibility I thought no more about it. My +father talked very earnestly to me before I left home for the first time +in my life. He had no fears, he said, for my honesty or my good +principles; but he had fears for my perseverance and diligence. "Either +you must conquer your habit of dawdling," he said, "or it will conquer +you." I was ready to promise any sacrifice to be cured of this enemy; +but he said, "No, lad, don't promise, but remember and do!" And then he +corded up my trunk and carried it downstairs. I cannot to this day +recall my farewell with my mother without tears. It is enough to say +that I quitted the parental home determined as I never was before to do +my duty and fight against my besetting sin, and occupied that doleful +day's journey with picturing to myself the happiness which my altered +habits would bring to the dear parents whom I was leaving behind. + +I pass over my first week at Welford. It was a new and wonderful world +to me; very desolate at first, but by degrees more attractive, till at +last I went the way of all schoolboys, and found myself settled down to +my new life as if I had never known another. + +All this time I had faithfully kept my resolution. I was as punctual as +clockwork, and as diligent as an ant. Nothing would tempt me to abate +my attention in the preparation of my lessons; no seductions of cricket +or fishing would keep me late for "call over." I had already gained the +approval of my masters, I had made my mark in my class, and I had +written glowing letters home, telling of my kept resolutions, and +wondering why they should ever before have seemed difficult to adhere +to. + +But as I got better acquainted with some of my new schoolfellows it +became less easy to stick steadily to work. I happened to find myself +in hall one evening, where we were preparing our tasks for next day, +seated next to a lively young scapegrace, whose tongue rattled +incessantly, and who, not content to be idle himself, must needs make +every one idle too. + +"What a muff you are, Charlie," he said to me once, as I was poring over +my _Caesar_ and struggling desperately to make out the meaning of a +phrase--"what a muff you are, to be grinding away like that! Why don't +you use a crib?" + +"What's a crib?" I inquired. + +"What, don't you know what a crib is? It's a translation. I've got +one. I'll lend it to you, and you will be able to do your _Caesar_ with +it like winking." + +I didn't like the notion at first, and went on hunting up the words in +the dictionary till my head ached. But next evening he pulled the +"crib" out of his pocket and showed it to me. I could not resist the +temptation of looking at it, and no sooner had I done so than I found it +gave at a glance the translation it used to take me an hour to get at +with the dictionary. So I began to use the "crib" regularly; and thus, +getting my lessons quickly done, I gradually began to relapse into my +habits of dawdling. + +Instead of preparing my lessons steadily, I now began to put off +preparation till the last moment, and then galloped them off as best I +could. Instead of writing my exercises carefully, I drew skeletons on +the blotting-paper; instead of learning off my tenses, I read _Robinson +Crusoe_ under the desk, and trusted to my next-door neighbour to prompt +me when my turn came. + +For a time my broken resolutions did not effect any apparent change in +my position in the classes or in the eyes of my masters. I was what +Evans (the boy who lent me the "crib") called lucky. I was called on to +translate just the passages I happened to have got off, or was +catechised on the declensions of my pet verb, and so kept up +appearances. + +But that sort of thing could not go on for ever, and one day my exposure +took place. + +I had dawdled away my time the evening previously with one thing and +another, always intending to set to work, but never doing so. My books +had lain open before me untouched, except when I took a fancy to +inscribing my name some scores of times on the title-page of each; my +dictionary remained shot and unheeded, except when I rounded the corners +of the binding with my penknife. I had played draughts clandestinely +with Evans part of the time, and part of the time I had lolled with my +elbows on the desk, staring at the head of the fellow in front of me. + +Bedtime came, and I had not looked at my work. + +"I'll wake early and cram it up," thought I, as I turned in. + +I did wake up, but though the book was under my pillow I let the half- +hour before getting up slip away unused. At breakfast I made an effort +to glance at the lesson, but the boy opposite was performing such +wonderful tricks of balancing with his teaspoon and saucer and three +bread-crusts, that I could not devote attention to anything else. The +bell for classes rang ominously. I rushed to my place with _Caesar_ in +one hand and the "crib" in the other. I got flurried; I could not find +the place, or, when I found the place in the _Caesar_, I lost it in the +"crib." + +The master, to add to my misery, was cross, and began proceedings by +ordering Evans to learn twenty lines for laughing in school-time. I +glanced at the fellows round me. Some were taking a last peep at their +books. Others, with bright and confident faces, waited quietly for the +lesson to begin. No one that I could see was as badly off as I. Every +one knew something. I knew nothing. Just at the last moment I found +the place in the "crib" and in the _Caesar_ at the same time, but +scarcely had I done so when the awful voice of the master spoke: + +"Stand up!" All dictionaries and notes had now to be put away; all +except the Latin books. + +I had contrived _to get_ off the first two lines, and only hoped the +master might pitch on me to begin. And he did pitch on me. + +"Charles Smith," I heard him say, and my heart jumped to my mouth, +"stand forward and begin at `_jamque Caesar_.'" + +"Please, sir, we begin at `_His et aliis_,'" I faltered. + +"You begin where I tell you, sir," sternly replied he. + +A dead silence fell over the class, waiting for me to begin. I was in +despair. Oh, if only I had not dawdled! I would give all my pocket- +money for this term to know a line of that horrid _Caesar_. + +"Come, sir, be quick," said the master. + +Then I fetched a sigh very like a sob, and began-- + +"_Que_, and--" I heard the master's foot scrape ominously on the floor. + +"_Que_, and--" I repeated. + +"_And_ what, sir?" thundered the master, rising in his seat and leaning +across his desk towards me. It was awful. I was never more miserable +in my life. + +"_Caesar_, Caesar," I stammered. Here at least was a word I could +translate, so I repeated it--"_Que_, and--_Caesar_, Caesar." + +A dead silence, scarcely broken by a titter from the back desks. + +"_Jam_," I chokingly articulated, and there stuck. + +"Well, sir, and what does _jam_ mean?" inquired the voice, in a tone of +suppressed wrath. + +"_Jam_"--again I stuck. + +Another dead silence. + +"_Que_, and--_Caesar_, Caesar; _jam_"--It was no use; the only jam I +knew of I was certain would not do in this case, so I began again in +despair; "_Que_, and--_Caesar_, Caesar; _jam_--_jam_--_jam_." + +The master shut his book, and I knew the storm had burst. + +"Smith, have you prepared this lesson?" + +"No, sir," I replied, relieved to be able to answer any questions, +however awful. + +"Why not, sir?" + +Ah! that I could not answer--not to myself, still less to him. So I was +silent. + +"Come to me after school," he said. "The next boy come forward." + +After school I went to him, and he escorted me to the doctor. No +criminal at the Old Bailey trembled as I did at that interview. I can't +remember what was said to me. I know I wildly confessed my sins--my +"cribbing," my wasting of time--and promised to abjure them one and all. + +The doctor was solemn and grave, and said a great deal to me that I was +too overawed to understand or remember; after which I was sent back to +my class--a punished, disgraced, and marked boy. + +Need I describe my penitence: what a humble letter I wrote home, making +a clean breast of all my delinquencies, and even exaggerating them in my +contrition? With what grim ceremony I burned my "crib" in my study +fire, and resolved (a resolution, by the way, which I succeeded in +keeping) that, come what might, I would do my lessons honestly, if I did +them at all! + +I gave Evans to understand his company at lesson times was not +desirable, and was in a rage with him when he laughed. I took to rising +early, to filling every spare moment with some occupation, and +altogether started afresh, like a reformed character, as I felt myself +to be, and determined _this_ time, at any rate, my progress should know +no backsliding. How soon I again fell a victim to dawdling the sequel +will show. + +I had a long and painful struggle to recover my lost ground at Welford. + +When a boy has once lost his name at school, when his masters have put +him on the black book, when his schoolfellows have got to consider him +as a "fellow in a row," when he himself has learnt to doubt his own +honesty and steadiness--then, I say, it is uphill work for him to get +back to the position from which he has fallen. He gets little sympathy, +and still less encouragement. In addition to the natural difficulty of +conquering bad habits, he has to contend against prejudices and +obstacles raised by his own former conduct; no one gives him credit for +his efforts, and no one recognises his reform till all of a sudden, +perhaps long after its completion, it makes itself manifest. + +And my reform, alas! consequently never arrived at completion at +Welford. + +For a few weeks all went well enough. My lessons were carefully +prepared; my exercises were well written, and my master had no more +attentive pupil than I. But, alas! I too soon again grew confident and +self-satisfied. Little by little I relaxed; little by little I dawdled, +till presently, almost without knowing it, I again began to slip down +the hill. And this was in other matters besides my studies. + +Instead of keeping up my practice at cricket and field sports, I took to +hulking about the playground with my hands in my pockets. If I started +on an expedition to find moths or hunt squirrels, I never got half a +mile beyond the school boundaries, and never, of course, caught the +ghost of anything. If I entered for a race in our school sports, I let +the time go without training, and so was beaten easily by fellows whom I +had always thought my inferiors. The books I read for my amusement out +of school hours were all abandoned after a chapter or two; my very +letters home became irregular and stupid, and often were altogether +shelved. + +And all this time (such is the blindness of some people) I was imagining +I had quite retrieved my lost reputation! I shall never forget, +however, how at last I discovered that my time at Welford had been +wasted, and that, so far from having got the better of my enemy, I had +become a more confirmed dawdler than ever. + +I had come to my last half-year at school, being now seventeen. My +great desire was to go to Cambridge, which my father had promised I +should do if I succeeded in obtaining a scholarship, which would in part +defray the cost of my residence there. On this scholarship, therefore, +my heart was bent (as much as a dawdler's heart can be bent on anything) +and I made up my mind to secure it. + +The three fellows who were also going in for it were all my juniors, and +considerably below me in the doctor's class; so I had little anxiety as +to the result. + +Need I say that this very confidence was fatal to me? While they were +working night and day, early and late, I was amusing myself with boxing- +gloves and fishing-rods. While they, with wet towels round their heads, +burnt the midnight oil, I sprawled over a novel in my study. Of course, +now and then I took a turn at my books, and each inspection tended to +satisfy me with myself better than ever. "Those duffers will never be +able to get up all that Greek in the time," I said to myself, "and not +one of them knows an atom of mechanics." + +Well, the time drew near. My father had written rejoicing to hear of my +good prospects, and saying how he and mother were constantly thinking of +me in my hard work, and so on. + +"Yes," thought I, "they'll be pleased, I know." About a week before the +examination I looked at my books rather more frequently, and, now and +then (though I would not acknowledge it even to myself), felt my +confidence a trifle wavering. There were a few things I had not noticed +before, that must be got up with the rest of the subjects, "However, a +day's work will polish them off," said I; "let's see, I've promised to +fish with Wilkins to-morrow--I'll have a go in at them on Thursday." + +But Thursday found me fishing too, and on Friday there was a cricket- +match. However, the examination was not till Tuesday, so there was half +a week yet. + +Saturday, of course, was a half-holiday, and though I took another look +at some of my books, and noted one or two other little things that would +have to be got up, I determined that the grand "go in" at, and +"polishing off" of, these subjects should take place on Monday. + +On Monday accordingly I set to work. + +Glancing from my window--as I frequently did while I was at work--whom +should I see, with a fly-net over his shoulder, but Wilton, one of the +three fellows in against me for the scholarship! And not long after him +who should appear arm-in-arm in cricket costume, but Johnson and Walker, +the other two! + +"Ho! ho!" said I to myself, "nice boys these to be going in for an +exam.! How can they expect to do anything if they dawdle away their +time in this way! I declare I quite feel as if I were taking an unfair +advantage of them to be grinding away up here!" + +Had I realised that these three fellows had been working incessantly for +the last month, and were now taking a breath of fresh air in +anticipation of the ordeal of the following day, I should have been less +astonished at what I saw, and more inclined to work, at any rate this +day, like mad. + +But I allowed my benevolent desire not to take an unfair advantage to +prevail, and was soon far up the stream with my fishing-rod. + +So Monday passed. In the evening I had another turn at my books, but an +unsatisfactory one. + +"What's the use of muddling my brain? I had better take it easy, and be +fresh for to-morrow," thought I, as I shut them up and pushed my chair +back from the table. + +Next morning brought me a letter from my father: + +"This will reach you on the eventful day. You know who will be thinking +of their boy every moment. We are happy to know your success is so +sure; but don't be _too_ confident till it's all well over. Then we +shall be ready to rejoice with you. I have already heard of rooms at +Cambridge for you; so you see mother and I are counting our chickens +before they are hatched! But I have no fears, after what you have told +me." + +This letter made me unhappy; the sight of my books made me unhappy; the +sight of Wilton, Johnson, and Walker, fresh and composed, made me +unhappy; the sight of the doctor wishing me good morning made me +unhappy. I was, in fact, thoroughly uncomfortable. The list of those +one or two little matters that I had intended to polish off grew every +time I thought of them, till they wellnigh seemed to eclipse the other +subjects about which I felt sure. What an ass I had been! + +"The candidates for the Calton Scholarship are to go to the doctor's +class-room!" + +To the doctor's class-room we four accordingly proceeded. + +On the way, not to appear nervous, I casually inquired of Wilton if he +had caught any specimens yesterday. + +"Yes," he said gaily. "I got one splendid fellow, a green-winged moth. +I'll show him to you in my study after the exam, is over." + +Here was a fellow who could calmly contemplate the end of this day's +ordeal. I dared not do as much as that! + +The doctor affably welcomed us to his room, and bade us be seated. +Several quires of blank paper, one or two pens, a ruler, and ink, were +provided at each of our four desks. + +Then a printed paper of questions was handed to each, and the +examination began. + +I glanced hurriedly down my paper. Question 1 was on one of those +subjects which had escaped my observation. Question 2 was a piece of +translation I did not recognise as occurring in the Greek book I had got +up, and yet I thought I had been thoroughly through it. Question 3-- +well, no one would be able to answer that. Question 4--oh, horrors! +another of those little points I had meant to polish off. Thus I +glanced from top to bottom of the paper. Here and there I fancied I +might be able to give some sort of answer, but as for the rest, I was in +despair. I dashed my pen into the ink, and wrote my name at the head of +a sheet of paper, and ruled a line underneath it. Then I dug my fingers +in my hair, and waited for an inspiration. It was a long time coming. +In the meantime I glanced round at the other three. They were all +writing hard, and Wilton already had one sheet filled. Somehow the +sight of Wilton reminded me of the moth he had spoken of. I wondered if +it was a finer specimen than I had got at home--mine had blue wings and +a horn. Funny insects moths were! I wondered if the doctor used to +collect them when he was a boy. The doctor must be nearly sixty now. +Jolly to be a doctor, and have nothing to do but examine fellows! I +wondered if Walker's father had written him a letter, and what sort of +nib he (Walker) must be writing with, with such a peculiar squeak-- +rather like a frog's squeak. I wouldn't mind being a frog for some +things; must be jolly to be equally at home on dry ground or in water! +Fancy eating frogs! Our French master was getting more short-tempered +than ever. + +And so I rambled on, while the paper in front of me remained empty. + +The inspirations never came. The hours whizzed past, and my penholder +was nibbled half away. In vain I searched the ceilings, and my thumb- +nails; they gave me no help. In vain I read over the examination paper +a score of times. It was all question and no answer there. In vain I +stared at the doctor as he sat quietly writing; he had no ideas for me. +In vain I tried to count, from where I sat, how many sheets Johnson had +filled; that did not help to fill mine. Then I read my questions over +again, very closely, and was in the act of wondering who first decided +that p's should turn one way in print and q's another, when the doctor +said, "Half an hour more!" + +I was electrified. I madly began answering questions at random. +Anything to get my paper filled. But, fast as I wrote, I could not keep +pace with Wilton, whose pen flew along the paper; and he, I knew, was +writing what would get him marks while I was writing rubbish. Presently +my attention was diverted by watching Walker gather up and pin together +his papers. I looked at my watch. Five minutes more. At the same time +the doctor took out his. I could not help wondering if it was a Geneva +or an English watch, and whether it had belonged to his father before +him, as mine had. Ah! my father, my poor father and mother! + +"Cease work, please, and hand in your papers." + +I declined Wilton's invitation to come and see his moth, and slunk to my +room miserable and disgusted. + +Even now I do not like to recall the interval which elapsed between the +examination and the declaration of the result. To Johnson, Wilton and +Walker it was an interval of feverish suspense; to me it was one of +stolid despair. I was ashamed to show my face among my schoolfellows; +ashamed to write home; ashamed to look at a book. The nearer the day +came the more wretched I grew; I positively became ill with misery, and +begged to be allowed to go home without waiting for the result. + +I had a long interview with the doctor before I quitted Welford; but no +good advice of his, no exhortations, could alter my despair. + +"My boyhood has been a failure," I said to him, "and I know my manhood +will be one too." + +He only looked very sorrowful, and wrung my hand. + +The meeting with my parents was worst of all; but over that I draw a +veil. + +For months nothing could rouse me from my unhappiness, and in indulging +it I dawdled more than ever. My prospects of a college life were +blighted, and I had not the energy to face business. But, as was always +the case, I could not for long together stick to anything; and in due +time I emerged from my wretchedness, an idle, dawdling youth, with no +object in life, no talents to recommend me, nothing to do. + +It was deplorable, and my father was nearly heart-broken. Heroically he +strove to rouse me to activity, to interest me in some pursuit. He did +for me what I should have done for myself--sought occupation for me, and +spent days and days in his efforts to get me settled in life. At last +he succeeded in procuring a nomination to a somewhat lucrative +government clerkship; and, for the first time since I left Welford, my +father and mother and I were happy together. Despite all my demerits, I +was now within reach of a position which many a youth of greater ability +and steadier character might well have envied; and I believe I was +really thankful at my good fortune. + +"I will go with you to-morrow," said my father, "when you have to appear +before the head of the department." + +"All right," said I; "what time is it?" + +"Half-past eleven." + +"Well, I must meet you at the place, then, for I promised to see Evans +early in the morning." + +"Better go to him to-day," said my mother; "it would be a thousand +pities to be late to-morrow." + +"Oh, no fear of that," said I, laughing; "I've too good an eye to my own +interests." + +Next morning I went to see Evans, and left him in good time to meet my +father at the stated hour. But an evil spirit of dawdling seized me as +I went. I stopped to gaze into shops, to chat with a passing +acquaintance, and to have my boots blacked. Forgetting the passage of +time altogether, I strolled leisurely along, stopping at the slightest +temptation, and prolonging my halts as if reluctant to advance, when +suddenly I heard the deep bell of Westminster clock chime a quarter. "A +quarter past eleven," thought I; "I must look sharp." And I did look +sharp, and reached the place of appointment out of breath. My father +was at the door. His face was clouded, and his hand trembled as he laid +it on my shoulder, and said, "Charlie, will _nothing_ save you from +ruin?" + +"Ruin!" said I, in amazement; "what do you mean? What makes you so +late?" + +"Late! it's not half-past yet; didn't you tell me half-past eleven was +the time?" + +"I did; and it is now just half-past twelve! The post you were to have +had was filled half an hour ago by one of the other applicants." + +I staggered back in astonishment and horror. Then _it_ flashed on me +that I had dawdled away an hour without knowing it, and with it the +finest opening I ever had in my life. + +I must pass over the next two years, and come to the conclusion of my +story. During those two years I entered upon and left no less than +three employments--each less advantageous than the former. The end of +that time found me a clerk in a bank in a country town. In this +capacity my besetting sin was still haunting me. I had several times +been called into the manager's room, and reprimanded for unpunctuality, +or cautioned for wasting my time. The few friends who on my first +coming to the town had taken an interest in me had dropped away, +disgusted at my unreliable conduct, or because I myself had neglected +their acquaintance. My employers had ceased to entrust me with any +commissions requiring promptitude or care; and I was nothing more than +an office drudge--and a very unprofitable drudge too. Such was my +condition when, one morning, a telegram reached me from my mother to +say--"Father is very ill. Come at once." + +I was shocked at this bad news, and determined to start for London by +the next train. + +I obtained leave of absence, and hastened to my lodgings to pack up my +few necessaries for the journey. By the time I arrived there, the shock +of the telegram had in some way abated, and I was able to contemplate my +journey more calmly. I consulted a time-table, and found that there was +one train which, by hurrying, I could just catch in a quarter of an +hour, and that the next went in the afternoon. + +By the time I had made up my mind which to take, and inquired where a +lad could be found who would carry down my portmanteau to the station, +it was too late to catch the first train, and I therefore had three +hours to spare before I could leave. This delay, in my anxious +condition, worried me, and I was at a loss how to occupy the interval. +If I had been wise, I should never have quitted that station till I did +so in the train. But, alas! I decided to take a stroll instead. It +was a sad walk, for my father's image was constantly before my eyes, and +I could hardly bear to think of his being ill. I thought of all his +goodness and forbearance to me, and wondered what would become of us if +he were not to recover. I wandered on, broken-hearted, and repenting +deeply of all my ingratitude, and the ill return I had made him for his +love to me, and I looked forward eagerly to being able to throw myself +in his arms once more, and beg his forgiveness. + +Thus I mused far into the morning, when it occurred to me to look at my +watch. Was it possible? It wanted not half an hour of the time for the +train, and I was more than two miles from the place. I started to walk +rapidly, and soon came in sight of the town. What fatal madness +impelled me at that moment to stand and look at a ploughing match that +was taking place in a field by the roadside? For a minute or two my +anxiety, my father, the train, all were forgotten in the excitement of +that contest. Then I recovered myself and dashed on like the wind. +Once more (as I thought but for an instant) I paused to examine a gipsy +encampment on the border of the wood, and then, reminded by a distant +whistle, hurried forward. Alas! as I dashed into the station the train +was slowly turning the corner and I sunk down in an agony of despair and +humiliation. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +When I reached home at midnight, my mother met me at the door. + +"Well, you are come at last," she said quietly. + +"Yes, mother; but father, how is he?" + +"Come and see him." + +I sprang up the stairs beside her. She opened the door softly, and bade +me enter. + +My father lay there dead. + +"He waited for you all day," said my mother, "and died not an hour ago. +His last words were, `Charlie is late.' Oh, Charlie, why did you not +come sooner?" + +Then she knelt with me beside my dead father. And, in that dark lonely +chamber, that night, the turning-point of my life was reached. + +Boys, I am an old man now; but, believe me, since that awful moment I +have never, to my knowledge, dawdled again! + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY TWO. + +A NIGHT ON SCAFELL PIKE. + +Off at last! Hard work to get off, though; as if a fellow of fifteen +wasn't old enough to take care of himself. Mother cut up as much as if +I'd asked leave to go to my own funeral--said I was too young, and knew +nothing of the world, and all that sort of thing. But I don't see what +knowing the world has to do with a week's tramp in the Lakes; not much +of the world there--anyhow, where I mean to go. + +I've got it all up in the guide-book, and written out my programme, and +given them my address for every day, and promised to keep a diary, and +always sleep between blankets, for fear the sheets shouldn't be aired-- +and what more can a fellow do? + +Well, then mother said I must promise to keep in the valleys, and not +attempt to climb any of the mountains. Oh, ah! lively work that would +be. I might just as well stay at home and walk round Russell Square +fifty times a day; and I said so, and repeated off from memory what the +guide-book says about the way up Helvellyn. This last fetched them +rather, and convinced them I wasn't undertaking what I didn't know all +about. So at last father said, "Let the boy go, it may do him good and +teach him self-reliance." + +"But what'll be the good of that," sobs mother, "if my Bartholomew falls +over a precipice and never comes home?" + +"Oh, I'll promise not to fall over a precipice," said I. + +And at last it was settled, and here I am in the train, half-way to +Windermere. + +Just been looking through my knapsack. Frightful nuisance! Had it +weighed at Euston, and it weighs 4 pounds 8 ounces. I wanted to keep it +under 4 pounds! Must be the spare shirt the girls insisted on my +bringing, as if I couldn't wash the one I've got on in half a dozen +waterfalls a day, and just run myself dry afterwards! Don't see what I +can throw out. Must take the guide-book, and boot-laces, and needle and +worsted for my blisters, and a collar for Sunday, and a match-box, and +this diary book and a night-shirt. Bother that extra eight ounces. + +I'm certain it will drag me down. By the way there are the sandwiches +and apples! Suppose I eat them now, that'll make it all right. Good +thought that. Here goes! + +Getting near Windermere now--be there in an hour. May as well put on my +knapsack, so as to be ready. By the way, I hope my money's all right, +and I hope father's given me enough. He paid for my return ticket down +here, and he's given me 6 shillings a day for the rest of the time. +Says he did the Lakes once on 5 shillings a day when he was a boy. +Somehow don't fancy there'll be much change for me out of the 6 +shillings, if the guide-book says right; but you won't catch me spending +more! Shan't ride anywhere where I can walk, and don't mean to tip any +waiters all the time! Shall have to shut up now and look at the scenery +at page 52 of the guide-book. + +8 p.m., Ambleside.--The "Green Unicorn." Here at last, very fagged. I +mean to have a row with the shoemaker when I get home about the hobs on +my boots. Two of them are clean out, and all the rest are beginning to +get worn already. Anyhow, I sold the coach people by walking. They +thought I was bound to drive, but I didn't. Wouldn't have minded it, +though, once or twice between Windermere and here, for of course I'm not +in training yet. + +Hope this inn isn't a dear one. It's the smallest I could find in the +place, and I don't think they're likely to charge for attendance; if +they do, it'll be a swindle, for I ordered eggs and bacon an hour ago, +and they've not come yet. I wonder what they'll charge for the eggs and +bacon. Suppose there are two eggs, that'll be 2 pence; and a slice of +bacon, 2 pence; bread, 1 penny; tea, 1 penny; that's 7 pence; oughtn't +to be more than 10 pence at the outside. + +Ah, here it comes. + +Good supper it was, too, and not much left at the end. + +Mean to do Scafell to-morrow. Highest mountain in England, guide-book +says. Two fellows in the inn are going, too; but I don't intend to hang +on to them, as they seem to think no end of themselves. They're +Cambridge fellows, and talk as if they could do anything. I'd like to +take the shine out of them. + +Tuesday, 8 a.m.--Just fancy, the swindlers here charged me 2 shillings +for that tea, 2 shillings 6 pence for my bed, and 1 shilling for +attendance--5 shillings 6 pence! I call it robbery, and told them so, +and said they needn't suppose they could take _me_ in. They said it was +the usual charge, and they didn't make any difference for small boys, as +they found they ate quite as much as grown-up people. The two Cambridge +fellows seemed to find something to laugh at in this, and one of them +said I didn't mind being taken in, but I didn't like being taken in and +done for. I suppose he thought this was a joke. Some idiots can grin +at anything. + +I told the hotel people I should certainly not pay for attendance, as I +didn't consider I had had any. The waiter said very well, my boots +would do as well, and they would keep them till I settled the bill, and +they had no time to stand fooling about with a whipper-snapper. Of +course I had to shell out, as my boots were worth more than the whole +bill--although my bootmaker has taken me in pretty well over the +hobnails. I told them I should take good care to tell every one what +sort of people they were, and I wouldn't have any breakfast there to pay +them out. + +Fancy this made them look rather blue, but the lesson will be good for +them. Catch me getting done like that again! I'm going to start now, 8 +a.m., as I want to get ahead of the Cambridge idiots. Page 54 of the +guide-book has all about the scenery at Ambleside. + +12 o'clock, Dungeon Ghyl.--Stopping here for lunch. Awful grind up the +valley in the sun with an empty stomach. Going in for a 9 pence lunch +here. The fellow says the weather is going to break this afternoon, and +I'd better mind what I'm up to, going up Scafell Pike. He wants me to +take a guide, that's his little dodge. As if I couldn't take care of +myself! I've got it all up in the guide-book, and guess I could find +the top blindfold. I'll laugh if I get up before the Cambridge fellows. +They'll probably funk it, though, or miss the way, and have to get me +to give them a leg up. It'll be a good lesson for them. + +Don't think much of the inn here, so I'm glad I shan't be putting up +here for the night. The waiter looks as if he expects to be tipped for +everything. He seemed regularly cut up when I told him I was going on +to Wastdale Head from the top, and shouldn't be staying here. Of course +he tried to get me to come back, and said I could never get over to +Wastdale this night. All stuff, I know, for it's no distance on the +map. "Oh," he said, "don't you believe in the maps; they're no guide. +Take my advice, and don't try to go to Wastdale, my boy." I was a good +mind to be down on him for being so familiar, but what was the use? As +if he knew better than the guide-books! Ah! here comes my lunch. + +4 p.m., top of Rosset Ghyl.--Had to pay 1 shilling for that 9 pence +lunch after all, as they charged 3 pence for attendance in the bill. +Didn't care to have a row, as the Cambridge fellows turned up just that +minute. Beastly the way they always grin when they see me. As if they +couldn't grin at one another. I cleared out as soon as they came, and +started up here. + +There was a mile or so of pretty level path to the bottom of this +ravine, and then it was a tremendous climb up to the top. You have to +scramble nearly straight up among the rocks on each side of the +waterfall, and if one of my hobnails went off, I'm certain half a dozen +did. I'll tell my father not to pay that cobbler at all. I can't make +out how the sheep manage to go up and down this place as they do. I +know I'm glad I'm not coming back this way. I thought I was over once +or twice as it was, owing to those wretched boots. + +The Cambridge duffers caught me about half-way up, trying to look as if +they weren't fagged. I knew better--never saw fellows so blown. They +appeared to be greatly amused because I happened to slip backwards down +a grass slope just as they passed, as if there was anything funny in +that. One of them called out, "It's the other way up, youngster," and +the other said, "We'll tell them you're on the way at the top." I was a +good mind to shut them up, but I got some earth in my mouth at the +moment, and as they didn't wait, it wasn't any use going after them. +However, I expect I shall find them regularly done up when I get a +little higher, and then perhaps they'll be sorry they cheeked me. All +about the view from Rosset Ghyl in page 72 of the guide-book. Awful +sell; it's coming on to rain, and quite misty, too. I'd better go on, +or I shan't get the view from the top. + +6 o'clock.--Don't exactly know where I am. Regular Scotch mist come +down over the hills, and I can't see twenty yards. Only sitting down +now because I'm not quite sure whether I'm right or wrong. Been looking +it up in the guide-book, but there's not much to guide you there when +you can't see your way. The only thing is, it says there are little +cairns marking the way up to the top, every fifty yards or so. It would +be rather a tip to find one of them. + +The wind is making a noise, exactly like the sea, against the side of +the mountain. I saw the side a little while ago, like a great black +cliff, but it's too misty to see it now. Hope it'll clear up soon, or I +may be late getting down to Wastdale. By the way, I wonder if they call +this heap of stones I'm sitting on one of the cairns? Good idea! it +must be. + +Yes, it's all right; I left my traps here and went fifty yards further +on up the slope, and there's another cairn there--very lucky! I had a +job to find my way back here in the mist, though. However, I'm on the +right track now. Wonder what's become of those Cambridge fellows. +They're sure not to be up to my tips, and most likely they're wandering +about lost. Poor duffers! + +7 o'clock.--Hope I'm right, but it's getting more misty than ever, and I +can hardly stand up in the wind. It's an awful job, too, feeling one's +way along by these cairns; for you can't see one from the other, and the +chances are you may now and then lose sight of both, and then you're +lost. I've been lost several times, but luckily I've got into the track +again. Fancy I must be getting on towards the top, for the rocks are +getting bigger and tumbled about in all directions, and the guide-book +says that's what the top of Scafell Pike is like. Shan't I be glad to +get to the top! I'm frightfully cold and wet here, and there's scarcely +a hob left on my wretched boots. I wish I had that cobbler here! + +All about the view going up to the top of Scafell Pike on page 76 of the +guide-book. Sounds rather like a joke when you can scarcely see your +hand in front of you, to read that behind you stretches the beautiful +vista of the Langdale Valley, with Wansfell in the distance, and an +exquisite glimpse of the waters of Windermere sparkling in the sun; to +your right Helvellyn towers amidst its lesser brethren, while to the +left the gloomy dome of Coniston lends a serious grandeur to the scene. +Sounds all very fine, but it's a pity they don't put in the view on a +day like this as well. + +I quite miss the dashing of the wind against the cliffs. They're far +behind now, and the wind seems to dash against me instead. Whew! I'd +better peg on, or the tea will be cold at Wastdale Head! No sign of the +Cambridge fellows. Wonder where they are. Half wish I was with them-- +idiots as they are. + +8:30 o'clock.--Top at last! I'm black and blue all over, with tumbling +among those brutal rocks. Don't know however I got up, and now I'm up, +don't know how I shall get down. It's just dark now, and I can scarcely +see the paper I'm writing on. Jolly fix I'm in. Can't positively see +the big cairn, though I'm sitting on it, and haven't a notion which way +I came up to it, or which way I have to go down to Wastdale. + +I wish those Cambridge fellows would turn up. They weren't bad fellows +after all. In fact, I rather liked one of them. Don't know what to do. +By the way, may as well eat one of the biscuits I have in my knapsack. +Think of sitting up here on the highest spot of England eating a +biscuit, and not knowing how to get home! Enough to make any one feel +down in the mouth. Wish I was down in the valley. All about the view +from the top on page-- Bah! that's too much of a joke. Wish I could see +anything! Only thing I can see is that I'm stuck here for the night, +and shall probably be found frozen to death in the morning. What an ass +I was to snub those jolly Cambridge fellows! Fancy how snug it would be +to be sitting between them now. I suppose they're down at the hotel +having a good tea before a blazing fire. My word, it makes one blue +to-- + +11 o'clock.--Just had the presence of mind to wind up my watch. Had to +sit on my hands a quarter of an hour before I could feel the key in my +waistcoat pocket. Ugh! wish the wind would shut up. Never felt so up a +tree all my life. Those Cambridge fellows will be curling up in bed +now, I expect. Can't write more. + +12 o'clock.--It suddenly occurred to me there was no absolute necessity, +if I must stick up here all night, to stick at the tip-top. So I +crawled down gingerly among the rocks on the side away from the wind and +looked, or rather felt, for a sheltered place. Presently I slipped and +toppled down between two great boulders and nearly killed myself. +However, when I came to, it struck me I might as well stay here as +anywhere else. It's right out of the wind and pretty dry, as the mist +doesn't seem to be able to get down into it. Then the lucky idea +occurred to me I had two candles in my knapsack and a box of matches, +and I might as well light up. So I lit one of the candles, and I've +been warming my fingers and toes at it for the last half-hour; also been +reading the guide-book, and find that the Isle of Man is visible from +this place. Jolly comforting to know it, when I can't even see the tip +of my own nose. Got sick of the guide-book after that, and thought it +would warm me to say over my Greek irregular verbs. Been through them +once, but not quite successful 4,000 feet above the level of the sea. +They remind a fellow rather too much of home. Wonder what they'd think +there if they saw me up here. Wish I saw them, and could get a blanket! +I promised them to sleep between blankets every night. It's awful not +being able to keep one's promise. + +The one thing that does comfort me is, I shan't have to pay anything for +attendance to-night. In fact, I never spent such a cheap night +anywhere... Booh! had to stop just now and sit on my hands again. Find +it warmer even than the candle. How I wish those two Cambridge fellows +were here! We could be quite jolly in here, and play round games, and +that sort of thing. I've been trying one or two songs to pass the time, +but they didn't come off. Made me homesick to sing, "Here in cool grot" +and "Blow, gentle gales." That reminds me, the wind's dropped since I +got in here. Sorry for it. It was some company to have it smashing all +round one. Now it's so quiet it makes a fellow quite creepy. They do +talk of mountain-tops being haunted. I know Scafell Pike is, and I'm +the haunter. Wonder if there's any chance of anybody turning up? I've +a good mind to go on to the cairn and howl and wave my candle about for +a bit; it might fetch some one. The only thing is, it might frighten +them away. I'll try it, anyhow, and I hope whoever comes will have some +grub in his pocket and a pair of gloves. + +1:30.--No go. Been howling like a hyena for half an hour till I've no +voice left, and I'm all over spots of wax with the waving of my candle. +Heard nothing but my own voice. Not an echo, or a dog barking, or +anything. The mist lifted a bit, but I don't suppose any one could see +the candle down at Wastdale. Ugh! ugh! Perhaps there'll be an article +in a scientific paper about a curious phenomenon on the top of Scafell +Pike. Wish I knew how to warm phenomenons! I've put on the spare shirt +over my coat, and stuffed my feet into my knapsack, and wrapped last +Friday's _Daily News_ round my body and legs. Oh-h-h! why _did_ I make +a beast of myself to those two dear Cambridge fellows? Think of them +now, with blankets tucked round their chins, and their noses in the +pillow, snoring away; and their coats and bags lying idle about in the +room. I do believe if I had their two suits on over my own I might keep +warm. Hullo, what's that! + +Never got such a fright. Thought it was thunder, or an earthquake, or +the cairn coming down on the top of me, or something of that sort. +Turned out to be the _Daily News_ crackling under my clothes. +Everything's so quiet, it startles one to move a foot. I'll give it +up--I'll--there goes my last candle! + +3:30.--Actually been asleep--at least, I don't know what's been going on +the last two hours. That _Daily News_ was rather a tip, after all. I +might have been frozen to death without it. Hurrah for the Radicals! +Rather crampy all the same about the joints, and must get up and shake +myself, or I shall be no good for the rest of the day. Ugh! What a +state my mother would be in if she heard that cough! I'm certain I +hadn't caught it before I went to sleep. + +Just been up to the top and had a look round. Mist is nearly all away, +and there are some streaks in the sky that look like the beginning of +morning. May hold out, after all. Never know what you can do till you +try. I'll just put on my _Daily News_ again and wait here another half- +hour, and then try out again. Wish it was daylight. Mustn't go to +sleep again if I can help it, as I might catch cold. + +4:30.--Hurrah! Just seen the sun rise! No end of a fine show. Long +bit of poetry about it in the guide-book, cribbed from Wordsworth or +somebody. Can't say the page, as I tore out the leaf last night to put +inside my boot, to help to keep my toes warm. Never expected to see the +sun rise from the highest spot in England. Awful good score for me, +though--very few do it, I fancy. Think of those lazy Cambridge fellows +curled up in bed and missing it all; just the way with these fellows, +all show off. + +The sun's warm already, and I've left off my _Daily News_ and spare +shirt, and I'm just going to take the paper out of my boots; that is, if +I can ever get down to my toes--but I'm so jolly stiff. + +Never mind, I've done it, and--bother that cough, it's made me break the +point of my pencil. + +5 a.m.--Been sharpening the pencil with my teeth. Rather a poor +breakfast; never mind, I shall have a rousing appetite when I get to the +bottom. May tip that waiter possibly, if he brings the grub up sharp. +Now I'm starting down. I shall go down to Dungeon Ghyl the way I came, +I fancy. If I went down to Wastdale, I might meet those Cambridge +fellows again, and I wouldn't care for that. It would mortify them too +much to know what they've missed. Ta! ta! Scafell Pike, old man, keep +yourself warm. I'll leave you my _Daily News_, in case you want it. + +8 a.m.--Been all this time getting half-way down. Can scarcely crawl. +Going up hill's nothing, but the bumping you get coming down, when +you're as stiff as a poker, and coughing like an old horse, is a +caution. Had a good mind to ask a shepherd I met half an hour ago to +give me a leg down, but didn't like to; so I told him I'd just been to +the top to see the sunrise, and it was a fine morning. All but added, +"I suppose you haven't got a crust of bread in your pocket?" but pulled +up in time. Pity to spoil my appetite for breakfast at Dungeon Ghyl. +Ugh! if I sit here I shall rust up, and not be able to move. _Must_ go +on. + +10 a.m.--Top of Rosset Ghyl. Not very swell time to get from the top of +the Pike here in five hours. All a chance whether I get down at all, +now--I'm about finished up. Wish those Cambridge fellows-- + +Here the diary ends abruptly; but, in case our readers are curious to +know the end of our hero's adventure, they will be interested to learn +that at the identical moment when the writer reached this point in his +diary, the Cambridge fellows _did_ turn up. They had, indeed, been out +searching the hills from very early morning for the wanderer. As he did +not arrive the night before at Wastdale, they had concluded he had given +up the ascent, and returned to Dungeon Ghyl. But when early that +morning a guide had come over from Dungeon Ghyl, and reported that the +young gentleman had certainly not returned there, the two 'Varsity men +became alarmed, and turned out to search. There was no sign of him on +the Wastdale side of the mountain; and, getting more and more alarmed, +they went on to the summit. There they discovered a crushed-up _Daily +News_ and two or three stained pages of a guide-book. Glad of any clue, +they followed the track down towards Dungeon Ghyl, and at last came upon +the poor fellow, fairly exhausted with hunger, fatigue, and rheumatism. +They gave him what partially revived him, and then with the care and +tenderness of two big brothers carried him down the steep side of Rosset +Ghyl, and so on to the hotel. There they kept him under their special +care, day and night, and never left him till he was well enough to +return home to his anxious family. + +Since then Bartholomew Bumpus has made several ascents of Scafell Pike, +but he has never again, I believe, stayed up there all night to see the +sunrise. Nor has he, when he could possibly help it, gone up +unaccompanied by at least one Cambridge fellow. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY THREE. + +VERY MUCH ABROAD. + +_Being the impressions of foreign travel, communicated chiefly to a +particular friend by Thomas Hooker, minor, of Rugby, during the course +of a Continental tour in France and Switzerland in the company of his +brother, James Hooker, major, also of Rugby_. + +London, _July_ 31. + +Dear Gus,--Here's a spree! The pater's got an idea into his head that +young fellows ought to see something of foreign parts, and store their +minds with the beauties of Nature in her grandest--I forget what-- +anyhow, we backed him up; and Jim and I are to start abroad on our own +hooks on Friday. How's that for luck? The pater has settled what +hotels we go to in Paris and Switzerland, and he's sketched out a route +for us every day we're away. The grind is, he's awfully particular we +should write home every day and keep accounts. Jim will have to do +that, and I'll keep you up. It really is a very good thing for fellows +to travel and expand their minds, you know. We're starting from Holborn +Viaduct at 9:30 on Friday. I'll write and let you know my impressions, +as the pater calls it; and you might let your young sister see them too, +if you like. + +Yours truly, T. Hooker. + +Paris, _August_ 3. + +Dear Gus,--We had an awful squeak for the train at Holborn, owing to +Jim's hatbox falling off the cab and his insisting on going back to pick +it up. It seems to me rather humbug taking chimneys at all, but he says +that's all I know of foreign travel; so I caved in and brought mine too. + +Another thing that nearly lost the train was a row about the luggage. +The fellows wanted to do me out of two bob because they said my +portmanteau was four pounds overweight! There was nearly a shindy, I +can tell you, only Jim said we'd better walk into the chap on our way +back. Anyhow, I wasn't going to be done, so I unlocked my portmanteau +and took out my spare jacket and a pair of bags, and carried them over +my arm, and that made the weight all right. The fellows tried to grin, +of course, but I fancy they were rather blue about it. + +Our tickets cost 45 shillings 6 pence each, not counting grub on the +way, which about finished up a L5 note for the two of us. + +Jim and I had a stunning time in the train. There was only one other +old chap in the carriage. When the fellow came for the tickets outside +Dover, Jim happened to be up on the luggage rack, and the fellow would +never have spotted him if the rack hadn't given way. Then he got +crusty, and we all but got left behind by the steamer. + +Beastly tubs those steamers are! I wonder why they don't make some that +go steady. And they ought to make the seats facing the side of the +vessel, and not with your back to it. You miss such a lot of the view. +I sat with my face to the side of the vessel most of the way. I don't +exactly know what became of Jim. He said afterwards he'd been astern +watching the English coast disappear. I suppose that accounted for his +looking so jolly blue. We weren't sorry to clear out of that boat, I +can tell you. + +Jim was first up the gangway, and I was third, owing to dropping my +spare bags half-way up and having to pick them up. There was an awfully +civil French fellow at the top of the gangway, who touched his hat to +me. I couldn't make out what he said, but I fancied he must be asking +for a tip, so I gave him a copper. That seemed to make him awfully +wild, and he wanted to know my name. I had to tell him, and he wrote it +down; but as he didn't get my address, I hope there won't be a fuss +about it. I didn't see any harm in tipping him, but I suppose it's +against French law, and I don't mean to do it any more. + +There was an awfully rum lot of chaps in our carriage between Calais and +Paris. You'd have thought they had never seen a pair of bags before in +their life; for they stared at mine all the way from Calais to Amiens, +where we got out for refreshment. I thought it best to take my bags +with me to the buffet, as they might have humbugged about with them if +I'd left them in the carriage. + +They ought to make English compulsory in French schools. The duffers in +the buffet didn't even know what a dough-nut was! Not even when Jim +looked it up in the dixy and asked for _noix a pate_. The idiot asked +us if we meant "rosbif," or "biftik," or "palal"--that's all the English +they seemed to know, and think English fellows feed off nothing else. +However, we did get some grub, and paid for it too. When we got back to +the carriage I took the precaution of sticking my bags on the rack above +Jim's head; so all the fellows stared at him the rest of the way, and I +got a stunning sleep. + +We had an awful doing, as Bunker would call it--by the way, did he pull +off his tennis match against Turner on breaking-up day?--when we got to +Paris. The row at Holborn was a fool to it. Just fancy, they made Jim +and me open both our portmanteaux and hat-boxes before they would let us +leave the station! I can tell you, old man, I'm scarcely cool yet after +that disturbance, and if it hadn't been for Jim I guess they'd have +found out how a "Rug" can kick out! Jim says it's the regular thing, +and they collar all the cigars they can find. All I can say is, it's +robbery and cool cheek, and I wish you or some of the fellows would +write to the _Times_ or the _Boy's Own Paper_ and get it stopped. We +had to turn every blessed thing out on the counter, and pack up again +afterwards. It's a marvel to me how the mater stowed all the things +away. I couldn't get half of them back, and had to shove the rest into +my rug and tie it up at the corners like a washerwoman's bundle. Jim's +too easy-going by half. I'm certain, if he'd backed me up, we could +have hacked over the lot of them; and I shouldn't have lost that spare +pair of bags, which I forgot all about in the shindy. I hope there'll +be a war with France soon. We were jolly fagged when we got to the inn, +I can tell you. The old woman had got the pater's letter, so she +expected us. She's rather an ass, and must have been getting up her +English for our benefit, for she's called us "nice young Englese +gentilman" about a hundred times already. + +I don't think Jim's got over the blues he had watching the English coast +yesterday. He's asleep still, so I'm writing this while I'm waiting for +him to come to breakfast. I shall not wait much longer, I can tell you. +Ta-ta! Remember me to any of the old crowd you see; also to your young +sister. + +Yours truly, Thomas Hooker. + +P.S.--By the way, see what your French dixy says for doughnut, and let +me know by return. We're going on to Switzerland in a day or two. + +Paris, _August_ 6. + +Dear Gus,--The dictionary word of yours won't wash here. We've tried it +all round Paris, and you might as well talk Greek to them. I don't +believe there's any word in the language for dough-nut. Jim's not bad +at French, either. We should be regularly floored if it wasn't for him. +And I expect they guess by his accent he comes from Rugby, for fellows +all touch their hats to him. + +You know the pater gave us a list of places to go and see in Paris--the +Louvre and the Luxembourg, and all that. Well, he never stuck down +where they were, and we've had to worry it out for ourselves. Jim +stopped a fellow this morning and asked him, "Ou est la chemin pour +Luxembourg?" The fellow took off his hat and was awfully civil, and +said, "Par ici, messieurs," and took us a walk of about three miles, and +landed us at a railway station. He thought we wanted to go to +Luxembourg in Germany, or wherever it is--fare about three cool sovs. +The fellow hung about us most of the rest of the day, expecting a tip. +Likely idea that, after the game he'd had with us! We couldn't shake +him off till we bolted into one of the swimming baths on the river. +That smoked him out. Most of these chaps draw the line at a tub. Would +you believe it? at our inn, they never seem to have heard of soap in +their lives, and we got quite tired of saying "savon" before we found +some in a shop. Jim thinks they use it all up for soup. What we get at +the inn tastes like it. + +Jim is rather a cute beggar. We went to a cafe yesterday to get some +grub, and he wanted a glass of milk. We had both clean forgotten the +French for milk, and we'd left the dixy at the inn. We tried to make +the fellow understand, but he was an ass. We pointed to a picture of a +cow hanging on the wall and smacked our lips; and he grinned and rubbed +his hands, and said, "Ah, oui. Rosbif! jolly rosbif!" Did you ever +hear of such a born idiot? At last Jim had an idea and said, "Apportez- +nous du cafe-au-lait sans le cafe." That fetched it. The fellow +twigged at once. Not bad of Jim, was it? + +Jolly slow place Paris. The swimming baths are the only place worth +going to. Jim went in off the eight-foot springboard. You should have +seen the natives sit up at the neat dive he made. + +I hope the pater's not going to ask too much about the Louvre, because +we scamped it. The fact is, there was a little unpleasantness with one +of the fellows, owing to Jim's cane happening to scratch one of the +pictures by a chap named Rubens. It was quite an accident, as we were +only trying to spike a wasp on the frame, and Jim missed his shot. The +fellow there made a mule of himself, and lost his temper. So we didn't +see the fun of staying, and cut. + +Montreux, Lake of Geneva, _August_ 10. + +Couldn't finish this before we left Paris. We meant to start for here +on Friday, but settled to come on on Thursday night after all. You +needn't go telling them at home, but between you and me it was a bit of +a bolt. + +The fact was, we went to a church called Notre Dame in the morning--not +nearly such a snug place as Rugby Chapel, and they charge a penny apiece +for the chairs. So we cut the inside and thought we'd go up to the top. +It wasn't a bad lark, and you get a stunning view. The swimming baths +looked about the size of a sheet of school paper. There was a door open +into the belfry, and as nobody was about, we never thought it would be +any harm to have a ring up. We couldn't get the big bell to go, but +most of the others did, and it was enough to deafen you. + +I suppose they must have heard the row below, for when we looked down we +saw a regular crowd of fellows in the square underneath looking up our +way. After that we thought we might as well shut up, and were just +going to cut down, when a fellow belonging to the place, who had been +somewhere on the top, came rushing round the parapet, flourishing a +stick and yelling like a trooper in awfully bad French. We had a good +start of him, especially as we shut the door at the top of the stairs +behind us. Besides he was fat; so we easily pulled it off. + +There was an old woman at the bottom who kept the ticket place. She +twigged _it_ was a bolt, and tried to stop us; but she couldn't _get_ +out of her box. So we strolled out easily and cabbed it back to the +inn. It was an awful game to see the crowd still staring up at the +tower as we drove off. The fat fellow got down just as we were turning +the corner. I don't think he guessed we were cabbing it. Anyhow, we +didn't see any one chasing the cab. Jim said we were rather well out of +it; and we settled we might as well drive on to the swimming baths and +stay there for an hour or so till things had quieted down, and then go +on to Switzerland by the evening train, especially, Jim said, as the +pater might not like to get his name mixed up in a French row. + +Beastly uncomfortable carriages on the Swiss railway from Paris. There +was the same humbug about the luggage at a little station in the middle +of the night, but we were too fagged to cut up rough. We were jolly +glad to get here at last, I can tell you. + +I must shut up now, as I've got to write to pater. It's a regular go. +We forgot he'd be sending the money to Paris, and now we've only got +about half-a-sov. between us! Remember me to your young sister. + +Yours truly, T. Hooker. + +Montreux, _August_ 10. + +Dear Father,--We didn't see the Luxembourg, as a fellow directed us to +the wrong place. We had several bathes in the Seine. Jim got on very +well with his French, and I think we are both improved. We should be +glad of some more money, as we are nearly out. I bought a present for +you in Paris, which I think you will like when you see it. If you could +send the money here by return it would do. I suppose what you sent to +Paris missed us, as we came here a day sooner than we expected. + +We went up Notre Dame the last day we were in Paris. There is a fine +view from the top. It is surprising how few of the French you meet in +the swimming baths. We had the place to ourselves one day. It's eight +feet at the deep end. Jim and I both think foreign travel is good for a +fellow, and we shall hope to have a reply to this by return. + +Your loving son, Tom. + +Montreux, _August_ 11. + +Dear Gus,--We're regularly stuck up, as the money hasn't come yet. I +hope it will come soon, or the old girl at the inn here will think we're +cadgers. We had a stunning row on the lake yesterday; the boats are +only a bob an hour, so we thought we might go in for it. We raced a +steamer for about half a mile, and weren't done then, only Jim's oar +came off the pin (they haven't such things as row-locks here), and that +upset us. + +Of course it didn't matter, as we could swim; but the fellows in the +steamer kicked up an awful shine about it, and came and hauled us up, +boat and all. It was rather awkward, as we had nothing to tip them +with. We got out at a dismal sort of place called Chillon. We told the +captain if he was ever in London the pater would be glad to see him. + +We had a grind getting back here with the boat, as it came on dark and +misty, and we couldn't see where Montreux had got to. Jim got rather +chawed up too by the cold, so I sculled. The wind was against us, and +it was rather a hard pull, especially when you couldn't see the land at +all. I managed to keep pretty warm with rowing, but old Jim's teeth +chattered like a steam-engine. It came on a regular squall, and I +didn't see the fun of sculling after about a couple of hours. So Jim +and I huddled up to keep warm, and let her drift. We were jolly glad to +see a light after a bit, and yelled to let them know where we were. +They didn't hear, though, so we just stuck on and chanced it. The old +tub drifted ashore all right, side on, though she upset just as we got +to land. It was lucky the water was shallow, as we were too cold to +swim. As it was, old Jim nearly came to grief. It was no end of a job +hauling in the boat. She was rather knocked about. We had drifted back +to Chillon, exactly where we started from. + +The keeper of the castle put us up for the night and was no end of a +brick. There was rather a row with the boat fellow when we got back to +Montreux. He got crusty about the boat being damaged, and wanted about +two sovs! As it happened, we hadn't got anything, as we gave the fellow +at the castle five francs, and that cleared us out. We told the boat +fellow to call at the inn to-morrow, and I hope to goodness the money +will have turned up, as it's a bit awkward. Jim has a cold. + +Yours truly T. Hooker. + +Please remember me to your young sister. + +Montreux, _August_ 13. + +Dear Father,--Thanks awfully for the money; it was jolly to get it, and +mother's letter. It is very hilly about here. Jim's cold is getting +better. Would you mind telegraphing to us who is the winner of the +Australian cricket match to-morrow, and how many Grace scored? In +haste, Your loving son, Tom. + +Riffel Hotel, _August_ 18. + +Dear Gus,--We're awfully high up here--awful rum little inn it is. It +was chock full, and Jim and I have to sleep under the table. There are +about a dozen other fellows who have to camp out too, so it's a rare +spree. + +We're going to have a shot at the Matterhorn to-morrow if it's fine. It +looks easy enough, and Jim and I were making out the path with a +telescope this afternoon. It's rather a crow to do the Matterhorn. +Some muffs take guides up, but they cost four or five pounds, so we're +going without. + +That boat fellow at Montreux got to be a regular nuisance. In fact, +that's why we came on here a day earlier. He came up twice a day to the +inn, and we couldn't shake him off. We gave him a sov., which was twice +what he had a right to. He swore he'd have two pounds or bring up a +policeman with him next time. So we thought the best way was to clear +out by the early train next morning, and I guess he was jolly blue when +he found us gone. I send with this a faint sketch of some of the +natives! What do you say to their rig? + +It was a pretty good grind up to Zermatt, and we walked it up the +valley. There wasn't much to see on the way, and it's a frightfully +stony road. There were some fellows playing lawn-tennis at the hotel at +Zermatt. One of them wasn't half bad. His serves twisted to the leg +and were awfully hard to get up. Jim and I wouldn't have minded a game, +only the fellows seemed to think no one wanted to play but themselves. +We may get a game to-morrow on our way to the Matterhorn. It was a +tremendous fag getting up here from Zermatt. I don't know why fellows +all come on, as there's no tennis court or anything up here. + +There's an ice-field up here called a glacier, but it's an awful fraud +if you want skating--rough as one of Bullford's fields at Rugby. A +fellow told me it bears all the year round, but it's got a lot of holes, +so we don't think we'll try it. I expect we shall be home next week, as +the pater thinks we've run through our money rather too fast. Remember +me to your people and your young sister. + +Yours truly, T. Hooker. + +Zermatt, _August_ 20. + +Dear Gus,--We didn't do the Matterhorn after all, as Jim screwed his +foot. He's awfully unlucky, and if it hadn't been for the accident we +might have got to the top; and of course it stops tennis too. We did +get one game before we started up. Jim gave me fifteen in two games +each set. I pulled off the first, but he whacked me the other two. +It's a beastly rough court, though, and the mountain was awfully in the +light. + +We hadn't much difficulty finding the way to the Matterhorn, as there +was a sign-post at the end of the village. We thought we might as well +take the easy side, as the front of the hill is pretty stiff. Of course +we had to take a good long round, which was a nuisance, as we meant to +be back for _table d'hote_ at seven. When we got properly on to the +side we put it on, but it was a good long grind, I can tell you. We +weren't sorry to get up to a snow slope and cool ourselves. + +They ought to sweep a path across the snow, or fellows are very likely +to lose their way. We lost ours, but we had a good lark on the snow +snowballing. It got deep in one part, so we had to clamber up the rocks +at the side to get to the top of the slope. It's rather deceptive, +distance, on the snow, for it took us an hour to do what seemed only a +few yards. We got on to a flat bit after awhile, and had another turn +on the snow. + +It was rather a game rolling things down the slope. They went at an +awful pace. The nuisance is the snow has a way of slipping from under +you, and that's how Jim and I came to grief. We were sitting on the +edge of the slope watching a boulder slide, when we began to slide +ourselves. We hadn't our spikes on, or we might have pulled up. As it +was, we got up no end of a speed down that slope. It was no joke. I +yelled to Jim to lie flat, and not sit up, or he might pitch on his +head. I don't remember how we got on after that; I must have bumped my +head, for when I pulled myself together I found I was sitting in the +middle of a grass field with a jolly headache, and pretty well black and +blue. + +I was able to get up though, and looked about for old Jim. I can tell +you it was no joke. I couldn't see him anywhere, and thought he must +have been buried in the snow. I can tell you, old man, it was rough on +me for a quarter of an hour or so. But I found him at last, about a +quarter of a mile down the field. He rolled, he said; he couldn't get +up, as his foot was screwed. So it was a pretty go, as I couldn't carry +him. If I hadn't been quite so knocked about I might have tried; but +Jim's a good nine stone, so I might have dropped him. Luckily, some +fellows came--they'd come to look for us, in fact, as we'd told the +waiter we were going up the Matterhorn, and might not be back in time +for dinner; and when we didn't turn up, they guessed, I suppose, we +might have come to grief. It was a good job they came, as Jim's foot +was rather bad. All the hotel turned out to see us get back. I had to +be carried too, the last bit of the way, as I got fagged. It's a sell +we couldn't get to the top, as it's rather a crow to do the Matterhorn. + +Jim's foot is better to-day, but he'll have to shut off tennis the rest +of this season. I wish mother was here. She could look after Jim +better than I can. In fact, the doctor here, rather a jolly fellow, +says she and the pater had better come at once. I got him to write to +the pater himself, as I was afraid it might make them think something +was wrong if I did. + +Please to remember me to your young sister. + +T. Hooker. + +Zermatt, _August_ 22. + +Dear Gus,--There's a telegram from the pater to say they'll be here to- +morrow night. I'm rather glad, as Jim is feverish. The pater will have +a good deal of tipping to do, as everybody here's no end civil. Can't +write more, as I'm fagged. Remember me to your young sister. + +T.H. + +P.S.--I fancy we shall spend next summer in England--Jim and I. We +don't either of us think much of Switzerland. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR. + +BILK'S FORTUNE--A GHOST STORY. + + + +CHAPTER I. SUPERSTITION. + +We had a fellow at Holmhurst School who rejoiced in the name of +Alexander Magnus Bilk. But, as sometimes happens, our Alexander the +Great did not in all respects resemble the hero to whom he was indebted +for his name. Alexander the Great, so the school-books say, was small +in stature and mighty in mind. Bilk was small in mind and lanky in +stature. They called him "Lamp-post" as a pet name, and as regarded his +height, his girth, and the lightness of his head, the term conveyed a +very fair idea of our hero's chief characteristics. In short, Bilk had +very few brains, and such as he had he occupied by no means to the best +advantage. He read trashy novels, and believed every word of them, and, +like poor Don Quixote of old, he let any one who liked make a fool of +him, if he only took the trouble to get at his weak side. + +I need hardly say the fellows at Holmhurst were not long in discovering +that weak side and getting plenty of fun out of Alexander Magnus. He +could be gammoned to almost any extent, so much so that after a term or +two his persecutors had run through all the tricks they knew, and the +unhappy youth was let alone for sheer want of an idea. + +But one winter, when things seemed at their worst, and it really +appeared likely that Bilk would have to be given up as a bad job, his +tormentors suddenly conceived an idea, and proceeded to put it into +practice in the manner I am about to relate in this most veracious +history. + +The neighbourhood of Holmhurst had for some weeks past been honoured by +the presence of a gang of gipsies, who during the period of their +sojourn had rendered themselves conspicuous by their diligence in their +triple business of chair-mending, fowl-house robbing, and fortune- +telling. In the last of these three departments they perhaps succeeded +best in winning the confidence of their temporary neighbours, and the +private seances they held with housemaids, tradesmen's boys, and +schoolgirls had been particularly gratifying both as to attendance and +pecuniary result. + +It had at length been deemed to be for the general welfare that these +interesting itinerants should seek a change of air in "fresh fields and +pastures new," and the police had accordingly hinted as much to the +authorities of the camp, and given them two hours to pack up. + +More than ever convinced that gratitude is hopeless to seek in human +nature, the gipsies had shaken the dust of Holmhurst from the soles of +their not very tidy feet, and had moved off, no one knew whither. + +These proceedings had, among other persons, interested Alexander Magnus +Bilk not a little, and no one mourned the rapid departure of the gipsies +more than he. For Bilk had for some days past secretly hugged the idea +of presenting himself to the oracle of these wise ones and having his +fortune told. He had in fact gone so far as to make a secret +observation of their quarters one afternoon, and had resolved to devote +the next half-holiday to the particular pursuit of knowledge they +offered, when, lo! cruel fate snatched the cup from his lips and swept +the promised fruit from his reach. In other words, the gipsies had +gone, and, like his great namesake, Alexander, Magnus mourned. + +Among those who noticed his dejection and guessed the cause of it were +two of his particular persecutors. Morgan and Dell had for some months +been suffering affliction for lack of any notion how to get a rise out +of their victim. But they now suddenly cheered up, as they felt the +force of a mighty idea moving them once more to action. + +"Old chap," said Morgan, "I've got it at last!" + +"What have you got?" asked "the old chap"; "your back tooth, or measles, +or what?" + +"I've got a dodge for scoring off the Lamp-post." + +"Have you, though? You are a clever chap, I say! What is it?" + +What it was, Morgan disclosed in such a very low whisper to his ally +that the reader will have to guess. Suffice it to say, the two dear +lads put their heads together for some time, and were extremely busy in +the privacy of their own study all that evening. + +Bilk, little dreaming of the compassion and interest he was evoking in +the hearts of his schoolfellows, retired early to his sorrowful couch, +and mourned his departed gipsies till slumber gently stepped in and +soothed his troubled mind. But returning day laid bare the old wound, +and Alexander girded himself listlessly to the duties of the hour, with +a heart far away. + +He was wandering across the playground after dinner, disinclined alike +for work and play, when Dell accosted him. Bilk might have known Dell +by this time, but his memory was short and his mind preoccupied, and he +smelt no rat, as the Irish would say, in his companion's salutation. + +"Hullo! where are you off to, Lamp-post? How jolly blue you look!" + +"I'm only taking a walk." + +"Well, you don't seem to be enjoying it, by the looks of you. I've just +been taking a trot over the common." + +"I suppose the gipsies have all gone?" inquired Bilk, as unconcernedly +as he could. + +"Yes, I suppose so," answered Dell, offhand. "Anyhow, they've cleared +off the common." + +"But I was told," said Bilk rather nervously, "they'd gone quite away." + +"Not all of them, anyhow," said Dell. "But of course they can't now +show up the way they used to." + +"Where are they, then?" asked Magnus, with a new hope breaking in upon +him. + +"How can I tell? All I know is there are some hanging about still, and +I shouldn't wonder if they weren't far from here." + +"Really, I say! I wonder where?" + +"I'd as good as bet you'd come across one or two of them after dark in +Deadman's Lane, or up at the cross roads, any evening for a week yet. +They don't clear out as fast as fellows think. But I must be off now, +as I've a lot of work to do. Ta, ta!" + +Alexander stood where the other left him, in deep meditation. Those few +casual observations of his schoolfellow had kindled anew the fire that +burned within him. Little could Dell guess how interesting his news +was! After dark! The afternoon was getting on already. The school +clock had struck half-past four nearly a quarter of an hour ago, and by +five it would be quite dark. Tea was at a quarter-past five, and for +half an hour after tea boys could do as they liked. Yes, it would be +foolish to throw away such a chance. At any rate, he would take the air +after tea in Deadman's Lane, and if there he should meet--oh! how he +wondered what his fortune would be! Tea was a feverish meal for Bilk +that evening. He spoke to no one, and ate very little; and as the hand +of the clock worked round to a quarter to six he began to feel +distinctly that a crisis in his life was approaching. He was glad +neither Dell nor Morgan, whose studies probably kept them in their +study, were at tea. They were such fellows for worrying him, and just +now he wanted to be in peace. + +The meal was over at last, and the boys rushed off to enjoy their short +liberty before the hour of preparation. Bilk, who had taken the +precaution to put both a sixpence and a cricket-cap in his pocket, +silently and unobserved slid out into the deserted playground, and in +another minute stood beyond the precincts of Holmhurst. + +Deadman's Lane was scarcely three minutes distant, and thither, with +nervous steps, he wended his way, fumbling the sixpence in his pocket, +and straining his eyes in the darkness for any sign of the gipsies. +Alas! it seemed to be a vain quest. The lane was deserted, and the +cross roads he knew were too far distant to get there and back in half +an hour. He was just thinking of giving it up and turning back, when a +sound behind one of the hedges close to him startled him and sent his +heart to his mouth. He stood still to listen, and heard a gruff voice +say--or rather intone--the following mysterious couplet: + + Ramsdam pammydiddle larrybonnywigtail + Wigtaillarrybonny keimo. + +This could be no other than an incantation, and Bilk stood rooted to the +spot, unable to advance or retreat. He heard a rustling in the hedge, +and the incantation suddenly ceased. Then a figure like that of an old +man bent with age and clad in a ragged coat which nearly touched the +ground advanced slowly, saying in croaking accent as he did so-- + +"Ah, young gentleman, we've waited for ye. We couldn't go till we'd +seen ye; for we've something to tell ye. Come quietly this way, and say +not a word, or the spell's broken--come, young gentleman; come, young +gentleman;" and the old man went on crooning the words to himself as he +led the way with tottering steps round the hedge, and discovered a sort +of tent in which sat, with her face half shrouded in a shawl, an old +woman who wagged her head incessantly and chattered to herself in a +language of her own. She took no notice of Bilk as he drew near +tremblingly, and it was not until the old man had nudged her vehemently, +and both had indulged in a long fit of coughing, that she at last +growled, without even lifting her head-- + +"I see nothing unless for silver." + +It said a great deal for Bilk's quickness of apprehension that he at +once guessed this vague observation to refer to the sixpence he had not +yet offered. He drew it out and handed it to the old woman, and was +about to offer an apology at the same time, when the man put his hand to +his mouth and snarled-- + +"Not a word." + +The old woman took the coin in her trembling hand, and bent her head +over it in silence. Bilk began to get uneasy. The time was passing, +and he would have to start back in a very few moments. Could it be +possible these gipsies, now they had his sixpence, were going to refuse +to tell him the fortune for which he had longed and risked so much? + +No! After a long pause the old woman lifted up her hand and said +something in gibberish to her partner. It was a long time coming, for +they both coughed and groaned violently during the recital. At length, +however, the old man turned to Bilk and said gruffly-- + +"Kneel." + +The boy obeyed, and the old man proceeded. + +"She says a great danger threatens you this night. If you escape it, +you will live to be a baronet or member of parliament, and perhaps you +will marry a duke's daughter; but she can't be certain of that. If you +don't escape it, you will be in a lunatic asylum next week, and never +come out. Not a word," added he, as Bilk once more showed signs of +breaking silence. "Wait till she speaks again." + +Another long pause, and then another long recital in gibberish by the +old woman, broken by the same coughing and groaning as before. Then the +man said-- + +"Stand up, and hold your hands above your head." + +Bilk obeyed. + +"You want to know how to escape the peril?" said the man. + +Bilk, with his hands still up, nodded. + +"To-night at nine o'clock you will hear a bell." + +Again Bilk nodded. Fancy the gipsies knowing that! + +"You will go up to a small room with a chair and a bed in it, and +undress." + +A pause, and another nod from the astonished Bilk. + +"You will put on a long white robe coming down to your ankles. At half- +past nine the place will be dark--as black as pitch." + +Bilk shuddered a little at the prospect. + +"Then will be the time to escape your peril, or else to fall a victim. +To escape it you must go quietly down the stairs and out of the house. +The being who rules your life will be away for this one evening, and you +will escape through his room by the window, which is close to the +ground." + +Bilk started once more. _He_ knew the doctor was to be out that +evening, but what short of supernatural vision could tell the gipsies of +it? + +"You must escape in the long white robe, and run past here on to the +cross roads. No one will see you. At the cross roads there is a post +with four arms. You must climb it and sit on the arm pointing this way +until the clock strikes twelve. The peril will then be past, and your +fortune will be made. Not a word. Go, and beware, Alexander Magnus +Bilk!" + +The legs of the scared Alexander could scarcely uphold him as he obeyed +this last order, and sped trembling towards the school. The gipsies sat +motionless as his footsteps echoed down the lane and died slowly away +into silence. + +Then they rose to go also; but as they did so other footsteps suddenly +sounded, approaching them. With an alacrity astonishing in persons of +their advanced age they darted back to their place of retreat; but too +late. The footsteps came on quickly, and followed them to their very +hiding-place, and next moment the light of two bullseyes turned full +upon them, and the aged couple were in the hands of the police. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY FOURCHAPTER TWO. + +De Prudhom did not often allow himself the luxury of an evening out +during term time. But on this particular evening he was pledged to +fulfil a long-standing engagement with an old crony and fellow-bachelor, +residing about two miles from the school. By some mysterious means the +worthy dominie's intentions had oozed out, and Bilk was by no means the +only boy who had heard of it. Mice seem to find out by instinct when +the cat is away, and fix their own diversions accordingly. + +I merely mention this to explain that as far as Alexander Magnus was +concerned no night could have been more favourable for carrying out the +intricate series of instructions laid down by the gipsy for the making +of his fortune. With this reflection he consoled himself somewhat as he +ran back to the school. + +The doctor had already started for his evening's dissipation, if dining +with Professor Hammerhead could be thus described. This eccentric old +gentleman combined in one the avocations of a bachelor, a man of +science, and a justice of the peace. He rarely took his walks abroad, +preferring the solitude of his library, and the occasional company of +some old comrade with whom to talk over old times, and unburden his mind +of the scientific problems which encumbered it. On the present occasion +he had lit upon a congenial spirit in worthy Dr Prudhom, and the two +spent a very snug evening together over the dessert, raking up memories +of the good old days when they lived on the same staircase at Brasenose; +and plunging deep into abstruse questions of natural and physical +science which even the sherry could not prevent from being dry. + +The professor's present craze was what is commonly termed ethnology. +Anything connected with the history and vicissitudes of the primitive +races of mankind excited his enthusiasm, and he was never tired of +inquiring into the languages, the manners, the customs, the dress, the +ceremonies, and the movements generally of various branches of the human +family, of whom the most obscure were sure to be in his eyes the most +interesting. + +It was only natural, therefore, that when Dr Prudhom made some casual +reference to the recent incursion of gipsies, his host should seize the +occasion to expatiate on the history of that extraordinary race; tracing +them from the Egyptians downwards, and waxing eloquent on their tribal +instincts, which no civilisation or even persecution could eradicate or +domesticate. + +"Fact is," said he, with a chuckle, "they had me to thank that they were +allowed here so long. Police came to me end of first week and said they +were a nuisance. I told the police when I wanted their opinion I'd ask +it. End of second week police came again and said all the farmyards +round had been robbed. I said I must inquire into it. He! he! All the +time I was making glorious observations, my boy; a note-book full, I +declare. End of third week inspector of police came and said he should +have to apply at head-quarters for instructions if I wouldn't give them. +Not a place was secure as long as the vagabonds stayed. Had to cave in +then, and issue a warrant or so and get rid of them. Sorry for it. +Much to learn ye: about them, and the few specimens brought before me +weren't good ones. Young gipsies, you know, Prudhom, aren't up to the +mark. You only get the true aboriginal ring about the old people. Yes, +I'm afraid they're breaking up, you know. Sorry for it." + +Dr Prudhom concurred, and mentioned as a somewhat significant fact +that very few old gipsies had accompanied the late visitation, which +consisted almost altogether of the young and possibly degenerate members +of the tribe. + +The discussion had reached this stage, and the professor was about to +adduce evidence from history of a similar period of depression in the +race, when there came a ring at the front bell, followed by a shuffling +of feet in the hall, which was presently explained by the appearance of +the servant, who announced that there were two constables below who +wished to see his worship. + +Now his worship was anything but pleased to be interrupted in the midst +of his interesting discussion by a matter of such secondary importance +as an interview with the police. + +"Can't see them now," said he to the servant; "tell them to call in the +morning." The servant retired. + +"Strange thing," observed the justice of the peace; "you can shut up +your school at five o'clock every night, and every cheesemonger and +tinker in the place can do the same; but we've got no time we can call +our own. Pull your chair up to the fire, old fellow. Let's see, what +were we saying?" The servant appeared again at this point, and +said--"Please, sir, they've got a couple of the gipsies, and want--" + +"Eh, what!" exclaimed the professor, jumping up. "Why didn't you say so +before? Gipsies! Why, Prudhom, my boy, could anything be more +opportune? Show them into the library, and set a chair for the doctor. +Do you hear? How fortunate this is! Now while I'm examining them, +watch closely, and see if you do not observe the peculiar curve of the +nostril I was speaking to you about as characterising the septentrional +species of the tribe. Come away, doctor!" + +And off trotted the man of science to his library, closely followed by +the scarcely less eager dominie. + +At the far end of the dimly-lighted room stood the constables, on either +side of an aged couple of vagabonds. The old man was arrayed in a long +coat which nearly reached the ground, leaving only a glimpse of a +stained and weather-beaten pair of pantaloons and striped parti-coloured +stockings beneath. The old woman wore a shawl, gipsy fashion, over her +head, and reaching to her feet, which were shod in unusually large and +heavy hob-nailed boots. The faces and hands of both were black with +dirt, and bronzed with heat, and as they stood there trembling in the +grasp of the law, with chattering teeth and tottering knees, they looked +a veritable picture of outcast humanity. + +"Prudhom, my boy," whispered the magistrate to his guest, with a most +unjudicial nudge, to emphasise his remarks, "they're old ones. Was ever +such luck! Knowing ones, too, I guess: they'll try to trick us with +their gammon, you see. He! he! Now, constable, what have you got +here?" + +For the first time the elderly couple lifted their heads and looked +towards the Bench. As they did so they uttered an incoherent +ejaculation, and attempted to spring forward. But the active and +intelligent servants of the law checked them by a vigorous grip of their +arms, and crying "Silence!" in their most majestic and menacing tones, +reduced them at last to order. + +"See that?" whispered the professor to the doctor; "most characteristic. +Simulation is of the very essence of their race. Oh, this is +beautiful! Did you catch what they said just then? It was an +expression in the Maeso-Shemitic dialect, still to be found in the south +of Spain and on the old Moorish coast of Africa. I know it well. Well, +constable?" + +"If you please, your honour, I was passing near the school about half- +past five this afternoon along with my brother officer when I observe +the defendants crawling along beside the wall. I keeps my eye on them, +and observe them going in the direction of Deadman's Lane. I follows +unobserved, and observes them crawl behind a hedge. I waits to observe +what follows, and presently I observe a young gentleman walking down the +lane. As I expects, the male defendant comes out and offers to tell him +his fortune, and I observes the young gentleman give the parties money. +I waits till he leaves, and then with my brother officer we arrest the +parties. That's all, your worship. Stand still, you wagabone you; do +you hear?" + +This last observation was addressed, not to his worship, but to the +female prisoner, who once more made an effort to step forward and speak. +The grip of the constable kept her where she was, but, heedless of this +threatening gesture, she cried out, in a shrill, trembling voice-- + +"Please, sir--please, doctor, we're two of your boys." + +The doctor, who had been intently looking out for the curved nostril +alluded to by his host, started as if he had been shot. + +"Eh, what?" he gasped; "what was that I heard?" + +"Why," said the professor, in ecstasy, "it's just as I told you. +Dissimulation is second nature to the tribe. No he is too big for them. +The old lady says she and the other rogue are your children. Doctor, +there's a notion for you!--an old bachelor like you, too! He! he!" + +"We are indeed!" cried the old man, echoing the shrill tones of his +helpmeet. "I'm Morgan, Dr Prudhom, and he's Dell. Indeed, we're +speaking the truth. We only did it--" + +"There, you see," once more observed the delighted professor; "it's the +very thing I knew would happen. They know you are a schoolmaster, and +they want you to believe-- Oh, this is really most interesting." + +The doctor seemed to find it interesting. He changed colour several +times, and looked hard at the two reprobates before him. But their +weather-and-dust-beaten countenances conveyed no information to his +mind. Their voices certainly did startle him with something like a +familiar sound; but might not this be part of the deep dissimulation +dwelt upon with so much emphasis by his learned friend? + +"I wouldn't have missed this for twenty pounds," said the magistrate, +beaming on his guest; "my theories are confirmed to the letter." + +"We only did it for a lark, sir, and we're awfully sorry," cried the old +man. "We really are, aren't we, Dell?" + +"Yes, sir," cried the old lady; "please let us off this time." + +"Upon my word," said the doctor, getting up and advancing towards the +prisoners. "I don't know--" + +"Don't be a fool, Prudhom; I know them of old. Sit down, man. +Constable, I shall commit the prisoners. Where are my papers?" + +"Oh, doctor, please save us!" cried the old lady again. "We are +speaking the truth. Let us wash our faces and take off our cloaks, and +you'll see we are. Oh, we'll never do it again!" + +And before the doctor could reply, or the scandalised constables could +prevent it, the two gipsies cast off their outer garments, and presented +themselves to the bewildered spectators in the mud-stained jerseys and +knickerbockers of the Holmhurst football club! I draw a veil over the +explanations, the lectures, and the appeals which followed, as also I +forbear to dwell upon the consternation of the man of science, and the +cruel disorganisation of all his cherished theories. It is only fair to +say that the professor bore no malice, when once he discovered how the +matter stood, and used his magisterial influence with the doctor to +procure at any rate a mitigated punishment for the culprits. + +The delinquents were ordered off to the lavatory, and left there with a +can of hot water and a cube of soap, to remove the wrinkles and sunburn +from their crestfallen countenances. Which done, they humbly presented +themselves in the library, where the doctor, looking very stern, stood +already accoutred for the journey home. The leave-taking between the +two old gentlemen was subdued and solemn, and then in grim silence Dr +Prudhom stalked forth into the night, followed at a respectful distance +by his trembling disciples. + +Till that moment the thought of Bilk had never once crossed the minds of +the agitated amateur gipsies, but it flashed across them now as the +doctor strode straight for the cross roads. What if the miserable +Alexander Magnus should have swallowed the absurd bait laid for him, and +be in the act of making his fortune on the very spot they were to pass! + +They held a hurried consultation in whisper on this terrible +possibility. "We shall be expelled if it comes out!" groaned Dell. +"Yes; we may as well tell him at once," said Morgan. "He may not be +there, you know; perhaps we'd better wait and see, in case." + +So they went on in the doctor's wake, nearer and nearer to the fatal +cross roads at every step. + +Suddenly, as they came within a hundred yards of the signpost, the +doctor stood still and uttered an exclamation, the meaning of which they +were able to guess only too readily. Straining their eyes in the +direction indicated, they could discern a white shadowy form hovering in +the road before them. "What's that?" exclaimed the doctor in a whisper. +Dell was conscious of a secret nudge as Morgan gasped--"Oh, it looks +like a ghost! Oh, doctor!" and the two boys clung wildly to the +doctor's arm, trembling and gasping with well-feigned terror. + +Dr Prudhom trembled too, but his agitation was unfeigned. The three +stood still breathless, and watched the dim figure as it hovered across +their path, and then vanished into the darkness. + +"What can it be?" said the doctor, bracing himself up with an effort, +and preparing to walk on. + +"Oh, please, sir," cried the boys, "don't go on! do let us turn back! +Oh dear! oh dear!" + +"Foolish boys!" said the doctor; "haven't you sense enough to know that +no such thing as--ah! there it is again!" + +Yes, there it was again. A faint beam of the moon broke through the +clouds, and lit up the white figure once more where it stood close to +the sign-post. And as they watched it seemed to grow, rising higher and +higher till its head nearly touched the cross-bars. Then suddenly, and +with a groan, it seemed to drop into the earth, and all was darkness +once more. The boys clung one on each side to the doctor, who trembled +hardly less than themselves. No one dared move, or speak, or utter a +sound. + +Again the moon sent forth a beam, as the figure once more appeared and +slowly rose higher and higher. For a moment it seemed as if it would +soar into the air, but again with a dull crash it descended and +vanished. + +"Boys," said the doctor hoarsely, "I confess I--I am puzzled!" + +"I--I wonder," said Dell, "if I ever dare go and see what it is. I say, +M-m-organ, would you g-g-go with me--for the d-d-doctor's sake?" + +"Oh, Dell! I'm afraid. But--yes, I'll try." + +"Brave boys!" said the doctor, never taking his eyes off the spot where +the ghost last vanished. + +The two boys stole forward on tiptoe, holding one another's arms; then +suddenly they broke into a rush straight for the sign-post. + +There was a loud shriek as the white figure rose up to meet them. + +"Bilk, you idiot, cut back for your life! here's the doctor! We were +only having a lark with you. Do cut your sticks, and slip in quietly, +and it'll be all right. Look alive, or we're all three done for!" + +The ill-starred Bilk needed no further invitation. He started to run as +fast as his long legs would carry him, his night-gown flapping in the +evening breeze, and his two persecutors following him with cries of +"Booh!" + +"Scat!" + +"Shoo!" and other formulae for exorcising evil spirits. + +After a hundred yards or so the two heroes gave up the chase, and +returned to the slowly-reviving doctor. + +"Come along, sir," said Dell; "there's nothing there; it vanished as +soon as we got to it. Let us be quick, sir, in case it comes back." + +The remainder of the walk home that evening, I need hardly observe, was +brisk; but it was not so brisk as the same journey accomplished by +Alexander Magnus Bilk, who had reached the school a full quarter of an +hour before his pursuers, and was safe between his blankets by the time +that they peeped into his room on their way to bed, and whispered +consolingly, "It's all up with the duke's daughter now, old man!" + +The doctor may have had some dim suspicion of the real state of affairs; +but if so, he gave no sign, and the boys, happy in their escape from +what might have proved a grave matter, were content to forego all +further practical jokes of the kind for the rest of the session. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE. + +A NIGHT IN THE DREADNOUGHT. + +Chapter I. Stowaways. + +We were spending the winter of 185--, my young brother Jack and I, with +our grandfather at Kingstairs, a quiet little seaside village not a +hundred miles from the Nore. + +I am not quite clear to this day as to why we were there--whether we +were sent for a treat, or for a punishment, or whether I was sent to +take care of Jack, or Jack was sent to take care of me. I can't +remember that we had committed any unusually heinous offence at home. +Indeed, since our attempt a week or two previously to emulate history by +smothering the twins, after the manner of the princes in the Tower, we +had been particularly quiet, not to say dull, at home. For the little +accident of the squib that went off in the night nursery in the middle +of the night counted for nothing, nobody being hurt, and only the head +nurse and our aunt having hysterics. + +So that when, the day after we had broken up for the holidays, our +father told us we were going to spend Christmas at grandfather's, there +was nothing in our past conduct to suggest that the step was to be +regarded in the light of a punishment. + +All the same, it was no great treat. At least it would have been far +more of a treat to spend Christmas at home, and carry out our long- +cherished design of digging at the bottom of the garden till we reached +the fire in the middle of the earth, an operation which we reckoned +would occupy at least a week; to say nothing of the usual Christmas +parties, which we did not see the fun of missing, and the visits to the +Tower and the Monument, which always seemed to be part of every +Christmas holiday. + +However, as it was all settled for us, and everybody seemed to think it +a great treat for us, and further, as Jack had a boat which wanted +sailing, we yielded to the general wish, and reminding everybody that +the presents could be sent down in a trunk a day or two before the 25th, +we took our leave and repaired to Kingstairs. + +Our father came with us, just to see us settled down, and then returned +to town. And it was not till after he had gone that we began to think +it rather slow to be left alone down there with only grandfather and +Jack's boat for company. + +Grandfather was very old. We always used to put him down at a round +hundred years, but I believe he was only seventy-five really. However, +he was not as young as we were, and being rather infirm and subject to +rheumatism, he preferred staying indoors near the fire to coming with us +over the rocks and sailing Jack's boat in mid-December. + +He little knew the pleasure he missed, of course! Happily, he did not +insist on our staying indoors with him, and the consequence was we +managed to do pretty much as we liked, and indeed rather more so than he +or any one else interested in our welfare supposed. + +Kingstairs, as any one who has been there knows, is not a very exciting +place at the best of times. In summer, however, it is a pleasant enough +retreat, where family parties come down from town for a week or so, and +spend their days boating in the pretty bay, or else basking on the sands +under the chalk cliffs, where the children construct fearful and +wonderful pits and castles, and arm-chairs for their mothers to sit in, +or canals and ponds in which to sail their craft. In fine weather +nothing is so enjoyable as a day on the rocks, hunting for crabs and +groping for "pungars," or else strolling about on the jetty to watch the +packet-boat go out to meet the steamer, or see the luggers coming in +after a week's fishing cruise in the German Ocean. + +All this is pleasant enough. But Kingstairs in July and Kingstairs in +December are two different places. + +The lodging-houses were all desolate and deserted. The boats were all +drawn high and dry up on the jetty. The bathing-machines stood dismally +in the field behind the town. Not a soul sat in an arm-chair on the +sands from morning to night. No one walked along the cliffs except the +coastguardsmen. The London steamer had given up running, and no one was +to be seen on the jetty but an occasional sailor, pipe in mouth and +hands in pockets, looking the picture of dismalness. + +You may fancy Jack and I, under these depressing circumstances, soon got +tired of sailing the boat. And when one day, after we had waited a week +for the water to calm down, we started it, with all sail crowded, before +half a gale of wind, from the jetty steps, and watched it heel over on +to one side and next moment disappear under the foam of a great wave +which nearly carried us off our feet where we stood, we decided there +was not much fun to be had out of Kingstairs in December. + +It was often so rough and stormy that it was impossible to get to the +end of the jetty; and on these occasions we were well enough pleased to +take shelter in the "look-out," a big room over the net-house, reached +by a ladder, where there was generally a fire burning, and in which the +sailors and boatmen of the place always congregated when they had +nothing else to do. + +We struck up acquaintance with one or two of these rough tars, who, +seeing perhaps that we were in rather a dismal way, or else glad of +anything in the way of a variety, used to invite us up to warm ourselves +at the fire. We very soon got to feel at home in the "look-out," and +found plenty of entertainment in the yarns and songs with which the men +whiled away the time. + +A great deal of what we heard, now I remember it, was not very +improving; the songs, many of them, were coarse, and as for the yarns, +though we swallowed them all at the time, I fancy they were spun mostly +out of the fancy of the narrators. Wonderful stories they were, of +shipwreck, and battle, and peril, over which we got so excited that we +lay awake at night and shuddered, or else dreamed about them, which was +even worse. + +One man, I remember, told us how he fought with a shark under water in +the South Seas, and stabbed it with the knife in his right hand, just as +the monster's teeth were closing on his other arm. And to make his +story more vivid he bared his great shaggy arm, and showed us an ugly +white scar among the tattoo marks above the elbow. Another man told us +how he had stood beside Nelson on the "Victory," just as the admiral +received his death-wound; and it never occurred to us to wonder how a +man of not more than thirty-five could have been present at that famous +battle, which took place fifty years ago! But the yarn that pleased us +most was the one about the wreck of the "Wolf King," when the Kingstairs +lifeboat, the "Dreadnought," put out in a tremendous gale, and reached +her just as she was going down, and rescued sixteen of her crew. This +story we called for over and over again, till we knew it by heart. And +many a time, as we lay awake at night, and heard the wind whistling +round the house, we wondered if it was a storm like this when the "Wolf +King" went down, or whether any ship would be getting on to the Sands +to-night. + +It was Christmas Eve--a wild, blustering night. It had been blowing up +hard for several days now, and we were used to the howling of the wind +and the roar of the waves on the beach. We had gone to bed tired and +excited, for the promised hamper had arrived that afternoon, and we had +been unpacking it. What a wonderful hamper it was! A turkey to begin +with, and a _Swiss Family Robinson_, and a tool-box, and a telescope, +and a pair of home-made socks for grandfather. We were fain to take +possession of our treasures at once, but the old gentleman forbade it, +and made us put them all back in the hamper and wait till the morning. + +So we went to bed early, hoping thereby, I suppose, to hasten the +morning. But instead of that, the hours dragged past as though the +night would never go. We heard nine o'clock strike, and ten, and +eleven. We weren't in the humour for sleeping, and told one another all +the stories we knew--finishing up, of course, with the wreck of the +"Wolf King." Then we lay for a long time listening to the storm +outside, which seemed to get wilder and wilder as the night dragged on. +The tide, which had been only just turned when we went to bed, sounded +now close under the house, and the thunder of the great waves as they +broke on the sand seemed to make the very earth vibrate. + +Surely it must have been a night like this when the "Wolf King"-- + +"Tom!" + +"What?" + +"Are you awake?" + +"Yes." + +"It's a storm, isn't it?" + +There was a silence for some time, and I supposed Jack had dozed off, +but he began again presently. "Tom!" + +"What?" + +"Hadn't we better go on the jetty?" + +"Why?" + +"There might be a wreck, you know." + +"So there might." + +Next moment we were out of bed and dressing quietly. + +We need not have minded about the noise, for the roar of the storm +outside would have prevented any one from hearing sounds twenty times +louder than those we made, as we crept into our clothes and pulled on +our boots. + +"All ready, Jack?" + +"Yes; mind how you go down." + +We crept downstairs, past grandfather's room, where a light was burning, +down into the hall, and through the passage to the back door. We pulled +the bolts and opened it carefully. Fortunately, it was on the sheltered +side of the house. Had it been the front, the blast that would have +rushed in would certainly have discovered our retreat. + +We stepped cautiously out and closed the door behind us. We were +surprised to find how still it seemed at first, compared with what we +had imagined. But next moment, as we got past the back of the house and +came suddenly into the full force of the wind, we knew that the storm +was even fiercer than we supposed. At first we could barely stand, as +with heads down and knees bent we struggled forward. But we got more +used to it in a little while, and once in Harbour Street we were again +in shelter. + +Harbour Street was empty. No one saw us as we glided down it towards +the jetty. We heard the church clock strike half-past eleven, the +chimes being swept past us on the wind. + +As we turned out of Harbour Street on to the jetty the force of the gale +once more staggered us, and we had almost to crawl forward. There were +lights and the cheery glow of a fire in the "look-out," and we knew +there must be plenty of sailors there. But somehow at this time of +night we did not care to be discovered even by our friends the sailors. +So we kept on, holding on to the chains, towards where the red light +burned at the jetty-head. + +We were too excited to be afraid. One of those strange spirits of +adventure had seized upon us which make boys ready for anything, and the +thought of standing alone at midnight at the pier-head in a storm like +that did not even dismay us. + +But before we were half-way along we found that it was not the easy +thing we imagined. A huge wave struck the jetty behind the wall under +which we crept, and next moment a deluge of spray and foam shot up and +fell, drenching us to the skin. And almost before we knew what had +happened another and another followed. + +We turned instinctively towards the "look-out," but as we did so a +fourth wave, huger than all the rest, swept the jetty from end to end, +and but for the chain, on to which we clung, we should have been washed +off. + +Our only chance was to run for the nearest shelter, and that was the lee +of the tarpaulin-covered lifeboat, which lay up on its stocks, out of +the reach of the spray, and seeming to us to offer as much protection +ashore as it could do afloat. + +Half a dozen staggering steps brought us to it. But even in this short +space another wave had drenched us. We were thankful to creep under its +friendly shelter, and once there we wondered for the first time how we +were ever to get back. Our hearts were beginning to fail us at last. +We were cold and shivering, and wet through, and now the rain came in +gusts, to add to our misery. + +"Couldn't we get inside?" said Jack, with chattering teeth. + +As he spoke a shower of salt spray leapt over the boat and deluged us. +Yes; why not get inside under the tarpaulin, where we could shelter at +once from the cold, and the wet, and the wind? Nobody could see us, and +if any one came we could jump out, and presently, perhaps, the storm +might quiet down, and we could get back to bed. + +Jack had already clambered up the side, and lifted a corner of the +tarpaulin. I followed, and in a minute we were snugly stowed away, in +almost as good shelter as if we had never left our bedroom. + +Then we sat and listened drowsily to the wind raging all round, and +heard the spray falling with heavy thuds on the tarpaulin above us. + +"It must be past twelve, Jack," said I; "a Merry Christmas to you." + +But Jack was fast asleep. + +Chapter II. The Rescue. + +How long Jack and I had lain there, curled up under the bows of the +"Dreadnought" that stormy Christmas morning, I never knew. For I, like +him, had succumbed to the drowsy influence of the cold and wet, and +fallen asleep. + +I remember, just before dropping off, thinking the storm must be +increasing rather than otherwise, and vaguely wondering whether the wind +could possibly capsize the boat up here in the top of its runners. +However, my sleepiness was evidently greater than my fears on this +point, and I dropped off, leaving the question to decide itself. + +The next thing I was conscious of was a strange noise overhead, and a +sudden dash of water on to the floor of the boat just beside me. Then, +before I could rub my eyes, or recollect where I was, the "Dreadnought" +seemed suddenly alive with people, some shouting, some cheering, while +the loud bell at the pierhead close by mingled its harsh voice with the +roar of the storm. + +"Stand by--cut away there!" shouted a hoarse voice from the boat. Then +it flashed across me! The "Dreadnought" was putting out in this fearful +storm to some wreck, and--horrors!--Jack and I were in her! + +"Wait, I say, wait! Jack and I are here. Let us out!" I cried. + +In the noise, and darkness, and confusion, not even the nearest man +noticed me as I sprang up with this terrified shout. + +I shook Jack wildly and shouted again, trying at the same time to make +my way to the stern of the boat. + +But before I had crossed the first bench, before the two men seated +there with oars up, ready for the launch, perceived us, there was a +cheer from the jetty, the great boat gave a little jolt and then began +to slide, slowly at first, but gaining speed as she went on, and I knew +she was off. + +That short, swift descent seemed to me like an eternity. The lights on +the jetty went out, the cheers were drowned, and-- + +A rough hand caught me where I stood half across the bench and drove me +back down beside Jack, who was yet too dazed to stir. Next instant with +a rush and a roar we plunged into the tempest, and all was blackness! + +It seemed to me as if that first plunge was to be the last for the +gallant boat and all in her. The bows under which we crouched, clinging +for dear life to a ring on the floor, were completely submerged. The +water rushed over us and around us, nearly stunning us with its violence +and deafening us with its noise. + +But presently we rose suddenly, and the boat shot up till it seemed to +stand on end, so that, where we sat, we could see every inch of it from +stem to stern, and the dim outline of Kingstairs jetty behind. At the +same moment the ten oars dropped into their rowlocks, the coxswain, with +his sou'-wester pulled down tight on his head, and a hand raised to +screen his eyes from the sleet, shouted something--the boat soared +wildly up the wave, and once again all was darkness for us. + +How the brave boat ever got through that first half-mile of surf is a +mystery to me. Every wave seemed as though it would pitch it like a +plaything across to the next. Now we shot up till we looked down on the +coxswain below us as from the top of a mast, and next instant we looked +up at him till it seemed a marvel how he held to his place, and did not +drop on to us. All the while the men tugged doggedly at the oars, +heeding neither the waves that broke over them and flooded the boat, nor +the surf that often nearly knocked the oars from their hands. + +And what of Jack and me? We crouched there, close together, clutching +fast at the friendly ring, looking out in mute terror on to this fearful +scene, too stupefied to speak, or move, or almost to think. Had any one +seen us? or had the hand which drove me down at the launch saved me from +my danger by accident? I began to think this must be so, when the man +nearest us, whom even in his cork jacket and sou'-wester I recognised as +the hero of the shark story in the "look-out," turned towards us. + +He was not one of the rowers, but had been busily drawing in and coiling +a line close beside us during those first terrific plunges of the boat +after she had taken the water. But now he turned hurriedly to where we +sat, and without a word seized me roughly by the arm and drew me to my +feet. I made sure I was to be cast overboard like Jonah into that +fearful sea. But no. All he did was to throw a cork jacket round me, +and then thrust me down again to my old place, just as a great wave +broke over the prows and seemed almost to fill the boat. As soon as +this had passed and the water swirled out from the boat, he seized Jack +and equipped him in the same way. Then throwing a tarpaulin coat over +us, he left us to ourselves, while he mounted his watch in the bows and +kept a look-out ahead. + +The cork jackets, if of no other use, helped to warm us a bit, as also +did the coat, and thankful for the comfort, however small, we settled +down to see the end of our adventure and hope for the best. + +Settled down, did I say? How could any one settle down in an open boat +on a sea like that, with every wave breaking over our heads and half +drowning us, and each moment finding the boat standing nearly +perpendicular either on its stem or its stern? How the rowers kept +their seats and, still more, held on to their oars and pulled through +the waves, I can still scarcely imagine. But for the friendly ring on +to which Jack and I held like grim death, I am certain we should have +been pitched out of the boat at her first lurch. + +The "Dreadnought" ploughed on. Not a word was spoken save an occasional +shout between the coxswain and our friend in the bows as to our course. +I could see by the receding lights of Kingstairs, which came into sight +every time we mounted to the top of a wave, that we were not taking a +straight course out, but bearing north, right in the teeth of the wind; +and I knew enough of boats, I remember, to wonder with a shudder what +would happen if we should chance to get broadside on to one of these +waves. Presently the man by us shouted--"You're right now. Bill!" + +The coxswain gave some word of command, and we seemed to come suddenly +into less broken water. The men shipped their oars, and springing to +their feet, as if by one motion, hoisted a mast and unfurled a +triangular sail. + +For a moment the flapping of the canvas half deafened us. Then suddenly +it steadied, and next minute the boat heeled over, gunwale down on the +water, and began to hiss through the waves at a tremendous speed. + +"Pass them younkers down here!" shouted Bill, when this manoeuvre had +been executed. + +Jack and I were accordingly sent crawling down to the stern under the +benches, and presented ourselves in a pitiable condition before the +coxswain. + +He was not a man of many words at the best of times, and just now, when +everything depended on the steering, he had not one to waste. + +"Stow 'em away, Ben," he said, not looking at us, but keeping his eyes +straight ahead. + +Ben, another of our acquaintance, dragged us up beside him on the +weather bulwarks, and here we had to stand, holding on to a rail, while +the boat, with her sail lying almost on the water, rushed through the +waves. + +We were no longer among the breaking surf through which we had had to +straggle at starting, although the sea still rolled mountains high, and +threatened to turn us over every moment as we sailed across it. But the +gallant boat, thanks to the skilful eye and hand of the coxswain, kept +her head up, and presently even we got used to the situation, and were +able to do the same. + +Where was the wreck? I summoned up courage to ask Ben, who, no longer +having to row, was standing composedly against the bulwarks by our side. + +"Not far now. Straight ahead." + +We strained our eyes eagerly forward. For a long time nothing was +visible in the darkness, but presently a bright flash of light shot +upward, followed almost immediately by a blaze on the surface of the +water and a dull report. + +"They're firing again!" said Ben; "we'll be up to them in a jiffey!" + +"What are we to do?" asked Jack dismally. + +"Hold on where you are," said Ben; "and if we upset stay quiet in the +water till you're picked up." + +With which consoling piece of advice Jack and I subsided, and asked no +more questions. + +The sight of a column of lurid flame and smoke made us wonder for a +moment whether the vessel in distress was not on fire as well as +wrecked. But I recollected that the "Wolf King" had burned tar-barrels +all night long as a signal of distress, and this we rightly concluded +was what was taking place on board "our" wreck. + +Ben's "jiffey" seemed a good while coming to an end, and long before it +did we passed once more into broken water, and the perils of the start +were repeated, with the aggravation that we were now across the wind +instead of being head on. Wave after wave burst over us, and time after +time, as we hung suspended on the crest of some great billow, it seemed +as if we never could right ourselves. But we did. + +"Stand by!" cried the coxswain, when at last a great dim black outline +appeared on our starboard. + +Instantly the men were in their seats; oars were put out; the mast and +sail came down, and the clank of the anchor being got ready for use fell +on our ears from the bows. + +The wreck was now right between us and the shore, we being some distance +to the windward of it. My knowledge of the story of the wreck of the +"Wolf King" gave me a pretty good notion of what was going on, and even +in the midst of our peril I found myself whispering to Jack-- + +"They're going to drop the anchor, you know, and blow down on to her--" + +"Hope they've got rope enough," said Jack. For in the case of the "Wolf +King" it took three attempts to get within the right distance. The +coxswain of the "Dreadnought" was evidently determined not to fall into +his old error this time, and, with her head to the wind and the oars +holding the water, he allowed her to drift to within about eighty yards +of the wreck. Then he shouted-- + +"Pay away, there!" and instantly we heard the cable grinding over the +gunwale. + +Would it hold? Even to inexperienced boys like Jack and me the suspense +was dreadful as the cable ran out, and the rowers kept the boat's head +carefully up. + +The grinding ceased. There was a moment's pause, then came a welcome +"Ay, ay!" from the bows, and we knew it was all right. + +It didn't take the wind long to drive us back on our cable, stern +foremost, on to the wreck, which now loomed out huge and ghostly on the +wild water. As we drifted down under her stern we were conscious, +amidst the smoke of the burning tar-barrels and the spray of the waves +which broke over her, of a crowd of faces looking over her sides, and +fancied we heard a faint cheer too. Our men still kept their oars out, +and when, always holding on to our cable, we had drifted some twenty +yards or so on to the lee side of the wreck, the order was given to pull +alongside. + +It was no easy task in the face of the wind; but the men who had taken +the "Dreadnought" through the surf off Kingstairs jetty were not likely +to fail now. A few powerful strokes brought us close under the lee of +the wreck, ropes were thrown out fore and aft, and in a few minutes we +lay tossing and kicking, but safely moored within a yard or two of the +ill-starred vessel. + +Half a dozen of our men were up her sides and on board in a moment, and +we could hear the cheers with which they were greeted as they sprang on +deck. No time was to be lost. The wreck was creaking in every timber, +and each wave that burst over her, deluging us on the other side, +threatened to break her in pieces. One mast already was broken short, +and hung helplessly down, held only by her rigging to the deck. The +other looked as though it might go any moment, and perhaps carry the +wreck with it. + +If she were to capsize now, what would become of us? + +It seemed ages before our men reappeared. + +One of them shouted down-- + +"There's twenty. Germans." + +"Any women?" + +"Two." + +"Look sharp with them." + +We could see a cloaked figure lifted on to the bulwarks of the wreck and +held there. A wave had just passed. As the next came and lifted us up +with a lurch towards her, some one cried "Jump!" and she obeyed wildly-- +almost too wildly, for she nearly overleaped us. Mercifully there were +stout arms to catch her and place her in safety. The other woman +followed; and then one after another the crew, until, with thankful +hearts, we counted twenty on board. + +Our work was done. No! There was a report like a crack of thunder over +our heads, a shout, a shriek, as the mainmast of the wreck gave way with +a crash, and swayed towards us. + +"Jump!" shouted the coxswain to our men, who were waiting for the next +wave to bring the boat to them. "Cut away for'ard, there!" + +Another moment and the mast would be on us and overwhelm us! They +jumped, although we were down in the trough of the wave, yards below +them. At the same moment the rope in the stern was cut loose, and the +boat swung round wildly, just in time to clear the mast as it fell with +a terrific crash overboard. But our men? Four of them landed safely in +our midst; but the others? Oh! how our hearts turned cold as we saw +that two were missing, and knew that they mast be in that boiling, +furious water! We sprang wildly to the side, in the mad hope of seeing +them, or perhaps even reaching them a hand but a stern order from the +coxswain sent us back to our places. + +A minute of awful suspense followed. The oars were put up, and, still +held by her stern cable, the boat was brought up again alongside. In a +minute a shout from the prow proclaimed that one at least of the missing +ones was discovered, and presently a dripping form clambered over the +side of the boat close to us and coolly sat down to his oar, as if +nothing had happened. + +Another shout--this time not from the boat, but from the water. Our +other man had been carried the wrong side of us by the wave, and could +not reach us. But a rope dexterously pitched reached him where he +floated, and we had the unspeakable joy of seeing him at last hauled +safely on board, exhausted, but as unconcerned as if drowning were an +ordinary occurrence with him. + +How thankfully we saw the last cable which held us to the wreck cast +loose, and found ourselves at length, with our twenty rescued souls on +board, heading once more for Kingstairs! Little was said on that short +voyage home. Sail and oar carried us rapidly through the storm. The +waves that broke over us from behind were as nothing to those that had +broken over us from in front. And as if in recognition of the gallant +exploit of the tough old "Dreadnought," the very surf off Kingstairs +beach had moderated when we reached it. + +As we sighted the jetty we could see lights moving and hear a distant +shout, which was answered by a ringing cheer from our men, in which Jack +and I and the eighteen Germans and the two women joined. What a cheer +it was! At the jetty-head we could see a large crowd waiting to receive +us, and as we passed a stentorian voice shouted, "Ahoy! Have you got +them two boys on board?" + +"Ay, ay!" cried the coxswain; "safe and sound--the rascals!" + +Rascals, indeed! As we clambered up the ladder, scarcely believing that +we touched _terra firma_ once more, and found our poor old grandfather +almost beside himself with joy and excitement at the top, we considered +we deserved the title. + +"Thank God you're safe!" he cried, when at last he had us before a +blazing fire and a hot breakfast in his dining-room. "Thank God, you +rascals!" + +We had done so long ago, and did it again and again, and thanked Him, +not only for ourselves, but for the brave old "Dreadnought" too, so true +to her name and the work she had done that night. + +Before we went to bed Jack said, "Same to you, Tom." I knew what he +meant. I had wished him a "Merry Christmas" at five minutes past twelve +that morning, and this was his answer six hours after. What a lot may +happen in six hours! + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY SIX. + +HANNIBAL TROTTER THE HERO--A CHAPTER OF AUTOBIOGRAPHY. + +We know that it always is, or should be, embarrassing to a hero to +recite the history of his own exploits. So if this simple narrative +strikes the reader as defective, he must excuse it for that reason. For +I am in this painful position, that as no one else will recount my +adventures for me, I have nothing left but to do it myself. It has +surprised me often that it should be so, for there have been times when +I have even pictured myself reading the twentieth edition of my own +memoirs, and the reviews of the Press on the same. I am not offended, +however, but I am sorry, for it would have been good reading. + +Without appearing immodest, may I say that the reader has really no idea +what a hero the world has possessed in the person of me, Hannibal +Trotter? It has been my misfortune never to be anything else. How +often have I sighed for an unheroic half-hour! + +I was born a hero. Glory marked me for her own from the first hour of +my career. I wish she had let me alone. Had I captured a city, or +rescued a ship's crew, I could not have been made more of than I was for +the simple exploit of being a baby. Nobody else was thought of beside +me; everybody conspired to do me honour. A fictitious glory settled +upon me then, from which I have never escaped. They called me Hannibal. +I was not consulted, or I should have opposed the name. It confirmed +me in a false position. There was no chance of not being a hero with +such a name, and I was in for it literally before I knew where I was. + +The day I first walked, General Havelock was a fool to me. I must have +been eighteen months at the time, but when the word went forth, +"Hannibal walks!" I was simply deafened by the applause which greeted +my feat. It wasn't much better when, at the very unprecocious age of +two, I gave vent to an inarticulate utterance which, among those who +ought to have known better, passed for speech. I assure you, reader, +for the next few months I had the whole family hanging on my lips. How +would you like your whole family hanging on your lips? But then you +weren't born a hero. + +Well, it went on. My infancy was one sickening round of glory. Did I +build a house of bricks four courses high? Archimedes wasn't in it with +me. Did I sing a nursery rhyme to a tune all one note? Apollo was a +dabbler in music beside me. Did one of my first teeth drop out without +my knowing it? Casabianca on the burning deck couldn't touch me for +fortitude. Did I once and again chance to tell the truth? Latimer, +Ridley, George Washington, and Euclid might retire into private life at +once, and never be heard of again! + +It was a terrific _role_ to have to keep up, and as I gradually emerged +from frocks into trousers, and from an easy-going infancy into an +anxious boyhood, the true nature of my affliction began to dawn upon me. +Hannibal Trotter, through no choice of his own, and yet by the +undoubted ordering of Fate, was a hero, and he must act as such. He +must, in fact, keep it up or give it up; and a fellow cannot lightly +give up the only _role_ he has. + +In due time, after heroic efforts, I was, at about the age of ten, able +to read to myself, and my attention was at once directed to a class of +stories congenial to my reputation. It would hardly be fair to inflict +upon the patient reader a digest of my studies, but the one impression +they left upon my mind was that a young man, if he is to be worth the +name, must on every possible occasion both be a hero and show it. + +This conclusion rather distressed me; for while the first condition was +easy and natural enough, the second was no joke. I knew I was a hero; I +could not doubt it, for I had been brought up to the business, and to +question it would be to question the veracity of every relative I had. +But try all I would I couldn't manage to show it. + +After a considerable amount of patient study, my conceptions of a hero +had resolved themselves into several leading ideas, which it may be of +use to the reader if I repeat here:-- + +1. He must save one life or more from drowning. + +2. He must stop runaway horses. + +3. He must rescue people from burning houses. + +4. He must pull some one from under the wheels of a train. + +5. He must encounter and slay a mad dog in single combat. + +6. He must capture a burglar; and 7. He must interpose his body +between the pistol of the assassin and the person of some individual of +consequence. + +In my researches I had collected a mass of information under each of +these heads, and was perfectly acquainted with what was becoming in a +hero in each emergency. + +But, as I have said, try all I would the chance never came. + +I was full of hopes when we went to the seaside that emergency number +one at least might make an opening for me. I spent hours every morning +on the beach watching the bathers, and longing to hear the welcome shout +of distress. I sat with my boots unlaced and my coat ready to fling off +at a moment's notice. I tempted my sisters to go and bathe where the +shore shelved rapidly and the ebb washed back strongly. They went, and +to my chagrin were delighted with the place, and learned to swim better +than I could. + +There was a man who went out every morning to bathe from a boat. I was +always at the pier-head watching him, but he went into the water and +scrambled out of it again over the stern of the boat with ruthless +regularity, and quite mistook my interest in him for admiration, which +was the very last sentiment I harboured. + +Once I made sure my chance had come. It was a warm day, and the shore +was crowded. Most of the people had finished bathing, and were spread +about the sands drying their back hair and reading their papers. One +adventurous bather, however, remained in the water. I had anxiously +watched him swim round the pier-head and back, ready--longing--to see +him cast his hands above his head and hang out other signals of +distress. But it seemed I was again to be disappointed. He came in +swimming easily, and mightily pleased with himself and his performance. +He was about twenty yards off his machine and I was beginning to give +him up, when to my delight I saw his hands go up and his head go down, +and heard what I fondly hoped was a yell of despair. + +In a moment--two moments, I should say, for one of my boots was not +quite enough unlaced--I was floundering in the water in my flannel shirt +and trousers, striking out wildly for the spot where he had disappeared. +I had gathered from the authorities I had consulted that heroes, under +these circumstances, got over distances in a shorter time than it takes +to record it. This was not my experience. It took me a long time to +get half the way, and by that time my clothes were very heavy and I was +very tired. Moreover, my man was still invisible. + +Of course I could not turn back. Even if I did not succeed in fishing +him out, it was a "gallant attempt," which would be almost as good. +Partly to see how the crowd was taking it, and partly to rest myself, I +turned over on my back and floated. This do doubt was a tactical error; +for as a rule a hero does not float out to save any one's life. In my +case it did not much matter, for the first thing I perceived as I turned +was my drowning man's head bobbing up merrily between me and the shore, +having enjoyed his long dive and wholly unaware of the "gallant attempt" +which was being made to rescue him from a watery grave. + +As he caught sight of me, however, floundering on my back, and scarcely +able to keep my head up for the weight of my clothes, his face became +alarmed. "Hold up a second!" he shouted. Half a dozen strong strokes +brought him to my side, and before I could explain or decline, he had +gripped me by the two shoulders and was punting me ignominiously towards +the shore. + +It was a painful situation for me; the more so that I was quite done up +and scarcely able to stagger out of the water into the arms of my +affrighted relatives. + +"Lay him on his back and work his arms up and down till you get all the +water out of him, and then put him between hot blankets," cried my +preserver, "and he'll be all serene. They ought to make a shallow place +somewhere for these kids to bathe, where they won't get out of their +depths. Bless you, ma'am," added he, in reply to my mother's thanks, +"it's not worth talking of. It all comes in a day's work, and you're +very welcome." + +I was rather glad to leave the seaside after that; and whenever in the +course of my future readings I came upon any further reference to +emergency number one, I discreetly passed it over. + +But hope springs eternal in the human breast, and the resources of +heroism were by no means exhausted. + +The drowning business had missed fire. I would go into the runaway- +horse line, and try how that would stand me for glory. + +So after a careful study of the theory of the art from my books, I took +to haunting Rotten Row in my leisure hours with a view to business. I +must confess that it is far easier to stop a runaway horse on paper than +on a gravel drive. I speculated, as one or two specially reckless +riders dashed past me, on what the chance would be of making a spring at +the bridle of a horse going half as fast again as theirs, and bringing +him gracefully on to his knees. I didn't like the idea. And yet had +not a fellow done it in one of Kingsley's novels, and another in one of +Lever's? + +At last I screwed myself up to it. I had worked the thing out +carefully, and arranged my spring and everything. But I was unlucky +again when the time came. + +I remember the occasion well--painfully well. It was a bright May +afternoon. I had given the carriages up as hopeless--they drove far too +soberly--and was taking a forlorn glance up and down the ride at the +equestrians, when I perceived a youth approach on a very dashing animal, +which, if it was not bolting, was sailing remarkably close to the wind +in that direction. The ride was pretty clear, and the few seconds I had +in which to make up my mind were enough for me. I heard some one say +close beside me, "He'll be chucked!" + +Instantly I dived under the rail and dashed out into the road. There +was a shout and a yell, and the young gentleman had to pull his mare up +on her haunches to avoid riding me down. Before I could act under these +circumstances a mounted policeman dashed up, and collaring me by the +coat, swung me along beside him a yard or two, and then, with a box on +the ears, pitched me back in among the crowd. + +I should have liked to explain, but he did not give me time. + +"Young fool!" said one of the crowd; "you might have killed him. Do you +know who that was?" + +"Who?" I gasped, for I was out of breath. "That young man who--" + +"Yes--that young man's the Prince of Wales." + +It's twenty-six years ago since it happened, and probably the King has +forgotten the adventure. I haven't. I retired from the runaway-horse +business that very afternoon. + +Another door was shut against me. Still there were others left, and the +house-on-fire line had a good deal to recommend it. It was a thing in +which one could not well make a mistake. It had been possible, as I had +found out by painful experience, to mistake the pranks of a lively +swimmer for drowning, and the capers of a lively mare for bolting. But +there was no mistaking a house on fire when you saw one. People in a +burning house, moreover, would be likely to give every facility possible +for their own rescue, and the chances were one would not find many +competitors to deprive one of the glory. On the whole, I warmed up to +this new opening considerably. + +Of course one never has the good fortune to have a fire in one's own +house when it is wanted. It would have been exceedingly convenient for +me to have to rescue my own family from the flames. As it was, I had to +spend a good many dreary nights in the street in the neighbourhood of +the fire alarms before I so much as smelt fire. + +It was a good one when it came. A great warehouse in the City was +gutted, and those who saw the blaze are not likely to forget it in a +hurry. I saw it. I had scampered with all my might after one of the +engines, but only to find a dense crowd on the spot before me. There +was a wide circle kept round the place, and never did circus-goers fight +for a front row in the gallery as did that crowd fight for a front place +at this grand show. + +It was nearly an hour before, by dint of squeezing, sneaking, fighting, +and beseeching, I could get to the front. By that time the fire had +done its worst. Still I had noted with satisfaction that no fire- +escapes had yet been brought up, so that any unfortunate inmates were +sure to be still safe for me. The firemen were playing on the flames +with their hoses, and every now and then an alarm of a tottering wall +sent them flying back to a safe distance. It was a grand opportunity +for me to brave these poltroons on their own ground, and show them how a +hero behaves at a fire. + +So I took advantage of a policeman turning another way, to break bounds +and run into the open space. + +"Come back!" shouted the policeman. + +"Come back!" yelled the mob. + +"Mind the wall!" cried a fireman. + +I was delighted, and already glowed with glory. + +Alas! how soon our brightest hopes may be damped! + +The fireman, seeing that I still advanced on the burning ruin, wheeled +round on me with his hose, and before I could count five had drenched me +through and through, and half-stunned me with the force of the water +into the bargain. + +The crowd screamed with laughter; the police seized me by all fours; the +fireman executed a final solo on my retreating person, and the next +thing I was aware of was being delivered at my own door from a four- +wheeled cab, with my interest in conflagrations completely extinguished. + +My faith in the history of heroism began to be a trifle shaken after +this adventure. However, I was committed to a course of gallant action; +and it were cowardice to lose heart after a rebuff or two. I must at +any rate try my hand at a railway rescue before giving in. + +In my studies I had only met with one successful case of extracting +individuals from between the wheels of locomotives in motion, and +therefore entered upon this branch of my experiments with considerable +doubt. Nor did anything occur to remove that doubt. I watched the +trains carefully for a month; and whenever I saw any one place himself +near the edge of the platform as a train came up, I made a point of +placing myself hard by. But we never got beyond the platform; and, +indeed, the whole course of my experiments in this department resulted +in nothing beyond my one day being knocked down by the unexpected +opening of a carriage door; and on another occasion being nearly placed +under arrest for clutching a man's arm as the train came up, he said +with intent "to chuck him on the line," but as I told him, and +unsuccessfully tried to explain to him, because he seemed to me to be +about to be swept over by the engine. + +It was on the whole a relief to me, when, in order to extricate myself +from the serious consequences of this last adventure, I was obliged to +promise never to do such a thing again. That settled the locomotive +business. As a man of honour I was forced to quit it, and cast about me +for a new road to glory. + +Now, I think it argues considerably for my heroism that after the +unfortunate result of so many adventures I should still persist in +keeping up my struggle after Fame. I might fairly have given her up +after the honest endeavours I had made to win her. But, whatever others +might do, as long as a chance remained everything combined to keep +Hannibal Trotter at his post. + +So, with not a little searching of heart, I turned my attention to mad +dogs. I must confess that my heart did not go out towards them, and I +could have wished that that mark of heroism had been omitted by the +authorities. But, on the contrary, it was insisted upon vehemently, and +there was no getting out of it. So, like another Perseus, I choked down +my emotion and girded myself for the new fray. + +I knew the authorities, as a rule, were silent as to any precautions +which their heroes may have taken for this particular service. Still, +as they said nothing against it, I did the best I could by means of my +unaided genius. + +I contrived a pair of secret zinc leggings to wear under my trousers. +They hurt me, it is true, and impeded my movements; still, I felt pretty +safe in them. I also adopted the habit of wearing stout leather +driving-gloves on every occasion, besides concealing an effective life- +preserver about my person. Nothing, in short, was wanted to complete my +equipment but the mad dog; and he never turned up. + +One day I saw by the paper that there was one at large in Hackney, and +thither I repaired, in greaves and gauntlets, with my life-preserver in +my bosom. But though I met many dogs, they were all of them sane. Not +one of them foamed at the mouth or looked out of the corner of his eyes. + +There was one collie certainly who appeared to me more excited than the +rest, and who by his proceedings seemed to menace the safety of a small +group of children who were taking their walks abroad with their nurse. +Not to be precipitate, I watched him for some time, to make quite sure I +was right. Then, when one of the children uttered a scream, I felt my +hour was come. So I drew my life-preserver and advanced boldly to the +rescue. At the sight of me in this threatening attitude the children +and nurse all set up a scream together, and the dog, showing his teeth +and uttering a low growl, caught me by the fleshy part of my leg above +the zinc and held me there until his little masters and mistresses, +having recovered their wits and heard my scarcely articulate +explanations, called him off, and allowed me to go in peace--I might +almost say in pieces. + +I was a good deal discouraged after this unfortunate affair, and might +have postponed indefinitely my further experiments, had not fortune +unexpectedly placed in my way what appeared to be an opportunity of +dealing with a burglar after the most approved fashion of heroism. I +was on a visit to an uncle who lived in rather a grand house at +Bayswater, and kept up what people are wont to call a good deal of +style. This "style" always rather depressed me, for it left me no +opening for distinguishing myself on the heroic side of my character, +and after a week I was beginning to get home-sick, when a curious +incident occurred to break the monotony of my visit. + +I was put to sleep in a sort of dressing-room immediately over the +drawing-room, and here one night--or rather one dark winter morning--I +was suddenly awakened by the sound of voices in the room below. I lay, +as people are apt to lie under such circumstances, stiff and still for +five minutes, listening with all my ears. There came into my mind while +thus occupied all that the authorities had said in reference to +burglars; and when, after a lapse of five minutes, the voices again +became audible, I knew exactly what was expected of me. + +I looked at my watch. Five o'clock. I was certain it could not be the +servants; besides, even through the floor I could tell the voices were +male. I glided from my couch, and pulled on my nether garments, and +then warily set my door ajar. I could see a light through the chink of +the door in the landing below, and heard a stealthy footstep. So far, +so good. I returned to my room, seized the poker and the water-bottle, +and then cautiously descended to the drawing-room door. + +Here I once more listened carefully. The keyhole was not eligible for +observation, but my sense of hearing was acute. I heard--and this +rather surprised me--some one in the room whistle softly to himself, +then a gruff, typical burglar's voice said, "Now, then, with that there +sack! Fetch 'im 'ere, or I'll warm yer!" + +I heard the whistling cease, as something was dragged across the floor. +"Now, then," said the first voice, "wake up, Jemmy." That was enough +for me. I recognised in this last name a term inseparably connected +with burglary; and, not waiting longer, I flung open the door, and with +a shout, as much to keep up my own courage as to alarm the enemy, I +hurled first my poker, then my water-bottle, then myself in the +direction of the voices, and felt that at last I was a hero indeed. + +I retain but a dim idea of what followed. I recollect a sooty sack +being drawn over my head, just as a general rush of servants and male +members of the family, alarmed by the hideous noise of the water-bottle +and fire-irons, rushed into the room. Then there was a pause, then a +babel of voice, and then, with a cuff on the outside of the sack next to +where my head was, the first burglar made a speech:--"I'm bust if I +sweeps yer chimbleys any more! This 'ere lunertick was handy the death +of Jemmy with his missals. Bust me! I'll summons the lot of yer, see +if I don't." + +I will not pursue this melancholy episode, and as a veil was drawn over +me at the time, I will also draw a veil over what immediately ensued. +My visit to my uncle's terminated that day, and a few weeks later I saw +in the paper that he had been fined L5--for an assault committed by one +of his household on two sweeps. + +After this I had not the heart to proceed to the last desperate +expedient for acquiring immortal fame. As long as my endeavours had +hurt only myself, it was not so bad, but when they recoiled on the heads +of my most important relatives I felt it time to draw the line. The +bullet may not yet be cast which my heroic bosom is to receive in the +stead of royalty, but I shall be ready for it when it is. + +Meanwhile I have been cultivating the quieter graces of life, where, if +I may not be a hero, I may at least do my duty without making a noise. +I am not sure, when all is said and done, whether the two things are not +sometimes pretty much the same after all. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN. + +THE HEROES OF NEW SWISHFORD. A SCHOOL EPISODE IN FOUR CHAPTERS. + + + +Chapter I. Consultation. + +The autumn term at Swishford School was more than half over, and boys +were waking up to the hope that after all the Christmas holidays, which +seemed such a way off six weeks ago, might yet arrive during their +lifetime. It was already rumoured that Blunt, the captain, had been +invited to spend Christmas at Walkenshaw's, the mathematical Dux's, and +every one knew how well Miss Walkenshaw and Blunt had "hit it" the last +prize day, and prophecies were rife accordingly. More than that, +Shanks, of the Fifth, had whispered in the ear of one or two bosom +friends, and thus into the ear of all Swishford, that he was going into +"swallows" this winter, and he had got down a book from town with +instructions for self-measurement, and was mysteriously closeted in his +own study every other evening with a tape. Other boys were beginning to +"sit up" a little in the prospect of the coming examination, and +generally there was an air of expectation about the place which was +prophetic of the coming event. + +On the afternoon, however, on which my story opens, two boys as they +walked arm-in-arm along the cliffs towards Raveling, appeared to be +engrossed in consultation, which, to judge by their serious faces, had +nothing to do with Christmas. Let me introduce them to the reader. The +taller of the two is a fine, sturdy, square-shouldered youth of fifteen +or thereabouts, whose name in a certain section of Swishford is a +household word. He is Bowler, the cock of the Fourth, who in the +football match against Raveling a fortnight ago picked up the ball at +half-back and ran clean through the enemy's ranks and got a touch-down, +which Blunt himself acknowledged was as pretty a piece of running as he +had seen in his time. Ever since then Bowler has been the idol of the +lower school. + +His companion is a more delicate-looking boy, of about the same age, +with a cheery face, and by no means unpleasant to look at. He is +Gayford, as great a favourite in his way as Bowler, a boy whom nobody +dislikes, and whom not a few, especially Bowler, like very much. + +These are the two who walked that afternoon towards Raveling. + +"Are you sure the fellow in the book doesn't make it all up?" said +Bowler dubiously. + +"Not a bit of it," replied his companion. "My uncle's a captain, you +know, and he says there are hundreds of islands like it, the jolliest +places you ever saw, any amount of food, no wild animals, splendid +weather all the year round, magnificent mountains and valleys and woods +and bays, gorgeous fishing and hunting, oceans of fruit trees, +everything a fellow could wish for, and not a soul on one of them." + +"Rum," said Bowler reflectively; "seems rather a waste of jolly islands +that." + +"Yes; but the thing is they're hundreds of miles away from inhabited +islands, so no one ever sees them." + +"Except your uncle. I wonder he wasn't tempted to get out and take +possession of one." + +"That's just exactly what he said he was tempted to do," replied +Gayford, stopping short excitedly. "He said very little would have +tempted him to do it, Bowler." + +"Oh!" was Bowler's only reply. + +"And I tell you another thing," continued Gayford, "he gave me an old +chart with the identical island he saw marked on it, and I've got it in +my box, my boy." + +"Have you, though?" said Bowler. "I'd like to have a look at it." + +That evening the two boys held a solemn consultation in their study over +Captain Gayford's chart, and Gayford triumphantly pointed out the little +island to his friend. + +"There he is," said he; "he doesn't look a big one there, but he's eight +or ten miles across, my uncle says." + +"That seems a fair size--but, I say," said Bowler, "how about getting +there? How could any one find it out?" + +Gayford laughed. + +"You're coming round, then," said he; "why, you old noodle, you couldn't +possibly miss it. Do you see that town called Sinnamary (what a name, +eh?) on the coast of South Africa? Well, don't you see the island's +dead north from there as straight as ever you can go? All you want is a +compass and a southerly breeze--and there you are, my boy." + +"But what about currents and all that?" queried Bowler, who knew a +little physical geography. "Doesn't the Gulf Stream hang about +somewhere there?" + +"Very likely," said Gayford; "all the better for us too; for I fancy the +island is on it, so if we once _get_ into it we're bound to turn up +right." + +"Anyhow," said Bowler, who was not quite convinced, "I suppose one could +easily get all that sort of thing up." + +"Oh, of course. But, I say, old man, what do you say?" + +"Well," said Bowler, digging his hands into his pockets and taking +another survey of the chart, "I'm rather game, do you know!" + +"Hurrah!" said Gayford. "I know we shall be all right if we get you." + +"Who do you mean by we?" asked Bowler. + +"Ah, that's another point. I haven't mentioned it to any one yet; but +we should want about half a dozen fellows, you know." + +"Don't have Burton," said Bowler. + +"Rather not; nor Wragg--but what do you say to Wallas?" + +"He's muffed quarter-back rather this term, but I daresay he might do +for one." + +"Well then, what about Braintree?" + +"Too big a swell," said Bowler. + +"But he's got a rifle at home." + +"Oh, ah! all serene. Stick him down." + +"What do you say to having them in, and talking it over before we ask +any one else?" + +This prudent proposition was agreed to, an extra spoonful of tea was put +in the pot, and Gayford went out and conducted his guests in personally. + +"The fact is," said Gayford, after having delicately disclosed the +scheme on hand, and roused his hearers to a pitch of uncomfortable +curiosity, "the fact is, Bowler and I thought you two fellows might like +to join us." + +"You'll have to wait till the spring," said Wallas, a somewhat dismal- +looking specimen of humanity. "I've got my Oxford local in January." + +"Oh, of course, we shouldn't start till after that," said Gayford, ready +to smooth away all obstacles. + +"Warthah hot, won't it be?" said Braintree, looking at the map. + +"No, I believe not," said Gayford; "there's something about the Gulf +Stream, you know, keeps it fresh." + +"Wum idea calling an island fwesh," said Braintree, giggling. "It'll be +a fresh start for it when we take possession of it, anyhow," said +Bowler. "Of course you'll bring your rifle, Braintree?" + +"Warthah," replied Braintree, "in case of niggers or wobbers." + +"Hope we shan't quarrel when we get out," said Wallas. "That's the way +these things generally end." + +"Bosh!" said Bowler; "there's no chance of that--just like you, throwing +cold water on everything. Wallas." + +"If you call what I say bosh," said Wallas warmly, "it's a pity you +asked me to join you." + +It took some time to get over this little breeze and restore the party +to good humour. This was, however, accomplished in time, and the +consultation continued. + +"We ought to have three more fellows, at least," said Bowler. "I tell +you what, each of you pick one. Who do you say, Gav?" + +"Well, I fancy young Wester might do," said Gayford. + +"Warthah a pwig, isn't he?" suggested Braintree. + +"He is a little," replied Gayford; "but he's very obliging, and fags +rather well." + +"All serene. Now then, Wallas, who's your man?" asked Bowler. + +"Tubbs," said Wallas. Tubbs was one of the most hopeless louts at +Swishford. + +Gayford gave a low whistle; but he was too anxious to preserve the +harmony of the party to offer any objection. + +"Now you, Braintree?" + +"I say, Cwashford. Jolly fellow, and knows French, too." + +"Ah, but he is such a cad," said Bowler imploringly. + +"Couldn't you think of somebody else, Braintree?" asked Gayford. + +"Oh, have Cwashford. He's a wewy decent fellah. I like Cwashford, you +know." + +"Well, there's this to be said," remarked Bowler, finding there was no +getting out of it, "it may be rather a good thing to have some one to +keep in order; it will give us something to do." + +"Yes, I expect you'll want it," said Wallas. "My opinion is it will be +jolly slow out there." + +"Not a bit of it. We shall have to go out every day and shoot our +game--" + +"With my wifle," put in Braintree. + +"And then there'll be a log hut to build and the whole place to explore, +and lots of bathing and boating." + +"And no lessons to do at night." + +"And we can get up concerts and penny readings, you know, for the winter +evenings." + +"And needn't get up till half-past nine in the morning." + +And so they went on, till gradually the prospect became so delightful +that even Wallas warmed up to it and expressed a wish that they could +start at once. + +It was, however, decided that they could not manage it this term, as +they would have to spend Christmas at home and provide themselves with +necessaries for their journey. As to the means of getting out as far as +Sinnamary, at any rate, they had no anxiety on that score, for Captain +Gayford, when he once heard the object of their expedition, would be +sure to take them on one of his ships, and possibly afford them much +valuable information as to their further route into the bargain. + +Before the council broke up one solemn and momentous step was taken. + +"What shall we call our island?" asked Bowler dramatically, placing his +finger on the map and looking round on his fellow-adventurers. + +There was a pause, and for a moment the founders of the new empire were +wrapped in silent thought. At last Gayford said-- + +"I know--just the thing." + +"What? What? What?" inquired three voices. + +"New Swishford." + +It is hardly needful to add that the name was there and then duly +appended to the island on the chart in red ink, which done, the company +separated to sleep, and heard all night long in their dreams the crack +of Braintree's "wifle" echoing among the waving woods and fertile +valleys of New Swishford. + + + +Chapter II. Preparation. + +The week following the important consultation described in the last +chapter was one of serious excitement to at least seven boys at +Swishford. + +Other fellows could not make out what was the matter, and as long as +Bowler did not shirk the football match, and Gayford stuck up as usual +for his house, they did not particularly care. It was certainly a +novelty to see Braintree diligently reading a book in his odd moments, +but when it transpired that the book was _Wobinson Cwusoe_, that wonder +ceased. And even the surprise of seeing Crashford the lion lying down, +so to speak, with Tubbs the lamb, wore away in time, and the +conspirators were, on the whole, left undisturbed by Swishford to +develop their plans for the eventful emigration of the coming spring. + +The three last elected members of the band had fallen in promptly with +the scheme, and were not a little elated at the honour conferred upon +them. Crashford became quite mellow towards his old enemy Gayford, and +actually paid back Bowler a half-crown which he had borrowed three terms +ago. Tubbs, though less demonstrative, was equally delighted, and upset +the inkpot over the chart, in his eagerness to exhibit to Wester their +new home. [It was hardly worth noticing that Tubbs put his finger not +on New Swishford at all, but into the centre of Peru, which he said he +believed was one of the healthiest countries in all Asia.] Wester, who +always made a point of agreeing with the majority, found no difficulty +in rejoicing, wherever the place might be, and only wished they had not +to wait so long as next spring. + +"Why should we wait till then?" asked Crashford. + +"Oh, it's better weather," said Gayford; "besides, Wallas is in for his +Oxford local." + +"Oh, that doesn't matter tremendously," said Wallas, who was beginning +to think the world might after all go on if he did not pass. + +"We can give him an exam, on the ship going out," said Bowler, "a +Swishford local exam., you know, and offer a slice of the island if he +passes." + +"It strikes me," said Braintree, "a square mile of tewwitowy is warthah +a wum pwize for a chap." + +"But, I say," said Wester, "isn't our winter the same as their summer? +so if we start now, we shall just get out in the warm weather." + +"Never thought about that," said Bowler; "what do you say, Gay?" + +"I know my uncle generally likes those parts not in the warm weather," +said Gayford. "But then, he's been at sea all his life." + +"By the way, when does his ship start?" inquired Wallas; "something +depends on that, doesn't it?" + +"So it does," said Gayford. "I forgot that. He got home a fortnight +ago, and he gets six weeks at home. That'll bring it to the end of +November." + +"Just the very ticket; we must start then, I say." + +"But how about my wifle if we don't go home at Cwistmas?" asked +Braintree. + +"Oh, bother! Couldn't you get it sent up somehow, or couldn't you fetch +it next Monday?--that's the term holiday, you know." + +"Hold hard," said Bowler, "I've got another plan for Monday. You know +we ought to get our hands in a bit before we start, and try and find out +what we really want and all that sort of thing. Now, my idea is for us +to get the coastguard's boat for the day at Sound Bay (you know there's +never any one there to look after it), and sail across to Long Stork +Island, and knock about there for the day, just to see how we get on. +Of course, we shall have to come back before six; but we must make +believe we've landed there for good, and see how we manage. And, of +course, if we get on there, we're bound to get on at New Swishford, for +it's a far jollier place than the Long Stork." + +Bowler's proposition was hailed with acclamation. His hearers were just +in the humour to put their enthusiasm to the test, and the notion of a +picnic on the Long Stork as a sort of full-dress rehearsal of the +capture of New Swishford suited them exactly. + +They proceeded immediately to discuss ways and means, and found that by +putting their pocket-moneys together they could raise the very +respectable sum of forty-one shillings. Reserving the odd shilling for +the possible contingency of having to "square" a coastguard for the use +of the boat, they had two pounds to devote to the purchase of stores, +weapons, and other necessaries; and, as Gayford pointed out, of course +anything they got that wasn't eatable would come in for New Swishford. + +A sub-committee, consisting of Bowler, Braintree and Wester, was +appointed to expend the funds of the adventurers to the best advantage, +and meanwhile each member was asked to report what else he could +contribute in the way of stores to the general need. Before the end of +the week the list was handed in, and as the documents might some day be +of immense value to the future historian of New Swishford, I quote them +here. + +_Bowler_.--A waterproof, a hat-box, a pair of cricket bails, and a fold- +up chair. + +_Gayford_.--The chart, a compass, jam-pots for baling out boats, an +eight-blade knife, a hammer and tacks, and a chessboard. + +_Braintree_.--The wifle (pwaps), _Wobinson Cwusoe_, gloves, and +umbwellah. + +_Tubbs_.--A crib to Sallust (sorry that's all I've got). + +_Crashford_.--Clay pipe, pack of cards, a corkscrew, a strap, and _Hal +Hiccup the Boy Demon_. + +_Wester_.--Three tumblers, bottle of ginger-beer, and a bat. + +_Wallas_.--A saucepan and two eggs, a rope, and Young's _Night +Thoughts_. + +At the same time the sub-committee reported the purchase of the +following stores:-- + + Fourteen tins of potted shrimps, 14 shillings; + Ditto ditto peaches, 14 shillings; + Ditto bottles of lemonade, 3 shillings 6 pence; + (1 penny each allowed on returned bottles.) + Four of Stodge's spice-cakes, 4 shillings; + A fishing-rod, 2 shillings 6 pence; + Flies for ditto, 1 shilling; + One kettle, 6 pence; + One crumb-brush, 6 pence; + Total, 2 pounds. + +This admirable selection of stores met with universal approval. Indeed, +as regards the first four items, every one so highly approved that they +wanted to take every man his share for safe custody to his own study. +It was, however, thought undesirable to put them to this trouble, and +the sub-committee were directed to continue in charge of these and the +other voluntary contributions until the eventful day. + +That was not long in coming round, though to the anxious voyagers it +seemed long enough. The interval was spent in deep deliberation and +solemn preparation. Braintree had his boots most carefully blacked, and +Crashford practised boxing all Saturday afternoon with Rubble of the +Fifth; Bowler and Gayford strolled casually round to Sound Bay, to see +that the boat was safe in its usual place, and prospected the distant +dim outline of the Long Stork from the cliffs. Tubbs, feeling he must +do something to contribute to the success of the undertaking, wrote a +long letter home, which he forgot to post, asking the forgiveness of his +second sister, and adding, "Address for Monday, Long Stork Island." +Wallas amused himself by reading over the directions for restoring life +to the apparently drowned, and Wester tidied up Bowler's study and +helped him make up the stores into seven equal brown-paper packages, +writing the name of the owner of each on the outside. + +This done, the preparations were pronounced as complete as they could be +till Monday dawned. + +The town holiday was an absolutely free day for the Swishford boys. +There was no call-over in the morning, and, indeed, until the evening at +eight o'clock they were their own masters. + +Most of the boys availed themselves of their liberty by lying in bed an +hour later than usual on the November morning, a practice which greatly +favoured our heroes in their design of escaping a little before dawn. + +Bowler was the first up, and went round to wake the rest. + +"Howwid gwind," said Braintree, sitting up for a moment in bed and +rubbing his eyes, and then subsiding again under the clothes. "Needn't +get up yet, Bowler, it's long before cockcrow." + +"It's just on six o'clock, I tell you, and it'll spoil it all if we +don't get away by a quarter past. Do get up, there's a good fellow." + +"Howwid waw morning," groaned Braintree. "I'd warthah--oh, vewy well, +I'll get up." + +And with a great effort he struggled out of bed and began to array +himself. Bowler had a similar task with each of the other adventurers, +and any leader less sanguine or eager might have felt his ardour damped +by the evident want of alacrity on the part of his confederates to +respond to the call to action. + +However, once up, the spirits of the party rose, and they assembled in +good-humour in Bowler's study, where by the dim light of a candle the +seven brown-paper parcels were solemnly doled out, and a final review of +the preparations made. + +A few more articles, such as a whistle, a bottle of hair-oil +(contributed by Braintree), a shut-up inkpot and pen from Wester, and a +guide to the environs of Tunbridge Wells from Tubbs, were thrown into +the common lot at the last moment, and stuffed into the pockets of the +ulsters in which the boys had armed themselves against a rainy day. + +All this being done, Bowler gave the order to march, which the party +obeyed by taking off their boots and crawling downstairs on tiptoe to +the front door. As silently as possible the great lock was turned and +the bolts drawn, and next moment the adventurers, with their boots in +one hand and their brown-paper parcels in the other, stood under the +stars. + +"Now stick your boots on sharp and step out," said Bowler. The order +was promptly obeyed, and the dim gables of Swishford soon vanished +behind them as they sped along the cliffs towards Sound Bay. + +It was a good three miles, and in their ulsters, and weighted with their +brown-paper parcels, the boys made slow progress. It was already dawn +when, rather fagged and not quite sure how they were enjoying it, they +reached the top of the path which led down to Sound Bay. The near +approach to their journey's end revived them, and they stumbled down the +stony path cheerily but cautiously, until at last they had the +satisfaction of seeing the boat bobbing up and down in the little +natural harbour close among the rocks. + +The wily Bowler and Gayford had marked where the oars and sail were +kept, and fetched them in triumph from their hiding-place. The seven +brown-paper parcels were solemnly embarked and stowed away under the +seats, and then one by one the heroes of New Swishford stepped on board, +the painter was thrown loose, silent adieux were waved to the land of +their birth, and their gallant boat, nimbly propelled by Gayford and the +boat-hook, threaded its way through the rocks and made for the boundless +ocean. + + + +Chapter III. Consternation. + +The "Eliza"--that was the name of the coastguard's boat on which our +heroes had embarked--was a middling-sized sea-going rowing boat, which, +if it was just big enough by a little judicious packing to hold the +seven voyagers, could certainly not have accommodated more. + +While Gayford, with the dexterity of an experienced bargee, shoved the +boat along out of the creek, Bowler took upon himself the care of +trimming the "ship," and stowing away all the baggage. + +"As soon as we get out," said he, "we'd better lie down on the floor, in +case the coastguards see us." + +"Not much chance of that," replied Gayford. "They never get up till +eight, and by that time we shall be halfway across." + +"Suppose they spot us and give chase?" said Wallas. "What a row we +shall get into!" + +"They've not got a boat, I tell you, and I don't believe there's one +they can get either," said Bowler. + +"But they're sure to be on the look-out for us when we get back to- +night." + +"Let them. It'll be dark at six, and we can land in Rocket Bay, you +know, and dodge them that way." + +Bowler was evidently so well up in the arrangements, and had made such a +careful study of all the pros and cons of the venture, that every one +felt satisfied, and even the somewhat doubtful Wallas desisted from +throwing more cold water on the expedition. + +It was a raw morning with a little bit of a fog, and a cool breeze right +off the land. This last point, however, gave great satisfaction to the +leaders of the party. Once out in the open they would be able to hoist +sail, and without the exertion of rowing make a straight track for the +Long Stork--much indeed as would be the case when, with a southerly wind +at their backs, they would before long plough the ocean from Sinnamary +to New Swishford. + +The fog also was decidedly in their favour, for it would help to screen +them from the observation of any wakeful and inquisitive coastguard. In +fact, the unusual combination of wind and fog seemed like a special sign +of good omen to their adventure. + +"Hope it's not wough outside," said Braintree, as the boat, now nearly +out of the creek, began to dance a little at the prospect of meeting the +open sea. + +"Can't be rough with the wind off the land, you duffer," said Crashford. + +"Can't it, though?" said Wester, as a wave lifted the prow of the boat +and nearly sent it back on the rocks. + +"I call that vewy wough," said Braintree, looking and feeling a little +uncomfortable. + +"Oh, it's only the ground swell," said Gayford; "we shall soon get out +of that. Here, Bowler, old man, take an oar with Tubbs, and keep way on +while I stick up the sail. Look alive!" + +With some difficulty the oars were got out, and Tubbs made to comprehend +what was expected of him. But comprehending was one thing with Tubbs, +and doing was another thing. Just as he settled down to his oar, +another wave lifted the boat and Tubbs with it, who clung wildly to the +seat with both hands, leaving his oar to its fate. Luckily, Crashford +was near enough to make a grab at it before it went, or the beginning of +the expedition might have been marked by a serious catastrophe. + +The unhappy Tubbs having been shunted, Crashford took his place, and +with Bowler kept the boat's head steady till Gayford hauled up the sail, +and the "Eliza" began of her own accord to fly through the water. + +At the sight of the majestic sail swelling with the wind, and still more +on perceiving a decided improvement in the pitching of the boat, the +spirits of the party rose again, and Braintree actually began to hum +"Wule Bwitannia." + +The cliffs of Raveling loomed dimly out behind them, and ahead they +could just discern the faintest outline of the land of their adoption. + +"Upon my word," said Bowler, "this is jolly. It's just like the real +New Swishford, isn't it, you fellows?" + +"Warthah," said Braintree, "except my wifle to let fly at the seagulls +with." + +"But," said Wallas, "if the wind's off the land this side, it will be +off the sea when we get over there, so I suppose it'll get rougher and +rougher the farther out we get?" + +This ominous suggestion had the effect of immediately damping the +spirits of half the party, and Bowler and Gayford found it difficult to +restore confidence in the much-abused ocean. The ocean, however, went +some way to restore confidence in itself. For though it still continued +restless enough to keep Braintree and Tubbs in a state of suspended +enjoyment in the bows, it showed no signs of getting worse as it went +on. + +Bowler was jubilant. With his hand on the rudder and his eye on the +compass, he kept the boat's course like a line, and fancied himself +heading due north from Sinnamary. Gayford, with the sheet in his hand, +and a careful watch on the sail, could easily delude himself into +fancying the coast-line of the Long Stork was the veritable shore of New +Swishford. + +"Isn't it prime, old man," said he, "and won't it be primer still when +the real time comes? I never guessed it would be so easy. Not a +thing's gone wrong." + +"No; and think of the lark of landing and collaring the island, too. I +say, who does the Long Stork belong to?" + +"Don't know--the Long Storks, I guess. They're the only inhabitants I +ever heard of." + +"Well, I'm sorry for them. But, I say, Gayford, it's just as well we +have got some grub on board, for there's not much sign of forests and +game, and all that sort of thing here." + +Not much indeed! Long Stork Island was a barren rock about a mile long +and half a mile wide, with a few scraggy patches of grass on its +uninviting slope. No living creatures but the wild sea-birds patronised +it in the winter, when the waves lashed over the island and sent their +salt spray from one end to the other. Even they seemed to avoid it. +But beggars cannot be choosers, and as the Long Stork was the only +island of our heroes' acquaintance within reach, they had to take it as +it was and make the best of it. + +A decided sea was running on the landward side of the island as they +approached it, and even such inexperienced navigators as Bowler and +Gayford could see that there would be some difficulty about effecting a +quiet landing. + +"Better go round the other side," said Gayford; "it'll be quiet enough +there out of the wind." + +So the boat's nose was put out to make a circuit of the Long Stork. + +"Look out, I say!" said, or rather groaned Braintree from the bows. +"Don't make the boat woll. Why can't you wun her stwait in the way +you--?" + +His further observations were cut short, and during the rest of the time +that the "Eliza" was rounding the stormy cape he and Tubbs and Crashford +were in a decidedly pensive mood. At last the circumnavigation was +accomplished, and in tranquil water the boat cruised along under the +sheltered shore of the island. The sail was lowered, oars were put out, +the invalids sat up, and Bowler, standing up in the bows, scanned the +coast for a likely landing-place. + +He had not to search long. A little natural pier of rock ran out +invitingly, alongside which the boat was slowly and triumphantly +brought. + +"Now, you fellows," said Crashford, "here goes for first on shore. Out +of the way, Tubby. Hurrah for New Swishford!" And he leapt on shore, +half capsizing the boat as he did so. + +Bowler found his authority unequal to the task of controlling the +enthusiasm of his fellow-emigrants, and he had to let them land as they +pleased, while he and Gayford grimly held the boat alongside. + +When all but Tubbs were ashore, their patience could hold out no longer. +They followed the general rush, Bowler crying out to Tubbs as he sprang +ashore-- + +"See and make her fast, Tubbs, and land the grub, will you? We'll be +back directly." And off he scampered with the rest, to join in the +ceremony of capturing the island. + +Now Tubbs was not the best man who could have been chosen to execute so +important a trust as that laid upon him; and Bowler, had he been rather +less excited at the moment, would have thought twice before he left him +to perform it. In the first place, Tubbs could find no place to tie the +boat up to, and as long as he sat in the boat and held on to the rock it +was evident he could not land the grub. So he was in a dilemma. He did +his best; he relaxed his hold for a moment and made a frantic grab at +one of the brown-paper parcels. But it almost cost him his moorings, +for the boat, taking advantage of its liberty, began to slide away out +to sea, and it was all Tubbs could do to catch hold of the rock again in +time to stop it. This would not do, it was clear. He pulled the boat +along to its old position, and throwing the parcel ashore, meditated. +He must wait till one of the others came to help him. Poor Tubbs! It +was hard lines to see the rest of the party scrambling triumphantly up +the hill, and find himself left here like a sort of animated anchor. +Happy thought! How came he never to have thought of the anchor before? +There it was in the bottom of the boat. It would be the simplest thing +to jump ashore with it and fix it somewhere in the rocks where it would +hold. No sooner was the brilliant project conceived than it was +executed. Seizing the anchor in his hands, Tubbs stepped gaily ashore +and triumphantly wedged one tooth of it into a crevice of the rock, +where it would hold firm enough to keep a man-of-war in its place. He +watched with a pleasant smile the "Eliza" as she drifted slowly out on +the rope, enjoying the prospect of seeing her presently tug at the +anchor, and then give up the attempt to get free and resign herself to +her fate. + +It was a longer coil of rope than he had imagined. The boat was twenty +yards away at least, and still paying out. By the way, where was the +rope? With a cry of horror Tubbs sprang to the anchor and began hauling +in. The rope came in gaily, but not the "Eliza." She danced merrily +cut to sea in a straight line for the North Pole, with the six brown- +paper parcels on board, leaving her poor custodian to console himself as +best he could with a loose end of rope, which had never been fastened to +its ring. + +What was he to do? After taking a few minutes to collect his ideas, by +which time the boat was a hundred yards on its solitary voyage, it +occurred to him he had better inform the others of what had happened. +So he started in rather a low state of mind in pursuit of them. It was +a long time before he came upon them, perched in a group on the highest +point of the island, and singing "Rule Britannia" in a lusty chorus +which sent the scared seagulls flying to right and left. + +"Hullo, Tubby, old man, here we are! Got the grub safe ashore? Not +been bagging any of the peaches, eh? You've been long enough." + +Tubbs replied by pointing mysteriously to a little speck out at sea. + +"What's the row? What is it?" asked Gayford. + +"You wouldn't guess what that little thing is," said Tubbs. + +"What is it? Can't you speak?" + +"Well, if you must know, it's our boat. The anchor wasn't tied, you +know!" + +"The boat! You great booby!" cried one and all, springing to their feet +and rushing in the direction of the pier, upsetting and trampling over +the unhappy Tubbs as they did so. + +"What on earth shall we do?" gasped Gayford, as he ran by Bowler's side. + +"We must swim for it," said Bowler. "It's our only chance." + +"Can't do it. She's half a mile out." + +"It's all up with us if we can't get her!" groaned Bowler. + +They reached the landing-stage, and there, sure enough, danced the +"Eliza" half a mile out at sea. + +"I'll try it," said Bowler, flinging off his coat. + +"What, to swim? You'll do nothing of the sort," said Gayford, seizing +his friend by main force. + +"I tell you it's our only chance," cried Bowler. "Let go, do you hear?" + +"No, I won't, old man. We must make the best of it. It'll be more like +New Swishford than ever now." + +This last argument had more effect with Bowler than any other, and he +slowly put on his coat. + +"I vote we souse that idiot, Tubbs, till he's black in the face," said +Crashford viciously. + +"What's the use of that?" asked Bowler. "The fact is, you fellows," +said he, "we're regularly in for it now, and the sooner we make up our +minds what we shall do the better." + +"Let's make a waft," said Braintree, mindful of his _Wobinson Cwusoe_. + +"Where's your wood?" asked Wallas. + +"Let's hoist a signal, anyhow," said Wester. + +"No one to see it if you do," said Wallas. + +"Let's have some grub," said Crashford. + +This last suggestion met with general approval. They had had no +breakfast to speak of, and after their voyage and excitement hunger was +beginning to assert itself. The one brown-paper parcel rescued from the +"Eliza" was forthwith handed in and pronounced common property. It +happened to be the parcel bearing Tubbs's name, and contained, besides a +seventh part of the provisions, Tubbs's voluntary contributions to the +general store--namely, the crib to Sallust, and the guide to the +environs of Tunbridge Wells. These, it was proposed and seconded, +should be handed over to the owner as his share of the good things +contained in the parcel, but Bowler and Gayford interfered on his +behalf; and after having been reprimanded with a severity that took away +his appetite, he was allowed to partake of a portion of potted shrimp +and a potted peach, together with a small slice of cake. Bowler groaned +to see what a hole even this frugal repast made in the provisions, and +consulted Gayford in an undertone on the possibility of slaying a +seagull and the merits of raw poultry generally. + +Rather dolefully the provisions were packed up and deposited in a ledge +in the rocks, while the party proceeded to wander about the island in +search of board and lodging. The charms of Long Stork Island had fallen +off greatly in the short interval, and the sea-fog, which was beginning +to wrap it round and hide the mainland from view, seemed like a wet +blanket both on the spirits and persons of the adventurers. + +After much dreary search a hollow was found on the hill-side, which by +fastening together three or four ulsters might be roofed over +sufficiently well to keep out the rain or cold if required. As to food, +the island provided absolutely nothing except the chance of raw poultry +already mentioned and a few shell-fish on the rocks. + +The day wore on, and the fog turned to drizzle and the drizzle to rain. +They held out against it as long as they could, but had to take shelter +at last, and herd together in their extemporised cabin. + +Here a painful discussion ensued, "I hope you're satisfied now!" growled +Wallas. "This is mess enough to please even you, Bowler." + +"What do you mean?" retorted Gayford; "a lot you've done for the public +good. There are plenty of seagulls about without you to croak, too." + +"I wish my umbwellah hadn't gone out to sea," observed Braintree, +shivering. + +"By the way," said Crashford, "didn't I see it lying on the rocks. I'll +just run and see," and off he started. + +"When shall we ever get away?" asked Wester. "We may get starved here." + +"They're sure to see us or find us out in a day or two," said Bowler. + +"A day or two!" exclaimed Wallas; "do you really mean we've got to stay +here without food or shelter a day or two? I wish your New Swishford +was in the middle of the sea." + +"So it is," dryly observed Bowler. + +"Fine fools you've made of us with your humbug and child's play," +growled the other. + +"_You_ don't want much making," retorted Bowler; "and if you want to +talk any more, you can talk to some one else." + +Wallas accepted the invitation, and growled all round till everybody was +sick of him. + +After a long absence Crashford returned without the umbrella. + +"I couldn't find it," said he, sitting down. "It's gone." + +"But you found the peaches, you blackguard!" said Bowler, springing up +and pointing to some juicy remains still clinging to the delinquent's +coat. And in his righteous indignation he dealt the traitor a blow +which sent him out of the tent. + +A fight ensued there and then between Bowler and Crashford, unhappily, +to the disadvantage of the former, who was no match for the practised +hand opposed to him. The company interposed after a few rounds, and +none too soon for the damaged though still lion-hearted Bowler. + +Crashford profited nothing by his victory, for it was decided +unanimously to exclude him from the tent till he chose to apologise for +his treachery; and meanwhile the remains of the slender provisions were +taken into safe custody out of his reach. + +The day wore on, and the rain fell heavier and heavier upon the ulster- +roof over their heads. The wind whistled drearily above them, and the +mainland was entirely lost to sight. As far as they were concerned they +might be in the real New Swishford, a thousand miles from the nearest +land. + +They huddled together silently, no one caring much to speak. Only +Braintree broke the monotony by shivering audibly, and the footsteps of +Crashford, as he paced up and down outside to keep warm, added a dreary +variety to the silence. + +The afternoon drew on, and at last Bowler said-- + +"Better let the beggar in." + +"Hadn't we better all turn out and see what's to be done?" said Gayford. +"We shall only come to grief here. The grub won't hold out for another +meal, and then it'll be something more than a joke." + +"Come on, then, you fellows," said Bowler. And the roof was hauled +down, and the party turned dismally out once more to seek their fortune. + + + +Chapter IV. Consolation. + +Our heroes, who in all their anticipations had never calculated on +anything but fine weather and unlimited rations and congenial +occupation, began to entertain serious doubts as to the joys of founding +an empire, as they trailed dreadily along in the rain after Bowler and +Gayford. The weaker of the party had no spirit to suggest anything +themselves, or to question what their leaders suggested; so they +followed doggedly where they were led, neither knowing nor caring +whither. + +With Bowler and Gayford it was otherwise. They felt rather ashamed of +themselves for having lost their heads earlier in the day and resolved +now to atone for it in the only way they could. They put a brave face +on the situation, and tried to impart their courage to their followers. + +"I tell you what," said Bowler cheerily, as the seven stood again on the +rocks at the water's edge; "it wants a good hour of dark, and the least +thing we can do is to spend the daylight in looking for some proper +place of shelter and something to eat, if we can find it. Suppose I and +Tubbs and Braintree start to walk round this way, and you, Gayford, take +the rest round the other way. If any of us find anything, we'll stop +till the other party come up. I've got my whistle, so we'll be sure to +hear one another." + +It could do no harm, and it might do good, so the party tacitly fell in +with the suggestion, and divided itself accordingly. Even Crashford was +wise enough to feel he could gain nothing by sulking, and returned to +his allegiance without demur. + +"Can't we have something to eat before we start?" said Wallas. + +"My dear fellow," replied Gayford, "I wish we could, but then we shall +have nothing left for to-morrow." + +Strange to say, Wallas disputed the matter no further, and turned with +his companions to start on their tour of discovery. + +Bowler kept whistling cheerily, and Gayford shouted in reply till the +two parties were out of earshot. Then each walked on in silence, +eagerly scanning sea and shore in search of hope. For Bowler's party +there seemed very little prospect of anything turning up, for their way +lay across bare ledges of rock, with perhaps a pool to wade, or a little +cape to scramble across, but never a sign of food or shelter. Braintree +did indeed announce that in one place he saw a "cwab" disappear into a +hole, but the chances of satisfaction from that source were too remote +to be pursued. + +How they longed to be back under the roof of old Swishford, and to hear +the cheery bell summoning the boys to tea, and how gratefully now would +they have welcomed the wholesome plenty of that often abused meal! +Alas! there were no cups of tea, or eggs, or bread-and-butter going on +the Long Stork. + +"Of course," said Bowler, "we could never be _quite_ stuck up for grub +as long as there's seaweed about, and if the rain goes on like this +there'll be plenty of water too." + +"You're wight there," said Braintree; "but seaweed and wain-water is +warthah a spare diet." + +"Anyhow," said Bowler, "we have got enough of the shrimps and peaches +left for a good breakfast to-morrow; that's one comfort." + +And they trudged on in that glorious prospect. + +For an hour they toiled along the rocky shore until the daylight almost +suddenly vanished, and the gloom of a damp November night fell upon +them. What was the use of exploring further? Even Bowler lost heart as +he stumbled about in the dusk, and heard Braintree shivering and +chattering with cold beside him, and Tubbs's scarcely suppressed whimper +of misery. + +"Better get back to the rest as soon as we can," said he, taking out his +whistle and blowing it again. + +They listened, but no answer came, only the shriek of the gulls and the +steady splash of the rain on the rocks. + +"Never mind, we can't be long before we get round to them," said Bowler; +"perhaps they've found a place, you know." + +For another half-hour they toiled on, Bowler blowing his whistle every +few minutes, but always without response. + +"Where can they be? We're almost round at the place we started from, +surely," said Bowler, "and--hullo, look out there!" + +They had reached a sudden break in the coast about twenty yards across, +with rocks on each side which dropped almost precipitously into the +water, forming a serious bar to further progress. + +They must either scramble down and wade or swim across, or else turn +inland and make a long detour round the head of the chasm. + +Bowler made a careful inspection of the rocks, and then said-- + +"I think we could do it; what do you say? If we went round we might +miss the others." + +"All wight," said Braintree, blowing his hands; "I'm game, so's Tubbs." + +Tubbs said nothing, but stood by miserably, ready to follow Bowler's +lead. + +"I'll go down first," said the latter. "Mind how you come, the rocks +are slippery." + +He lowered himself cautiously down the steep rock, finding just enough +to cling on to with his hands, while he felt his way down with his feet. +He got to the bottom safely, and found firm footing in a ledge of rock +close to the water's edge. + +"Now, then," shouted he, "down you come, Braintree." + +Braintree obeyed, and managed with difficulty to reach the ledge. Then +Tubbs attempted. But he, poor fellow, clumsy at all times, and now +utterly unnerved by the miseries of the day, was not man enough for the +venture, and, after one feeble effort, begged to be allowed to stay +where he was. + +"Nonsense!" cried Bowler; "come on, old man, we'll help you down all +right." + +So Tubbs tried again. Had not the situation been so perilous, the +appearance he presented as he clung wildly on to the rock with his +hands, and kicked still more wildly with his feet, would have been +ludicrous. But it was no time for joking. The two at the bottom +piloted his feet as well as they could, and encouraged him in his +downward career. But before they could reach him he slipped, and with a +howl fell backward into the sea. + +In a moment Bowler, dressed as he was, was in beside him, holding him up +and striking out to where Braintree, with outstretched hand, waited to +help them in. But it was long before they could haul his half-senseless +form from the water; and by the time this was accomplished, Bowler +himself was so exhausted that he in turn needed all Braintree's aid to +land himself. At last, however, all three were on the ledge. + +But what were they to do next? Tubbs lay still half-stupefied, utterly +unable to help himself. The rock they had descended frowned above them, +defying any attempt to return the way they had _come_, and between the +ledge they stood on and the rock the other side twenty yards of uneasy +water intervened. + +"Could we swim across with him?" said Bowler, after a little. + +"I'll do my best," said Braintree. + +"The thing is," said Bowler, "the tide was dead out an hour ago, so it +must be coming in now. Oh, what a cad I was to lead you into this, +Braintree!" + +"Shut up, old man, I say," said Braintree; and he began to take off his +coat and boots. + +Bowler did the same. + +"We shall have to leave them behind," said he. "It can't be helped. +Are you ready?" + +"Yes. But I say, old man, if I get done up and have to let go, don't +wait for me. I'm not much of a swimmer." + +Bowler hesitated. + +"If I could only be sure of getting _him_ over," said he, pointing to +Tubbs, "I might come back and--" + +"Hullo! I say, Bowler, look there!" exclaimed Braintree suddenly, +pointing out to sea. "Wasn't that a light? Blow your whistle, I say." + +Bowler obeyed, eagerly gazing in the direction indicated by Braintree. +There was neither answer nor light. + +"I'm certain I saw something!" exclaimed Braintree. "Blow again, old +man." + +And once more the whistle sent forth a shrill cry seaward, accompanied +by a loud shout from Braintree. + +They waited in terrible suspense, but still no answer. + +"You must be wrong," said Bowler. + +"No, I'm not; blow once more." + +And again Bowler obeyed. + +This time, sure enough, he fancied he saw a glimmer on the water; but it +might be only the lights on the mainland appearing through the lifting +fog. + +For ten minutes they kept up an incessant whistling and shouting, their +hopes growing less and less as the time passed. At length, worn out and +desperate, they had given it up, and were turning once more to prepare +for their swim across. But as they did so the light suddenly +reappeared, the time close to the shore. + +Once more, with frantic energy, they raised their signal of distress, +and after a moment's terrible silence had the joy of hearing a faint +shout across the water. + +"It's a boat!" cried Braintree. "Whistle again to show them where we +are." + +Again and again they whistled, and again and again the responsive shout, +growing ever nearer, came back. Presently they could even distinguish +the sound of oars, and at length the dim outline of a boat loomed across +the entrance of the gulf. + +"Where are you?" shouted a voice in the familiar tones of the Raveling +coastguard. + +"Here. We can see you. We're on the ledge here, Thomson!" + +In a few seconds the boat was alongside, and the three boys were safely +lifted into it. + +"Where's the rest of you?" asked Thomson, as coolly as if this sort of +thing was an everyday occurrence with him. "We want seven of you." + +"I don't know where they are," said Bowler. "They were coming round +this way to meet us. You'd better row round somewhere where we can land +and look for them." + +"Give your orders," said Thomson. "You've had your day's fun, and +seemingly you're determined I should have my night's. Row away, mate." +And he and his man turned the boat's head and pulled out of the gulf. + +"I say, Thomson, have you got any gwub or anything?" said Braintree +faintly. + +"Grub," said the jocular coastguard. "What, harn't you found grub +enough on this here island? Anyhow, if you do want something you'd +better open that there bag and see what you can find." + +Bowler was too anxious to discover the missing ones to feel much +appetite for food, and kept blowing his whistle as the boat slowly +coasted the island. + +At length, to his unbounded joy, an answering shout was heard, and the +shadowy forms of the four outcasts were seen standing on the pier from +which they had started two hours before. + +Jubilant were the welcomes exchanged as the heroes of New Swishford once +more counted their full number, and ensconced themselves snugly in the +stern of Thomson's boat round his wonderful bag of food. + +It did not take long to chronicle the doings of Gayford's party. After +about half an hour's journey they had been pulled up by the same chasm +which had nearly proved too much for poor Tubbs. Finding it impossible +to cross it, they had turned inland, and for a cheerful hour lost their +way completely in the fog. At length, by means of walking in a straight +line, they had come again to the coast, and after much searching had +found the pier. And having found it, they resolved to keep it until the +other party completed the circuit and found them where it left them. + +"And however did you find us out, Thomson?" inquired Gayford, after the +repast had been done ample justice to. "Did your boat come ashore?" + +"No, she didn't, young gentleman; and I can tell you you'll get to know +how to spell her name tolerable well before you've heard the last of +her." + +"Oh, of course we shall get into a frightful row," said Bowler; "but how +did you come to find us?" + +"Why, one of you artful young scholards left a letter to his ma on his +table, open for everybody to see, talking some gammon about a West +Indian island, and saying you was going to lay hold of the Long Stork, +to get your hands in. I can tell you you _have_ got your hands in, my +beauties. There's a cart-load of birches been ordered for you at the +school already." + +These awful warnings failed to counteract the satisfaction of our heroes +at finding themselves nearly back again in the region of blankets and +hot porridge. Bowler in the name of the party magnificently presented +Thomson with the odd shilling reserved for his benefit, and expressed +his sorrow it was not more. But, he added, if the "Eliza" ever turned +up, he might keep everything he found on board, including twelve tins of +shrimps and peaches, a bottle of hair-oil, a set of cricket bails, and a +copy of Young's _Night Thoughts_; whereat Thomson was moved with +gratitude, and said they were as nice a lot of articles as ever he came +across, and he did not mind saying so. + +An hour later our heroes were all in bed, comfortable within and +without. They were let down easy for their day's escapade, and except +for colds more or less bad, and a decidedly augmented bill at the end of +the term to pay for a new "Eliza," as well as a regulation forbidding +all sea voyages of whatever kind, they suffered no further punishment +than the lessons of the day itself. To those lessons they added one +more of their own accord, by resolving unanimously, that from that day +forward they renounced all further claim to that eligible island +commonly known as New Swishford. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Parkhurst Boys, by Talbot Baines Reed + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PARKHURST BOYS *** + +***** This file should be named 21137.txt or 21137.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/1/1/3/21137/ + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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