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-

-*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 74082 ***

-

-Transcriber's note: Unusual and inconsistent spelling is as printed.

-

-[Illustration: THE GOOSE DUCKED HER HEAD, OPENED HER WINGS,

- AND RUSHED FORWARD WITH A SCREAM.]

-

-

-

-                             FARMER BLUFF'S

-

-                                DOG BLAZER

-

-                                    OR

-

-                          AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR

-

-

-                                   BY

-

-                           FLORENCE E. BURCH

-

-             AUTHOR OF "JOSH JOBSON," "RAGGED SIMON," ETC.

-

-

-

-                   _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY GORDON BROWNE_

-

-

-

-                                 LONDON

-                      THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY

-             56 PATERNOSTER ROW AND 65 ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD

-

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-                               CONTENTS.

-

-CHAP.

-

-    I. IN SEARCH OF A COMPANION

-

-   II. GRIP AND BLAZER

-

-  III. FARMER BLUFF

-

-   IV. THE SQUIRE'S GRANDSONS

-

-    V. "WHATEVER IS, IS RIGHT"

-

-   VI. THE YOUNG SQUIRE

-

-  VII. THE SHORTEST CUT

-

- VIII. "CONSCIENCE MAKES COWARDS OF US ALL"

-

-   IX. RENEWING ACQUAINTANCE

-

-    X. THE INQUEST

-

-   XI. AN ARTIST-DETECTIVE

-

-  XII. BILL'S FUTURE

-

- XIII. THE YOUNG SQUIRE ASSUMES A NEW CHARACTER

-

-  XIV. THE VERY ONE

-

-   XV. UNDER SENTENCE

-

-  XVI. A RUNAWAY'S STORY

-

- XVII. LOOSE AGAIN

-

-XVIII. TO THE RESCUE

-

-  XIX. REVENGE

-

-   XX. IN MEMORY OF FARMER BLUFF

-

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-                    FARMER BLUFF'S DOG BLAZER.

-

-CHAPTER I.

-

-IN SEARCH OF A COMPANION.

-

-"I CAN'T see why I shouldn't use my own common sense," said Dick

-Crozier to himself one fine morning, as he sauntered along the lane.

-"What else was it given to me for, I should like to know?"

-

-It was a holiday, and Dick had a mind to enjoy himself. Now it happened

-that Dick's idea of enjoyment on this particular morning did not quite

-agree with his father's. Before leaving home, Mr. Crozier had given him

-particular injunctions not to extend his walk beyond the common, and

-not to go near the river.

-

-"Another time," said he, "I shall have leisure to teach you how to

-manage a boat. Then I shall not be afraid to trust you; but until then

-I would rather you kept away."

-

-Dick ventured to argue the point. "Another time," he mightn't have a

-holiday. His parents had only recently removed into the neighbourhood;

-and he felt pretty certain that his father would put him to school as

-soon as ever they got settled in the new place.

-

-"No time like the present," said Dick to himself, as he tried to

-shake his father's determination. "To-day is my own; no knowing whose

-to-morrow may be."

-

-But when a wise father has really made up his mind, his determination

-is not to be shaken.

-

-"You must be content to let me judge what is best for the present,"

-said Mr. Crozier. "When you are older, you will see that I was right."

-

-So Dick had to submit—outwardly, at any rate; and as soon as he had

-watched his father disappear round the corner towards the railway, away

-he walked in the opposite direction, grumbling to himself as he went.

-

-It was not a morning for grumbling. The time of year was the end of

-March. The wind, having made the discovery that all its roar and

-bluster could not stop the trees and flowers from coming out to meet

-the spring, had gone to sleep, and left them to enjoy the sunshine till

-the April showers came on. Birds were singing blithely on the boughs,

-and even a few humble-bees were to be seen riding through the air with

-an important buzz, as if they felt that they had got things their own

-way at last; whilst their working relatives flew hither and thither in

-quest of honey, with a sharp-toned hum that plainly said—"We must be

-busy."

-

-Dick heard them, and stopped grumbling. It was too bad to be in an

-ill-humour whilst everything else—from the kingcups in the hedge to the

-larks in the sky—was so full of enjoyment. It was not even as if all

-the ill-humour in the world could alter what his father had said. So

-he just gave one or two cuts at the hedge with the stick in his hand

-as a final protest, and began to whistle. A few minutes later he was

-climbing along a grassy bank, holding by the wooden palings at the top.

-

-There was a plantation on the other side of these palings, and just

-then a clock in a little tower, with a golden weathercock, struck nine.

-Dick had heard his father speak of this house as the residence of the

-Lord of the Manor, so he stopped to have a peep at it through the trees.

-

-It was a large, white stone building, with balconies to the upper

-windows, supported on twisted pillars, so as to form a shady verandah

-in front of the lower rooms. A smooth lawn, green as emerald and soft

-as velvet, sloped up to the gravelled terrace; and behind the house,

-the grass slanted away to an iron hurdle-fence, within which deer were

-grazing. Beyond was a little copse, where pines and Scotch firs showed

-dark against the pale green mist of leaf-buds on the other trees. A

-gate leading into this copse was painted red; and Dick now noticed that

-all the gates and railings about the place were of the same unusual

-colour—which formed a very pretty contrast with the grass.

-

-As he clung to the fence, making these observations, a French window at

-one end of the verandah opened, and three boys trooped out, followed

-by a lady, whom Dick took to be their mother. She was young, and

-very beautiful—or so Dick thought, as she stepped into the sunlight,

-shading her eyes with one hand, to watch them off; so beautiful that,

-for the moment, his eyes seem riveted. But only for a moment. The boys

-no sooner reached the steps than Dick's eyes left her for them. The

-foremost two bounded down, three or four steps at a time, leaving the

-third one far behind; and Dick now perceived that the poor fellow went

-upon crutches, and that upon one sole he wore an iron stand, which

-raised it full two inches from the ground, whilst the other barely

-reached so low. In spite of this, he was considerably shorter than his

-brothers; and Dick immediately concluded that he was the youngest of

-the three.

-

-"Poor fellow!" said he to himself. "I shouldn't care to be like that. I

-daresay, though, they're good to him,"' he added, as the others pulled

-up short and waited for the cripple, who swung himself carefully down,

-step by step.

-

-But Dick little guessed how hard it is to "be good" to a boy who has to

-go at a snail's pace, when you yourself have the strength to run and

-jump. He didn't even notice how the others continually walked a step

-ahead, nor how the cripple laboured to keep up with them. Neither did

-he guess how tiring it was to get along so fast. Presently, however,

-something attracted the attention of the three boys—an early butterfly

-it must have been. The cripple saw it first, and nodded towards it, and

-forthwith off the others raced, and left him resting on his crutches

-watching them. Then Dick understood a little more clearly how hard it

-was for him; for his brothers entirely forgot him in their wild, mad

-chase, and he was left alone.

-

-He followed them a minute with his eyes, then turned and looked towards

-the terrace; but his mother was not even there to wave her hand. She

-had gone in.

-

-It came into Dick's head to wonder whether the poor fellow could see

-him there above the fence. He had half a mind to whistle. Dick—with

-nothing else to do—could very well spare time for half an hour's chat

-to cheer his loneliness. But just then he remembered who this cripple

-was, and how presumptuous it might be thought to dream of showing pity

-for a son of the great man to whom all the land about belonged. And as

-the other boys, panting and puffing, cap in hand, returned just then,

-the question was decided once for all. Dick watched them out of sight

-behind the avenue of trees that led to the lodge, then he jumped down

-from the bank and went his way, turning now and then to see if they

-were following.

-

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-CHAPTER II.

-

-GRIP AND BLAZER.

-

-A LITTLE further on, the road emerged upon a green; and at the back

-of this green there was a farm. The house stood back behind the yard,

-which was hidden from view by tall bushes; and half inside the yard,

-half outside upon the green, was a pond, where ducks were swimming

-about in search of dainty bits.

-

-This was the Manor Farm. The man who held it was the Squire's bailiff,

-Dick had heard his father say. He went up to the gate to look, rather

-wondering what sort of a thing it was to be bailiff to so great a man,

-and whether he had any boys.

-

-A shaggy-looking dog, dozing in the sun before his kennel, sprang to

-his feet with a loud bark as Dick approached, rattling his chain and

-growling, as if to warn him not to come too near. Finding Dick paid no

-heed, he jumped up on his kennel and set, up barking so vociferously

-that another dog behind the house took up the cause. Next minute a

-servant, wondering what could be amiss, and probably suspecting tramps,

-opened a side door and came round the corner of the house to look. At

-the same instant, a man with a pitchfork in his hand appeared from the

-other corner of the house.

-

-"Hey! Grip, old boy," called he; "what's up? You'll upset the firmament

-with your row."

-

-Exactly what he meant by this it would be hard to say. He had caught

-the word up from the Bible, as something made "in the beginning," and

-therefore very "firm;" so probably it seemed to him the most that any

-one could do in the upsetting line.

-

-Anyhow, the dog seemed to understand the rebuke. He gave one or two

-more barks, then jumped down off his kennel with an injured air; and:

-his colleague of the back premises, finding he was pacified, gave in

-too, and so the hubbub ceased.

-

-"What was up wi' him?" said the man, coming a pace or two nearer, and

-resting on his pitchfork. "There's now't amiss, so fur's I can see."

-For Dick had left the gate, and gone to watch the ducks.

-

-The servant shook her head. "Like his master," returned she; "always

-kicking up a fuss for nothing in the world. Some folks seem as if they

-can't be happy else; and quadrupeds is much the same, I s'pose."

-

-"Belike," answered the man, with a laugh. "But if that's so, why,

-Blazer's the master's dog! My word! I wouldn't like to try his fangs;

-he'd tear the firmament to shreds."

-

-With this characteristic remark, he shouldered his fork, and, turning

-on his heel, went back to his work in the rick-yard.

-

-The servant stood a minute at the door looking about her; then she,

-too, turned and went inside, shutting to the door, but throwing up the

-window, as if this taste of sunshine had made her long for the free air.

-

-Meanwhile Dick had reached the other gate; for the farmyard had an

-entrance at each side of the pond, so that carts could come in either

-way. Here he stopped again; but this time Grip took no notice beyond

-raising his nose off his paws a second or two and blinking, to show

-that he was awake; then he composed himself again, or pretended to—just

-to give the enemy a chance of showing his weak side. But Dick was not

-to be deceived that way, nor had he any thoughts of invading Master

-Grip's territory.

-

-After standing still a few minutes, taking observations of the

-picturesque old house, with its latticed windows and its long,

-red-tiled, gabled roof, he was just about to go his way, when he was

-suddenly startled by a most unearthly whoop.

-

-Before he had time to look round, a boy about his own size came full

-tear into the road a yard or two ahead. "Hullo!" cried he, perceiving

-Dick.

-

-"Hullo!" responded Dick.

-

-Then they stared at one another.

-

-"Who are you?" asked Dick.

-

-The other burst out laughing. "Who are you?" retorted he.

-

-"Oh! It doesn't matter," answered Dick, a trifle proudly; "only—my

-father has just moved into the neighbourhood, and I suppose I shall

-have to get to know the boys; so I thought I might as well begin with

-you."

-

-The other looked him over well from head to foot. Dick's father was a

-gentleman, and Dick was dressed accordingly. The other's father was a

-labourer upon the Manor Farm.

-

-"My name's Dick Crozier," added Dick.

-

-"And mine is Bill the Kicker," returned his new acquaintance.

-

-"That is, your nickname," added Dick.

-

-"Call it what you like; that's all the name I want," said Bill the

-Kicker in such a final manner that Dick said no more.

-

-"Where do you live?" next asked he.

-

-"Up yonder," answered Bill the Kicker, pointing backward with his

-thumb. "My father works for Farmer Bluff."

-

-"And mine goes up to town every morning," rejoined Dick. "We live

-beyond the Manor House, up the hill."

-

-This interchange of confidences was a pretty good basis for an

-acquaintance, and the two boys were soon engaged in a lively

-conversation.

-

-"There's a hornets' nest up there," said Bill presently, jerking his

-thumb in the direction of the field. "I see one goin' in just now.

-I mean to sell it to the Squire's grandsons," added he, nodding to

-himself.

-

-"What for?" asked Dick, who was a town-bred boy.

-

-"For sport, of course," answered Bill promptly. "Squires always go in

-for sport. I reckon we shall have a game."

-

-"Hornets are dangerous, aren't they?" said Dick doubtfully.

-

-"It don't do to get stung," returned Bill; "but then you don't if you

-can help; and that's what makes the sport. I wonder," added Bill the

-Kicker, struck with an original thought, "who'd care to storm a flies'

-nest!—Supposin' that they made 'em, which they don't. And there again,

-you see," he added further, "flies don't make nests, because they

-haven't got to keep out of the way—" Which remark contained a wholesome

-moral, if he had but possessed the wit to see it.

-

-Knowing nothing of such country matters, Dick naturally felt some

-respect for Bill the Kicker, who talked as if he had it all on good

-authority.

-

-"Look here," proposed he presently; "tell me when the sport's to be."

-

-Bill shook his head with a doubtful air.

-

-"Why not?" asked Dick.

-

-Bill the Kicker drew his mouth tight, stretching it almost from ear to

-ear, and shook his head again.

-

-Dick held out a bait.

-

-"I've got a goodish big-sized boat at home," said he persuasively. "I

-mayn't go near the river yet, but so soon as ever I get leave, I'll let

-you know."

-

-Bill expressed considerable contempt for the idea of "getting leave;"

-however, he went so far as to say that when the sport was all arranged,

-he might see fit to make it known to Dick. "It's the Squire's

-grandsons, you see," said he importantly. "'Tisn't every one as I could

-introduce to them."

-

-Dick rather wondered what it mattered whom Bill introduced, so long as

-it was somebody no lower than himself. But he promised to be in the way

-as often as he could; and Bill the Kicker, having duly warned him not

-to drop a word to any one, went off to find the Squire's grandsons and

-"sell the nest."

-

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-CHAPTER III.

-

-FARMER BLUFF.

-

-WHILST Dick was making acquaintance with Bill the Kicker, the Squire's

-bailiff, Farmer Bluff, was sitting in his parlour, with his leg upon a

-cushion and a pint mug on the table by his side, swearing inwardly—if

-not aloud—at the fate which had cursed him with the gout.

-

-Now this fate was none other than the blustering old farmer's own

-stupidity; for time after time the doctor had warned him that as long

-as he made that mug his boon companion, so long exactly would his enemy

-pursue him with its twinging pains.

-

-But Farmer Bluff was obstinate as well as blustering—to every one

-except the Squire, of course, in whose presence he was like the latter

-end of March—a lion transformed into a lamb. The excuse he made to

-himself turned upon the mug, of which he was naturally proud, it being

-solid silver, an heirloom that his grandfather had left to him. He

-liked to have it on the table by his side; and if upon the table, why,

-it must have something in it. And that something must of course be

-beer, and must be drunk. And so the stupid fellow's gout grew angrier

-year by year, until at length it got so bad that if he did not swear

-aloud, it was for no better reason than because nobody was by to hear.

-

-As he sat there by the hearth, looking across his shoulder out of the

-window at the bright March sunshine that used to call him up and abroad

-at six o'clock, until this gout got hold of him, he heard Grip set up

-the furious bark that fetched the servant out to look. Then he heard

-Blazer take up the challenge; and shortly afterwards the voices of the

-servant and the man fell on his ear.

-

-Now it was a peculiarity of the old bailiff to resent not being able to

-hear what passed between other people; so after chafing and fretting

-for some minutes, he reached out for the handbell that stood beside the

-silver mug, and rang it lustily. Then he took another pull at the mug,

-and having poked the fire to a roaring blaze, impatiently awaited the

-answer to his summons.

-

-This happened exactly at the moment when the servant threw up the

-kitchen window to let in the air.

-

-"Always kicking up a fuss for nothing in the world," said she again,

-flouncing back to her washing up, with a strong determination to let

-him ring a second time. After a minute or two, however, she let drop

-her dish-clout in the tub, and drying her hands on her apron as she

-went, hurried off to the parlour.

-

-Farmer Bluff was known to be a bit of a miser, and had few near

-relatives to leave his money to; and Elspeth had her eye upon a

-handsome legacy.

-

-"He's over sixty-five," she used to tell herself, by way of comfort

-when he swore at her; "and gout don't make old bones. I can put up with

-it a bit longer, on the chance of being mentioned in his will."

-

-But, as it happened, just as Elspeth reached the parlour, there

-was another ring, this time at the outer door; not so lusty as her

-master's, though, for all that the bell itself was twice the size.

-

-Filling up a waste space in the hall, there was a cunning china closet,

-with a narrow window looking through into the porch. A step or two

-aside and one quick glance revealed who stood without. Going swiftly to

-the door, Elspeth threw it open with a deferential curtsey. It was the

-Squire who had given that modest ring; and she never kept the Squire

-waiting, for he always had a civil word, in spite of his high rank.

-Then having answered his inquiry as to whether her master was up, she

-stepped briskly back towards the parlour.

-

-Farmer Bluff was in the act of ringing his handbell a second time.

-

-"A man might die in a fit, for all the haste you make!" exclaimed he

-with an oath, banging down the bell so violently that the clapper

-uttered a "twang" of protest. "An indolent, slow-footed hussy!" He was

-going on with a regular string of abuse, but just as he was in the

-midst of some words that no proper thinking man had any business to lay

-his tongue to, the door flew open, and to his great dismay, his eyes

-met those of no less a personage than the Lord of the Manor.

-

-Farmer Bluff's tirade came to an abrupt termination, and Elspeth having

-announced, "The Squire, sir," withdrew, leaving her master to put the

-best face on it.

-

-What with beer, and rage, and shame, the old sinner's countenance was

-nearly as red as the live coals in the grate. He made desperate efforts

-to rise as the Squire approached, bearing like a man the torture that

-would have made him swear like a trooper if Elspeth had been by instead.

-

-The Squire, however, hastened to stop him.

-

-"Keep your seat, Mr. Bluff," said he good-naturedly, as the bailiff

-blurted out an apology. "Pray don't put yourself to any pain on my

-account. No; not so near the hearth, thank you," as Farmer Bluff tried

-to reach a chair. "I'll sit here. The air is mild this morning, and I

-can see you've been serving your fire to the same sort of rousing as

-you treat your woman servant to."

-

-The old farmer reddened still more, and mumbled something about "your

-blood being chilly when you had the gout."

-

-"And you find that swearing makes it circulate," remarked the Squire

-sarcastically. "Dependence upon others is a very unfortunate condition

-to come to," added he; "and you have apparently a very inattentive

-attendant too."

-

-The Squire's caustic tone did not escape Farmer Bluff. He blurted out a

-few words about "not so bad," only she needed "keeping up to the mark."

-

-"You've chosen a somewhat unscriptural way of setting about it,"

-observed the Squire; "and my experience—the experience of fourscore

-years—is that whatever is unscriptural is unprofitable, and altogether

-wrong. Therefore, Mr. Bluff, if I were you I should give it up."

-

-Having uttered this straightforward piece of advice, the Squire dropped

-the subject, and went on to speak of his bailiff's health.

-

-It was wonderful the contrast there was between the two men. The

-Squire, brought up all his lifetime in the midst of luxury—had he

-chosen to live softly—had as elastic a tread as many a man of forty,

-and looked as hale and hearty as if he had been accustomed to weather

-wind and storm out in the fields with his own shepherds. His bailiff,

-nearly twenty years his junior, looked bloated and unhealthy, in spite

-of his invigorating out-door life about the farm and woods; and half

-his days, at least, were spent in this arm-chair, with one foot or the

-other upon a cushion.

-

-There was good reason for the difference; there is for most things, if

-men only had the sense to find it out. The Squire, from his youth up,

-had been temperate, using the good gifts of God wisely, not abusing

-them. His bailiff had never got beyond regarding these gifts as the

-wages which it was his good fortune to earn from the Squire; and he had

-gone to work with the intention of getting the greatest possible amount

-of enjoyment out of this little bite off the great man's luxury. Thus,

-grasping all, he had come pretty near losing all; for, ask anybody who

-has made close acquaintance with gout, and they will tell you that

-there is next to no enjoyment in life for those who have made it their

-companion.

-

-The moral is,—avoid intemperance, remembering always that beer is

-not the only thing that may be abused, and that gout is not the only

-punishment; for, sad to say, there are as many sins as there are weeds

-in this fair world, and a punishment to each. As the Bible has it—in a

-form that no one need forget—"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he

-also reap."

-

-Sow sins, and you shall reap punishment as surely as did Farmer Bluff.

-

-This was the sum and substance of the Squire's thoughts as he sat

-down on the window-seat. "I'm thankful I shall go down to my grave

-without gout," said he to himself, as he watched the contortions of

-his bailiff's features; for it was vain for Farmer Bluff to think of

-not making faces. He had put his foot to unusual inconvenience in his

-attempts to show respect; and it cost effort enough to refrain from

-bellowing aloud at the pain.

-

-"I hoped to find you better than this, Mr. Bluff," began the Squire

-after a pause, putting his gold-headed cane between his knees, and

-crossing his hands over it. "This has been a long attack."

-

-"It has, sir; a—very long attack."

-

-Farmer Bluff usually hesitated a good deal in talking to the Squire;

-otherwise he might have let slip unsuitable expressions, such as he was

-in the habit of using to Elspeth.

-

-"The longest you ever had, eh?"

-

-The Squire did not want to be unkind, but he had called in with the

-intention of saying something rather disagreeable; and it had got to be

-said, in spite of his natural inclination to say pleasant things.

-

-"By far the longest," repeated he.

-

-Farmer Bluff declared himself heartily tired of it, adding in an

-injured way that no one knew what suffering was until they had tried

-gout.

-

-The Squire shook his head. A man has no right to feel hardly done by

-when he deliberately chooses to bring pain upon himself. "I'm heartily

-tired of it, too," said he; "and the fact is, Bluff, I'm getting

-too far into years to be my own bailiff—and that's what it comes to

-nowadays. For these keepers and labourers of yours—well! I've no

-doubt you give your orders. A man might give his orders in the other

-hemisphere by telegram. But if I didn't go round and see to things for

-myself, they would be in a pretty muddle. Why! I was in the saddle

-at half-past six this morning to do your work. A glorious morning it

-was too; as glorious as God ever made. Time Was when I'd as soon have

-been out myself as trouble you—except for the sense that a man with

-abundance of this world's goods is bound to broadcast some of his

-money amongst dependants. But an octogenarian begins to need a little

-indulgence, or he will do very shortly, for the time must come to all

-of us, Mr. Bluff."

-

-"Ay, that it must, sir," acquiesced the bailiff meekly, feeling rather

-as if his time had come; for he could see pretty plainly what the

-Squire was driving at.

-

-"I should not like," continued the old gentleman after a pause, "to

-leave the estate out of working gear when I go. It is not as if I left

-a grown man in my place. My grandson is such a mere child that I can

-hardly hope even to see him attain his majority; and that is what I

-came to speak to you about. You have served me many years, Bluff; but

-the fact is, you are not what you were, and I feel that I ought to see

-a competent man in your place, whilst I myself am still competent."

-

-Farmer Bluff began to whine. Long service deserved indulgence, he

-hinted. "A man must take what the Lord sends him," said he.

-

-But the Squire stopped him. "Men often make mistakes about the source

-of their misfortunes, Bluff," said he. "I don't believe that your

-complaint is often of the Lord's sending."

-

-The bailiff's eyes reverted uncomfortably to the silver mug. He knew

-very well what his patron referred to.

-

-"I might very easily have put myself in the way of it," continued the

-Squire. "My father left me a well-stocked cellar, and I have had to

-dispense hospitality; but I have mostly contented myself with listening

-to other people's praises of my wines, remembering an old saying that

-those who constantly seek their own reflections at the bottom of their

-tankards are likely oftenest to see an ass. The saying certainly holds

-good of a man who, in immediate opposition to his doctor's orders,

-feeds his gout on beer. No, Bluff: if the Almighty were responsible for

-your gout, I should feel very differently about the matter. As it is,

-although I shall consider myself bound to see that your old age does

-not come to want, you must certainly understand that you will have to

-make way, within due notice, for a man who can put his beer mug on one

-side in favour of duty."

-

-Farmer Bluff tried hard to obtain a commutation of this sentence.

-

-But the Squire was a man who knew his own mind, once it was made up,

-and who did not make it up hastily either. He had for some years past

-been much disgusted with his bailiff conduct; and the experience of

-the last few months had finally decided him. He was determined to

-leave upon the estate a thoroughly efficient bailiff. To this intent,

-having given due notice to the gouty old rascal who at present held

-the office, he now rose and took his leave, Farmer Bluff ringing his

-handbell— though not so roughly as before—for Elspeth to show the

-Squire out.

-

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-CHAPTER IV.

-

-THE SQUIRE'S GRANDSONS.

-

-WHILST the Squire had been giving old Bluff his deserts in the farm

-parlour, his three grandsons—none other than the boys whose mother Dick

-had thought so beautiful—had left the grounds by a winding path that

-skirted the plantation and emerged on to a fieldway leading into the

-road a few hundred yards above the farm. Turning to the left hand of

-the farm, this road ran round the foot of a piece of rising ground.

-Probably the man who first made a cart-track there, found it pay better

-to go a little way round than to make his beasts drag their burdens

-over the hill. But there was a shorter cut for pedestrians almost

-opposite the pathway from the Manor House; and for this the boys were

-bound.

-

-Just as they were in the act of crossing the stile, who should come

-round the bend but the Squire, whose next business took him up that

-very road. The boys saw him at once. Two of them—the two taller

-ones—ran forward to meet him, the other following at his quickest

-pace. The Squire was a favourite with his grandsons. He was such a boy

-amongst them, although he had been born over eighty years before them;

-and yet withal he was so grand and courtly.

-

-Will and Sigismund dashed forward, but the Squire looked beyond them

-to the cripple, who was exerting himself manfully to show equal

-appreciation of his aged relative.

-

-"Bravo, Hal, bravo!" cried he, applauding with his gold-headed cane.

-

-Will and Sigismund faced about, looking half-ashamed, as if they felt

-it was almost mean to have taken such an advantage of their afflicted

-brother. But the Squire did not exactly intend that. It would have been

-altogether too hard for boys with strong legs to give up using them

-because their brother limped on irons. It was rather that the Squire

-had a very tender spot in his heart for Hal, and that he saw in the

-boy's brave, invincible spirit an earnest of what the man would be.

-

-"God grant that he may grow to be a man!" he often uttered in his

-heart. And it really seemed that Hal was growing stronger year by year.

-

-Meanwhile Hal, flushed and out of breath, was up with them.

-

-"Where are you going, grandfather?" asked he eagerly, as he swung

-himself round to walk by the Squire's side, Sigismund making way for

-him.

-

-"Up to the cottages by the wood gate," replied his grandfather, laying

-one hand on his shoulder. "Almost out of bounds for you, eh?"

-

-But Hal shook his head. "Why, I've been right into the wood, you know;

-last autumn, nutting."

-

-"Ah, to be sure!" acquiesced the old gentleman.

-

-"But what are you going there for, grandfather?" questioned Hal, who

-was noted for his inquisitive spirit. Impertinent, some good people

-would have said; but not so his grandfather.

-

-"How can a boy learn what he doesn't know, if he may not ask a

-question?" he would say. "A spirit of inquiry is one of the first

-requisites to learning." So now he answered without reserve.

-

-"To see about having one put in repair for Farmer Bluff," said he.

-

-"For Farmer Bluff?"

-

-The question was from all three at once.

-

-The Squire nodded gravely. "For Farmer Bluff," repeated he. "He has to

-leave the Manor Farm."

-

-"To leave?"

-

-"Why, grandfather?"

-

-This was Hal's question. Hal always came straight to the point, as if

-he had a right to know; and his grandfather seldom, if ever, put him

-off.

-

-"Because," answered he, "the time has arrived when he must make way for

-a better man."

-

-"But surely, grandfather," said Hal, "you won't turn him away, after

-all the years he has been bailiff. Why! Ever since mother first brought

-us to live with you."

-

-"Ay, and before that," broke in the Squire regretfully. "When I thought

-your poor father would have been Squire after me. Twenty-seven years

-Farmer Bluff has lived on that farm; but—"

-

-"But it isn't fair to turn him out because he's getting old,

-grandfather," interrupted Hal, with a bold familiarity that no one else

-would have dared to use towards the old gentleman.

-

-"Tut, tut, lad," rejoined the Squire. "Who said was because he was too

-old?"

-

-"Well, grandfather," put in Sigismund, who according to size would be

-the next youngest to Hal, "you said 'a better man.'"

-

-"Better doesn't always mean younger," said Hal eagerly; "does it,

-grandfather?"

-

-"Nor does younger mean better," returned the Squire. "I always like to

-think of my eighty-four years as a token of God's favour."

-

-"Good people generally live to be old, don't they?" suggested

-Sigismund, straying from the point at issue. "In the Bible they did."

-

-"Steady living is conducive to longevity;" replied the old man.

-"That is to say, those who live sober, temperate lives give their

-constitutions the fairest chance of withstanding natural decay, and of

-escaping the ravages of disease by which so many are prematurely cut

-off."

-

-"Is that why Farmer Bluff has the gout?" queried Hal. "Because he has

-been intemperate?"

-

-"Very likely," replied the Squire. "It is quite certain that at the

-present time he is aggravating the complaint and forfeiting my esteem

-by the childish obstinacy with which he persists in drinking beer, when

-he knows it is as good as drinking so many pains and twinges. But you

-mustn't run away with the notion that God always rewards virtue with

-long life; for that is not His greatest gift."

-

-Hal asked no more questions just then. They had crossed the stile

-during this conversation, and were climbing the pathway up the hill

-towards the wood, where there was plenty to claim the attention of boys.

-

-Larks were rising from the tussocks; finches darted in and out the

-hedge; and as they got nearer to the wood, wild rabbits, all tail,

-frisked about their burrows. Once or twice a grey rat ran out of

-his hole, and sat upon his haunches in the track, staring stupidly

-before him until they were quite close; then doubling suddenly, and

-disappearing in the ditch.

-

-Will and Sigismund were full of excitement, running and jumping and

-leaping; but Hal kept by his grandfather, swinging himself along at an

-even pace that agreed very well with the old gentleman's step; and so

-they reached the gate of the wood, and the cottages in one of which the

-Squire intended his bailiff to live rent free.

-

-There was already a noise of carpenters at work, and a cheery sound of

-men talking over their saws and planes. Hal followed his grandfather

-inside, and went round, listening with great interest to all that

-passed between him and the workmen. But the other boys stayed outside,

-overrunning the garden, and talking to the gamekeeper, who lived next

-door. Finally they strayed into the wood, which was only separated from

-the garden by a ditch, dry summer and winter alike. By the time the

-Squire had finished giving his orders, they were quite out of sight and

-hearing.

-

-At length, the Squire sent the keeper down the clearing after them. Hal

-was standing by his side, resting on his crutches. The Squire, looking

-down at him, saw that his face wore a thoughtful look, and fancied he

-was tired.

-

-"Better go inside and sit down on Champion's sawstool," suggested he

-kindly; "it's a long way back, and you and I aren't so young as those

-two madcaps. Eh?"

-

-At that instant, however, Will and Sigismund appeared, talking gaily to

-the man as they advanced.

-

-The Squire beckoned, and they set forward at a run, giving the stout

-old Velveteens a good view of their soles, and leaving him to follow at

-his sober pleasure. But Hal had already seized his opportunity.

-

-"Grandfather," said he, moving nearer.

-

-The old man faced about.

-

-"Grandfather, I was wondering if I could make Farmer Bluff see how

-silly it is to keep on having gout?"

-

-"To keep on drinking beer?—Hardly," quoth the Squire, "since his doctor

-fails. People usually believe their medical man, if anybody, when they

-are in pain."

-

-"And I mean," added Hal, anxious to gain his point before the others

-came up, "if he left off having gout, should you still be obliged to

-turn him out of the Manor Farm?"

-

-"Why, no," answered the Squire; "not if he showed himself capable of

-doing his duty as bailiff of the estate. But the fact is, I can't be

-Squire and bailiff too at my age; and if I could, I shouldn't long be

-able to, because—things don't go on for ever and a day, Hal."

-

-Just then the other two boys cleared the ditch, and bounded up, with a

-ready apology for having kept their grandfather waiting; then, passing

-in at the back door, they all went through to the road again.

-

-On reaching the front door, the Squire suddenly remembered something he

-had meant to say, and stepped back again. Hal waited with him, but Will

-and Sigismund ran straight out.

-

-In the middle of the road a boy was standing, looking this way and

-that, as if undecided in which direction to go. Seeing two lads his own

-age, he at once advanced.

-

-"Can you tell me where I am?" asked he.

-

-"By the gate of the wood," answered Will, pointing past the cottages to

-the red-painted gate.

-

-"Is this beyond the common?" asked the boy.

-

-"Most certainly," was Will's reply.

-

-"Then I'm where I've no business," rejoined the boy, who was none other

-than Dick Crozier. On leaving his new acquaintance, Bill the Kicker, he

-had wandered on by the right-hand road, until his way had met that of

-the Squire and his grandsons by the cottages.

-

-Apart from Hal, Dick did not recognise them as the Manor House boys.

-Hal no sooner appeared in the doorway, however, than their identity

-flashed upon him. The next minute, the Squire himself emerged, tapping

-the ground briskly with his cane as he walked, as an indication that

-time was short and they must get forward without delay.

-

-Perceiving Will in conversation with a strange boy, he stopped short;

-whereupon Will explain that Dick had lost his way.

-

-The Squire inquired where he came from, but this Will had not yet

-asked; so the Squire turned to Dick himself.

-

-"Your name, my boy?" asked he.

-

-Dick had no sooner recognised Hal than it flashed upon him that the

-grand old gentleman with the gold-headed cane was none other than the

-Squire himself; and although not more troubled with bashfulness than

-most boys of his age, he was just a trifle flustered at the discovery.

-Nevertheless, he answered straightforwardly enough,—

-

-"Crozier, sir."

-

-"Crozier; a son of my new tenant, surely?" said the Squire in his

-courtly way. "I am always pleased to make the acquaintance of a tenant,

-Master—"

-

-"Dick, sir."

-

-"Master Dick; and as we're all going one way, we will proceed together,

-if you please."

-

-So they set off, Dick and Hal walking on either side of the Squire, the

-other two a pace or two in front.

-

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-CHAPTER V.

-

-"WHATEVER IS, IS RIGHT."

-

-BEING Easter holidays, and the tutor who superintended studies at

-the Manor House having gone North to visit his friends, Hal and his

-brothers had things pretty much their own way from sunrise to bedtime.

-They walked; they played games; they followed their grandfather about;

-they rode the donkey about the field—or rather Will and Sigismund did,

-whilst Hal looked on and clapped his hands.

-

-In short, they did all that boys in holiday-time try to do; they took

-every possible means to make the best of their freedom. All things

-considered, too, they were very good to Hal, who—hard as he tried to

-keep up with them—was rather a clog with his crutches and his irons.

-

-On the morning after the Squire's interview with his bailiff, however,

-Hal evolved a scheme which relieved them of this clog.

-

-One of the men had let loose a ferret in the granary, to hunt the rats,

-which of late had been committing great depredations in the henhouses.

-For some time the boys had been too excited to notice their brother's

-sudden disappearance. But presently, the hunt drifted upstairs into the

-loft overhead. This at once recalled Hal to mind, because he could not

-very well climb a ladder without assistance.

-

-"Where can he have got to?" exclaimed Sigismund, who had been outside

-to look about for him.

-

-Somehow Sigismund, being of a more unselfish disposition, was always

-the one to wait behind for Hal.

-

-"Gone indoors, I expect," returned Will, already half-way up.

-

-Hal had a way of "going indoors" when he found the game beyond him.

-"It's no fun when you ache," he would say; "and it doesn't make you a

-bit worth playing with." And he would be found afterwards, deep in a

-book—not always a story-book either.

-

-Meanwhile, Hal, having slipped out through the stable-yard and

-gained the road, was on his way to the Manor Farm, meditating on the

-unaccustomed rôle which he had taken on himself.

-

-About the same time, Dick Crozier, intending to hang about the farm,

-on the chance of catching Bill and hearing something of the hornets'

-nest, had chosen that direction for his morning's stroll. Recognising

-the wooden tap-tap of Hal's crutches on the gravel as he hurried down

-the hill, Dick determined first to renew acquaintance with the Squire's

-grandson; so he slackened pace, and the boys met at the lodge gate.

-

-Hal at once nodded pleasantly; and Dick, returning the nod, joined him

-without further ceremony.

-

-"You get along jolly fast, considering," remarked Dick pleasantly, as

-the conversation turned on walking. "That's hard work, though, I should

-say."

-

-Hal nodded, and went a little faster, breathing short with the effort.

-

-"Was it an accident?" inquired Dick; "or were you born so?"

-

-"It came on when I began to walk," answered Hal; "at least, so I'm

-told. Of course, I don't remember being any different."

-

-He didn't seem to mind talking about it, which Dick thought very

-sensible. "Where would be the use of minding?" said he to himself. "It

-wouldn't alter the fact." He little knew the effort it cost Hal to put

-his injured pride on one side.

-

-"What are the irons for?" asked Dick next.

-

-"To stretch this leg," answered Hal, nodding to the right. "That one

-was the worst; and the sinews shrank—just like a wet string. It's

-pulled out tight all the while, to try and stretch it longer."

-

-"Don't it make it ache?" asked Dick.

-

-"Sometimes," assented Hal.

-

-He might with truth have said, "most of the time;" but Hal was a bit of

-a hero in his way. "I'm used to it, you see," he added patiently.

-

-"I shouldn't like to be like that," said Dick.

-

-"Nobody would, of course," returned Hal; "but when you are, you've got

-to make the best of it. You think of all the great men you've ever read

-about, and wonder how they'd have borne it; and that helps you."

-

-Dick was so much struck by this way of looking at a misfortune, that

-for several minutes he was silent; and Hal's crutches went on tapping

-out their melancholy tale upon the road; step by step, step by step,

-patiently—the only way to rise superior to a misfortune of that kind.

-

-"Who is the greatest man you ever read about?" asked Dick presently.

-

-Hal assumed a thoughtful air. "That's rather hard to say," answered he;

-"because some are great for one thing, some for another. It's like that

-with plants, too, you know. There's corn, and there are potatoes; and

-we couldn't very well do without either. I shouldn't like to do without

-apples, nor green peas—we always have them sooner than other people;

-(forced, you know;) and I'll ask grandfather to send you some. Then

-again," he ran on, before Dick had time to thank him for this promise,

-"there are flowers—more beautiful than useful, as we count use. It's

-just like that with men, I think."

-

-Dick could not jump quite the length of this argument. He suggested

-Robinson Crusoe.

-

-But Hal's estimate of greatness differed from Dick's. "Crusoe was

-pretty well in some things, considering how he began," said he. "He

-was shifty, but he wasn't all round; besides, he was an awful coward,

-and he swore. And then, he's only in a book. Now Socrates—only he was

-a heathen—he died bravely when they made him choose between the dagger

-and the poison cup. And Napoleon—he made himself a king out of a common

-soldier, and he must have been a great man, or people wouldn't have

-given in to him; but then he did it all for the sake of power, and he

-wasn't good.

-

-"A man's motives go for a great deal, you know. Then there were the

-martyrs; I like them. They had their bodies broken on the wheel

-because they wouldn't tell lies. I often think of that, because it was

-something like having my leg stretched, only thousand times worse.

-There was Shakespeare too. He wrote very fine plays. That was more like

-being a flower, I should say; and I don't know that he was particularly

-good, or that he did anything else worth doing. And there was Sir Isaac

-Newton, who discovered why apples fall done instead of up. He was very

-learned, of course. But I like men such as Wilberforce and Clarkson,

-who did so much to abolish slavery; or Moffat, the missionary; or

-Howard, who went into a lot of gaols, and made a fuss about having them

-kept cleaner, and the prisoners better treated. In my opinion," added

-Hal, "they were some of the greatest men that ever lived—except Jesus

-Christ."

-

-Dick had not read about any of these heroes. He said that he should

-like to.

-

-"Of course," continued Hal; "none of them come near Jesus Christ. You

-don't expect that. There was Buddha. A missionary once told me about

-him; and I've read since. He was a prince in India; and he gave up

-everything to try and find out how to make people happier, because

-one day when he went outside the palace, he discovered that everybody

-wasn't so well off as himself, and that people had to be ill and die.

-But he didn't end up the same as Jesus Christ," Hal concluded. "And

-then it's such an immense while ago that I don't think it's very easy

-to be sure whether it's all true."

-

-Hal was fond of books, and had an original way of talking about what he

-read.

-

-"I don't suppose that any of them went on crutches," suggested Dick.

-

-Hal thought not. "One of them was lame," said he. "His name was

-Epictetus; he was an eminent philosopher. It was through his master's

-cruelty; and that was very hard to bear. But crutches don't matter to

-some sorts of greatness," added he. "You wouldn't get along very well

-on crutches if you wanted to fight; and fighting isn't always wrong

-either, though I don't like it. Where you do it to put down injustice,

-for instance, or to help the weaker side, it's noble and right."

-

-"Or if you do it to defend your wife and children," put in Dick.

-

-"There were some great men deformed," continued Hal. "There was Pope.

-He had to be laced up in a pair of tight stays to keep him from

-doubling up; he used to sit up in bed and write poetry. I've read some

-of it, and it's very fine. 'Whatever is, is right,' comes from Pope;

-and though you can't say that of everything, there is a sense in which

-it is very true. But Pope wasn't brave always. He used to be very

-disagreeable to his servant when he was in pain; and I think if any one

-was really great, they would rise superior to affliction, and not make

-other people feel it. You see," added Hal, in a tone of reflection,

-"it's bad enough for one person to go on crutches, without making all

-the rest miserable."

-

-"You mean to be great, I suppose," observed Dick admiringly. "What

-shall you be?"

-

-Hal reflected. "That's difficult to say exactly," said he. "Of course

-I've got to be the Lord of the Manor."

-

-"You have?" interrupted Dick. "I thought it was your tallest brother."

-

-"Will?—No; it's always the eldest son. I'm the eldest," added Hal, just

-a trifle proudly.

-

-Dick was astonished. He had made up his mind from the very first, that

-Hal was the youngest of the three.

-

-"You see, I'm short," said Hal simply. "It makes you grow slowly when

-you're like this."

-

-"That's a pity," said Dick, knowing of nothing better to say.

-

-"Yes; I suppose it is," said Hal; "only—'Whatever is, is right,'

-unless, of course, it is something contrary to God's will; and

-this can't be, as I was born so. I mean all the same to be like my

-grandfather."

-

-"He isn't very big," put in Dick, cheerfully.

-

-"Some people," continued Hal, "don't think you can be a proper Squire

-unless you can ride in the steeplechase and follow the hounds. My

-grandfather doesn't now; but he used to formerly. I've heard him say

-what a pity it was that I couldn't learn to sit a horse. But you see

-it isn't just the same as it used to be in the olden times when there

-were serfs, and the lord of the manor lived in a castle with a moat

-and drawbridge. He had to be a sort of petty king in those days. And

-if other lords stole his vassals' sheep or wives, he had to rally all

-his men and besiege their castles. I'm afraid I shouldn't be very well

-able to do that. But all that is changed nowadays, and there are no

-serfs—which ought to make the poor people much better off. What a good

-Squire has to do is to pull down all the badly built cottages on his

-estate, and have them properly drained, and damp courses put in, so

-that the walls don't rot."

-

-Dick inquired whether that was the reason why some cottages near his

-father's house were being pulled down.

-

-Hal nodded. "Why," said he, "the jam actually mildewed in the parlour

-cupboard! Think of that I saw it. And the old lady's wedding-dress

-went all spotty where it hung in the press upstairs. It was silk; and

-she had worn it every Christmas Day and Easter Sunday since she was

-married, and every time any of her sons and daughters had a wedding. It

-was very vexatious for her. You couldn't let such a house stand."

-

-Hal spoke with such earnestness that Dick was quite convinced, and

-immediately thought of the preservation of old silk wedding-dresses as

-one of the chief duties of a good Squire.

-

-"There's to be a proper slate course at the bottom of the walls this

-time," added Hal. "You'll see it will be quite dry."

-

-"Then there's the drainage," continued he; "because if that's bad, the

-wells get poisoned, and people have fevers. And although it doesn't say

-anything in the Bible actually about drainage, it says a great deal

-which seems to me to mean that if you own an estate, you ought to look

-after the health and comfort of the tenants. Oh, there's a lot a Squire

-has to do that I think I could do! And perhaps," he added thoughtfully,

-"I should do it all the better for not riding in the steeplechase and

-following the hounds. You can't do everything; and if you come to

-think," concluded Hal, "perhaps that is why God let me be like this;

-because, you know, He could have made it different if He had chosen to."

-

-"A Squire has to make a speech at the rent dinner, doesn't he?"

-suggested Dick, glad to show that he had some knowledge of a Squire's

-duties.

-

-"Oh! I think I could manage that all right," returned Hal, "when I got

-to be of age. It wouldn't be noticed that I was like this when I stood

-up behind the table; so I shouldn't feel bashful about it. Besides, I

-don't think I should mind when once I was Squire, because people would

-respect me; and I should try to show them how great men bear such

-things."

-

-Dick thought this a very plucky way of looking forward to such a

-terrible ordeal.

-

-"Another thing you have to do," said Hal, as they arrived at the gate

-of the Manor Farm, "is to see that the bailiff and other people about

-the estate do their duty. And if they don't—through drink or laziness,

-you know—you have to turn them out, and hire somebody who does. But I'm

-going in here," added he, breaking off abruptly.

-

-Dick was sorry, for he found Hal's company both instructive and

-entertaining; moreover, his vanity was rather flattered by this

-acquaintance with the future Squire. But fortunately Hal appreciated a

-good listener.

-

-"Where shall you be when I come out?" asked he, resting on his crutches

-to open the gate; "because I like somebody to talk to."

-

-Dick, having nothing particular in view, readily promised to wait about

-until Hal came out; and having watched him past Grip—who only rose to

-his feet in a respectful sort of way, and walked quietly forward the

-length of his chain—he sauntered slowly on.

-

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-CHAPTER VI.

-

-THE YOUNG SQUIRE.

-

-ON going, as usual, before answering the doorbell, to peep through the

-little window in the china closet, Elspeth was not a little surprised;

-for there, on the seat in the porch, his crutches on either side of

-him, sat the young Squire, resting.

-

-He was examining a leaf-bud on a tendril of the honeysuckle when she

-first caught sight of him; but directly the door opened, he got to his

-feet, inquiring for Farmer Bluff.

-

-Elspeth at once invited him to enter. "A message from the Squire, sir?"

-asked she, as she closed the door behind him.

-

-Elspeth knew all about the nature of the Squire's business with her

-master on the previous morning, for the old sinner, in his rage and

-vexation, had drunk more beer than ever, and had used more bad language

-than enough about it, whenever she had had occasion to go near him.

-She was not sure, moreover, how his dismissal would affect her own

-prospects, for he would be in receipt of less money; and ill as he

-could do without her help, in his frequently crippled condition, it was

-very doubtful whether the miserly old fellow would choose to draw upon

-his hoard in order to pay her the usual wages.

-

-In that case, much as Elspeth disliked the idea of breaking away from

-the old place, she was determined to seek her fortune elsewhere; for it

-need hardly be said that Farmer Bluff was not the sort of master to win

-the affection of a dependant.

-

-"For money," and not "for love," had been Elspeth's rule of service.

-Having, however, one or two cronies in the neighbourhood, from whom she

-did not care to part, she was fain to entertain a half hope that Hal

-might have been sent round to negotiate a compromise.

-

-But Hal was not disposed to divulge the purpose of his visit.

-

-"I want to see Farmer Bluff, if you please," said he, "if he's up. If

-not, perhaps you could take me to his room. I daresay he wouldn't mind."

-

-Farmer Bluff was up, though, as Elspeth promptly informed the young

-gentleman; and, stepping to the parlour door, she flung it open,

-announcing, "The young Squire, sir."

-

-Farmer Bluff, as it happened, was in a brown study, leaning forward on

-the elbows of his chair, with his eyes fixed on the fire. Not catching

-the first two words of Elspeth's announcement, he looked up with a

-start, expecting to see his master come to torment him again. His

-relief can best be imagined when, instead of meeting the penetrating

-gaze of the Squire, his eye fell upon the slight form of Hal, with his

-frank, boyish face all abeam to greet him, as he swung himself across

-the room.

-

-"Good morning, Mr. Bluff," said he pleasantly. "I'm glad to find you

-up. You ought to be out this fine weather. You're missing ever so much,

-so I thought I'd come and have a chat with you about it."

-

-"And make me want all the more to be out," said the old farmer, doing

-his best to assume a pleasant manner. But his thoughts, ever since

-Elspeth landed him in that chair, had been of such la disagreeable

-nature, that he found it quite impossible, all in a minute, to shake

-the growl out of his tone.

-

-"I'm glad my legs don't prevent me getting out," said Hal,

-contemplating the bandaged limb with compassion, as he seated himself

-opposite, and lodged his crutches against his chair.

-

-"You're not of a gouty age yet, young master," returned Farmer Bluff.

-"It'd be sorry work to have it at your time of life."

-

-"It isn't everybody has it when they're old," said Hal. "My grandfather

-doesn't. I don't think I shall."

-

-"Maybe not," returned Farmer Bluff. "'One thing at a time' is the

-saying. You've got your share in the way of legs."

-

-"But I mean," explained Hal, determined to make this the thin end of

-his wedge; "I mean that I shall take care not to have it."

-

-Bluff laughed—a cynical sort of laugh.

-

-"You'll have to take pretty much what comes," croaked he.

-

-"But some things don't come," said Hal.

-

-"You don't send for 'em," returned the bailiff, with another laugh.

-"That's very certain; not such things as gout."

-

-"Don't you?" said Hal. "It seems to me you do. Beer makes gout, doesn't

-it? You're always drinking beer."

-

-The bailiff involuntarily reached out for his mug; but it was

-empty—which went to prove the truth of what Hal said. Farmer Bluff

-drank beer so often that he hardly knew when he did it.

-

-"It may be partly owing to that mug," continued Hal, after a few

-minutes' consideration. "You're rather proud of it, you see. I think

-that's natural. But, do you know, if I had a mug that made me have

-the gout, I'd send it to the smith's to be melted down and made into

-something else. Let me see—you might have it converted into a silver

-inkhorn, like my grandfather's. You couldn't drink out of that."

-

-"That's certain," returned the bailiff, amused in spite of himself.

-

-"Well, will you think about it?" said Hal. "Because that's what I

-came about. You see, if you go on having gout, you can't go on being

-bailiff. My grandfather says so. It's one or the other; and it's quite

-fair, if you come to look at it. You're no bailiff if you have to sit

-with your leg up on a cushion all day like that; because you ought to

-be out and about the estate, seeing after things. And if it's your own

-fault that you can't, why, there's no doubt about it's being just; is

-there?"

-

-Farmer Bluff shifted on his chair. He knew Hal was quite right. And Hal

-had brought out his arguments very warily too. First, that the gout was

-of the old fellow's own seeking; second, that being gouty, he couldn't

-attend to his business, and had clearly no right to be bailiff; and

-third, that this being so, he stood self-condemned, and could in nowise

-complain if the Squire turned him out.

-

-Hal knew this very well, and was not surprised at getting no answer

-to his question. "I think I'll go now," said he, taking his crutches.

-"It's a beautiful morning. I wish you could be out of doors."

-

-Farmer Bluff reached out for the bell, but Hal stopped him. "You

-needn't ring for the servant," said he. "I can get out all right by

-myself; and I daresay she's busy. When you have to wait on any one who

-can't move much, I should think it gives you a lot to do."

-

-So the old farmer left the bell alone.

-

-"I'm very much obliged to you for looking in, Master Hal," said he, as

-the boy did not attempt to go.

-

-"I'll come again," said he, "if you like it. There's one thing more I

-was thinking. It's in the Bible. 'Thou hast destroyed thyself.' I don't

-remember who it was, but I've got the words in my head somehow. It's a

-pity to destroy yourself, isn't it?—Because there are so many ways that

-you can't help, of getting destroyed."

-

-Farmer Bluff shifted again; and Hal, resting on his crutches, looked

-as if he very much wished he knew how to go on. But it was rather

-difficult, especially when the old fellow didn't make any reply.

-

-At length, he put his right crutch forward, preparatory to moving on.

-"Well, good morning, Mr. Bluff," said he. "Don't forget about the mug;

-and I hope your gout will be better. I should like you to go on being

-bailiff when I'm Squire, because I'm used to you, and strangers aren't

-so nice. Good morning."

-

-And away went the crutches across the floor, with their measured tap,

-tap, whilst the old bailiff sat looking after him with an astonished

-expression on his face; and when Hal, halting to turn the door-handle,

-gave him a last bright nod, he nodded too, twice or thrice. Then he

-twisted himself round in his chair, to watch the boy across the yard.

-But Hal went first to pay his respects to Grip, and peep round the

-corner of the house at Blazer. Catching sight of the old man through

-the window as he passed, however, he approached and put his face close

-to the glass.

-

-"Don't forget the mug!" called he.

-

-Whereupon Farmer Bluff, too much astonished even to nod, took the empty

-heirloom in his hand, turning it over and over, and falling back again

-into a brown study.

-

-Out in the road again, Hal looked about for Dick. But he was nowhere

-to be seen. Dick was one of those people who find time hang very

-heavy when they have to wait; and seeking temporary diversion, he had

-completely forgotten his appointment with Hal.

-

-Just past the farmyard was a pathway over the fields, behind the

-orchard and back premises; and having perched himself upon the stile to

-wait, it occurred to Dick to wonder where it led to. No sooner wondered

-than both Dick's legs were over the top-rail, and, jumping down, he

-started off to see for himself, whistling as he went.

-

-Now, these back premises were Blazer's especial charge; and such a

-vigilant sentinel was Blazer, that he no sooner heard the sound of

-Dick's whistle than he was up in arms.

-

-Dick came to a halt, remembering the character he had heard of the

-beast from Bill the Kicker's father. But at that very moment, who

-should appear from behind the orchard but Bill himself.

-

-"Hullo!" called he.

-

-Whereupon Blazer barked more furiously than ever.

-

-Blazer had his own reasons for mistrusting the sound of Bill the

-Kicker's voice.

-

-"Ain't he sharp!" said Bill. "He smells you out if you creep by ever so

-quiet."

-

-Dick nodded. "What about the hornets' nest?" asked he eagerly.

-

-But Bill put him off with a half answer. The fact was he had been in

-too much of a hurry in proclaiming it a nest, and it had turned out to

-be no such thing.

-

-Meanwhile, Blazer had not ceased barking.

-

-"Rather a dangerous animal, isn't he?" suggested Dick.

-

-"I shouldn't care to meet him out for a walk," returned Bill.

-

-"Is he near the hedge?" asked Dick.

-

-"Agen' the back door," answered Bill. "You ain't afraid of him?" added

-he, with a grin.

-

-"Why, no," said Dick, ashamed to own the contrary. "Lots of people go

-this way, I expect."

-

-"In course," returned Bill; "else what's the pathway for? Nobody takes

-any notice of Blazer. My eye, though, ain't he wild if you get through

-the hedge!"

-

-Dick inquired if Bill was ever guilty of such a thing.

-

-Bill answered by a mysterious nod and the word "apples," accompanied

-by a jerk of his thumb towards the orchard. "You have to look out when

-there's nobody about, though," said he; "else he'd bring 'em out like a

-shot with his row. To see him, you'd think he'd break his chain."

-

-"It's too strong I should think," said Dick, with a feeling, however,

-that it would be preferable to go without the apples rather than risk

-meeting Blazer off the chain.

-

-"He got loose the other day, though," returned Bill. "Killed a goose,

-and made old Bluff so mad. Old Bluff always reckons to get a lot by

-his geese; and now there's a whole setting spoilt. Thirteen short for

-market next Christmas," added Bill knowingly.

-

-Dick knew nothing about geese. He made numerous inquiries concerning

-their nesting and hatching, all of which country-bred Bill was able to

-answer in detail.

-

-"They lay pretty big eggs I should think," said Dick, recollecting an

-ostrich egg which he had seen in a South African uncle's cabinet.

-

-"Oh don't they!" responded Bill. "A dinner and a half for a chap. I

-often help myself when there's no one about."

-

-Dick, instead of being shocked, looked rather envious of Bill's

-experience.

-

-"I daresay I could get you one," hinted Bill obligingly. "They're worth

-a shilling each; but as it won't cost me nothing but the trouble, I'll

-say sixpence to you."

-

-Dick thought that a good deal. Sixpences were not very handy in finding

-their way to his pockets for his father was by no means rich. The

-prospect was tempting, however; and not knowing that the sum named was

-full double the ordinary market price, he at once closed with the offer.

-

-"When am I to have it?" asked he eagerly.

-

-But this Bill was not prepared to say. It depended on so many things;

-on Blazer, on Elspeth, on his father, and on the geese. So Dick must

-needs be content with a conditional promise that at some time or other,

-within the shortest possible limit, he should be in possession of the

-coveted delicacy.

-

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-CHAPTER VII.

-

-THE SHORTEST CUT.

-

-BILL the Kicker had his own reasons for wanting sixpence.

-

-A few days since, being very hard up for a pocket-knife, he had watched

-an opportunity to abstract the necessary amount from his mother's

-rent-money; and he was anxious to replace it before the theft was

-discovered.

-

-This rent-money was the proceeds of his mother's exertions with her

-mangle, and was always dropped into an old tea-pot occupying a place of

-honour on the mantel-shelf—each amount put in or taken out being duly

-entered in red pencil on a square of card, which also had its quarters

-in this Britannia-metal safe.

-

-Now it always fell to Bill's lot to carry the mangling home out of

-school hours; and it seemed to him, when he got the idea of taking the

-sixpence, that it was nothing but fair he should have something for his

-pains.

-

-"If other people don't pay you, why, you must pay yourself," reasoned

-Bill. "That's square enough."

-

-When he came to see the red pencil entries on the card, he was somewhat

-shaken as to the safety of this policy, however "fair and square" it

-might be. It was not even as if he had been one of many brothers.

-The coin would certainly be missed; and upon whom but himself should

-suspicion fall?

-

-It occurred to him to make the experiment of rubbing out one of the

-entries. He had no eraser, but he was pretty ready with expedients.

-Quick as lightning, one finger went to his mouth, and thence to the

-tidily kept account; but such a horrible smear was the result, that his

-hair almost stood on end. It was impossible but that his mother would

-see that the card had been tampered with; if, in addition, she found

-the money sixpence short, the mischief would be out, and he would be

-"in for it."

-

-Exactly what that might mean was not clear to Bill. All he knew was

-that his father had given him the strap on one occasion, and that

-he did not desire a repetition of the experience. It was already

-Thursday. Under ordinary circumstances, the sixpence would have had to

-be replaced before Monday. But since Farmer Bluff had been laid up,

-the rents had been running; so that, unless the Squire suddenly took

-it into his head to send some one round, there would be no particular

-hurry.

-

-Bill, however, was shrewd enough to believe in being on the safe side.

-Accordingly, he had left no stone unturned to put himself in a position

-to restore the stolen sixpence. The scheme about the hornets' nest

-having fallen through, he had even hunted up and down outside the shop

-fronts in the street, in hopes of picking up change dropped by some

-careless housewife when out marketing. But, fortunately for the good of

-thieves, they do not often receive such encouragement in their crooked

-ways; and Bill's researches proved fruitless.

-

-He was still puzzling his brains after a way out of the difficulty,

-when Dick's curiosity about geese furnished the very idea he wanted.

-Bill had robbed the hens' nests before this, as well as the orchard.

-What was to prevent him from getting a goose's egg?

-

-To be sure, geese were not very nice to have to do with.

-

-Jenny Greenlow, carrying her father's dinner along the riverbank to the

-Infirmary, where he was at work upon the roof, had been attacked by one

-and knocked down; and there the child had lain until her father, badly

-in want of his meal and perplexed at her delay, went along to meet her,

-and found her half dead with fright, whilst the goose was still feeding

-on the contents of the basket. But the goose was probably attracted by

-the smell of the basket's contents; and then Jenny was only a girl!

-What goose of any sense would dream of molesting a boy! Bill went to

-work at once to plan the details of the adventure, delighted with the

-scheme.

-

-Due consideration suggested morning, while the farm men were at

-breakfast, as the most suitable time for carrying it into effect.

-So far as he knew, none of them were in the habit of taking their

-provisions with them. As they all lived in the row adjoining his

-father's cottage, a mere stone's throw away, they found it pay better

-to slip in and drink their coffee hot by their own fireside. A few

-minutes after the stroke of eight, therefore, Bill might make pretty

-sure that the coast would be clear.

-

-The geese, too, having laid their eggs and been fed, would have

-wandered away to their pastures. There was only one other thing to be

-considered. The hole in the hedge through which he meant to creep was

-behind the shed, but so soon as he crept round to the door, Blazer was

-sure to catch sight of him; and if Elspeth were anywhere near at hand,

-his noise was sure to bring her out. Out of this difficulty, however,

-Bill saw positively no way. The only thing was to hope that Elspeth

-would be busy waiting on her master just then, and to dare the rest.

-

-"I've done worse things before now," said Bill to himself, by way of

-encouragement.

-

-Accordingly, next morning he was up with the sun, determined to get

-quickly through his woodchopping, and the various other duties that

-were expected of him. On ordinary occasions, Bill was given to being

-rather slow.

-

-"If you're through too quick, you get more to do next day," was his

-way of arguing; so he always took care to make his work last out, as a

-country boy knows how.

-

-But on this morning, he was particularly brisk. He had just finished,

-and was counting on getting clean off, when he heard his mother's voice.

-

-"Bill!—Oh!—Just done, are you? You've been spry. Here!" As Bill was

-lounging off. "I just want you to come and help me through with this

-mangling; and there 'll be time to run with Mrs. Wayling's before daddy

-comes in to breakfast."

-

-At the first mention of mangling, all Bill's sense of justice had risen

-in rebellion; but an errand before breakfast fell in with his plans

-beautifully.

-

-His mother thought he had never come with such alacrity, and wondered

-what magic it was that regulated the moods and caprices of boyhood.

-"He's that slow and obstinate by times," she said to herself, as she

-spread the folded linen ready; "and look at him this morning. Couldn't

-be a better help if he was a girl, and grown-up!" She little thought.

-

-"Mother," said the wily Bill presently, on coming to the end of

-a batch. "Mother, I'm awful hungry; and it's a good step to Mrs.

-Wayling's. Couldn't I have a bit o' summat afore I start out? They keep

-you such a while up there; likely it'll be half over before I get in."

-

-"To be sure you can," answered his mother, thoroughly pleased with his

-cheerful industry. And forthwith going to the dresser, she cut and

-spread a thick slice. "Have what you want afore you go," said she,

-reckoning to get things cleared up and out of her way, ready for her

-ironing by and by.

-

-And Bill stood munching hungrily, as he waited to start, turning

-afresh, and congratulating himself that now, come what might, his

-breakfast was secure.

-

-It was about half-past seven when he set out for Mrs. Wayling's with

-the bundle on his head. It was a good distance. Mrs. Wayling was the

-schoolmaster's wife, and lived up by the church. Bill usually took a

-barrow; but this time he had his own reasons for wishing to be entirely

-unencumbered so soon as ever he should have delivered his burden. A

-barrow would not be handy at stiles, and he intended coming back by the

-river and the fields, so as to avoid the chance of meeting his father.

-

-Bill was warm by the time he arrived at the schoolhouse. He had got

-over the ground pretty quickly, considering the weight of his burden,

-and the church clock still wanted two minutes of the quarter. If only

-they did not keep him waiting, he would be back at the farm at the very

-right moment.

-

-As luck would have it, the servant returned almost immediately, to say

-that her mistress had no change, and would send the money round with

-the next bundle of linen. And Bill, only too glad to be free, money

-or no money, nodded and ran off towards the river as fast as his legs

-would carry him.

-

-It was a good deal farther that way, but Bill had now nothing but

-himself to carry. In a very short time, he had reached the riverbank,

-and was hurrying along the towing-path. The geese were already in the

-field. He saw them marching towards the river in their pompous way,

-with the old white gander at their head. There would be nothing to

-fear from them; and, puffing and panting with hurry and excitement,

-Bill scudded along until he reached the back of the orchard, when he

-slackened pace and went tiptoe, stealing along behind the hedge towards

-the hole through which he intended to creep.

-

-It was not much of a gap, for it had grown-up a bit since last Bill had

-squeezed through—which was when the apples were ripe. But gap or no

-gap wasn't going to stand in his way just then. Bill got down into the

-ditch, to wait until he should hear eight strike and the men tramp past

-to breakfast. He had not long been there when the clock sounded out the

-hour.

-

-Bill took his hands out of his pockets, and laid hold of a stoutish

-stem of whitethorn on either side, breaking or bending back the smaller

-twigs, so as to clear his passage. Then he waited again. He could

-plainly hear somebody moving about inside the hedge, and he began to

-be terribly afraid that one of the men had made up his mind to spare

-himself the trouble of going home to breakfast.

-

-Bill let go the whitethorn stems in dismay.

-

-"There's a go!" exclaimed he to himself. It seemed such a pity, too,

-when everything was so splendidly arranged. But just then, he heard the

-footsteps moving towards the door of the shed.

-

-"Gone eight, mate?" asked a voice.

-

-Blazer sprang to his feet and uttered a bark; but there was no other

-answer.

-

-"Blest if oi yeerd it strike!" exclaimed the voice. "But they be all

-gone, sarting sure, and oi be left behoind. Oi reckon that 'ere clock

-bean't much account. 'Twants a bigger clapper to t' bell."

-

-And with these words, the door banged to, and the hobnails went

-dragging across the yard. It was old Jaggers, the cowman, who was as

-deaf as a post, and was always getting "left behind" if his mates

-forgot to hail him when the breakfast hour arrived.

-

-The coast was clear at last. Bill laid hands anew on the whitethorn

-stems. But at that very moment, a dull thud, thud, in his other ear

-made him stop short. It was a sound of approaching footsteps on

-the worn grass of the footway. Some one was coming along from the

-river-side. Would interruptions never cease? Bill gave a guilty look

-round. It would not do to be seen in the ditch.

-

-A yard or two to the right was a large bramble bush, which had sprung

-up on the field and straggled over to the hedge, catching hold of the

-whitethorn with its thorny arms, and interlacing with the blackberry

-brambles in a thick tangle. Under this shelter, he crept to hide.

-

-Thud, thud came the steps, nearer and nearer. A few minutes more and he

-would be able to come out. But just as the passer-by reached the very

-spot where Bill crouched in hiding, the footsteps suddenly ceased.

-

-Bill was puzzled. Who could it be? And why had he stopped exactly

-there? Bill was shrewd enough to know that if he could not see, neither

-could he be seen; but it was too bad to be obliged to stop there whilst

-the moments of that precious half-hour were running to waste.

-

-At length, impatience got the better of prudence, and he determined

-to get a peep, at the risk of being discovered. With this intent, he

-commenced creeping by inches towards the limit of his shelter. But a

-boy's eyes cannot be in two places at once. In his anxiety to keep

-a watch on the bank, he entirely forgot the necessity of looking to

-his feet. At the very moment when he caught sight of a well-blacked

-boot, down slipped his foot into a deep hole, and poor, luckless Bill

-suddenly found himself measuring his length at the bottom of the ditch.

-

-"Hullo!" exclaimed a voice from above. "What's up?"

-

-Bill was not hurt; but he lay quiet, still hoping to escape discovery.

-The owner of the voice, however, to whom the boot also belonged, was

-not likely to be so easily satisfied.

-

-"What's up?" repeated he, facing about, and seeing to his infinite

-astonishment a somewhat unkempt figure sprawling at the bottom of the

-ditch.

-

-Finding concealment impossible, Bill scrambled to his feet with a

-sheepish grin.

-

-"What are you after?" asked the stranger.

-

-He was dressed in a suit of dark-coloured tweed, and had under his arm

-what looked like a bundle of deal sticks and a flat, square package

-buckled up in a shiny black case. Bill's rapid survey satisfied him

-that he did not belong to the neighbourhood, and that it was therefore

-safe to tell as many lies as ingenuity could invent.

-

-"Rats," answered he promptly. "Got a hole here; and they steals the

-eggs."

-

-"Ah!" observed the gentleman. "And you get so much a head for them, eh?"

-

-Bill nodded.

-

-The gentleman turned on his heel, laughing to himself at the idea that

-any rat should be so unwary as to come out of his hole when somebody

-was by to knock him on the head. A minute later, he had forgotten the

-whole thing, and relapsed into his former attitude, looking away across

-the fields to the right. He was an artist, and had come down by rail to

-make the best of the mild spring day; for there was an open view of the

-church from that point before the leaves were thick.

-

-Bill, not knowing all this, stood at the bottom of the ditch staring at

-his back, and wondering what spirit of contrariness could possess him

-that he must choose that very spot to loiter on. He was just thinking

-whether it would be safe to leave him out of the question altogether,

-and proceed to the business of getting through the hedge, when the

-gentleman faced about again.

-

-"Hullo!" said he, unrolling the bundle of sticks under his arm as he

-spoke, and nodding towards the farm. "You don't work there?"

-

-Bill shook his head. "My father does though," answered he.

-

-"You couldn't borrow a chair for me, I suppose," said the gentleman.

-"They know you, I daresay."

-

-Bill stared for a minute or two, then suddenly broke into a grin.

-"Dessay I could," said he.

-

-"Well, look sharp!" returned the gentleman. "And I'll give you a

-copper."

-

-To his infinite astonishment, Bill had no sooner received the order,

-than he advanced a few steps along the ditch, turned his face to the

-hedge, and seizing firm hold of the two whitethorn sterns, commenced

-drawing himself through the gap.

-

-"He knows how to take an order," said the artist to himself. "That's

-what I call going the shortest cut."

-

-Meanwhile, Bill's mental comment was, "My! If he ha'n't nearly done

-me!" And he made like a shot for the door of the shed, casting a rapid

-glance towards Blazer's kennel, to see if he were on the watch. For

-once, however, Blazer was otherwise occupied, and Bill gained the shed

-unobserved.

-

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-CHAPTER VIII.

-

-"CONSCIENCE MAKES COWARDS OF US ALL."

-

-ON first peeping into the shed, Bill was disconcerted to see a goose on

-one of the nests.

-

-But Bill was no coward when there was anything to be gained. He went

-cautiously forward towards the furthest boxes, keeping an eye on the

-sitting bird the while, and ready to beat a retreat on the first alarm.

-But the goose had no intention of quitting her position. She only

-raised her head with a little warning scream and hiss; and he reached

-the nests without further challenge.

-

-Bill uttered an exclamation of delight. In the first nest were three

-eggs; in the second, two. "Let's make 'em even," said he, possessing

-himself of the odd egg, and stowing it carefully in his jacket-tail.

-

-Just as he was about to turn, however, an idea came to him. Ten to one

-such a splendid chance would not return in a hurry. "One a-piece 'll

-be fairer," said he, taking an egg from the other nest, and tucking it

-in the opposite pocket. "They can lay another," added he, with a grin.

-Then he recrossed the shed, and regained the door.

-

-Peeping round, before venturing out, he saw that Blazer had come out of

-his kennel, and was standing on the alert, waiting for somebody to bark

-at. Bill's first impulse was to draw back. Perhaps the dog had heard

-the goose's scream. But second thought convinced him that to think of

-remaining longer in the shed was useless, and that, in fact, the sooner

-he got out of it the better, since by this time it must be very close

-on half-past eight. With another glance at Blazer, he slipped out and

-darted round the side of the shed. But Blazer had seen him, and dashed

-forward on his chain with a furious bark.

-

-Bill turned, terrified, half expecting to see Blazer on his heels; and

-not looking to see where he was going, ran full tilt against the corner

-of the shed, leaving the print of a louvre-board on his eyebrow. But

-anyhow he was safe behind the shed, and Blazer was not loose.

-

-Bill felt his pockets tenderly, congratulating himself that the blow

-had been in front instead of behind. Then the difficulty of getting

-through the gap without smashing the eggs occurred to him for the

-first time. "Head first 'll be the style," decided he at length; and

-with another guilty glance, to make sure that Blazer was not on his

-track, down he went on hands and knees, wriggling through the gap,

-and reaching down with his hands until they touched the bottom then

-paddling along sideways, much after the fashion of a lizard coming out

-of his hole.

-

-It was not surprising that his face was pretty red by the time he got

-to his feet. His first thought was to feel whether the eggs were safe.

-He had been terribly afraid they would roll out of his pockets as he

-felt his jacket-tails fall forward on to his shoulders whilst he was

-upside down; but they were none the worse.

-

-He was still feeling them over when he suddenly became aware of the

-artist standing on the bank looking down at him. He had set up his

-easel, and was waiting for his chair.

-

-Bill's hands came out of his pockets all in a hurry. Like all people

-who have anything to conceal, he felt as if everybody must guess his

-guilty secret.

-

-"Hullo!" said the artist. "I should come through feet first next time,

-if I were you. Where's all chair? Wouldn't they give it you?"

-

-Bill was one of those unscrupulous people who are never at loss for an

-answer.

-

-"Dog's got loose," said he.

-

-"Ah!" said the artist, glancing uncomfortably at the gap through which

-Bill had just come. Where a boy could get through, a dog could also. "A

-savage brute, is he?" asked he.

-

-"Well, rather," admitted Bill. "I'd sooner you met him than me," he

-added, feeling his injured eyebrow tenderly. "I ran agen' the shed, I

-did."

-

-"He isn't likely to come through after you?" asked the artist, still

-with an uneasy eye on the gap.

-

-Bill shook his head.

-

-"Couldn't say for positive," answered he. "Dogs is wonderful keen. But

-I could go round to the front and tell 'em to chain him up."

-

-"Do so," said the artist promptly.

-

-And Bill, feeling rather awkwardly conscious of his jacket-tails,

-started off, to lay siege to Grip's domain.

-

-Within the space of ten minutes he returned, carrying a chair, and

-followed by Elspeth, who had in view two ends—first, to insure the

-safety of her chair; second, to inform the gentleman that if he should

-be wanting lunch, she could make arrangements for his comfort in her

-front kitchen. Bill having intimated that the gent was rather timid of

-dogs, she also added that there was nothing to fear from either animal,

-as they were both on the chain.

-

-Meanwhile Bill, with the eggs still in his pockets, stood at the

-artist's elbow, watching his preparations with a curious eye, and

-waiting for his copper.

-

-"I'm going to make a picture of the church," said the artist presently.

-"Perhaps I may want a boy in the foreground. Would you like me to put

-you in?"

-

-Bill looked up sharply, and nodded.

-

-"That'd be two coppers, sir, wouldn't it?" said he.

-

-"Well, yes; I suppose it would," admitted the artist carelessly. "Go

-and stand yonder against that tussock, and let me see how picturesque

-you can look."

-

-Bill obeyed.

-

-"Put your arms up as if you were carrying something," the artist called

-to him. Then after a minute or so, beckoning him back. "I shan't want

-you for an hour or two," said he. "No doubt you could bring a basket

-or a bundle. Or stay! You haven't got a goat or a donkey—or a little

-brother?"

-

-Bill hadn't; but he thought it might be possible to borrow one.

-

-"That'd be three coppers, sir, wouldn't it?" bargained that mercenary

-young scamp.

-

-"Oh! Come," returned the artist; "you're too sharp by half for a

-country boy. I daresay some one else will come along who will think it

-an honour to be put in a picture and hung in the Academy. If it ever

-attains to that honour," he added to himself, as Bill anxious not to

-lose all by his grasping, declared himself ready and willing to stand

-on any terms.

-

-"Very well, then," concluded the artist, who had taken rather a fancy

-to the boy's shaggy appearance. "In an hour or two, I shall expect you

-back."

-

-And Bill went off up the field towards the river.

-

-Truth to tell, those two goose eggs were beginning to weigh very heavy

-in Bill's pockets. It was quite a chance when he might meet with Dick

-Crozier; but it was plain he could not carry an egg about in his pocket

-until he did. One, of course, he intended to suck as soon as he was at

-a safe distance from the farm; but meantime the other must be hidden

-somewhere. Bill wandered on; but the fine day had brought a good

-many people out, and he kept meeting first one, then another, until

-at length he arrived at the riverbank without having had a chance of

-tasting his stolen sweets.

-

-The geese had reached the bank too, and were standing about in various

-attitudes of burlesque dignity, some snapping the grass with their

-great, broad bills, others with their awkward necks upstretched, always

-ready to scream. They numbered ten or a dozen.

-

-"Ah! Mrs. Geese," Bill thought to himself as he approached, "I wonder

-which of you these eggs belong to. You'll just have the trouble of

-laying a couple more, unless you choose to go short of eggs to sit on."

-

-He had often been that way before, and laughed at the idea of being

-afraid of geese; but somehow this time, as he drew near, every head in

-the flock seemed turned to look upon him, and when they commenced their

-usual "Ya-hi!—Ya-hi!" he stopped short, to consider the advisability of

-going on.

-

-Of course it was nonsense to suppose that they could know anything

-about the theft. But the thief knew, which was the same thing with a

-difference; it is so true, that wise old saying that "conscience makes

-cowards of us all."

-

-If Bill had looked behind, he would have seen Dick Crozier coming along

-from the opposite direction.

-

-Dick had at length determined upon using "his common sense" in the

-matter. Having accidentally transgressed his father's injunctions on

-the morning when he made the Squire's acquaintance, he had come to

-the conclusion that he would get no harm by repeating the accident on

-purpose, with regard to the river. He had found his way by another

-field-path, a mile or two beyond the Manor Farm, and was now coming

-along the towing-path, with the intention of returning by the way which

-Bill had just come.

-

-Bill, however, was too much engrossed to notice anything but the geese.

-He was having a fight with his own cowardice, and had just gained the

-victory.

-

-"It's all rubbish," he was saying to himself; "as if they could know!"

-And he set forward at a determined pace.

-

-Just then the foremost goose waddled forward, assuming a decidedly

-hostile attitude; and at the same instant Dick, recognising Bill from

-behind, gave a shrill whistle. Between the goose and the whistle, Bill

-was so startled that he came to a sudden halt, completely unmanned;

-then seeing the goose still advance, he turned to fly.

-

-This, of course, was the last thing he should have done; for the bird

-no sooner saw his back, than ducking her head and opening her wings,

-she rushed forward with a scream. Bill heard her coming, and put on

-the speed; but the goose was sure to win the race. A minute later, she

-would have had him by the back of his small clothes, had not Bill, in

-flinging a terrified glance over his shoulder, swerved to the edge of

-the towing-path, and overbalancing himself, slipped and fallen, rolling

-over and over down the incline into the ditch that separated the bank

-from the field.

-

-The enraged goose was after him like lightning, screaming and flapping

-her wings. But Bill's terrified imagination put spurs to his energy.

-Imagining that the whole flock had taken up the fray, he scrambled to

-his feet, and plucking up all his valour, just as the goose rushed

-forward, he caught her in the breast-bone with such a fling of his

-heavy boot as sent her staggering and rolling over backwards, silenced

-at any rate for the present.

-

-Meanwhile Dick, seeing Bill in difficulties, had maintained a safe

-distance; he now came on, whilst Bill, fearing the recovery of the

-goose, or the vengeance of her allies, fled towards him, panting and

-red in the face.

-

-"Killed her?" called Dick excitedly.

-

-"Dunno," cried Bill, without so much as turning to look back. "Run!"

-

-And Dick adopting the suggestion, both lads sped as if for their lives.

-

-"That was a first-rate kick!" was Dick's admiring comment, when they at

-length stopped where a bend of the river and a clump of weeping-willows

-suggested safety.

-

-The terrible geese were now only visible a long way behind over the

-water, with their necks still upstretched, and now and then screaming

-a faint "ya-hi!" as a bird flew across, or some equally unimportant

-matter arrested their attention.

-

-Bill felt rather foolish. "Guess I shan't come this way again in a

-hurry," observed he.

-

-Dick remarked that he didn't know geese were dangerous.

-

-"Oh! Ain't they, though," said Bill, changing his opinions to suit his

-case. "You've only seen 'em hangin' up by the necks, I guess. Never

-offered to touch me before, though," added he, with a touch of bravado.

-"Seems like they know when you've been meddling with their nests."

-

-"Have you got it?" asked Dick eagerly, referring to the promised egg.

-

-Bill nodded. "One a-piece," said he, clapping a hand to each

-jacket-tail. Then suddenly remembering his roll down the bank, his face

-fell,—"I'm licked!" exclaimed he with a blank look. "If they ain't all

-smashed! Now, there's a go!"

-

-What a mess it was; and what a face Bill made as he drew his hands out,

-yellow and sticky, and stood staring helplessly at Dick!

-

-"There's a go!" repeated Dick. "My word and honour!"

-

-"After all that trouble!" added Bill, thinking of the sitting goose

-and Farmer Bluff's dog Blazer, and all the other obstacles he had

-surmounted. "It's sixpence all the same though," added he.

-

-Bill had pulled his jacket off by this time, and was down upon his

-knees on the grass, turning out the pockets.

-

-"Don't you wish you may get it!" returned Dick derisively. "You don't

-call that an egg?"

-

-Bill had got his mouth down to one pocket, lapping, up the yellow mess.

-"It warn't my fault they broke," said he, looking up, his face all

-smeared with yolk.

-

-"Nor mine; that's certain," retorted Dick decisively, turning on his

-heel. "You can have the other one too," he called over his shoulder as

-he went.

-

-"Stop a bit!" cried Bill. "Hi! Stop! It's sixpence, or I split on you!"

-

-"Will you though!" retorted Dick, facing round with a jeer. "Who stole

-'em?"

-

-"Who asked me to?" retorted Bill.

-

-"Who offered to?" Dick flung back.

-

-"I don't do anything again for you in a hurry," said Bill, applying his

-mouth to the other pocket. "You're a sneak!"

-

-But Dick only jeered, and went his way.

-

-Bill knelt upright a minute or two, to look after him; then he

-proceeded to lay himself out flat on the bank, feet furthest from the

-edge, and set to work washing out the pockets in the river.

-

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-CHAPTER IX.

-

-RENEWING ACQUAINTANCE.

-

-ELSPETH fully anticipated the honour of giving lunch to this strange

-artist, for whom Bill had borrowed the chair. It was a good step up

-to the public house by the church; and common sense told her that

-a shelter so near at hand, where he could rest and eat, would be a

-convenience not to be despised.

-

-Accordingly, she laid forward with her work, in order to be ready to

-do the honours of a cold-meat spread any time after eleven o'clock,

-by which hour she counted he might reasonably be getting hungry. As

-fortune would have it, however, she was doomed to disappointment.

-

-Setting out about half-past nine for a walk his grandsons, the Squire

-with Hal at his side, arrived at the stile beyond the Manor Farm,

-intending to proceed by way of the riverbank and the fields to the

-church, and thence to the gate of the wood, to see how Farmer Bluff's

-place of exile was progressing.

-

-Will and Sigismund were quickly over; and whilst Hal and the old

-gentleman were following at leisure, on they ran as usual. They no

-sooner disappeared beyond the corner where the path curved round the

-orchard than they came racing back.

-

-"Such an odd object!" cried Will, in his clear, sharp voice. "A man

-under a white canvas umbrella!"

-

-"Like a missionary teaching the heathen," put in Sigismund; for the

-equinoctial sun was in one of its rare hot moods, and our artist had

-been glad to screen his eyes from its glare.

-

-A few moments later, the Squire and Hal were in sight of him. Hal, as

-usual, was just ready with some question, when his grandfather uttered

-an exclamation of pleasure and surprise. At the same moment, a look of

-recognition passed over the artist's face, and he rose, respectfully

-doffing his hat.

-

-"Why, Grantley!" exclaimed the old gentleman, hurrying forward with

-extended hand. "I little thought you were upon my domains."

-

-"On Tommy Tinker's ground," put in, sotto voce, Will, who always had

-something mischievous at the tip of his tongue.

-

-The artist replied that he himself had not been aware of it until,

-inquiring his way of a labouring man up by the church, he had learned

-the name of the place. "I intended doing myself the honour of calling

-on you later in the day," he added; "when the air becomes too chilly

-for work."

-

-"By all means," said the Squire cordially. "I shall be delighted.

-I see you have already made acquaintance with my bailiff, or his

-housekeeper," added he, glancing at the chair.

-

-Grantley acquiesced. "A decent, hospitable kind of body too," returned

-he; "offered to get me luncheon presently—which, by the way, I think

-will come acceptable before long; for I breakfasted at six, preparatory

-to my tramp over from the town; and I find your country air sharpening

-to the appetite."

-

-"You will find my bailiff but indifferent company, I fear," said the

-Squire. "Farmer Bluff is all that his name implies; a gouty old sinner,

-too, who deserves every twinge in his joints as heartily as ever any

-one did. However, if he is expecting you, of course—"

-

-"Oh! From what the good woman said," interrupted Grantley, "I am not to

-enjoy the honour of sitting down with Farmer Bluff. She spoke of her

-front kitchen."

-

-"I suspected as much," rejoined the Squire. "Bluff was never noted

-for the virtue of hospitality, and never will be. This is simply a

-scheme of Dame Elspeth's to turn an honest half-crown. That being so,

-I propose that you come up to lunch with me at the Manor House; or if

-that will take you from your work too soon, go in and have a snack of

-bread and bacon in Elspeth's kitchen, and come on to dine with me at

-six."

-

-This arrangement seemed best to suit Grantley, who was anxious to lose

-none of the short spring day. "It will make a pretty sketch," said he,

-"if I can do it justice; but I am expecting a lad back presently—the

-one who fetched out Dame Elspeth and the chair; a lively urchin, from

-the way in which he scrambled through the hedge there, rather than go

-round like ordinary folk to the front entrance."

-

-"Well for him that the old farmer has his gout on, if he is familiar

-with the way through that hedge," observed the Squire. "But if Farmer

-Bluff suffers that way, his dog Blazer doesn't; and the dog isn't a

-whit more bland-tempered than his master."

-

-"Oh, grandfather!" put in Hal, who was listening as usual, his keen

-eyes moving quickly from one to the other of the speakers. "Blazer is

-ever so much nicer than Grip. He's an honest old doggie."

-

-"Perhaps Farmer Bluff might become an honest old bailiff in your hands,

-my boy," returned his grandfather, "if only his gout allowed him to

-live long enough to see you in power. This is Hal, the coming man,"

-continued he to Grantley; "the eldest son of your old schoolfellow, who

-will be Squire in my stead one of these days, I hope."

-

-Grantley said something pleasant in answer to this information; but Hal

-could not help feeling that he cast a pitying glance at his crutches

-and irons.

-

-"I hope I shall be as good a Squire as you, grandfather," said he in a

-low voice.

-

-"Aim at being better, my boy," returned his grandfather, laying a fond

-hand on his shoulder. "The higher our ideal, the higher we may hope

-to reach. Set before yourself not the Squire your old grandfather

-has been, but the Squire Christ Jesus would have been if He—the only

-perfect man—had been Lord of the Manor to the people here."

-

-And somehow, with his grandfather's words, it came over the cripple

-boy, that with such an ideal before him, it would not so very much

-matter to his squireship if he could not follow the hounds or ride in

-the steeplechase.

-

-Then they set forward, and presently they met Dick Crozier on his way

-back from witnessing Bill's encounter with the goose.

-

-The Squire stopped.

-

-"Well, Master Dick," said he, for he rarely forgot a name, "you're out

-early; and you haven't missed your way to-day."

-

-Dick answered "No;" but coloured to the crown, for conscience reminded

-him that he had none the less been out of bounds.

-

-The Squire, however, knowing nothing of his father's injunctions,

-misinterpreted the blush, judging him to be of a modest turn. Now the

-Squire liked a boy who wasn't "made of brass;" so he took Dick to his

-heart thenceforth.

-

-"My grandsons will be pleased to show you the grounds at the Manor

-House any time you like to come up for a game," said he.

-

-Dick thanked him.

-

-"And if you're not too tired to turn back with us just now," continued

-the Squire, "we shall all be pleased to have your company."

-

-So Dick, who had till one o'clock upon his hands, turned back towards

-the river with them, nothing loth to walk in such august society.

-

-Meanwhile Bill, upon the riverbank, behind the willow clump, had just

-finished washing out his pockets, which he had wrung out as dry as he

-could before putting his jacket on again. This done, he turned to take

-a survey of the distant hostile squadron.

-

-To his amazement and dismay, whom should he behold but Dick Crozier and

-the Squire's grandsons making straight for the very spot where he had

-given the goose that vicious kick; and in their midst the brisk, trim

-figure of the Squire himself, one hand behind his back, as usual, the

-other grasping the gold head of his cane.

-

-"Now, if he ha'n't been straight and split on me!" exclaimed Bill to

-himself. "There's a mess!"

-

-This was precisely what Dick—being somewhat in the same mess—had not

-done, and had no intention of doing. The history of the affair was this.

-

-Turning to the left, along the riverbank, to gain the cottages by

-the gate of the wood, the Squire and his grandsons had come upon the

-extraordinary spectacle of a flock of some ten or a dozen geese huddled

-together in apparent agitation and concern at a distance of several

-yards from one member of their flock, who was writhing and flapping

-on the grass in evident distress and agony. Their conduct betrayed a

-curious mixture of fear and sympathy. Now and again, one or another

-would come out from among her fellows, and make a few steps forward

-with outstretched neck, whilst the rest of the flock chorused her with

-warning screams of "Ya-hi!—Ya-hi!" But having contemplated the poor

-sufferer for some seconds, the spectacle of a sister's sufferings

-evidently became too much for her feelings, and she waddled away again

-to seek support of the gander, who stood hindermost of all, utterly

-useless in such an emergency.

-

-Hal's quick eyes had been the first to catch sight of her.

-

-"She's dying, grandfather!" exclaimed he; and as his brothers rushed

-forward, he felt in all its keenness the privation of his crippled

-condition.

-

-Dick was in no such hurry, for he guessed pretty accurately what was

-the matter with the goose; though whether Bill's boot had broken her

-breast-bone or bruised her internal organs, he could not tell; so he

-followed on with Hal and his grandfather.

-

-The Squire looked on for some minutes with both perplexity and concern

-at the poor creature's distress, then he turned to Hal and Sigismund.

-

-"Run to Farmer Bluff's, both of you," said he. "Bring one of the men.

-The poor thing must be attended to at once."

-

-Off ran Will and Sigismund at the top of their speed, whilst the other

-three looked on, not knowing what to do.

-

-And in the distance stood Bill, watching them, and wondering what

-would come of it all. At length, recollecting his appointment with the

-artist, and concluding that it would be safer not to venture back to

-Farmer Bluff's field by that path, Bill set off running in the opposite

-direction, intending to go round the longer way by which Dick had met

-him when they quarreled about the broken egg.

-

-All this while, Dick was in a sad dilemma, for he dared not tell what

-he knew, although he could so easily have put them on the right track

-with regard to the poor bird's sufferings.

-

-At length, two of the farm labourers arrived, and after a short

-examination, amid much cackling and screaming from the rest of the

-flock, they carried off the injured goose in a basket they had brought

-for the purpose, to doctor her after their simple light; or, as a last,

-humane measure, to put a quick end to her struggles.

-

-"For it's my opinion, sir," said one of the men wisely, as they placed

-her in the basket, "that her 'll not get over this. I've seen 'em took

-like this before; and they never live."

-

-"Then kill her mercifully, by all means," the Squire answered him; "and

-end her sufferings."

-

-And they continued on their way.

-

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-CHAPTER X.

-

-THE INQUEST.

-

-"THAT'S two geese lost this spring," observed one of the men next

-morning, as the injured bird breathed her last under his hand. "Warn't

-the governor mad!"

-

-And so he was. He cursed, he swore, he raged; he would have stamped,

-had not his infirmity prevented it. Above all, he felt deeply injured

-that his gout prevented him from going out to see after things himself;

-for when he used to be about, such casualties never happened. Being

-tied to his chair, however, and having now one hand bad, in addition to

-his feet, he could use nothing more violent than his tongue.

-

-And at length, the men, having listened as long as they thought

-necessary, to his stream of abuse, carried out the goose to execute

-their mournful duty.

-

-Left to himself, Farmer Bluff gradually cooled down; and as he cooled,

-certain words of Hal's came back to mind. This gout, Hal had said, was

-of his own seeking. If so, it was his own fault that he had lost the

-geese. Farmer Bluff instinctively reached out his sound hand for the

-silver mug, and having drained it of its contents, fell into a brown

-study.

-

-In the midst of his reflections, he heard a sudden tap against the

-window at his back, and looking round, he saw Hal's face pressed

-against the glass. The boy nodded; so did the bailiff—in spite of his

-grumps; and Hal swung himself off to ring at the bell, sitting down in

-the porch to wait.

-

-Elspeth was more astonished than ever, on taking her usual peep through

-the slit window.

-

-"Well! If you ain't layin' yourself open to hear a lot of language that

-ain't fit for the ears of the likes o' you!" exclaimed she, as she

-opened the door. "The master's that mad about the goose, that he's done

-nothing but swear ever since they brought her in."

-

-Hal was already on his feet—or rather, his crutches.

-

-"Never mind," said he. "It won't hurt me if he swears ever so. It's not

-what goes in at your ears that defiles you, you know, but what comes

-out of your mouth; because that shows what's in your heart."

-

-So Hal went in, and was announced as before—"The young Squire, sir!"

-

-Farmer Bluff was looking towards the door in expectation. His features

-relaxed on sight of the boy's cheery face.

-

-Hal wished him "good morning."

-

-"Left hand," said he, as his young master swung himself across to shake

-hands. The right arm was suspended from his neck in a large checked

-handkerchief.

-

-Hal looked serious. "Is that gout too, Mr. Bluff?" asked he, standing

-in front of him, and eyeing the bandaged arm.

-

-Farmer Bluff nodded.

-

-"Ah! Young master," said he; "you didn't know what a plaguesome thing

-it was, once it got hold of your system; did you now? It couldn't

-be satisfied with getting me off my legs, but it must disable my

-knife-hand. It'll have the fork one next, I'll be bound; and then there

-'ll be a pair of 'em. A quadruped of gout!"

-

-He looked rather proud over this joke. It wasn't many he made when he

-had gout.

-

-But Hal stood silent.

-

-"I'm disappointed," said he. "I expected to find you better; and

-instead of that, you're worse." And he went and sat down on a chair

-opposite—the same one he had occupied on his first visit—looking

-perplexed and grieved. Presently he said,—"It's that mug, Mr. Bluff.

-I'm sure of that. Have you thought about it any more?"

-

-"Why, no," returned the bailiff; "not much. I can't say I have. I've

-thought more about the goose, a long chalk."

-

-"Yes; that was a pity," said Hal sympathetically. "I was very sorry for

-the poor thing."

-

-"Two broods lost in one year," said Farmer Bluff, getting on his moody

-expression again. "More than a man like me can afford to lose. Now, if

-I'd been about—"

-

-"There you are again," put in Hal. "If you will have gout—"

-

-"It's all those men," continued the old fellow wrathfully. "They're

-so—" Farmer Bluff pulled up suddenly, before he added "careless." He

-was going to throw in one of his swearing expressions, to give weight

-to the word; but he fortunately recollected Hal in time, and checked

-himself.

-

-"Did they find out what she died of?" asked Hal.

-

-"Of a knife in her throat, of course," laughed the old bailiff grimly.

-

-"But what was the matter first, I mean," explained Hal.

-

-Farmer Bluff shook his head. "They brought her in to me," said he; "and

-I couldn't see, except that she was dying pretty fast. So I told 'em to

-put an end to it."

-

-"You'll have an inquest, won't you?" said Hal presently.

-

-Farmer Bluff laughed outright. "An inquest on a goose!" roared he.

-"Upon my soul, young master, you're an original; though, when you come

-to look at it, half the inquests are on geese. He! he!—" And he laughed

-again at his own wit.

-

-But Hal was quite in earnest. To him there was nothing funny in it at

-all. "There always is a post-mortem," said he seriously, "when anybody

-dies without the doctor being able to tell the cause of death. I think

-that if I were you, I should like to know why that goose died. It might

-enable you to prevent any more of them dying the same way, you know.

-Perhaps it was something in the food."

-

-Farmer Bluff shook his head. "I daresay it's been 'post-mortemed' for

-somebody's dinner by now," said he, with grim humour. "I told 'em to

-cut her throat and put her underground; but such as them don't often

-get the chance to taste goose flesh. I'll be bound she's twirling on

-the spit by now."

-

-After a little more talk, Hal took his crutches. "Well," said he, "I

-must wish you 'good morning,' Mr. Bluff; and as you've got the gout

-in your right arm I won't trouble you to shake hands. But I'd have it

-out of there, if I were you, feet and all. You really must think about

-that mug this time; now, won't you? I'm certain it's the mug that does

-the mischief; because, you see, you're proud of it, and directly we're

-proud of anything, we forget all the rest. But you won't have a goose

-to put it out of your head this time?"

-

-Farmer Bluff replied that he "hoped to goodness not."

-

-And Hal let himself out.

-

-That evening at dinner,—for the boys always enjoyed the privilege of

-dining with their grandfather in the holidays,—the subject of the goose

-came up, and Hal told what he knew of its fate.

-

-"Upon my word," remarked the Squire, after hearing how Hal had aired

-his ideas about the post-mortem, "you were right too; and if I had

-known it, the bird should not have been put out of the way in that

-slip-shod fashion. As it is, the thing shall be looked into."

-

-"Your bailiff is guilty of allowing the consumption of unwholesome

-food," observed young Grantley, who had had accepted the Squire's

-pressing invitation to make the Manor House his home whilst his pencil

-was busy in the neighbourhood. "It is to be hoped the 'fortunate'

-family will reap no disastrous effects."

-

-"Such a thing might have very serious consequences," added Hal's

-mother, who was very much concerned.

-

-Finally, after due deliberation, the Squire gave orders that some one

-should at once be sent to ascertain the name of the man to whom the

-fate of the goose had been intrusted; and that having done this, the

-messenger should at once proceed to the man's cottage, and learn what

-had become of the stricken bird's remains.

-

-It was quite late in the evening when at length a servant came to say

-that Hobbs—the man who had gone—was waiting in the hall.

-

-The boys' bedtime was already long past, but they had begged to sit up

-a little longer, and they now all followed their grandfather out to

-hear the result of the investigations.

-

-Hobb's account, however, although it quieted all anxiety with regard to

-the meal afforded to the Grig family, only involved in further mystery

-the cause of the goose's death.

-

-Mrs. Grig, on being questioned, had reported that when plucking it

-ready for trussing, she had discovered a great black bruise upon its

-breast, and that upon further examination she had found the breast-bone

-to be broken. As to the wholesomeness of the flesh, however, she was

-ready to affirm before anybody that a sweeter bird never came from the

-poulterer's,—although "it wasn't quite in prime condition, not being in

-the fatting season." She had finished up by giving it as her opinion

-that there was no doubt about death having been due to accident rather

-than disease.

-

-"There was one item rayther cur'ous 'bout the information as I got,

-sir," said Hobbs finally. "When old Jaggers went home to he's breakfast

-at the stroke of eight that morning, there was three eggs in the old

-white goose's nest, and two in the speckled's, as stood nighest it. But

-when he comed back, blest if there hadn't out o' each nest disappeared

-one egg; so's to leave no more'n two in one, and one in t'other,"

-repeated Hobbs, looking round about upon his hearers to make sure they

-followed him. "And depend upon it, that old white goose had had a fight

-wi' some un as came to steal her egg. Though how the crittur dragged

-herself right away down to the river, wi' that broken bone, is past all

-understanding—except that sittin' birds 'll do 'most anything."

-

-"What about the dog Blazer too?" exclaimed young Grantley, who had

-followed out to hear the news. "Why! That was the first morning I was

-there sketching. They said the dog was loose too."

-

-"Who said so?" asked the Squire sharply.

-

-"The boy who fetched my chair. And, by the by," exclaimed young

-Grantley suddenly, "I have it all! That young rascal was down there

-hiding in the ditch when first I came along; and he got in through

-hedge in quite a practised fashion."

-

-"Ha!" exclaimed the Squire. "But he didn't bring your chair that way?"

-

-"No; he just used that as a pretext for getting through, and came back

-with a black eye and a tale about the dog being off the chain; and,

-having crammed me with that, he offered to go round to the front—"

-

-"Where Blazer could have got at him just the same, if he had really

-been loose," put in Hal.

-

-"Now that I remember," added Grantley, "when I first came up and

-caught him in the ditch, he invented a history about rats, for which

-he professed to get so much a head. He said they stole the eggs; but

-I guess the young scapegrace himself was the biggest rat of the lot,

-and had his eye upon the biggest eggs. I should hardly think that rats

-would tackle a goose's egg."

-

-"There's not a doubt about it but you've found the clue," returned the

-Squire. "The question to be answered is, Who was the boy?"

-

-Young Grantley shook his head.

-

-"But you put him in your picture, didn't you?" suggested Hal.

-

-The Squire smiled. "Hal thoroughly believes in your power of faithful

-portraiture," observed he.

-

-Young Grantley laughed. "Yes," said he; "I put him in. I told him to

-return in an hour or two. He was nearer three. He said he had been

-home."

-

-"Which way did he go?" asked Hal.

-

-"Towards the riverbank," was the reply; "but then we haven't yet

-decided who he was. My easel, Squire," he added, "is in Elspeth's

-charge. I'll run down and fetch the canvas if you like."

-

-"No, no; not the least hurry," returned the Squire; "the morning will

-do just as well. We will sleep upon the information that you've given

-us."

-

-The boys begged hard to be allowed to escort young Grantley to the farm

-at once; but it was getting very late, and their grandfather would not

-entertain the idea.

-

-"Dame Elspeth wouldn't thank us for curtailing her hours of rest,"

-said he. "She is up betimes, no doubt. To bed, now; and directly after

-breakfast to-morrow, we will start, and identify the thief."

-

-Finding that there was no appeal, the boys gave in. Will and Sigismund

-went off to bed in high spirits at the idea of dragging a culprit to

-justice by means of an artist's sketch; but Hal lingered behind, a

-minute.

-

-"Grandfather," said he, "what will be done with the boy? Will he go to

-prison, or what?"

-

-"That depends," replied the Squire. "According to the old proverb, we

-must catch him first before we cook him. He certainly shall not be let

-off punishment if we do; you need not fear."

-

-"I meant," replied Hal, "that I don't want him punished. I should fancy

-that it would harden a boy. I would rather have him talked to."

-

-"Be sure he would remember a good smarting far longer," rejoined his

-grandfather; "and I should feel myself to blame if I neglected to let

-him feel the consequence of his bad conduct. Such small beginnings are

-as the seed-corn in the earth, which bringeth forth some thirtyfold,

-some sixtyfold, and some an hundredfold. That is equally true of bad,

-as of good seed. But now be off."

-

-That night Hal went to bed with two sinners on his mind,—Farmer Bluff,

-with his silver mug and his gout, and the youthful but unknown villain

-who had murdered the old white goose and robbed her nest.

-

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-CHAPTER XI.

-

-AN ARTIST-DETECTIVE.

-

-THE family assembled with great punctuality at the breakfast-table

-next morning. Will and Sigismund crowded round young Grantley, who

-had acquired great importance in their eyes, since he had assumed his

-novel rôle of detective. Hal, on the contrary, looked rather serious,

-wondering who the culprit would turn out to be, and what punishment he

-would have to undergo.

-

-Immediately breakfast was over, the Squire rose and took his

-gold-headed cane. Young Grantley and the boys followed him out on to

-the verandah, Hal's mother accompanying them, to shade her eyes with

-her hand and watch them off, as Dick had seen her do on the first

-occasion of his peeping over the plantation palings at the Manor House.

-

-Outside the lodge they chanced upon Dick, who had been down to the

-railway with his father. The squire gave him a benevolent salute, and

-the boys stopped to speak.

-

-"We can't stay though," said Sigismund. "Turn back with us."

-

-So Dick turned back.

-

-"We're off to the Manor Farm," explained Will. And he went on to give

-the details of the theft, and how suspicion had come to rest upon the

-boy whom Mr. Grantley had put in his sketch of the church, but whose

-name was of course unknown to him. "We're going to identify him by the

-sketch," added he.

-

-"Mr. Grantley leaves his easel at the farm," put in Sigismund. "I think

-it's splendid fun. It's exactly like a real police case, isn't it?"

-

-Dick's face had become nearly as serious as Hal's at this intelligence.

-If the theft should be brought home to Bill, his own share in the

-affair was certain to come out, and then it would be all up with his

-pleasant footing at the Manor House.

-

-"Whoever it was, pretty nearly killed the goose," added Will.

-

-And between them, they narrated the events of the preceding evening,

-and how the Grig family had feasted on the poor goose's remains.

-

-This was getting hotter and hotter for Dick. At length, he grew so

-uncomfortable that on reaching the gate of the farm, he said he would

-go no farther and in spite of all their pressing that he should wait

-outside and see the picture when Mr. Grantley brought it out, he

-turned, and left them to go in alone.

-

-They had no sooner knocked at the kitchen door, however, than Dick

-changed his mind, and followed on towards the cottages beyond the farm.

-If Bill were anywhere about, he might give him a hint to keep out of

-the way a bit, until the storm blew over.

-

-Dick's chief motive in this design was to avoid getting his character

-blackened in the Squire's eyes by association with Bill. He overlooked

-the more important consideration that he who meddles with mire is

-blackened, whether other people know it or not; and that there is One,

-before whose piercing gaze no hiding can avail, since He "looketh on

-the heart."

-

-As it happened, Bill was just outside, off for a stroll. Seeing Dick,

-he turned the other way; but Dick ran after him.

-

-"I say," cried he, "you're in for a pretty row. It's all come out about

-the goose and those two eggs you stole."

-

-"I daresay!" flung out Bill. "Of course you've been and told."

-

-"Of course I haven't," answered Dick. "The gentleman that put you in

-his picture smelt it out; and the Squire's gone up with him to the

-farm, to see the picture and identify your phiz."

-

-This information was so startling that poor Bill's hair positively

-stood on end.

-

-"It's only to be hoped he hasn't drawn you well," continued Dick; "but

-somehow these things always do come out. It's what they call the law of

-justice I expect. If I were you, I guess I'd hide away a bit. You see,

-you don't exactly know what they may do. You wouldn't get less than a

-month, you may make pretty sure, with the Squire after you, and Farmer

-Bluff behind, to back him up."

-

-"But where am I to go?" asked Bill, so seriously that Dick perceived at

-once how terrified he was.

-

-"Why, right away somewhere," said he, determined upon striking whilst

-the iron of Bill's fear was hot. "If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't

-even stay to think. I'd set off this very minute, and I'd go on running

-till I dropped. I'd walk till night. I'd do anything, short of jumping

-into the river, to escape a month in gaol. I saw inside a cell once,"

-continued Dick impressively.

-

-And then he shook his head with such effect that Bill looked round,

-almost expecting that his gaolers were at hand. As nothing was to be

-seen of them, however, Bill began to examine the matter more closely.

-

-"How can I get food to eat, if I run away?" said he.

-

-"Work for it, of course," returned Dick contemptuously. "A boy your

-size must be a donkey if he can't pick up enough to buy his victuals.

-You mightn't get much else but bread; but if you come to think, you'd

-get no more than that in gaol."

-

-And it struck Bill that bread and water, with liberty, would be sweeter

-far than the daintiest fare in a prison cell.

-

-"You'd have your hair cropped too," urged Dick; "and all the boys would

-pelt you, and call names, when you came out again."

-

-"I should have nowhere to sleep," said Bill, still hesitating.

-

-"Oh! You could get a lodging cheap enough," said Dick; "and anyhow—I'll

-tell you what. If don't make your mind up pretty quick, you'll have 'em

-down on you. The Squire's sure to recognise your picture; and he'll

-come right straight off here. If I were you, I'd go inside and grab

-whatever I could find to stuff my pockets with, and then I'd be off

-like a shot. I wouldn't stand stock-still and let 'em put the handcuffs

-on; not I!"

-

-Bill turned. His mother had gone out, and he could take just what he

-liked.

-

-"Look here," said Dick, with a sudden show of generosity, "I'll start

-you with that sixpence I was to give you for the egg; and then, you

-mind!—You've never got to say a word about my name, d'ye hear?"

-

-And Bill, convinced that he had better escape, and glad to get so much

-to start him on his wanderings, promised, and ran indoors. A minute

-later, he reappeared, his jacket-tails stuffed out to twice their size,

-and in his hand a huge hunch of bread, which he was cramming down his

-throat as fast as he could swallow.

-

-"I'm off!" said he; and away he ran along the road.

-

-"Good luck to you!" cried Dick. And having watched him out of sight, he

-clambered over the gate of a field just opposite the cottages, and hid

-behind the hedge, to wait and see what would happen.

-

-Meanwhile, Elspeth had been astonished beyond measure at the formidable

-party that besieged her kitchen door. In the first place, she was not

-accustomed to let the Squire in that way; and in the second, she caught

-up at once, from odd remarks, that something was amiss; so having

-brought the easel out from its place behind the churn, she retired to a

-respectful distance to listen and pick up what hints she could.

-

-The Squire was the first to look. He examined the canvas closely for an

-instant; then he said,—"Now, boys; let each one take a look; then tell

-me who this is. To my mind, there's no doubt."

-

-"Why, Bill the Kicker!" sang out all three with one voice.

-

-[Illustration]

-

-"And so say I," confirmed the Squire.

-

-"It's splendid!" added Will.

-

-"The rascal!" said the Squire. "He shall smart for it."

-

-Elspeth came a step or two towards the group.

-

-"Would it be the lad that fetched the chair?" asked she.

-

-"The same," nodded young Grantley. "Will you like to look?"

-

-And he politely turned the canvas towards her, whilst the boys made way.

-

-"That was Bill Mumby—Bill the Kicker, as they call him," said Elspeth

-as she approached. "And so is this," she added, the instant she was

-near enough to see. "You've drawed him very true, sir, too."

-

-"Then there remains no doubt," returned the Squire, summing up

-the evidence, and tapping briskly on the red-brick floor with his

-gold-headed cane. "We know whose door the mischief lies at now. The

-portrait does you credit, Grantley. You'll be a great man yet."

-

-"Of whom it will be told in after days," said Grantley, not displeased,

-"that his first hit was made as a detective in the case of a country

-bumpkin versus a goose. Ah! Well, it remains to be seen whether or not

-it will be counted worthy of a place in the Academy."

-

-"It shall certainly have a place in the Manor House," returned the

-Squire warmly, "if you will name your price."

-

-So the picture found a purchaser before it was completed; and the young

-artist went out to his work well pleased.

-

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-CHAPTER XII.

-

-BILL'S FUTURE.

-

-HALF an hour later, the Squire stood before the door of Bill the

-Kicker's home.

-

-Dick, from his hiding-place behind the hedge, saw him arrive, striking

-the ground importantly with his cane, and followed by his grandsons.

-

-"Now for it!" thought Dick, and rubbed his hands in glee.

-

-The Squire knocked; but no one answered, so he knocked again. Still no

-one came.

-

-"Go round to the back," said he to Will.

-

-Will went, and returned with the news that he had tried the wash-house

-door and found it fast, but through the window he could see a little

-fire in the grate.

-

-"We'll knock once more," said the Squire.

-

-This time the upper window of the next door cottage opened, and a head

-was hastily thrust out. "Mrs. Mumby a'n't at home," the neighbour

-called. Then, seeing who was waiting down below, she humbly begged

-pardon, and further informed the Squire that Mrs. Mumby had gone up the

-road to carry home some linen.

-

-The Squire thanked her with his customary courtesy; and having hoped

-the children were quite well, was going down the pathway, when the good

-woman called again to say that Mrs. Mumby was in sight.

-

-When she arrived, her honest face was red with toiling through the

-sun; and it went redder when she saw the Squire at her door. But Mrs.

-Mumby knew her manners, so she asked him with a curtsey if he wouldn't

-step inside; and there she dusted chairs for him and the three young

-gentlemen, and stood up, with a corner of her apron in her hand, to

-hear what he had come about.

-

-"It's about your boy, Mrs. Mumby," began the Squire, when he had said

-a pleasant thing or two about the weather and her health. "He isn't in

-just now, I believe."

-

-"No, sir," said the mother; "he isn't in just now."

-

-"And you couldn't say exactly where he is?"

-

-"I couldn't, sir," said she.

-

-"Can you tell me where he was all the morning, two days ago?" the

-Squire asked.

-

-"Two days ago?" reflected Mrs. Mumby. "Yes, sir; I believe I can. We

-did some mangling early, him and me, afore his father comed in to he's

-breakfast; and Bill went out to take it home. All the morning arter

-that, sir, he was in the field just by the farm, along o' some strange

-gent as took a fancy to the looks of him, and wanted for to put him

-in a pictur' of the church. A pretty bit it is, too, sir. I've often

-noticed it agoin' 'crost the fields on summer evenings, when the bells

-was ringing out for service, sir."

-

-"Well, Mrs. Mumby," said the Squire, anxious to recall her to the point.

-

-"Yes, sir; as I was a-saying," continued Bill's mother, "and I wanted

-him so bad that day to turn the mangle and carry linen home; but of

-course I naturally thinks, thinks I, 'he'll sure to give him something

-for his time.' But it's like such folks, sir; ne'er a copper did my

-Bill get out of him. Come home empty-handed, sir; that he did! And me

-near dragged to death."

-

-"Did he though!" returned the Squire. "I've heard a different tale

-to that. The gentleman—a friend of mine, now staying at the Manor

-House—informs me that he gave the boy a silver sixpence for his time.

-Now what say you to that?"

-

-"That I'm sorry I should have to tell it of my own, sir," answered Mrs.

-Mumby, looking down; "but I'm bound to own as Bill is often caught out

-in untruths. It a'n't for want of bringing up. His father never catches

-him but what he gets the strap; and so he shall this time, sir, that he

-shall. His father 'll be right mad to hear of it."

-

-"But that is not all, I'm grieved to say," pursued the Squire, going on

-to tell her the rest of his charges against her rapscallion son.

-

-Mrs. Mumby's face fell lower and lower.

-

-"It's not for want o' being strict with him," repeated she. "Mumby and

-me, we're always at him, sir; and, as I say, his father never finds him

-out but what he straps him well."

-

-But the Squire shook his head. "It isn't strapping that 'll make a boy

-right-minded," answered he, "any more than cutting back will make a

-wild plum bear a garden fruit."

-

-"Then what's to do, sir?" said the mother ruefully. "Don't the good

-book tell us, 'Spare the rod, and spoil the child'?"

-

-"But it also tells us," said the Squire, "that the evil deeds men do

-proceed out of their evil hearts; and that nothing can effect a change

-save the Holy Spirit of God, that 'bloweth where it listed' in this

-world of sin."

-

-Mrs. Mumby was silent. She knew her Bible pretty well, as she had heard

-the parson read it from the desk; but she had hitherto thought only of

-the parent's duty of bringing up a child in the way he should go.

-

-This idea that her boy Bill needed a changed heart to make him want

-less strapping, was new to her. It had never struck her that "bringing

-up" is only like preparing the heart—as ploughing does the field—and

-breaking up its hard surface to receive the gospel seed of truth.

-

-"What would you wish us to do, sir?" asked she nervously.

-

-"First of all, to bring the young culprit face to face with me,"

-replied the Squire. "I will question him, and see what argument can do;

-and if I find him obdurate—well, I shall see what steps to take. There

-is no doubt about the truth of what the 'wise man' says; and there are

-many 'rods' that can be used to teach the wholesome lesson how that

-crooked ways are sure to find their chastisement."

-

-"He'll be in by one, sir, sure," said Mrs. Mumby, half-doubtful whether

-to be glad or sorry that the Squire agreed with her about the need of

-punishment. "He never lags behind at dinner-time."

-

-"Then bring him round to me," rejoined the Squire, rising to his feet.

-

-The mother dropped a curtsey.

-

-"But you won't be hard on him, sir?" said she timidly.

-

-The Squire struck his cane upon the ground.

-

-"We have his future to consider, Mrs. Mumby," answered he. "A boy who

-lies and thieves at his age, must be curbed, or he will end by worse.

-But we will hope that, by God's grace, we may turn him from his evil

-ways."

-

-The Squire and his grandsons were no sooner fairly out of sight than

-Dick came out of hiding, and set off home.

-

-"Bill's well out of that," said he to himself as he thrust his hands

-down in his trousers pockets, and set up whistling. Then, recollecting

-the price he had paid to get Bill off, he broke off his tune to

-add—"And I'm well rid of him." And for all the scarcity of sixpences

-with Dick, he even went so far as to count himself cheaply rid of Bill.

-"I wouldn't care to have the Squire looking after my future," said Dick.

-

-Meantime, young Grantley's brushes worked busily at the picture of the

-church, whilst the Squire and his grandsons made their way across the

-fields and by the river to the wood; and having ascertained that the

-repairs were progressing satisfactorily, they returned to lunch.

-

-Then the Squire sat down in his study to await the arrival of Mrs.

-Mumby and her scapegrace son; and the boys went out of doors to play

-about the plantation, taking care to keep well within sight of the

-gate, so that they might see when Bill arrived. But the afternoon

-wore on. Mumby came in to his dinner, and went back to work; and his

-wife put aside the plateful she had reserved for Bill. Then she went

-upstairs and cleaned herself against his coming in, so as to be ready

-to go up to the Manor House with him.

-

-"I durstn't breathe a word of it till I've got my bonnet on," said she,

-"else he'd be off like a shot."

-

-But Mrs. Mumby tidied up, and came downstairs again with her best

-bonnet in her hand; and still she found the plate untouched. And all

-the afternoon she worked away at her shirt-fronts; but still no Bill

-came in.

-

-Presently she made the tea, and had a cup, setting the pot to keep warm

-on the hob. And six o'clock brought Mumby home; but still no Bill.

-

-"It's just like he's got scent of it," said she. "A boy like him won't

-stand to be corrected while he got legs to run away."

-

-Up at the Manor House they were so less perplexed.

-

-Young Grantley had stowed his easel at the farm, and hurried in to

-dinner, all anxiety to hear what had been done. But all the Squire

-could tell him, was that neither Mrs. Mumby nor the boy had been.

-

-"It's my opinion, grandfather," said Will, "that Mrs. Mumby has changed

-her mind. She's like a silly mother; doesn't want him punished. That's

-the fact of it."

-

-"You oughtn't to have spoken out so plain," said Sigismund. "You've

-frightened her. You take my word; she's hiding Bill."

-

-In this conviction, they all retired for the night.

-

-Next morning, just as breakfast was concluded, a servant came to say

-that, "Mrs. Mumby, from the cottages beyond the Manor Farm," was

-waiting in the hall.

-

-Mrs. Mumby's face was drowned in tears.

-

-"Bill's gone and drowned hisself, or run away," she sobbed. "He knew

-he'd catch it extra hard; and I shall never see my boy again—my only

-boy."

-

-"My good woman," said the Squire soothingly, "you may be quite sure

-your boy has too much respect for his own life, to do anything so

-foolish as jump into the river. Far more likely he is hiding somewhere

-near about, until the storm is past; so dry your eyes, and tell me what

-you can."

-

-Mrs. Mumby obeyed.

-

-"He's took a lot o' food out o' the cupboard," said she, choking

-down her sobs, and speaking through her apron. "Pretty nigh a half a

-quartern loaf, he did. I always have 'em in a day before, to get 'em

-stale."

-

-"Proof positive," said Will, "he's run away."

-

-"What should he want with bread in the river, I wonder!" giggled

-Sigismund, snacking at the flies with a bit of whip-cord, and half

-thinking of Bill the whole time.

-

-"He may have gone into the woods," observed the Squire, half to himself.

-

-"Picnicking," put in Will.

-

-"Has any search been made?" continued his grandfather aloud to Mrs.

-Mumby.

-

-The mother answered tearfully that all the neighbours had turned out

-with lanterns after dark, on hearing that the boy had not come home;

-and many people in the village street had joined the search. Every

-outhouse and haystack in the neighbourhood had been ransacked; and many

-of the searchers had not given up till dawn.

-

-"They reckoned, you see, sir, that he was bound to drop asleep

-somewheres, if so be he was alive," explained Mrs. Mumby; "and they'd

-liker hit upon him in the dark than by broad daylight, when he'd be

-upon the tramp."

-

-"It looked remarkably as if he had made off," the Squire thought.

-"Well, well," said he, "the way will be to telegraph the fact to

-Scotland Yard. A thorough search will soon be set on foot." So,

-repairing to the study, a description of the runaway was written out,

-and a man on horseback forthwith despatched with it to the town.

-

-Whilst this was being arranged, Hal had slipped round to Mrs. Mumby's

-side. "I think, you know," said he, "if I could get hold of Bill, and

-talk to him, it might do good; but then, you see, you don't know where

-he is."

-

-The mother shook her head. "I wish I did," said she.

-

-"I wish you did," echoed Hal. "When you don't know where a person

-is, it makes you feel so bad. You see, he'll soon eat up that bread.

-It wouldn't last me long; and everybody says I eat so little, for a

-growing boy."

-

-"And he eats such a lot," rejoined Bill's mother, comforted by the

-interest Hal seemed to take in her boy's fate. "Bless you, sir! You

-need to be poor people, like Mumby and me," she added, "to know how

-much he does eat."

-

-"And the question is," said Hal reflectively, "what will he do when

-that's gone?"

-

-Dick also had heard of the great stir caused by Bill's disappearance.

-

-"There was pretty near a score on us," old Kirkin told him when he ran

-down the garden, early that morning. "We didn't put our lanterns out

-till four; and up again at six. I can tell 'ee, I ha'n't had a wink o'

-sleep."

-

-"I wonder you didn't stay in bed to-day," said Dick.

-

-But Kirkin shook his head. He had been a gardener in his prime, but now

-had to get his living by odd jobs as best he could.

-

-"Sleep or no sleep, can't afford to throw up work," said he. "But when

-a lad's missing, so that no one knows what's come of him, a man can't

-stay in bed to sleep. His mother's like to kill herself."

-

-"I wonder where he's gone," said Dick, which was quite true, so far

-as it went. Nevertheless, he felt very uncomfortable, sitting down to

-breakfast with the secret of Bill's disappearance on his mind.

-

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-CHAPTER XIII.

-

-THE YOUNG SQUIRE ASSUMES A NEW CHARACTER.

-

-THREE or four days passed, but no tidings came of Bill the Kicker.

-

-A week went by, and still he was away. They had the river dragged,

-and all the ponds; every ditch and pitfall in the neighbourhood was

-searched; and printed bills, describing him, were posted up outside all

-the police stations of the district; but all to no effect.

-

-The April rains had come on now, and the world had suddenly burst into

-verdure. It was a lovely vista that the Squire looked down over the

-gate of the wood, when he went to see after the repairs at the cottage.

-But he had to take his morning walks alone now. The tutor had returned,

-and Easter holidays were up.

-

-Dick's presentiments, too, were realized. His father had found a school

-for him; and nine o'clock saw him strapping up his books and hurrying

-off to learn as much mischief and as little solid information as he

-could—after the fashion of boys made on his pattern.

-

-Meanwhile, Farmer Bluff's gout and the repairs had gone on apace. The

-old fellow's prediction had come true more speedily than he desired.

-Not many days had elapsed when the left hand was seized, and he became

-entirely dependent upon Elspeth—being unable even to feed himself.

-

-As long as the holidays had lasted, Hal had contrived to drop in pretty

-often; and he would hardly have believed how much he was missed,

-now that lessons and April showers combined to keep him away. One

-half-holiday proving fine, however, Hal slipped out between school and

-lunch, and set off for the farm. He rang, as usual, but no one came;

-so, finding the door on the latch, he pushed it open and announced

-himself.

-

-A savoury smell greeted him. Farmer Bluff's dinner tray was on the

-table. Hal apologized for his intrusion.

-

-"I didn't know you dined quite so soon," said he.

-

-"No more I do, it seems," returned Farmer Bluff gruffly. "That's how

-she serves me pretty nearly every day; just brings it in and takes the

-covers off. Then leaves it here for me to smell until it's all gone

-cold,—to go and eat her own, I s'pose. And here am I, can't move hand

-or foot!"

-

-"That's bad," said Hal; "it spoils the gravy so. You get the fat all on

-the top."

-

-It was a mutton chop, and there were greens with it, according to the

-doctor's express orders.

-

-"Greens aren't nice cold, either," added Hal. "They get so dabby, don't

-they? I suppose it rather comes of your having gout in both hands,

-though. Grown-ups are intended to be able to help themselves, you see."

-

-The farmer groaned. He always did, when Hal made these little moral

-reflections. If any one had scolded, it would have only angered him and

-made him obstinate; but Hal's remarks came out so naturally, and he

-looked so sympathetic all the while, that a more ill-tempered man than

-Farmer Bluff could scarcely have felt annoyed.

-

-"I'll tell you what," said Hal suddenly. "As I happen to be here just

-now, why shouldn't I help you? I can manage quite as well as Mrs.

-Elspeth, if you like."

-

-When Elspeth returned, she was astonished to find the young Squire

-seated on a corner of the table, with his crutches one side, and the

-bailiff's plate the other, preparing dainty mouthfuls with the knife

-and fork, and skilfully conveying them to her master's mouth.

-

-"Well, I never!" exclaimed she, pausing in the open doorway in amaze.

-

-"It seemed a pity all this gravy should get cold, because you were

-so busy that you couldn't come," explained Hal. "I think, if I were

-you, I'd try and make sure of that before I brought the dinner in. I

-shouldn't like mine cold. And you must excuse my sitting on the table

-too. If I stand, you see, I want my hands to hold my crutches with; and

-if I sit down on a chair, I come so low I couldn't reach. I hope I make

-it salt enough," he added, as he lodged another forkful in the great

-bird's mouth.

-

-Hal's relations with the bailiff became of a far more confidential

-nature after this. We often hear it said that a right to give advice

-is earned by lending help. So Hal found; only he put it in a different

-way. He felt that he had found his way to Farmer Bluff's affection

-by performing such a homely office for him; and he treated him

-accordingly. He often managed to run in upon half-holidays; and he

-didn't only lecture him about the gout. He soon succeeded in making him

-talk; so that before long, he knew more of Farmer Bluff's history than

-most other people did. He found out how the old man liked to talk of

-sport and dogs; but he also learned how Mrs. Bluff had died quite young

-of fever, and how one by one, the children whom she left had gone to

-follow her, so that in six short weeks, he had been left alone.

-

-[Illustration]

-

-"That was very sad for you," said he. "I shouldn't wonder if that

-partly made you have the gout."

-

-"Trouble does act on the system, so the doctors say," said Farmer

-Bluff, glad of an excuse for what he knew Hal blamed as his own fault.

-

-But that was not exactly Hal's meaning. "It might have been what made

-you take to beer," observed he.

-

-"Now if you'd looked at it like this," continued Hal after due

-reflection: "My wife and children are gone on to heaven, where I mean

-to join them by and by, when I've done work. Just see what a difference

-it would have made. Some people," added he sagely, "only look at every

-day as it comes; and if it rains or snows, they think it's never going

-to stop. Other people look right ahead to the summer holidays—or to

-the harvest, if they're farmers, of course; and that makes all the

-difference. They know it will be all right in the long run, don't you

-see?"

-

-But Hal's tacit reproof had not made Elspeth one whit more attentive

-to the invalid; indeed, if anything, she had been even more neglectful

-than before. Her master's time at the farm was getting short, and she

-had quite made up her mind to seek another place.

-

-Farmer Bluff raged and swore when she informed him of her

-determination. But Elspeth only taunted him with his powerlessness to

-execute one word of all his threats or oaths; and finally, having done

-her best to rouse his worst passions, she left him to meditate upon his

-awkward situation.

-

-Just then Hal, happening to get caught in a shower, swung himself up

-the yard and into the porch.

-

-Elspeth grinned as she let him in.

-

-"He's in an awful temper, that I warn you, Master Hal," she said. "I'd

-a'most as soon go talk to Blazer as him."

-

-But Hal was not afraid; and before the lapse of many minutes, Farmer

-Bluff—without a single oath—had told him how things stood.

-

-"Well, now, let's see," said Hal. "What must you do? You must have

-somebody, that's clear. If you hadn't got this gout just now, it would

-be different, and you could laugh her in the face,—though I don't know

-that it would be exactly Christian to laugh the face of a person who

-'despitefully used you;' but I mean you could do without her if she was

-determined not to stay. Or rather," added Hal, his thoughts suddenly

-taking a leap back to the source of all the difficulty, "you wouldn't

-be in such a bother at all; because she would never have given notice

-if you hadn't had to move out of the farm. It's all the gout, you see."

-

-Farmer Bluff moved impatiently upon his chair. It was rather hard to be

-constantly twitted with that fact—even by Hal; because if it was "all

-the gout," it was therefore "all his own fault." But he was paid back

-for his pains with such a twinge in either leg, that he involuntarily

-moved his arms in their slings; whereupon each finger of each hand

-seemed to say—"No good, old fellow; you can't escape your punishment;

-for 'whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.'"

-

-Meanwhile Hal was busy trying to think what could be done.

-

-"Haven't you got somebody?" suggested he at last. "Relations are the

-best, I think, because they have an interest in you. You must have got

-a sister, haven't you?"

-

-Farmer Bluff said "No" at first; but afterwards, he changed his mind.

-"Leastways not one who would come," said he. The matter stood thus. He

-had a sister once, who married somebody he did not like—a pious man,

-who would not drink for the sake of good fellowship, and did not swear.

-So he quarrelled with his sister; and when she wrote and told him that

-she had a baby boy named after him, he did not answer her; he had never

-seen or written to her since.

-

-"She couldn't come in any case, you see," said Hal; "because she has

-her own home and her husband to look after."

-

-The bailiff shook his head.

-

-"He's dead," said he. "He died about the same time as my wife, and so

-did the boy. She wrote to me to know if I could give her any help.

-There was a little girl, I think."

-

-"Then she's just the very one," said Hal.

-

-"Unless she's married some one else," added Farmer Bluff. "But she

-wouldn't come. 'Tain't likely, after how I've treated her."

-

-"You don't deserve it, certainly," admitted Hal; which was not exactly

-what the farmer meant. "But sisters are amazingly forgiving—so they

-say. (I always wish I'd got one, do you know?) If I were you, I'd write

-to her."

-

-This advice was rather out of place, seeing the helpless condition of

-the old fellow's hands. The upshot of it was, however, that Hal sat

-down to write from Farmer Bluff's dictation; and between them they made

-up a letter, setting forth the state of things, and offering Mrs. Rust

-a home, if she were willing to forgive the past, and come to live with

-him. Then Hal got up to say good-bye.

-

-"I'll be sure and have it posted," said he. "If I put it in the hall

-with all the other letters, Perkins will take it when he goes from

-work."

-

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-CHAPTER XIV.

-

-THE VERY ONE.

-

-FARMER BLUFF'S answer came sooner than he expected.

-

-Although Mrs. Rust had been deeply wounded by her hard-hearted

-brother's evident lack of affection, she had never cherished the least

-ill-will against him. She rather mourned to think that his evil ways

-should separate them whilst so many years of life to love each other

-were theirs.

-

-But, as it chanced, this proposal that she should make her home with

-him, came very opportunely to the lonely, hard-worked widow. Her little

-girl, now just eleven, had grown-up very delicate; and in their one

-poor room in London, poor Maggie could not have the air and nourishment

-of which she stood so much in need. Nothing could be better for her

-than the free life of the fields and lanes.

-

-Farmer Bluff read and re-read the letter, which was full of

-affectionate expressions, reminding him how they had played together in

-the years gone by, before they had begun their separate paths in life,

-and learnt what trouble meant. It seemed so wonderful to think that

-after these ten years of estrangement on his part, she should still

-care for him.

-

-But it was just what Hal had said. "Sisters are amazingly forgiving—"

-

-"Far more so than you deserve," conscience added, in a tone he could

-not choose but hear.

-

-He contrived to send a message up to Hal that afternoon. One of the men

-happening to come in about the selling of some piglings, he at once

-seized the opportunity of letting "the young Squire" know the result of

-their joint penmanship. Hal came directly lessons were over for the day.

-

-"Hurrah!" cried he as he entered. "Three cheers for Mrs. Rust!"

-

-Then, after talking it over for a little while, they composed the

-answer, directing Mrs. Rust to pack her things together, and come down

-next week, to superintend the remove.

-

-Of course, when Elspeth heard of this arrangement, she declared that

-she wasn't going to be "mississed over" by a widow woman who was so

-hard up that she was ready to snap at the first chance of a home.

-And the end of it was that the ill-natured woman cleared out of the

-house the very day that Mrs. Rust came in, leaving no provisions ready

-cooked, and all the work to do.

-

-But Mrs. Rust made light of that, for there were eggs in plenty to be

-had; with the sweet, fresh country bread and butter, she and Maggie

-made a hearty meal, and after a short rest, she set herself to work to

-take old Elspeth's place.

-

-When the Squire heard of it from Hal, however, he was very angry, and

-sent a woman up at once to help her with the work. "It isn't fair,"

-said he. "She cannot possibly do it all—look after Farmer Bluff, and

-see to things about the dairy and farmyard, and get the cottage into

-order too."

-

-Next afternoon, he went round with Hal to see what Mrs. Rust was like,

-after her ten years of widowhood.

-

-He found her all that her girlhood had given promise of; tidy,

-respectful, and cheery—a thorough specimen of English matronhood.

-Meanwhile Hal made acquaintance with her little girl, who stood shyly

-near the window, watching Grip, and playing with the flowers she had

-gathered in the fields. But she was not shy long; for Hal's frank ways

-soon put her at her ease, and they became good friends.

-

-A week later, two of the farm waggons, piled with furniture, rolled

-slowly across the yard, and up the road towards the gate of the wood.

-And that same evening, with many groans and grunts—but not a single

-oath, for little Maggie Rust was by—poor, gouty Farmer Bluff himself,

-in a bath-chair, with his two dogs tied behind, was wheeled to his new

-home. Next day, the future bailiff took possession of the farm; and the

-old life was a thing of the past.

-

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-CHAPTER XV.

-

-UNDER SENTENCE.

-

-IT was more difficult for Hal to get as far as Farmer Bluffs cottage;

-nevertheless, on the very first half-holiday after the remove, he

-appeared there, just as Maggie ran out at the door.

-

-Such a difference there was in her already! The fresh air seemed to

-have acted like magic on her languid frame. She would skip and bound

-and run; and everywhere her merry voice was heard, laughing, singing,

-calling to the dogs; mimicking the birds, or chattering through the

-open window to her uncle, who still sat in his arm-chair, bound hand

-and foot by gout.

-

-Maggie had made great friends with both the dogs, but especially with

-Blazer. It was wonderful to see the fierce, rough creature jump up when

-he heard her voice, and stand there pulling at his chain, and whining

-for her to come and pat his great head.

-

-And as for Maggie, she did not seem the least afraid of him. "He's

-ferocious, but he's honest," she would say. "I wouldn't come within a

-mile of him, if I were a thief; but he knows who are friends and who

-are not."

-

-Hal was going in to talk to Farmer Bluff, but Maggie stopped him.

-

-"Wait a bit," said she; "the doctor's there just now."

-

-So Hal went round with her to have a word with his friend Blazer.

-

-It was very pretty in the garden now. The wood was emerald green with

-the young foliage, and ferns were springing up through the carpet of

-dead leaves, uncrumpling their pale brown fronds in the sunlight that

-fell on them through the lacy branches of the beech and hornbeam trees.

-

-Maggie had already learnt to leap the ditch. "Though mother says I

-mustn't stray into the wood," said she, "for fear of getting into

-mischief. So I just keep close at hand, and fancy that I'm far away.

-It's such a pity, too, my Uncle Bluff won't have the garden planted. He

-says the rabbits come across the ditch, and eat whatever grows. I mean

-to watch for them."

-

-Indoors the doctor was talking in this sort of strain to Farmer Bluff.

-"Fact is, farmer, this gout is mounting to your stomach as fast as it

-can go; and if once it gets there, ten chances to one no power on earth

-will get it out. You'll die of it, that's all."

-

-Farmer Bluff looked scared. "Is there nothing you can do to stop it,

-doctor?" asked he piteously.

-

-"Do? When for the last five years and more you've undone every attempt

-I've made? Look at that!" And Dr. Winthrop pointed to the mug. "If you

-will drink beer, as I am sick of telling you, why, you must abide by

-the consequences. Dash my wigs!" exclaimed the doctor, warming up. "If

-I'd a mug of solid gold that made a fool of me, I'd throw it in the

-ditch and bury it."

-

-In this strain, the doctor talked at him for ten minutes or more; then

-he went away. And Hal, seeing that the coast was clear, went in. But

-Farmer Bluff was unusually glum that morning. Do what Hal would, he

-could not cheer him up; for the poor old sinner had got it on his mind

-that he was doomed to die.

-

-"If I were you," said Hal to Maggie, as he went out at the gate, "I

-think I'd sing to Farmer Bluff. I can't, you know, or else I would; but

-I can manage talking best. He's right down in the dumps to-day. I can't

-think why—unless it is because he had to leave the farm."

-

-A few days later told them, though. Gout doesn't attack the more

-important parts of the body without letting a man know it. Farmer Bluff

-was in such fearful pain that Dr. Winthrop was sent for in a hurry.

-

-The doctor shook his head.

-

-"He's had no beer since you were here last, sir," said Mrs. Rust. "He

-called for it no end of times; but I refused to bring it in."

-

-"You did quite right," the doctor said. "When grown-up patients won't

-be sensible, they must be treated like children."

-

-He little knew the language Farmer Bluff had hurled at her for carrying

-out these orders for his good.

-

-Farmer Bluff was watching Dr. Winthrop's expression very anxiously.

-

-"Is there any change—for the better, doctor?" asked he eagerly. "What

-can be the cause of all this pain?"

-

-The doctor shook his head again.

-

-"You mustn't think," said he, "that three days can cure disease brought

-on by the habits of a lifetime. I will do my best for you; but you have

-killed yourself."

-

-Hal met Dick that day.

-

-"It's a pity," said he. "Dr. Winthrop says that Farmer Bluff can't

-possibly get well. The gout has reached his stomach. It's all through

-drinking too much beer."

-

-Then he went on to the cottage to talk to Farmer Bluff in his own

-simple, sympathetic way. "I'm very sorry," he told him gently,

-"especially as it's your own fault. That makes so much worse of it."

-

-"In this world and the next," put in Farmer Bluff gloomily. "But it's

-too late to talk about that now."

-

-"Too late!—Why?" asked Hal.

-

-But although Farmer Bluff knew pretty well his own reasons for saying

-so, he did not answer the boy's question.

-

-So Hal went on: "I don't at all think it's too late. 'Never too late to

-mend' is a good saying; but 'Never too late to repent' seems to me a

-better. Because, you see, if what Dr. Winthrop says is right, your gout

-won't let you mend; but Jesus said that everybody who repented in their

-heart, would be accepted and forgiven."

-

-"I've tried singing to him," Maggie told Hal, when he came downstairs

-again. "I know a lot of hymns; and he likes it too."

-

-Hal looked about for Dick, when he got outside.

-

-But at school, Dick had made a lot of new acquaintances who were not

-likely to know anything about the adventure with Bill; so he preferred

-their company, and had gone off birds'-nesting with some of them.

-

-Arrived on the terrace, Hal went straight to the Squire's library.

-He found his grandfather sitting in his great arm-chair, with his

-gold-rimmed spectacles upon his nose, reading a big folio volume that

-lay open on his knee; for the Squire was rather fond of learned books.

-He drew his glasses off as Hal came in, and laid them on the page.

-

-"Grandfather," said Hal, in a tone of great concern, "the doctor says

-that Farmer Bluff will have to die. The gout has got so far it can't be

-stopped."

-

-"It's as bad as that, is it?" replied the Squire. "I thought as much,"

-added he, half to himself.

-

-Hal sat down upon the edge of a chair with a dejected air.

-

-"It serves him right," added the Squire.

-

-Hal looked up quickly, as if about to speak; then changed his mind and

-relapsed into silence again. He was disappointed. He had cherished the

-hope of being able to convince Farmer Bluff of his folly; and he had

-failed.

-

-But his grandfather did not quite understand this.

-

-"It's his own fault," said he; "he had fair warning."

-

-Hal shifted again, and looked like speaking, but got no further. There

-was a big lump in his throat.

-

-"All the arguing in the world wouldn't do it, if tweaking and twinging

-wouldn't," continued the Squire, mentally referring to his own and the

-doctor's discourses, together with the pains and premonitions of the

-disease itself. "It's astonishing what a man will bear, rather than

-give up his besetting sin."

-

-"I did my best," added Hal, thinking of nobody's efforts but his own.

-"I spoke out plainly too."

-

-"Ah!" said the Squire, suddenly remembering those words of Hal's when

-first he learnt that the bailiff was to be discharged. "You've been in

-and out a good deal, I suppose, Hal; as you say, you've done your best."

-

-"But, you see, it hasn't saved him," rejoined Hal mournfully. "That's

-the worst of it."

-

-"It's very sad," said the Squire, after a pause, during which he put

-his gold-rimmed glasses on, and took them off again. "It's always sad

-when a man reaps the fruits of his own folly."

-

-"Especially when he has had fair warning," added Hal, "and might have

-done so differently."

-

-"I must go and see him one of these mornings, I suppose," observed the

-Squire presently.

-

-The next few days made a great difference in Farmer Bluff. When the

-Squire went, he found the downstairs room vacant.

-

-"Where's Farmer Bluff?" asked Hal uneasily.

-

-"Upstairs," answered Maggie, who had opened the door for them. "He

-can't get out of bed any more."

-

-And she ran to ask if they could go up.

-

-"Well, Bluff," said the Squire kindly, as he approached the bedside;

-"I'm sorry to see you like this."

-

-"They tell me it's my own fault, sir," said the sufferer meekly.

-

-Somehow, he had come to swear less and less since Maggie had been

-there. "My own fault!" he repeated, with a sigh.

-

-"It's a hard thing to tell a man, when he's on his death-bed,"' said

-the Squire gently.

-

-"But I suppose it's true," rejoined Farmer Bluff.

-

-"And it's better that a man should know it's true," the Squire added

-solemnly; "for then he has a chance of taking comfort from the

-assurance that 'if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to

-forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.'

-Though our sins and folly may have destroyed our body, the moment

-that we cast them from us by our faith in Him whom God sent to be our

-Saviour, they lose power to harm our soul; and the only condition

-of forgiveness and acceptance is we cease to cherish our sins, and,

-trusting in Jesus, seek to be restored."

-

-Farmer Bluff was silent. Perhaps his conscience told him it was less

-the sin that he was sorry for than the consequences it had brought.

-

-"You weren't far wrong, you see, sir, when you turned me out," said he

-presently. "It was a hard blow, but I deserved it. I had no right to

-murmur; for I wasn't equal to my work."

-

-"And I didn't leave you unprovided for," the Squire added kindly. "I

-chose this place, too, because I thought you would be happier near the

-wood than anywhere. I see you've brought the dogs here, too."

-

-"Grip and Blazer, sir; yes. I can't make out what's got 'em both

-to-day."

-

-The two dogs were barking "fit to fetch the house down," as the farmer

-put it. They had been barking so all night, and ever since sunset the

-evening before; so he told the Squire.

-

-"I heard old Dobson throw his window up once or twice," said he; "and

-at last he took his gun and had a look about, to see if it was anybody

-prowling round."

-

-"Perhaps it was only rabbits," suggested the Squire. "I've heard Dobson

-say that even hares will come into these gardens on moonlight nights."

-

-"They will, sir, I can certify," said Farmer Bluff, amused for the

-minute; "though they won't find much to pay 'em here. I wasn't going to

-have the ground planted, for them to eat up every shoot that grew."

-

-Hal was standing by the casement during this conversation, now watching

-his grandfather and the farmer, now looking out of the window at the

-kennel, where Blazer was jumping and plunging angrily, tearing the air

-with his furious cries. Just as Farmer Bluff finished speaking, he

-uttered a sudden exclamation.

-

-"Grandfather!" cried he. "Blazer has burst his collar, and got free!"

-

-At the same instant, the barking had ceased, and Blazer, without a

-scrap of chain about him, had gone racing down the clearing through the

-wood. The next minute Maggie's voice was heard on the staircase.

-

-"Uncle Bluff! Uncle Bluff!" cried she, as she climbed. "Blazer has got

-loose and run away!"

-

-In the excitement of the moment, Farmer Bluff made a desperate effort

-to get to a sitting posture; but that was beyond him, and he earned

-nothing but pain for his exertion.

-

-"He's run right away," said Maggie, appearing in the doorway with an

-agitated face.

-

-"Oh! He'll come back right enough," returned her uncle, lifting his

-head to look at her. "The mischief is—mercy on any one he should meet.

-And I don't know the man, except old Dobson, who dare go after him."

-

-"I dare," said Maggie bravely; "I'll go to the ditch and call."

-

-"No, child," cried Farmer Bluff; but quick as lightning Maggie was

-gone. "Stop her!" roared he, as she sped downstairs and out at the

-house door. "He'll knock her down! He'll kill the child!"

-

-"Not he!" said Hal. "Not Blazer! He's far too fond of Mag. She's not

-afraid of him; no more am I. I'll go too."

-

-But the Squire stopped him.

-

-"I'd hardly dare go myself," said Farmer Bluff. "Hark! There she's

-calling him!"

-

-And the little girl's voice was heard ringing out clear and

-loud—"Blazer, Blazer; where have you rushed off to? You bad old doggie,

-you!"

-

-The Squire had his head out of the casement, calling her to come in;

-but Blazer had heard her voice and come back with a rush, leaping the

-ditch and bounding up to lick her hand, then crouching at her feet,

-whilst Maggie stood firm as a rock, and fearlessly patted his broad

-head. Then he leapt the ditch again, and barked, and looked towards the

-child; then came back, and jumped around her; then back to the ditch,

-as if he wanted her to go with him.

-

-"Well, I'll leap the ditch then, Blazer," they heard her cry; "if that

-is what you want." And stepping back a pace or two, she took a run, and

-jumped it clean and clear.

-

-"That was a good leap, my lass," the Squire called approvingly. "Surely

-she's not town-bred, Bluff," added he, drawing in his head to look back

-towards the bed.

-

-"She is, sir," answered Farmer Bluff; "and such a white-faced thing,

-too, when her mother brought her here."

-

-"Well, come!" rejoined the Squire cheerily. "There's something to set

-off against your leaving the farm. If you hadn't had to come up here,

-I suppose she'd be white-faced yet. But what about this dog? I don't

-see how he's going to be got upon the chain again. The collar is broken

-too."

-

-"There used to be another collar about the place," Farmer Bluff

-answered.

-

-For the brute had always seemed so fierce, they had not dared to depend

-upon a single one; but where it was, he could not say—though Mrs. Rust

-might know when she came in—nor who would undertake to put it on.

-

-"I shouldn't be afraid if I could manage it," said Hal, who had

-reluctantly obeyed his grandfather's desire that he would not go down.

-"But you see my crutches are so in the way."

-

-The Squire shook his head.

-

-"Better wait till old Dobson's home," suggested Farmer Bluff. "The dog

-knows him."

-

-"Only," put in Hal, "just think how frightened Mrs. Rust will be when

-she comes in."

-

-Meanwhile Blazer was still rushing madly to and fro. Far from satisfied

-with having got Maggie across the ditch, he was evidently trying hard

-to prevail on her to go into the wood with him. If she ran a step or

-two he seemed so pleased, but as soon as she stopped, he barked and

-leapt, and tugged at her dress, making every sign dog ingenuity could

-suggest to coax her into going forward down the track.

-

-"There's something at the bottom of all that, depend upon it," said

-the Squire, walking to the foot of the bed. "Blazer has found somebody

-or something; and he wants to show his find. I shell venture down and

-follow his lead. He knows me pretty well."

-

-"He knows me better, grandfather," said Hal.

-

-"We'll both go," said the Squire, setting off towards the stairs, Hal

-following.

-

-A ditch was an obstacle both for the old gentleman and the cripple boy,

-neither of whom could leap like the little London maid. There was a

-way out of the difficulty, however, by going round to the gate of the

-wood; and in a very few minutes, the Squire and Hal had joined Maggie,

-and were following Blazer down the track, much to the jealousy of Grip,

-who stood watching from his kennel in the front garden, and uttering a

-series of short, snappish barks, by way of protest at this unfairness.

-

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-CHAPTER XVI.

-

-A RUNAWAY'S STORY.

-

-THE old Squire had always made a point of having a civil word for both

-dogs whenever he went to the farm; so that, as he said, both Blazer

-and Grip were tolerably familiar with him. On the present occasion,

-however, Blazer was too much delighted at getting his own way to show

-any disagreeable tempers. He did nothing but run and leap and bark in

-an ecstasy of triumph, looking back from time to time, to make sure

-that he was being followed, and exerting himself ten times more than

-was necessary, in his efforts to incite them to speed.

-

-But the uneven surface of the track was less easy for Hal's crutches

-than the open road; and Blazer had to be content with rather slow

-progress, whilst Maggie ran backwards and forwards, jumping and

-calling, thoroughly enjoying the fun, and doing her best, by her own

-excitement, to keep up Blazer's.

-

-They had not proceeded very far in this manner, however, when Blazer

-changed his course, darting in amongst the undergrowth.

-

-The Squire pulled up.

-

-"Now, Blazer, old boy," said he, "that isn't just the sort of place an

-old gentleman finds convenient to scramble through. What do you want

-with it?"

-

-But the dog was evidently in real earnest. There was no mistake about

-that. He trotted on a little way ahead, then turned and leapt and

-barked, and came bounding back, jumping round the Squire, and all but

-beckoning him to come.

-

-"What a pity he can't speak!" exclaimed Hal, looking up into his

-grandfather's face, as if to read his thoughts.

-

-"We must contrive to go with him somehow, that's certain," returned

-the Squire, stopping to consider; "or, at least, I must. He has found

-something, and he wants to show it us. Hal, you wait here with Maggie;

-no, stay! Let Maggie come with me, in case I want a messenger."

-

-And putting one shoulder to the hazel bushes, to Blazer's infinite

-delight, the old gentleman commenced pushing his way in amongst them,

-Maggie following close upon his heels.

-

-A shade of disappointment came over Hal's face. This was how he had to

-feel his affliction every now and then. But Hal was not a boy to stop

-at disappointment. He only stood still a minute or so; then turning,

-set off down the track again, to search for an opening by which to

-reach the spot whither the dog was leading them—sure, at all events, of

-knowing by his barks the direction that they took.

-

-He had but just lighted on a cross track when the barking ceased. They

-must have reached the place.

-

-Hal stopped to listen just an instant, then set forward, breathing

-fast, and flushing with his exertions to lose no time, and hoping that

-as Blazer had led them off in a slanting direction, this track, which

-crossed the cartway at right angles, would converge with their path.

-

-Presently, however, the track ended in a sort of winding path, which

-seemed to lead into thicker and thicker tangle. Hal stopped, perplexed,

-and listened, but could hear no sound. Next minute, however, Blazer's

-bark sounded out again, short and sharp; once, twice, thrice. Hal set

-forward instantly, with increased vigour, and after following the

-windings of the path for a short distance, he was able to distinguish

-voices, whilst every now and then Blazer gave a sharp bark, as if to

-call him on.

-

-All on a sudden, an idea struck Hal, and resting on his crutches to get

-breath, he called Blazer's name with all his might.

-

-The plan succeeded. Blazer heard, and gave an answering bark. In a few

-seconds, Hal heard the crackling of the dry leaves under his paws; then

-out he rushed along the path. They were not far off, and Hal was going

-straight for them. He hurried on after the dog.

-

-"Where are you, grandfather?" called he, when he got near enough to

-distinguish the Squire's voice.

-

-"Here!" was the reply.

-

-And at the same instant, Hal spied Maggie's pink apron through the

-bushes.

-

-Hal paused a second; then pushing one crutch in among the twigs, he

-made his way to where the others were.

-

-The Squire was bending over something on the ground, Maggie kneeling by

-his side. "He's opening his eyes!" cried she, as Hal came up.

-

-And there, to his astonishment, half-raised upon the turf mound at the

-foot of a hazel clump, lay the long-lost runaway, Bill the Kicker.

-

-Bill drew a long breath and rolled his eyes round; then the lids

-dropped to again.

-

-Maggie gave vent to an exclamation of mingled pity and disappointment,

-and the Squire observed,—

-

-"It's evidently a case of starvation. From the look of him, I should

-imagine that the young scamp has kept away as long as he could hold

-out. If Blazer hadn't happened to find him, he would have died here

-before night."

-

-The sound of voices roused Bill again. His eyes opened, and he drew

-another long breath. Then suddenly a look of bewilderment came over his

-face. "Where 'm I got to?" he asked excitedly.

-

-But before any one could answer, he had recognised the Squire. The

-bewildered look gave place to one of terror, and Bill made a desperate

-effort at scrambling to his feet; but he had long since reached the

-point when starved and exhausted nature could do no more. He only fell

-back upon the bank with a sick and dizzy sensation, and his eyelids

-closed again.

-

-"Lie still, my boy," said the Squire kindly. "You must have something

-to eat. You're starving."

-

-Bill put his hand to his waist-belt. He had ceased to remember that

-he was hungry; but the Squire's words brought back the craving. He

-recollected how he had felt before he swooned.

-

-"Have either of you anything eatable about you?"' asked the Squire,

-turning to Hal and Maggie. "A sweetmeat, or a bit of biscuit; anything

-that he could suck or munch."

-

-Hal had not. He was not a boy who cared for sweets. Maggie, however,

-produced a chocolate drop, given her over the counter by the grocer's

-man.

-

-"But what is that when he's starving!" exclaimed she.

-

-"All the better," returned the Squire. "In his present state, it would

-be dangerous to give him much. But you may run home," added he, as

-Bill eagerly took the tiny mouthful and crunched it up. "Run home—you

-can find your way?—And bring cup of bread or biscuit sopped in milk—or

-water, if you can't find milk; be as quick as ever you can. The poor

-boy is nearly starved."

-

-Some good people would have tried to get Bill's story out of him

-whilst Maggie was running for the food. But Hal's grandfather did no

-such thing, having too much common sense, as well as too much pity for

-the boy. Besides, his story was so plainly told by every feature of

-his face, and every inch of tattered garment that he wore. His whole

-appearance seemed to say, in language that no eyes could fail to read,

-that it was one thing to get into a scrape and run away in order to

-escape the consequence, but quite another thing to keep decent clothes

-upon his back, and pick up food enough to hold the wolf at bay. In

-short, poor Bill had learnt the value of a home.

-

-[Illustration: THE SQUIRE FINDS BILL THOROUGHLY EXHAUSTED.]

-

-Meanwhile, Maggie had scrambled back to the cart-track, making fearful

-havoc of her zephyr apron in her haste; and had torn home, panting and

-breathless, taking the ditch at a bound, and astonishing beyond measure

-her mother, who was just returning up the garden path. On learning what

-had happened, however, Mrs. Rust quickly made the pap, and, calling up

-the stairs to Farmer Bluff, set off with Maggie to the spot.

-

-"I made it warm, sir," said she, as she knelt down by Bill's side to

-feed him from the cup.

-

-Bill took it eagerly, and would have made short work of it, had he

-not been restrained. It quickly revived him, however, and he sat up,

-looking very much as if he would like to run away again.

-

-"You'll be all the better for that, my boy," said Mrs. Rust, standing

-back a step or two with the empty cup in her hand.

-

-But Bill felt rather foolish. He looked from one to another of the

-group round him, and said nothing.

-

-The Squire was the first to speak. "Well, young man," said he,

-possessing himself of his gold-headed cane, which he had laid down

-beside Bill on first stooping to examine him; "I'm glad to see you've

-come home again. And I hope you've had enough of a lesson about the

-folly of running away."

-

-Bill hung his head. "I don't know as I'm going home," said he, in a

-low, dogged tone of voice.

-

-"Oh! Don't you?" said the Squire. "I'll take care of that."

-

-"Likely!" continued Bill defiantly. "To have the strap."

-

-"Perhaps, if you behave well, and answer all I want to know," returned

-the Squire, "I may feel inclined to beg you off the strapping—though I

-must confess that you deserve it every bit."

-

-Bill subsided and looked down, waiting in sullen silence to be

-questioned, whilst Maggie drew a little nearer, moving her eyes rapidly

-from him to the Squire with lively interest.

-

-"Why did you run away?" commenced the Squire.

-

-Maggie's eyes went back to Bill.

-

-"'Cause he told me to," said Bill.

-

-"He?" rejoined the Squire. "Who's he?"

-

-"Him what I stole the egg for," answered Bill. "Dick Crozier, sir."

-

-"Dick Crozier!" exclaimed Hal and his grandfather in a breath. "Mind

-you're not inventing lies," added the Squire. "Why, dear me," he

-continued half-aside, "I had fancied him a better lad. It seems

-incredible!"

-

-"He said as you was comin' round a purpose to 'indemnifight' me," Bill

-went on; "an' if he was me, he wouldn't stand still to be took."

-

-What Bill had supposed this terrible word to mean, it would be hard to

-determine; but he had kept on repeating it to himself all the way he

-had run, until it had got so mixed up as to come out entirely wrong.

-"Nor I wasn't going to neither," added Bill, with the defiant look

-again.

-

-"How came you to steal an egg for him?" asked the Squire next.

-

-"'Cause I wanted sixpence," answered Bill. "But he's as bad as me,"

-added Bill eagerly. "He hadn't ought to ha' taken what I'd stole. I've

-heard my father say so once."

-

-"Quite right," rejoined the Squire. "Receiving stolen goods is

-punishable by law. He sucked this egg, then, I suppose; and gave you

-sixpence for it."

-

-Then came out the history of how Bill's evil conscience had brought

-about the smashing of the eggs; and how, in self-defence, he had

-inflicted on the unfortunate goose the injuries that had caused her

-death. "I didn't want to hurt her, sir," said Bill; "but when one o'

-them things is after you—"

-

-"It's rather terrible, I must admit," returned the Squire, hardly able

-to restrain a smile. "Then you didn't get your sixpence after all?"

-

-"Yes, I did though," replied Bill quickly, with a cunning grin. "He guv

-it me to keep from splitting, 'cause he knew as how if I was caught, I

-was bound to let out who I'd stole it for. If it hadn't been for that,"

-said Bill, whose meal had pretty well revived him by this time, "and t'

-other, what I got for bein' made a pictur' of, I'm blest if I'd 'a' had

-a rag o' flesh on any o' my bones by now—grub's that hard to get."

-

-"Ah! Recollect that, next time that you're tempted to do wrong,"

-returned the Squire solemnly.

-

-"But he was just as bad as me," repeated Bill, who seemed inclined to

-take comfort in companionship in his disgrace.

-

-He found, however, that the Squire entertained a different view of

-the matter. "Gently," said he. "You had the first of it; for you put

-temptation in his way, by offering to undertake the theft. But now, one

-question more. What did you want the sixpence for?"

-

-Bill hung his head and looked more than half a mind not to answer; but

-he changed his mind, thinking that it was sure to come out, and that,

-all things considered, he had better enjoy the merit of making a clean

-breast of the whole affair.

-

-"'Cause I wanted a new knife," said he; "and so I'd borrowed sixpence

-from the rent."

-

-

-"You've got to beg me off the strapping, sir," said Bill, as they set

-off back towards the cartway, a few minutes later; "'cause you promised

-if I answered square."

-

-"And when I promise anything, I keep my word," replied the Squire,

-rather pleased than otherwise with the boy's straightforwardness. He

-took occasion by the way, however, to administer a lecture on the

-wickedness of breaking in through hedges after other people's property.

-"If Blazer had caught you there, instead of half dead in this wood,"

-said he, "he would have shown you little mercy, you may make quite

-sure."

-

-Bill also related by degrees a lot of his adventures since leaving

-home; how he had escaped along the riverbank, running till his breath

-gave out, and walking till he nearly dropped, to reach the town before

-the night came on; how he had slept under porches or in doorways, in

-wind and wet and darkness, frightened, cold, and wretched, night after

-night; and how, after his food and money were all gone, he had begged

-for work, and gone from door to door to ask a piece of bread, until he

-grew so weak and wild with living on the scanty crusts he got, that he

-began to wish he had not run away.

-

-"Leastways," said Bill, "I wished I hadn't stole the eggs."

-

-And he went on to tell how at the last he had determined to come back,

-but had not had the courage to face his parents' anger; and so had

-wandered on into the wood, and round to the back of the two cottages,

-where he was about to beg food, when to his surprise, he spied Blazer

-chained up, and Blazer spied him.

-

-"And for the life of me I durstn't ask," said Bill; "so I cut away into

-the wood, and there I tumbled down."

-

-"And there you would have died," the Squire added, "if Blazer had not

-broken loose and followed on your track, and found you where you lay,

-you poor silly boy. Well, you have had your punishment; and I can

-promise you, your parents will be glad enough to see you back. Only

-mind you show that you are worthy of forgiveness by making a fresh

-start."

-

-Arrived at Farmer Bluffs, Bill was glad to sit down quietly and have

-some more to eat, whilst the Squire went and saw Blazer's collar mended

-up. As for Blazer, he came quite gently to take a biscuit and a lump of

-sugar out of Maggie's hand, and then submitted to have the chain put

-on; after which, he retired into his kennel, and lay down to rest.

-

-Then the Squire, having directed Mrs. Rust to search the other collar

-out, or get a new one made, set out with Bill, to see him safe into his

-parents' hands.

-

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-CHAPTER XVII.

-

-LOOSE AGAIN.

-

-ON reaching the stile by the Manor Farm, the Squire went on to the

-cottages with Bill, leaving Hal to return home alone, and tell his

-mother all that had happened. They had scarcely parted, when Dick,

-surrounded by a number of his schoolfellows, overtook him.

-

-Dick threw Hal a nod, proud to show off his grand acquaintance; but Hal

-beckoned him.

-

-"Bill's come home," said he, as Dick ran forward from the group.

-

-"Hooray!" shouted the other boys, who, of course, had seen the whole

-story in the local newspaper. "Hooray!" And half-a-dozen caps flew in

-the air.

-

-But Hal's business was with Dick.

-

-"I'm disappointed in you, Dick," said he.

-

-"How's that?" returned Dick in a tone of bravado, guessing what Hal

-meant.

-

-"I didn't think you were the sort of boy to encourage other boys in

-stealing eggs for you to suck," said Hal. "It seems to me, I'd rather

-steal myself than get another boy to do it for me. You see, it's very

-mean to put your dirty work upon another fellow, isn't it?"

-

-"I paid him fair," said Dick.

-

-Hal considered a minute. This line of argument was rather difficult to

-answer, and yet Hal's sense of right and wrong told him it was false.

-

-"You'd no right to pay him for dishonesty," said he; "so no payment

-could be fair."

-

-"I don't know so much about that," returned Dick stoutly. "If a

-fellow's fool enough to sell his soul for sixpence, that's his own look

-out. It's always fair to pay a fellow what he'll take."

-

-"That's not the way to look at it at all," said Hal. "A fellow's soul

-is worth a great deal more than any one can pay, and if he loses it,

-he's done for outright. And whoever gets it from him, is his murderer

-for ever," added Hal quite solemnly. "The Bible tells you that."

-

-"Chapter the one hundredth, verse the millionth!" sang out Dick in a

-mocking tone.

-

-"Well, I must be getting home," said Hal. "I'm sorry, for I liked you

-at the first. And I thought that when I came to be Squire—if ever I

-do—you would be one of my best tenants, and help me to make the Manor

-prosperous. You see, a Squire wouldn't be able to do much good if all

-his tenants were like that, and didn't care a pin about each other's

-souls."

-

-

-Will and Sigismund would have been rather envious of Hal's good fortune

-in the enjoyment of such an adventure as the finding of a runaway by

-Farmer Bluff's dog Blazer, had not their attention been rather taken up

-just then with the half-term holiday, which some cousins were to spend

-with them. These cousins were London boys, and were coming down that

-same evening, to make the most of a whole day at the Manor House. When

-Hal got in, his brothers were just getting up into the waggonette to

-fetch them from the station, and there was plenty else to talk about

-when they came in.

-

-The first thing after breakfast next morning, the six boys all turned

-out, bent upon fun and frolic.

-

-Dick was on his way down the hill with his books as they came out

-shouting and laughing on to the terrace, and he sprang up to the

-palings to see what was going on.

-

-But, unfortunately for Dick, it was not "half-term" at his school; so

-with a feeling of envy, he leapt back to the pathway, and continued his

-road.

-

-"Hare and hounds!" he heard them cry, as they came pelting down the

-drive.

-

-Will was with the foremost ones, but Sigismund, always more considerate

-for his brother, lagged behind, as Hal came hurrying after on his

-crutches.

-

-"You can't play, Hal, if we have hare and hounds," he was saying.

-

-"Oh! Never mind," returned Hal. "I can't play at anything, you see."

-

-"The woods will be the place," cried Will, in front, "Say, Sidge; the

-woods—eh?"

-

-"But Hal—" began Sigismund.

-

-"The woods, by all means," echoed Hal, however, interrupting him. "It's

-no use, Sidge, don't you see," added he, in a lower tone to Sigismund.

-"If you'd got my legs, you wouldn't want everybody to stop playing on

-your account."

-

-A boy of Hal's brave disposition was sure to find it less hard to bear

-his affliction quietly than to feel himself a constant mar-joy to the

-others.

-

-"I'll go as far as the wood with you," continued he; "and then I'll go

-inside and rest. I told Farmer Bluff the boys were coming, but I said

-that I expected I should be able to go and see him all the same."

-

-So at the gate of the wood they parted; and whilst Will, as swiftest

-runner, was being chosen "hare," Hal was climbing up the narrow stair

-to Farmer Bluff's room.

-

-"I've come, you see," said he cheerily, as he swung himself towards the

-bed.

-

-Farmer Bluff's face brightened.

-

-"I was thinking of ye," answered he.

-

-"It's rather early, I'm afraid," continued Hal; "but I came down with

-the others as far as this. They've all gone into the wood for hare and

-hounds, and I can't manage that, you know. I hope you don't mind."

-

-Farmer Bluff, on the contrary, expressed himself heartily delighted to

-see "the young Squire."

-

-"You and Maggie," said he, "I don't know what I should do without the

-two of you—though I suppose I oughtn't to mention you in one breath."

-

-Hal, with a puzzled expression, said that he did not see why. He

-generally managed to see to the bottom of things pretty quickly, and to

-catch people's meaning when it was not quite on the surface. But this

-notion perplexed him not a little. Inequality of rank did not enter

-much into Hal's ideas.

-

-"She sings to you, doesn't she?" observed he presently, after having

-thought all round the question in vain.

-

-"And you talk," rejoined Farmer Bluff. "Maggie doesn't talk; she

-chatters, if she does anything in that line."

-

-"I like to talk," answered Hal simply; "as much as other boys like to

-run and jump, I fancy; perhaps it is because I can't run and jump."

-

-"Perhaps it is," said Farmer Bluff. He was thinking that it seemed as

-if God had given the boy a better power in exchange for the one He had

-withheld. "A ready tongue 'll be useful to you when you come to the

-Manor," added he.

-

-"Only I shan't be able to follow the hounds," said Hal regretfully.

-

-"Never you grieve for that," returned Farmer Bluff. "You'll have the

-hearts of your tenantry; that I'll certify."

-

-"Farmer Bluff," said Hal suddenly, "I've been thinking a good deal

-about Dick Crozier since yesterday. I expect he'll be one of my tenants

-by and by, you know, and I'm afraid he won't be a very good one."

-

-"About the average run, perhaps," said Farmer Bluff. "Some better, and

-some worse."

-

-"But don't you see," said Hal, "he's got no principle. He doesn't think

-it matters the least bit in the world if a boy chooses to sell his soul

-for sixpence—like Bill, when he thieved to get the goose egg for him."

-

-Farmer Bluff was silent. He knew so well how many men there were among

-the tenantry—how many who owned manors, too—with little or no principle.

-

-It was on his conscience, too, how he himself had sold his soul time

-and again for drink, for pleasure, or for gain.

-

-"There 'll be some things you'll have to take as you find 'em," said he

-presently.

-

-"I should like to alter that,"' said Hal. "There must be a remedy."

-

-"No one has ever found it yet," said Farmer Bluff.

-

-"Perhaps they haven't looked in the right place," said Hal. "I expect

-it's in the Bible, if it's anywhere."

-

-"Maybe 'tis," said Farmer Bluff; and then he was silent a good while

-again. "I don't know much, about the Bible," he continued presently.

-"I didn't use to read it when I could, and I can't hold a feather now,

-much less a book."

-

-So it came about, that Hal proposed to read it for him. And when Maggie

-came upstairs, he was sitting by her uncle's bedside, with the Bible

-on his knee. But the information Maggie brought put a stop to reading

-rather suddenly.

-

-"Uncle Bluff!" cried she. "Blazer's loose again. I don't know where he

-is."

-

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-CHAPTER XVIII.

-

-TO THE RESCUE.

-

-DICK CROZIER was on the Squire's mind as well as upon Hal's.

-

-Upon the stroke of noon, he left his study and started up the hill.

-"He'll be in by half-past twelve, or thereabouts," he calculated; "and

-I'll have a talk with him."

-

-Now it happened that Dick's master, having a train to catch for town

-on important business, Dick had got out of school rather earlier than

-usual. Just as he turned the corner by the Manor Farm, he spied the

-Squire plodding up the hill with his gold-headed cane.

-

-Dick halted instantly, for it occurred to him that precisely the same

-thing he had warned Bill of was about to happen to himself.

-

-"I'm in for a good lecture," said he, "and if my father don't 'give it

-me' when he hears, my name ain't Dick, that's all."

-

-So, after due reflection, Dick concluded that it would be most prudent

-policy to give the Squire the slip.

-

-"I shan't go in till dinner-time," said Dick. And going back across the

-road, he struck into the pathway for that still forbidden ground, the

-riverbank.

-

-Meanwhile the Squire, totally unconscious of having been spied out, was

-seated in the sunny little parlour which Dick's mother loved so well,

-making acquaintance with his tenant's wife, and explaining the nature

-of his errand.

-

-"He should be in by now, sir," said Dick's mother, looking at her

-watch,—her grandparents' present on her wedding day,—"but he gets late

-sometimes."

-

-So the Squire proposed to wait awhile, if Mrs. Crozier would allow him

-to; and they talked, to pass away the time, Mrs. Crozier taking the

-Squire's heart by storm with her gentle manners, but looking uneasily

-at her watch from time to time.

-

-Bill had been received back home with open arms, and without a word

-of scolding, on a promise—signed by the Squire, as it were—of future

-good behaviour. It happened that, being anxious to avoid a meeting with

-Dick Crozier, whose school stood within a stone's throw of the parish

-school which he attended, Bill had conceived the idea of returning by

-the riverbank. In arriving at this resolution, he had not forgotten the

-geese; but Bill was sharp enough to know that now the grass was laid

-down for hay, these terrors of humanity would no longer be abroad. He

-set off, accordingly, with the virtuous intention of running great part

-of the way, so as to reach home punctually. Dick had not proceeded far

-along the bank, therefore, when he perceived Bill coming full speed

-towards him.

-

-Bill, too much out of breath to look higher than his toes, failed to

-perceive Dick until they were within a few yards of each other, when he

-suddenly awoke to the unpleasant fact that he was face to face with his

-enemy.

-

-"Hullo, sneak!" exclaimed Dick.

-

-"Let be!" cried Bill, as Dick attempted to bar his passage.

-

-But Dick did not budge. He only dodged Bill, without attempting to make

-way.

-

-"I'm in a hurry home," said Bill. "Let me by."

-

-"Sneak!" repeated Dick. "Who split?"

-

-"I didn't split," said Bill. "They made me tell."

-

-"Made you tell?" sneered Dick. "When you had sixpence of me to hold

-your tongue! I'd have had mine cut out before I'd have been guilty of

-such a dirty trick."

-

-"You'd 'a' had your'n cut out afore you'd 'a' been guilty of such a

-dirty trick as to suck an egg what you got another boy to steal for

-you!" retorted Bill, stammering and spluttering in his warmth. "It's

-'receiving stolen goods.' The Squire said so; and you're to be had up

-for it."

-

-Dick only answered by a mocking guffaw.

-

-"Now, then," said Bill, "are you going to let me by?"

-

-"Look out for old mother goose behind there," jeered Dick.

-

-"Let me by!" reiterated Bill. "I'm in a hurry."

-

-"Washerwoman!" jeered Dick. "Sixpence a pocketful."

-

-Bill was getting exasperated. Moreover, he saw only one way out of it.

-"Now, then," threatened he suddenly, gathering up all his pluck, "do

-you mean to give in?"

-

-Dick answered by striding across the bank, a foot each side and both

-arms akimbo, and burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. But Bill

-cut him short.

-

-"You'd better look out then," shouted he, squaring up.

-

-"All right," grinned Dick, accepting the challenge. "Look out for a

-ducking, pockets and all. It was a goosing last time."

-

-This last fling was more than Bill could stand.

-

-"Come on!" roared he, maddened beyond control. And rushing for Dick

-with both fists doubled, he went at him with all his might.

-

-Dick was a pretty tough boy, and had done his share of fights at

-school; but Bill was tougher, and Dick soon found that he was in for

-such a mauling as he had never had in all his previous experience. For

-full five minutes, they tugged and tussled, and pounded and hammered at

-all available portions of each other's frames, until Dick began to wish

-that he had never provoked the combat. He was almost at the end of his

-strength, when a most unlooked-for accident delivered him out of Bill's

-hands.

-

-Forgetting the narrowness of the footway in the heat of the fight,

-the boys had got crosswise, instead of lengthwise of it, when Dick,

-suddenly growing furious, to find that he was being worsted, drew

-off an instant, to gather up all his strength for a final onset;

-but, inadvertently stepping too far back, his heel struck over the

-treacherous grass of the shelving bank, and, with a slip and a yell, he

-went splashing backwards into the water.

-

-Bill's first impulse was a shout of triumph; his second, that when a

-boy goes head over heels out of his depth, there is no telling how he

-will come up. Bill knew the look of a drowned dog, and had no wish to

-be taxed with making Dick look that way. Quick as thought, he turned to

-fly.

-

-But though a scamp, Bill was not altogether bad. In the midst of

-all his fears, it struck him that people always rose to the surface

-before they drowned. If Dick rose, he might reach him. In an instant,

-he was back again. The exact spot was easy to find by the heel-mark

-on the bank and the brown swirl in the water, where the mud had been

-disturbed. Some distance out, too, beyond the ripples where the water

-had closed over Dick, was his cap, floating merrily down stream; but

-not a sign of Dick himself.

-

-Bill went hot all over. Once having turned back, he seemed rooted to

-the spot by a strange fascination that forced him to watch for Dick's

-rising.

-

-"It was his own fault," said he, mopping his forehead with one jacket

-cuff: "He should ha' let me by! I guess though, if he ain't comin'

-up, I'd better be off, afore I'm caught here! Golly!" exclaimed Bill,

-giving vent to his favourite expression, as a sudden thought flashed

-upon him. "Better rob a goose's nest and break her breast-bone than

-drownd a boy." And off he started at a run.

-

-But as he ran away down the stream, following the cap, a dark brown

-object caught his eye. It was the drenched hair of Dick's head. The

-current there below the bend was very strong, and had washed him out

-into mid-stream, and was carrying him rapidly along towards the weir.

-

-For a moment Bill scarcely knew whether to be glad or sorry; then the

-nobler instincts of his nature gained the upper hand, and he dashed

-along the bank, shouting—"Hold on! Keep it up till I catch hold of

-something to fish you out!"

-

-At the same instant, there was an outcry from among the willow-trees.

-A dog sprang forward with a bark, and a dear treble voice rang out

-excitedly—"Why! It's some one's head! In, Blazer; in! Fetch him out!

-Oh! Quick! Quick!"

-

-It was Maggie Rust, who had gone out with Hal to look for the dog, and

-found him on the riverbank, worrying at a knuckle bone dropped there by

-a careless butcher boy on his way to the Vicarage.

-

-A bare moment sufficed Blazer to reach the bank, and in he splashed,

-paddling bravely across the current, with his fierce eyes starting, and

-his hard breaths frothing the surface of the water as he swam.

-

-Maggie cheered him on. "Quick, Blazer; quick! Oh, he's floating down so

-fast!" she cried towards Hal, who had been slower getting to his feet

-to gain the spot. "He'll never reach in time."

-

-But Blazer was also going with the stream as well as crossing it. In

-a few minutes more, the brave animal was up with Dick, and had his

-teeth firmly fastened in his jacket. And now came the tug of war.

-Maggie watched breathlessly, with beating heart and tightly clasped

-hands, whilst Hal, his face white and his lips parted, hung by her on

-his crutches. But Blazer was strong, and the water buoyed his burden

-up. The stream, too, helped in one way, whilst it hindered in another;

-for it lengthened every stroke, and carried him forward as he tried to

-cross back to the shore.

-

-"Hurrah!" shouted Hal, at length unable any longer to keep his

-excitement in. "Hurrah! He'll do it! He'll do it! Hurrah!"

-

-And Maggie's hands unclasped to clap as she took up the cry—"Hurrah!"

-

-On first recognising "the young Squire," Bill had come to a sudden

-halt, and watched from a safe distance, half a mind to turn back; then

-he had come slowly on. Now he, too, took up the cheer with his whole

-might, and shouted—"Hooray!—Hooray!" as he ran excitedly forward.

-

-A minute more, Dick was at the bank, and Maggie had sprung forward

-to help him out, whilst Blazer ran round about them in great glee,

-claiming praise for his heroic rescue, and splashing everybody with the

-water of his coat. Bill hung back an instant; then he, too, sprang to

-Maggie's side, and seizing Dick by the other arm, soon had him up on to

-the bank.

-

-A wretched-looking object was Dick as he sat up and gazed round about

-him. His wet clothes clung tightly to his benumbed limbs; his teeth

-chattered with cold and fright; water dripped from his hair; and his

-face and knuckles were a mass of cuts and bruises, from their recent

-acquaintance with Bill's fists.

-

-"You had better get home as fast as you can," advised Hal.

-

-But Dick had caught sight of Bill, whom in his anxiety to get safely on

-terra firma he had not recognised.

-

-"I'll give him a taste of it first," he muttered between his teeth.

-

-"Better go home and get some gruel," was Bill's contemptuous rejoinder.

-"Golly how your teeth clack!"

-

-This taunt put the last limit to endurance. The blood rushed to Dick's

-face, and his fists clenched; then to his feet, he flew at Bill.

-

-But before he could get at him, Hal had guessed how matters stood, and

-raised one crutch between them; and the two antagonists stood glowering

-at each other across this forbidding barrier.

-

-Bill burst out laughing; but Hal quickly put his crutch to the ground

-and swung himself between them. "Look here," said he, "nobody ever

-thinks of fighting before a girl; besides, when a fellow has just

-escaped from drowning, he ought to have something else to think of; and

-so ought you," he added, turning round on Bill.

-

-"He might ha' been in t' other world by now," jeered Bill, with an

-attempt at drollery.

-

-But Hal turned round on him with dignified reproof. "A boy who has just

-seen a life saved ought to know better than to mock," said he. "It's a

-shame," he added, looking from one to another with a pained expression,

-"when boys who have both done wrong want to tear each other to pieces

-for it. They ought to be too much ashamed. So get home both of you, and

-let us have no more such unchristian behaviour."

-

-[Illustration]

-

-At this point in the young Squire's discourse, Blazer, probably

-considering that he had not received due notice for his deed of valour,

-began to growl and whine. The consciences of both boys being somewhat

-overloaded, however, they interpreted his remarks as referring to

-themselves; and not desiring to provoke him further, they dropped their

-hostile attitude.

-

-Bill was the first to make a move.

-

-"You ought to shake hands," said Hal, as he turned to slink off.

-

-But Bill's magnanimity was not capable of rising to this degree; and he

-felt as if he was being quite as generous as any one could reasonably

-expect in allowing poor dripping Dick to slip through his fingers in

-this easy way.

-

-Hal stood gazing after Dick's retreating figure, as he ran off home

-at the top of his speed. "It's a pity that boys don't care more about

-being like Jesus Christ," observed he. "Of course, it's a sort of thing

-that takes a lot of trying, and boys naturally don't like trouble. They

-like play a good deal better. But then they ought to consider that

-they won't have to play when they're men; and what sort of men will

-they make, if they don't choose a good copy? As to it's being hard to

-imitate such a grand example as Jesus Christ—well! It isn't as if you'd

-got it all to do by yourself. There's the Holy Spirit, you know, who is

-promised in the Bible to all those who want to get along well."

-

-Having delivered himself of these originally expressed sentiments, Hal

-also set forward; Maggie, with a thoughtful expression on her brow,

-walking by his side, and Blazer trotting on in front.

-

-"Girls don't care about it either," said she presently.

-

-"And that," added Hal, "is why there are so many bad men and women in

-the world. I should like it, when I'm Squire, if all the people on my

-estate were Christians—real ones, you know; not shams. You'd see the

-difference! It would entirely do away with policemen and gaols, and all

-that sort of thing."

-

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-CHAPTER XIX.

-

-REVENGE.

-

-ALL this while the Squire had been waiting for Dick in vain. At length,

-his usual luncheon-time being nearly half an hour past, he gave up, and

-set off down the hill, still thinking that he might meet him by the

-way; but desiring Mrs. Crozier, if such should not prove the case, to

-send Dick up to the Manor House that afternoon.

-

-This, however, Mrs. Crozier had no chance of doing. Hurrying up the

-fields from the riverbank, it had occurred to Dick that it would be

-more prudent to dry his clothes before going home; so, taking a short

-cut across the grass to the back of the Manor Farm, he made his way

-to a haystack he knew of, which had been partly cut away on the sunny

-side. Here, stripping off his garments, and spreading them out in the

-sun, he covered himself up with the loose, warm hay, to wait and think

-over the story by which he would account for his absence from dinner,

-and his battered face.

-

-Meanwhile Hal, hearing the church clock strike half-past one, had left

-Maggie to take Blazer home, and had struck across the fields and past

-the farm. Hot and flushed with hurrying, he arrived at the lodge gate

-just as the Squire came in sight.

-

-Hal pulled up to wait for him, glad of breathing space.

-

-The Squire was walking briskly. "We shall deserve a scolding for

-keeping lunch waiting," said he as he came up. "How come you to be late

-too?—And what have you done with the other boys? By the by, have you

-seen anything of Dick Crozier?"

-

-"That's what made me late," answered Hal, guessing that his grandfather

-must have met Dick in his deplorable condition. "He had enough of his

-ducking, I should think."

-

-The Squire stared. "Enough of what?"

-

-"But you met him?" said Hal.

-

-"Not a bit of it," returned the Squire. "I've been waiting this hour or

-more in Mrs. Crozier's parlour to lecture him."

-

-Then Hal told his tale.

-

-Bill also had heard half-past one go, and had suddenly recollected that

-he was on a promise of good behaviour. Now, he was sorely perplexed

-what to do. It was clear enough that his behaviour was not exactly

-good; but how to tell his story to his own credit, or, in fact, to get

-believed at all, Bill was entirely at a loss. So, hungry as he was, he

-did what cowards always do—kept out of it, and went wandering about the

-fields behind the farm.

-

-"I don't see much in Bill's fine promises," remarked his mother, as her

-husband set foot on the threshold; "for all the Squire made himself

-surety for the boy. He ought to ha' been in this hour ago; and I ha'n't

-set eyes on him since nine o'clock, when he went down to school."

-

-"'Spare the rod and spoil the child,'" quoted Mumby, sitting down

-heavily in his accustomed corner by the chimney-piece. "I wouldn't ha'

-let him off so easy for anybody else; but if the worst comes to the

-worst, why, I must reckon up wi' him, for all the Squires in the world.

-A father's got his dooty to his boy to think of first; and I ain't

-agoin' to shirk mine, not for all the firmament." After which paternal

-speech, he fell to work in silence on the steaming lump of steak

-pudding which his wife served out to him.

-

-"Now, wife," said he, as he pushed his plate back and got up, "when

-Bill turns up, you don't give him a scrap o' this, d'ye mind?

-Dinner-time's when I come in, and, if he ain't ready for his'n then,

-why, he can go without, or else make shift to fill himself with bread."

-And having lighted his pipe, he went out again.

-

-But Bill, having once given way to his cowardly fears, grew less and

-less brave about showing his face at home, and, as he was getting

-dreadfully famished, he began to wonder how he could get a meal. He

-thought of the gap in the hedge; but that was almost within sight of

-home, and the men would be just returning to work. Besides, Bill had

-had enough of stealing eggs. But it struck him that he might find

-some small birds' eggs to suck. At the bottom of the field in the

-hedge which bounded it from the orchard were some trees of which the

-blackbirds were particularly fond; and to these Bill now directed his

-steps, in hopes that he might find something to stay his hunger.

-

-He was unusually lucky too. The first nest which he found contained

-four or five fledglings; but the second and the third had each five

-eggs in it, all of which he sucked.

-

-"Better than nothing," said Bill to himself, as he threw the last shell

-down, and prepared to descend the trunk again. "It'd take a lot o' them

-to make up a goose's egg, though."

-

-But in moving on to the next group of trees, Bill passed the haystack,

-and, casting a look round, to see that no one was about, whom should he

-discover but his old enemy, lying fast asleep in the hay, his clothes

-spread out around him on the grass to dry?

-

-Once out of his wet garments, and snugly covered up, with the hot May

-sun shining down upon him, Dick had soon become so helplessly drowsy,

-that before the lapse of many minutes, he had become oblivious to

-everything, and was soundly sleeping off the effects of his cold plunge.

-

-Bill stood still a moment in sheer amazement; then he tiptoed nearer,

-with his neck outstretched, laughing to himself, to think how

-completely luck had placed Dick in his power. A moment more, and he had

-darted forward, gathered up the clothes, and, as swiftly as caution

-would allow, had sped up the ladder with them.

-

-"Now you're done, my fine fellow, or my name ain't Bill!" said he to

-himself, as he lodged his bundle, and took up his position at the top

-of the ladder, where the thatched slant was cut away. "Let's see how

-you'll look running home without your clothes!"

-

-But an hour passed, and Dick did not rouse.

-

-At first Bill had forgotten his hunger; now he began to cast longing

-looks at the branches of the trees beyond the stack. It was already

-seven or eight hours since he breakfasted; and he was beginning to find

-revenge rather painful.

-

-Another half-hour went by.

-

-Bill's patience was nearly exhausted, but Dick was still sound asleep,

-entirely unconscious of the trick that had been played him.

-

-"I wonder," exclaimed Bill, "how long he's wound up for!"

-

-But the idea of Dick's awakening only suggested other difficulties;

-for the longer Bill put off going home, the less pleasant he found the

-prospect of having to face it out in the end. It would certainly make

-ten times worse of it, if this should come out. Perhaps, on the whole,

-it would be better to descend at once, and leave Dick to make the

-discovery of his loss alone; but Bill somehow could not give up the fun.

-

-"Let's rouse him up," said he at length; and pulling out some of

-the osier switches with which the thatch was pegged, he broke them

-into bits, and commenced pelting at Dick's upturned face. The first

-half-dozen missed, but presently one hit the mark. Dick stirred in his

-sleep, and turned over on his back, baring one arm and poking one foot

-up through the hay.

-

-Bill chuckled, and sent another missile straight for his face. This

-time it missed; but the next hit hard, right in the centre of his

-forehead. Dick's eyes opened, then dropped to again, and he turned over

-on his other side. Bill aimed again, and hit him in the ear. This time,

-up went one of Dick's hands to rub the place, and he awoke outright.

-

-First of all, he stared round in a bewildered sort of way, as if unable

-to make out his surroundings; then he examined his bare arm, and pushed

-the hay back from his chest, as if to remind himself that he was

-without garments. Finally he sat upright, the dry covering falling back

-from his arms and shoulders.

-

-Now was Bill's time of triumph. Feasting on Dick's look of utter

-dismay, he no longer even felt his hunger. The very thought of Dick's

-having to get from the farm to the top of the hill beyond the Manor

-House without a rag to his back, was ample reward for all his waiting

-and fasting. Bill's revenge was so delicious to the taste, that it was

-all he could do to restrain his chuckles of delight. But Bill was not

-going to spoil the fun. By a strong effort of self-control, he mastered

-his merriment, and sat still to watch what course his unfortunate

-victim would adopt.

-

-Whilst Dick had been snugly rolled up in the hay, the Manor House boys

-and their cousins, not satisfied with their morning's game at hare and

-hounds, had been for a long walk round in the opposite direction; and

-just as Dick sat up, hardly able to believe his eyes, yet guessing who

-had played him the trick, and wondering what in the world he was to do,

-up they came along the favourite pathway from the riverbank across the

-fields.

-

-Bill from the top of the stack not only heard, but saw them trooping

-merrily along—Hal, on his crutches in the midst, keeping up bravely

-with the rest. Dick, also, from the shelter of the stack, heard the

-sound of their gay laughter, as they chattered by the way; and it just

-flashed across his mind that here was an opportunity to get helped

-out of his awkward predicament. Only the situation was so utterly

-ridiculous, that natural pride made him shrink from exposure. He was

-still hesitating, unable to make up his mind whether to call to them or

-to wait till dark should lend a friendly cloak to flight, when he heard

-Sigismund shout, "Who'll climb a haystack?"

-

-Will took up the challenge, and off they raced across the grass, Hal

-following at his quickest.

-

-Will and Sigismund were first at the stack. They had scarcely reached

-it, however, when there was a grand outcry, and a tremendous explosion

-of laughter; for there, bolt upright, and stark naked to the waist, sat

-Dick Crozier, with the most comical look of helplessness upon his face.

-

-"Hullo!" exclaimed Will.

-

-"Whatever are you up to?" cried Sigismund.

-

-"A leaf out of Robinson Crusoe," yelled one of the cousins, holding his

-sides; "a naked savage!"

-

-"A what?" shouted Hal, putting on all the speed he could command.

-

-[Illustration]

-

-Dick had turned red all over.

-

-"He's taking a sun bath," jeered Will.

-

-"They say it's very salutary," added one of the others, his eyes

-running over with merriment.

-

-"Don't let the police catch you at it, that's all," said another, as

-Dick tried to scrape the hay together round him.

-

-Sigismund had turned back towards Hal, who by this time was nearly at

-the spot. "It's Dick Crozier," called he.

-

-"Dick Crozier!" echoed Hal. "What's the matter?"

-

-The next instant, however, the question answered itself, and for a

-brief space Hal was at a loss whether to laugh or look serious.

-

-"But where are your clothes?" asked he at length, in a tone of

-incredulity.

-

-"Goodness knows," answered Dick snappishly, "Gone."

-

-"But how did you get out of them?" asked Hal further.

-

-"Took 'em off," said Dick in a surly voice.

-

-"Queer place to choose," put in Will.

-

-"But what have you done with them?" asked Hal, utterly at a loss.

-

-"Nothing!" exclaimed Dick indignantly. "They're gone."

-

-"Gone?"

-

-"Can't you understand!" broke out Dick, with injured dignity most

-ludicrous to behold. "Some one's taken 'em."

-

-The others roared with laughter anew; but the whole thing suddenly

-flashed upon Hal. Dick, afraid to go home, had conceived the idea of

-drying his clothes in the sun; and Bill, finding him there asleep, had

-played him this waggish but shameful trick.

-

-Hal didn't laugh.

-

-"Run for some clothes, one of you," ordered he; "to the cottages will

-be quickest. Bill shall answer for this—the mean scoundrel!" added he,

-in a tone of voice that changed the expression of that youth's face in

-a twinkling, and made the others look in awe at Hal.

-

-Sigismund, always ready to do his elder brother's bidding, dashed off,

-followed by one of his cousins; but at that instant, Will, recollecting

-what they had come for, glanced upward, and caught sight of Bill.

-

-"Hullo!" cried he. "There he is! Look! Look! Up there!"

-

-All eyes were instantly directed to the top of the stack. But Bill,

-suddenly arriving at the determination that it would be more prudent to

-make off, had scrambled to the ridge, and over; and all of him except

-his hands had disappeared.

-

-"Why! He's got the clothes up there!" exclaimed one of the cousins,

-catching sight of the bundle.

-

-"I'm going up," said Will, setting foot on the ladder.

-

-"Stop, stop!" cried Hal, afraid of a tussle at such a height from the

-ground, and half hoping that some one would come back from the cottages

-with Sigismund, and see fair play. "Let be till Sidge and Watt come

-back."

-

-But Bill had caught Will's words like a shot, and, determined upon

-escape at all costs, had let go the ridge. Almost the same instant they

-heard a heavy thud upon the ground.

-

-"What was that?" cried Will and the two cousins in a breath.

-

-Hal turned white.

-

-"He has never jumped it?" cried he.

-

-Not a sound came from the other side of the stack; but there was

-scarcely a doubt as to what had happened. For a moment none of them

-dared stir; then Hal put one crutch forward, and nerved himself for the

-awful possibility, praying as he went,—"God grant he isn't dead!"

-

-On the grass, a yard or so from the foot of the stack, lay Bill, white

-as a sheet. At first sight Hal uttered a cry of horror, thinking that

-his worst fears were realized. But at the sound of his voice Bill's

-eyes opened.

-

-"My leg!" moaned he. "My leg!"

-

-The right leg was doubled backwards underneath him, broken at the thigh.

-

-"Here!" shouted Hal. "Help! Where are you all? Won't anybody lend a

-hand?"

-

-The others had followed him, however, and were closer than he knew

-of. Half-a-dozen hands were instantly stretched out; Bill was quickly

-lifted, and the injured limb straightened.

-

-"Bring him round on to the hay," directed Hal. "He'll lie easier there,

-whilst you go for help."

-

-So Bill was carried round to where Dick sat—now shivering with terror

-and alarm.

-

-"He'll want a stretcher," said Hal next. "You three can't carry him;

-and I should think it will be a case for the Infirmary."

-

-The three boys declared themselves quite equal to the task of carrying

-Bill, and were anxious to start at once. But as they were in the midst

-of a warm debate with Hal, who stood out for the superior merits of a

-stretcher, the sound of footsteps announced the return of Sigismund and

-Watt.

-

-"Grandfather is behind," shouted Sigismund triumphantly, as he

-advanced. "Now we shall see fair play."

-

-The Squire had been up the hill to Mrs. Crozier's again, after hearing

-Hal's account of Dick's ducking; and perplexed at finding him still

-absent, had proceeded to Mrs. Mumby's cottage, to hear what Bill had to

-tell on the subject. Learning from Sigismund the fresh turn of affairs,

-he now at once followed to the scene of action, Mrs. Mumby hurrying

-after, vowing punishment on Bill for this fresh escapade, and carrying

-his Sunday suit for Dick.

-

-Seeing Mrs. Mumby, Hal, with a quick thought for her mother's heart, at

-once started forward.

-

-"Don't be frightened," called he, as he swung himself towards her;

-"it's only his leg. Bill went and tried to jump down from the top, and

-he has broken his thigh."

-

-Of course, as neither Mrs. Mumby nor the Squire knew anything about the

-"king o' the haystack" position which Bill had for the last three hours

-enjoyed, further explanation was called for. But Hal soon put them in

-possession of the principal facts—how Will had caught sight of the

-young rascal, and started to go up after him; and how Bill, resolved

-not to be caught, had left his hold and slidden down with a rush.

-

-In another minute, Will and Sigismund were racing to the farmyard, with

-the Squire's orders that a cart be brought round at once, to convey

-Bill to the Infirmary.

-

-"Well, young man," said the Squire, as he stood over Bill awaiting

-their return, "I should think that you have had lessons enough by this

-time. For, remember, this all comes of getting through a hedge to steal

-goose eggs."

-

-

-

-[Illustration]

-

-CHAPTER XX.

-

-IN MEMORY OF FARMER BLUFF.

-

-A FEW hours later, Bill had made acquaintance with one of the narrow

-beds in the accident ward of the Riverbridge Infirmary, where—after

-going through the exhausting process of having his clothes removed,

-and his leg put in splints—he fell asleep and dreamt all sorts of

-extraordinary things. Amongst others, that the Squire had caught him

-stealing eggs in the hay, and had him nailed out on a flat board—like

-the stoats on the lower boarding of the barn; and that when he tried

-to get away, Farmer Bluff's dog came and barked at him. Then the dog

-suddenly changed into a woman with a snow-cloud on her head, who

-clapped ice on his forehead, to make him forget for a little while.

-This imaginary ice being none other than the hand of the kind-hearted

-night nurse, under the touch of whose cool palm Bill from time to time

-forgot his feverish struggles to toss about. And so the morning dawned;

-the first of forty days, or more, that the Bill would have to spend

-upon that narrow bed.

-

-In the meantime, Dick, arrayed in Bill's Sunday suit, and escorted by

-the Squire, had gone off up the hill, leaving his half-dry clothes in

-Mrs. Mumby's charge.

-

-Arrived at home, he was at once put to bed between blankets, and

-made to swallow a large basinful of hot gruel, which would have been

-unpalatable enough, had he not been so long fasting that anything of

-the nature of food was welcome.

-

-Between the gruel and the blankets, he was soon perspiring violently,

-and in a sound sleep, from which he did not rouse until long

-after Bill—in accordance with the early rule of the Infirmary—had

-breakfasted. Then, feeling very much dispirited and out of sorts, and

-looking a wretched object, with his bruised and battered face and

-fists, he dressed and came downstairs, more thankful than words can

-describe, to find his father already gone, and as grateful for the

-message he had left behind, excusing him from school for the day, on

-condition that he did not stir outside the house.

-

-Dick, as may readily be imagined, willingly accepted the condition,

-and remained at home, answering his mother's numerous questions, and

-enduring her reproaches as stoically as he could; and looking forward

-with great misgivings to the lecture which, he knew only too well, he

-could not hope to escape, on his father's return from business.

-

-Next morning, he went back to school as usual, and after several days

-of quizzing and jeering on the part of his schoolmates, things fell

-back into their ordinary course. By degrees the cuts and bruises

-disappeared; and but for two things Dick might perhaps have soon

-succeeded in forgetting the whole occurrence—at any rate until Bill's

-discharge from the Infirmary brought him home, with one leg a full inch

-shorter than the other, to limp for life—a perpetual reminder of the

-whole disgraceful affair.

-

-Meanwhile, Dick had been forced to abide by the harsh, though just

-words with which his father had concluded his lecture that evening.

-

-"You pride yourself on common sense," said Mr. Crozier, "and have on

-more than one occasion rebelled against seeing by the light of my

-maturer wisdom. Common sense should have taught you that no person,

-young or old, can violate the laws of God, but they are sure to reap

-due punishment. Bill has learnt the wholesome truth in a manner that I

-hope he will not easily forget. It will be my duty to make sure that

-you remember too. I had intended taking you on the river this coming

-Bank Holiday, to give you your first lesson in rowing. But since you

-have so persistently and dishonourably disregarded my injunctions with

-regard to it, I shall put off doing so another year, or until I find

-that you have learnt obedience."

-

-As time went on, Dick found this decision of his father's harder than

-he had even thought; for several of his schoolmates had boats upon the

-river, and every invitation to their water-parties had to be refused.

-

-The hardest time of all was when Hal invited him to his birthday picnic.

-

-Hal's birthday was always the closing fête of the summer holidays; and

-this year the Squire had planned an excursion to some picturesque old

-ruins, eight or ten miles up stream. A large pleasure-boat had been

-hired, with men to tow or row, as convenience required; and there were

-grand preparations to be undertaken in the Manor House kitchen for the

-rural spread. A number of cousins, boys and girls, were to join them,

-and Hal—as hero of the day—was invested with carte blanche to invite as

-many as the boat would accommodate.

-

-"Ask just whom you please," the Squire said to him, knowing that he

-might rely on Hal's good taste. "The more the merrier, so long as we

-can see our water-mark. I want your picnic to be a grand success."

-

-Hal instantly thought of Dick.

-

-Now, it was not surprising that Dick, heartily ashamed of the figure he

-had cut on the unfortunate afternoon of Bill's accident, should have

-so carefully avoided Hal ever since, that they had not once so much

-as exchanged nods. The fact was, Dick hardly thought that Hal would

-care to speak to him again. But Hal, much as he disapproved of Dick's

-conduct, was not the sort of boy to throw him up on that account; and

-guessing that shame was most probably Dick's chief reason for holding

-aloof, he was determined to do his utmost towards bringing about a

-correct understanding. And here was his opportunity.

-

-The first thing was to waylay Dick. This was not difficult. Hal had

-only to watch at the plantation palings till he saw Dick coming down

-the hill; then lay in wait inside the gate till just as he came up, and

-pop out on him before he had a chance to run.

-

-Dick looked "caught," and tried to get away; but Hal was not to be

-done in that fashion. He button-holed him without ado, and stated his

-business.

-

-Dick stammered an excuse; but Hal saw, by the blank look on his face,

-that there was something behind it. A little pressing brought it out.

-

-"And it's no go," said Dick regretfully. "You might as well waste your

-strength trying to move a mountain as my father when his mind is made

-up."

-

-Hal offered to see what he could do to soften Mr. Crozier's heart; but

-Dick shook his head.

-

-"It's no go," repeated he; "and I shall have to stay away."

-

-So all that glorious September day Dick spent in vain regrets that but

-for his own folly, he might have been one of Hal's merry birthday party.

-

-

-But as the autumn days fell on the woods, a shadow settled on the

-cottage by the gate, where Farmer Bluff was drawing towards his death.

-Death is not always dark. The end of life is sometimes like a glorious

-sunset, when the light of day sinks in triumphant promise of another

-dawn. But Farmer Bluff had sinned, and had never made the Bible

-promises his own.

-

-Hal often went to sit beside his bed.

-

-"The others play as well without me," he would say. "I'm not much good

-in games, you see; and I would rather come and help you bear your pain."

-

-"It's not so much the pain," the farmer said to him one day. "I'd go

-on bearing that. But they tell me that I'm going fast; and I can't see

-where. I've never been a praying man; and now it's dark. 'Prepare to

-meet thy God,' they say. How can a man prepare?—What can I do?—I've

-lost my right to think of ever getting Him to listen to my prayers; and

-I must go before His judgment-seat with all my sins upon my back."

-

-Hal was silent.

-

-"It's very sad," said he presently; "because, you see, you've wasted

-all the best part of your life. And I should think a man wouldn't like

-to have to go to God and ask to be taken into heaven, when he'd done

-so badly all along. Of course, there was the prodigal, who squandered

-all his father gave him so disgracefully; but you see, he was a young

-man, and he went back to work again as soon as the feast was over. The

-Bible doesn't say so; but it seems to me he'd work like two, whenever

-he remembered how his father ran to meet him, open-armed. You're more

-like the man who didn't come to work until the eleventh hour," added

-Hal thoughtfully.

-

-Farmer Bluff asked to have the passage read to him.

-

-"He got his penny just the same as all the rest, you see," said Hal,

-when he had finished it.

-

-But the sick man shook his head.

-

-"That's not like me," he said. "He worked one hour. I'm past that. I'm

-good for nothing; I've destroyed myself."

-

-And Hal went away grieved; for he felt the words were just. And

-yet—although he knew that God was ready to receive all those who turn

-to Him through Christ—he could not think of how to tell him so.

-

-But the following Sunday, as he sat beside the Squire in the

-high-backed Manor pew, his crutches either side of him, the "how" was

-made quite plain.

-

-"This is the work of God," the vicar read, "that ye believe on Him whom

-God hath sent."

-

-Will and Sigismund were very busy watching a wasp that had strayed in

-at one of the windows, and was making up its mind to settle on the

-velvet hangings of the pew. They glanced at Hal, but his thoughts were

-too much occupied with Farmer Bluff to notice any of their signs.

-

-All at once he seemed to see how it is faith in Christ alone that gives

-the sinner peace, when looking back repentant on a misspent life.

-

-He seemed to see, too, how that "faith" can be called "work," since "to

-be" alone enables man "to do."

-

-"I've got it, Farmer Bluff!" he cried, next time he went up to his

-room. "Believe in Jesus Christ,—that is 'the work of God;' and you can

-do that lying here. It's only to be sorry, and to trust in Christ, who

-died for us." And sitting down by him, he found the verse and read it

-out.

-

-"And I think," he added, "that perhaps in heaven God will give you

-something to do for Him, to make amends for what you left undone down

-here."

-

-The dying man lay still for some minutes; then a light broke over his

-face, and he repeated,—"Only to be sorry—He knows I'm truly sorry—and

-to trust in Christ—who died for me. That's all 'the work of God.'"

-

-And so, just when the bitter punishment of all his sins was near at

-hand, the Saviour's sacrifice brought peace and light; and Farmer Bluff

-began the life that might have been so full of fruit in this world and

-the next, had he but commenced it earlier.

-

-But next time Hal came upstairs to see him, he said he had been

-thinking there was one thing he could do. "I could warn some other

-sinner what an awful grief it is to go down to the grave with nothing

-but a wasted life," said he; "and maybe they might listen to a man who

-hasn't many days to live."

-

-So Hal brought Dick and Bill to see the dying man; and Farmer Bluff

-talked to them in a way that neither of the boys ever forgot.

-

-"There's one thing more I want to do before I die," said Farmer Bluff

-to Hal, when they were gone. "I feel the end is coming fast; another

-day I mayn't have strength. That mug. It's on the chest of drawers.

-Bring it me, will you?"

-

-Hal fetched the silver mug, and brought it to the bed.

-

-The old man took it in his hands and turned it over many times.

-

-"I want to give it to you," he said at length; "because I'd like it

-melted down. I wouldn't like to put the blame of all my folly on this

-silver mug; because the evil was inside me, in my evil heart, that

-nothing save the grace of God could change. But it seems like part of

-the old life. It stood there by my side and tempted me; and I should

-like to feel that when my body's underneath the grass, the old life is

-all done away. No matter what you make of it, so you promise me to have

-it melted down."

-

-"I promise," answered Hal.

-

-And the farmer put the mug into his hand.

-

-"Then there's Grip and Blazer," continued Farmer Bluff. "I've given

-Grip to Dobson there, next door; but Maggie and her mother very likely

-mayn't stay here, and Blazer is very much attached to you. I'd like to

-know he'll have a master when I'm gone."

-

-"And why not have the silver made into a collar for him?" cried Hal

-suddenly. "And he shall wear the mug upon his neck, in memory of you."

-

-So it was agreed; and Hal went home.

-

-

-Hal never saw his old friend any more alive. Going home through heavy

-rain that afternoon, he caught a chill that forced him to stay indoors

-for several days; and one morning, before the week was out, a message

-came to say that at the break of dawn, poor Farmer Bluff's spirit had

-departed to its rest.

-

-The cottage by the wood was soon untenanted again. Maggie, through the

-Squire's interest, was got into an orphan school, where she soon gave

-promise of a bright and useful womanhood; and Mrs. Rust obtained a

-responsible place as housekeeper, where she went on saving up whatever

-she could spare, to lay by with the little sum of money left her by her

-brother at his death; so that when old age crept on she might not be a

-burden on her child.

-

-

-Meanwhile, from the day when Blazer became Hal's property, the young

-Squire was seldom seen abroad without his dog; and on his neck,

-Blazer always wore a massive silver collar, bearing on one side his

-name and the four words—"Who saved two lives;" and on the other, the

-inscription—"In memory of his old master, Farmer Bluff."

-

-Thus reminded what a solemn charge is God's great gift of life, Hal

-went onward towards the time when his aged grandfather must follow

-Farmer Bluff, and leave the Manor in his hands.

-

-There is little hope that he will ever be robust enough to lead the

-steeplechase, or ride out in the morning mist behind the hounds.

-Probably he will never learn to do without his crutches, and will

-never be "a stalwart Englishman" to look upon. But his heart is brave

-and true; and these are things he does not much regret. His strong

-determination is to do his best in hunting out the sin and godlessness

-that work such havoc in the lives of men; and—God helping him—to be the

-foremost in the race that has the throne of heaven for its aim.

-

-But that time, he hopes, is still some years ahead.

-

-Meanwhile, he strives to gather wisdom as he grows; and since his

-copy—as he told Dick Crozier—is the perfect God-man, Jesus Christ,

-there is no doubt that he will grow to be a useful, honoured man, and

-at last receive the incorruptible crown.

-

-

-

-                           THE END.

-

-

-

-PRINTED BY MORRISON AND GIBB LIMITED, EDINBURGH.

-

-

-

-

-

-

-*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 74082 ***

+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 74082 ***
+
+Transcriber's note: Unusual and inconsistent spelling is as printed.
+
+[Illustration: THE GOOSE DUCKED HER HEAD, OPENED HER WINGS,
+ AND RUSHED FORWARD WITH A SCREAM.]
+
+
+
+                             FARMER BLUFF'S
+
+                                DOG BLAZER
+
+                                    OR
+
+                          AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR
+
+
+                                   BY
+
+                           FLORENCE E. BURCH
+
+             AUTHOR OF "JOSH JOBSON," "RAGGED SIMON," ETC.
+
+
+
+                   _WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY GORDON BROWNE_
+
+
+
+                                 LONDON
+                      THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY
+             56 PATERNOSTER ROW AND 65 ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+                               CONTENTS.
+
+CHAP.
+
+    I. IN SEARCH OF A COMPANION
+
+   II. GRIP AND BLAZER
+
+  III. FARMER BLUFF
+
+   IV. THE SQUIRE'S GRANDSONS
+
+    V. "WHATEVER IS, IS RIGHT"
+
+   VI. THE YOUNG SQUIRE
+
+  VII. THE SHORTEST CUT
+
+ VIII. "CONSCIENCE MAKES COWARDS OF US ALL"
+
+   IX. RENEWING ACQUAINTANCE
+
+    X. THE INQUEST
+
+   XI. AN ARTIST-DETECTIVE
+
+  XII. BILL'S FUTURE
+
+ XIII. THE YOUNG SQUIRE ASSUMES A NEW CHARACTER
+
+  XIV. THE VERY ONE
+
+   XV. UNDER SENTENCE
+
+  XVI. A RUNAWAY'S STORY
+
+ XVII. LOOSE AGAIN
+
+XVIII. TO THE RESCUE
+
+  XIX. REVENGE
+
+   XX. IN MEMORY OF FARMER BLUFF
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+                    FARMER BLUFF'S DOG BLAZER.
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+IN SEARCH OF A COMPANION.
+
+"I CAN'T see why I shouldn't use my own common sense," said Dick
+Crozier to himself one fine morning, as he sauntered along the lane.
+"What else was it given to me for, I should like to know?"
+
+It was a holiday, and Dick had a mind to enjoy himself. Now it happened
+that Dick's idea of enjoyment on this particular morning did not quite
+agree with his father's. Before leaving home, Mr. Crozier had given him
+particular injunctions not to extend his walk beyond the common, and
+not to go near the river.
+
+"Another time," said he, "I shall have leisure to teach you how to
+manage a boat. Then I shall not be afraid to trust you; but until then
+I would rather you kept away."
+
+Dick ventured to argue the point. "Another time," he mightn't have a
+holiday. His parents had only recently removed into the neighbourhood;
+and he felt pretty certain that his father would put him to school as
+soon as ever they got settled in the new place.
+
+"No time like the present," said Dick to himself, as he tried to
+shake his father's determination. "To-day is my own; no knowing whose
+to-morrow may be."
+
+But when a wise father has really made up his mind, his determination
+is not to be shaken.
+
+"You must be content to let me judge what is best for the present,"
+said Mr. Crozier. "When you are older, you will see that I was right."
+
+So Dick had to submit—outwardly, at any rate; and as soon as he had
+watched his father disappear round the corner towards the railway, away
+he walked in the opposite direction, grumbling to himself as he went.
+
+It was not a morning for grumbling. The time of year was the end of
+March. The wind, having made the discovery that all its roar and
+bluster could not stop the trees and flowers from coming out to meet
+the spring, had gone to sleep, and left them to enjoy the sunshine till
+the April showers came on. Birds were singing blithely on the boughs,
+and even a few humble-bees were to be seen riding through the air with
+an important buzz, as if they felt that they had got things their own
+way at last; whilst their working relatives flew hither and thither in
+quest of honey, with a sharp-toned hum that plainly said—"We must be
+busy."
+
+Dick heard them, and stopped grumbling. It was too bad to be in an
+ill-humour whilst everything else—from the kingcups in the hedge to the
+larks in the sky—was so full of enjoyment. It was not even as if all
+the ill-humour in the world could alter what his father had said. So
+he just gave one or two cuts at the hedge with the stick in his hand
+as a final protest, and began to whistle. A few minutes later he was
+climbing along a grassy bank, holding by the wooden palings at the top.
+
+There was a plantation on the other side of these palings, and just
+then a clock in a little tower, with a golden weathercock, struck nine.
+Dick had heard his father speak of this house as the residence of the
+Lord of the Manor, so he stopped to have a peep at it through the trees.
+
+It was a large, white stone building, with balconies to the upper
+windows, supported on twisted pillars, so as to form a shady verandah
+in front of the lower rooms. A smooth lawn, green as emerald and soft
+as velvet, sloped up to the gravelled terrace; and behind the house,
+the grass slanted away to an iron hurdle-fence, within which deer were
+grazing. Beyond was a little copse, where pines and Scotch firs showed
+dark against the pale green mist of leaf-buds on the other trees. A
+gate leading into this copse was painted red; and Dick now noticed that
+all the gates and railings about the place were of the same unusual
+colour—which formed a very pretty contrast with the grass.
+
+As he clung to the fence, making these observations, a French window at
+one end of the verandah opened, and three boys trooped out, followed
+by a lady, whom Dick took to be their mother. She was young, and
+very beautiful—or so Dick thought, as she stepped into the sunlight,
+shading her eyes with one hand, to watch them off; so beautiful that,
+for the moment, his eyes seem riveted. But only for a moment. The boys
+no sooner reached the steps than Dick's eyes left her for them. The
+foremost two bounded down, three or four steps at a time, leaving the
+third one far behind; and Dick now perceived that the poor fellow went
+upon crutches, and that upon one sole he wore an iron stand, which
+raised it full two inches from the ground, whilst the other barely
+reached so low. In spite of this, he was considerably shorter than his
+brothers; and Dick immediately concluded that he was the youngest of
+the three.
+
+"Poor fellow!" said he to himself. "I shouldn't care to be like that. I
+daresay, though, they're good to him,"' he added, as the others pulled
+up short and waited for the cripple, who swung himself carefully down,
+step by step.
+
+But Dick little guessed how hard it is to "be good" to a boy who has to
+go at a snail's pace, when you yourself have the strength to run and
+jump. He didn't even notice how the others continually walked a step
+ahead, nor how the cripple laboured to keep up with them. Neither did
+he guess how tiring it was to get along so fast. Presently, however,
+something attracted the attention of the three boys—an early butterfly
+it must have been. The cripple saw it first, and nodded towards it, and
+forthwith off the others raced, and left him resting on his crutches
+watching them. Then Dick understood a little more clearly how hard it
+was for him; for his brothers entirely forgot him in their wild, mad
+chase, and he was left alone.
+
+He followed them a minute with his eyes, then turned and looked towards
+the terrace; but his mother was not even there to wave her hand. She
+had gone in.
+
+It came into Dick's head to wonder whether the poor fellow could see
+him there above the fence. He had half a mind to whistle. Dick—with
+nothing else to do—could very well spare time for half an hour's chat
+to cheer his loneliness. But just then he remembered who this cripple
+was, and how presumptuous it might be thought to dream of showing pity
+for a son of the great man to whom all the land about belonged. And as
+the other boys, panting and puffing, cap in hand, returned just then,
+the question was decided once for all. Dick watched them out of sight
+behind the avenue of trees that led to the lodge, then he jumped down
+from the bank and went his way, turning now and then to see if they
+were following.
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+GRIP AND BLAZER.
+
+A LITTLE further on, the road emerged upon a green; and at the back
+of this green there was a farm. The house stood back behind the yard,
+which was hidden from view by tall bushes; and half inside the yard,
+half outside upon the green, was a pond, where ducks were swimming
+about in search of dainty bits.
+
+This was the Manor Farm. The man who held it was the Squire's bailiff,
+Dick had heard his father say. He went up to the gate to look, rather
+wondering what sort of a thing it was to be bailiff to so great a man,
+and whether he had any boys.
+
+A shaggy-looking dog, dozing in the sun before his kennel, sprang to
+his feet with a loud bark as Dick approached, rattling his chain and
+growling, as if to warn him not to come too near. Finding Dick paid no
+heed, he jumped up on his kennel and set, up barking so vociferously
+that another dog behind the house took up the cause. Next minute a
+servant, wondering what could be amiss, and probably suspecting tramps,
+opened a side door and came round the corner of the house to look. At
+the same instant, a man with a pitchfork in his hand appeared from the
+other corner of the house.
+
+"Hey! Grip, old boy," called he; "what's up? You'll upset the firmament
+with your row."
+
+Exactly what he meant by this it would be hard to say. He had caught
+the word up from the Bible, as something made "in the beginning," and
+therefore very "firm;" so probably it seemed to him the most that any
+one could do in the upsetting line.
+
+Anyhow, the dog seemed to understand the rebuke. He gave one or two
+more barks, then jumped down off his kennel with an injured air; and:
+his colleague of the back premises, finding he was pacified, gave in
+too, and so the hubbub ceased.
+
+"What was up wi' him?" said the man, coming a pace or two nearer, and
+resting on his pitchfork. "There's now't amiss, so fur's I can see."
+For Dick had left the gate, and gone to watch the ducks.
+
+The servant shook her head. "Like his master," returned she; "always
+kicking up a fuss for nothing in the world. Some folks seem as if they
+can't be happy else; and quadrupeds is much the same, I s'pose."
+
+"Belike," answered the man, with a laugh. "But if that's so, why,
+Blazer's the master's dog! My word! I wouldn't like to try his fangs;
+he'd tear the firmament to shreds."
+
+With this characteristic remark, he shouldered his fork, and, turning
+on his heel, went back to his work in the rick-yard.
+
+The servant stood a minute at the door looking about her; then she,
+too, turned and went inside, shutting to the door, but throwing up the
+window, as if this taste of sunshine had made her long for the free air.
+
+Meanwhile Dick had reached the other gate; for the farmyard had an
+entrance at each side of the pond, so that carts could come in either
+way. Here he stopped again; but this time Grip took no notice beyond
+raising his nose off his paws a second or two and blinking, to show
+that he was awake; then he composed himself again, or pretended to—just
+to give the enemy a chance of showing his weak side. But Dick was not
+to be deceived that way, nor had he any thoughts of invading Master
+Grip's territory.
+
+After standing still a few minutes, taking observations of the
+picturesque old house, with its latticed windows and its long,
+red-tiled, gabled roof, he was just about to go his way, when he was
+suddenly startled by a most unearthly whoop.
+
+Before he had time to look round, a boy about his own size came full
+tear into the road a yard or two ahead. "Hullo!" cried he, perceiving
+Dick.
+
+"Hullo!" responded Dick.
+
+Then they stared at one another.
+
+"Who are you?" asked Dick.
+
+The other burst out laughing. "Who are you?" retorted he.
+
+"Oh! It doesn't matter," answered Dick, a trifle proudly; "only—my
+father has just moved into the neighbourhood, and I suppose I shall
+have to get to know the boys; so I thought I might as well begin with
+you."
+
+The other looked him over well from head to foot. Dick's father was a
+gentleman, and Dick was dressed accordingly. The other's father was a
+labourer upon the Manor Farm.
+
+"My name's Dick Crozier," added Dick.
+
+"And mine is Bill the Kicker," returned his new acquaintance.
+
+"That is, your nickname," added Dick.
+
+"Call it what you like; that's all the name I want," said Bill the
+Kicker in such a final manner that Dick said no more.
+
+"Where do you live?" next asked he.
+
+"Up yonder," answered Bill the Kicker, pointing backward with his
+thumb. "My father works for Farmer Bluff."
+
+"And mine goes up to town every morning," rejoined Dick. "We live
+beyond the Manor House, up the hill."
+
+This interchange of confidences was a pretty good basis for an
+acquaintance, and the two boys were soon engaged in a lively
+conversation.
+
+"There's a hornets' nest up there," said Bill presently, jerking his
+thumb in the direction of the field. "I see one goin' in just now.
+I mean to sell it to the Squire's grandsons," added he, nodding to
+himself.
+
+"What for?" asked Dick, who was a town-bred boy.
+
+"For sport, of course," answered Bill promptly. "Squires always go in
+for sport. I reckon we shall have a game."
+
+"Hornets are dangerous, aren't they?" said Dick doubtfully.
+
+"It don't do to get stung," returned Bill; "but then you don't if you
+can help; and that's what makes the sport. I wonder," added Bill the
+Kicker, struck with an original thought, "who'd care to storm a flies'
+nest!—Supposin' that they made 'em, which they don't. And there again,
+you see," he added further, "flies don't make nests, because they
+haven't got to keep out of the way—" Which remark contained a wholesome
+moral, if he had but possessed the wit to see it.
+
+Knowing nothing of such country matters, Dick naturally felt some
+respect for Bill the Kicker, who talked as if he had it all on good
+authority.
+
+"Look here," proposed he presently; "tell me when the sport's to be."
+
+Bill shook his head with a doubtful air.
+
+"Why not?" asked Dick.
+
+Bill the Kicker drew his mouth tight, stretching it almost from ear to
+ear, and shook his head again.
+
+Dick held out a bait.
+
+"I've got a goodish big-sized boat at home," said he persuasively. "I
+mayn't go near the river yet, but so soon as ever I get leave, I'll let
+you know."
+
+Bill expressed considerable contempt for the idea of "getting leave;"
+however, he went so far as to say that when the sport was all arranged,
+he might see fit to make it known to Dick. "It's the Squire's
+grandsons, you see," said he importantly. "'Tisn't every one as I could
+introduce to them."
+
+Dick rather wondered what it mattered whom Bill introduced, so long as
+it was somebody no lower than himself. But he promised to be in the way
+as often as he could; and Bill the Kicker, having duly warned him not
+to drop a word to any one, went off to find the Squire's grandsons and
+"sell the nest."
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+FARMER BLUFF.
+
+WHILST Dick was making acquaintance with Bill the Kicker, the Squire's
+bailiff, Farmer Bluff, was sitting in his parlour, with his leg upon a
+cushion and a pint mug on the table by his side, swearing inwardly—if
+not aloud—at the fate which had cursed him with the gout.
+
+Now this fate was none other than the blustering old farmer's own
+stupidity; for time after time the doctor had warned him that as long
+as he made that mug his boon companion, so long exactly would his enemy
+pursue him with its twinging pains.
+
+But Farmer Bluff was obstinate as well as blustering—to every one
+except the Squire, of course, in whose presence he was like the latter
+end of March—a lion transformed into a lamb. The excuse he made to
+himself turned upon the mug, of which he was naturally proud, it being
+solid silver, an heirloom that his grandfather had left to him. He
+liked to have it on the table by his side; and if upon the table, why,
+it must have something in it. And that something must of course be
+beer, and must be drunk. And so the stupid fellow's gout grew angrier
+year by year, until at length it got so bad that if he did not swear
+aloud, it was for no better reason than because nobody was by to hear.
+
+As he sat there by the hearth, looking across his shoulder out of the
+window at the bright March sunshine that used to call him up and abroad
+at six o'clock, until this gout got hold of him, he heard Grip set up
+the furious bark that fetched the servant out to look. Then he heard
+Blazer take up the challenge; and shortly afterwards the voices of the
+servant and the man fell on his ear.
+
+Now it was a peculiarity of the old bailiff to resent not being able to
+hear what passed between other people; so after chafing and fretting
+for some minutes, he reached out for the handbell that stood beside the
+silver mug, and rang it lustily. Then he took another pull at the mug,
+and having poked the fire to a roaring blaze, impatiently awaited the
+answer to his summons.
+
+This happened exactly at the moment when the servant threw up the
+kitchen window to let in the air.
+
+"Always kicking up a fuss for nothing in the world," said she again,
+flouncing back to her washing up, with a strong determination to let
+him ring a second time. After a minute or two, however, she let drop
+her dish-clout in the tub, and drying her hands on her apron as she
+went, hurried off to the parlour.
+
+Farmer Bluff was known to be a bit of a miser, and had few near
+relatives to leave his money to; and Elspeth had her eye upon a
+handsome legacy.
+
+"He's over sixty-five," she used to tell herself, by way of comfort
+when he swore at her; "and gout don't make old bones. I can put up with
+it a bit longer, on the chance of being mentioned in his will."
+
+But, as it happened, just as Elspeth reached the parlour, there
+was another ring, this time at the outer door; not so lusty as her
+master's, though, for all that the bell itself was twice the size.
+
+Filling up a waste space in the hall, there was a cunning china closet,
+with a narrow window looking through into the porch. A step or two
+aside and one quick glance revealed who stood without. Going swiftly to
+the door, Elspeth threw it open with a deferential curtsey. It was the
+Squire who had given that modest ring; and she never kept the Squire
+waiting, for he always had a civil word, in spite of his high rank.
+Then having answered his inquiry as to whether her master was up, she
+stepped briskly back towards the parlour.
+
+Farmer Bluff was in the act of ringing his handbell a second time.
+
+"A man might die in a fit, for all the haste you make!" exclaimed he
+with an oath, banging down the bell so violently that the clapper
+uttered a "twang" of protest. "An indolent, slow-footed hussy!" He was
+going on with a regular string of abuse, but just as he was in the
+midst of some words that no proper thinking man had any business to lay
+his tongue to, the door flew open, and to his great dismay, his eyes
+met those of no less a personage than the Lord of the Manor.
+
+Farmer Bluff's tirade came to an abrupt termination, and Elspeth having
+announced, "The Squire, sir," withdrew, leaving her master to put the
+best face on it.
+
+What with beer, and rage, and shame, the old sinner's countenance was
+nearly as red as the live coals in the grate. He made desperate efforts
+to rise as the Squire approached, bearing like a man the torture that
+would have made him swear like a trooper if Elspeth had been by instead.
+
+The Squire, however, hastened to stop him.
+
+"Keep your seat, Mr. Bluff," said he good-naturedly, as the bailiff
+blurted out an apology. "Pray don't put yourself to any pain on my
+account. No; not so near the hearth, thank you," as Farmer Bluff tried
+to reach a chair. "I'll sit here. The air is mild this morning, and I
+can see you've been serving your fire to the same sort of rousing as
+you treat your woman servant to."
+
+The old farmer reddened still more, and mumbled something about "your
+blood being chilly when you had the gout."
+
+"And you find that swearing makes it circulate," remarked the Squire
+sarcastically. "Dependence upon others is a very unfortunate condition
+to come to," added he; "and you have apparently a very inattentive
+attendant too."
+
+The Squire's caustic tone did not escape Farmer Bluff. He blurted out a
+few words about "not so bad," only she needed "keeping up to the mark."
+
+"You've chosen a somewhat unscriptural way of setting about it,"
+observed the Squire; "and my experience—the experience of fourscore
+years—is that whatever is unscriptural is unprofitable, and altogether
+wrong. Therefore, Mr. Bluff, if I were you I should give it up."
+
+Having uttered this straightforward piece of advice, the Squire dropped
+the subject, and went on to speak of his bailiff's health.
+
+It was wonderful the contrast there was between the two men. The
+Squire, brought up all his lifetime in the midst of luxury—had he
+chosen to live softly—had as elastic a tread as many a man of forty,
+and looked as hale and hearty as if he had been accustomed to weather
+wind and storm out in the fields with his own shepherds. His bailiff,
+nearly twenty years his junior, looked bloated and unhealthy, in spite
+of his invigorating out-door life about the farm and woods; and half
+his days, at least, were spent in this arm-chair, with one foot or the
+other upon a cushion.
+
+There was good reason for the difference; there is for most things, if
+men only had the sense to find it out. The Squire, from his youth up,
+had been temperate, using the good gifts of God wisely, not abusing
+them. His bailiff had never got beyond regarding these gifts as the
+wages which it was his good fortune to earn from the Squire; and he had
+gone to work with the intention of getting the greatest possible amount
+of enjoyment out of this little bite off the great man's luxury. Thus,
+grasping all, he had come pretty near losing all; for, ask anybody who
+has made close acquaintance with gout, and they will tell you that
+there is next to no enjoyment in life for those who have made it their
+companion.
+
+The moral is,—avoid intemperance, remembering always that beer is
+not the only thing that may be abused, and that gout is not the only
+punishment; for, sad to say, there are as many sins as there are weeds
+in this fair world, and a punishment to each. As the Bible has it—in a
+form that no one need forget—"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he
+also reap."
+
+Sow sins, and you shall reap punishment as surely as did Farmer Bluff.
+
+This was the sum and substance of the Squire's thoughts as he sat
+down on the window-seat. "I'm thankful I shall go down to my grave
+without gout," said he to himself, as he watched the contortions of
+his bailiff's features; for it was vain for Farmer Bluff to think of
+not making faces. He had put his foot to unusual inconvenience in his
+attempts to show respect; and it cost effort enough to refrain from
+bellowing aloud at the pain.
+
+"I hoped to find you better than this, Mr. Bluff," began the Squire
+after a pause, putting his gold-headed cane between his knees, and
+crossing his hands over it. "This has been a long attack."
+
+"It has, sir; a—very long attack."
+
+Farmer Bluff usually hesitated a good deal in talking to the Squire;
+otherwise he might have let slip unsuitable expressions, such as he was
+in the habit of using to Elspeth.
+
+"The longest you ever had, eh?"
+
+The Squire did not want to be unkind, but he had called in with the
+intention of saying something rather disagreeable; and it had got to be
+said, in spite of his natural inclination to say pleasant things.
+
+"By far the longest," repeated he.
+
+Farmer Bluff declared himself heartily tired of it, adding in an
+injured way that no one knew what suffering was until they had tried
+gout.
+
+The Squire shook his head. A man has no right to feel hardly done by
+when he deliberately chooses to bring pain upon himself. "I'm heartily
+tired of it, too," said he; "and the fact is, Bluff, I'm getting
+too far into years to be my own bailiff—and that's what it comes to
+nowadays. For these keepers and labourers of yours—well! I've no
+doubt you give your orders. A man might give his orders in the other
+hemisphere by telegram. But if I didn't go round and see to things for
+myself, they would be in a pretty muddle. Why! I was in the saddle
+at half-past six this morning to do your work. A glorious morning it
+was too; as glorious as God ever made. Time Was when I'd as soon have
+been out myself as trouble you—except for the sense that a man with
+abundance of this world's goods is bound to broadcast some of his
+money amongst dependants. But an octogenarian begins to need a little
+indulgence, or he will do very shortly, for the time must come to all
+of us, Mr. Bluff."
+
+"Ay, that it must, sir," acquiesced the bailiff meekly, feeling rather
+as if his time had come; for he could see pretty plainly what the
+Squire was driving at.
+
+"I should not like," continued the old gentleman after a pause, "to
+leave the estate out of working gear when I go. It is not as if I left
+a grown man in my place. My grandson is such a mere child that I can
+hardly hope even to see him attain his majority; and that is what I
+came to speak to you about. You have served me many years, Bluff; but
+the fact is, you are not what you were, and I feel that I ought to see
+a competent man in your place, whilst I myself am still competent."
+
+Farmer Bluff began to whine. Long service deserved indulgence, he
+hinted. "A man must take what the Lord sends him," said he.
+
+But the Squire stopped him. "Men often make mistakes about the source
+of their misfortunes, Bluff," said he. "I don't believe that your
+complaint is often of the Lord's sending."
+
+The bailiff's eyes reverted uncomfortably to the silver mug. He knew
+very well what his patron referred to.
+
+"I might very easily have put myself in the way of it," continued the
+Squire. "My father left me a well-stocked cellar, and I have had to
+dispense hospitality; but I have mostly contented myself with listening
+to other people's praises of my wines, remembering an old saying that
+those who constantly seek their own reflections at the bottom of their
+tankards are likely oftenest to see an ass. The saying certainly holds
+good of a man who, in immediate opposition to his doctor's orders,
+feeds his gout on beer. No, Bluff: if the Almighty were responsible for
+your gout, I should feel very differently about the matter. As it is,
+although I shall consider myself bound to see that your old age does
+not come to want, you must certainly understand that you will have to
+make way, within due notice, for a man who can put his beer mug on one
+side in favour of duty."
+
+Farmer Bluff tried hard to obtain a commutation of this sentence.
+
+But the Squire was a man who knew his own mind, once it was made up,
+and who did not make it up hastily either. He had for some years past
+been much disgusted with his bailiff conduct; and the experience of
+the last few months had finally decided him. He was determined to
+leave upon the estate a thoroughly efficient bailiff. To this intent,
+having given due notice to the gouty old rascal who at present held
+the office, he now rose and took his leave, Farmer Bluff ringing his
+handbell— though not so roughly as before—for Elspeth to show the
+Squire out.
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+THE SQUIRE'S GRANDSONS.
+
+WHILST the Squire had been giving old Bluff his deserts in the farm
+parlour, his three grandsons—none other than the boys whose mother Dick
+had thought so beautiful—had left the grounds by a winding path that
+skirted the plantation and emerged on to a fieldway leading into the
+road a few hundred yards above the farm. Turning to the left hand of
+the farm, this road ran round the foot of a piece of rising ground.
+Probably the man who first made a cart-track there, found it pay better
+to go a little way round than to make his beasts drag their burdens
+over the hill. But there was a shorter cut for pedestrians almost
+opposite the pathway from the Manor House; and for this the boys were
+bound.
+
+Just as they were in the act of crossing the stile, who should come
+round the bend but the Squire, whose next business took him up that
+very road. The boys saw him at once. Two of them—the two taller
+ones—ran forward to meet him, the other following at his quickest
+pace. The Squire was a favourite with his grandsons. He was such a boy
+amongst them, although he had been born over eighty years before them;
+and yet withal he was so grand and courtly.
+
+Will and Sigismund dashed forward, but the Squire looked beyond them
+to the cripple, who was exerting himself manfully to show equal
+appreciation of his aged relative.
+
+"Bravo, Hal, bravo!" cried he, applauding with his gold-headed cane.
+
+Will and Sigismund faced about, looking half-ashamed, as if they felt
+it was almost mean to have taken such an advantage of their afflicted
+brother. But the Squire did not exactly intend that. It would have been
+altogether too hard for boys with strong legs to give up using them
+because their brother limped on irons. It was rather that the Squire
+had a very tender spot in his heart for Hal, and that he saw in the
+boy's brave, invincible spirit an earnest of what the man would be.
+
+"God grant that he may grow to be a man!" he often uttered in his
+heart. And it really seemed that Hal was growing stronger year by year.
+
+Meanwhile Hal, flushed and out of breath, was up with them.
+
+"Where are you going, grandfather?" asked he eagerly, as he swung
+himself round to walk by the Squire's side, Sigismund making way for
+him.
+
+"Up to the cottages by the wood gate," replied his grandfather, laying
+one hand on his shoulder. "Almost out of bounds for you, eh?"
+
+But Hal shook his head. "Why, I've been right into the wood, you know;
+last autumn, nutting."
+
+"Ah, to be sure!" acquiesced the old gentleman.
+
+"But what are you going there for, grandfather?" questioned Hal, who
+was noted for his inquisitive spirit. Impertinent, some good people
+would have said; but not so his grandfather.
+
+"How can a boy learn what he doesn't know, if he may not ask a
+question?" he would say. "A spirit of inquiry is one of the first
+requisites to learning." So now he answered without reserve.
+
+"To see about having one put in repair for Farmer Bluff," said he.
+
+"For Farmer Bluff?"
+
+The question was from all three at once.
+
+The Squire nodded gravely. "For Farmer Bluff," repeated he. "He has to
+leave the Manor Farm."
+
+"To leave?"
+
+"Why, grandfather?"
+
+This was Hal's question. Hal always came straight to the point, as if
+he had a right to know; and his grandfather seldom, if ever, put him
+off.
+
+"Because," answered he, "the time has arrived when he must make way for
+a better man."
+
+"But surely, grandfather," said Hal, "you won't turn him away, after
+all the years he has been bailiff. Why! Ever since mother first brought
+us to live with you."
+
+"Ay, and before that," broke in the Squire regretfully. "When I thought
+your poor father would have been Squire after me. Twenty-seven years
+Farmer Bluff has lived on that farm; but—"
+
+"But it isn't fair to turn him out because he's getting old,
+grandfather," interrupted Hal, with a bold familiarity that no one else
+would have dared to use towards the old gentleman.
+
+"Tut, tut, lad," rejoined the Squire. "Who said was because he was too
+old?"
+
+"Well, grandfather," put in Sigismund, who according to size would be
+the next youngest to Hal, "you said 'a better man.'"
+
+"Better doesn't always mean younger," said Hal eagerly; "does it,
+grandfather?"
+
+"Nor does younger mean better," returned the Squire. "I always like to
+think of my eighty-four years as a token of God's favour."
+
+"Good people generally live to be old, don't they?" suggested
+Sigismund, straying from the point at issue. "In the Bible they did."
+
+"Steady living is conducive to longevity;" replied the old man.
+"That is to say, those who live sober, temperate lives give their
+constitutions the fairest chance of withstanding natural decay, and of
+escaping the ravages of disease by which so many are prematurely cut
+off."
+
+"Is that why Farmer Bluff has the gout?" queried Hal. "Because he has
+been intemperate?"
+
+"Very likely," replied the Squire. "It is quite certain that at the
+present time he is aggravating the complaint and forfeiting my esteem
+by the childish obstinacy with which he persists in drinking beer, when
+he knows it is as good as drinking so many pains and twinges. But you
+mustn't run away with the notion that God always rewards virtue with
+long life; for that is not His greatest gift."
+
+Hal asked no more questions just then. They had crossed the stile
+during this conversation, and were climbing the pathway up the hill
+towards the wood, where there was plenty to claim the attention of boys.
+
+Larks were rising from the tussocks; finches darted in and out the
+hedge; and as they got nearer to the wood, wild rabbits, all tail,
+frisked about their burrows. Once or twice a grey rat ran out of
+his hole, and sat upon his haunches in the track, staring stupidly
+before him until they were quite close; then doubling suddenly, and
+disappearing in the ditch.
+
+Will and Sigismund were full of excitement, running and jumping and
+leaping; but Hal kept by his grandfather, swinging himself along at an
+even pace that agreed very well with the old gentleman's step; and so
+they reached the gate of the wood, and the cottages in one of which the
+Squire intended his bailiff to live rent free.
+
+There was already a noise of carpenters at work, and a cheery sound of
+men talking over their saws and planes. Hal followed his grandfather
+inside, and went round, listening with great interest to all that
+passed between him and the workmen. But the other boys stayed outside,
+overrunning the garden, and talking to the gamekeeper, who lived next
+door. Finally they strayed into the wood, which was only separated from
+the garden by a ditch, dry summer and winter alike. By the time the
+Squire had finished giving his orders, they were quite out of sight and
+hearing.
+
+At length, the Squire sent the keeper down the clearing after them. Hal
+was standing by his side, resting on his crutches. The Squire, looking
+down at him, saw that his face wore a thoughtful look, and fancied he
+was tired.
+
+"Better go inside and sit down on Champion's sawstool," suggested he
+kindly; "it's a long way back, and you and I aren't so young as those
+two madcaps. Eh?"
+
+At that instant, however, Will and Sigismund appeared, talking gaily to
+the man as they advanced.
+
+The Squire beckoned, and they set forward at a run, giving the stout
+old Velveteens a good view of their soles, and leaving him to follow at
+his sober pleasure. But Hal had already seized his opportunity.
+
+"Grandfather," said he, moving nearer.
+
+The old man faced about.
+
+"Grandfather, I was wondering if I could make Farmer Bluff see how
+silly it is to keep on having gout?"
+
+"To keep on drinking beer?—Hardly," quoth the Squire, "since his doctor
+fails. People usually believe their medical man, if anybody, when they
+are in pain."
+
+"And I mean," added Hal, anxious to gain his point before the others
+came up, "if he left off having gout, should you still be obliged to
+turn him out of the Manor Farm?"
+
+"Why, no," answered the Squire; "not if he showed himself capable of
+doing his duty as bailiff of the estate. But the fact is, I can't be
+Squire and bailiff too at my age; and if I could, I shouldn't long be
+able to, because—things don't go on for ever and a day, Hal."
+
+Just then the other two boys cleared the ditch, and bounded up, with a
+ready apology for having kept their grandfather waiting; then, passing
+in at the back door, they all went through to the road again.
+
+On reaching the front door, the Squire suddenly remembered something he
+had meant to say, and stepped back again. Hal waited with him, but Will
+and Sigismund ran straight out.
+
+In the middle of the road a boy was standing, looking this way and
+that, as if undecided in which direction to go. Seeing two lads his own
+age, he at once advanced.
+
+"Can you tell me where I am?" asked he.
+
+"By the gate of the wood," answered Will, pointing past the cottages to
+the red-painted gate.
+
+"Is this beyond the common?" asked the boy.
+
+"Most certainly," was Will's reply.
+
+"Then I'm where I've no business," rejoined the boy, who was none other
+than Dick Crozier. On leaving his new acquaintance, Bill the Kicker, he
+had wandered on by the right-hand road, until his way had met that of
+the Squire and his grandsons by the cottages.
+
+Apart from Hal, Dick did not recognise them as the Manor House boys.
+Hal no sooner appeared in the doorway, however, than their identity
+flashed upon him. The next minute, the Squire himself emerged, tapping
+the ground briskly with his cane as he walked, as an indication that
+time was short and they must get forward without delay.
+
+Perceiving Will in conversation with a strange boy, he stopped short;
+whereupon Will explain that Dick had lost his way.
+
+The Squire inquired where he came from, but this Will had not yet
+asked; so the Squire turned to Dick himself.
+
+"Your name, my boy?" asked he.
+
+Dick had no sooner recognised Hal than it flashed upon him that the
+grand old gentleman with the gold-headed cane was none other than the
+Squire himself; and although not more troubled with bashfulness than
+most boys of his age, he was just a trifle flustered at the discovery.
+Nevertheless, he answered straightforwardly enough,—
+
+"Crozier, sir."
+
+"Crozier; a son of my new tenant, surely?" said the Squire in his
+courtly way. "I am always pleased to make the acquaintance of a tenant,
+Master—"
+
+"Dick, sir."
+
+"Master Dick; and as we're all going one way, we will proceed together,
+if you please."
+
+So they set off, Dick and Hal walking on either side of the Squire, the
+other two a pace or two in front.
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+"WHATEVER IS, IS RIGHT."
+
+BEING Easter holidays, and the tutor who superintended studies at
+the Manor House having gone North to visit his friends, Hal and his
+brothers had things pretty much their own way from sunrise to bedtime.
+They walked; they played games; they followed their grandfather about;
+they rode the donkey about the field—or rather Will and Sigismund did,
+whilst Hal looked on and clapped his hands.
+
+In short, they did all that boys in holiday-time try to do; they took
+every possible means to make the best of their freedom. All things
+considered, too, they were very good to Hal, who—hard as he tried to
+keep up with them—was rather a clog with his crutches and his irons.
+
+On the morning after the Squire's interview with his bailiff, however,
+Hal evolved a scheme which relieved them of this clog.
+
+One of the men had let loose a ferret in the granary, to hunt the rats,
+which of late had been committing great depredations in the henhouses.
+For some time the boys had been too excited to notice their brother's
+sudden disappearance. But presently, the hunt drifted upstairs into the
+loft overhead. This at once recalled Hal to mind, because he could not
+very well climb a ladder without assistance.
+
+"Where can he have got to?" exclaimed Sigismund, who had been outside
+to look about for him.
+
+Somehow Sigismund, being of a more unselfish disposition, was always
+the one to wait behind for Hal.
+
+"Gone indoors, I expect," returned Will, already half-way up.
+
+Hal had a way of "going indoors" when he found the game beyond him.
+"It's no fun when you ache," he would say; "and it doesn't make you a
+bit worth playing with." And he would be found afterwards, deep in a
+book—not always a story-book either.
+
+Meanwhile, Hal, having slipped out through the stable-yard and
+gained the road, was on his way to the Manor Farm, meditating on the
+unaccustomed rôle which he had taken on himself.
+
+About the same time, Dick Crozier, intending to hang about the farm,
+on the chance of catching Bill and hearing something of the hornets'
+nest, had chosen that direction for his morning's stroll. Recognising
+the wooden tap-tap of Hal's crutches on the gravel as he hurried down
+the hill, Dick determined first to renew acquaintance with the Squire's
+grandson; so he slackened pace, and the boys met at the lodge gate.
+
+Hal at once nodded pleasantly; and Dick, returning the nod, joined him
+without further ceremony.
+
+"You get along jolly fast, considering," remarked Dick pleasantly, as
+the conversation turned on walking. "That's hard work, though, I should
+say."
+
+Hal nodded, and went a little faster, breathing short with the effort.
+
+"Was it an accident?" inquired Dick; "or were you born so?"
+
+"It came on when I began to walk," answered Hal; "at least, so I'm
+told. Of course, I don't remember being any different."
+
+He didn't seem to mind talking about it, which Dick thought very
+sensible. "Where would be the use of minding?" said he to himself. "It
+wouldn't alter the fact." He little knew the effort it cost Hal to put
+his injured pride on one side.
+
+"What are the irons for?" asked Dick next.
+
+"To stretch this leg," answered Hal, nodding to the right. "That one
+was the worst; and the sinews shrank—just like a wet string. It's
+pulled out tight all the while, to try and stretch it longer."
+
+"Don't it make it ache?" asked Dick.
+
+"Sometimes," assented Hal.
+
+He might with truth have said, "most of the time;" but Hal was a bit of
+a hero in his way. "I'm used to it, you see," he added patiently.
+
+"I shouldn't like to be like that," said Dick.
+
+"Nobody would, of course," returned Hal; "but when you are, you've got
+to make the best of it. You think of all the great men you've ever read
+about, and wonder how they'd have borne it; and that helps you."
+
+Dick was so much struck by this way of looking at a misfortune, that
+for several minutes he was silent; and Hal's crutches went on tapping
+out their melancholy tale upon the road; step by step, step by step,
+patiently—the only way to rise superior to a misfortune of that kind.
+
+"Who is the greatest man you ever read about?" asked Dick presently.
+
+Hal assumed a thoughtful air. "That's rather hard to say," answered he;
+"because some are great for one thing, some for another. It's like that
+with plants, too, you know. There's corn, and there are potatoes; and
+we couldn't very well do without either. I shouldn't like to do without
+apples, nor green peas—we always have them sooner than other people;
+(forced, you know;) and I'll ask grandfather to send you some. Then
+again," he ran on, before Dick had time to thank him for this promise,
+"there are flowers—more beautiful than useful, as we count use. It's
+just like that with men, I think."
+
+Dick could not jump quite the length of this argument. He suggested
+Robinson Crusoe.
+
+But Hal's estimate of greatness differed from Dick's. "Crusoe was
+pretty well in some things, considering how he began," said he. "He
+was shifty, but he wasn't all round; besides, he was an awful coward,
+and he swore. And then, he's only in a book. Now Socrates—only he was
+a heathen—he died bravely when they made him choose between the dagger
+and the poison cup. And Napoleon—he made himself a king out of a common
+soldier, and he must have been a great man, or people wouldn't have
+given in to him; but then he did it all for the sake of power, and he
+wasn't good.
+
+"A man's motives go for a great deal, you know. Then there were the
+martyrs; I like them. They had their bodies broken on the wheel
+because they wouldn't tell lies. I often think of that, because it was
+something like having my leg stretched, only thousand times worse.
+There was Shakespeare too. He wrote very fine plays. That was more like
+being a flower, I should say; and I don't know that he was particularly
+good, or that he did anything else worth doing. And there was Sir Isaac
+Newton, who discovered why apples fall done instead of up. He was very
+learned, of course. But I like men such as Wilberforce and Clarkson,
+who did so much to abolish slavery; or Moffat, the missionary; or
+Howard, who went into a lot of gaols, and made a fuss about having them
+kept cleaner, and the prisoners better treated. In my opinion," added
+Hal, "they were some of the greatest men that ever lived—except Jesus
+Christ."
+
+Dick had not read about any of these heroes. He said that he should
+like to.
+
+"Of course," continued Hal; "none of them come near Jesus Christ. You
+don't expect that. There was Buddha. A missionary once told me about
+him; and I've read since. He was a prince in India; and he gave up
+everything to try and find out how to make people happier, because
+one day when he went outside the palace, he discovered that everybody
+wasn't so well off as himself, and that people had to be ill and die.
+But he didn't end up the same as Jesus Christ," Hal concluded. "And
+then it's such an immense while ago that I don't think it's very easy
+to be sure whether it's all true."
+
+Hal was fond of books, and had an original way of talking about what he
+read.
+
+"I don't suppose that any of them went on crutches," suggested Dick.
+
+Hal thought not. "One of them was lame," said he. "His name was
+Epictetus; he was an eminent philosopher. It was through his master's
+cruelty; and that was very hard to bear. But crutches don't matter to
+some sorts of greatness," added he. "You wouldn't get along very well
+on crutches if you wanted to fight; and fighting isn't always wrong
+either, though I don't like it. Where you do it to put down injustice,
+for instance, or to help the weaker side, it's noble and right."
+
+"Or if you do it to defend your wife and children," put in Dick.
+
+"There were some great men deformed," continued Hal. "There was Pope.
+He had to be laced up in a pair of tight stays to keep him from
+doubling up; he used to sit up in bed and write poetry. I've read some
+of it, and it's very fine. 'Whatever is, is right,' comes from Pope;
+and though you can't say that of everything, there is a sense in which
+it is very true. But Pope wasn't brave always. He used to be very
+disagreeable to his servant when he was in pain; and I think if any one
+was really great, they would rise superior to affliction, and not make
+other people feel it. You see," added Hal, in a tone of reflection,
+"it's bad enough for one person to go on crutches, without making all
+the rest miserable."
+
+"You mean to be great, I suppose," observed Dick admiringly. "What
+shall you be?"
+
+Hal reflected. "That's difficult to say exactly," said he. "Of course
+I've got to be the Lord of the Manor."
+
+"You have?" interrupted Dick. "I thought it was your tallest brother."
+
+"Will?—No; it's always the eldest son. I'm the eldest," added Hal, just
+a trifle proudly.
+
+Dick was astonished. He had made up his mind from the very first, that
+Hal was the youngest of the three.
+
+"You see, I'm short," said Hal simply. "It makes you grow slowly when
+you're like this."
+
+"That's a pity," said Dick, knowing of nothing better to say.
+
+"Yes; I suppose it is," said Hal; "only—'Whatever is, is right,'
+unless, of course, it is something contrary to God's will; and
+this can't be, as I was born so. I mean all the same to be like my
+grandfather."
+
+"He isn't very big," put in Dick, cheerfully.
+
+"Some people," continued Hal, "don't think you can be a proper Squire
+unless you can ride in the steeplechase and follow the hounds. My
+grandfather doesn't now; but he used to formerly. I've heard him say
+what a pity it was that I couldn't learn to sit a horse. But you see
+it isn't just the same as it used to be in the olden times when there
+were serfs, and the lord of the manor lived in a castle with a moat
+and drawbridge. He had to be a sort of petty king in those days. And
+if other lords stole his vassals' sheep or wives, he had to rally all
+his men and besiege their castles. I'm afraid I shouldn't be very well
+able to do that. But all that is changed nowadays, and there are no
+serfs—which ought to make the poor people much better off. What a good
+Squire has to do is to pull down all the badly built cottages on his
+estate, and have them properly drained, and damp courses put in, so
+that the walls don't rot."
+
+Dick inquired whether that was the reason why some cottages near his
+father's house were being pulled down.
+
+Hal nodded. "Why," said he, "the jam actually mildewed in the parlour
+cupboard! Think of that I saw it. And the old lady's wedding-dress
+went all spotty where it hung in the press upstairs. It was silk; and
+she had worn it every Christmas Day and Easter Sunday since she was
+married, and every time any of her sons and daughters had a wedding. It
+was very vexatious for her. You couldn't let such a house stand."
+
+Hal spoke with such earnestness that Dick was quite convinced, and
+immediately thought of the preservation of old silk wedding-dresses as
+one of the chief duties of a good Squire.
+
+"There's to be a proper slate course at the bottom of the walls this
+time," added Hal. "You'll see it will be quite dry."
+
+"Then there's the drainage," continued he; "because if that's bad, the
+wells get poisoned, and people have fevers. And although it doesn't say
+anything in the Bible actually about drainage, it says a great deal
+which seems to me to mean that if you own an estate, you ought to look
+after the health and comfort of the tenants. Oh, there's a lot a Squire
+has to do that I think I could do! And perhaps," he added thoughtfully,
+"I should do it all the better for not riding in the steeplechase and
+following the hounds. You can't do everything; and if you come to
+think," concluded Hal, "perhaps that is why God let me be like this;
+because, you know, He could have made it different if He had chosen to."
+
+"A Squire has to make a speech at the rent dinner, doesn't he?"
+suggested Dick, glad to show that he had some knowledge of a Squire's
+duties.
+
+"Oh! I think I could manage that all right," returned Hal, "when I got
+to be of age. It wouldn't be noticed that I was like this when I stood
+up behind the table; so I shouldn't feel bashful about it. Besides, I
+don't think I should mind when once I was Squire, because people would
+respect me; and I should try to show them how great men bear such
+things."
+
+Dick thought this a very plucky way of looking forward to such a
+terrible ordeal.
+
+"Another thing you have to do," said Hal, as they arrived at the gate
+of the Manor Farm, "is to see that the bailiff and other people about
+the estate do their duty. And if they don't—through drink or laziness,
+you know—you have to turn them out, and hire somebody who does. But I'm
+going in here," added he, breaking off abruptly.
+
+Dick was sorry, for he found Hal's company both instructive and
+entertaining; moreover, his vanity was rather flattered by this
+acquaintance with the future Squire. But fortunately Hal appreciated a
+good listener.
+
+"Where shall you be when I come out?" asked he, resting on his crutches
+to open the gate; "because I like somebody to talk to."
+
+Dick, having nothing particular in view, readily promised to wait about
+until Hal came out; and having watched him past Grip—who only rose to
+his feet in a respectful sort of way, and walked quietly forward the
+length of his chain—he sauntered slowly on.
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+THE YOUNG SQUIRE.
+
+ON going, as usual, before answering the doorbell, to peep through the
+little window in the china closet, Elspeth was not a little surprised;
+for there, on the seat in the porch, his crutches on either side of
+him, sat the young Squire, resting.
+
+He was examining a leaf-bud on a tendril of the honeysuckle when she
+first caught sight of him; but directly the door opened, he got to his
+feet, inquiring for Farmer Bluff.
+
+Elspeth at once invited him to enter. "A message from the Squire, sir?"
+asked she, as she closed the door behind him.
+
+Elspeth knew all about the nature of the Squire's business with her
+master on the previous morning, for the old sinner, in his rage and
+vexation, had drunk more beer than ever, and had used more bad language
+than enough about it, whenever she had had occasion to go near him.
+She was not sure, moreover, how his dismissal would affect her own
+prospects, for he would be in receipt of less money; and ill as he
+could do without her help, in his frequently crippled condition, it was
+very doubtful whether the miserly old fellow would choose to draw upon
+his hoard in order to pay her the usual wages.
+
+In that case, much as Elspeth disliked the idea of breaking away from
+the old place, she was determined to seek her fortune elsewhere; for it
+need hardly be said that Farmer Bluff was not the sort of master to win
+the affection of a dependant.
+
+"For money," and not "for love," had been Elspeth's rule of service.
+Having, however, one or two cronies in the neighbourhood, from whom she
+did not care to part, she was fain to entertain a half hope that Hal
+might have been sent round to negotiate a compromise.
+
+But Hal was not disposed to divulge the purpose of his visit.
+
+"I want to see Farmer Bluff, if you please," said he, "if he's up. If
+not, perhaps you could take me to his room. I daresay he wouldn't mind."
+
+Farmer Bluff was up, though, as Elspeth promptly informed the young
+gentleman; and, stepping to the parlour door, she flung it open,
+announcing, "The young Squire, sir."
+
+Farmer Bluff, as it happened, was in a brown study, leaning forward on
+the elbows of his chair, with his eyes fixed on the fire. Not catching
+the first two words of Elspeth's announcement, he looked up with a
+start, expecting to see his master come to torment him again. His
+relief can best be imagined when, instead of meeting the penetrating
+gaze of the Squire, his eye fell upon the slight form of Hal, with his
+frank, boyish face all abeam to greet him, as he swung himself across
+the room.
+
+"Good morning, Mr. Bluff," said he pleasantly. "I'm glad to find you
+up. You ought to be out this fine weather. You're missing ever so much,
+so I thought I'd come and have a chat with you about it."
+
+"And make me want all the more to be out," said the old farmer, doing
+his best to assume a pleasant manner. But his thoughts, ever since
+Elspeth landed him in that chair, had been of such la disagreeable
+nature, that he found it quite impossible, all in a minute, to shake
+the growl out of his tone.
+
+"I'm glad my legs don't prevent me getting out," said Hal,
+contemplating the bandaged limb with compassion, as he seated himself
+opposite, and lodged his crutches against his chair.
+
+"You're not of a gouty age yet, young master," returned Farmer Bluff.
+"It'd be sorry work to have it at your time of life."
+
+"It isn't everybody has it when they're old," said Hal. "My grandfather
+doesn't. I don't think I shall."
+
+"Maybe not," returned Farmer Bluff. "'One thing at a time' is the
+saying. You've got your share in the way of legs."
+
+"But I mean," explained Hal, determined to make this the thin end of
+his wedge; "I mean that I shall take care not to have it."
+
+Bluff laughed—a cynical sort of laugh.
+
+"You'll have to take pretty much what comes," croaked he.
+
+"But some things don't come," said Hal.
+
+"You don't send for 'em," returned the bailiff, with another laugh.
+"That's very certain; not such things as gout."
+
+"Don't you?" said Hal. "It seems to me you do. Beer makes gout, doesn't
+it? You're always drinking beer."
+
+The bailiff involuntarily reached out for his mug; but it was
+empty—which went to prove the truth of what Hal said. Farmer Bluff
+drank beer so often that he hardly knew when he did it.
+
+"It may be partly owing to that mug," continued Hal, after a few
+minutes' consideration. "You're rather proud of it, you see. I think
+that's natural. But, do you know, if I had a mug that made me have
+the gout, I'd send it to the smith's to be melted down and made into
+something else. Let me see—you might have it converted into a silver
+inkhorn, like my grandfather's. You couldn't drink out of that."
+
+"That's certain," returned the bailiff, amused in spite of himself.
+
+"Well, will you think about it?" said Hal. "Because that's what I
+came about. You see, if you go on having gout, you can't go on being
+bailiff. My grandfather says so. It's one or the other; and it's quite
+fair, if you come to look at it. You're no bailiff if you have to sit
+with your leg up on a cushion all day like that; because you ought to
+be out and about the estate, seeing after things. And if it's your own
+fault that you can't, why, there's no doubt about it's being just; is
+there?"
+
+Farmer Bluff shifted on his chair. He knew Hal was quite right. And Hal
+had brought out his arguments very warily too. First, that the gout was
+of the old fellow's own seeking; second, that being gouty, he couldn't
+attend to his business, and had clearly no right to be bailiff; and
+third, that this being so, he stood self-condemned, and could in nowise
+complain if the Squire turned him out.
+
+Hal knew this very well, and was not surprised at getting no answer
+to his question. "I think I'll go now," said he, taking his crutches.
+"It's a beautiful morning. I wish you could be out of doors."
+
+Farmer Bluff reached out for the bell, but Hal stopped him. "You
+needn't ring for the servant," said he. "I can get out all right by
+myself; and I daresay she's busy. When you have to wait on any one who
+can't move much, I should think it gives you a lot to do."
+
+So the old farmer left the bell alone.
+
+"I'm very much obliged to you for looking in, Master Hal," said he, as
+the boy did not attempt to go.
+
+"I'll come again," said he, "if you like it. There's one thing more I
+was thinking. It's in the Bible. 'Thou hast destroyed thyself.' I don't
+remember who it was, but I've got the words in my head somehow. It's a
+pity to destroy yourself, isn't it?—Because there are so many ways that
+you can't help, of getting destroyed."
+
+Farmer Bluff shifted again; and Hal, resting on his crutches, looked
+as if he very much wished he knew how to go on. But it was rather
+difficult, especially when the old fellow didn't make any reply.
+
+At length, he put his right crutch forward, preparatory to moving on.
+"Well, good morning, Mr. Bluff," said he. "Don't forget about the mug;
+and I hope your gout will be better. I should like you to go on being
+bailiff when I'm Squire, because I'm used to you, and strangers aren't
+so nice. Good morning."
+
+And away went the crutches across the floor, with their measured tap,
+tap, whilst the old bailiff sat looking after him with an astonished
+expression on his face; and when Hal, halting to turn the door-handle,
+gave him a last bright nod, he nodded too, twice or thrice. Then he
+twisted himself round in his chair, to watch the boy across the yard.
+But Hal went first to pay his respects to Grip, and peep round the
+corner of the house at Blazer. Catching sight of the old man through
+the window as he passed, however, he approached and put his face close
+to the glass.
+
+"Don't forget the mug!" called he.
+
+Whereupon Farmer Bluff, too much astonished even to nod, took the empty
+heirloom in his hand, turning it over and over, and falling back again
+into a brown study.
+
+Out in the road again, Hal looked about for Dick. But he was nowhere
+to be seen. Dick was one of those people who find time hang very
+heavy when they have to wait; and seeking temporary diversion, he had
+completely forgotten his appointment with Hal.
+
+Just past the farmyard was a pathway over the fields, behind the
+orchard and back premises; and having perched himself upon the stile to
+wait, it occurred to Dick to wonder where it led to. No sooner wondered
+than both Dick's legs were over the top-rail, and, jumping down, he
+started off to see for himself, whistling as he went.
+
+Now, these back premises were Blazer's especial charge; and such a
+vigilant sentinel was Blazer, that he no sooner heard the sound of
+Dick's whistle than he was up in arms.
+
+Dick came to a halt, remembering the character he had heard of the
+beast from Bill the Kicker's father. But at that very moment, who
+should appear from behind the orchard but Bill himself.
+
+"Hullo!" called he.
+
+Whereupon Blazer barked more furiously than ever.
+
+Blazer had his own reasons for mistrusting the sound of Bill the
+Kicker's voice.
+
+"Ain't he sharp!" said Bill. "He smells you out if you creep by ever so
+quiet."
+
+Dick nodded. "What about the hornets' nest?" asked he eagerly.
+
+But Bill put him off with a half answer. The fact was he had been in
+too much of a hurry in proclaiming it a nest, and it had turned out to
+be no such thing.
+
+Meanwhile, Blazer had not ceased barking.
+
+"Rather a dangerous animal, isn't he?" suggested Dick.
+
+"I shouldn't care to meet him out for a walk," returned Bill.
+
+"Is he near the hedge?" asked Dick.
+
+"Agen' the back door," answered Bill. "You ain't afraid of him?" added
+he, with a grin.
+
+"Why, no," said Dick, ashamed to own the contrary. "Lots of people go
+this way, I expect."
+
+"In course," returned Bill; "else what's the pathway for? Nobody takes
+any notice of Blazer. My eye, though, ain't he wild if you get through
+the hedge!"
+
+Dick inquired if Bill was ever guilty of such a thing.
+
+Bill answered by a mysterious nod and the word "apples," accompanied
+by a jerk of his thumb towards the orchard. "You have to look out when
+there's nobody about, though," said he; "else he'd bring 'em out like a
+shot with his row. To see him, you'd think he'd break his chain."
+
+"It's too strong I should think," said Dick, with a feeling, however,
+that it would be preferable to go without the apples rather than risk
+meeting Blazer off the chain.
+
+"He got loose the other day, though," returned Bill. "Killed a goose,
+and made old Bluff so mad. Old Bluff always reckons to get a lot by
+his geese; and now there's a whole setting spoilt. Thirteen short for
+market next Christmas," added Bill knowingly.
+
+Dick knew nothing about geese. He made numerous inquiries concerning
+their nesting and hatching, all of which country-bred Bill was able to
+answer in detail.
+
+"They lay pretty big eggs I should think," said Dick, recollecting an
+ostrich egg which he had seen in a South African uncle's cabinet.
+
+"Oh don't they!" responded Bill. "A dinner and a half for a chap. I
+often help myself when there's no one about."
+
+Dick, instead of being shocked, looked rather envious of Bill's
+experience.
+
+"I daresay I could get you one," hinted Bill obligingly. "They're worth
+a shilling each; but as it won't cost me nothing but the trouble, I'll
+say sixpence to you."
+
+Dick thought that a good deal. Sixpences were not very handy in finding
+their way to his pockets for his father was by no means rich. The
+prospect was tempting, however; and not knowing that the sum named was
+full double the ordinary market price, he at once closed with the offer.
+
+"When am I to have it?" asked he eagerly.
+
+But this Bill was not prepared to say. It depended on so many things;
+on Blazer, on Elspeth, on his father, and on the geese. So Dick must
+needs be content with a conditional promise that at some time or other,
+within the shortest possible limit, he should be in possession of the
+coveted delicacy.
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+THE SHORTEST CUT.
+
+BILL the Kicker had his own reasons for wanting sixpence.
+
+A few days since, being very hard up for a pocket-knife, he had watched
+an opportunity to abstract the necessary amount from his mother's
+rent-money; and he was anxious to replace it before the theft was
+discovered.
+
+This rent-money was the proceeds of his mother's exertions with her
+mangle, and was always dropped into an old tea-pot occupying a place of
+honour on the mantel-shelf—each amount put in or taken out being duly
+entered in red pencil on a square of card, which also had its quarters
+in this Britannia-metal safe.
+
+Now it always fell to Bill's lot to carry the mangling home out of
+school hours; and it seemed to him, when he got the idea of taking the
+sixpence, that it was nothing but fair he should have something for his
+pains.
+
+"If other people don't pay you, why, you must pay yourself," reasoned
+Bill. "That's square enough."
+
+When he came to see the red pencil entries on the card, he was somewhat
+shaken as to the safety of this policy, however "fair and square" it
+might be. It was not even as if he had been one of many brothers.
+The coin would certainly be missed; and upon whom but himself should
+suspicion fall?
+
+It occurred to him to make the experiment of rubbing out one of the
+entries. He had no eraser, but he was pretty ready with expedients.
+Quick as lightning, one finger went to his mouth, and thence to the
+tidily kept account; but such a horrible smear was the result, that his
+hair almost stood on end. It was impossible but that his mother would
+see that the card had been tampered with; if, in addition, she found
+the money sixpence short, the mischief would be out, and he would be
+"in for it."
+
+Exactly what that might mean was not clear to Bill. All he knew was
+that his father had given him the strap on one occasion, and that
+he did not desire a repetition of the experience. It was already
+Thursday. Under ordinary circumstances, the sixpence would have had to
+be replaced before Monday. But since Farmer Bluff had been laid up,
+the rents had been running; so that, unless the Squire suddenly took
+it into his head to send some one round, there would be no particular
+hurry.
+
+Bill, however, was shrewd enough to believe in being on the safe side.
+Accordingly, he had left no stone unturned to put himself in a position
+to restore the stolen sixpence. The scheme about the hornets' nest
+having fallen through, he had even hunted up and down outside the shop
+fronts in the street, in hopes of picking up change dropped by some
+careless housewife when out marketing. But, fortunately for the good of
+thieves, they do not often receive such encouragement in their crooked
+ways; and Bill's researches proved fruitless.
+
+He was still puzzling his brains after a way out of the difficulty,
+when Dick's curiosity about geese furnished the very idea he wanted.
+Bill had robbed the hens' nests before this, as well as the orchard.
+What was to prevent him from getting a goose's egg?
+
+To be sure, geese were not very nice to have to do with.
+
+Jenny Greenlow, carrying her father's dinner along the riverbank to the
+Infirmary, where he was at work upon the roof, had been attacked by one
+and knocked down; and there the child had lain until her father, badly
+in want of his meal and perplexed at her delay, went along to meet her,
+and found her half dead with fright, whilst the goose was still feeding
+on the contents of the basket. But the goose was probably attracted by
+the smell of the basket's contents; and then Jenny was only a girl!
+What goose of any sense would dream of molesting a boy! Bill went to
+work at once to plan the details of the adventure, delighted with the
+scheme.
+
+Due consideration suggested morning, while the farm men were at
+breakfast, as the most suitable time for carrying it into effect.
+So far as he knew, none of them were in the habit of taking their
+provisions with them. As they all lived in the row adjoining his
+father's cottage, a mere stone's throw away, they found it pay better
+to slip in and drink their coffee hot by their own fireside. A few
+minutes after the stroke of eight, therefore, Bill might make pretty
+sure that the coast would be clear.
+
+The geese, too, having laid their eggs and been fed, would have
+wandered away to their pastures. There was only one other thing to be
+considered. The hole in the hedge through which he meant to creep was
+behind the shed, but so soon as he crept round to the door, Blazer was
+sure to catch sight of him; and if Elspeth were anywhere near at hand,
+his noise was sure to bring her out. Out of this difficulty, however,
+Bill saw positively no way. The only thing was to hope that Elspeth
+would be busy waiting on her master just then, and to dare the rest.
+
+"I've done worse things before now," said Bill to himself, by way of
+encouragement.
+
+Accordingly, next morning he was up with the sun, determined to get
+quickly through his woodchopping, and the various other duties that
+were expected of him. On ordinary occasions, Bill was given to being
+rather slow.
+
+"If you're through too quick, you get more to do next day," was his
+way of arguing; so he always took care to make his work last out, as a
+country boy knows how.
+
+But on this morning, he was particularly brisk. He had just finished,
+and was counting on getting clean off, when he heard his mother's voice.
+
+"Bill!—Oh!—Just done, are you? You've been spry. Here!" As Bill was
+lounging off. "I just want you to come and help me through with this
+mangling; and there 'll be time to run with Mrs. Wayling's before daddy
+comes in to breakfast."
+
+At the first mention of mangling, all Bill's sense of justice had risen
+in rebellion; but an errand before breakfast fell in with his plans
+beautifully.
+
+His mother thought he had never come with such alacrity, and wondered
+what magic it was that regulated the moods and caprices of boyhood.
+"He's that slow and obstinate by times," she said to herself, as she
+spread the folded linen ready; "and look at him this morning. Couldn't
+be a better help if he was a girl, and grown-up!" She little thought.
+
+"Mother," said the wily Bill presently, on coming to the end of
+a batch. "Mother, I'm awful hungry; and it's a good step to Mrs.
+Wayling's. Couldn't I have a bit o' summat afore I start out? They keep
+you such a while up there; likely it'll be half over before I get in."
+
+"To be sure you can," answered his mother, thoroughly pleased with his
+cheerful industry. And forthwith going to the dresser, she cut and
+spread a thick slice. "Have what you want afore you go," said she,
+reckoning to get things cleared up and out of her way, ready for her
+ironing by and by.
+
+And Bill stood munching hungrily, as he waited to start, turning
+afresh, and congratulating himself that now, come what might, his
+breakfast was secure.
+
+It was about half-past seven when he set out for Mrs. Wayling's with
+the bundle on his head. It was a good distance. Mrs. Wayling was the
+schoolmaster's wife, and lived up by the church. Bill usually took a
+barrow; but this time he had his own reasons for wishing to be entirely
+unencumbered so soon as ever he should have delivered his burden. A
+barrow would not be handy at stiles, and he intended coming back by the
+river and the fields, so as to avoid the chance of meeting his father.
+
+Bill was warm by the time he arrived at the schoolhouse. He had got
+over the ground pretty quickly, considering the weight of his burden,
+and the church clock still wanted two minutes of the quarter. If only
+they did not keep him waiting, he would be back at the farm at the very
+right moment.
+
+As luck would have it, the servant returned almost immediately, to say
+that her mistress had no change, and would send the money round with
+the next bundle of linen. And Bill, only too glad to be free, money
+or no money, nodded and ran off towards the river as fast as his legs
+would carry him.
+
+It was a good deal farther that way, but Bill had now nothing but
+himself to carry. In a very short time, he had reached the riverbank,
+and was hurrying along the towing-path. The geese were already in the
+field. He saw them marching towards the river in their pompous way,
+with the old white gander at their head. There would be nothing to
+fear from them; and, puffing and panting with hurry and excitement,
+Bill scudded along until he reached the back of the orchard, when he
+slackened pace and went tiptoe, stealing along behind the hedge towards
+the hole through which he intended to creep.
+
+It was not much of a gap, for it had grown-up a bit since last Bill had
+squeezed through—which was when the apples were ripe. But gap or no
+gap wasn't going to stand in his way just then. Bill got down into the
+ditch, to wait until he should hear eight strike and the men tramp past
+to breakfast. He had not long been there when the clock sounded out the
+hour.
+
+Bill took his hands out of his pockets, and laid hold of a stoutish
+stem of whitethorn on either side, breaking or bending back the smaller
+twigs, so as to clear his passage. Then he waited again. He could
+plainly hear somebody moving about inside the hedge, and he began to
+be terribly afraid that one of the men had made up his mind to spare
+himself the trouble of going home to breakfast.
+
+Bill let go the whitethorn stems in dismay.
+
+"There's a go!" exclaimed he to himself. It seemed such a pity, too,
+when everything was so splendidly arranged. But just then, he heard the
+footsteps moving towards the door of the shed.
+
+"Gone eight, mate?" asked a voice.
+
+Blazer sprang to his feet and uttered a bark; but there was no other
+answer.
+
+"Blest if oi yeerd it strike!" exclaimed the voice. "But they be all
+gone, sarting sure, and oi be left behoind. Oi reckon that 'ere clock
+bean't much account. 'Twants a bigger clapper to t' bell."
+
+And with these words, the door banged to, and the hobnails went
+dragging across the yard. It was old Jaggers, the cowman, who was as
+deaf as a post, and was always getting "left behind" if his mates
+forgot to hail him when the breakfast hour arrived.
+
+The coast was clear at last. Bill laid hands anew on the whitethorn
+stems. But at that very moment, a dull thud, thud, in his other ear
+made him stop short. It was a sound of approaching footsteps on
+the worn grass of the footway. Some one was coming along from the
+river-side. Would interruptions never cease? Bill gave a guilty look
+round. It would not do to be seen in the ditch.
+
+A yard or two to the right was a large bramble bush, which had sprung
+up on the field and straggled over to the hedge, catching hold of the
+whitethorn with its thorny arms, and interlacing with the blackberry
+brambles in a thick tangle. Under this shelter, he crept to hide.
+
+Thud, thud came the steps, nearer and nearer. A few minutes more and he
+would be able to come out. But just as the passer-by reached the very
+spot where Bill crouched in hiding, the footsteps suddenly ceased.
+
+Bill was puzzled. Who could it be? And why had he stopped exactly
+there? Bill was shrewd enough to know that if he could not see, neither
+could he be seen; but it was too bad to be obliged to stop there whilst
+the moments of that precious half-hour were running to waste.
+
+At length, impatience got the better of prudence, and he determined
+to get a peep, at the risk of being discovered. With this intent, he
+commenced creeping by inches towards the limit of his shelter. But a
+boy's eyes cannot be in two places at once. In his anxiety to keep
+a watch on the bank, he entirely forgot the necessity of looking to
+his feet. At the very moment when he caught sight of a well-blacked
+boot, down slipped his foot into a deep hole, and poor, luckless Bill
+suddenly found himself measuring his length at the bottom of the ditch.
+
+"Hullo!" exclaimed a voice from above. "What's up?"
+
+Bill was not hurt; but he lay quiet, still hoping to escape discovery.
+The owner of the voice, however, to whom the boot also belonged, was
+not likely to be so easily satisfied.
+
+"What's up?" repeated he, facing about, and seeing to his infinite
+astonishment a somewhat unkempt figure sprawling at the bottom of the
+ditch.
+
+Finding concealment impossible, Bill scrambled to his feet with a
+sheepish grin.
+
+"What are you after?" asked the stranger.
+
+He was dressed in a suit of dark-coloured tweed, and had under his arm
+what looked like a bundle of deal sticks and a flat, square package
+buckled up in a shiny black case. Bill's rapid survey satisfied him
+that he did not belong to the neighbourhood, and that it was therefore
+safe to tell as many lies as ingenuity could invent.
+
+"Rats," answered he promptly. "Got a hole here; and they steals the
+eggs."
+
+"Ah!" observed the gentleman. "And you get so much a head for them, eh?"
+
+Bill nodded.
+
+The gentleman turned on his heel, laughing to himself at the idea that
+any rat should be so unwary as to come out of his hole when somebody
+was by to knock him on the head. A minute later, he had forgotten the
+whole thing, and relapsed into his former attitude, looking away across
+the fields to the right. He was an artist, and had come down by rail to
+make the best of the mild spring day; for there was an open view of the
+church from that point before the leaves were thick.
+
+Bill, not knowing all this, stood at the bottom of the ditch staring at
+his back, and wondering what spirit of contrariness could possess him
+that he must choose that very spot to loiter on. He was just thinking
+whether it would be safe to leave him out of the question altogether,
+and proceed to the business of getting through the hedge, when the
+gentleman faced about again.
+
+"Hullo!" said he, unrolling the bundle of sticks under his arm as he
+spoke, and nodding towards the farm. "You don't work there?"
+
+Bill shook his head. "My father does though," answered he.
+
+"You couldn't borrow a chair for me, I suppose," said the gentleman.
+"They know you, I daresay."
+
+Bill stared for a minute or two, then suddenly broke into a grin.
+"Dessay I could," said he.
+
+"Well, look sharp!" returned the gentleman. "And I'll give you a
+copper."
+
+To his infinite astonishment, Bill had no sooner received the order,
+than he advanced a few steps along the ditch, turned his face to the
+hedge, and seizing firm hold of the two whitethorn sterns, commenced
+drawing himself through the gap.
+
+"He knows how to take an order," said the artist to himself. "That's
+what I call going the shortest cut."
+
+Meanwhile, Bill's mental comment was, "My! If he ha'n't nearly done
+me!" And he made like a shot for the door of the shed, casting a rapid
+glance towards Blazer's kennel, to see if he were on the watch. For
+once, however, Blazer was otherwise occupied, and Bill gained the shed
+unobserved.
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+"CONSCIENCE MAKES COWARDS OF US ALL."
+
+ON first peeping into the shed, Bill was disconcerted to see a goose on
+one of the nests.
+
+But Bill was no coward when there was anything to be gained. He went
+cautiously forward towards the furthest boxes, keeping an eye on the
+sitting bird the while, and ready to beat a retreat on the first alarm.
+But the goose had no intention of quitting her position. She only
+raised her head with a little warning scream and hiss; and he reached
+the nests without further challenge.
+
+Bill uttered an exclamation of delight. In the first nest were three
+eggs; in the second, two. "Let's make 'em even," said he, possessing
+himself of the odd egg, and stowing it carefully in his jacket-tail.
+
+Just as he was about to turn, however, an idea came to him. Ten to one
+such a splendid chance would not return in a hurry. "One a-piece 'll
+be fairer," said he, taking an egg from the other nest, and tucking it
+in the opposite pocket. "They can lay another," added he, with a grin.
+Then he recrossed the shed, and regained the door.
+
+Peeping round, before venturing out, he saw that Blazer had come out of
+his kennel, and was standing on the alert, waiting for somebody to bark
+at. Bill's first impulse was to draw back. Perhaps the dog had heard
+the goose's scream. But second thought convinced him that to think of
+remaining longer in the shed was useless, and that, in fact, the sooner
+he got out of it the better, since by this time it must be very close
+on half-past eight. With another glance at Blazer, he slipped out and
+darted round the side of the shed. But Blazer had seen him, and dashed
+forward on his chain with a furious bark.
+
+Bill turned, terrified, half expecting to see Blazer on his heels; and
+not looking to see where he was going, ran full tilt against the corner
+of the shed, leaving the print of a louvre-board on his eyebrow. But
+anyhow he was safe behind the shed, and Blazer was not loose.
+
+Bill felt his pockets tenderly, congratulating himself that the blow
+had been in front instead of behind. Then the difficulty of getting
+through the gap without smashing the eggs occurred to him for the
+first time. "Head first 'll be the style," decided he at length; and
+with another guilty glance, to make sure that Blazer was not on his
+track, down he went on hands and knees, wriggling through the gap,
+and reaching down with his hands until they touched the bottom then
+paddling along sideways, much after the fashion of a lizard coming out
+of his hole.
+
+It was not surprising that his face was pretty red by the time he got
+to his feet. His first thought was to feel whether the eggs were safe.
+He had been terribly afraid they would roll out of his pockets as he
+felt his jacket-tails fall forward on to his shoulders whilst he was
+upside down; but they were none the worse.
+
+He was still feeling them over when he suddenly became aware of the
+artist standing on the bank looking down at him. He had set up his
+easel, and was waiting for his chair.
+
+Bill's hands came out of his pockets all in a hurry. Like all people
+who have anything to conceal, he felt as if everybody must guess his
+guilty secret.
+
+"Hullo!" said the artist. "I should come through feet first next time,
+if I were you. Where's all chair? Wouldn't they give it you?"
+
+Bill was one of those unscrupulous people who are never at loss for an
+answer.
+
+"Dog's got loose," said he.
+
+"Ah!" said the artist, glancing uncomfortably at the gap through which
+Bill had just come. Where a boy could get through, a dog could also. "A
+savage brute, is he?" asked he.
+
+"Well, rather," admitted Bill. "I'd sooner you met him than me," he
+added, feeling his injured eyebrow tenderly. "I ran agen' the shed, I
+did."
+
+"He isn't likely to come through after you?" asked the artist, still
+with an uneasy eye on the gap.
+
+Bill shook his head.
+
+"Couldn't say for positive," answered he. "Dogs is wonderful keen. But
+I could go round to the front and tell 'em to chain him up."
+
+"Do so," said the artist promptly.
+
+And Bill, feeling rather awkwardly conscious of his jacket-tails,
+started off, to lay siege to Grip's domain.
+
+Within the space of ten minutes he returned, carrying a chair, and
+followed by Elspeth, who had in view two ends—first, to insure the
+safety of her chair; second, to inform the gentleman that if he should
+be wanting lunch, she could make arrangements for his comfort in her
+front kitchen. Bill having intimated that the gent was rather timid of
+dogs, she also added that there was nothing to fear from either animal,
+as they were both on the chain.
+
+Meanwhile Bill, with the eggs still in his pockets, stood at the
+artist's elbow, watching his preparations with a curious eye, and
+waiting for his copper.
+
+"I'm going to make a picture of the church," said the artist presently.
+"Perhaps I may want a boy in the foreground. Would you like me to put
+you in?"
+
+Bill looked up sharply, and nodded.
+
+"That'd be two coppers, sir, wouldn't it?" said he.
+
+"Well, yes; I suppose it would," admitted the artist carelessly. "Go
+and stand yonder against that tussock, and let me see how picturesque
+you can look."
+
+Bill obeyed.
+
+"Put your arms up as if you were carrying something," the artist called
+to him. Then after a minute or so, beckoning him back. "I shan't want
+you for an hour or two," said he. "No doubt you could bring a basket
+or a bundle. Or stay! You haven't got a goat or a donkey—or a little
+brother?"
+
+Bill hadn't; but he thought it might be possible to borrow one.
+
+"That'd be three coppers, sir, wouldn't it?" bargained that mercenary
+young scamp.
+
+"Oh! Come," returned the artist; "you're too sharp by half for a
+country boy. I daresay some one else will come along who will think it
+an honour to be put in a picture and hung in the Academy. If it ever
+attains to that honour," he added to himself, as Bill anxious not to
+lose all by his grasping, declared himself ready and willing to stand
+on any terms.
+
+"Very well, then," concluded the artist, who had taken rather a fancy
+to the boy's shaggy appearance. "In an hour or two, I shall expect you
+back."
+
+And Bill went off up the field towards the river.
+
+Truth to tell, those two goose eggs were beginning to weigh very heavy
+in Bill's pockets. It was quite a chance when he might meet with Dick
+Crozier; but it was plain he could not carry an egg about in his pocket
+until he did. One, of course, he intended to suck as soon as he was at
+a safe distance from the farm; but meantime the other must be hidden
+somewhere. Bill wandered on; but the fine day had brought a good
+many people out, and he kept meeting first one, then another, until
+at length he arrived at the riverbank without having had a chance of
+tasting his stolen sweets.
+
+The geese had reached the bank too, and were standing about in various
+attitudes of burlesque dignity, some snapping the grass with their
+great, broad bills, others with their awkward necks upstretched, always
+ready to scream. They numbered ten or a dozen.
+
+"Ah! Mrs. Geese," Bill thought to himself as he approached, "I wonder
+which of you these eggs belong to. You'll just have the trouble of
+laying a couple more, unless you choose to go short of eggs to sit on."
+
+He had often been that way before, and laughed at the idea of being
+afraid of geese; but somehow this time, as he drew near, every head in
+the flock seemed turned to look upon him, and when they commenced their
+usual "Ya-hi!—Ya-hi!" he stopped short, to consider the advisability of
+going on.
+
+Of course it was nonsense to suppose that they could know anything
+about the theft. But the thief knew, which was the same thing with a
+difference; it is so true, that wise old saying that "conscience makes
+cowards of us all."
+
+If Bill had looked behind, he would have seen Dick Crozier coming along
+from the opposite direction.
+
+Dick had at length determined upon using "his common sense" in the
+matter. Having accidentally transgressed his father's injunctions on
+the morning when he made the Squire's acquaintance, he had come to
+the conclusion that he would get no harm by repeating the accident on
+purpose, with regard to the river. He had found his way by another
+field-path, a mile or two beyond the Manor Farm, and was now coming
+along the towing-path, with the intention of returning by the way which
+Bill had just come.
+
+Bill, however, was too much engrossed to notice anything but the geese.
+He was having a fight with his own cowardice, and had just gained the
+victory.
+
+"It's all rubbish," he was saying to himself; "as if they could know!"
+And he set forward at a determined pace.
+
+Just then the foremost goose waddled forward, assuming a decidedly
+hostile attitude; and at the same instant Dick, recognising Bill from
+behind, gave a shrill whistle. Between the goose and the whistle, Bill
+was so startled that he came to a sudden halt, completely unmanned;
+then seeing the goose still advance, he turned to fly.
+
+This, of course, was the last thing he should have done; for the bird
+no sooner saw his back, than ducking her head and opening her wings,
+she rushed forward with a scream. Bill heard her coming, and put on
+the speed; but the goose was sure to win the race. A minute later, she
+would have had him by the back of his small clothes, had not Bill, in
+flinging a terrified glance over his shoulder, swerved to the edge of
+the towing-path, and overbalancing himself, slipped and fallen, rolling
+over and over down the incline into the ditch that separated the bank
+from the field.
+
+The enraged goose was after him like lightning, screaming and flapping
+her wings. But Bill's terrified imagination put spurs to his energy.
+Imagining that the whole flock had taken up the fray, he scrambled to
+his feet, and plucking up all his valour, just as the goose rushed
+forward, he caught her in the breast-bone with such a fling of his
+heavy boot as sent her staggering and rolling over backwards, silenced
+at any rate for the present.
+
+Meanwhile Dick, seeing Bill in difficulties, had maintained a safe
+distance; he now came on, whilst Bill, fearing the recovery of the
+goose, or the vengeance of her allies, fled towards him, panting and
+red in the face.
+
+"Killed her?" called Dick excitedly.
+
+"Dunno," cried Bill, without so much as turning to look back. "Run!"
+
+And Dick adopting the suggestion, both lads sped as if for their lives.
+
+"That was a first-rate kick!" was Dick's admiring comment, when they at
+length stopped where a bend of the river and a clump of weeping-willows
+suggested safety.
+
+The terrible geese were now only visible a long way behind over the
+water, with their necks still upstretched, and now and then screaming
+a faint "ya-hi!" as a bird flew across, or some equally unimportant
+matter arrested their attention.
+
+Bill felt rather foolish. "Guess I shan't come this way again in a
+hurry," observed he.
+
+Dick remarked that he didn't know geese were dangerous.
+
+"Oh! Ain't they, though," said Bill, changing his opinions to suit his
+case. "You've only seen 'em hangin' up by the necks, I guess. Never
+offered to touch me before, though," added he, with a touch of bravado.
+"Seems like they know when you've been meddling with their nests."
+
+"Have you got it?" asked Dick eagerly, referring to the promised egg.
+
+Bill nodded. "One a-piece," said he, clapping a hand to each
+jacket-tail. Then suddenly remembering his roll down the bank, his face
+fell,—"I'm licked!" exclaimed he with a blank look. "If they ain't all
+smashed! Now, there's a go!"
+
+What a mess it was; and what a face Bill made as he drew his hands out,
+yellow and sticky, and stood staring helplessly at Dick!
+
+"There's a go!" repeated Dick. "My word and honour!"
+
+"After all that trouble!" added Bill, thinking of the sitting goose
+and Farmer Bluff's dog Blazer, and all the other obstacles he had
+surmounted. "It's sixpence all the same though," added he.
+
+Bill had pulled his jacket off by this time, and was down upon his
+knees on the grass, turning out the pockets.
+
+"Don't you wish you may get it!" returned Dick derisively. "You don't
+call that an egg?"
+
+Bill had got his mouth down to one pocket, lapping, up the yellow mess.
+"It warn't my fault they broke," said he, looking up, his face all
+smeared with yolk.
+
+"Nor mine; that's certain," retorted Dick decisively, turning on his
+heel. "You can have the other one too," he called over his shoulder as
+he went.
+
+"Stop a bit!" cried Bill. "Hi! Stop! It's sixpence, or I split on you!"
+
+"Will you though!" retorted Dick, facing round with a jeer. "Who stole
+'em?"
+
+"Who asked me to?" retorted Bill.
+
+"Who offered to?" Dick flung back.
+
+"I don't do anything again for you in a hurry," said Bill, applying his
+mouth to the other pocket. "You're a sneak!"
+
+But Dick only jeered, and went his way.
+
+Bill knelt upright a minute or two, to look after him; then he
+proceeded to lay himself out flat on the bank, feet furthest from the
+edge, and set to work washing out the pockets in the river.
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+RENEWING ACQUAINTANCE.
+
+ELSPETH fully anticipated the honour of giving lunch to this strange
+artist, for whom Bill had borrowed the chair. It was a good step up
+to the public house by the church; and common sense told her that
+a shelter so near at hand, where he could rest and eat, would be a
+convenience not to be despised.
+
+Accordingly, she laid forward with her work, in order to be ready to
+do the honours of a cold-meat spread any time after eleven o'clock,
+by which hour she counted he might reasonably be getting hungry. As
+fortune would have it, however, she was doomed to disappointment.
+
+Setting out about half-past nine for a walk his grandsons, the Squire
+with Hal at his side, arrived at the stile beyond the Manor Farm,
+intending to proceed by way of the riverbank and the fields to the
+church, and thence to the gate of the wood, to see how Farmer Bluff's
+place of exile was progressing.
+
+Will and Sigismund were quickly over; and whilst Hal and the old
+gentleman were following at leisure, on they ran as usual. They no
+sooner disappeared beyond the corner where the path curved round the
+orchard than they came racing back.
+
+"Such an odd object!" cried Will, in his clear, sharp voice. "A man
+under a white canvas umbrella!"
+
+"Like a missionary teaching the heathen," put in Sigismund; for the
+equinoctial sun was in one of its rare hot moods, and our artist had
+been glad to screen his eyes from its glare.
+
+A few moments later, the Squire and Hal were in sight of him. Hal, as
+usual, was just ready with some question, when his grandfather uttered
+an exclamation of pleasure and surprise. At the same moment, a look of
+recognition passed over the artist's face, and he rose, respectfully
+doffing his hat.
+
+"Why, Grantley!" exclaimed the old gentleman, hurrying forward with
+extended hand. "I little thought you were upon my domains."
+
+"On Tommy Tinker's ground," put in, sotto voce, Will, who always had
+something mischievous at the tip of his tongue.
+
+The artist replied that he himself had not been aware of it until,
+inquiring his way of a labouring man up by the church, he had learned
+the name of the place. "I intended doing myself the honour of calling
+on you later in the day," he added; "when the air becomes too chilly
+for work."
+
+"By all means," said the Squire cordially. "I shall be delighted.
+I see you have already made acquaintance with my bailiff, or his
+housekeeper," added he, glancing at the chair.
+
+Grantley acquiesced. "A decent, hospitable kind of body too," returned
+he; "offered to get me luncheon presently—which, by the way, I think
+will come acceptable before long; for I breakfasted at six, preparatory
+to my tramp over from the town; and I find your country air sharpening
+to the appetite."
+
+"You will find my bailiff but indifferent company, I fear," said the
+Squire. "Farmer Bluff is all that his name implies; a gouty old sinner,
+too, who deserves every twinge in his joints as heartily as ever any
+one did. However, if he is expecting you, of course—"
+
+"Oh! From what the good woman said," interrupted Grantley, "I am not to
+enjoy the honour of sitting down with Farmer Bluff. She spoke of her
+front kitchen."
+
+"I suspected as much," rejoined the Squire. "Bluff was never noted
+for the virtue of hospitality, and never will be. This is simply a
+scheme of Dame Elspeth's to turn an honest half-crown. That being so,
+I propose that you come up to lunch with me at the Manor House; or if
+that will take you from your work too soon, go in and have a snack of
+bread and bacon in Elspeth's kitchen, and come on to dine with me at
+six."
+
+This arrangement seemed best to suit Grantley, who was anxious to lose
+none of the short spring day. "It will make a pretty sketch," said he,
+"if I can do it justice; but I am expecting a lad back presently—the
+one who fetched out Dame Elspeth and the chair; a lively urchin, from
+the way in which he scrambled through the hedge there, rather than go
+round like ordinary folk to the front entrance."
+
+"Well for him that the old farmer has his gout on, if he is familiar
+with the way through that hedge," observed the Squire. "But if Farmer
+Bluff suffers that way, his dog Blazer doesn't; and the dog isn't a
+whit more bland-tempered than his master."
+
+"Oh, grandfather!" put in Hal, who was listening as usual, his keen
+eyes moving quickly from one to the other of the speakers. "Blazer is
+ever so much nicer than Grip. He's an honest old doggie."
+
+"Perhaps Farmer Bluff might become an honest old bailiff in your hands,
+my boy," returned his grandfather, "if only his gout allowed him to
+live long enough to see you in power. This is Hal, the coming man,"
+continued he to Grantley; "the eldest son of your old schoolfellow, who
+will be Squire in my stead one of these days, I hope."
+
+Grantley said something pleasant in answer to this information; but Hal
+could not help feeling that he cast a pitying glance at his crutches
+and irons.
+
+"I hope I shall be as good a Squire as you, grandfather," said he in a
+low voice.
+
+"Aim at being better, my boy," returned his grandfather, laying a fond
+hand on his shoulder. "The higher our ideal, the higher we may hope
+to reach. Set before yourself not the Squire your old grandfather
+has been, but the Squire Christ Jesus would have been if He—the only
+perfect man—had been Lord of the Manor to the people here."
+
+And somehow, with his grandfather's words, it came over the cripple
+boy, that with such an ideal before him, it would not so very much
+matter to his squireship if he could not follow the hounds or ride in
+the steeplechase.
+
+Then they set forward, and presently they met Dick Crozier on his way
+back from witnessing Bill's encounter with the goose.
+
+The Squire stopped.
+
+"Well, Master Dick," said he, for he rarely forgot a name, "you're out
+early; and you haven't missed your way to-day."
+
+Dick answered "No;" but coloured to the crown, for conscience reminded
+him that he had none the less been out of bounds.
+
+The Squire, however, knowing nothing of his father's injunctions,
+misinterpreted the blush, judging him to be of a modest turn. Now the
+Squire liked a boy who wasn't "made of brass;" so he took Dick to his
+heart thenceforth.
+
+"My grandsons will be pleased to show you the grounds at the Manor
+House any time you like to come up for a game," said he.
+
+Dick thanked him.
+
+"And if you're not too tired to turn back with us just now," continued
+the Squire, "we shall all be pleased to have your company."
+
+So Dick, who had till one o'clock upon his hands, turned back towards
+the river with them, nothing loth to walk in such august society.
+
+Meanwhile Bill, upon the riverbank, behind the willow clump, had just
+finished washing out his pockets, which he had wrung out as dry as he
+could before putting his jacket on again. This done, he turned to take
+a survey of the distant hostile squadron.
+
+To his amazement and dismay, whom should he behold but Dick Crozier and
+the Squire's grandsons making straight for the very spot where he had
+given the goose that vicious kick; and in their midst the brisk, trim
+figure of the Squire himself, one hand behind his back, as usual, the
+other grasping the gold head of his cane.
+
+"Now, if he ha'n't been straight and split on me!" exclaimed Bill to
+himself. "There's a mess!"
+
+This was precisely what Dick—being somewhat in the same mess—had not
+done, and had no intention of doing. The history of the affair was this.
+
+Turning to the left, along the riverbank, to gain the cottages by
+the gate of the wood, the Squire and his grandsons had come upon the
+extraordinary spectacle of a flock of some ten or a dozen geese huddled
+together in apparent agitation and concern at a distance of several
+yards from one member of their flock, who was writhing and flapping
+on the grass in evident distress and agony. Their conduct betrayed a
+curious mixture of fear and sympathy. Now and again, one or another
+would come out from among her fellows, and make a few steps forward
+with outstretched neck, whilst the rest of the flock chorused her with
+warning screams of "Ya-hi!—Ya-hi!" But having contemplated the poor
+sufferer for some seconds, the spectacle of a sister's sufferings
+evidently became too much for her feelings, and she waddled away again
+to seek support of the gander, who stood hindermost of all, utterly
+useless in such an emergency.
+
+Hal's quick eyes had been the first to catch sight of her.
+
+"She's dying, grandfather!" exclaimed he; and as his brothers rushed
+forward, he felt in all its keenness the privation of his crippled
+condition.
+
+Dick was in no such hurry, for he guessed pretty accurately what was
+the matter with the goose; though whether Bill's boot had broken her
+breast-bone or bruised her internal organs, he could not tell; so he
+followed on with Hal and his grandfather.
+
+The Squire looked on for some minutes with both perplexity and concern
+at the poor creature's distress, then he turned to Hal and Sigismund.
+
+"Run to Farmer Bluff's, both of you," said he. "Bring one of the men.
+The poor thing must be attended to at once."
+
+Off ran Will and Sigismund at the top of their speed, whilst the other
+three looked on, not knowing what to do.
+
+And in the distance stood Bill, watching them, and wondering what
+would come of it all. At length, recollecting his appointment with the
+artist, and concluding that it would be safer not to venture back to
+Farmer Bluff's field by that path, Bill set off running in the opposite
+direction, intending to go round the longer way by which Dick had met
+him when they quarreled about the broken egg.
+
+All this while, Dick was in a sad dilemma, for he dared not tell what
+he knew, although he could so easily have put them on the right track
+with regard to the poor bird's sufferings.
+
+At length, two of the farm labourers arrived, and after a short
+examination, amid much cackling and screaming from the rest of the
+flock, they carried off the injured goose in a basket they had brought
+for the purpose, to doctor her after their simple light; or, as a last,
+humane measure, to put a quick end to her struggles.
+
+"For it's my opinion, sir," said one of the men wisely, as they placed
+her in the basket, "that her 'll not get over this. I've seen 'em took
+like this before; and they never live."
+
+"Then kill her mercifully, by all means," the Squire answered him; "and
+end her sufferings."
+
+And they continued on their way.
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+THE INQUEST.
+
+"THAT'S two geese lost this spring," observed one of the men next
+morning, as the injured bird breathed her last under his hand. "Warn't
+the governor mad!"
+
+And so he was. He cursed, he swore, he raged; he would have stamped,
+had not his infirmity prevented it. Above all, he felt deeply injured
+that his gout prevented him from going out to see after things himself;
+for when he used to be about, such casualties never happened. Being
+tied to his chair, however, and having now one hand bad, in addition to
+his feet, he could use nothing more violent than his tongue.
+
+And at length, the men, having listened as long as they thought
+necessary, to his stream of abuse, carried out the goose to execute
+their mournful duty.
+
+Left to himself, Farmer Bluff gradually cooled down; and as he cooled,
+certain words of Hal's came back to mind. This gout, Hal had said, was
+of his own seeking. If so, it was his own fault that he had lost the
+geese. Farmer Bluff instinctively reached out his sound hand for the
+silver mug, and having drained it of its contents, fell into a brown
+study.
+
+In the midst of his reflections, he heard a sudden tap against the
+window at his back, and looking round, he saw Hal's face pressed
+against the glass. The boy nodded; so did the bailiff—in spite of his
+grumps; and Hal swung himself off to ring at the bell, sitting down in
+the porch to wait.
+
+Elspeth was more astonished than ever, on taking her usual peep through
+the slit window.
+
+"Well! If you ain't layin' yourself open to hear a lot of language that
+ain't fit for the ears of the likes o' you!" exclaimed she, as she
+opened the door. "The master's that mad about the goose, that he's done
+nothing but swear ever since they brought her in."
+
+Hal was already on his feet—or rather, his crutches.
+
+"Never mind," said he. "It won't hurt me if he swears ever so. It's not
+what goes in at your ears that defiles you, you know, but what comes
+out of your mouth; because that shows what's in your heart."
+
+So Hal went in, and was announced as before—"The young Squire, sir!"
+
+Farmer Bluff was looking towards the door in expectation. His features
+relaxed on sight of the boy's cheery face.
+
+Hal wished him "good morning."
+
+"Left hand," said he, as his young master swung himself across to shake
+hands. The right arm was suspended from his neck in a large checked
+handkerchief.
+
+Hal looked serious. "Is that gout too, Mr. Bluff?" asked he, standing
+in front of him, and eyeing the bandaged arm.
+
+Farmer Bluff nodded.
+
+"Ah! Young master," said he; "you didn't know what a plaguesome thing
+it was, once it got hold of your system; did you now? It couldn't
+be satisfied with getting me off my legs, but it must disable my
+knife-hand. It'll have the fork one next, I'll be bound; and then there
+'ll be a pair of 'em. A quadruped of gout!"
+
+He looked rather proud over this joke. It wasn't many he made when he
+had gout.
+
+But Hal stood silent.
+
+"I'm disappointed," said he. "I expected to find you better; and
+instead of that, you're worse." And he went and sat down on a chair
+opposite—the same one he had occupied on his first visit—looking
+perplexed and grieved. Presently he said,—"It's that mug, Mr. Bluff.
+I'm sure of that. Have you thought about it any more?"
+
+"Why, no," returned the bailiff; "not much. I can't say I have. I've
+thought more about the goose, a long chalk."
+
+"Yes; that was a pity," said Hal sympathetically. "I was very sorry for
+the poor thing."
+
+"Two broods lost in one year," said Farmer Bluff, getting on his moody
+expression again. "More than a man like me can afford to lose. Now, if
+I'd been about—"
+
+"There you are again," put in Hal. "If you will have gout—"
+
+"It's all those men," continued the old fellow wrathfully. "They're
+so—" Farmer Bluff pulled up suddenly, before he added "careless." He
+was going to throw in one of his swearing expressions, to give weight
+to the word; but he fortunately recollected Hal in time, and checked
+himself.
+
+"Did they find out what she died of?" asked Hal.
+
+"Of a knife in her throat, of course," laughed the old bailiff grimly.
+
+"But what was the matter first, I mean," explained Hal.
+
+Farmer Bluff shook his head. "They brought her in to me," said he; "and
+I couldn't see, except that she was dying pretty fast. So I told 'em to
+put an end to it."
+
+"You'll have an inquest, won't you?" said Hal presently.
+
+Farmer Bluff laughed outright. "An inquest on a goose!" roared he.
+"Upon my soul, young master, you're an original; though, when you come
+to look at it, half the inquests are on geese. He! he!—" And he laughed
+again at his own wit.
+
+But Hal was quite in earnest. To him there was nothing funny in it at
+all. "There always is a post-mortem," said he seriously, "when anybody
+dies without the doctor being able to tell the cause of death. I think
+that if I were you, I should like to know why that goose died. It might
+enable you to prevent any more of them dying the same way, you know.
+Perhaps it was something in the food."
+
+Farmer Bluff shook his head. "I daresay it's been 'post-mortemed' for
+somebody's dinner by now," said he, with grim humour. "I told 'em to
+cut her throat and put her underground; but such as them don't often
+get the chance to taste goose flesh. I'll be bound she's twirling on
+the spit by now."
+
+After a little more talk, Hal took his crutches. "Well," said he, "I
+must wish you 'good morning,' Mr. Bluff; and as you've got the gout
+in your right arm I won't trouble you to shake hands. But I'd have it
+out of there, if I were you, feet and all. You really must think about
+that mug this time; now, won't you? I'm certain it's the mug that does
+the mischief; because, you see, you're proud of it, and directly we're
+proud of anything, we forget all the rest. But you won't have a goose
+to put it out of your head this time?"
+
+Farmer Bluff replied that he "hoped to goodness not."
+
+And Hal let himself out.
+
+That evening at dinner,—for the boys always enjoyed the privilege of
+dining with their grandfather in the holidays,—the subject of the goose
+came up, and Hal told what he knew of its fate.
+
+"Upon my word," remarked the Squire, after hearing how Hal had aired
+his ideas about the post-mortem, "you were right too; and if I had
+known it, the bird should not have been put out of the way in that
+slip-shod fashion. As it is, the thing shall be looked into."
+
+"Your bailiff is guilty of allowing the consumption of unwholesome
+food," observed young Grantley, who had had accepted the Squire's
+pressing invitation to make the Manor House his home whilst his pencil
+was busy in the neighbourhood. "It is to be hoped the 'fortunate'
+family will reap no disastrous effects."
+
+"Such a thing might have very serious consequences," added Hal's
+mother, who was very much concerned.
+
+Finally, after due deliberation, the Squire gave orders that some one
+should at once be sent to ascertain the name of the man to whom the
+fate of the goose had been intrusted; and that having done this, the
+messenger should at once proceed to the man's cottage, and learn what
+had become of the stricken bird's remains.
+
+It was quite late in the evening when at length a servant came to say
+that Hobbs—the man who had gone—was waiting in the hall.
+
+The boys' bedtime was already long past, but they had begged to sit up
+a little longer, and they now all followed their grandfather out to
+hear the result of the investigations.
+
+Hobb's account, however, although it quieted all anxiety with regard to
+the meal afforded to the Grig family, only involved in further mystery
+the cause of the goose's death.
+
+Mrs. Grig, on being questioned, had reported that when plucking it
+ready for trussing, she had discovered a great black bruise upon its
+breast, and that upon further examination she had found the breast-bone
+to be broken. As to the wholesomeness of the flesh, however, she was
+ready to affirm before anybody that a sweeter bird never came from the
+poulterer's,—although "it wasn't quite in prime condition, not being in
+the fatting season." She had finished up by giving it as her opinion
+that there was no doubt about death having been due to accident rather
+than disease.
+
+"There was one item rayther cur'ous 'bout the information as I got,
+sir," said Hobbs finally. "When old Jaggers went home to he's breakfast
+at the stroke of eight that morning, there was three eggs in the old
+white goose's nest, and two in the speckled's, as stood nighest it. But
+when he comed back, blest if there hadn't out o' each nest disappeared
+one egg; so's to leave no more'n two in one, and one in t'other,"
+repeated Hobbs, looking round about upon his hearers to make sure they
+followed him. "And depend upon it, that old white goose had had a fight
+wi' some un as came to steal her egg. Though how the crittur dragged
+herself right away down to the river, wi' that broken bone, is past all
+understanding—except that sittin' birds 'll do 'most anything."
+
+"What about the dog Blazer too?" exclaimed young Grantley, who had
+followed out to hear the news. "Why! That was the first morning I was
+there sketching. They said the dog was loose too."
+
+"Who said so?" asked the Squire sharply.
+
+"The boy who fetched my chair. And, by the by," exclaimed young
+Grantley suddenly, "I have it all! That young rascal was down there
+hiding in the ditch when first I came along; and he got in through
+hedge in quite a practised fashion."
+
+"Ha!" exclaimed the Squire. "But he didn't bring your chair that way?"
+
+"No; he just used that as a pretext for getting through, and came back
+with a black eye and a tale about the dog being off the chain; and,
+having crammed me with that, he offered to go round to the front—"
+
+"Where Blazer could have got at him just the same, if he had really
+been loose," put in Hal.
+
+"Now that I remember," added Grantley, "when I first came up and
+caught him in the ditch, he invented a history about rats, for which
+he professed to get so much a head. He said they stole the eggs; but
+I guess the young scapegrace himself was the biggest rat of the lot,
+and had his eye upon the biggest eggs. I should hardly think that rats
+would tackle a goose's egg."
+
+"There's not a doubt about it but you've found the clue," returned the
+Squire. "The question to be answered is, Who was the boy?"
+
+Young Grantley shook his head.
+
+"But you put him in your picture, didn't you?" suggested Hal.
+
+The Squire smiled. "Hal thoroughly believes in your power of faithful
+portraiture," observed he.
+
+Young Grantley laughed. "Yes," said he; "I put him in. I told him to
+return in an hour or two. He was nearer three. He said he had been
+home."
+
+"Which way did he go?" asked Hal.
+
+"Towards the riverbank," was the reply; "but then we haven't yet
+decided who he was. My easel, Squire," he added, "is in Elspeth's
+charge. I'll run down and fetch the canvas if you like."
+
+"No, no; not the least hurry," returned the Squire; "the morning will
+do just as well. We will sleep upon the information that you've given
+us."
+
+The boys begged hard to be allowed to escort young Grantley to the farm
+at once; but it was getting very late, and their grandfather would not
+entertain the idea.
+
+"Dame Elspeth wouldn't thank us for curtailing her hours of rest,"
+said he. "She is up betimes, no doubt. To bed, now; and directly after
+breakfast to-morrow, we will start, and identify the thief."
+
+Finding that there was no appeal, the boys gave in. Will and Sigismund
+went off to bed in high spirits at the idea of dragging a culprit to
+justice by means of an artist's sketch; but Hal lingered behind, a
+minute.
+
+"Grandfather," said he, "what will be done with the boy? Will he go to
+prison, or what?"
+
+"That depends," replied the Squire. "According to the old proverb, we
+must catch him first before we cook him. He certainly shall not be let
+off punishment if we do; you need not fear."
+
+"I meant," replied Hal, "that I don't want him punished. I should fancy
+that it would harden a boy. I would rather have him talked to."
+
+"Be sure he would remember a good smarting far longer," rejoined his
+grandfather; "and I should feel myself to blame if I neglected to let
+him feel the consequence of his bad conduct. Such small beginnings are
+as the seed-corn in the earth, which bringeth forth some thirtyfold,
+some sixtyfold, and some an hundredfold. That is equally true of bad,
+as of good seed. But now be off."
+
+That night Hal went to bed with two sinners on his mind,—Farmer Bluff,
+with his silver mug and his gout, and the youthful but unknown villain
+who had murdered the old white goose and robbed her nest.
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+AN ARTIST-DETECTIVE.
+
+THE family assembled with great punctuality at the breakfast-table
+next morning. Will and Sigismund crowded round young Grantley, who
+had acquired great importance in their eyes, since he had assumed his
+novel rôle of detective. Hal, on the contrary, looked rather serious,
+wondering who the culprit would turn out to be, and what punishment he
+would have to undergo.
+
+Immediately breakfast was over, the Squire rose and took his
+gold-headed cane. Young Grantley and the boys followed him out on to
+the verandah, Hal's mother accompanying them, to shade her eyes with
+her hand and watch them off, as Dick had seen her do on the first
+occasion of his peeping over the plantation palings at the Manor House.
+
+Outside the lodge they chanced upon Dick, who had been down to the
+railway with his father. The squire gave him a benevolent salute, and
+the boys stopped to speak.
+
+"We can't stay though," said Sigismund. "Turn back with us."
+
+So Dick turned back.
+
+"We're off to the Manor Farm," explained Will. And he went on to give
+the details of the theft, and how suspicion had come to rest upon the
+boy whom Mr. Grantley had put in his sketch of the church, but whose
+name was of course unknown to him. "We're going to identify him by the
+sketch," added he.
+
+"Mr. Grantley leaves his easel at the farm," put in Sigismund. "I think
+it's splendid fun. It's exactly like a real police case, isn't it?"
+
+Dick's face had become nearly as serious as Hal's at this intelligence.
+If the theft should be brought home to Bill, his own share in the
+affair was certain to come out, and then it would be all up with his
+pleasant footing at the Manor House.
+
+"Whoever it was, pretty nearly killed the goose," added Will.
+
+And between them, they narrated the events of the preceding evening,
+and how the Grig family had feasted on the poor goose's remains.
+
+This was getting hotter and hotter for Dick. At length, he grew so
+uncomfortable that on reaching the gate of the farm, he said he would
+go no farther and in spite of all their pressing that he should wait
+outside and see the picture when Mr. Grantley brought it out, he
+turned, and left them to go in alone.
+
+They had no sooner knocked at the kitchen door, however, than Dick
+changed his mind, and followed on towards the cottages beyond the farm.
+If Bill were anywhere about, he might give him a hint to keep out of
+the way a bit, until the storm blew over.
+
+Dick's chief motive in this design was to avoid getting his character
+blackened in the Squire's eyes by association with Bill. He overlooked
+the more important consideration that he who meddles with mire is
+blackened, whether other people know it or not; and that there is One,
+before whose piercing gaze no hiding can avail, since He "looketh on
+the heart."
+
+As it happened, Bill was just outside, off for a stroll. Seeing Dick,
+he turned the other way; but Dick ran after him.
+
+"I say," cried he, "you're in for a pretty row. It's all come out about
+the goose and those two eggs you stole."
+
+"I daresay!" flung out Bill. "Of course you've been and told."
+
+"Of course I haven't," answered Dick. "The gentleman that put you in
+his picture smelt it out; and the Squire's gone up with him to the
+farm, to see the picture and identify your phiz."
+
+This information was so startling that poor Bill's hair positively
+stood on end.
+
+"It's only to be hoped he hasn't drawn you well," continued Dick; "but
+somehow these things always do come out. It's what they call the law of
+justice I expect. If I were you, I guess I'd hide away a bit. You see,
+you don't exactly know what they may do. You wouldn't get less than a
+month, you may make pretty sure, with the Squire after you, and Farmer
+Bluff behind, to back him up."
+
+"But where am I to go?" asked Bill, so seriously that Dick perceived at
+once how terrified he was.
+
+"Why, right away somewhere," said he, determined upon striking whilst
+the iron of Bill's fear was hot. "If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't
+even stay to think. I'd set off this very minute, and I'd go on running
+till I dropped. I'd walk till night. I'd do anything, short of jumping
+into the river, to escape a month in gaol. I saw inside a cell once,"
+continued Dick impressively.
+
+And then he shook his head with such effect that Bill looked round,
+almost expecting that his gaolers were at hand. As nothing was to be
+seen of them, however, Bill began to examine the matter more closely.
+
+"How can I get food to eat, if I run away?" said he.
+
+"Work for it, of course," returned Dick contemptuously. "A boy your
+size must be a donkey if he can't pick up enough to buy his victuals.
+You mightn't get much else but bread; but if you come to think, you'd
+get no more than that in gaol."
+
+And it struck Bill that bread and water, with liberty, would be sweeter
+far than the daintiest fare in a prison cell.
+
+"You'd have your hair cropped too," urged Dick; "and all the boys would
+pelt you, and call names, when you came out again."
+
+"I should have nowhere to sleep," said Bill, still hesitating.
+
+"Oh! You could get a lodging cheap enough," said Dick; "and anyhow—I'll
+tell you what. If don't make your mind up pretty quick, you'll have 'em
+down on you. The Squire's sure to recognise your picture; and he'll
+come right straight off here. If I were you, I'd go inside and grab
+whatever I could find to stuff my pockets with, and then I'd be off
+like a shot. I wouldn't stand stock-still and let 'em put the handcuffs
+on; not I!"
+
+Bill turned. His mother had gone out, and he could take just what he
+liked.
+
+"Look here," said Dick, with a sudden show of generosity, "I'll start
+you with that sixpence I was to give you for the egg; and then, you
+mind!—You've never got to say a word about my name, d'ye hear?"
+
+And Bill, convinced that he had better escape, and glad to get so much
+to start him on his wanderings, promised, and ran indoors. A minute
+later, he reappeared, his jacket-tails stuffed out to twice their size,
+and in his hand a huge hunch of bread, which he was cramming down his
+throat as fast as he could swallow.
+
+"I'm off!" said he; and away he ran along the road.
+
+"Good luck to you!" cried Dick. And having watched him out of sight, he
+clambered over the gate of a field just opposite the cottages, and hid
+behind the hedge, to wait and see what would happen.
+
+Meanwhile, Elspeth had been astonished beyond measure at the formidable
+party that besieged her kitchen door. In the first place, she was not
+accustomed to let the Squire in that way; and in the second, she caught
+up at once, from odd remarks, that something was amiss; so having
+brought the easel out from its place behind the churn, she retired to a
+respectful distance to listen and pick up what hints she could.
+
+The Squire was the first to look. He examined the canvas closely for an
+instant; then he said,—"Now, boys; let each one take a look; then tell
+me who this is. To my mind, there's no doubt."
+
+"Why, Bill the Kicker!" sang out all three with one voice.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"And so say I," confirmed the Squire.
+
+"It's splendid!" added Will.
+
+"The rascal!" said the Squire. "He shall smart for it."
+
+Elspeth came a step or two towards the group.
+
+"Would it be the lad that fetched the chair?" asked she.
+
+"The same," nodded young Grantley. "Will you like to look?"
+
+And he politely turned the canvas towards her, whilst the boys made way.
+
+"That was Bill Mumby—Bill the Kicker, as they call him," said Elspeth
+as she approached. "And so is this," she added, the instant she was
+near enough to see. "You've drawed him very true, sir, too."
+
+"Then there remains no doubt," returned the Squire, summing up
+the evidence, and tapping briskly on the red-brick floor with his
+gold-headed cane. "We know whose door the mischief lies at now. The
+portrait does you credit, Grantley. You'll be a great man yet."
+
+"Of whom it will be told in after days," said Grantley, not displeased,
+"that his first hit was made as a detective in the case of a country
+bumpkin versus a goose. Ah! Well, it remains to be seen whether or not
+it will be counted worthy of a place in the Academy."
+
+"It shall certainly have a place in the Manor House," returned the
+Squire warmly, "if you will name your price."
+
+So the picture found a purchaser before it was completed; and the young
+artist went out to his work well pleased.
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+BILL'S FUTURE.
+
+HALF an hour later, the Squire stood before the door of Bill the
+Kicker's home.
+
+Dick, from his hiding-place behind the hedge, saw him arrive, striking
+the ground importantly with his cane, and followed by his grandsons.
+
+"Now for it!" thought Dick, and rubbed his hands in glee.
+
+The Squire knocked; but no one answered, so he knocked again. Still no
+one came.
+
+"Go round to the back," said he to Will.
+
+Will went, and returned with the news that he had tried the wash-house
+door and found it fast, but through the window he could see a little
+fire in the grate.
+
+"We'll knock once more," said the Squire.
+
+This time the upper window of the next door cottage opened, and a head
+was hastily thrust out. "Mrs. Mumby a'n't at home," the neighbour
+called. Then, seeing who was waiting down below, she humbly begged
+pardon, and further informed the Squire that Mrs. Mumby had gone up the
+road to carry home some linen.
+
+The Squire thanked her with his customary courtesy; and having hoped
+the children were quite well, was going down the pathway, when the good
+woman called again to say that Mrs. Mumby was in sight.
+
+When she arrived, her honest face was red with toiling through the
+sun; and it went redder when she saw the Squire at her door. But Mrs.
+Mumby knew her manners, so she asked him with a curtsey if he wouldn't
+step inside; and there she dusted chairs for him and the three young
+gentlemen, and stood up, with a corner of her apron in her hand, to
+hear what he had come about.
+
+"It's about your boy, Mrs. Mumby," began the Squire, when he had said
+a pleasant thing or two about the weather and her health. "He isn't in
+just now, I believe."
+
+"No, sir," said the mother; "he isn't in just now."
+
+"And you couldn't say exactly where he is?"
+
+"I couldn't, sir," said she.
+
+"Can you tell me where he was all the morning, two days ago?" the
+Squire asked.
+
+"Two days ago?" reflected Mrs. Mumby. "Yes, sir; I believe I can. We
+did some mangling early, him and me, afore his father comed in to he's
+breakfast; and Bill went out to take it home. All the morning arter
+that, sir, he was in the field just by the farm, along o' some strange
+gent as took a fancy to the looks of him, and wanted for to put him
+in a pictur' of the church. A pretty bit it is, too, sir. I've often
+noticed it agoin' 'crost the fields on summer evenings, when the bells
+was ringing out for service, sir."
+
+"Well, Mrs. Mumby," said the Squire, anxious to recall her to the point.
+
+"Yes, sir; as I was a-saying," continued Bill's mother, "and I wanted
+him so bad that day to turn the mangle and carry linen home; but of
+course I naturally thinks, thinks I, 'he'll sure to give him something
+for his time.' But it's like such folks, sir; ne'er a copper did my
+Bill get out of him. Come home empty-handed, sir; that he did! And me
+near dragged to death."
+
+"Did he though!" returned the Squire. "I've heard a different tale
+to that. The gentleman—a friend of mine, now staying at the Manor
+House—informs me that he gave the boy a silver sixpence for his time.
+Now what say you to that?"
+
+"That I'm sorry I should have to tell it of my own, sir," answered Mrs.
+Mumby, looking down; "but I'm bound to own as Bill is often caught out
+in untruths. It a'n't for want of bringing up. His father never catches
+him but what he gets the strap; and so he shall this time, sir, that he
+shall. His father 'll be right mad to hear of it."
+
+"But that is not all, I'm grieved to say," pursued the Squire, going on
+to tell her the rest of his charges against her rapscallion son.
+
+Mrs. Mumby's face fell lower and lower.
+
+"It's not for want o' being strict with him," repeated she. "Mumby and
+me, we're always at him, sir; and, as I say, his father never finds him
+out but what he straps him well."
+
+But the Squire shook his head. "It isn't strapping that 'll make a boy
+right-minded," answered he, "any more than cutting back will make a
+wild plum bear a garden fruit."
+
+"Then what's to do, sir?" said the mother ruefully. "Don't the good
+book tell us, 'Spare the rod, and spoil the child'?"
+
+"But it also tells us," said the Squire, "that the evil deeds men do
+proceed out of their evil hearts; and that nothing can effect a change
+save the Holy Spirit of God, that 'bloweth where it listed' in this
+world of sin."
+
+Mrs. Mumby was silent. She knew her Bible pretty well, as she had heard
+the parson read it from the desk; but she had hitherto thought only of
+the parent's duty of bringing up a child in the way he should go.
+
+This idea that her boy Bill needed a changed heart to make him want
+less strapping, was new to her. It had never struck her that "bringing
+up" is only like preparing the heart—as ploughing does the field—and
+breaking up its hard surface to receive the gospel seed of truth.
+
+"What would you wish us to do, sir?" asked she nervously.
+
+"First of all, to bring the young culprit face to face with me,"
+replied the Squire. "I will question him, and see what argument can do;
+and if I find him obdurate—well, I shall see what steps to take. There
+is no doubt about the truth of what the 'wise man' says; and there are
+many 'rods' that can be used to teach the wholesome lesson how that
+crooked ways are sure to find their chastisement."
+
+"He'll be in by one, sir, sure," said Mrs. Mumby, half-doubtful whether
+to be glad or sorry that the Squire agreed with her about the need of
+punishment. "He never lags behind at dinner-time."
+
+"Then bring him round to me," rejoined the Squire, rising to his feet.
+
+The mother dropped a curtsey.
+
+"But you won't be hard on him, sir?" said she timidly.
+
+The Squire struck his cane upon the ground.
+
+"We have his future to consider, Mrs. Mumby," answered he. "A boy who
+lies and thieves at his age, must be curbed, or he will end by worse.
+But we will hope that, by God's grace, we may turn him from his evil
+ways."
+
+The Squire and his grandsons were no sooner fairly out of sight than
+Dick came out of hiding, and set off home.
+
+"Bill's well out of that," said he to himself as he thrust his hands
+down in his trousers pockets, and set up whistling. Then, recollecting
+the price he had paid to get Bill off, he broke off his tune to
+add—"And I'm well rid of him." And for all the scarcity of sixpences
+with Dick, he even went so far as to count himself cheaply rid of Bill.
+"I wouldn't care to have the Squire looking after my future," said Dick.
+
+Meantime, young Grantley's brushes worked busily at the picture of the
+church, whilst the Squire and his grandsons made their way across the
+fields and by the river to the wood; and having ascertained that the
+repairs were progressing satisfactorily, they returned to lunch.
+
+Then the Squire sat down in his study to await the arrival of Mrs.
+Mumby and her scapegrace son; and the boys went out of doors to play
+about the plantation, taking care to keep well within sight of the
+gate, so that they might see when Bill arrived. But the afternoon
+wore on. Mumby came in to his dinner, and went back to work; and his
+wife put aside the plateful she had reserved for Bill. Then she went
+upstairs and cleaned herself against his coming in, so as to be ready
+to go up to the Manor House with him.
+
+"I durstn't breathe a word of it till I've got my bonnet on," said she,
+"else he'd be off like a shot."
+
+But Mrs. Mumby tidied up, and came downstairs again with her best
+bonnet in her hand; and still she found the plate untouched. And all
+the afternoon she worked away at her shirt-fronts; but still no Bill
+came in.
+
+Presently she made the tea, and had a cup, setting the pot to keep warm
+on the hob. And six o'clock brought Mumby home; but still no Bill.
+
+"It's just like he's got scent of it," said she. "A boy like him won't
+stand to be corrected while he got legs to run away."
+
+Up at the Manor House they were so less perplexed.
+
+Young Grantley had stowed his easel at the farm, and hurried in to
+dinner, all anxiety to hear what had been done. But all the Squire
+could tell him, was that neither Mrs. Mumby nor the boy had been.
+
+"It's my opinion, grandfather," said Will, "that Mrs. Mumby has changed
+her mind. She's like a silly mother; doesn't want him punished. That's
+the fact of it."
+
+"You oughtn't to have spoken out so plain," said Sigismund. "You've
+frightened her. You take my word; she's hiding Bill."
+
+In this conviction, they all retired for the night.
+
+Next morning, just as breakfast was concluded, a servant came to say
+that, "Mrs. Mumby, from the cottages beyond the Manor Farm," was
+waiting in the hall.
+
+Mrs. Mumby's face was drowned in tears.
+
+"Bill's gone and drowned hisself, or run away," she sobbed. "He knew
+he'd catch it extra hard; and I shall never see my boy again—my only
+boy."
+
+"My good woman," said the Squire soothingly, "you may be quite sure
+your boy has too much respect for his own life, to do anything so
+foolish as jump into the river. Far more likely he is hiding somewhere
+near about, until the storm is past; so dry your eyes, and tell me what
+you can."
+
+Mrs. Mumby obeyed.
+
+"He's took a lot o' food out o' the cupboard," said she, choking
+down her sobs, and speaking through her apron. "Pretty nigh a half a
+quartern loaf, he did. I always have 'em in a day before, to get 'em
+stale."
+
+"Proof positive," said Will, "he's run away."
+
+"What should he want with bread in the river, I wonder!" giggled
+Sigismund, snacking at the flies with a bit of whip-cord, and half
+thinking of Bill the whole time.
+
+"He may have gone into the woods," observed the Squire, half to himself.
+
+"Picnicking," put in Will.
+
+"Has any search been made?" continued his grandfather aloud to Mrs.
+Mumby.
+
+The mother answered tearfully that all the neighbours had turned out
+with lanterns after dark, on hearing that the boy had not come home;
+and many people in the village street had joined the search. Every
+outhouse and haystack in the neighbourhood had been ransacked; and many
+of the searchers had not given up till dawn.
+
+"They reckoned, you see, sir, that he was bound to drop asleep
+somewheres, if so be he was alive," explained Mrs. Mumby; "and they'd
+liker hit upon him in the dark than by broad daylight, when he'd be
+upon the tramp."
+
+"It looked remarkably as if he had made off," the Squire thought.
+"Well, well," said he, "the way will be to telegraph the fact to
+Scotland Yard. A thorough search will soon be set on foot." So,
+repairing to the study, a description of the runaway was written out,
+and a man on horseback forthwith despatched with it to the town.
+
+Whilst this was being arranged, Hal had slipped round to Mrs. Mumby's
+side. "I think, you know," said he, "if I could get hold of Bill, and
+talk to him, it might do good; but then, you see, you don't know where
+he is."
+
+The mother shook her head. "I wish I did," said she.
+
+"I wish you did," echoed Hal. "When you don't know where a person
+is, it makes you feel so bad. You see, he'll soon eat up that bread.
+It wouldn't last me long; and everybody says I eat so little, for a
+growing boy."
+
+"And he eats such a lot," rejoined Bill's mother, comforted by the
+interest Hal seemed to take in her boy's fate. "Bless you, sir! You
+need to be poor people, like Mumby and me," she added, "to know how
+much he does eat."
+
+"And the question is," said Hal reflectively, "what will he do when
+that's gone?"
+
+Dick also had heard of the great stir caused by Bill's disappearance.
+
+"There was pretty near a score on us," old Kirkin told him when he ran
+down the garden, early that morning. "We didn't put our lanterns out
+till four; and up again at six. I can tell 'ee, I ha'n't had a wink o'
+sleep."
+
+"I wonder you didn't stay in bed to-day," said Dick.
+
+But Kirkin shook his head. He had been a gardener in his prime, but now
+had to get his living by odd jobs as best he could.
+
+"Sleep or no sleep, can't afford to throw up work," said he. "But when
+a lad's missing, so that no one knows what's come of him, a man can't
+stay in bed to sleep. His mother's like to kill herself."
+
+"I wonder where he's gone," said Dick, which was quite true, so far
+as it went. Nevertheless, he felt very uncomfortable, sitting down to
+breakfast with the secret of Bill's disappearance on his mind.
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+THE YOUNG SQUIRE ASSUMES A NEW CHARACTER.
+
+THREE or four days passed, but no tidings came of Bill the Kicker.
+
+A week went by, and still he was away. They had the river dragged,
+and all the ponds; every ditch and pitfall in the neighbourhood was
+searched; and printed bills, describing him, were posted up outside all
+the police stations of the district; but all to no effect.
+
+The April rains had come on now, and the world had suddenly burst into
+verdure. It was a lovely vista that the Squire looked down over the
+gate of the wood, when he went to see after the repairs at the cottage.
+But he had to take his morning walks alone now. The tutor had returned,
+and Easter holidays were up.
+
+Dick's presentiments, too, were realized. His father had found a school
+for him; and nine o'clock saw him strapping up his books and hurrying
+off to learn as much mischief and as little solid information as he
+could—after the fashion of boys made on his pattern.
+
+Meanwhile, Farmer Bluff's gout and the repairs had gone on apace. The
+old fellow's prediction had come true more speedily than he desired.
+Not many days had elapsed when the left hand was seized, and he became
+entirely dependent upon Elspeth—being unable even to feed himself.
+
+As long as the holidays had lasted, Hal had contrived to drop in pretty
+often; and he would hardly have believed how much he was missed,
+now that lessons and April showers combined to keep him away. One
+half-holiday proving fine, however, Hal slipped out between school and
+lunch, and set off for the farm. He rang, as usual, but no one came;
+so, finding the door on the latch, he pushed it open and announced
+himself.
+
+A savoury smell greeted him. Farmer Bluff's dinner tray was on the
+table. Hal apologized for his intrusion.
+
+"I didn't know you dined quite so soon," said he.
+
+"No more I do, it seems," returned Farmer Bluff gruffly. "That's how
+she serves me pretty nearly every day; just brings it in and takes the
+covers off. Then leaves it here for me to smell until it's all gone
+cold,—to go and eat her own, I s'pose. And here am I, can't move hand
+or foot!"
+
+"That's bad," said Hal; "it spoils the gravy so. You get the fat all on
+the top."
+
+It was a mutton chop, and there were greens with it, according to the
+doctor's express orders.
+
+"Greens aren't nice cold, either," added Hal. "They get so dabby, don't
+they? I suppose it rather comes of your having gout in both hands,
+though. Grown-ups are intended to be able to help themselves, you see."
+
+The farmer groaned. He always did, when Hal made these little moral
+reflections. If any one had scolded, it would have only angered him and
+made him obstinate; but Hal's remarks came out so naturally, and he
+looked so sympathetic all the while, that a more ill-tempered man than
+Farmer Bluff could scarcely have felt annoyed.
+
+"I'll tell you what," said Hal suddenly. "As I happen to be here just
+now, why shouldn't I help you? I can manage quite as well as Mrs.
+Elspeth, if you like."
+
+When Elspeth returned, she was astonished to find the young Squire
+seated on a corner of the table, with his crutches one side, and the
+bailiff's plate the other, preparing dainty mouthfuls with the knife
+and fork, and skilfully conveying them to her master's mouth.
+
+"Well, I never!" exclaimed she, pausing in the open doorway in amaze.
+
+"It seemed a pity all this gravy should get cold, because you were
+so busy that you couldn't come," explained Hal. "I think, if I were
+you, I'd try and make sure of that before I brought the dinner in. I
+shouldn't like mine cold. And you must excuse my sitting on the table
+too. If I stand, you see, I want my hands to hold my crutches with; and
+if I sit down on a chair, I come so low I couldn't reach. I hope I make
+it salt enough," he added, as he lodged another forkful in the great
+bird's mouth.
+
+Hal's relations with the bailiff became of a far more confidential
+nature after this. We often hear it said that a right to give advice
+is earned by lending help. So Hal found; only he put it in a different
+way. He felt that he had found his way to Farmer Bluff's affection
+by performing such a homely office for him; and he treated him
+accordingly. He often managed to run in upon half-holidays; and he
+didn't only lecture him about the gout. He soon succeeded in making him
+talk; so that before long, he knew more of Farmer Bluff's history than
+most other people did. He found out how the old man liked to talk of
+sport and dogs; but he also learned how Mrs. Bluff had died quite young
+of fever, and how one by one, the children whom she left had gone to
+follow her, so that in six short weeks, he had been left alone.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"That was very sad for you," said he. "I shouldn't wonder if that
+partly made you have the gout."
+
+"Trouble does act on the system, so the doctors say," said Farmer
+Bluff, glad of an excuse for what he knew Hal blamed as his own fault.
+
+But that was not exactly Hal's meaning. "It might have been what made
+you take to beer," observed he.
+
+"Now if you'd looked at it like this," continued Hal after due
+reflection: "My wife and children are gone on to heaven, where I mean
+to join them by and by, when I've done work. Just see what a difference
+it would have made. Some people," added he sagely, "only look at every
+day as it comes; and if it rains or snows, they think it's never going
+to stop. Other people look right ahead to the summer holidays—or to
+the harvest, if they're farmers, of course; and that makes all the
+difference. They know it will be all right in the long run, don't you
+see?"
+
+But Hal's tacit reproof had not made Elspeth one whit more attentive
+to the invalid; indeed, if anything, she had been even more neglectful
+than before. Her master's time at the farm was getting short, and she
+had quite made up her mind to seek another place.
+
+Farmer Bluff raged and swore when she informed him of her
+determination. But Elspeth only taunted him with his powerlessness to
+execute one word of all his threats or oaths; and finally, having done
+her best to rouse his worst passions, she left him to meditate upon his
+awkward situation.
+
+Just then Hal, happening to get caught in a shower, swung himself up
+the yard and into the porch.
+
+Elspeth grinned as she let him in.
+
+"He's in an awful temper, that I warn you, Master Hal," she said. "I'd
+a'most as soon go talk to Blazer as him."
+
+But Hal was not afraid; and before the lapse of many minutes, Farmer
+Bluff—without a single oath—had told him how things stood.
+
+"Well, now, let's see," said Hal. "What must you do? You must have
+somebody, that's clear. If you hadn't got this gout just now, it would
+be different, and you could laugh her in the face,—though I don't know
+that it would be exactly Christian to laugh the face of a person who
+'despitefully used you;' but I mean you could do without her if she was
+determined not to stay. Or rather," added Hal, his thoughts suddenly
+taking a leap back to the source of all the difficulty, "you wouldn't
+be in such a bother at all; because she would never have given notice
+if you hadn't had to move out of the farm. It's all the gout, you see."
+
+Farmer Bluff moved impatiently upon his chair. It was rather hard to be
+constantly twitted with that fact—even by Hal; because if it was "all
+the gout," it was therefore "all his own fault." But he was paid back
+for his pains with such a twinge in either leg, that he involuntarily
+moved his arms in their slings; whereupon each finger of each hand
+seemed to say—"No good, old fellow; you can't escape your punishment;
+for 'whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.'"
+
+Meanwhile Hal was busy trying to think what could be done.
+
+"Haven't you got somebody?" suggested he at last. "Relations are the
+best, I think, because they have an interest in you. You must have got
+a sister, haven't you?"
+
+Farmer Bluff said "No" at first; but afterwards, he changed his mind.
+"Leastways not one who would come," said he. The matter stood thus. He
+had a sister once, who married somebody he did not like—a pious man,
+who would not drink for the sake of good fellowship, and did not swear.
+So he quarrelled with his sister; and when she wrote and told him that
+she had a baby boy named after him, he did not answer her; he had never
+seen or written to her since.
+
+"She couldn't come in any case, you see," said Hal; "because she has
+her own home and her husband to look after."
+
+The bailiff shook his head.
+
+"He's dead," said he. "He died about the same time as my wife, and so
+did the boy. She wrote to me to know if I could give her any help.
+There was a little girl, I think."
+
+"Then she's just the very one," said Hal.
+
+"Unless she's married some one else," added Farmer Bluff. "But she
+wouldn't come. 'Tain't likely, after how I've treated her."
+
+"You don't deserve it, certainly," admitted Hal; which was not exactly
+what the farmer meant. "But sisters are amazingly forgiving—so they
+say. (I always wish I'd got one, do you know?) If I were you, I'd write
+to her."
+
+This advice was rather out of place, seeing the helpless condition of
+the old fellow's hands. The upshot of it was, however, that Hal sat
+down to write from Farmer Bluff's dictation; and between them they made
+up a letter, setting forth the state of things, and offering Mrs. Rust
+a home, if she were willing to forgive the past, and come to live with
+him. Then Hal got up to say good-bye.
+
+"I'll be sure and have it posted," said he. "If I put it in the hall
+with all the other letters, Perkins will take it when he goes from
+work."
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+THE VERY ONE.
+
+FARMER BLUFF'S answer came sooner than he expected.
+
+Although Mrs. Rust had been deeply wounded by her hard-hearted
+brother's evident lack of affection, she had never cherished the least
+ill-will against him. She rather mourned to think that his evil ways
+should separate them whilst so many years of life to love each other
+were theirs.
+
+But, as it chanced, this proposal that she should make her home with
+him, came very opportunely to the lonely, hard-worked widow. Her little
+girl, now just eleven, had grown-up very delicate; and in their one
+poor room in London, poor Maggie could not have the air and nourishment
+of which she stood so much in need. Nothing could be better for her
+than the free life of the fields and lanes.
+
+Farmer Bluff read and re-read the letter, which was full of
+affectionate expressions, reminding him how they had played together in
+the years gone by, before they had begun their separate paths in life,
+and learnt what trouble meant. It seemed so wonderful to think that
+after these ten years of estrangement on his part, she should still
+care for him.
+
+But it was just what Hal had said. "Sisters are amazingly forgiving—"
+
+"Far more so than you deserve," conscience added, in a tone he could
+not choose but hear.
+
+He contrived to send a message up to Hal that afternoon. One of the men
+happening to come in about the selling of some piglings, he at once
+seized the opportunity of letting "the young Squire" know the result of
+their joint penmanship. Hal came directly lessons were over for the day.
+
+"Hurrah!" cried he as he entered. "Three cheers for Mrs. Rust!"
+
+Then, after talking it over for a little while, they composed the
+answer, directing Mrs. Rust to pack her things together, and come down
+next week, to superintend the remove.
+
+Of course, when Elspeth heard of this arrangement, she declared that
+she wasn't going to be "mississed over" by a widow woman who was so
+hard up that she was ready to snap at the first chance of a home.
+And the end of it was that the ill-natured woman cleared out of the
+house the very day that Mrs. Rust came in, leaving no provisions ready
+cooked, and all the work to do.
+
+But Mrs. Rust made light of that, for there were eggs in plenty to be
+had; with the sweet, fresh country bread and butter, she and Maggie
+made a hearty meal, and after a short rest, she set herself to work to
+take old Elspeth's place.
+
+When the Squire heard of it from Hal, however, he was very angry, and
+sent a woman up at once to help her with the work. "It isn't fair,"
+said he. "She cannot possibly do it all—look after Farmer Bluff, and
+see to things about the dairy and farmyard, and get the cottage into
+order too."
+
+Next afternoon, he went round with Hal to see what Mrs. Rust was like,
+after her ten years of widowhood.
+
+He found her all that her girlhood had given promise of; tidy,
+respectful, and cheery—a thorough specimen of English matronhood.
+Meanwhile Hal made acquaintance with her little girl, who stood shyly
+near the window, watching Grip, and playing with the flowers she had
+gathered in the fields. But she was not shy long; for Hal's frank ways
+soon put her at her ease, and they became good friends.
+
+A week later, two of the farm waggons, piled with furniture, rolled
+slowly across the yard, and up the road towards the gate of the wood.
+And that same evening, with many groans and grunts—but not a single
+oath, for little Maggie Rust was by—poor, gouty Farmer Bluff himself,
+in a bath-chair, with his two dogs tied behind, was wheeled to his new
+home. Next day, the future bailiff took possession of the farm; and the
+old life was a thing of the past.
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+UNDER SENTENCE.
+
+IT was more difficult for Hal to get as far as Farmer Bluffs cottage;
+nevertheless, on the very first half-holiday after the remove, he
+appeared there, just as Maggie ran out at the door.
+
+Such a difference there was in her already! The fresh air seemed to
+have acted like magic on her languid frame. She would skip and bound
+and run; and everywhere her merry voice was heard, laughing, singing,
+calling to the dogs; mimicking the birds, or chattering through the
+open window to her uncle, who still sat in his arm-chair, bound hand
+and foot by gout.
+
+Maggie had made great friends with both the dogs, but especially with
+Blazer. It was wonderful to see the fierce, rough creature jump up when
+he heard her voice, and stand there pulling at his chain, and whining
+for her to come and pat his great head.
+
+And as for Maggie, she did not seem the least afraid of him. "He's
+ferocious, but he's honest," she would say. "I wouldn't come within a
+mile of him, if I were a thief; but he knows who are friends and who
+are not."
+
+Hal was going in to talk to Farmer Bluff, but Maggie stopped him.
+
+"Wait a bit," said she; "the doctor's there just now."
+
+So Hal went round with her to have a word with his friend Blazer.
+
+It was very pretty in the garden now. The wood was emerald green with
+the young foliage, and ferns were springing up through the carpet of
+dead leaves, uncrumpling their pale brown fronds in the sunlight that
+fell on them through the lacy branches of the beech and hornbeam trees.
+
+Maggie had already learnt to leap the ditch. "Though mother says I
+mustn't stray into the wood," said she, "for fear of getting into
+mischief. So I just keep close at hand, and fancy that I'm far away.
+It's such a pity, too, my Uncle Bluff won't have the garden planted. He
+says the rabbits come across the ditch, and eat whatever grows. I mean
+to watch for them."
+
+Indoors the doctor was talking in this sort of strain to Farmer Bluff.
+"Fact is, farmer, this gout is mounting to your stomach as fast as it
+can go; and if once it gets there, ten chances to one no power on earth
+will get it out. You'll die of it, that's all."
+
+Farmer Bluff looked scared. "Is there nothing you can do to stop it,
+doctor?" asked he piteously.
+
+"Do? When for the last five years and more you've undone every attempt
+I've made? Look at that!" And Dr. Winthrop pointed to the mug. "If you
+will drink beer, as I am sick of telling you, why, you must abide by
+the consequences. Dash my wigs!" exclaimed the doctor, warming up. "If
+I'd a mug of solid gold that made a fool of me, I'd throw it in the
+ditch and bury it."
+
+In this strain, the doctor talked at him for ten minutes or more; then
+he went away. And Hal, seeing that the coast was clear, went in. But
+Farmer Bluff was unusually glum that morning. Do what Hal would, he
+could not cheer him up; for the poor old sinner had got it on his mind
+that he was doomed to die.
+
+"If I were you," said Hal to Maggie, as he went out at the gate, "I
+think I'd sing to Farmer Bluff. I can't, you know, or else I would; but
+I can manage talking best. He's right down in the dumps to-day. I can't
+think why—unless it is because he had to leave the farm."
+
+A few days later told them, though. Gout doesn't attack the more
+important parts of the body without letting a man know it. Farmer Bluff
+was in such fearful pain that Dr. Winthrop was sent for in a hurry.
+
+The doctor shook his head.
+
+"He's had no beer since you were here last, sir," said Mrs. Rust. "He
+called for it no end of times; but I refused to bring it in."
+
+"You did quite right," the doctor said. "When grown-up patients won't
+be sensible, they must be treated like children."
+
+He little knew the language Farmer Bluff had hurled at her for carrying
+out these orders for his good.
+
+Farmer Bluff was watching Dr. Winthrop's expression very anxiously.
+
+"Is there any change—for the better, doctor?" asked he eagerly. "What
+can be the cause of all this pain?"
+
+The doctor shook his head again.
+
+"You mustn't think," said he, "that three days can cure disease brought
+on by the habits of a lifetime. I will do my best for you; but you have
+killed yourself."
+
+Hal met Dick that day.
+
+"It's a pity," said he. "Dr. Winthrop says that Farmer Bluff can't
+possibly get well. The gout has reached his stomach. It's all through
+drinking too much beer."
+
+Then he went on to the cottage to talk to Farmer Bluff in his own
+simple, sympathetic way. "I'm very sorry," he told him gently,
+"especially as it's your own fault. That makes so much worse of it."
+
+"In this world and the next," put in Farmer Bluff gloomily. "But it's
+too late to talk about that now."
+
+"Too late!—Why?" asked Hal.
+
+But although Farmer Bluff knew pretty well his own reasons for saying
+so, he did not answer the boy's question.
+
+So Hal went on: "I don't at all think it's too late. 'Never too late to
+mend' is a good saying; but 'Never too late to repent' seems to me a
+better. Because, you see, if what Dr. Winthrop says is right, your gout
+won't let you mend; but Jesus said that everybody who repented in their
+heart, would be accepted and forgiven."
+
+"I've tried singing to him," Maggie told Hal, when he came downstairs
+again. "I know a lot of hymns; and he likes it too."
+
+Hal looked about for Dick, when he got outside.
+
+But at school, Dick had made a lot of new acquaintances who were not
+likely to know anything about the adventure with Bill; so he preferred
+their company, and had gone off birds'-nesting with some of them.
+
+Arrived on the terrace, Hal went straight to the Squire's library.
+He found his grandfather sitting in his great arm-chair, with his
+gold-rimmed spectacles upon his nose, reading a big folio volume that
+lay open on his knee; for the Squire was rather fond of learned books.
+He drew his glasses off as Hal came in, and laid them on the page.
+
+"Grandfather," said Hal, in a tone of great concern, "the doctor says
+that Farmer Bluff will have to die. The gout has got so far it can't be
+stopped."
+
+"It's as bad as that, is it?" replied the Squire. "I thought as much,"
+added he, half to himself.
+
+Hal sat down upon the edge of a chair with a dejected air.
+
+"It serves him right," added the Squire.
+
+Hal looked up quickly, as if about to speak; then changed his mind and
+relapsed into silence again. He was disappointed. He had cherished the
+hope of being able to convince Farmer Bluff of his folly; and he had
+failed.
+
+But his grandfather did not quite understand this.
+
+"It's his own fault," said he; "he had fair warning."
+
+Hal shifted again, and looked like speaking, but got no further. There
+was a big lump in his throat.
+
+"All the arguing in the world wouldn't do it, if tweaking and twinging
+wouldn't," continued the Squire, mentally referring to his own and the
+doctor's discourses, together with the pains and premonitions of the
+disease itself. "It's astonishing what a man will bear, rather than
+give up his besetting sin."
+
+"I did my best," added Hal, thinking of nobody's efforts but his own.
+"I spoke out plainly too."
+
+"Ah!" said the Squire, suddenly remembering those words of Hal's when
+first he learnt that the bailiff was to be discharged. "You've been in
+and out a good deal, I suppose, Hal; as you say, you've done your best."
+
+"But, you see, it hasn't saved him," rejoined Hal mournfully. "That's
+the worst of it."
+
+"It's very sad," said the Squire, after a pause, during which he put
+his gold-rimmed glasses on, and took them off again. "It's always sad
+when a man reaps the fruits of his own folly."
+
+"Especially when he has had fair warning," added Hal, "and might have
+done so differently."
+
+"I must go and see him one of these mornings, I suppose," observed the
+Squire presently.
+
+The next few days made a great difference in Farmer Bluff. When the
+Squire went, he found the downstairs room vacant.
+
+"Where's Farmer Bluff?" asked Hal uneasily.
+
+"Upstairs," answered Maggie, who had opened the door for them. "He
+can't get out of bed any more."
+
+And she ran to ask if they could go up.
+
+"Well, Bluff," said the Squire kindly, as he approached the bedside;
+"I'm sorry to see you like this."
+
+"They tell me it's my own fault, sir," said the sufferer meekly.
+
+Somehow, he had come to swear less and less since Maggie had been
+there. "My own fault!" he repeated, with a sigh.
+
+"It's a hard thing to tell a man, when he's on his death-bed,"' said
+the Squire gently.
+
+"But I suppose it's true," rejoined Farmer Bluff.
+
+"And it's better that a man should know it's true," the Squire added
+solemnly; "for then he has a chance of taking comfort from the
+assurance that 'if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to
+forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.'
+Though our sins and folly may have destroyed our body, the moment
+that we cast them from us by our faith in Him whom God sent to be our
+Saviour, they lose power to harm our soul; and the only condition
+of forgiveness and acceptance is we cease to cherish our sins, and,
+trusting in Jesus, seek to be restored."
+
+Farmer Bluff was silent. Perhaps his conscience told him it was less
+the sin that he was sorry for than the consequences it had brought.
+
+"You weren't far wrong, you see, sir, when you turned me out," said he
+presently. "It was a hard blow, but I deserved it. I had no right to
+murmur; for I wasn't equal to my work."
+
+"And I didn't leave you unprovided for," the Squire added kindly. "I
+chose this place, too, because I thought you would be happier near the
+wood than anywhere. I see you've brought the dogs here, too."
+
+"Grip and Blazer, sir; yes. I can't make out what's got 'em both
+to-day."
+
+The two dogs were barking "fit to fetch the house down," as the farmer
+put it. They had been barking so all night, and ever since sunset the
+evening before; so he told the Squire.
+
+"I heard old Dobson throw his window up once or twice," said he; "and
+at last he took his gun and had a look about, to see if it was anybody
+prowling round."
+
+"Perhaps it was only rabbits," suggested the Squire. "I've heard Dobson
+say that even hares will come into these gardens on moonlight nights."
+
+"They will, sir, I can certify," said Farmer Bluff, amused for the
+minute; "though they won't find much to pay 'em here. I wasn't going to
+have the ground planted, for them to eat up every shoot that grew."
+
+Hal was standing by the casement during this conversation, now watching
+his grandfather and the farmer, now looking out of the window at the
+kennel, where Blazer was jumping and plunging angrily, tearing the air
+with his furious cries. Just as Farmer Bluff finished speaking, he
+uttered a sudden exclamation.
+
+"Grandfather!" cried he. "Blazer has burst his collar, and got free!"
+
+At the same instant, the barking had ceased, and Blazer, without a
+scrap of chain about him, had gone racing down the clearing through the
+wood. The next minute Maggie's voice was heard on the staircase.
+
+"Uncle Bluff! Uncle Bluff!" cried she, as she climbed. "Blazer has got
+loose and run away!"
+
+In the excitement of the moment, Farmer Bluff made a desperate effort
+to get to a sitting posture; but that was beyond him, and he earned
+nothing but pain for his exertion.
+
+"He's run right away," said Maggie, appearing in the doorway with an
+agitated face.
+
+"Oh! He'll come back right enough," returned her uncle, lifting his
+head to look at her. "The mischief is—mercy on any one he should meet.
+And I don't know the man, except old Dobson, who dare go after him."
+
+"I dare," said Maggie bravely; "I'll go to the ditch and call."
+
+"No, child," cried Farmer Bluff; but quick as lightning Maggie was
+gone. "Stop her!" roared he, as she sped downstairs and out at the
+house door. "He'll knock her down! He'll kill the child!"
+
+"Not he!" said Hal. "Not Blazer! He's far too fond of Mag. She's not
+afraid of him; no more am I. I'll go too."
+
+But the Squire stopped him.
+
+"I'd hardly dare go myself," said Farmer Bluff. "Hark! There she's
+calling him!"
+
+And the little girl's voice was heard ringing out clear and
+loud—"Blazer, Blazer; where have you rushed off to? You bad old doggie,
+you!"
+
+The Squire had his head out of the casement, calling her to come in;
+but Blazer had heard her voice and come back with a rush, leaping the
+ditch and bounding up to lick her hand, then crouching at her feet,
+whilst Maggie stood firm as a rock, and fearlessly patted his broad
+head. Then he leapt the ditch again, and barked, and looked towards the
+child; then came back, and jumped around her; then back to the ditch,
+as if he wanted her to go with him.
+
+"Well, I'll leap the ditch then, Blazer," they heard her cry; "if that
+is what you want." And stepping back a pace or two, she took a run, and
+jumped it clean and clear.
+
+"That was a good leap, my lass," the Squire called approvingly. "Surely
+she's not town-bred, Bluff," added he, drawing in his head to look back
+towards the bed.
+
+"She is, sir," answered Farmer Bluff; "and such a white-faced thing,
+too, when her mother brought her here."
+
+"Well, come!" rejoined the Squire cheerily. "There's something to set
+off against your leaving the farm. If you hadn't had to come up here,
+I suppose she'd be white-faced yet. But what about this dog? I don't
+see how he's going to be got upon the chain again. The collar is broken
+too."
+
+"There used to be another collar about the place," Farmer Bluff
+answered.
+
+For the brute had always seemed so fierce, they had not dared to depend
+upon a single one; but where it was, he could not say—though Mrs. Rust
+might know when she came in—nor who would undertake to put it on.
+
+"I shouldn't be afraid if I could manage it," said Hal, who had
+reluctantly obeyed his grandfather's desire that he would not go down.
+"But you see my crutches are so in the way."
+
+The Squire shook his head.
+
+"Better wait till old Dobson's home," suggested Farmer Bluff. "The dog
+knows him."
+
+"Only," put in Hal, "just think how frightened Mrs. Rust will be when
+she comes in."
+
+Meanwhile Blazer was still rushing madly to and fro. Far from satisfied
+with having got Maggie across the ditch, he was evidently trying hard
+to prevail on her to go into the wood with him. If she ran a step or
+two he seemed so pleased, but as soon as she stopped, he barked and
+leapt, and tugged at her dress, making every sign dog ingenuity could
+suggest to coax her into going forward down the track.
+
+"There's something at the bottom of all that, depend upon it," said
+the Squire, walking to the foot of the bed. "Blazer has found somebody
+or something; and he wants to show his find. I shell venture down and
+follow his lead. He knows me pretty well."
+
+"He knows me better, grandfather," said Hal.
+
+"We'll both go," said the Squire, setting off towards the stairs, Hal
+following.
+
+A ditch was an obstacle both for the old gentleman and the cripple boy,
+neither of whom could leap like the little London maid. There was a
+way out of the difficulty, however, by going round to the gate of the
+wood; and in a very few minutes, the Squire and Hal had joined Maggie,
+and were following Blazer down the track, much to the jealousy of Grip,
+who stood watching from his kennel in the front garden, and uttering a
+series of short, snappish barks, by way of protest at this unfairness.
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+A RUNAWAY'S STORY.
+
+THE old Squire had always made a point of having a civil word for both
+dogs whenever he went to the farm; so that, as he said, both Blazer
+and Grip were tolerably familiar with him. On the present occasion,
+however, Blazer was too much delighted at getting his own way to show
+any disagreeable tempers. He did nothing but run and leap and bark in
+an ecstasy of triumph, looking back from time to time, to make sure
+that he was being followed, and exerting himself ten times more than
+was necessary, in his efforts to incite them to speed.
+
+But the uneven surface of the track was less easy for Hal's crutches
+than the open road; and Blazer had to be content with rather slow
+progress, whilst Maggie ran backwards and forwards, jumping and
+calling, thoroughly enjoying the fun, and doing her best, by her own
+excitement, to keep up Blazer's.
+
+They had not proceeded very far in this manner, however, when Blazer
+changed his course, darting in amongst the undergrowth.
+
+The Squire pulled up.
+
+"Now, Blazer, old boy," said he, "that isn't just the sort of place an
+old gentleman finds convenient to scramble through. What do you want
+with it?"
+
+But the dog was evidently in real earnest. There was no mistake about
+that. He trotted on a little way ahead, then turned and leapt and
+barked, and came bounding back, jumping round the Squire, and all but
+beckoning him to come.
+
+"What a pity he can't speak!" exclaimed Hal, looking up into his
+grandfather's face, as if to read his thoughts.
+
+"We must contrive to go with him somehow, that's certain," returned
+the Squire, stopping to consider; "or, at least, I must. He has found
+something, and he wants to show it us. Hal, you wait here with Maggie;
+no, stay! Let Maggie come with me, in case I want a messenger."
+
+And putting one shoulder to the hazel bushes, to Blazer's infinite
+delight, the old gentleman commenced pushing his way in amongst them,
+Maggie following close upon his heels.
+
+A shade of disappointment came over Hal's face. This was how he had to
+feel his affliction every now and then. But Hal was not a boy to stop
+at disappointment. He only stood still a minute or so; then turning,
+set off down the track again, to search for an opening by which to
+reach the spot whither the dog was leading them—sure, at all events, of
+knowing by his barks the direction that they took.
+
+He had but just lighted on a cross track when the barking ceased. They
+must have reached the place.
+
+Hal stopped to listen just an instant, then set forward, breathing
+fast, and flushing with his exertions to lose no time, and hoping that
+as Blazer had led them off in a slanting direction, this track, which
+crossed the cartway at right angles, would converge with their path.
+
+Presently, however, the track ended in a sort of winding path, which
+seemed to lead into thicker and thicker tangle. Hal stopped, perplexed,
+and listened, but could hear no sound. Next minute, however, Blazer's
+bark sounded out again, short and sharp; once, twice, thrice. Hal set
+forward instantly, with increased vigour, and after following the
+windings of the path for a short distance, he was able to distinguish
+voices, whilst every now and then Blazer gave a sharp bark, as if to
+call him on.
+
+All on a sudden, an idea struck Hal, and resting on his crutches to get
+breath, he called Blazer's name with all his might.
+
+The plan succeeded. Blazer heard, and gave an answering bark. In a few
+seconds, Hal heard the crackling of the dry leaves under his paws; then
+out he rushed along the path. They were not far off, and Hal was going
+straight for them. He hurried on after the dog.
+
+"Where are you, grandfather?" called he, when he got near enough to
+distinguish the Squire's voice.
+
+"Here!" was the reply.
+
+And at the same instant, Hal spied Maggie's pink apron through the
+bushes.
+
+Hal paused a second; then pushing one crutch in among the twigs, he
+made his way to where the others were.
+
+The Squire was bending over something on the ground, Maggie kneeling by
+his side. "He's opening his eyes!" cried she, as Hal came up.
+
+And there, to his astonishment, half-raised upon the turf mound at the
+foot of a hazel clump, lay the long-lost runaway, Bill the Kicker.
+
+Bill drew a long breath and rolled his eyes round; then the lids
+dropped to again.
+
+Maggie gave vent to an exclamation of mingled pity and disappointment,
+and the Squire observed,—
+
+"It's evidently a case of starvation. From the look of him, I should
+imagine that the young scamp has kept away as long as he could hold
+out. If Blazer hadn't happened to find him, he would have died here
+before night."
+
+The sound of voices roused Bill again. His eyes opened, and he drew
+another long breath. Then suddenly a look of bewilderment came over his
+face. "Where 'm I got to?" he asked excitedly.
+
+But before any one could answer, he had recognised the Squire. The
+bewildered look gave place to one of terror, and Bill made a desperate
+effort at scrambling to his feet; but he had long since reached the
+point when starved and exhausted nature could do no more. He only fell
+back upon the bank with a sick and dizzy sensation, and his eyelids
+closed again.
+
+"Lie still, my boy," said the Squire kindly. "You must have something
+to eat. You're starving."
+
+Bill put his hand to his waist-belt. He had ceased to remember that
+he was hungry; but the Squire's words brought back the craving. He
+recollected how he had felt before he swooned.
+
+"Have either of you anything eatable about you?"' asked the Squire,
+turning to Hal and Maggie. "A sweetmeat, or a bit of biscuit; anything
+that he could suck or munch."
+
+Hal had not. He was not a boy who cared for sweets. Maggie, however,
+produced a chocolate drop, given her over the counter by the grocer's
+man.
+
+"But what is that when he's starving!" exclaimed she.
+
+"All the better," returned the Squire. "In his present state, it would
+be dangerous to give him much. But you may run home," added he, as
+Bill eagerly took the tiny mouthful and crunched it up. "Run home—you
+can find your way?—And bring cup of bread or biscuit sopped in milk—or
+water, if you can't find milk; be as quick as ever you can. The poor
+boy is nearly starved."
+
+Some good people would have tried to get Bill's story out of him
+whilst Maggie was running for the food. But Hal's grandfather did no
+such thing, having too much common sense, as well as too much pity for
+the boy. Besides, his story was so plainly told by every feature of
+his face, and every inch of tattered garment that he wore. His whole
+appearance seemed to say, in language that no eyes could fail to read,
+that it was one thing to get into a scrape and run away in order to
+escape the consequence, but quite another thing to keep decent clothes
+upon his back, and pick up food enough to hold the wolf at bay. In
+short, poor Bill had learnt the value of a home.
+
+[Illustration: THE SQUIRE FINDS BILL THOROUGHLY EXHAUSTED.]
+
+Meanwhile, Maggie had scrambled back to the cart-track, making fearful
+havoc of her zephyr apron in her haste; and had torn home, panting and
+breathless, taking the ditch at a bound, and astonishing beyond measure
+her mother, who was just returning up the garden path. On learning what
+had happened, however, Mrs. Rust quickly made the pap, and, calling up
+the stairs to Farmer Bluff, set off with Maggie to the spot.
+
+"I made it warm, sir," said she, as she knelt down by Bill's side to
+feed him from the cup.
+
+Bill took it eagerly, and would have made short work of it, had he
+not been restrained. It quickly revived him, however, and he sat up,
+looking very much as if he would like to run away again.
+
+"You'll be all the better for that, my boy," said Mrs. Rust, standing
+back a step or two with the empty cup in her hand.
+
+But Bill felt rather foolish. He looked from one to another of the
+group round him, and said nothing.
+
+The Squire was the first to speak. "Well, young man," said he,
+possessing himself of his gold-headed cane, which he had laid down
+beside Bill on first stooping to examine him; "I'm glad to see you've
+come home again. And I hope you've had enough of a lesson about the
+folly of running away."
+
+Bill hung his head. "I don't know as I'm going home," said he, in a
+low, dogged tone of voice.
+
+"Oh! Don't you?" said the Squire. "I'll take care of that."
+
+"Likely!" continued Bill defiantly. "To have the strap."
+
+"Perhaps, if you behave well, and answer all I want to know," returned
+the Squire, "I may feel inclined to beg you off the strapping—though I
+must confess that you deserve it every bit."
+
+Bill subsided and looked down, waiting in sullen silence to be
+questioned, whilst Maggie drew a little nearer, moving her eyes rapidly
+from him to the Squire with lively interest.
+
+"Why did you run away?" commenced the Squire.
+
+Maggie's eyes went back to Bill.
+
+"'Cause he told me to," said Bill.
+
+"He?" rejoined the Squire. "Who's he?"
+
+"Him what I stole the egg for," answered Bill. "Dick Crozier, sir."
+
+"Dick Crozier!" exclaimed Hal and his grandfather in a breath. "Mind
+you're not inventing lies," added the Squire. "Why, dear me," he
+continued half-aside, "I had fancied him a better lad. It seems
+incredible!"
+
+"He said as you was comin' round a purpose to 'indemnifight' me," Bill
+went on; "an' if he was me, he wouldn't stand still to be took."
+
+What Bill had supposed this terrible word to mean, it would be hard to
+determine; but he had kept on repeating it to himself all the way he
+had run, until it had got so mixed up as to come out entirely wrong.
+"Nor I wasn't going to neither," added Bill, with the defiant look
+again.
+
+"How came you to steal an egg for him?" asked the Squire next.
+
+"'Cause I wanted sixpence," answered Bill. "But he's as bad as me,"
+added Bill eagerly. "He hadn't ought to ha' taken what I'd stole. I've
+heard my father say so once."
+
+"Quite right," rejoined the Squire. "Receiving stolen goods is
+punishable by law. He sucked this egg, then, I suppose; and gave you
+sixpence for it."
+
+Then came out the history of how Bill's evil conscience had brought
+about the smashing of the eggs; and how, in self-defence, he had
+inflicted on the unfortunate goose the injuries that had caused her
+death. "I didn't want to hurt her, sir," said Bill; "but when one o'
+them things is after you—"
+
+"It's rather terrible, I must admit," returned the Squire, hardly able
+to restrain a smile. "Then you didn't get your sixpence after all?"
+
+"Yes, I did though," replied Bill quickly, with a cunning grin. "He guv
+it me to keep from splitting, 'cause he knew as how if I was caught, I
+was bound to let out who I'd stole it for. If it hadn't been for that,"
+said Bill, whose meal had pretty well revived him by this time, "and t'
+other, what I got for bein' made a pictur' of, I'm blest if I'd 'a' had
+a rag o' flesh on any o' my bones by now—grub's that hard to get."
+
+"Ah! Recollect that, next time that you're tempted to do wrong,"
+returned the Squire solemnly.
+
+"But he was just as bad as me," repeated Bill, who seemed inclined to
+take comfort in companionship in his disgrace.
+
+He found, however, that the Squire entertained a different view of
+the matter. "Gently," said he. "You had the first of it; for you put
+temptation in his way, by offering to undertake the theft. But now, one
+question more. What did you want the sixpence for?"
+
+Bill hung his head and looked more than half a mind not to answer; but
+he changed his mind, thinking that it was sure to come out, and that,
+all things considered, he had better enjoy the merit of making a clean
+breast of the whole affair.
+
+"'Cause I wanted a new knife," said he; "and so I'd borrowed sixpence
+from the rent."
+
+
+"You've got to beg me off the strapping, sir," said Bill, as they set
+off back towards the cartway, a few minutes later; "'cause you promised
+if I answered square."
+
+"And when I promise anything, I keep my word," replied the Squire,
+rather pleased than otherwise with the boy's straightforwardness. He
+took occasion by the way, however, to administer a lecture on the
+wickedness of breaking in through hedges after other people's property.
+"If Blazer had caught you there, instead of half dead in this wood,"
+said he, "he would have shown you little mercy, you may make quite
+sure."
+
+Bill also related by degrees a lot of his adventures since leaving
+home; how he had escaped along the riverbank, running till his breath
+gave out, and walking till he nearly dropped, to reach the town before
+the night came on; how he had slept under porches or in doorways, in
+wind and wet and darkness, frightened, cold, and wretched, night after
+night; and how, after his food and money were all gone, he had begged
+for work, and gone from door to door to ask a piece of bread, until he
+grew so weak and wild with living on the scanty crusts he got, that he
+began to wish he had not run away.
+
+"Leastways," said Bill, "I wished I hadn't stole the eggs."
+
+And he went on to tell how at the last he had determined to come back,
+but had not had the courage to face his parents' anger; and so had
+wandered on into the wood, and round to the back of the two cottages,
+where he was about to beg food, when to his surprise, he spied Blazer
+chained up, and Blazer spied him.
+
+"And for the life of me I durstn't ask," said Bill; "so I cut away into
+the wood, and there I tumbled down."
+
+"And there you would have died," the Squire added, "if Blazer had not
+broken loose and followed on your track, and found you where you lay,
+you poor silly boy. Well, you have had your punishment; and I can
+promise you, your parents will be glad enough to see you back. Only
+mind you show that you are worthy of forgiveness by making a fresh
+start."
+
+Arrived at Farmer Bluffs, Bill was glad to sit down quietly and have
+some more to eat, whilst the Squire went and saw Blazer's collar mended
+up. As for Blazer, he came quite gently to take a biscuit and a lump of
+sugar out of Maggie's hand, and then submitted to have the chain put
+on; after which, he retired into his kennel, and lay down to rest.
+
+Then the Squire, having directed Mrs. Rust to search the other collar
+out, or get a new one made, set out with Bill, to see him safe into his
+parents' hands.
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+LOOSE AGAIN.
+
+ON reaching the stile by the Manor Farm, the Squire went on to the
+cottages with Bill, leaving Hal to return home alone, and tell his
+mother all that had happened. They had scarcely parted, when Dick,
+surrounded by a number of his schoolfellows, overtook him.
+
+Dick threw Hal a nod, proud to show off his grand acquaintance; but Hal
+beckoned him.
+
+"Bill's come home," said he, as Dick ran forward from the group.
+
+"Hooray!" shouted the other boys, who, of course, had seen the whole
+story in the local newspaper. "Hooray!" And half-a-dozen caps flew in
+the air.
+
+But Hal's business was with Dick.
+
+"I'm disappointed in you, Dick," said he.
+
+"How's that?" returned Dick in a tone of bravado, guessing what Hal
+meant.
+
+"I didn't think you were the sort of boy to encourage other boys in
+stealing eggs for you to suck," said Hal. "It seems to me, I'd rather
+steal myself than get another boy to do it for me. You see, it's very
+mean to put your dirty work upon another fellow, isn't it?"
+
+"I paid him fair," said Dick.
+
+Hal considered a minute. This line of argument was rather difficult to
+answer, and yet Hal's sense of right and wrong told him it was false.
+
+"You'd no right to pay him for dishonesty," said he; "so no payment
+could be fair."
+
+"I don't know so much about that," returned Dick stoutly. "If a
+fellow's fool enough to sell his soul for sixpence, that's his own look
+out. It's always fair to pay a fellow what he'll take."
+
+"That's not the way to look at it at all," said Hal. "A fellow's soul
+is worth a great deal more than any one can pay, and if he loses it,
+he's done for outright. And whoever gets it from him, is his murderer
+for ever," added Hal quite solemnly. "The Bible tells you that."
+
+"Chapter the one hundredth, verse the millionth!" sang out Dick in a
+mocking tone.
+
+"Well, I must be getting home," said Hal. "I'm sorry, for I liked you
+at the first. And I thought that when I came to be Squire—if ever I
+do—you would be one of my best tenants, and help me to make the Manor
+prosperous. You see, a Squire wouldn't be able to do much good if all
+his tenants were like that, and didn't care a pin about each other's
+souls."
+
+
+Will and Sigismund would have been rather envious of Hal's good fortune
+in the enjoyment of such an adventure as the finding of a runaway by
+Farmer Bluff's dog Blazer, had not their attention been rather taken up
+just then with the half-term holiday, which some cousins were to spend
+with them. These cousins were London boys, and were coming down that
+same evening, to make the most of a whole day at the Manor House. When
+Hal got in, his brothers were just getting up into the waggonette to
+fetch them from the station, and there was plenty else to talk about
+when they came in.
+
+The first thing after breakfast next morning, the six boys all turned
+out, bent upon fun and frolic.
+
+Dick was on his way down the hill with his books as they came out
+shouting and laughing on to the terrace, and he sprang up to the
+palings to see what was going on.
+
+But, unfortunately for Dick, it was not "half-term" at his school; so
+with a feeling of envy, he leapt back to the pathway, and continued his
+road.
+
+"Hare and hounds!" he heard them cry, as they came pelting down the
+drive.
+
+Will was with the foremost ones, but Sigismund, always more considerate
+for his brother, lagged behind, as Hal came hurrying after on his
+crutches.
+
+"You can't play, Hal, if we have hare and hounds," he was saying.
+
+"Oh! Never mind," returned Hal. "I can't play at anything, you see."
+
+"The woods will be the place," cried Will, in front, "Say, Sidge; the
+woods—eh?"
+
+"But Hal—" began Sigismund.
+
+"The woods, by all means," echoed Hal, however, interrupting him. "It's
+no use, Sidge, don't you see," added he, in a lower tone to Sigismund.
+"If you'd got my legs, you wouldn't want everybody to stop playing on
+your account."
+
+A boy of Hal's brave disposition was sure to find it less hard to bear
+his affliction quietly than to feel himself a constant mar-joy to the
+others.
+
+"I'll go as far as the wood with you," continued he; "and then I'll go
+inside and rest. I told Farmer Bluff the boys were coming, but I said
+that I expected I should be able to go and see him all the same."
+
+So at the gate of the wood they parted; and whilst Will, as swiftest
+runner, was being chosen "hare," Hal was climbing up the narrow stair
+to Farmer Bluff's room.
+
+"I've come, you see," said he cheerily, as he swung himself towards the
+bed.
+
+Farmer Bluff's face brightened.
+
+"I was thinking of ye," answered he.
+
+"It's rather early, I'm afraid," continued Hal; "but I came down with
+the others as far as this. They've all gone into the wood for hare and
+hounds, and I can't manage that, you know. I hope you don't mind."
+
+Farmer Bluff, on the contrary, expressed himself heartily delighted to
+see "the young Squire."
+
+"You and Maggie," said he, "I don't know what I should do without the
+two of you—though I suppose I oughtn't to mention you in one breath."
+
+Hal, with a puzzled expression, said that he did not see why. He
+generally managed to see to the bottom of things pretty quickly, and to
+catch people's meaning when it was not quite on the surface. But this
+notion perplexed him not a little. Inequality of rank did not enter
+much into Hal's ideas.
+
+"She sings to you, doesn't she?" observed he presently, after having
+thought all round the question in vain.
+
+"And you talk," rejoined Farmer Bluff. "Maggie doesn't talk; she
+chatters, if she does anything in that line."
+
+"I like to talk," answered Hal simply; "as much as other boys like to
+run and jump, I fancy; perhaps it is because I can't run and jump."
+
+"Perhaps it is," said Farmer Bluff. He was thinking that it seemed as
+if God had given the boy a better power in exchange for the one He had
+withheld. "A ready tongue 'll be useful to you when you come to the
+Manor," added he.
+
+"Only I shan't be able to follow the hounds," said Hal regretfully.
+
+"Never you grieve for that," returned Farmer Bluff. "You'll have the
+hearts of your tenantry; that I'll certify."
+
+"Farmer Bluff," said Hal suddenly, "I've been thinking a good deal
+about Dick Crozier since yesterday. I expect he'll be one of my tenants
+by and by, you know, and I'm afraid he won't be a very good one."
+
+"About the average run, perhaps," said Farmer Bluff. "Some better, and
+some worse."
+
+"But don't you see," said Hal, "he's got no principle. He doesn't think
+it matters the least bit in the world if a boy chooses to sell his soul
+for sixpence—like Bill, when he thieved to get the goose egg for him."
+
+Farmer Bluff was silent. He knew so well how many men there were among
+the tenantry—how many who owned manors, too—with little or no principle.
+
+It was on his conscience, too, how he himself had sold his soul time
+and again for drink, for pleasure, or for gain.
+
+"There 'll be some things you'll have to take as you find 'em," said he
+presently.
+
+"I should like to alter that,"' said Hal. "There must be a remedy."
+
+"No one has ever found it yet," said Farmer Bluff.
+
+"Perhaps they haven't looked in the right place," said Hal. "I expect
+it's in the Bible, if it's anywhere."
+
+"Maybe 'tis," said Farmer Bluff; and then he was silent a good while
+again. "I don't know much, about the Bible," he continued presently.
+"I didn't use to read it when I could, and I can't hold a feather now,
+much less a book."
+
+So it came about, that Hal proposed to read it for him. And when Maggie
+came upstairs, he was sitting by her uncle's bedside, with the Bible
+on his knee. But the information Maggie brought put a stop to reading
+rather suddenly.
+
+"Uncle Bluff!" cried she. "Blazer's loose again. I don't know where he
+is."
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+TO THE RESCUE.
+
+DICK CROZIER was on the Squire's mind as well as upon Hal's.
+
+Upon the stroke of noon, he left his study and started up the hill.
+"He'll be in by half-past twelve, or thereabouts," he calculated; "and
+I'll have a talk with him."
+
+Now it happened that Dick's master, having a train to catch for town
+on important business, Dick had got out of school rather earlier than
+usual. Just as he turned the corner by the Manor Farm, he spied the
+Squire plodding up the hill with his gold-headed cane.
+
+Dick halted instantly, for it occurred to him that precisely the same
+thing he had warned Bill of was about to happen to himself.
+
+"I'm in for a good lecture," said he, "and if my father don't 'give it
+me' when he hears, my name ain't Dick, that's all."
+
+So, after due reflection, Dick concluded that it would be most prudent
+policy to give the Squire the slip.
+
+"I shan't go in till dinner-time," said Dick. And going back across the
+road, he struck into the pathway for that still forbidden ground, the
+riverbank.
+
+Meanwhile the Squire, totally unconscious of having been spied out, was
+seated in the sunny little parlour which Dick's mother loved so well,
+making acquaintance with his tenant's wife, and explaining the nature
+of his errand.
+
+"He should be in by now, sir," said Dick's mother, looking at her
+watch,—her grandparents' present on her wedding day,—"but he gets late
+sometimes."
+
+So the Squire proposed to wait awhile, if Mrs. Crozier would allow him
+to; and they talked, to pass away the time, Mrs. Crozier taking the
+Squire's heart by storm with her gentle manners, but looking uneasily
+at her watch from time to time.
+
+Bill had been received back home with open arms, and without a word
+of scolding, on a promise—signed by the Squire, as it were—of future
+good behaviour. It happened that, being anxious to avoid a meeting with
+Dick Crozier, whose school stood within a stone's throw of the parish
+school which he attended, Bill had conceived the idea of returning by
+the riverbank. In arriving at this resolution, he had not forgotten the
+geese; but Bill was sharp enough to know that now the grass was laid
+down for hay, these terrors of humanity would no longer be abroad. He
+set off, accordingly, with the virtuous intention of running great part
+of the way, so as to reach home punctually. Dick had not proceeded far
+along the bank, therefore, when he perceived Bill coming full speed
+towards him.
+
+Bill, too much out of breath to look higher than his toes, failed to
+perceive Dick until they were within a few yards of each other, when he
+suddenly awoke to the unpleasant fact that he was face to face with his
+enemy.
+
+"Hullo, sneak!" exclaimed Dick.
+
+"Let be!" cried Bill, as Dick attempted to bar his passage.
+
+But Dick did not budge. He only dodged Bill, without attempting to make
+way.
+
+"I'm in a hurry home," said Bill. "Let me by."
+
+"Sneak!" repeated Dick. "Who split?"
+
+"I didn't split," said Bill. "They made me tell."
+
+"Made you tell?" sneered Dick. "When you had sixpence of me to hold
+your tongue! I'd have had mine cut out before I'd have been guilty of
+such a dirty trick."
+
+"You'd 'a' had your'n cut out afore you'd 'a' been guilty of such a
+dirty trick as to suck an egg what you got another boy to steal for
+you!" retorted Bill, stammering and spluttering in his warmth. "It's
+'receiving stolen goods.' The Squire said so; and you're to be had up
+for it."
+
+Dick only answered by a mocking guffaw.
+
+"Now, then," said Bill, "are you going to let me by?"
+
+"Look out for old mother goose behind there," jeered Dick.
+
+"Let me by!" reiterated Bill. "I'm in a hurry."
+
+"Washerwoman!" jeered Dick. "Sixpence a pocketful."
+
+Bill was getting exasperated. Moreover, he saw only one way out of it.
+"Now, then," threatened he suddenly, gathering up all his pluck, "do
+you mean to give in?"
+
+Dick answered by striding across the bank, a foot each side and both
+arms akimbo, and burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. But Bill
+cut him short.
+
+"You'd better look out then," shouted he, squaring up.
+
+"All right," grinned Dick, accepting the challenge. "Look out for a
+ducking, pockets and all. It was a goosing last time."
+
+This last fling was more than Bill could stand.
+
+"Come on!" roared he, maddened beyond control. And rushing for Dick
+with both fists doubled, he went at him with all his might.
+
+Dick was a pretty tough boy, and had done his share of fights at
+school; but Bill was tougher, and Dick soon found that he was in for
+such a mauling as he had never had in all his previous experience. For
+full five minutes, they tugged and tussled, and pounded and hammered at
+all available portions of each other's frames, until Dick began to wish
+that he had never provoked the combat. He was almost at the end of his
+strength, when a most unlooked-for accident delivered him out of Bill's
+hands.
+
+Forgetting the narrowness of the footway in the heat of the fight,
+the boys had got crosswise, instead of lengthwise of it, when Dick,
+suddenly growing furious, to find that he was being worsted, drew
+off an instant, to gather up all his strength for a final onset;
+but, inadvertently stepping too far back, his heel struck over the
+treacherous grass of the shelving bank, and, with a slip and a yell, he
+went splashing backwards into the water.
+
+Bill's first impulse was a shout of triumph; his second, that when a
+boy goes head over heels out of his depth, there is no telling how he
+will come up. Bill knew the look of a drowned dog, and had no wish to
+be taxed with making Dick look that way. Quick as thought, he turned to
+fly.
+
+But though a scamp, Bill was not altogether bad. In the midst of
+all his fears, it struck him that people always rose to the surface
+before they drowned. If Dick rose, he might reach him. In an instant,
+he was back again. The exact spot was easy to find by the heel-mark
+on the bank and the brown swirl in the water, where the mud had been
+disturbed. Some distance out, too, beyond the ripples where the water
+had closed over Dick, was his cap, floating merrily down stream; but
+not a sign of Dick himself.
+
+Bill went hot all over. Once having turned back, he seemed rooted to
+the spot by a strange fascination that forced him to watch for Dick's
+rising.
+
+"It was his own fault," said he, mopping his forehead with one jacket
+cuff: "He should ha' let me by! I guess though, if he ain't comin'
+up, I'd better be off, afore I'm caught here! Golly!" exclaimed Bill,
+giving vent to his favourite expression, as a sudden thought flashed
+upon him. "Better rob a goose's nest and break her breast-bone than
+drownd a boy." And off he started at a run.
+
+But as he ran away down the stream, following the cap, a dark brown
+object caught his eye. It was the drenched hair of Dick's head. The
+current there below the bend was very strong, and had washed him out
+into mid-stream, and was carrying him rapidly along towards the weir.
+
+For a moment Bill scarcely knew whether to be glad or sorry; then the
+nobler instincts of his nature gained the upper hand, and he dashed
+along the bank, shouting—"Hold on! Keep it up till I catch hold of
+something to fish you out!"
+
+At the same instant, there was an outcry from among the willow-trees.
+A dog sprang forward with a bark, and a dear treble voice rang out
+excitedly—"Why! It's some one's head! In, Blazer; in! Fetch him out!
+Oh! Quick! Quick!"
+
+It was Maggie Rust, who had gone out with Hal to look for the dog, and
+found him on the riverbank, worrying at a knuckle bone dropped there by
+a careless butcher boy on his way to the Vicarage.
+
+A bare moment sufficed Blazer to reach the bank, and in he splashed,
+paddling bravely across the current, with his fierce eyes starting, and
+his hard breaths frothing the surface of the water as he swam.
+
+Maggie cheered him on. "Quick, Blazer; quick! Oh, he's floating down so
+fast!" she cried towards Hal, who had been slower getting to his feet
+to gain the spot. "He'll never reach in time."
+
+But Blazer was also going with the stream as well as crossing it. In
+a few minutes more, the brave animal was up with Dick, and had his
+teeth firmly fastened in his jacket. And now came the tug of war.
+Maggie watched breathlessly, with beating heart and tightly clasped
+hands, whilst Hal, his face white and his lips parted, hung by her on
+his crutches. But Blazer was strong, and the water buoyed his burden
+up. The stream, too, helped in one way, whilst it hindered in another;
+for it lengthened every stroke, and carried him forward as he tried to
+cross back to the shore.
+
+"Hurrah!" shouted Hal, at length unable any longer to keep his
+excitement in. "Hurrah! He'll do it! He'll do it! Hurrah!"
+
+And Maggie's hands unclasped to clap as she took up the cry—"Hurrah!"
+
+On first recognising "the young Squire," Bill had come to a sudden
+halt, and watched from a safe distance, half a mind to turn back; then
+he had come slowly on. Now he, too, took up the cheer with his whole
+might, and shouted—"Hooray!—Hooray!" as he ran excitedly forward.
+
+A minute more, Dick was at the bank, and Maggie had sprung forward
+to help him out, whilst Blazer ran round about them in great glee,
+claiming praise for his heroic rescue, and splashing everybody with the
+water of his coat. Bill hung back an instant; then he, too, sprang to
+Maggie's side, and seizing Dick by the other arm, soon had him up on to
+the bank.
+
+A wretched-looking object was Dick as he sat up and gazed round about
+him. His wet clothes clung tightly to his benumbed limbs; his teeth
+chattered with cold and fright; water dripped from his hair; and his
+face and knuckles were a mass of cuts and bruises, from their recent
+acquaintance with Bill's fists.
+
+"You had better get home as fast as you can," advised Hal.
+
+But Dick had caught sight of Bill, whom in his anxiety to get safely on
+terra firma he had not recognised.
+
+"I'll give him a taste of it first," he muttered between his teeth.
+
+"Better go home and get some gruel," was Bill's contemptuous rejoinder.
+"Golly how your teeth clack!"
+
+This taunt put the last limit to endurance. The blood rushed to Dick's
+face, and his fists clenched; then to his feet, he flew at Bill.
+
+But before he could get at him, Hal had guessed how matters stood, and
+raised one crutch between them; and the two antagonists stood glowering
+at each other across this forbidding barrier.
+
+Bill burst out laughing; but Hal quickly put his crutch to the ground
+and swung himself between them. "Look here," said he, "nobody ever
+thinks of fighting before a girl; besides, when a fellow has just
+escaped from drowning, he ought to have something else to think of; and
+so ought you," he added, turning round on Bill.
+
+"He might ha' been in t' other world by now," jeered Bill, with an
+attempt at drollery.
+
+But Hal turned round on him with dignified reproof. "A boy who has just
+seen a life saved ought to know better than to mock," said he. "It's a
+shame," he added, looking from one to another with a pained expression,
+"when boys who have both done wrong want to tear each other to pieces
+for it. They ought to be too much ashamed. So get home both of you, and
+let us have no more such unchristian behaviour."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+At this point in the young Squire's discourse, Blazer, probably
+considering that he had not received due notice for his deed of valour,
+began to growl and whine. The consciences of both boys being somewhat
+overloaded, however, they interpreted his remarks as referring to
+themselves; and not desiring to provoke him further, they dropped their
+hostile attitude.
+
+Bill was the first to make a move.
+
+"You ought to shake hands," said Hal, as he turned to slink off.
+
+But Bill's magnanimity was not capable of rising to this degree; and he
+felt as if he was being quite as generous as any one could reasonably
+expect in allowing poor dripping Dick to slip through his fingers in
+this easy way.
+
+Hal stood gazing after Dick's retreating figure, as he ran off home
+at the top of his speed. "It's a pity that boys don't care more about
+being like Jesus Christ," observed he. "Of course, it's a sort of thing
+that takes a lot of trying, and boys naturally don't like trouble. They
+like play a good deal better. But then they ought to consider that
+they won't have to play when they're men; and what sort of men will
+they make, if they don't choose a good copy? As to it's being hard to
+imitate such a grand example as Jesus Christ—well! It isn't as if you'd
+got it all to do by yourself. There's the Holy Spirit, you know, who is
+promised in the Bible to all those who want to get along well."
+
+Having delivered himself of these originally expressed sentiments, Hal
+also set forward; Maggie, with a thoughtful expression on her brow,
+walking by his side, and Blazer trotting on in front.
+
+"Girls don't care about it either," said she presently.
+
+"And that," added Hal, "is why there are so many bad men and women in
+the world. I should like it, when I'm Squire, if all the people on my
+estate were Christians—real ones, you know; not shams. You'd see the
+difference! It would entirely do away with policemen and gaols, and all
+that sort of thing."
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+REVENGE.
+
+ALL this while the Squire had been waiting for Dick in vain. At length,
+his usual luncheon-time being nearly half an hour past, he gave up, and
+set off down the hill, still thinking that he might meet him by the
+way; but desiring Mrs. Crozier, if such should not prove the case, to
+send Dick up to the Manor House that afternoon.
+
+This, however, Mrs. Crozier had no chance of doing. Hurrying up the
+fields from the riverbank, it had occurred to Dick that it would be
+more prudent to dry his clothes before going home; so, taking a short
+cut across the grass to the back of the Manor Farm, he made his way
+to a haystack he knew of, which had been partly cut away on the sunny
+side. Here, stripping off his garments, and spreading them out in the
+sun, he covered himself up with the loose, warm hay, to wait and think
+over the story by which he would account for his absence from dinner,
+and his battered face.
+
+Meanwhile Hal, hearing the church clock strike half-past one, had left
+Maggie to take Blazer home, and had struck across the fields and past
+the farm. Hot and flushed with hurrying, he arrived at the lodge gate
+just as the Squire came in sight.
+
+Hal pulled up to wait for him, glad of breathing space.
+
+The Squire was walking briskly. "We shall deserve a scolding for
+keeping lunch waiting," said he as he came up. "How come you to be late
+too?—And what have you done with the other boys? By the by, have you
+seen anything of Dick Crozier?"
+
+"That's what made me late," answered Hal, guessing that his grandfather
+must have met Dick in his deplorable condition. "He had enough of his
+ducking, I should think."
+
+The Squire stared. "Enough of what?"
+
+"But you met him?" said Hal.
+
+"Not a bit of it," returned the Squire. "I've been waiting this hour or
+more in Mrs. Crozier's parlour to lecture him."
+
+Then Hal told his tale.
+
+Bill also had heard half-past one go, and had suddenly recollected that
+he was on a promise of good behaviour. Now, he was sorely perplexed
+what to do. It was clear enough that his behaviour was not exactly
+good; but how to tell his story to his own credit, or, in fact, to get
+believed at all, Bill was entirely at a loss. So, hungry as he was, he
+did what cowards always do—kept out of it, and went wandering about the
+fields behind the farm.
+
+"I don't see much in Bill's fine promises," remarked his mother, as her
+husband set foot on the threshold; "for all the Squire made himself
+surety for the boy. He ought to ha' been in this hour ago; and I ha'n't
+set eyes on him since nine o'clock, when he went down to school."
+
+"'Spare the rod and spoil the child,'" quoted Mumby, sitting down
+heavily in his accustomed corner by the chimney-piece. "I wouldn't ha'
+let him off so easy for anybody else; but if the worst comes to the
+worst, why, I must reckon up wi' him, for all the Squires in the world.
+A father's got his dooty to his boy to think of first; and I ain't
+agoin' to shirk mine, not for all the firmament." After which paternal
+speech, he fell to work in silence on the steaming lump of steak
+pudding which his wife served out to him.
+
+"Now, wife," said he, as he pushed his plate back and got up, "when
+Bill turns up, you don't give him a scrap o' this, d'ye mind?
+Dinner-time's when I come in, and, if he ain't ready for his'n then,
+why, he can go without, or else make shift to fill himself with bread."
+And having lighted his pipe, he went out again.
+
+But Bill, having once given way to his cowardly fears, grew less and
+less brave about showing his face at home, and, as he was getting
+dreadfully famished, he began to wonder how he could get a meal. He
+thought of the gap in the hedge; but that was almost within sight of
+home, and the men would be just returning to work. Besides, Bill had
+had enough of stealing eggs. But it struck him that he might find
+some small birds' eggs to suck. At the bottom of the field in the
+hedge which bounded it from the orchard were some trees of which the
+blackbirds were particularly fond; and to these Bill now directed his
+steps, in hopes that he might find something to stay his hunger.
+
+He was unusually lucky too. The first nest which he found contained
+four or five fledglings; but the second and the third had each five
+eggs in it, all of which he sucked.
+
+"Better than nothing," said Bill to himself, as he threw the last shell
+down, and prepared to descend the trunk again. "It'd take a lot o' them
+to make up a goose's egg, though."
+
+But in moving on to the next group of trees, Bill passed the haystack,
+and, casting a look round, to see that no one was about, whom should he
+discover but his old enemy, lying fast asleep in the hay, his clothes
+spread out around him on the grass to dry?
+
+Once out of his wet garments, and snugly covered up, with the hot May
+sun shining down upon him, Dick had soon become so helplessly drowsy,
+that before the lapse of many minutes, he had become oblivious to
+everything, and was soundly sleeping off the effects of his cold plunge.
+
+Bill stood still a moment in sheer amazement; then he tiptoed nearer,
+with his neck outstretched, laughing to himself, to think how
+completely luck had placed Dick in his power. A moment more, and he had
+darted forward, gathered up the clothes, and, as swiftly as caution
+would allow, had sped up the ladder with them.
+
+"Now you're done, my fine fellow, or my name ain't Bill!" said he to
+himself, as he lodged his bundle, and took up his position at the top
+of the ladder, where the thatched slant was cut away. "Let's see how
+you'll look running home without your clothes!"
+
+But an hour passed, and Dick did not rouse.
+
+At first Bill had forgotten his hunger; now he began to cast longing
+looks at the branches of the trees beyond the stack. It was already
+seven or eight hours since he breakfasted; and he was beginning to find
+revenge rather painful.
+
+Another half-hour went by.
+
+Bill's patience was nearly exhausted, but Dick was still sound asleep,
+entirely unconscious of the trick that had been played him.
+
+"I wonder," exclaimed Bill, "how long he's wound up for!"
+
+But the idea of Dick's awakening only suggested other difficulties;
+for the longer Bill put off going home, the less pleasant he found the
+prospect of having to face it out in the end. It would certainly make
+ten times worse of it, if this should come out. Perhaps, on the whole,
+it would be better to descend at once, and leave Dick to make the
+discovery of his loss alone; but Bill somehow could not give up the fun.
+
+"Let's rouse him up," said he at length; and pulling out some of
+the osier switches with which the thatch was pegged, he broke them
+into bits, and commenced pelting at Dick's upturned face. The first
+half-dozen missed, but presently one hit the mark. Dick stirred in his
+sleep, and turned over on his back, baring one arm and poking one foot
+up through the hay.
+
+Bill chuckled, and sent another missile straight for his face. This
+time it missed; but the next hit hard, right in the centre of his
+forehead. Dick's eyes opened, then dropped to again, and he turned over
+on his other side. Bill aimed again, and hit him in the ear. This time,
+up went one of Dick's hands to rub the place, and he awoke outright.
+
+First of all, he stared round in a bewildered sort of way, as if unable
+to make out his surroundings; then he examined his bare arm, and pushed
+the hay back from his chest, as if to remind himself that he was
+without garments. Finally he sat upright, the dry covering falling back
+from his arms and shoulders.
+
+Now was Bill's time of triumph. Feasting on Dick's look of utter
+dismay, he no longer even felt his hunger. The very thought of Dick's
+having to get from the farm to the top of the hill beyond the Manor
+House without a rag to his back, was ample reward for all his waiting
+and fasting. Bill's revenge was so delicious to the taste, that it was
+all he could do to restrain his chuckles of delight. But Bill was not
+going to spoil the fun. By a strong effort of self-control, he mastered
+his merriment, and sat still to watch what course his unfortunate
+victim would adopt.
+
+Whilst Dick had been snugly rolled up in the hay, the Manor House boys
+and their cousins, not satisfied with their morning's game at hare and
+hounds, had been for a long walk round in the opposite direction; and
+just as Dick sat up, hardly able to believe his eyes, yet guessing who
+had played him the trick, and wondering what in the world he was to do,
+up they came along the favourite pathway from the riverbank across the
+fields.
+
+Bill from the top of the stack not only heard, but saw them trooping
+merrily along—Hal, on his crutches in the midst, keeping up bravely
+with the rest. Dick, also, from the shelter of the stack, heard the
+sound of their gay laughter, as they chattered by the way; and it just
+flashed across his mind that here was an opportunity to get helped
+out of his awkward predicament. Only the situation was so utterly
+ridiculous, that natural pride made him shrink from exposure. He was
+still hesitating, unable to make up his mind whether to call to them or
+to wait till dark should lend a friendly cloak to flight, when he heard
+Sigismund shout, "Who'll climb a haystack?"
+
+Will took up the challenge, and off they raced across the grass, Hal
+following at his quickest.
+
+Will and Sigismund were first at the stack. They had scarcely reached
+it, however, when there was a grand outcry, and a tremendous explosion
+of laughter; for there, bolt upright, and stark naked to the waist, sat
+Dick Crozier, with the most comical look of helplessness upon his face.
+
+"Hullo!" exclaimed Will.
+
+"Whatever are you up to?" cried Sigismund.
+
+"A leaf out of Robinson Crusoe," yelled one of the cousins, holding his
+sides; "a naked savage!"
+
+"A what?" shouted Hal, putting on all the speed he could command.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+Dick had turned red all over.
+
+"He's taking a sun bath," jeered Will.
+
+"They say it's very salutary," added one of the others, his eyes
+running over with merriment.
+
+"Don't let the police catch you at it, that's all," said another, as
+Dick tried to scrape the hay together round him.
+
+Sigismund had turned back towards Hal, who by this time was nearly at
+the spot. "It's Dick Crozier," called he.
+
+"Dick Crozier!" echoed Hal. "What's the matter?"
+
+The next instant, however, the question answered itself, and for a
+brief space Hal was at a loss whether to laugh or look serious.
+
+"But where are your clothes?" asked he at length, in a tone of
+incredulity.
+
+"Goodness knows," answered Dick snappishly, "Gone."
+
+"But how did you get out of them?" asked Hal further.
+
+"Took 'em off," said Dick in a surly voice.
+
+"Queer place to choose," put in Will.
+
+"But what have you done with them?" asked Hal, utterly at a loss.
+
+"Nothing!" exclaimed Dick indignantly. "They're gone."
+
+"Gone?"
+
+"Can't you understand!" broke out Dick, with injured dignity most
+ludicrous to behold. "Some one's taken 'em."
+
+The others roared with laughter anew; but the whole thing suddenly
+flashed upon Hal. Dick, afraid to go home, had conceived the idea of
+drying his clothes in the sun; and Bill, finding him there asleep, had
+played him this waggish but shameful trick.
+
+Hal didn't laugh.
+
+"Run for some clothes, one of you," ordered he; "to the cottages will
+be quickest. Bill shall answer for this—the mean scoundrel!" added he,
+in a tone of voice that changed the expression of that youth's face in
+a twinkling, and made the others look in awe at Hal.
+
+Sigismund, always ready to do his elder brother's bidding, dashed off,
+followed by one of his cousins; but at that instant, Will, recollecting
+what they had come for, glanced upward, and caught sight of Bill.
+
+"Hullo!" cried he. "There he is! Look! Look! Up there!"
+
+All eyes were instantly directed to the top of the stack. But Bill,
+suddenly arriving at the determination that it would be more prudent to
+make off, had scrambled to the ridge, and over; and all of him except
+his hands had disappeared.
+
+"Why! He's got the clothes up there!" exclaimed one of the cousins,
+catching sight of the bundle.
+
+"I'm going up," said Will, setting foot on the ladder.
+
+"Stop, stop!" cried Hal, afraid of a tussle at such a height from the
+ground, and half hoping that some one would come back from the cottages
+with Sigismund, and see fair play. "Let be till Sidge and Watt come
+back."
+
+But Bill had caught Will's words like a shot, and, determined upon
+escape at all costs, had let go the ridge. Almost the same instant they
+heard a heavy thud upon the ground.
+
+"What was that?" cried Will and the two cousins in a breath.
+
+Hal turned white.
+
+"He has never jumped it?" cried he.
+
+Not a sound came from the other side of the stack; but there was
+scarcely a doubt as to what had happened. For a moment none of them
+dared stir; then Hal put one crutch forward, and nerved himself for the
+awful possibility, praying as he went,—"God grant he isn't dead!"
+
+On the grass, a yard or so from the foot of the stack, lay Bill, white
+as a sheet. At first sight Hal uttered a cry of horror, thinking that
+his worst fears were realized. But at the sound of his voice Bill's
+eyes opened.
+
+"My leg!" moaned he. "My leg!"
+
+The right leg was doubled backwards underneath him, broken at the thigh.
+
+"Here!" shouted Hal. "Help! Where are you all? Won't anybody lend a
+hand?"
+
+The others had followed him, however, and were closer than he knew
+of. Half-a-dozen hands were instantly stretched out; Bill was quickly
+lifted, and the injured limb straightened.
+
+"Bring him round on to the hay," directed Hal. "He'll lie easier there,
+whilst you go for help."
+
+So Bill was carried round to where Dick sat—now shivering with terror
+and alarm.
+
+"He'll want a stretcher," said Hal next. "You three can't carry him;
+and I should think it will be a case for the Infirmary."
+
+The three boys declared themselves quite equal to the task of carrying
+Bill, and were anxious to start at once. But as they were in the midst
+of a warm debate with Hal, who stood out for the superior merits of a
+stretcher, the sound of footsteps announced the return of Sigismund and
+Watt.
+
+"Grandfather is behind," shouted Sigismund triumphantly, as he
+advanced. "Now we shall see fair play."
+
+The Squire had been up the hill to Mrs. Crozier's again, after hearing
+Hal's account of Dick's ducking; and perplexed at finding him still
+absent, had proceeded to Mrs. Mumby's cottage, to hear what Bill had to
+tell on the subject. Learning from Sigismund the fresh turn of affairs,
+he now at once followed to the scene of action, Mrs. Mumby hurrying
+after, vowing punishment on Bill for this fresh escapade, and carrying
+his Sunday suit for Dick.
+
+Seeing Mrs. Mumby, Hal, with a quick thought for her mother's heart, at
+once started forward.
+
+"Don't be frightened," called he, as he swung himself towards her;
+"it's only his leg. Bill went and tried to jump down from the top, and
+he has broken his thigh."
+
+Of course, as neither Mrs. Mumby nor the Squire knew anything about the
+"king o' the haystack" position which Bill had for the last three hours
+enjoyed, further explanation was called for. But Hal soon put them in
+possession of the principal facts—how Will had caught sight of the
+young rascal, and started to go up after him; and how Bill, resolved
+not to be caught, had left his hold and slidden down with a rush.
+
+In another minute, Will and Sigismund were racing to the farmyard, with
+the Squire's orders that a cart be brought round at once, to convey
+Bill to the Infirmary.
+
+"Well, young man," said the Squire, as he stood over Bill awaiting
+their return, "I should think that you have had lessons enough by this
+time. For, remember, this all comes of getting through a hedge to steal
+goose eggs."
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+IN MEMORY OF FARMER BLUFF.
+
+A FEW hours later, Bill had made acquaintance with one of the narrow
+beds in the accident ward of the Riverbridge Infirmary, where—after
+going through the exhausting process of having his clothes removed,
+and his leg put in splints—he fell asleep and dreamt all sorts of
+extraordinary things. Amongst others, that the Squire had caught him
+stealing eggs in the hay, and had him nailed out on a flat board—like
+the stoats on the lower boarding of the barn; and that when he tried
+to get away, Farmer Bluff's dog came and barked at him. Then the dog
+suddenly changed into a woman with a snow-cloud on her head, who
+clapped ice on his forehead, to make him forget for a little while.
+This imaginary ice being none other than the hand of the kind-hearted
+night nurse, under the touch of whose cool palm Bill from time to time
+forgot his feverish struggles to toss about. And so the morning dawned;
+the first of forty days, or more, that the Bill would have to spend
+upon that narrow bed.
+
+In the meantime, Dick, arrayed in Bill's Sunday suit, and escorted by
+the Squire, had gone off up the hill, leaving his half-dry clothes in
+Mrs. Mumby's charge.
+
+Arrived at home, he was at once put to bed between blankets, and
+made to swallow a large basinful of hot gruel, which would have been
+unpalatable enough, had he not been so long fasting that anything of
+the nature of food was welcome.
+
+Between the gruel and the blankets, he was soon perspiring violently,
+and in a sound sleep, from which he did not rouse until long
+after Bill—in accordance with the early rule of the Infirmary—had
+breakfasted. Then, feeling very much dispirited and out of sorts, and
+looking a wretched object, with his bruised and battered face and
+fists, he dressed and came downstairs, more thankful than words can
+describe, to find his father already gone, and as grateful for the
+message he had left behind, excusing him from school for the day, on
+condition that he did not stir outside the house.
+
+Dick, as may readily be imagined, willingly accepted the condition,
+and remained at home, answering his mother's numerous questions, and
+enduring her reproaches as stoically as he could; and looking forward
+with great misgivings to the lecture which, he knew only too well, he
+could not hope to escape, on his father's return from business.
+
+Next morning, he went back to school as usual, and after several days
+of quizzing and jeering on the part of his schoolmates, things fell
+back into their ordinary course. By degrees the cuts and bruises
+disappeared; and but for two things Dick might perhaps have soon
+succeeded in forgetting the whole occurrence—at any rate until Bill's
+discharge from the Infirmary brought him home, with one leg a full inch
+shorter than the other, to limp for life—a perpetual reminder of the
+whole disgraceful affair.
+
+Meanwhile, Dick had been forced to abide by the harsh, though just
+words with which his father had concluded his lecture that evening.
+
+"You pride yourself on common sense," said Mr. Crozier, "and have on
+more than one occasion rebelled against seeing by the light of my
+maturer wisdom. Common sense should have taught you that no person,
+young or old, can violate the laws of God, but they are sure to reap
+due punishment. Bill has learnt the wholesome truth in a manner that I
+hope he will not easily forget. It will be my duty to make sure that
+you remember too. I had intended taking you on the river this coming
+Bank Holiday, to give you your first lesson in rowing. But since you
+have so persistently and dishonourably disregarded my injunctions with
+regard to it, I shall put off doing so another year, or until I find
+that you have learnt obedience."
+
+As time went on, Dick found this decision of his father's harder than
+he had even thought; for several of his schoolmates had boats upon the
+river, and every invitation to their water-parties had to be refused.
+
+The hardest time of all was when Hal invited him to his birthday picnic.
+
+Hal's birthday was always the closing fête of the summer holidays; and
+this year the Squire had planned an excursion to some picturesque old
+ruins, eight or ten miles up stream. A large pleasure-boat had been
+hired, with men to tow or row, as convenience required; and there were
+grand preparations to be undertaken in the Manor House kitchen for the
+rural spread. A number of cousins, boys and girls, were to join them,
+and Hal—as hero of the day—was invested with carte blanche to invite as
+many as the boat would accommodate.
+
+"Ask just whom you please," the Squire said to him, knowing that he
+might rely on Hal's good taste. "The more the merrier, so long as we
+can see our water-mark. I want your picnic to be a grand success."
+
+Hal instantly thought of Dick.
+
+Now, it was not surprising that Dick, heartily ashamed of the figure he
+had cut on the unfortunate afternoon of Bill's accident, should have
+so carefully avoided Hal ever since, that they had not once so much
+as exchanged nods. The fact was, Dick hardly thought that Hal would
+care to speak to him again. But Hal, much as he disapproved of Dick's
+conduct, was not the sort of boy to throw him up on that account; and
+guessing that shame was most probably Dick's chief reason for holding
+aloof, he was determined to do his utmost towards bringing about a
+correct understanding. And here was his opportunity.
+
+The first thing was to waylay Dick. This was not difficult. Hal had
+only to watch at the plantation palings till he saw Dick coming down
+the hill; then lay in wait inside the gate till just as he came up, and
+pop out on him before he had a chance to run.
+
+Dick looked "caught," and tried to get away; but Hal was not to be
+done in that fashion. He button-holed him without ado, and stated his
+business.
+
+Dick stammered an excuse; but Hal saw, by the blank look on his face,
+that there was something behind it. A little pressing brought it out.
+
+"And it's no go," said Dick regretfully. "You might as well waste your
+strength trying to move a mountain as my father when his mind is made
+up."
+
+Hal offered to see what he could do to soften Mr. Crozier's heart; but
+Dick shook his head.
+
+"It's no go," repeated he; "and I shall have to stay away."
+
+So all that glorious September day Dick spent in vain regrets that but
+for his own folly, he might have been one of Hal's merry birthday party.
+
+
+But as the autumn days fell on the woods, a shadow settled on the
+cottage by the gate, where Farmer Bluff was drawing towards his death.
+Death is not always dark. The end of life is sometimes like a glorious
+sunset, when the light of day sinks in triumphant promise of another
+dawn. But Farmer Bluff had sinned, and had never made the Bible
+promises his own.
+
+Hal often went to sit beside his bed.
+
+"The others play as well without me," he would say. "I'm not much good
+in games, you see; and I would rather come and help you bear your pain."
+
+"It's not so much the pain," the farmer said to him one day. "I'd go
+on bearing that. But they tell me that I'm going fast; and I can't see
+where. I've never been a praying man; and now it's dark. 'Prepare to
+meet thy God,' they say. How can a man prepare?—What can I do?—I've
+lost my right to think of ever getting Him to listen to my prayers; and
+I must go before His judgment-seat with all my sins upon my back."
+
+Hal was silent.
+
+"It's very sad," said he presently; "because, you see, you've wasted
+all the best part of your life. And I should think a man wouldn't like
+to have to go to God and ask to be taken into heaven, when he'd done
+so badly all along. Of course, there was the prodigal, who squandered
+all his father gave him so disgracefully; but you see, he was a young
+man, and he went back to work again as soon as the feast was over. The
+Bible doesn't say so; but it seems to me he'd work like two, whenever
+he remembered how his father ran to meet him, open-armed. You're more
+like the man who didn't come to work until the eleventh hour," added
+Hal thoughtfully.
+
+Farmer Bluff asked to have the passage read to him.
+
+"He got his penny just the same as all the rest, you see," said Hal,
+when he had finished it.
+
+But the sick man shook his head.
+
+"That's not like me," he said. "He worked one hour. I'm past that. I'm
+good for nothing; I've destroyed myself."
+
+And Hal went away grieved; for he felt the words were just. And
+yet—although he knew that God was ready to receive all those who turn
+to Him through Christ—he could not think of how to tell him so.
+
+But the following Sunday, as he sat beside the Squire in the
+high-backed Manor pew, his crutches either side of him, the "how" was
+made quite plain.
+
+"This is the work of God," the vicar read, "that ye believe on Him whom
+God hath sent."
+
+Will and Sigismund were very busy watching a wasp that had strayed in
+at one of the windows, and was making up its mind to settle on the
+velvet hangings of the pew. They glanced at Hal, but his thoughts were
+too much occupied with Farmer Bluff to notice any of their signs.
+
+All at once he seemed to see how it is faith in Christ alone that gives
+the sinner peace, when looking back repentant on a misspent life.
+
+He seemed to see, too, how that "faith" can be called "work," since "to
+be" alone enables man "to do."
+
+"I've got it, Farmer Bluff!" he cried, next time he went up to his
+room. "Believe in Jesus Christ,—that is 'the work of God;' and you can
+do that lying here. It's only to be sorry, and to trust in Christ, who
+died for us." And sitting down by him, he found the verse and read it
+out.
+
+"And I think," he added, "that perhaps in heaven God will give you
+something to do for Him, to make amends for what you left undone down
+here."
+
+The dying man lay still for some minutes; then a light broke over his
+face, and he repeated,—"Only to be sorry—He knows I'm truly sorry—and
+to trust in Christ—who died for me. That's all 'the work of God.'"
+
+And so, just when the bitter punishment of all his sins was near at
+hand, the Saviour's sacrifice brought peace and light; and Farmer Bluff
+began the life that might have been so full of fruit in this world and
+the next, had he but commenced it earlier.
+
+But next time Hal came upstairs to see him, he said he had been
+thinking there was one thing he could do. "I could warn some other
+sinner what an awful grief it is to go down to the grave with nothing
+but a wasted life," said he; "and maybe they might listen to a man who
+hasn't many days to live."
+
+So Hal brought Dick and Bill to see the dying man; and Farmer Bluff
+talked to them in a way that neither of the boys ever forgot.
+
+"There's one thing more I want to do before I die," said Farmer Bluff
+to Hal, when they were gone. "I feel the end is coming fast; another
+day I mayn't have strength. That mug. It's on the chest of drawers.
+Bring it me, will you?"
+
+Hal fetched the silver mug, and brought it to the bed.
+
+The old man took it in his hands and turned it over many times.
+
+"I want to give it to you," he said at length; "because I'd like it
+melted down. I wouldn't like to put the blame of all my folly on this
+silver mug; because the evil was inside me, in my evil heart, that
+nothing save the grace of God could change. But it seems like part of
+the old life. It stood there by my side and tempted me; and I should
+like to feel that when my body's underneath the grass, the old life is
+all done away. No matter what you make of it, so you promise me to have
+it melted down."
+
+"I promise," answered Hal.
+
+And the farmer put the mug into his hand.
+
+"Then there's Grip and Blazer," continued Farmer Bluff. "I've given
+Grip to Dobson there, next door; but Maggie and her mother very likely
+mayn't stay here, and Blazer is very much attached to you. I'd like to
+know he'll have a master when I'm gone."
+
+"And why not have the silver made into a collar for him?" cried Hal
+suddenly. "And he shall wear the mug upon his neck, in memory of you."
+
+So it was agreed; and Hal went home.
+
+
+Hal never saw his old friend any more alive. Going home through heavy
+rain that afternoon, he caught a chill that forced him to stay indoors
+for several days; and one morning, before the week was out, a message
+came to say that at the break of dawn, poor Farmer Bluff's spirit had
+departed to its rest.
+
+The cottage by the wood was soon untenanted again. Maggie, through the
+Squire's interest, was got into an orphan school, where she soon gave
+promise of a bright and useful womanhood; and Mrs. Rust obtained a
+responsible place as housekeeper, where she went on saving up whatever
+she could spare, to lay by with the little sum of money left her by her
+brother at his death; so that when old age crept on she might not be a
+burden on her child.
+
+
+Meanwhile, from the day when Blazer became Hal's property, the young
+Squire was seldom seen abroad without his dog; and on his neck,
+Blazer always wore a massive silver collar, bearing on one side his
+name and the four words—"Who saved two lives;" and on the other, the
+inscription—"In memory of his old master, Farmer Bluff."
+
+Thus reminded what a solemn charge is God's great gift of life, Hal
+went onward towards the time when his aged grandfather must follow
+Farmer Bluff, and leave the Manor in his hands.
+
+There is little hope that he will ever be robust enough to lead the
+steeplechase, or ride out in the morning mist behind the hounds.
+Probably he will never learn to do without his crutches, and will
+never be "a stalwart Englishman" to look upon. But his heart is brave
+and true; and these are things he does not much regret. His strong
+determination is to do his best in hunting out the sin and godlessness
+that work such havoc in the lives of men; and—God helping him—to be the
+foremost in the race that has the throne of heaven for its aim.
+
+But that time, he hopes, is still some years ahead.
+
+Meanwhile, he strives to gather wisdom as he grows; and since his
+copy—as he told Dick Crozier—is the perfect God-man, Jesus Christ,
+there is no doubt that he will grow to be a useful, honoured man, and
+at last receive the incorruptible crown.
+
+
+
+                           THE END.
+
+
+
+PRINTED BY MORRISON AND GIBB LIMITED, EDINBURGH.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 74082 ***
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-      Farmer Bluff's Dog Blazer or At the Eleventh Hour, by Florence E. Burch—A Project Gutenberg eBook

-    </title>

-   <link rel="icon" href="images/image001.jpg" type="image/cover">

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-<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 74082 ***</div>

-

-<p>Transcriber's note: Unusual and inconsistent spelling is as printed.</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image001" style="max-width: 33.8125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image001.jpg" alt="image001">

-</figure>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image002" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image002.jpg" alt="image002">

-</figure>

-<p class="t4">

-<b>THE GOOSE DUCKED HER HEAD, OPENED HER WINGS,</b><br>

-<b>AND RUSHED FORWARD WITH A SCREAM.</b><br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<h1>FARMER BLUFF'S<br>

-<br>

-DOG BLAZER</h1>

-

-<p class="t3">

-OR<br>

-</p>

-

-<p class="t1">

-AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR<br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p class="t3">

-BY<br>

-</p>

-

-<p class="t1">

-FLORENCE E. BURCH<br>

-<br>

-</p>

-

-<p class="t4">

-AUTHOR OF "JOSH JOBSON," "RAGGED SIMON," ETC.<br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br><br></p>

-

-<p class="t3">

-<em>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY GORDON BROWNE</em><br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br><br></p>

-

-<p class="t4">

-LONDON<br>

-</p>

-

-<p class="t3">

-THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY<br>

-</p>

-

-<p class="t4">

-56 PATERNOSTER ROW AND 65 ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD<br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image003" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image003.jpg" alt="image003"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p class="t3b">

-CONTENTS.<br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>CHAP.</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p><a href="#Chapter_1">I. IN SEARCH OF A COMPANION</a></p>

-

-<p><a href="#Chapter_2">II. GRIP AND BLAZER</a></p>

-

-<p><a href="#Chapter_3">III. FARMER BLUFF</a></p>

-

-<p><a href="#Chapter_4">IV. THE SQUIRE'S GRANDSONS</a></p>

-

-<p><a href="#Chapter_5">V. "WHATEVER IS, IS RIGHT"</a></p>

-

-<p><a href="#Chapter_6">VI. THE YOUNG SQUIRE</a></p>

-

-<p><a href="#Chapter_7">VII. THE SHORTEST CUT</a></p>

-

-<p><a href="#Chapter_8">VIII. "CONSCIENCE MAKES COWARDS OF US ALL"</a></p>

-

-<p><a href="#Chapter_9">IX. RENEWING ACQUAINTANCE</a></p>

-

-<p><a href="#Chapter_10">X. THE INQUEST</a></p>

-

-<p><a href="#Chapter_11">XI. AN ARTIST-DETECTIVE</a></p>

-

-<p><a href="#Chapter_12">XII. BILL'S FUTURE</a></p>

-

-<p><a href="#Chapter_13">XIII. THE YOUNG SQUIRE ASSUMES A NEW CHARACTER</a></p>

-

-<p><a href="#Chapter_14">XIV. THE VERY ONE</a></p>

-

-<p><a href="#Chapter_15">XV. UNDER SENTENCE</a></p>

-

-<p><a href="#Chapter_16">XVI. A RUNAWAY'S STORY</a></p>

-

-<p><a href="#Chapter_17">XVII. LOOSE AGAIN</a></p>

-

-<p><a href="#Chapter_18">XVIII. TO THE RESCUE</a></p>

-

-<p><a href="#Chapter_19">XIX. REVENGE</a></p>

-

-<p><a href="#Chapter_20">XX. IN MEMORY OF FARMER BLUFF</a></p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image004" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image004.jpg" alt="image004"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p class="t2">

-<b>FARMER BLUFF'S DOG BLAZER.</b><br>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<h3><a id="Chapter_1">CHAPTER I.</a></h3>

-

-<p class="t3">

-<b>IN SEARCH OF A COMPANION.</b><br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>"I CAN'T see why I shouldn't use my own common sense," said Dick

-Crozier to himself one fine morning, as he sauntered along the lane.

-"What else was it given to me for, I should like to know?"</p>

-

-<p>It was a holiday, and Dick had a mind to enjoy himself. Now it happened

-that Dick's idea of enjoyment on this particular morning did not quite

-agree with his father's. Before leaving home, Mr. Crozier had given him

-particular injunctions not to extend his walk beyond the common, and

-not to go near the river.</p>

-

-<p>"Another time," said he, "I shall have leisure to teach you how to

-manage a boat. Then I shall not be afraid to trust you; but until then

-I would rather you kept away."</p>

-

-<p>Dick ventured to argue the point. "Another time," he mightn't have a

-holiday. His parents had only recently removed into the neighbourhood;

-and he felt pretty certain that his father would put him to school as

-soon as ever they got settled in the new place.</p>

-

-<p>"No time like the present," said Dick to himself, as he tried to

-shake his father's determination. "To-day is my own; no knowing whose

-to-morrow may be."</p>

-

-<p>But when a wise father has really made up his mind, his determination

-is not to be shaken.</p>

-

-<p>"You must be content to let me judge what is best for the present,"

-said Mr. Crozier. "When you are older, you will see that I was right."</p>

-

-<p>So Dick had to submit—outwardly, at any rate; and as soon as he had

-watched his father disappear round the corner towards the railway, away

-he walked in the opposite direction, grumbling to himself as he went.</p>

-

-<p>It was not a morning for grumbling. The time of year was the end of

-March. The wind, having made the discovery that all its roar and

-bluster could not stop the trees and flowers from coming out to meet

-the spring, had gone to sleep, and left them to enjoy the sunshine till

-the April showers came on. Birds were singing blithely on the boughs,

-and even a few humble-bees were to be seen riding through the air with

-an important buzz, as if they felt that they had got things their own

-way at last; whilst their working relatives flew hither and thither in

-quest of honey, with a sharp-toned hum that plainly said—"We must be

-busy."</p>

-

-<p>Dick heard them, and stopped grumbling. It was too bad to be in an

-ill-humour whilst everything else—from the kingcups in the hedge to the

-larks in the sky—was so full of enjoyment. It was not even as if all

-the ill-humour in the world could alter what his father had said. So

-he just gave one or two cuts at the hedge with the stick in his hand

-as a final protest, and began to whistle. A few minutes later he was

-climbing along a grassy bank, holding by the wooden palings at the top.</p>

-

-<p>There was a plantation on the other side of these palings, and just

-then a clock in a little tower, with a golden weathercock, struck nine.

-Dick had heard his father speak of this house as the residence of the

-Lord of the Manor, so he stopped to have a peep at it through the trees.</p>

-

-<p>It was a large, white stone building, with balconies to the upper

-windows, supported on twisted pillars, so as to form a shady verandah

-in front of the lower rooms. A smooth lawn, green as emerald and soft

-as velvet, sloped up to the gravelled terrace; and behind the house,

-the grass slanted away to an iron hurdle-fence, within which deer were

-grazing. Beyond was a little copse, where pines and Scotch firs showed

-dark against the pale green mist of leaf-buds on the other trees. A

-gate leading into this copse was painted red; and Dick now noticed that

-all the gates and railings about the place were of the same unusual

-colour—which formed a very pretty contrast with the grass.</p>

-

-<p>As he clung to the fence, making these observations, a French window at

-one end of the verandah opened, and three boys trooped out, followed

-by a lady, whom Dick took to be their mother. She was young, and

-very beautiful—or so Dick thought, as she stepped into the sunlight,

-shading her eyes with one hand, to watch them off; so beautiful that,

-for the moment, his eyes seem riveted. But only for a moment. The boys

-no sooner reached the steps than Dick's eyes left her for them. The

-foremost two bounded down, three or four steps at a time, leaving the

-third one far behind; and Dick now perceived that the poor fellow went

-upon crutches, and that upon one sole he wore an iron stand, which

-raised it full two inches from the ground, whilst the other barely

-reached so low. In spite of this, he was considerably shorter than his

-brothers; and Dick immediately concluded that he was the youngest of

-the three.</p>

-

-<p>"Poor fellow!" said he to himself. "I shouldn't care to be like that. I

-daresay, though, they're good to him,"' he added, as the others pulled

-up short and waited for the cripple, who swung himself carefully down,

-step by step.</p>

-

-<p>But Dick little guessed how hard it is to "be good" to a boy who has to

-go at a snail's pace, when you yourself have the strength to run and

-jump. He didn't even notice how the others continually walked a step

-ahead, nor how the cripple laboured to keep up with them. Neither did

-he guess how tiring it was to get along so fast. Presently, however,

-something attracted the attention of the three boys—an early butterfly

-it must have been. The cripple saw it first, and nodded towards it, and

-forthwith off the others raced, and left him resting on his crutches

-watching them. Then Dick understood a little more clearly how hard it

-was for him; for his brothers entirely forgot him in their wild, mad

-chase, and he was left alone.</p>

-

-<p>He followed them a minute with his eyes, then turned and looked towards

-the terrace; but his mother was not even there to wave her hand. She

-had gone in.</p>

-

-<p>It came into Dick's head to wonder whether the poor fellow could see

-him there above the fence. He had half a mind to whistle. Dick—with

-nothing else to do—could very well spare time for half an hour's chat

-to cheer his loneliness. But just then he remembered who this cripple

-was, and how presumptuous it might be thought to dream of showing pity

-for a son of the great man to whom all the land about belonged. And as

-the other boys, panting and puffing, cap in hand, returned just then,

-the question was decided once for all. Dick watched them out of sight

-behind the avenue of trees that led to the lodge, then he jumped down

-from the bank and went his way, turning now and then to see if they

-were following.</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image005" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image005.jpg" alt="image005"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<h3><a id="Chapter_2">CHAPTER II.</a></h3>

-

-<p class="t3">

-<b>GRIP AND BLAZER.</b><br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>A LITTLE further on, the road emerged upon a green; and at the back

-of this green there was a farm. The house stood back behind the yard,

-which was hidden from view by tall bushes; and half inside the yard,

-half outside upon the green, was a pond, where ducks were swimming

-about in search of dainty bits.</p>

-

-<p>This was the Manor Farm. The man who held it was the Squire's bailiff,

-Dick had heard his father say. He went up to the gate to look, rather

-wondering what sort of a thing it was to be bailiff to so great a man,

-and whether he had any boys.</p>

-

-<p>A shaggy-looking dog, dozing in the sun before his kennel, sprang to

-his feet with a loud bark as Dick approached, rattling his chain and

-growling, as if to warn him not to come too near. Finding Dick paid no

-heed, he jumped up on his kennel and set, up barking so vociferously

-that another dog behind the house took up the cause. Next minute a

-servant, wondering what could be amiss, and probably suspecting tramps,

-opened a side door and came round the corner of the house to look. At

-the same instant, a man with a pitchfork in his hand appeared from the

-other corner of the house.</p>

-

-<p>"Hey! Grip, old boy," called he; "what's up? You'll upset the firmament

-with your row."</p>

-

-<p>Exactly what he meant by this it would be hard to say. He had caught

-the word up from the Bible, as something made "in the beginning," and

-therefore very "firm;" so probably it seemed to him the most that any

-one could do in the upsetting line.</p>

-

-<p>Anyhow, the dog seemed to understand the rebuke. He gave one or two

-more barks, then jumped down off his kennel with an injured air; and:

-his colleague of the back premises, finding he was pacified, gave in

-too, and so the hubbub ceased.</p>

-

-<p>"What was up wi' him?" said the man, coming a pace or two nearer, and

-resting on his pitchfork. "There's now't amiss, so fur's I can see."

-For Dick had left the gate, and gone to watch the ducks.</p>

-

-<p>The servant shook her head. "Like his master," returned she; "always

-kicking up a fuss for nothing in the world. Some folks seem as if they

-can't be happy else; and quadrupeds is much the same, I s'pose."</p>

-

-<p>"Belike," answered the man, with a laugh. "But if that's so, why,

-Blazer's the master's dog! My word! I wouldn't like to try his fangs;

-he'd tear the firmament to shreds."</p>

-

-<p>With this characteristic remark, he shouldered his fork, and, turning

-on his heel, went back to his work in the rick-yard.</p>

-

-<p>The servant stood a minute at the door looking about her; then she,

-too, turned and went inside, shutting to the door, but throwing up the

-window, as if this taste of sunshine had made her long for the free air.</p>

-

-<p>Meanwhile Dick had reached the other gate; for the farmyard had an

-entrance at each side of the pond, so that carts could come in either

-way. Here he stopped again; but this time Grip took no notice beyond

-raising his nose off his paws a second or two and blinking, to show

-that he was awake; then he composed himself again, or pretended to—just

-to give the enemy a chance of showing his weak side. But Dick was not

-to be deceived that way, nor had he any thoughts of invading Master

-Grip's territory.</p>

-

-<p>After standing still a few minutes, taking observations of the

-picturesque old house, with its latticed windows and its long,

-red-tiled, gabled roof, he was just about to go his way, when he was

-suddenly startled by a most unearthly whoop.</p>

-

-<p>Before he had time to look round, a boy about his own size came full

-tear into the road a yard or two ahead. "Hullo!" cried he, perceiving

-Dick.</p>

-

-<p>"Hullo!" responded Dick.</p>

-

-<p>Then they stared at one another.</p>

-

-<p>"Who are you?" asked Dick.</p>

-

-<p>The other burst out laughing. "Who are you?" retorted he.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh! It doesn't matter," answered Dick, a trifle proudly; "only—my

-father has just moved into the neighbourhood, and I suppose I shall

-have to get to know the boys; so I thought I might as well begin with

-you."</p>

-

-<p>The other looked him over well from head to foot. Dick's father was a

-gentleman, and Dick was dressed accordingly. The other's father was a

-labourer upon the Manor Farm.</p>

-

-<p>"My name's Dick Crozier," added Dick.</p>

-

-<p>"And mine is Bill the Kicker," returned his new acquaintance.</p>

-

-<p>"That is, your nickname," added Dick.</p>

-

-<p>"Call it what you like; that's all the name I want," said Bill the

-Kicker in such a final manner that Dick said no more.</p>

-

-<p>"Where do you live?" next asked he.</p>

-

-<p>"Up yonder," answered Bill the Kicker, pointing backward with his

-thumb. "My father works for Farmer Bluff."</p>

-

-<p>"And mine goes up to town every morning," rejoined Dick. "We live

-beyond the Manor House, up the hill."</p>

-

-<p>This interchange of confidences was a pretty good basis for an

-acquaintance, and the two boys were soon engaged in a lively

-conversation.</p>

-

-<p>"There's a hornets' nest up there," said Bill presently, jerking his

-thumb in the direction of the field. "I see one goin' in just now.

-I mean to sell it to the Squire's grandsons," added he, nodding to

-himself.</p>

-

-<p>"What for?" asked Dick, who was a town-bred boy.</p>

-

-<p>"For sport, of course," answered Bill promptly. "Squires always go in

-for sport. I reckon we shall have a game."</p>

-

-<p>"Hornets are dangerous, aren't they?" said Dick doubtfully.</p>

-

-<p>"It don't do to get stung," returned Bill; "but then you don't if you

-can help; and that's what makes the sport. I wonder," added Bill the

-Kicker, struck with an original thought, "who'd care to storm a flies'

-nest!—Supposin' that they made 'em, which they don't. And there again,

-you see," he added further, "flies don't make nests, because they

-haven't got to keep out of the way—" Which remark contained a wholesome

-moral, if he had but possessed the wit to see it.</p>

-

-<p>Knowing nothing of such country matters, Dick naturally felt some

-respect for Bill the Kicker, who talked as if he had it all on good

-authority.</p>

-

-<p>"Look here," proposed he presently; "tell me when the sport's to be."</p>

-

-<p>Bill shook his head with a doubtful air.</p>

-

-<p>"Why not?" asked Dick.</p>

-

-<p>Bill the Kicker drew his mouth tight, stretching it almost from ear to

-ear, and shook his head again.</p>

-

-<p>Dick held out a bait.</p>

-

-<p>"I've got a goodish big-sized boat at home," said he persuasively. "I

-mayn't go near the river yet, but so soon as ever I get leave, I'll let

-you know."</p>

-

-<p>Bill expressed considerable contempt for the idea of "getting leave;"

-however, he went so far as to say that when the sport was all arranged,

-he might see fit to make it known to Dick. "It's the Squire's

-grandsons, you see," said he importantly. "'Tisn't every one as I could

-introduce to them."</p>

-

-<p>Dick rather wondered what it mattered whom Bill introduced, so long as

-it was somebody no lower than himself. But he promised to be in the way

-as often as he could; and Bill the Kicker, having duly warned him not

-to drop a word to any one, went off to find the Squire's grandsons and

-"sell the nest."</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image006" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image006.jpg" alt="image006"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<h3><a id="Chapter_3">CHAPTER III.</a></h3>

-

-<p class="t3">

-<b>FARMER BLUFF.</b><br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>WHILST Dick was making acquaintance with Bill the Kicker, the Squire's

-bailiff, Farmer Bluff, was sitting in his parlour, with his leg upon a

-cushion and a pint mug on the table by his side, swearing inwardly—if

-not aloud—at the fate which had cursed him with the gout.</p>

-

-<p>Now this fate was none other than the blustering old farmer's own

-stupidity; for time after time the doctor had warned him that as long

-as he made that mug his boon companion, so long exactly would his enemy

-pursue him with its twinging pains.</p>

-

-<p>But Farmer Bluff was obstinate as well as blustering—to every one

-except the Squire, of course, in whose presence he was like the latter

-end of March—a lion transformed into a lamb. The excuse he made to

-himself turned upon the mug, of which he was naturally proud, it being

-solid silver, an heirloom that his grandfather had left to him. He

-liked to have it on the table by his side; and if upon the table, why,

-it must have something in it. And that something must of course be

-beer, and must be drunk. And so the stupid fellow's gout grew angrier

-year by year, until at length it got so bad that if he did not swear

-aloud, it was for no better reason than because nobody was by to hear.</p>

-

-<p>As he sat there by the hearth, looking across his shoulder out of the

-window at the bright March sunshine that used to call him up and abroad

-at six o'clock, until this gout got hold of him, he heard Grip set up

-the furious bark that fetched the servant out to look. Then he heard

-Blazer take up the challenge; and shortly afterwards the voices of the

-servant and the man fell on his ear.</p>

-

-<p>Now it was a peculiarity of the old bailiff to resent not being able to

-hear what passed between other people; so after chafing and fretting

-for some minutes, he reached out for the handbell that stood beside the

-silver mug, and rang it lustily. Then he took another pull at the mug,

-and having poked the fire to a roaring blaze, impatiently awaited the

-answer to his summons.</p>

-

-<p>This happened exactly at the moment when the servant threw up the

-kitchen window to let in the air.</p>

-

-<p>"Always kicking up a fuss for nothing in the world," said she again,

-flouncing back to her washing up, with a strong determination to let

-him ring a second time. After a minute or two, however, she let drop

-her dish-clout in the tub, and drying her hands on her apron as she

-went, hurried off to the parlour.</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff was known to be a bit of a miser, and had few near

-relatives to leave his money to; and Elspeth had her eye upon a

-handsome legacy.</p>

-

-<p>"He's over sixty-five," she used to tell herself, by way of comfort

-when he swore at her; "and gout don't make old bones. I can put up with

-it a bit longer, on the chance of being mentioned in his will."</p>

-

-<p>But, as it happened, just as Elspeth reached the parlour, there

-was another ring, this time at the outer door; not so lusty as her

-master's, though, for all that the bell itself was twice the size.</p>

-

-<p>Filling up a waste space in the hall, there was a cunning china closet,

-with a narrow window looking through into the porch. A step or two

-aside and one quick glance revealed who stood without. Going swiftly to

-the door, Elspeth threw it open with a deferential curtsey. It was the

-Squire who had given that modest ring; and she never kept the Squire

-waiting, for he always had a civil word, in spite of his high rank.

-Then having answered his inquiry as to whether her master was up, she

-stepped briskly back towards the parlour.</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff was in the act of ringing his handbell a second time.</p>

-

-<p>"A man might die in a fit, for all the haste you make!" exclaimed he

-with an oath, banging down the bell so violently that the clapper

-uttered a "twang" of protest. "An indolent, slow-footed hussy!" He was

-going on with a regular string of abuse, but just as he was in the

-midst of some words that no proper thinking man had any business to lay

-his tongue to, the door flew open, and to his great dismay, his eyes

-met those of no less a personage than the Lord of the Manor.</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff's tirade came to an abrupt termination, and Elspeth having

-announced, "The Squire, sir," withdrew, leaving her master to put the

-best face on it.</p>

-

-<p>What with beer, and rage, and shame, the old sinner's countenance was

-nearly as red as the live coals in the grate. He made desperate efforts

-to rise as the Squire approached, bearing like a man the torture that

-would have made him swear like a trooper if Elspeth had been by instead.</p>

-

-<p>The Squire, however, hastened to stop him.</p>

-

-<p>"Keep your seat, Mr. Bluff," said he good-naturedly, as the bailiff

-blurted out an apology. "Pray don't put yourself to any pain on my

-account. No; not so near the hearth, thank you," as Farmer Bluff tried

-to reach a chair. "I'll sit here. The air is mild this morning, and I

-can see you've been serving your fire to the same sort of rousing as

-you treat your woman servant to."</p>

-

-<p>The old farmer reddened still more, and mumbled something about "your

-blood being chilly when you had the gout."</p>

-

-<p>"And you find that swearing makes it circulate," remarked the Squire

-sarcastically. "Dependence upon others is a very unfortunate condition

-to come to," added he; "and you have apparently a very inattentive

-attendant too."</p>

-

-<p>The Squire's caustic tone did not escape Farmer Bluff. He blurted out a

-few words about "not so bad," only she needed "keeping up to the mark."</p>

-

-<p>"You've chosen a somewhat unscriptural way of setting about it,"

-observed the Squire; "and my experience—the experience of fourscore

-years—is that whatever is unscriptural is unprofitable, and altogether

-wrong. Therefore, Mr. Bluff, if I were you I should give it up."</p>

-

-<p>Having uttered this straightforward piece of advice, the Squire dropped

-the subject, and went on to speak of his bailiff's health.</p>

-

-<p>It was wonderful the contrast there was between the two men. The

-Squire, brought up all his lifetime in the midst of luxury—had he

-chosen to live softly—had as elastic a tread as many a man of forty,

-and looked as hale and hearty as if he had been accustomed to weather

-wind and storm out in the fields with his own shepherds. His bailiff,

-nearly twenty years his junior, looked bloated and unhealthy, in spite

-of his invigorating out-door life about the farm and woods; and half

-his days, at least, were spent in this arm-chair, with one foot or the

-other upon a cushion.</p>

-

-<p>There was good reason for the difference; there is for most things, if

-men only had the sense to find it out. The Squire, from his youth up,

-had been temperate, using the good gifts of God wisely, not abusing

-them. His bailiff had never got beyond regarding these gifts as the

-wages which it was his good fortune to earn from the Squire; and he had

-gone to work with the intention of getting the greatest possible amount

-of enjoyment out of this little bite off the great man's luxury. Thus,

-grasping all, he had come pretty near losing all; for, ask anybody who

-has made close acquaintance with gout, and they will tell you that

-there is next to no enjoyment in life for those who have made it their

-companion.</p>

-

-<p>The moral is,—avoid intemperance, remembering always that beer is

-not the only thing that may be abused, and that gout is not the only

-punishment; for, sad to say, there are as many sins as there are weeds

-in this fair world, and a punishment to each. As the Bible has it—in a

-form that no one need forget—"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he

-also reap."</p>

-

-<p>Sow sins, and you shall reap punishment as surely as did Farmer Bluff.</p>

-

-<p>This was the sum and substance of the Squire's thoughts as he sat

-down on the window-seat. "I'm thankful I shall go down to my grave

-without gout," said he to himself, as he watched the contortions of

-his bailiff's features; for it was vain for Farmer Bluff to think of

-not making faces. He had put his foot to unusual inconvenience in his

-attempts to show respect; and it cost effort enough to refrain from

-bellowing aloud at the pain.</p>

-

-<p>"I hoped to find you better than this, Mr. Bluff," began the Squire

-after a pause, putting his gold-headed cane between his knees, and

-crossing his hands over it. "This has been a long attack."</p>

-

-<p>"It has, sir; a—very long attack."</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff usually hesitated a good deal in talking to the Squire;

-otherwise he might have let slip unsuitable expressions, such as he was

-in the habit of using to Elspeth.</p>

-

-<p>"The longest you ever had, eh?"</p>

-

-<p>The Squire did not want to be unkind, but he had called in with the

-intention of saying something rather disagreeable; and it had got to be

-said, in spite of his natural inclination to say pleasant things.</p>

-

-<p>"By far the longest," repeated he.</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff declared himself heartily tired of it, adding in an

-injured way that no one knew what suffering was until they had tried

-gout.</p>

-

-<p>The Squire shook his head. A man has no right to feel hardly done by

-when he deliberately chooses to bring pain upon himself. "I'm heartily

-tired of it, too," said he; "and the fact is, Bluff, I'm getting

-too far into years to be my own bailiff—and that's what it comes to

-nowadays. For these keepers and labourers of yours—well! I've no

-doubt you give your orders. A man might give his orders in the other

-hemisphere by telegram. But if I didn't go round and see to things for

-myself, they would be in a pretty muddle. Why! I was in the saddle

-at half-past six this morning to do your work. A glorious morning it

-was too; as glorious as God ever made. Time Was when I'd as soon have

-been out myself as trouble you—except for the sense that a man with

-abundance of this world's goods is bound to broadcast some of his

-money amongst dependants. But an octogenarian begins to need a little

-indulgence, or he will do very shortly, for the time must come to all

-of us, Mr. Bluff."</p>

-

-<p>"Ay, that it must, sir," acquiesced the bailiff meekly, feeling rather

-as if his time had come; for he could see pretty plainly what the

-Squire was driving at.</p>

-

-<p>"I should not like," continued the old gentleman after a pause, "to

-leave the estate out of working gear when I go. It is not as if I left

-a grown man in my place. My grandson is such a mere child that I can

-hardly hope even to see him attain his majority; and that is what I

-came to speak to you about. You have served me many years, Bluff; but

-the fact is, you are not what you were, and I feel that I ought to see

-a competent man in your place, whilst I myself am still competent."</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff began to whine. Long service deserved indulgence, he

-hinted. "A man must take what the Lord sends him," said he.</p>

-

-<p>But the Squire stopped him. "Men often make mistakes about the source

-of their misfortunes, Bluff," said he. "I don't believe that your

-complaint is often of the Lord's sending."</p>

-

-<p>The bailiff's eyes reverted uncomfortably to the silver mug. He knew

-very well what his patron referred to.</p>

-

-<p>"I might very easily have put myself in the way of it," continued the

-Squire. "My father left me a well-stocked cellar, and I have had to

-dispense hospitality; but I have mostly contented myself with listening

-to other people's praises of my wines, remembering an old saying that

-those who constantly seek their own reflections at the bottom of their

-tankards are likely oftenest to see an ass. The saying certainly holds

-good of a man who, in immediate opposition to his doctor's orders,

-feeds his gout on beer. No, Bluff: if the Almighty were responsible for

-your gout, I should feel very differently about the matter. As it is,

-although I shall consider myself bound to see that your old age does

-not come to want, you must certainly understand that you will have to

-make way, within due notice, for a man who can put his beer mug on one

-side in favour of duty."</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff tried hard to obtain a commutation of this sentence.</p>

-

-<p>But the Squire was a man who knew his own mind, once it was made up,

-and who did not make it up hastily either. He had for some years past

-been much disgusted with his bailiff conduct; and the experience of

-the last few months had finally decided him. He was determined to

-leave upon the estate a thoroughly efficient bailiff. To this intent,

-having given due notice to the gouty old rascal who at present held

-the office, he now rose and took his leave, Farmer Bluff ringing his

-handbell— though not so roughly as before—for Elspeth to show the

-Squire out.</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image007" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image007.jpg" alt="image007"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<h3><a id="Chapter_4">CHAPTER IV.</a></h3>

-

-<p class="t3">

-<b>THE SQUIRE'S GRANDSONS.</b><br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>WHILST the Squire had been giving old Bluff his deserts in the farm

-parlour, his three grandsons—none other than the boys whose mother Dick

-had thought so beautiful—had left the grounds by a winding path that

-skirted the plantation and emerged on to a fieldway leading into the

-road a few hundred yards above the farm. Turning to the left hand of

-the farm, this road ran round the foot of a piece of rising ground.

-Probably the man who first made a cart-track there, found it pay better

-to go a little way round than to make his beasts drag their burdens

-over the hill. But there was a shorter cut for pedestrians almost

-opposite the pathway from the Manor House; and for this the boys were

-bound.</p>

-

-<p>Just as they were in the act of crossing the stile, who should come

-round the bend but the Squire, whose next business took him up that

-very road. The boys saw him at once. Two of them—the two taller

-ones—ran forward to meet him, the other following at his quickest

-pace. The Squire was a favourite with his grandsons. He was such a boy

-amongst them, although he had been born over eighty years before them;

-and yet withal he was so grand and courtly.</p>

-

-<p>Will and Sigismund dashed forward, but the Squire looked beyond them

-to the cripple, who was exerting himself manfully to show equal

-appreciation of his aged relative.</p>

-

-<p>"Bravo, Hal, bravo!" cried he, applauding with his gold-headed cane.</p>

-

-<p>Will and Sigismund faced about, looking half-ashamed, as if they felt

-it was almost mean to have taken such an advantage of their afflicted

-brother. But the Squire did not exactly intend that. It would have been

-altogether too hard for boys with strong legs to give up using them

-because their brother limped on irons. It was rather that the Squire

-had a very tender spot in his heart for Hal, and that he saw in the

-boy's brave, invincible spirit an earnest of what the man would be.</p>

-

-<p>"God grant that he may grow to be a man!" he often uttered in his

-heart. And it really seemed that Hal was growing stronger year by year.</p>

-

-<p>Meanwhile Hal, flushed and out of breath, was up with them.</p>

-

-<p>"Where are you going, grandfather?" asked he eagerly, as he swung

-himself round to walk by the Squire's side, Sigismund making way for

-him.</p>

-

-<p>"Up to the cottages by the wood gate," replied his grandfather, laying

-one hand on his shoulder. "Almost out of bounds for you, eh?"</p>

-

-<p>But Hal shook his head. "Why, I've been right into the wood, you know;

-last autumn, nutting."</p>

-

-<p>"Ah, to be sure!" acquiesced the old gentleman.</p>

-

-<p>"But what are you going there for, grandfather?" questioned Hal, who

-was noted for his inquisitive spirit. Impertinent, some good people

-would have said; but not so his grandfather.</p>

-

-<p>"How can a boy learn what he doesn't know, if he may not ask a

-question?" he would say. "A spirit of inquiry is one of the first

-requisites to learning." So now he answered without reserve.</p>

-

-<p>"To see about having one put in repair for Farmer Bluff," said he.</p>

-

-<p>"For Farmer Bluff?"</p>

-

-<p>The question was from all three at once.</p>

-

-<p>The Squire nodded gravely. "For Farmer Bluff," repeated he. "He has to

-leave the Manor Farm."</p>

-

-<p>"To leave?"</p>

-

-<p>"Why, grandfather?"</p>

-

-<p>This was Hal's question. Hal always came straight to the point, as if

-he had a right to know; and his grandfather seldom, if ever, put him

-off.</p>

-

-<p>"Because," answered he, "the time has arrived when he must make way for

-a better man."</p>

-

-<p>"But surely, grandfather," said Hal, "you won't turn him away, after

-all the years he has been bailiff. Why! Ever since mother first brought

-us to live with you."</p>

-

-<p>"Ay, and before that," broke in the Squire regretfully. "When I thought

-your poor father would have been Squire after me. Twenty-seven years

-Farmer Bluff has lived on that farm; but—"</p>

-

-<p>"But it isn't fair to turn him out because he's getting old,

-grandfather," interrupted Hal, with a bold familiarity that no one else

-would have dared to use towards the old gentleman.</p>

-

-<p>"Tut, tut, lad," rejoined the Squire. "Who said was because he was too

-old?"</p>

-

-<p>"Well, grandfather," put in Sigismund, who according to size would be

-the next youngest to Hal, "you said 'a better man.'"</p>

-

-<p>"Better doesn't always mean younger," said Hal eagerly; "does it,

-grandfather?"</p>

-

-<p>"Nor does younger mean better," returned the Squire. "I always like to

-think of my eighty-four years as a token of God's favour."</p>

-

-<p>"Good people generally live to be old, don't they?" suggested

-Sigismund, straying from the point at issue. "In the Bible they did."</p>

-

-<p>"Steady living is conducive to longevity;" replied the old man.

-"That is to say, those who live sober, temperate lives give their

-constitutions the fairest chance of withstanding natural decay, and of

-escaping the ravages of disease by which so many are prematurely cut

-off."</p>

-

-<p>"Is that why Farmer Bluff has the gout?" queried Hal. "Because he has

-been intemperate?"</p>

-

-<p>"Very likely," replied the Squire. "It is quite certain that at the

-present time he is aggravating the complaint and forfeiting my esteem

-by the childish obstinacy with which he persists in drinking beer, when

-he knows it is as good as drinking so many pains and twinges. But you

-mustn't run away with the notion that God always rewards virtue with

-long life; for that is not His greatest gift."</p>

-

-<p>Hal asked no more questions just then. They had crossed the stile

-during this conversation, and were climbing the pathway up the hill

-towards the wood, where there was plenty to claim the attention of boys.</p>

-

-<p>Larks were rising from the tussocks; finches darted in and out the

-hedge; and as they got nearer to the wood, wild rabbits, all tail,

-frisked about their burrows. Once or twice a grey rat ran out of

-his hole, and sat upon his haunches in the track, staring stupidly

-before him until they were quite close; then doubling suddenly, and

-disappearing in the ditch.</p>

-

-<p>Will and Sigismund were full of excitement, running and jumping and

-leaping; but Hal kept by his grandfather, swinging himself along at an

-even pace that agreed very well with the old gentleman's step; and so

-they reached the gate of the wood, and the cottages in one of which the

-Squire intended his bailiff to live rent free.</p>

-

-<p>There was already a noise of carpenters at work, and a cheery sound of

-men talking over their saws and planes. Hal followed his grandfather

-inside, and went round, listening with great interest to all that

-passed between him and the workmen. But the other boys stayed outside,

-overrunning the garden, and talking to the gamekeeper, who lived next

-door. Finally they strayed into the wood, which was only separated from

-the garden by a ditch, dry summer and winter alike. By the time the

-Squire had finished giving his orders, they were quite out of sight and

-hearing.</p>

-

-<p>At length, the Squire sent the keeper down the clearing after them. Hal

-was standing by his side, resting on his crutches. The Squire, looking

-down at him, saw that his face wore a thoughtful look, and fancied he

-was tired.</p>

-

-<p>"Better go inside and sit down on Champion's sawstool," suggested he

-kindly; "it's a long way back, and you and I aren't so young as those

-two madcaps. Eh?"</p>

-

-<p>At that instant, however, Will and Sigismund appeared, talking gaily to

-the man as they advanced.</p>

-

-<p>The Squire beckoned, and they set forward at a run, giving the stout

-old Velveteens a good view of their soles, and leaving him to follow at

-his sober pleasure. But Hal had already seized his opportunity.</p>

-

-<p>"Grandfather," said he, moving nearer.</p>

-

-<p>The old man faced about.</p>

-

-<p>"Grandfather, I was wondering if I could make Farmer Bluff see how

-silly it is to keep on having gout?"</p>

-

-<p>"To keep on drinking beer?—Hardly," quoth the Squire, "since his doctor

-fails. People usually believe their medical man, if anybody, when they

-are in pain."</p>

-

-<p>"And I mean," added Hal, anxious to gain his point before the others

-came up, "if he left off having gout, should you still be obliged to

-turn him out of the Manor Farm?"</p>

-

-<p>"Why, no," answered the Squire; "not if he showed himself capable of

-doing his duty as bailiff of the estate. But the fact is, I can't be

-Squire and bailiff too at my age; and if I could, I shouldn't long be

-able to, because—things don't go on for ever and a day, Hal."</p>

-

-<p>Just then the other two boys cleared the ditch, and bounded up, with a

-ready apology for having kept their grandfather waiting; then, passing

-in at the back door, they all went through to the road again.</p>

-

-<p>On reaching the front door, the Squire suddenly remembered something he

-had meant to say, and stepped back again. Hal waited with him, but Will

-and Sigismund ran straight out.</p>

-

-<p>In the middle of the road a boy was standing, looking this way and

-that, as if undecided in which direction to go. Seeing two lads his own

-age, he at once advanced.</p>

-

-<p>"Can you tell me where I am?" asked he.</p>

-

-<p>"By the gate of the wood," answered Will, pointing past the cottages to

-the red-painted gate.</p>

-

-<p>"Is this beyond the common?" asked the boy.</p>

-

-<p>"Most certainly," was Will's reply.</p>

-

-<p>"Then I'm where I've no business," rejoined the boy, who was none other

-than Dick Crozier. On leaving his new acquaintance, Bill the Kicker, he

-had wandered on by the right-hand road, until his way had met that of

-the Squire and his grandsons by the cottages.</p>

-

-<p>Apart from Hal, Dick did not recognise them as the Manor House boys.

-Hal no sooner appeared in the doorway, however, than their identity

-flashed upon him. The next minute, the Squire himself emerged, tapping

-the ground briskly with his cane as he walked, as an indication that

-time was short and they must get forward without delay.</p>

-

-<p>Perceiving Will in conversation with a strange boy, he stopped short;

-whereupon Will explain that Dick had lost his way.</p>

-

-<p>The Squire inquired where he came from, but this Will had not yet

-asked; so the Squire turned to Dick himself.</p>

-

-<p>"Your name, my boy?" asked he.</p>

-

-<p>Dick had no sooner recognised Hal than it flashed upon him that the

-grand old gentleman with the gold-headed cane was none other than the

-Squire himself; and although not more troubled with bashfulness than

-most boys of his age, he was just a trifle flustered at the discovery.

-Nevertheless, he answered straightforwardly enough,—</p>

-

-<p>"Crozier, sir."</p>

-

-<p>"Crozier; a son of my new tenant, surely?" said the Squire in his

-courtly way. "I am always pleased to make the acquaintance of a tenant,

-Master—"</p>

-

-<p>"Dick, sir."</p>

-

-<p>"Master Dick; and as we're all going one way, we will proceed together,

-if you please."</p>

-

-<p>So they set off, Dick and Hal walking on either side of the Squire, the

-other two a pace or two in front.</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image008" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image008.jpg" alt="image008"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<h3><a id="Chapter_5">CHAPTER V.</a></h3>

-

-<p class="t3">

-<b>"WHATEVER IS, IS RIGHT."</b><br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>BEING Easter holidays, and the tutor who superintended studies at

-the Manor House having gone North to visit his friends, Hal and his

-brothers had things pretty much their own way from sunrise to bedtime.

-They walked; they played games; they followed their grandfather about;

-they rode the donkey about the field—or rather Will and Sigismund did,

-whilst Hal looked on and clapped his hands.</p>

-

-<p>In short, they did all that boys in holiday-time try to do; they took

-every possible means to make the best of their freedom. All things

-considered, too, they were very good to Hal, who—hard as he tried to

-keep up with them—was rather a clog with his crutches and his irons.</p>

-

-<p>On the morning after the Squire's interview with his bailiff, however,

-Hal evolved a scheme which relieved them of this clog.</p>

-

-<p>One of the men had let loose a ferret in the granary, to hunt the rats,

-which of late had been committing great depredations in the henhouses.

-For some time the boys had been too excited to notice their brother's

-sudden disappearance. But presently, the hunt drifted upstairs into the

-loft overhead. This at once recalled Hal to mind, because he could not

-very well climb a ladder without assistance.</p>

-

-<p>"Where can he have got to?" exclaimed Sigismund, who had been outside

-to look about for him.</p>

-

-<p>Somehow Sigismund, being of a more unselfish disposition, was always

-the one to wait behind for Hal.</p>

-

-<p>"Gone indoors, I expect," returned Will, already half-way up.</p>

-

-<p>Hal had a way of "going indoors" when he found the game beyond him.

-"It's no fun when you ache," he would say; "and it doesn't make you a

-bit worth playing with." And he would be found afterwards, deep in a

-book—not always a story-book either.</p>

-

-<p>Meanwhile, Hal, having slipped out through the stable-yard and

-gained the road, was on his way to the Manor Farm, meditating on the

-unaccustomed rôle which he had taken on himself.</p>

-

-<p>About the same time, Dick Crozier, intending to hang about the farm,

-on the chance of catching Bill and hearing something of the hornets'

-nest, had chosen that direction for his morning's stroll. Recognising

-the wooden tap-tap of Hal's crutches on the gravel as he hurried down

-the hill, Dick determined first to renew acquaintance with the Squire's

-grandson; so he slackened pace, and the boys met at the lodge gate.</p>

-

-<p>Hal at once nodded pleasantly; and Dick, returning the nod, joined him

-without further ceremony.</p>

-

-<p>"You get along jolly fast, considering," remarked Dick pleasantly, as

-the conversation turned on walking. "That's hard work, though, I should

-say."</p>

-

-<p>Hal nodded, and went a little faster, breathing short with the effort.</p>

-

-<p>"Was it an accident?" inquired Dick; "or were you born so?"</p>

-

-<p>"It came on when I began to walk," answered Hal; "at least, so I'm

-told. Of course, I don't remember being any different."</p>

-

-<p>He didn't seem to mind talking about it, which Dick thought very

-sensible. "Where would be the use of minding?" said he to himself. "It

-wouldn't alter the fact." He little knew the effort it cost Hal to put

-his injured pride on one side.</p>

-

-<p>"What are the irons for?" asked Dick next.</p>

-

-<p>"To stretch this leg," answered Hal, nodding to the right. "That one

-was the worst; and the sinews shrank—just like a wet string. It's

-pulled out tight all the while, to try and stretch it longer."</p>

-

-<p>"Don't it make it ache?" asked Dick.</p>

-

-<p>"Sometimes," assented Hal.</p>

-

-<p>He might with truth have said, "most of the time;" but Hal was a bit of

-a hero in his way. "I'm used to it, you see," he added patiently.</p>

-

-<p>"I shouldn't like to be like that," said Dick.</p>

-

-<p>"Nobody would, of course," returned Hal; "but when you are, you've got

-to make the best of it. You think of all the great men you've ever read

-about, and wonder how they'd have borne it; and that helps you."</p>

-

-<p>Dick was so much struck by this way of looking at a misfortune, that

-for several minutes he was silent; and Hal's crutches went on tapping

-out their melancholy tale upon the road; step by step, step by step,

-patiently—the only way to rise superior to a misfortune of that kind.</p>

-

-<p>"Who is the greatest man you ever read about?" asked Dick presently.</p>

-

-<p>Hal assumed a thoughtful air. "That's rather hard to say," answered he;

-"because some are great for one thing, some for another. It's like that

-with plants, too, you know. There's corn, and there are potatoes; and

-we couldn't very well do without either. I shouldn't like to do without

-apples, nor green peas—we always have them sooner than other people;

-(forced, you know;) and I'll ask grandfather to send you some. Then

-again," he ran on, before Dick had time to thank him for this promise,

-"there are flowers—more beautiful than useful, as we count use. It's

-just like that with men, I think."</p>

-

-<p>Dick could not jump quite the length of this argument. He suggested

-Robinson Crusoe.</p>

-

-<p>But Hal's estimate of greatness differed from Dick's. "Crusoe was

-pretty well in some things, considering how he began," said he. "He

-was shifty, but he wasn't all round; besides, he was an awful coward,

-and he swore. And then, he's only in a book. Now Socrates—only he was

-a heathen—he died bravely when they made him choose between the dagger

-and the poison cup. And Napoleon—he made himself a king out of a common

-soldier, and he must have been a great man, or people wouldn't have

-given in to him; but then he did it all for the sake of power, and he

-wasn't good.</p>

-

-<p>"A man's motives go for a great deal, you know. Then there were the

-martyrs; I like them. They had their bodies broken on the wheel

-because they wouldn't tell lies. I often think of that, because it was

-something like having my leg stretched, only thousand times worse.

-There was Shakespeare too. He wrote very fine plays. That was more like

-being a flower, I should say; and I don't know that he was particularly

-good, or that he did anything else worth doing. And there was Sir Isaac

-Newton, who discovered why apples fall done instead of up. He was very

-learned, of course. But I like men such as Wilberforce and Clarkson,

-who did so much to abolish slavery; or Moffat, the missionary; or

-Howard, who went into a lot of gaols, and made a fuss about having them

-kept cleaner, and the prisoners better treated. In my opinion," added

-Hal, "they were some of the greatest men that ever lived—except Jesus

-Christ."</p>

-

-<p>Dick had not read about any of these heroes. He said that he should

-like to.</p>

-

-<p>"Of course," continued Hal; "none of them come near Jesus Christ. You

-don't expect that. There was Buddha. A missionary once told me about

-him; and I've read since. He was a prince in India; and he gave up

-everything to try and find out how to make people happier, because

-one day when he went outside the palace, he discovered that everybody

-wasn't so well off as himself, and that people had to be ill and die.

-But he didn't end up the same as Jesus Christ," Hal concluded. "And

-then it's such an immense while ago that I don't think it's very easy

-to be sure whether it's all true."</p>

-

-<p>Hal was fond of books, and had an original way of talking about what he

-read.</p>

-

-<p>"I don't suppose that any of them went on crutches," suggested Dick.</p>

-

-<p>Hal thought not. "One of them was lame," said he. "His name was

-Epictetus; he was an eminent philosopher. It was through his master's

-cruelty; and that was very hard to bear. But crutches don't matter to

-some sorts of greatness," added he. "You wouldn't get along very well

-on crutches if you wanted to fight; and fighting isn't always wrong

-either, though I don't like it. Where you do it to put down injustice,

-for instance, or to help the weaker side, it's noble and right."</p>

-

-<p>"Or if you do it to defend your wife and children," put in Dick.</p>

-

-<p>"There were some great men deformed," continued Hal. "There was Pope.

-He had to be laced up in a pair of tight stays to keep him from

-doubling up; he used to sit up in bed and write poetry. I've read some

-of it, and it's very fine. 'Whatever is, is right,' comes from Pope;

-and though you can't say that of everything, there is a sense in which

-it is very true. But Pope wasn't brave always. He used to be very

-disagreeable to his servant when he was in pain; and I think if any one

-was really great, they would rise superior to affliction, and not make

-other people feel it. You see," added Hal, in a tone of reflection,

-"it's bad enough for one person to go on crutches, without making all

-the rest miserable."</p>

-

-<p>"You mean to be great, I suppose," observed Dick admiringly. "What

-shall you be?"</p>

-

-<p>Hal reflected. "That's difficult to say exactly," said he. "Of course

-I've got to be the Lord of the Manor."</p>

-

-<p>"You have?" interrupted Dick. "I thought it was your tallest brother."</p>

-

-<p>"Will?—No; it's always the eldest son. I'm the eldest," added Hal, just

-a trifle proudly.</p>

-

-<p>Dick was astonished. He had made up his mind from the very first, that

-Hal was the youngest of the three.</p>

-

-<p>"You see, I'm short," said Hal simply. "It makes you grow slowly when

-you're like this."</p>

-

-<p>"That's a pity," said Dick, knowing of nothing better to say.</p>

-

-<p>"Yes; I suppose it is," said Hal; "only—'Whatever is, is right,'

-unless, of course, it is something contrary to God's will; and

-this can't be, as I was born so. I mean all the same to be like my

-grandfather."</p>

-

-<p>"He isn't very big," put in Dick, cheerfully.</p>

-

-<p>"Some people," continued Hal, "don't think you can be a proper Squire

-unless you can ride in the steeplechase and follow the hounds. My

-grandfather doesn't now; but he used to formerly. I've heard him say

-what a pity it was that I couldn't learn to sit a horse. But you see

-it isn't just the same as it used to be in the olden times when there

-were serfs, and the lord of the manor lived in a castle with a moat

-and drawbridge. He had to be a sort of petty king in those days. And

-if other lords stole his vassals' sheep or wives, he had to rally all

-his men and besiege their castles. I'm afraid I shouldn't be very well

-able to do that. But all that is changed nowadays, and there are no

-serfs—which ought to make the poor people much better off. What a good

-Squire has to do is to pull down all the badly built cottages on his

-estate, and have them properly drained, and damp courses put in, so

-that the walls don't rot."</p>

-

-<p>Dick inquired whether that was the reason why some cottages near his

-father's house were being pulled down.</p>

-

-<p>Hal nodded. "Why," said he, "the jam actually mildewed in the parlour

-cupboard! Think of that I saw it. And the old lady's wedding-dress

-went all spotty where it hung in the press upstairs. It was silk; and

-she had worn it every Christmas Day and Easter Sunday since she was

-married, and every time any of her sons and daughters had a wedding. It

-was very vexatious for her. You couldn't let such a house stand."</p>

-

-<p>Hal spoke with such earnestness that Dick was quite convinced, and

-immediately thought of the preservation of old silk wedding-dresses as

-one of the chief duties of a good Squire.</p>

-

-<p>"There's to be a proper slate course at the bottom of the walls this

-time," added Hal. "You'll see it will be quite dry."</p>

-

-<p>"Then there's the drainage," continued he; "because if that's bad, the

-wells get poisoned, and people have fevers. And although it doesn't say

-anything in the Bible actually about drainage, it says a great deal

-which seems to me to mean that if you own an estate, you ought to look

-after the health and comfort of the tenants. Oh, there's a lot a Squire

-has to do that I think I could do! And perhaps," he added thoughtfully,

-"I should do it all the better for not riding in the steeplechase and

-following the hounds. You can't do everything; and if you come to

-think," concluded Hal, "perhaps that is why God let me be like this;

-because, you know, He could have made it different if He had chosen to."</p>

-

-<p>"A Squire has to make a speech at the rent dinner, doesn't he?"

-suggested Dick, glad to show that he had some knowledge of a Squire's

-duties.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh! I think I could manage that all right," returned Hal, "when I got

-to be of age. It wouldn't be noticed that I was like this when I stood

-up behind the table; so I shouldn't feel bashful about it. Besides, I

-don't think I should mind when once I was Squire, because people would

-respect me; and I should try to show them how great men bear such

-things."</p>

-

-<p>Dick thought this a very plucky way of looking forward to such a

-terrible ordeal.</p>

-

-<p>"Another thing you have to do," said Hal, as they arrived at the gate

-of the Manor Farm, "is to see that the bailiff and other people about

-the estate do their duty. And if they don't—through drink or laziness,

-you know—you have to turn them out, and hire somebody who does. But I'm

-going in here," added he, breaking off abruptly.</p>

-

-<p>Dick was sorry, for he found Hal's company both instructive and

-entertaining; moreover, his vanity was rather flattered by this

-acquaintance with the future Squire. But fortunately Hal appreciated a

-good listener.</p>

-

-<p>"Where shall you be when I come out?" asked he, resting on his crutches

-to open the gate; "because I like somebody to talk to."</p>

-

-<p>Dick, having nothing particular in view, readily promised to wait about

-until Hal came out; and having watched him past Grip—who only rose to

-his feet in a respectful sort of way, and walked quietly forward the

-length of his chain—he sauntered slowly on.</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image009" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image009.jpg" alt="image009"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<h3><a id="Chapter_6">CHAPTER VI.</a></h3>

-

-<p class="t3">

-<b>THE YOUNG SQUIRE.</b><br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>ON going, as usual, before answering the doorbell, to peep through the

-little window in the china closet, Elspeth was not a little surprised;

-for there, on the seat in the porch, his crutches on either side of

-him, sat the young Squire, resting.</p>

-

-<p>He was examining a leaf-bud on a tendril of the honeysuckle when she

-first caught sight of him; but directly the door opened, he got to his

-feet, inquiring for Farmer Bluff.</p>

-

-<p>Elspeth at once invited him to enter. "A message from the Squire, sir?"

-asked she, as she closed the door behind him.</p>

-

-<p>Elspeth knew all about the nature of the Squire's business with her

-master on the previous morning, for the old sinner, in his rage and

-vexation, had drunk more beer than ever, and had used more bad language

-than enough about it, whenever she had had occasion to go near him.

-She was not sure, moreover, how his dismissal would affect her own

-prospects, for he would be in receipt of less money; and ill as he

-could do without her help, in his frequently crippled condition, it was

-very doubtful whether the miserly old fellow would choose to draw upon

-his hoard in order to pay her the usual wages.</p>

-

-<p>In that case, much as Elspeth disliked the idea of breaking away from

-the old place, she was determined to seek her fortune elsewhere; for it

-need hardly be said that Farmer Bluff was not the sort of master to win

-the affection of a dependant.</p>

-

-<p>"For money," and not "for love," had been Elspeth's rule of service.

-Having, however, one or two cronies in the neighbourhood, from whom she

-did not care to part, she was fain to entertain a half hope that Hal

-might have been sent round to negotiate a compromise.</p>

-

-<p>But Hal was not disposed to divulge the purpose of his visit.</p>

-

-<p>"I want to see Farmer Bluff, if you please," said he, "if he's up. If

-not, perhaps you could take me to his room. I daresay he wouldn't mind."</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff was up, though, as Elspeth promptly informed the young

-gentleman; and, stepping to the parlour door, she flung it open,

-announcing, "The young Squire, sir."</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff, as it happened, was in a brown study, leaning forward on

-the elbows of his chair, with his eyes fixed on the fire. Not catching

-the first two words of Elspeth's announcement, he looked up with a

-start, expecting to see his master come to torment him again. His

-relief can best be imagined when, instead of meeting the penetrating

-gaze of the Squire, his eye fell upon the slight form of Hal, with his

-frank, boyish face all abeam to greet him, as he swung himself across

-the room.</p>

-

-<p>"Good morning, Mr. Bluff," said he pleasantly. "I'm glad to find you

-up. You ought to be out this fine weather. You're missing ever so much,

-so I thought I'd come and have a chat with you about it."</p>

-

-<p>"And make me want all the more to be out," said the old farmer, doing

-his best to assume a pleasant manner. But his thoughts, ever since

-Elspeth landed him in that chair, had been of such la disagreeable

-nature, that he found it quite impossible, all in a minute, to shake

-the growl out of his tone.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm glad my legs don't prevent me getting out," said Hal,

-contemplating the bandaged limb with compassion, as he seated himself

-opposite, and lodged his crutches against his chair.</p>

-

-<p>"You're not of a gouty age yet, young master," returned Farmer Bluff.

-"It'd be sorry work to have it at your time of life."</p>

-

-<p>"It isn't everybody has it when they're old," said Hal. "My grandfather

-doesn't. I don't think I shall."</p>

-

-<p>"Maybe not," returned Farmer Bluff. "'One thing at a time' is the

-saying. You've got your share in the way of legs."</p>

-

-<p>"But I mean," explained Hal, determined to make this the thin end of

-his wedge; "I mean that I shall take care not to have it."</p>

-

-<p>Bluff laughed—a cynical sort of laugh.</p>

-

-<p>"You'll have to take pretty much what comes," croaked he.</p>

-

-<p>"But some things don't come," said Hal.</p>

-

-<p>"You don't send for 'em," returned the bailiff, with another laugh.

-"That's very certain; not such things as gout."</p>

-

-<p>"Don't you?" said Hal. "It seems to me you do. Beer makes gout, doesn't

-it? You're always drinking beer."</p>

-

-<p>The bailiff involuntarily reached out for his mug; but it was

-empty—which went to prove the truth of what Hal said. Farmer Bluff

-drank beer so often that he hardly knew when he did it.</p>

-

-<p>"It may be partly owing to that mug," continued Hal, after a few

-minutes' consideration. "You're rather proud of it, you see. I think

-that's natural. But, do you know, if I had a mug that made me have

-the gout, I'd send it to the smith's to be melted down and made into

-something else. Let me see—you might have it converted into a silver

-inkhorn, like my grandfather's. You couldn't drink out of that."</p>

-

-<p>"That's certain," returned the bailiff, amused in spite of himself.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, will you think about it?" said Hal. "Because that's what I

-came about. You see, if you go on having gout, you can't go on being

-bailiff. My grandfather says so. It's one or the other; and it's quite

-fair, if you come to look at it. You're no bailiff if you have to sit

-with your leg up on a cushion all day like that; because you ought to

-be out and about the estate, seeing after things. And if it's your own

-fault that you can't, why, there's no doubt about it's being just; is

-there?"</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff shifted on his chair. He knew Hal was quite right. And Hal

-had brought out his arguments very warily too. First, that the gout was

-of the old fellow's own seeking; second, that being gouty, he couldn't

-attend to his business, and had clearly no right to be bailiff; and

-third, that this being so, he stood self-condemned, and could in nowise

-complain if the Squire turned him out.</p>

-

-<p>Hal knew this very well, and was not surprised at getting no answer

-to his question. "I think I'll go now," said he, taking his crutches.

-"It's a beautiful morning. I wish you could be out of doors."</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff reached out for the bell, but Hal stopped him. "You

-needn't ring for the servant," said he. "I can get out all right by

-myself; and I daresay she's busy. When you have to wait on any one who

-can't move much, I should think it gives you a lot to do."</p>

-

-<p>So the old farmer left the bell alone.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm very much obliged to you for looking in, Master Hal," said he, as

-the boy did not attempt to go.</p>

-

-<p>"I'll come again," said he, "if you like it. There's one thing more I

-was thinking. It's in the Bible. 'Thou hast destroyed thyself.' I don't

-remember who it was, but I've got the words in my head somehow. It's a

-pity to destroy yourself, isn't it?—Because there are so many ways that

-you can't help, of getting destroyed."</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff shifted again; and Hal, resting on his crutches, looked

-as if he very much wished he knew how to go on. But it was rather

-difficult, especially when the old fellow didn't make any reply.</p>

-

-<p>At length, he put his right crutch forward, preparatory to moving on.

-"Well, good morning, Mr. Bluff," said he. "Don't forget about the mug;

-and I hope your gout will be better. I should like you to go on being

-bailiff when I'm Squire, because I'm used to you, and strangers aren't

-so nice. Good morning."</p>

-

-<p>And away went the crutches across the floor, with their measured tap,

-tap, whilst the old bailiff sat looking after him with an astonished

-expression on his face; and when Hal, halting to turn the door-handle,

-gave him a last bright nod, he nodded too, twice or thrice. Then he

-twisted himself round in his chair, to watch the boy across the yard.

-But Hal went first to pay his respects to Grip, and peep round the

-corner of the house at Blazer. Catching sight of the old man through

-the window as he passed, however, he approached and put his face close

-to the glass.</p>

-

-<p>"Don't forget the mug!" called he.</p>

-

-<p>Whereupon Farmer Bluff, too much astonished even to nod, took the empty

-heirloom in his hand, turning it over and over, and falling back again

-into a brown study.</p>

-

-<p>Out in the road again, Hal looked about for Dick. But he was nowhere

-to be seen. Dick was one of those people who find time hang very

-heavy when they have to wait; and seeking temporary diversion, he had

-completely forgotten his appointment with Hal.</p>

-

-<p>Just past the farmyard was a pathway over the fields, behind the

-orchard and back premises; and having perched himself upon the stile to

-wait, it occurred to Dick to wonder where it led to. No sooner wondered

-than both Dick's legs were over the top-rail, and, jumping down, he

-started off to see for himself, whistling as he went.</p>

-

-<p>Now, these back premises were Blazer's especial charge; and such a

-vigilant sentinel was Blazer, that he no sooner heard the sound of

-Dick's whistle than he was up in arms.</p>

-

-<p>Dick came to a halt, remembering the character he had heard of the

-beast from Bill the Kicker's father. But at that very moment, who

-should appear from behind the orchard but Bill himself.</p>

-

-<p>"Hullo!" called he.</p>

-

-<p>Whereupon Blazer barked more furiously than ever.</p>

-

-<p>Blazer had his own reasons for mistrusting the sound of Bill the

-Kicker's voice.</p>

-

-<p>"Ain't he sharp!" said Bill. "He smells you out if you creep by ever so

-quiet."</p>

-

-<p>Dick nodded. "What about the hornets' nest?" asked he eagerly.</p>

-

-<p>But Bill put him off with a half answer. The fact was he had been in

-too much of a hurry in proclaiming it a nest, and it had turned out to

-be no such thing.</p>

-

-<p>Meanwhile, Blazer had not ceased barking.</p>

-

-<p>"Rather a dangerous animal, isn't he?" suggested Dick.</p>

-

-<p>"I shouldn't care to meet him out for a walk," returned Bill.</p>

-

-<p>"Is he near the hedge?" asked Dick.</p>

-

-<p>"Agen' the back door," answered Bill. "You ain't afraid of him?" added

-he, with a grin.</p>

-

-<p>"Why, no," said Dick, ashamed to own the contrary. "Lots of people go

-this way, I expect."</p>

-

-<p>"In course," returned Bill; "else what's the pathway for? Nobody takes

-any notice of Blazer. My eye, though, ain't he wild if you get through

-the hedge!"</p>

-

-<p>Dick inquired if Bill was ever guilty of such a thing.</p>

-

-<p>Bill answered by a mysterious nod and the word "apples," accompanied

-by a jerk of his thumb towards the orchard. "You have to look out when

-there's nobody about, though," said he; "else he'd bring 'em out like a

-shot with his row. To see him, you'd think he'd break his chain."</p>

-

-<p>"It's too strong I should think," said Dick, with a feeling, however,

-that it would be preferable to go without the apples rather than risk

-meeting Blazer off the chain.</p>

-

-<p>"He got loose the other day, though," returned Bill. "Killed a goose,

-and made old Bluff so mad. Old Bluff always reckons to get a lot by

-his geese; and now there's a whole setting spoilt. Thirteen short for

-market next Christmas," added Bill knowingly.</p>

-

-<p>Dick knew nothing about geese. He made numerous inquiries concerning

-their nesting and hatching, all of which country-bred Bill was able to

-answer in detail.</p>

-

-<p>"They lay pretty big eggs I should think," said Dick, recollecting an

-ostrich egg which he had seen in a South African uncle's cabinet.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh don't they!" responded Bill. "A dinner and a half for a chap. I

-often help myself when there's no one about."</p>

-

-<p>Dick, instead of being shocked, looked rather envious of Bill's

-experience.</p>

-

-<p>"I daresay I could get you one," hinted Bill obligingly. "They're worth

-a shilling each; but as it won't cost me nothing but the trouble, I'll

-say sixpence to you."</p>

-

-<p>Dick thought that a good deal. Sixpences were not very handy in finding

-their way to his pockets for his father was by no means rich. The

-prospect was tempting, however; and not knowing that the sum named was

-full double the ordinary market price, he at once closed with the offer.</p>

-

-<p>"When am I to have it?" asked he eagerly.</p>

-

-<p>But this Bill was not prepared to say. It depended on so many things;

-on Blazer, on Elspeth, on his father, and on the geese. So Dick must

-needs be content with a conditional promise that at some time or other,

-within the shortest possible limit, he should be in possession of the

-coveted delicacy.</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image010" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image010.jpg" alt="image010"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<h3><a id="Chapter_7">CHAPTER VII.</a></h3>

-

-<p class="t3">

-<b>THE SHORTEST CUT.</b><br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>BILL the Kicker had his own reasons for wanting sixpence.</p>

-

-<p>A few days since, being very hard up for a pocket-knife, he had watched

-an opportunity to abstract the necessary amount from his mother's

-rent-money; and he was anxious to replace it before the theft was

-discovered.</p>

-

-<p>This rent-money was the proceeds of his mother's exertions with her

-mangle, and was always dropped into an old tea-pot occupying a place of

-honour on the mantel-shelf—each amount put in or taken out being duly

-entered in red pencil on a square of card, which also had its quarters

-in this Britannia-metal safe.</p>

-

-<p>Now it always fell to Bill's lot to carry the mangling home out of

-school hours; and it seemed to him, when he got the idea of taking the

-sixpence, that it was nothing but fair he should have something for his

-pains.</p>

-

-<p>"If other people don't pay you, why, you must pay yourself," reasoned

-Bill. "That's square enough."</p>

-

-<p>When he came to see the red pencil entries on the card, he was somewhat

-shaken as to the safety of this policy, however "fair and square" it

-might be. It was not even as if he had been one of many brothers.

-The coin would certainly be missed; and upon whom but himself should

-suspicion fall?</p>

-

-<p>It occurred to him to make the experiment of rubbing out one of the

-entries. He had no eraser, but he was pretty ready with expedients.

-Quick as lightning, one finger went to his mouth, and thence to the

-tidily kept account; but such a horrible smear was the result, that his

-hair almost stood on end. It was impossible but that his mother would

-see that the card had been tampered with; if, in addition, she found

-the money sixpence short, the mischief would be out, and he would be

-"in for it."</p>

-

-<p>Exactly what that might mean was not clear to Bill. All he knew was

-that his father had given him the strap on one occasion, and that

-he did not desire a repetition of the experience. It was already

-Thursday. Under ordinary circumstances, the sixpence would have had to

-be replaced before Monday. But since Farmer Bluff had been laid up,

-the rents had been running; so that, unless the Squire suddenly took

-it into his head to send some one round, there would be no particular

-hurry.</p>

-

-<p>Bill, however, was shrewd enough to believe in being on the safe side.

-Accordingly, he had left no stone unturned to put himself in a position

-to restore the stolen sixpence. The scheme about the hornets' nest

-having fallen through, he had even hunted up and down outside the shop

-fronts in the street, in hopes of picking up change dropped by some

-careless housewife when out marketing. But, fortunately for the good of

-thieves, they do not often receive such encouragement in their crooked

-ways; and Bill's researches proved fruitless.</p>

-

-<p>He was still puzzling his brains after a way out of the difficulty,

-when Dick's curiosity about geese furnished the very idea he wanted.

-Bill had robbed the hens' nests before this, as well as the orchard.

-What was to prevent him from getting a goose's egg?</p>

-

-<p>To be sure, geese were not very nice to have to do with.</p>

-

-<p>Jenny Greenlow, carrying her father's dinner along the riverbank to the

-Infirmary, where he was at work upon the roof, had been attacked by one

-and knocked down; and there the child had lain until her father, badly

-in want of his meal and perplexed at her delay, went along to meet her,

-and found her half dead with fright, whilst the goose was still feeding

-on the contents of the basket. But the goose was probably attracted by

-the smell of the basket's contents; and then Jenny was only a girl!

-What goose of any sense would dream of molesting a boy! Bill went to

-work at once to plan the details of the adventure, delighted with the

-scheme.</p>

-

-<p>Due consideration suggested morning, while the farm men were at

-breakfast, as the most suitable time for carrying it into effect.

-So far as he knew, none of them were in the habit of taking their

-provisions with them. As they all lived in the row adjoining his

-father's cottage, a mere stone's throw away, they found it pay better

-to slip in and drink their coffee hot by their own fireside. A few

-minutes after the stroke of eight, therefore, Bill might make pretty

-sure that the coast would be clear.</p>

-

-<p>The geese, too, having laid their eggs and been fed, would have

-wandered away to their pastures. There was only one other thing to be

-considered. The hole in the hedge through which he meant to creep was

-behind the shed, but so soon as he crept round to the door, Blazer was

-sure to catch sight of him; and if Elspeth were anywhere near at hand,

-his noise was sure to bring her out. Out of this difficulty, however,

-Bill saw positively no way. The only thing was to hope that Elspeth

-would be busy waiting on her master just then, and to dare the rest.</p>

-

-<p>"I've done worse things before now," said Bill to himself, by way of

-encouragement.</p>

-

-<p>Accordingly, next morning he was up with the sun, determined to get

-quickly through his woodchopping, and the various other duties that

-were expected of him. On ordinary occasions, Bill was given to being

-rather slow.</p>

-

-<p>"If you're through too quick, you get more to do next day," was his

-way of arguing; so he always took care to make his work last out, as a

-country boy knows how.</p>

-

-<p>But on this morning, he was particularly brisk. He had just finished,

-and was counting on getting clean off, when he heard his mother's voice.</p>

-

-<p>"Bill!—Oh!—Just done, are you? You've been spry. Here!" As Bill was

-lounging off. "I just want you to come and help me through with this

-mangling; and there 'll be time to run with Mrs. Wayling's before daddy

-comes in to breakfast."</p>

-

-<p>At the first mention of mangling, all Bill's sense of justice had risen

-in rebellion; but an errand before breakfast fell in with his plans

-beautifully.</p>

-

-<p>His mother thought he had never come with such alacrity, and wondered

-what magic it was that regulated the moods and caprices of boyhood.

-"He's that slow and obstinate by times," she said to herself, as she

-spread the folded linen ready; "and look at him this morning. Couldn't

-be a better help if he was a girl, and grown-up!" She little thought.</p>

-

-<p>"Mother," said the wily Bill presently, on coming to the end of

-a batch. "Mother, I'm awful hungry; and it's a good step to Mrs.

-Wayling's. Couldn't I have a bit o' summat afore I start out? They keep

-you such a while up there; likely it'll be half over before I get in."</p>

-

-<p>"To be sure you can," answered his mother, thoroughly pleased with his

-cheerful industry. And forthwith going to the dresser, she cut and

-spread a thick slice. "Have what you want afore you go," said she,

-reckoning to get things cleared up and out of her way, ready for her

-ironing by and by.</p>

-

-<p>And Bill stood munching hungrily, as he waited to start, turning

-afresh, and congratulating himself that now, come what might, his

-breakfast was secure.</p>

-

-<p>It was about half-past seven when he set out for Mrs. Wayling's with

-the bundle on his head. It was a good distance. Mrs. Wayling was the

-schoolmaster's wife, and lived up by the church. Bill usually took a

-barrow; but this time he had his own reasons for wishing to be entirely

-unencumbered so soon as ever he should have delivered his burden. A

-barrow would not be handy at stiles, and he intended coming back by the

-river and the fields, so as to avoid the chance of meeting his father.</p>

-

-<p>Bill was warm by the time he arrived at the schoolhouse. He had got

-over the ground pretty quickly, considering the weight of his burden,

-and the church clock still wanted two minutes of the quarter. If only

-they did not keep him waiting, he would be back at the farm at the very

-right moment.</p>

-

-<p>As luck would have it, the servant returned almost immediately, to say

-that her mistress had no change, and would send the money round with

-the next bundle of linen. And Bill, only too glad to be free, money

-or no money, nodded and ran off towards the river as fast as his legs

-would carry him.</p>

-

-<p>It was a good deal farther that way, but Bill had now nothing but

-himself to carry. In a very short time, he had reached the riverbank,

-and was hurrying along the towing-path. The geese were already in the

-field. He saw them marching towards the river in their pompous way,

-with the old white gander at their head. There would be nothing to

-fear from them; and, puffing and panting with hurry and excitement,

-Bill scudded along until he reached the back of the orchard, when he

-slackened pace and went tiptoe, stealing along behind the hedge towards

-the hole through which he intended to creep.</p>

-

-<p>It was not much of a gap, for it had grown-up a bit since last Bill had

-squeezed through—which was when the apples were ripe. But gap or no

-gap wasn't going to stand in his way just then. Bill got down into the

-ditch, to wait until he should hear eight strike and the men tramp past

-to breakfast. He had not long been there when the clock sounded out the

-hour.</p>

-

-<p>Bill took his hands out of his pockets, and laid hold of a stoutish

-stem of whitethorn on either side, breaking or bending back the smaller

-twigs, so as to clear his passage. Then he waited again. He could

-plainly hear somebody moving about inside the hedge, and he began to

-be terribly afraid that one of the men had made up his mind to spare

-himself the trouble of going home to breakfast.</p>

-

-<p>Bill let go the whitethorn stems in dismay.</p>

-

-<p>"There's a go!" exclaimed he to himself. It seemed such a pity, too,

-when everything was so splendidly arranged. But just then, he heard the

-footsteps moving towards the door of the shed.</p>

-

-<p>"Gone eight, mate?" asked a voice.</p>

-

-<p>Blazer sprang to his feet and uttered a bark; but there was no other

-answer.</p>

-

-<p>"Blest if oi yeerd it strike!" exclaimed the voice. "But they be all

-gone, sarting sure, and oi be left behoind. Oi reckon that 'ere clock

-bean't much account. 'Twants a bigger clapper to t' bell."</p>

-

-<p>And with these words, the door banged to, and the hobnails went

-dragging across the yard. It was old Jaggers, the cowman, who was as

-deaf as a post, and was always getting "left behind" if his mates

-forgot to hail him when the breakfast hour arrived.</p>

-

-<p>The coast was clear at last. Bill laid hands anew on the whitethorn

-stems. But at that very moment, a dull thud, thud, in his other ear

-made him stop short. It was a sound of approaching footsteps on

-the worn grass of the footway. Some one was coming along from the

-river-side. Would interruptions never cease? Bill gave a guilty look

-round. It would not do to be seen in the ditch.</p>

-

-<p>A yard or two to the right was a large bramble bush, which had sprung

-up on the field and straggled over to the hedge, catching hold of the

-whitethorn with its thorny arms, and interlacing with the blackberry

-brambles in a thick tangle. Under this shelter, he crept to hide.</p>

-

-<p>Thud, thud came the steps, nearer and nearer. A few minutes more and he

-would be able to come out. But just as the passer-by reached the very

-spot where Bill crouched in hiding, the footsteps suddenly ceased.</p>

-

-<p>Bill was puzzled. Who could it be? And why had he stopped exactly

-there? Bill was shrewd enough to know that if he could not see, neither

-could he be seen; but it was too bad to be obliged to stop there whilst

-the moments of that precious half-hour were running to waste.</p>

-

-<p>At length, impatience got the better of prudence, and he determined

-to get a peep, at the risk of being discovered. With this intent, he

-commenced creeping by inches towards the limit of his shelter. But a

-boy's eyes cannot be in two places at once. In his anxiety to keep

-a watch on the bank, he entirely forgot the necessity of looking to

-his feet. At the very moment when he caught sight of a well-blacked

-boot, down slipped his foot into a deep hole, and poor, luckless Bill

-suddenly found himself measuring his length at the bottom of the ditch.</p>

-

-<p>"Hullo!" exclaimed a voice from above. "What's up?"</p>

-

-<p>Bill was not hurt; but he lay quiet, still hoping to escape discovery.

-The owner of the voice, however, to whom the boot also belonged, was

-not likely to be so easily satisfied.</p>

-

-<p>"What's up?" repeated he, facing about, and seeing to his infinite

-astonishment a somewhat unkempt figure sprawling at the bottom of the

-ditch.</p>

-

-<p>Finding concealment impossible, Bill scrambled to his feet with a

-sheepish grin.</p>

-

-<p>"What are you after?" asked the stranger.</p>

-

-<p>He was dressed in a suit of dark-coloured tweed, and had under his arm

-what looked like a bundle of deal sticks and a flat, square package

-buckled up in a shiny black case. Bill's rapid survey satisfied him

-that he did not belong to the neighbourhood, and that it was therefore

-safe to tell as many lies as ingenuity could invent.</p>

-

-<p>"Rats," answered he promptly. "Got a hole here; and they steals the

-eggs."</p>

-

-<p>"Ah!" observed the gentleman. "And you get so much a head for them, eh?"</p>

-

-<p>Bill nodded.</p>

-

-<p>The gentleman turned on his heel, laughing to himself at the idea that

-any rat should be so unwary as to come out of his hole when somebody

-was by to knock him on the head. A minute later, he had forgotten the

-whole thing, and relapsed into his former attitude, looking away across

-the fields to the right. He was an artist, and had come down by rail to

-make the best of the mild spring day; for there was an open view of the

-church from that point before the leaves were thick.</p>

-

-<p>Bill, not knowing all this, stood at the bottom of the ditch staring at

-his back, and wondering what spirit of contrariness could possess him

-that he must choose that very spot to loiter on. He was just thinking

-whether it would be safe to leave him out of the question altogether,

-and proceed to the business of getting through the hedge, when the

-gentleman faced about again.</p>

-

-<p>"Hullo!" said he, unrolling the bundle of sticks under his arm as he

-spoke, and nodding towards the farm. "You don't work there?"</p>

-

-<p>Bill shook his head. "My father does though," answered he.</p>

-

-<p>"You couldn't borrow a chair for me, I suppose," said the gentleman.

-"They know you, I daresay."</p>

-

-<p>Bill stared for a minute or two, then suddenly broke into a grin.

-"Dessay I could," said he.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, look sharp!" returned the gentleman. "And I'll give you a

-copper."</p>

-

-<p>To his infinite astonishment, Bill had no sooner received the order,

-than he advanced a few steps along the ditch, turned his face to the

-hedge, and seizing firm hold of the two whitethorn sterns, commenced

-drawing himself through the gap.</p>

-

-<p>"He knows how to take an order," said the artist to himself. "That's

-what I call going the shortest cut."</p>

-

-<p>Meanwhile, Bill's mental comment was, "My! If he ha'n't nearly done

-me!" And he made like a shot for the door of the shed, casting a rapid

-glance towards Blazer's kennel, to see if he were on the watch. For

-once, however, Blazer was otherwise occupied, and Bill gained the shed

-unobserved.</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image011" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image011.jpg" alt="image011"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<h3><a id="Chapter_8">CHAPTER VIII.</a></h3>

-

-<p class="t3">

-<b>"CONSCIENCE MAKES COWARDS OF US ALL."</b><br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>ON first peeping into the shed, Bill was disconcerted to see a goose on

-one of the nests.</p>

-

-<p>But Bill was no coward when there was anything to be gained. He went

-cautiously forward towards the furthest boxes, keeping an eye on the

-sitting bird the while, and ready to beat a retreat on the first alarm.

-But the goose had no intention of quitting her position. She only

-raised her head with a little warning scream and hiss; and he reached

-the nests without further challenge.</p>

-

-<p>Bill uttered an exclamation of delight. In the first nest were three

-eggs; in the second, two. "Let's make 'em even," said he, possessing

-himself of the odd egg, and stowing it carefully in his jacket-tail.</p>

-

-<p>Just as he was about to turn, however, an idea came to him. Ten to one

-such a splendid chance would not return in a hurry. "One a-piece 'll

-be fairer," said he, taking an egg from the other nest, and tucking it

-in the opposite pocket. "They can lay another," added he, with a grin.

-Then he recrossed the shed, and regained the door.</p>

-

-<p>Peeping round, before venturing out, he saw that Blazer had come out of

-his kennel, and was standing on the alert, waiting for somebody to bark

-at. Bill's first impulse was to draw back. Perhaps the dog had heard

-the goose's scream. But second thought convinced him that to think of

-remaining longer in the shed was useless, and that, in fact, the sooner

-he got out of it the better, since by this time it must be very close

-on half-past eight. With another glance at Blazer, he slipped out and

-darted round the side of the shed. But Blazer had seen him, and dashed

-forward on his chain with a furious bark.</p>

-

-<p>Bill turned, terrified, half expecting to see Blazer on his heels; and

-not looking to see where he was going, ran full tilt against the corner

-of the shed, leaving the print of a louvre-board on his eyebrow. But

-anyhow he was safe behind the shed, and Blazer was not loose.</p>

-

-<p>Bill felt his pockets tenderly, congratulating himself that the blow

-had been in front instead of behind. Then the difficulty of getting

-through the gap without smashing the eggs occurred to him for the

-first time. "Head first 'll be the style," decided he at length; and

-with another guilty glance, to make sure that Blazer was not on his

-track, down he went on hands and knees, wriggling through the gap,

-and reaching down with his hands until they touched the bottom then

-paddling along sideways, much after the fashion of a lizard coming out

-of his hole.</p>

-

-<p>It was not surprising that his face was pretty red by the time he got

-to his feet. His first thought was to feel whether the eggs were safe.

-He had been terribly afraid they would roll out of his pockets as he

-felt his jacket-tails fall forward on to his shoulders whilst he was

-upside down; but they were none the worse.</p>

-

-<p>He was still feeling them over when he suddenly became aware of the

-artist standing on the bank looking down at him. He had set up his

-easel, and was waiting for his chair.</p>

-

-<p>Bill's hands came out of his pockets all in a hurry. Like all people

-who have anything to conceal, he felt as if everybody must guess his

-guilty secret.</p>

-

-<p>"Hullo!" said the artist. "I should come through feet first next time,

-if I were you. Where's all chair? Wouldn't they give it you?"</p>

-

-<p>Bill was one of those unscrupulous people who are never at loss for an

-answer.</p>

-

-<p>"Dog's got loose," said he.</p>

-

-<p>"Ah!" said the artist, glancing uncomfortably at the gap through which

-Bill had just come. Where a boy could get through, a dog could also. "A

-savage brute, is he?" asked he.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, rather," admitted Bill. "I'd sooner you met him than me," he

-added, feeling his injured eyebrow tenderly. "I ran agen' the shed, I

-did."</p>

-

-<p>"He isn't likely to come through after you?" asked the artist, still

-with an uneasy eye on the gap.</p>

-

-<p>Bill shook his head.</p>

-

-<p>"Couldn't say for positive," answered he. "Dogs is wonderful keen. But

-I could go round to the front and tell 'em to chain him up."</p>

-

-<p>"Do so," said the artist promptly.</p>

-

-<p>And Bill, feeling rather awkwardly conscious of his jacket-tails,

-started off, to lay siege to Grip's domain.</p>

-

-<p>Within the space of ten minutes he returned, carrying a chair, and

-followed by Elspeth, who had in view two ends—first, to insure the

-safety of her chair; second, to inform the gentleman that if he should

-be wanting lunch, she could make arrangements for his comfort in her

-front kitchen. Bill having intimated that the gent was rather timid of

-dogs, she also added that there was nothing to fear from either animal,

-as they were both on the chain.</p>

-

-<p>Meanwhile Bill, with the eggs still in his pockets, stood at the

-artist's elbow, watching his preparations with a curious eye, and

-waiting for his copper.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm going to make a picture of the church," said the artist presently.

-"Perhaps I may want a boy in the foreground. Would you like me to put

-you in?"</p>

-

-<p>Bill looked up sharply, and nodded.</p>

-

-<p>"That'd be two coppers, sir, wouldn't it?" said he.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, yes; I suppose it would," admitted the artist carelessly. "Go

-and stand yonder against that tussock, and let me see how picturesque

-you can look."</p>

-

-<p>Bill obeyed.</p>

-

-<p>"Put your arms up as if you were carrying something," the artist called

-to him. Then after a minute or so, beckoning him back. "I shan't want

-you for an hour or two," said he. "No doubt you could bring a basket

-or a bundle. Or stay! You haven't got a goat or a donkey—or a little

-brother?"</p>

-

-<p>Bill hadn't; but he thought it might be possible to borrow one.</p>

-

-<p>"That'd be three coppers, sir, wouldn't it?" bargained that mercenary

-young scamp.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh! Come," returned the artist; "you're too sharp by half for a

-country boy. I daresay some one else will come along who will think it

-an honour to be put in a picture and hung in the Academy. If it ever

-attains to that honour," he added to himself, as Bill anxious not to

-lose all by his grasping, declared himself ready and willing to stand

-on any terms.</p>

-

-<p>"Very well, then," concluded the artist, who had taken rather a fancy

-to the boy's shaggy appearance. "In an hour or two, I shall expect you

-back."</p>

-

-<p>And Bill went off up the field towards the river.</p>

-

-<p>Truth to tell, those two goose eggs were beginning to weigh very heavy

-in Bill's pockets. It was quite a chance when he might meet with Dick

-Crozier; but it was plain he could not carry an egg about in his pocket

-until he did. One, of course, he intended to suck as soon as he was at

-a safe distance from the farm; but meantime the other must be hidden

-somewhere. Bill wandered on; but the fine day had brought a good

-many people out, and he kept meeting first one, then another, until

-at length he arrived at the riverbank without having had a chance of

-tasting his stolen sweets.</p>

-

-<p>The geese had reached the bank too, and were standing about in various

-attitudes of burlesque dignity, some snapping the grass with their

-great, broad bills, others with their awkward necks upstretched, always

-ready to scream. They numbered ten or a dozen.</p>

-

-<p>"Ah! Mrs. Geese," Bill thought to himself as he approached, "I wonder

-which of you these eggs belong to. You'll just have the trouble of

-laying a couple more, unless you choose to go short of eggs to sit on."</p>

-

-<p>He had often been that way before, and laughed at the idea of being

-afraid of geese; but somehow this time, as he drew near, every head in

-the flock seemed turned to look upon him, and when they commenced their

-usual "Ya-hi!—Ya-hi!" he stopped short, to consider the advisability of

-going on.</p>

-

-<p>Of course it was nonsense to suppose that they could know anything

-about the theft. But the thief knew, which was the same thing with a

-difference; it is so true, that wise old saying that "conscience makes

-cowards of us all."</p>

-

-<p>If Bill had looked behind, he would have seen Dick Crozier coming along

-from the opposite direction.</p>

-

-<p>Dick had at length determined upon using "his common sense" in the

-matter. Having accidentally transgressed his father's injunctions on

-the morning when he made the Squire's acquaintance, he had come to

-the conclusion that he would get no harm by repeating the accident on

-purpose, with regard to the river. He had found his way by another

-field-path, a mile or two beyond the Manor Farm, and was now coming

-along the towing-path, with the intention of returning by the way which

-Bill had just come.</p>

-

-<p>Bill, however, was too much engrossed to notice anything but the geese.

-He was having a fight with his own cowardice, and had just gained the

-victory.</p>

-

-<p>"It's all rubbish," he was saying to himself; "as if they could know!"

-And he set forward at a determined pace.</p>

-

-<p>Just then the foremost goose waddled forward, assuming a decidedly

-hostile attitude; and at the same instant Dick, recognising Bill from

-behind, gave a shrill whistle. Between the goose and the whistle, Bill

-was so startled that he came to a sudden halt, completely unmanned;

-then seeing the goose still advance, he turned to fly.</p>

-

-<p>This, of course, was the last thing he should have done; for the bird

-no sooner saw his back, than ducking her head and opening her wings,

-she rushed forward with a scream. Bill heard her coming, and put on

-the speed; but the goose was sure to win the race. A minute later, she

-would have had him by the back of his small clothes, had not Bill, in

-flinging a terrified glance over his shoulder, swerved to the edge of

-the towing-path, and overbalancing himself, slipped and fallen, rolling

-over and over down the incline into the ditch that separated the bank

-from the field.</p>

-

-<p>The enraged goose was after him like lightning, screaming and flapping

-her wings. But Bill's terrified imagination put spurs to his energy.

-Imagining that the whole flock had taken up the fray, he scrambled to

-his feet, and plucking up all his valour, just as the goose rushed

-forward, he caught her in the breast-bone with such a fling of his

-heavy boot as sent her staggering and rolling over backwards, silenced

-at any rate for the present.</p>

-

-<p>Meanwhile Dick, seeing Bill in difficulties, had maintained a safe

-distance; he now came on, whilst Bill, fearing the recovery of the

-goose, or the vengeance of her allies, fled towards him, panting and

-red in the face.</p>

-

-<p>"Killed her?" called Dick excitedly.</p>

-

-<p>"Dunno," cried Bill, without so much as turning to look back. "Run!"</p>

-

-<p>And Dick adopting the suggestion, both lads sped as if for their lives.</p>

-

-<p>"That was a first-rate kick!" was Dick's admiring comment, when they at

-length stopped where a bend of the river and a clump of weeping-willows

-suggested safety.</p>

-

-<p>The terrible geese were now only visible a long way behind over the

-water, with their necks still upstretched, and now and then screaming

-a faint "ya-hi!" as a bird flew across, or some equally unimportant

-matter arrested their attention.</p>

-

-<p>Bill felt rather foolish. "Guess I shan't come this way again in a

-hurry," observed he.</p>

-

-<p>Dick remarked that he didn't know geese were dangerous.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh! Ain't they, though," said Bill, changing his opinions to suit his

-case. "You've only seen 'em hangin' up by the necks, I guess. Never

-offered to touch me before, though," added he, with a touch of bravado.

-"Seems like they know when you've been meddling with their nests."</p>

-

-<p>"Have you got it?" asked Dick eagerly, referring to the promised egg.</p>

-

-<p>Bill nodded. "One a-piece," said he, clapping a hand to each

-jacket-tail. Then suddenly remembering his roll down the bank, his face

-fell,—"I'm licked!" exclaimed he with a blank look. "If they ain't all

-smashed! Now, there's a go!"</p>

-

-<p>What a mess it was; and what a face Bill made as he drew his hands out,

-yellow and sticky, and stood staring helplessly at Dick!</p>

-

-<p>"There's a go!" repeated Dick. "My word and honour!"</p>

-

-<p>"After all that trouble!" added Bill, thinking of the sitting goose

-and Farmer Bluff's dog Blazer, and all the other obstacles he had

-surmounted. "It's sixpence all the same though," added he.</p>

-

-<p>Bill had pulled his jacket off by this time, and was down upon his

-knees on the grass, turning out the pockets.</p>

-

-<p>"Don't you wish you may get it!" returned Dick derisively. "You don't

-call that an egg?"</p>

-

-<p>Bill had got his mouth down to one pocket, lapping, up the yellow mess.

-"It warn't my fault they broke," said he, looking up, his face all

-smeared with yolk.</p>

-

-<p>"Nor mine; that's certain," retorted Dick decisively, turning on his

-heel. "You can have the other one too," he called over his shoulder as

-he went.</p>

-

-<p>"Stop a bit!" cried Bill. "Hi! Stop! It's sixpence, or I split on you!"</p>

-

-<p>"Will you though!" retorted Dick, facing round with a jeer. "Who stole

-'em?"</p>

-

-<p>"Who asked me to?" retorted Bill.</p>

-

-<p>"Who offered to?" Dick flung back.</p>

-

-<p>"I don't do anything again for you in a hurry," said Bill, applying his

-mouth to the other pocket. "You're a sneak!"</p>

-

-<p>But Dick only jeered, and went his way.</p>

-

-<p>Bill knelt upright a minute or two, to look after him; then he

-proceeded to lay himself out flat on the bank, feet furthest from the

-edge, and set to work washing out the pockets in the river.</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image012" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image012.jpg" alt="image012"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<h3><a id="Chapter_9">CHAPTER IX.</a></h3>

-

-<p class="t3">

-<b>RENEWING ACQUAINTANCE.</b><br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>ELSPETH fully anticipated the honour of giving lunch to this strange

-artist, for whom Bill had borrowed the chair. It was a good step up

-to the public house by the church; and common sense told her that

-a shelter so near at hand, where he could rest and eat, would be a

-convenience not to be despised.</p>

-

-<p>Accordingly, she laid forward with her work, in order to be ready to

-do the honours of a cold-meat spread any time after eleven o'clock,

-by which hour she counted he might reasonably be getting hungry. As

-fortune would have it, however, she was doomed to disappointment.</p>

-

-<p>Setting out about half-past nine for a walk his grandsons, the Squire

-with Hal at his side, arrived at the stile beyond the Manor Farm,

-intending to proceed by way of the riverbank and the fields to the

-church, and thence to the gate of the wood, to see how Farmer Bluff's

-place of exile was progressing.</p>

-

-<p>Will and Sigismund were quickly over; and whilst Hal and the old

-gentleman were following at leisure, on they ran as usual. They no

-sooner disappeared beyond the corner where the path curved round the

-orchard than they came racing back.</p>

-

-<p>"Such an odd object!" cried Will, in his clear, sharp voice. "A man

-under a white canvas umbrella!"</p>

-

-<p>"Like a missionary teaching the heathen," put in Sigismund; for the

-equinoctial sun was in one of its rare hot moods, and our artist had

-been glad to screen his eyes from its glare.</p>

-

-<p>A few moments later, the Squire and Hal were in sight of him. Hal, as

-usual, was just ready with some question, when his grandfather uttered

-an exclamation of pleasure and surprise. At the same moment, a look of

-recognition passed over the artist's face, and he rose, respectfully

-doffing his hat.</p>

-

-<p>"Why, Grantley!" exclaimed the old gentleman, hurrying forward with

-extended hand. "I little thought you were upon my domains."</p>

-

-<p>"On Tommy Tinker's ground," put in, sotto voce, Will, who always had

-something mischievous at the tip of his tongue.</p>

-

-<p>The artist replied that he himself had not been aware of it until,

-inquiring his way of a labouring man up by the church, he had learned

-the name of the place. "I intended doing myself the honour of calling

-on you later in the day," he added; "when the air becomes too chilly

-for work."</p>

-

-<p>"By all means," said the Squire cordially. "I shall be delighted.

-I see you have already made acquaintance with my bailiff, or his

-housekeeper," added he, glancing at the chair.</p>

-

-<p>Grantley acquiesced. "A decent, hospitable kind of body too," returned

-he; "offered to get me luncheon presently—which, by the way, I think

-will come acceptable before long; for I breakfasted at six, preparatory

-to my tramp over from the town; and I find your country air sharpening

-to the appetite."</p>

-

-<p>"You will find my bailiff but indifferent company, I fear," said the

-Squire. "Farmer Bluff is all that his name implies; a gouty old sinner,

-too, who deserves every twinge in his joints as heartily as ever any

-one did. However, if he is expecting you, of course—"</p>

-

-<p>"Oh! From what the good woman said," interrupted Grantley, "I am not to

-enjoy the honour of sitting down with Farmer Bluff. She spoke of her

-front kitchen."</p>

-

-<p>"I suspected as much," rejoined the Squire. "Bluff was never noted

-for the virtue of hospitality, and never will be. This is simply a

-scheme of Dame Elspeth's to turn an honest half-crown. That being so,

-I propose that you come up to lunch with me at the Manor House; or if

-that will take you from your work too soon, go in and have a snack of

-bread and bacon in Elspeth's kitchen, and come on to dine with me at

-six."</p>

-

-<p>This arrangement seemed best to suit Grantley, who was anxious to lose

-none of the short spring day. "It will make a pretty sketch," said he,

-"if I can do it justice; but I am expecting a lad back presently—the

-one who fetched out Dame Elspeth and the chair; a lively urchin, from

-the way in which he scrambled through the hedge there, rather than go

-round like ordinary folk to the front entrance."</p>

-

-<p>"Well for him that the old farmer has his gout on, if he is familiar

-with the way through that hedge," observed the Squire. "But if Farmer

-Bluff suffers that way, his dog Blazer doesn't; and the dog isn't a

-whit more bland-tempered than his master."</p>

-

-<p>"Oh, grandfather!" put in Hal, who was listening as usual, his keen

-eyes moving quickly from one to the other of the speakers. "Blazer is

-ever so much nicer than Grip. He's an honest old doggie."</p>

-

-<p>"Perhaps Farmer Bluff might become an honest old bailiff in your hands,

-my boy," returned his grandfather, "if only his gout allowed him to

-live long enough to see you in power. This is Hal, the coming man,"

-continued he to Grantley; "the eldest son of your old schoolfellow, who

-will be Squire in my stead one of these days, I hope."</p>

-

-<p>Grantley said something pleasant in answer to this information; but Hal

-could not help feeling that he cast a pitying glance at his crutches

-and irons.</p>

-

-<p>"I hope I shall be as good a Squire as you, grandfather," said he in a

-low voice.</p>

-

-<p>"Aim at being better, my boy," returned his grandfather, laying a fond

-hand on his shoulder. "The higher our ideal, the higher we may hope

-to reach. Set before yourself not the Squire your old grandfather

-has been, but the Squire Christ Jesus would have been if He—the only

-perfect man—had been Lord of the Manor to the people here."</p>

-

-<p>And somehow, with his grandfather's words, it came over the cripple

-boy, that with such an ideal before him, it would not so very much

-matter to his squireship if he could not follow the hounds or ride in

-the steeplechase.</p>

-

-<p>Then they set forward, and presently they met Dick Crozier on his way

-back from witnessing Bill's encounter with the goose.</p>

-

-<p>The Squire stopped.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, Master Dick," said he, for he rarely forgot a name, "you're out

-early; and you haven't missed your way to-day."</p>

-

-<p>Dick answered "No;" but coloured to the crown, for conscience reminded

-him that he had none the less been out of bounds.</p>

-

-<p>The Squire, however, knowing nothing of his father's injunctions,

-misinterpreted the blush, judging him to be of a modest turn. Now the

-Squire liked a boy who wasn't "made of brass;" so he took Dick to his

-heart thenceforth.</p>

-

-<p>"My grandsons will be pleased to show you the grounds at the Manor

-House any time you like to come up for a game," said he.</p>

-

-<p>Dick thanked him.</p>

-

-<p>"And if you're not too tired to turn back with us just now," continued

-the Squire, "we shall all be pleased to have your company."</p>

-

-<p>So Dick, who had till one o'clock upon his hands, turned back towards

-the river with them, nothing loth to walk in such august society.</p>

-

-<p>Meanwhile Bill, upon the riverbank, behind the willow clump, had just

-finished washing out his pockets, which he had wrung out as dry as he

-could before putting his jacket on again. This done, he turned to take

-a survey of the distant hostile squadron.</p>

-

-<p>To his amazement and dismay, whom should he behold but Dick Crozier and

-the Squire's grandsons making straight for the very spot where he had

-given the goose that vicious kick; and in their midst the brisk, trim

-figure of the Squire himself, one hand behind his back, as usual, the

-other grasping the gold head of his cane.</p>

-

-<p>"Now, if he ha'n't been straight and split on me!" exclaimed Bill to

-himself. "There's a mess!"</p>

-

-<p>This was precisely what Dick—being somewhat in the same mess—had not

-done, and had no intention of doing. The history of the affair was this.</p>

-

-<p>Turning to the left, along the riverbank, to gain the cottages by

-the gate of the wood, the Squire and his grandsons had come upon the

-extraordinary spectacle of a flock of some ten or a dozen geese huddled

-together in apparent agitation and concern at a distance of several

-yards from one member of their flock, who was writhing and flapping

-on the grass in evident distress and agony. Their conduct betrayed a

-curious mixture of fear and sympathy. Now and again, one or another

-would come out from among her fellows, and make a few steps forward

-with outstretched neck, whilst the rest of the flock chorused her with

-warning screams of "Ya-hi!—Ya-hi!" But having contemplated the poor

-sufferer for some seconds, the spectacle of a sister's sufferings

-evidently became too much for her feelings, and she waddled away again

-to seek support of the gander, who stood hindermost of all, utterly

-useless in such an emergency.</p>

-

-<p>Hal's quick eyes had been the first to catch sight of her.</p>

-

-<p>"She's dying, grandfather!" exclaimed he; and as his brothers rushed

-forward, he felt in all its keenness the privation of his crippled

-condition.</p>

-

-<p>Dick was in no such hurry, for he guessed pretty accurately what was

-the matter with the goose; though whether Bill's boot had broken her

-breast-bone or bruised her internal organs, he could not tell; so he

-followed on with Hal and his grandfather.</p>

-

-<p>The Squire looked on for some minutes with both perplexity and concern

-at the poor creature's distress, then he turned to Hal and Sigismund.</p>

-

-<p>"Run to Farmer Bluff's, both of you," said he. "Bring one of the men.

-The poor thing must be attended to at once."</p>

-

-<p>Off ran Will and Sigismund at the top of their speed, whilst the other

-three looked on, not knowing what to do.</p>

-

-<p>And in the distance stood Bill, watching them, and wondering what

-would come of it all. At length, recollecting his appointment with the

-artist, and concluding that it would be safer not to venture back to

-Farmer Bluff's field by that path, Bill set off running in the opposite

-direction, intending to go round the longer way by which Dick had met

-him when they quarreled about the broken egg.</p>

-

-<p>All this while, Dick was in a sad dilemma, for he dared not tell what

-he knew, although he could so easily have put them on the right track

-with regard to the poor bird's sufferings.</p>

-

-<p>At length, two of the farm labourers arrived, and after a short

-examination, amid much cackling and screaming from the rest of the

-flock, they carried off the injured goose in a basket they had brought

-for the purpose, to doctor her after their simple light; or, as a last,

-humane measure, to put a quick end to her struggles.</p>

-

-<p>"For it's my opinion, sir," said one of the men wisely, as they placed

-her in the basket, "that her 'll not get over this. I've seen 'em took

-like this before; and they never live."</p>

-

-<p>"Then kill her mercifully, by all means," the Squire answered him; "and

-end her sufferings."</p>

-

-<p>And they continued on their way.</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image013" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image013.jpg" alt="image013"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<h3><a id="Chapter_10">CHAPTER X.</a></h3>

-

-<p class="t3">

-<b>THE INQUEST.</b><br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>"THAT'S two geese lost this spring," observed one of the men next

-morning, as the injured bird breathed her last under his hand. "Warn't

-the governor mad!"</p>

-

-<p>And so he was. He cursed, he swore, he raged; he would have stamped,

-had not his infirmity prevented it. Above all, he felt deeply injured

-that his gout prevented him from going out to see after things himself;

-for when he used to be about, such casualties never happened. Being

-tied to his chair, however, and having now one hand bad, in addition to

-his feet, he could use nothing more violent than his tongue.</p>

-

-<p>And at length, the men, having listened as long as they thought

-necessary, to his stream of abuse, carried out the goose to execute

-their mournful duty.</p>

-

-<p>Left to himself, Farmer Bluff gradually cooled down; and as he cooled,

-certain words of Hal's came back to mind. This gout, Hal had said, was

-of his own seeking. If so, it was his own fault that he had lost the

-geese. Farmer Bluff instinctively reached out his sound hand for the

-silver mug, and having drained it of its contents, fell into a brown

-study.</p>

-

-<p>In the midst of his reflections, he heard a sudden tap against the

-window at his back, and looking round, he saw Hal's face pressed

-against the glass. The boy nodded; so did the bailiff—in spite of his

-grumps; and Hal swung himself off to ring at the bell, sitting down in

-the porch to wait.</p>

-

-<p>Elspeth was more astonished than ever, on taking her usual peep through

-the slit window.</p>

-

-<p>"Well! If you ain't layin' yourself open to hear a lot of language that

-ain't fit for the ears of the likes o' you!" exclaimed she, as she

-opened the door. "The master's that mad about the goose, that he's done

-nothing but swear ever since they brought her in."</p>

-

-<p>Hal was already on his feet—or rather, his crutches.</p>

-

-<p>"Never mind," said he. "It won't hurt me if he swears ever so. It's not

-what goes in at your ears that defiles you, you know, but what comes

-out of your mouth; because that shows what's in your heart."</p>

-

-<p>So Hal went in, and was announced as before—"The young Squire, sir!"</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff was looking towards the door in expectation. His features

-relaxed on sight of the boy's cheery face.</p>

-

-<p>Hal wished him "good morning."</p>

-

-<p>"Left hand," said he, as his young master swung himself across to shake

-hands. The right arm was suspended from his neck in a large checked

-handkerchief.</p>

-

-<p>Hal looked serious. "Is that gout too, Mr. Bluff?" asked he, standing

-in front of him, and eyeing the bandaged arm.</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff nodded.</p>

-

-<p>"Ah! Young master," said he; "you didn't know what a plaguesome thing

-it was, once it got hold of your system; did you now? It couldn't

-be satisfied with getting me off my legs, but it must disable my

-knife-hand. It'll have the fork one next, I'll be bound; and then there

-'ll be a pair of 'em. A quadruped of gout!"</p>

-

-<p>He looked rather proud over this joke. It wasn't many he made when he

-had gout.</p>

-

-<p>But Hal stood silent.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm disappointed," said he. "I expected to find you better; and

-instead of that, you're worse." And he went and sat down on a chair

-opposite—the same one he had occupied on his first visit—looking

-perplexed and grieved. Presently he said,—"It's that mug, Mr. Bluff.

-I'm sure of that. Have you thought about it any more?"</p>

-

-<p>"Why, no," returned the bailiff; "not much. I can't say I have. I've

-thought more about the goose, a long chalk."</p>

-

-<p>"Yes; that was a pity," said Hal sympathetically. "I was very sorry for

-the poor thing."</p>

-

-<p>"Two broods lost in one year," said Farmer Bluff, getting on his moody

-expression again. "More than a man like me can afford to lose. Now, if

-I'd been about—"</p>

-

-<p>"There you are again," put in Hal. "If you will have gout—"</p>

-

-<p>"It's all those men," continued the old fellow wrathfully. "They're

-so—" Farmer Bluff pulled up suddenly, before he added "careless." He

-was going to throw in one of his swearing expressions, to give weight

-to the word; but he fortunately recollected Hal in time, and checked

-himself.</p>

-

-<p>"Did they find out what she died of?" asked Hal.</p>

-

-<p>"Of a knife in her throat, of course," laughed the old bailiff grimly.</p>

-

-<p>"But what was the matter first, I mean," explained Hal.</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff shook his head. "They brought her in to me," said he; "and

-I couldn't see, except that she was dying pretty fast. So I told 'em to

-put an end to it."</p>

-

-<p>"You'll have an inquest, won't you?" said Hal presently.</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff laughed outright. "An inquest on a goose!" roared he.

-"Upon my soul, young master, you're an original; though, when you come

-to look at it, half the inquests are on geese. He! he!—" And he laughed

-again at his own wit.</p>

-

-<p>But Hal was quite in earnest. To him there was nothing funny in it at

-all. "There always is a post-mortem," said he seriously, "when anybody

-dies without the doctor being able to tell the cause of death. I think

-that if I were you, I should like to know why that goose died. It might

-enable you to prevent any more of them dying the same way, you know.

-Perhaps it was something in the food."</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff shook his head. "I daresay it's been 'post-mortemed' for

-somebody's dinner by now," said he, with grim humour. "I told 'em to

-cut her throat and put her underground; but such as them don't often

-get the chance to taste goose flesh. I'll be bound she's twirling on

-the spit by now."</p>

-

-<p>After a little more talk, Hal took his crutches. "Well," said he, "I

-must wish you 'good morning,' Mr. Bluff; and as you've got the gout

-in your right arm I won't trouble you to shake hands. But I'd have it

-out of there, if I were you, feet and all. You really must think about

-that mug this time; now, won't you? I'm certain it's the mug that does

-the mischief; because, you see, you're proud of it, and directly we're

-proud of anything, we forget all the rest. But you won't have a goose

-to put it out of your head this time?"</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff replied that he "hoped to goodness not."</p>

-

-<p>And Hal let himself out.</p>

-

-<p>That evening at dinner,—for the boys always enjoyed the privilege of

-dining with their grandfather in the holidays,—the subject of the goose

-came up, and Hal told what he knew of its fate.</p>

-

-<p>"Upon my word," remarked the Squire, after hearing how Hal had aired

-his ideas about the post-mortem, "you were right too; and if I had

-known it, the bird should not have been put out of the way in that

-slip-shod fashion. As it is, the thing shall be looked into."</p>

-

-<p>"Your bailiff is guilty of allowing the consumption of unwholesome

-food," observed young Grantley, who had had accepted the Squire's

-pressing invitation to make the Manor House his home whilst his pencil

-was busy in the neighbourhood. "It is to be hoped the 'fortunate'

-family will reap no disastrous effects."</p>

-

-<p>"Such a thing might have very serious consequences," added Hal's

-mother, who was very much concerned.</p>

-

-<p>Finally, after due deliberation, the Squire gave orders that some one

-should at once be sent to ascertain the name of the man to whom the

-fate of the goose had been intrusted; and that having done this, the

-messenger should at once proceed to the man's cottage, and learn what

-had become of the stricken bird's remains.</p>

-

-<p>It was quite late in the evening when at length a servant came to say

-that Hobbs—the man who had gone—was waiting in the hall.</p>

-

-<p>The boys' bedtime was already long past, but they had begged to sit up

-a little longer, and they now all followed their grandfather out to

-hear the result of the investigations.</p>

-

-<p>Hobb's account, however, although it quieted all anxiety with regard to

-the meal afforded to the Grig family, only involved in further mystery

-the cause of the goose's death.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Grig, on being questioned, had reported that when plucking it

-ready for trussing, she had discovered a great black bruise upon its

-breast, and that upon further examination she had found the breast-bone

-to be broken. As to the wholesomeness of the flesh, however, she was

-ready to affirm before anybody that a sweeter bird never came from the

-poulterer's,—although "it wasn't quite in prime condition, not being in

-the fatting season." She had finished up by giving it as her opinion

-that there was no doubt about death having been due to accident rather

-than disease.</p>

-

-<p>"There was one item rayther cur'ous 'bout the information as I got,

-sir," said Hobbs finally. "When old Jaggers went home to he's breakfast

-at the stroke of eight that morning, there was three eggs in the old

-white goose's nest, and two in the speckled's, as stood nighest it. But

-when he comed back, blest if there hadn't out o' each nest disappeared

-one egg; so's to leave no more'n two in one, and one in t'other,"

-repeated Hobbs, looking round about upon his hearers to make sure they

-followed him. "And depend upon it, that old white goose had had a fight

-wi' some un as came to steal her egg. Though how the crittur dragged

-herself right away down to the river, wi' that broken bone, is past all

-understanding—except that sittin' birds 'll do 'most anything."</p>

-

-<p>"What about the dog Blazer too?" exclaimed young Grantley, who had

-followed out to hear the news. "Why! That was the first morning I was

-there sketching. They said the dog was loose too."</p>

-

-<p>"Who said so?" asked the Squire sharply.</p>

-

-<p>"The boy who fetched my chair. And, by the by," exclaimed young

-Grantley suddenly, "I have it all! That young rascal was down there

-hiding in the ditch when first I came along; and he got in through

-hedge in quite a practised fashion."</p>

-

-<p>"Ha!" exclaimed the Squire. "But he didn't bring your chair that way?"</p>

-

-<p>"No; he just used that as a pretext for getting through, and came back

-with a black eye and a tale about the dog being off the chain; and,

-having crammed me with that, he offered to go round to the front—"</p>

-

-<p>"Where Blazer could have got at him just the same, if he had really

-been loose," put in Hal.</p>

-

-<p>"Now that I remember," added Grantley, "when I first came up and

-caught him in the ditch, he invented a history about rats, for which

-he professed to get so much a head. He said they stole the eggs; but

-I guess the young scapegrace himself was the biggest rat of the lot,

-and had his eye upon the biggest eggs. I should hardly think that rats

-would tackle a goose's egg."</p>

-

-<p>"There's not a doubt about it but you've found the clue," returned the

-Squire. "The question to be answered is, Who was the boy?"</p>

-

-<p>Young Grantley shook his head.</p>

-

-<p>"But you put him in your picture, didn't you?" suggested Hal.</p>

-

-<p>The Squire smiled. "Hal thoroughly believes in your power of faithful

-portraiture," observed he.</p>

-

-<p>Young Grantley laughed. "Yes," said he; "I put him in. I told him to

-return in an hour or two. He was nearer three. He said he had been

-home."</p>

-

-<p>"Which way did he go?" asked Hal.</p>

-

-<p>"Towards the riverbank," was the reply; "but then we haven't yet

-decided who he was. My easel, Squire," he added, "is in Elspeth's

-charge. I'll run down and fetch the canvas if you like."</p>

-

-<p>"No, no; not the least hurry," returned the Squire; "the morning will

-do just as well. We will sleep upon the information that you've given

-us."</p>

-

-<p>The boys begged hard to be allowed to escort young Grantley to the farm

-at once; but it was getting very late, and their grandfather would not

-entertain the idea.</p>

-

-<p>"Dame Elspeth wouldn't thank us for curtailing her hours of rest,"

-said he. "She is up betimes, no doubt. To bed, now; and directly after

-breakfast to-morrow, we will start, and identify the thief."</p>

-

-<p>Finding that there was no appeal, the boys gave in. Will and Sigismund

-went off to bed in high spirits at the idea of dragging a culprit to

-justice by means of an artist's sketch; but Hal lingered behind, a

-minute.</p>

-

-<p>"Grandfather," said he, "what will be done with the boy? Will he go to

-prison, or what?"</p>

-

-<p>"That depends," replied the Squire. "According to the old proverb, we

-must catch him first before we cook him. He certainly shall not be let

-off punishment if we do; you need not fear."</p>

-

-<p>"I meant," replied Hal, "that I don't want him punished. I should fancy

-that it would harden a boy. I would rather have him talked to."</p>

-

-<p>"Be sure he would remember a good smarting far longer," rejoined his

-grandfather; "and I should feel myself to blame if I neglected to let

-him feel the consequence of his bad conduct. Such small beginnings are

-as the seed-corn in the earth, which bringeth forth some thirtyfold,

-some sixtyfold, and some an hundredfold. That is equally true of bad,

-as of good seed. But now be off."</p>

-

-<p>That night Hal went to bed with two sinners on his mind,—Farmer Bluff,

-with his silver mug and his gout, and the youthful but unknown villain

-who had murdered the old white goose and robbed her nest.</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image014" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image014.jpg" alt="image014"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<h3><a id="Chapter_11">CHAPTER XI.</a></h3>

-

-<p class="t3">

-<b>AN ARTIST-DETECTIVE.</b><br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>THE family assembled with great punctuality at the breakfast-table

-next morning. Will and Sigismund crowded round young Grantley, who

-had acquired great importance in their eyes, since he had assumed his

-novel rôle of detective. Hal, on the contrary, looked rather serious,

-wondering who the culprit would turn out to be, and what punishment he

-would have to undergo.</p>

-

-<p>Immediately breakfast was over, the Squire rose and took his

-gold-headed cane. Young Grantley and the boys followed him out on to

-the verandah, Hal's mother accompanying them, to shade her eyes with

-her hand and watch them off, as Dick had seen her do on the first

-occasion of his peeping over the plantation palings at the Manor House.</p>

-

-<p>Outside the lodge they chanced upon Dick, who had been down to the

-railway with his father. The squire gave him a benevolent salute, and

-the boys stopped to speak.</p>

-

-<p>"We can't stay though," said Sigismund. "Turn back with us."</p>

-

-<p>So Dick turned back.</p>

-

-<p>"We're off to the Manor Farm," explained Will. And he went on to give

-the details of the theft, and how suspicion had come to rest upon the

-boy whom Mr. Grantley had put in his sketch of the church, but whose

-name was of course unknown to him. "We're going to identify him by the

-sketch," added he.</p>

-

-<p>"Mr. Grantley leaves his easel at the farm," put in Sigismund. "I think

-it's splendid fun. It's exactly like a real police case, isn't it?"</p>

-

-<p>Dick's face had become nearly as serious as Hal's at this intelligence.

-If the theft should be brought home to Bill, his own share in the

-affair was certain to come out, and then it would be all up with his

-pleasant footing at the Manor House.</p>

-

-<p>"Whoever it was, pretty nearly killed the goose," added Will.</p>

-

-<p>And between them, they narrated the events of the preceding evening,

-and how the Grig family had feasted on the poor goose's remains.</p>

-

-<p>This was getting hotter and hotter for Dick. At length, he grew so

-uncomfortable that on reaching the gate of the farm, he said he would

-go no farther and in spite of all their pressing that he should wait

-outside and see the picture when Mr. Grantley brought it out, he

-turned, and left them to go in alone.</p>

-

-<p>They had no sooner knocked at the kitchen door, however, than Dick

-changed his mind, and followed on towards the cottages beyond the farm.

-If Bill were anywhere about, he might give him a hint to keep out of

-the way a bit, until the storm blew over.</p>

-

-<p>Dick's chief motive in this design was to avoid getting his character

-blackened in the Squire's eyes by association with Bill. He overlooked

-the more important consideration that he who meddles with mire is

-blackened, whether other people know it or not; and that there is One,

-before whose piercing gaze no hiding can avail, since He "looketh on

-the heart."</p>

-

-<p>As it happened, Bill was just outside, off for a stroll. Seeing Dick,

-he turned the other way; but Dick ran after him.</p>

-

-<p>"I say," cried he, "you're in for a pretty row. It's all come out about

-the goose and those two eggs you stole."</p>

-

-<p>"I daresay!" flung out Bill. "Of course you've been and told."</p>

-

-<p>"Of course I haven't," answered Dick. "The gentleman that put you in

-his picture smelt it out; and the Squire's gone up with him to the

-farm, to see the picture and identify your phiz."</p>

-

-<p>This information was so startling that poor Bill's hair positively

-stood on end.</p>

-

-<p>"It's only to be hoped he hasn't drawn you well," continued Dick; "but

-somehow these things always do come out. It's what they call the law of

-justice I expect. If I were you, I guess I'd hide away a bit. You see,

-you don't exactly know what they may do. You wouldn't get less than a

-month, you may make pretty sure, with the Squire after you, and Farmer

-Bluff behind, to back him up."</p>

-

-<p>"But where am I to go?" asked Bill, so seriously that Dick perceived at

-once how terrified he was.</p>

-

-<p>"Why, right away somewhere," said he, determined upon striking whilst

-the iron of Bill's fear was hot. "If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't

-even stay to think. I'd set off this very minute, and I'd go on running

-till I dropped. I'd walk till night. I'd do anything, short of jumping

-into the river, to escape a month in gaol. I saw inside a cell once,"

-continued Dick impressively.</p>

-

-<p>And then he shook his head with such effect that Bill looked round,

-almost expecting that his gaolers were at hand. As nothing was to be

-seen of them, however, Bill began to examine the matter more closely.</p>

-

-<p>"How can I get food to eat, if I run away?" said he.</p>

-

-<p>"Work for it, of course," returned Dick contemptuously. "A boy your

-size must be a donkey if he can't pick up enough to buy his victuals.

-You mightn't get much else but bread; but if you come to think, you'd

-get no more than that in gaol."</p>

-

-<p>And it struck Bill that bread and water, with liberty, would be sweeter

-far than the daintiest fare in a prison cell.</p>

-

-<p>"You'd have your hair cropped too," urged Dick; "and all the boys would

-pelt you, and call names, when you came out again."</p>

-

-<p>"I should have nowhere to sleep," said Bill, still hesitating.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh! You could get a lodging cheap enough," said Dick; "and anyhow—I'll

-tell you what. If don't make your mind up pretty quick, you'll have 'em

-down on you. The Squire's sure to recognise your picture; and he'll

-come right straight off here. If I were you, I'd go inside and grab

-whatever I could find to stuff my pockets with, and then I'd be off

-like a shot. I wouldn't stand stock-still and let 'em put the handcuffs

-on; not I!"</p>

-

-<p>Bill turned. His mother had gone out, and he could take just what he

-liked.</p>

-

-<p>"Look here," said Dick, with a sudden show of generosity, "I'll start

-you with that sixpence I was to give you for the egg; and then, you

-mind!—You've never got to say a word about my name, d'ye hear?"</p>

-

-<p>And Bill, convinced that he had better escape, and glad to get so much

-to start him on his wanderings, promised, and ran indoors. A minute

-later, he reappeared, his jacket-tails stuffed out to twice their size,

-and in his hand a huge hunch of bread, which he was cramming down his

-throat as fast as he could swallow.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm off!" said he; and away he ran along the road.</p>

-

-<p>"Good luck to you!" cried Dick. And having watched him out of sight, he

-clambered over the gate of a field just opposite the cottages, and hid

-behind the hedge, to wait and see what would happen.</p>

-

-<p>Meanwhile, Elspeth had been astonished beyond measure at the formidable

-party that besieged her kitchen door. In the first place, she was not

-accustomed to let the Squire in that way; and in the second, she caught

-up at once, from odd remarks, that something was amiss; so having

-brought the easel out from its place behind the churn, she retired to a

-respectful distance to listen and pick up what hints she could.</p>

-

-<p>The Squire was the first to look. He examined the canvas closely for an

-instant; then he said,—"Now, boys; let each one take a look; then tell

-me who this is. To my mind, there's no doubt."</p>

-

-<p>"Why, Bill the Kicker!" sang out all three with one voice.</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image015" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image015.jpg" alt="image015"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>"And so say I," confirmed the Squire.</p>

-

-<p>"It's splendid!" added Will.</p>

-

-<p>"The rascal!" said the Squire. "He shall smart for it."</p>

-

-<p>Elspeth came a step or two towards the group.</p>

-

-<p>"Would it be the lad that fetched the chair?" asked she.</p>

-

-<p>"The same," nodded young Grantley. "Will you like to look?"</p>

-

-<p>And he politely turned the canvas towards her, whilst the boys made way.</p>

-

-<p>"That was Bill Mumby—Bill the Kicker, as they call him," said Elspeth

-as she approached. "And so is this," she added, the instant she was

-near enough to see. "You've drawed him very true, sir, too."</p>

-

-<p>"Then there remains no doubt," returned the Squire, summing up

-the evidence, and tapping briskly on the red-brick floor with his

-gold-headed cane. "We know whose door the mischief lies at now. The

-portrait does you credit, Grantley. You'll be a great man yet."</p>

-

-<p>"Of whom it will be told in after days," said Grantley, not displeased,

-"that his first hit was made as a detective in the case of a country

-bumpkin versus a goose. Ah! Well, it remains to be seen whether or not

-it will be counted worthy of a place in the Academy."</p>

-

-<p>"It shall certainly have a place in the Manor House," returned the

-Squire warmly, "if you will name your price."</p>

-

-<p>So the picture found a purchaser before it was completed; and the young

-artist went out to his work well pleased.</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image016" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image016.jpg" alt="image016"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<h3><a id="Chapter_12">CHAPTER XII.</a></h3>

-

-<p class="t3">

-<b>BILL'S FUTURE.</b><br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>HALF an hour later, the Squire stood before the door of Bill the

-Kicker's home.</p>

-

-<p>Dick, from his hiding-place behind the hedge, saw him arrive, striking

-the ground importantly with his cane, and followed by his grandsons.</p>

-

-<p>"Now for it!" thought Dick, and rubbed his hands in glee.</p>

-

-<p>The Squire knocked; but no one answered, so he knocked again. Still no

-one came.</p>

-

-<p>"Go round to the back," said he to Will.</p>

-

-<p>Will went, and returned with the news that he had tried the wash-house

-door and found it fast, but through the window he could see a little

-fire in the grate.</p>

-

-<p>"We'll knock once more," said the Squire.</p>

-

-<p>This time the upper window of the next door cottage opened, and a head

-was hastily thrust out. "Mrs. Mumby a'n't at home," the neighbour

-called. Then, seeing who was waiting down below, she humbly begged

-pardon, and further informed the Squire that Mrs. Mumby had gone up the

-road to carry home some linen.</p>

-

-<p>The Squire thanked her with his customary courtesy; and having hoped

-the children were quite well, was going down the pathway, when the good

-woman called again to say that Mrs. Mumby was in sight.</p>

-

-<p>When she arrived, her honest face was red with toiling through the

-sun; and it went redder when she saw the Squire at her door. But Mrs.

-Mumby knew her manners, so she asked him with a curtsey if he wouldn't

-step inside; and there she dusted chairs for him and the three young

-gentlemen, and stood up, with a corner of her apron in her hand, to

-hear what he had come about.</p>

-

-<p>"It's about your boy, Mrs. Mumby," began the Squire, when he had said

-a pleasant thing or two about the weather and her health. "He isn't in

-just now, I believe."</p>

-

-<p>"No, sir," said the mother; "he isn't in just now."</p>

-

-<p>"And you couldn't say exactly where he is?"</p>

-

-<p>"I couldn't, sir," said she.</p>

-

-<p>"Can you tell me where he was all the morning, two days ago?" the

-Squire asked.</p>

-

-<p>"Two days ago?" reflected Mrs. Mumby. "Yes, sir; I believe I can. We

-did some mangling early, him and me, afore his father comed in to he's

-breakfast; and Bill went out to take it home. All the morning arter

-that, sir, he was in the field just by the farm, along o' some strange

-gent as took a fancy to the looks of him, and wanted for to put him

-in a pictur' of the church. A pretty bit it is, too, sir. I've often

-noticed it agoin' 'crost the fields on summer evenings, when the bells

-was ringing out for service, sir."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, Mrs. Mumby," said the Squire, anxious to recall her to the point.</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, sir; as I was a-saying," continued Bill's mother, "and I wanted

-him so bad that day to turn the mangle and carry linen home; but of

-course I naturally thinks, thinks I, 'he'll sure to give him something

-for his time.' But it's like such folks, sir; ne'er a copper did my

-Bill get out of him. Come home empty-handed, sir; that he did! And me

-near dragged to death."</p>

-

-<p>"Did he though!" returned the Squire. "I've heard a different tale

-to that. The gentleman—a friend of mine, now staying at the Manor

-House—informs me that he gave the boy a silver sixpence for his time.

-Now what say you to that?"</p>

-

-<p>"That I'm sorry I should have to tell it of my own, sir," answered Mrs.

-Mumby, looking down; "but I'm bound to own as Bill is often caught out

-in untruths. It a'n't for want of bringing up. His father never catches

-him but what he gets the strap; and so he shall this time, sir, that he

-shall. His father 'll be right mad to hear of it."</p>

-

-<p>"But that is not all, I'm grieved to say," pursued the Squire, going on

-to tell her the rest of his charges against her rapscallion son.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Mumby's face fell lower and lower.</p>

-

-<p>"It's not for want o' being strict with him," repeated she. "Mumby and

-me, we're always at him, sir; and, as I say, his father never finds him

-out but what he straps him well."</p>

-

-<p>But the Squire shook his head. "It isn't strapping that 'll make a boy

-right-minded," answered he, "any more than cutting back will make a

-wild plum bear a garden fruit."</p>

-

-<p>"Then what's to do, sir?" said the mother ruefully. "Don't the good

-book tell us, 'Spare the rod, and spoil the child'?"</p>

-

-<p>"But it also tells us," said the Squire, "that the evil deeds men do

-proceed out of their evil hearts; and that nothing can effect a change

-save the Holy Spirit of God, that 'bloweth where it listed' in this

-world of sin."</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Mumby was silent. She knew her Bible pretty well, as she had heard

-the parson read it from the desk; but she had hitherto thought only of

-the parent's duty of bringing up a child in the way he should go.</p>

-

-<p>This idea that her boy Bill needed a changed heart to make him want

-less strapping, was new to her. It had never struck her that "bringing

-up" is only like preparing the heart—as ploughing does the field—and

-breaking up its hard surface to receive the gospel seed of truth.</p>

-

-<p>"What would you wish us to do, sir?" asked she nervously.</p>

-

-<p>"First of all, to bring the young culprit face to face with me,"

-replied the Squire. "I will question him, and see what argument can do;

-and if I find him obdurate—well, I shall see what steps to take. There

-is no doubt about the truth of what the 'wise man' says; and there are

-many 'rods' that can be used to teach the wholesome lesson how that

-crooked ways are sure to find their chastisement."</p>

-

-<p>"He'll be in by one, sir, sure," said Mrs. Mumby, half-doubtful whether

-to be glad or sorry that the Squire agreed with her about the need of

-punishment. "He never lags behind at dinner-time."</p>

-

-<p>"Then bring him round to me," rejoined the Squire, rising to his feet.</p>

-

-<p>The mother dropped a curtsey.</p>

-

-<p>"But you won't be hard on him, sir?" said she timidly.</p>

-

-<p>The Squire struck his cane upon the ground.</p>

-

-<p>"We have his future to consider, Mrs. Mumby," answered he. "A boy who

-lies and thieves at his age, must be curbed, or he will end by worse.

-But we will hope that, by God's grace, we may turn him from his evil

-ways."</p>

-

-<p>The Squire and his grandsons were no sooner fairly out of sight than

-Dick came out of hiding, and set off home.</p>

-

-<p>"Bill's well out of that," said he to himself as he thrust his hands

-down in his trousers pockets, and set up whistling. Then, recollecting

-the price he had paid to get Bill off, he broke off his tune to

-add—"And I'm well rid of him." And for all the scarcity of sixpences

-with Dick, he even went so far as to count himself cheaply rid of Bill.

-"I wouldn't care to have the Squire looking after my future," said Dick.</p>

-

-<p>Meantime, young Grantley's brushes worked busily at the picture of the

-church, whilst the Squire and his grandsons made their way across the

-fields and by the river to the wood; and having ascertained that the

-repairs were progressing satisfactorily, they returned to lunch.</p>

-

-<p>Then the Squire sat down in his study to await the arrival of Mrs.

-Mumby and her scapegrace son; and the boys went out of doors to play

-about the plantation, taking care to keep well within sight of the

-gate, so that they might see when Bill arrived. But the afternoon

-wore on. Mumby came in to his dinner, and went back to work; and his

-wife put aside the plateful she had reserved for Bill. Then she went

-upstairs and cleaned herself against his coming in, so as to be ready

-to go up to the Manor House with him.</p>

-

-<p>"I durstn't breathe a word of it till I've got my bonnet on," said she,

-"else he'd be off like a shot."</p>

-

-<p>But Mrs. Mumby tidied up, and came downstairs again with her best

-bonnet in her hand; and still she found the plate untouched. And all

-the afternoon she worked away at her shirt-fronts; but still no Bill

-came in.</p>

-

-<p>Presently she made the tea, and had a cup, setting the pot to keep warm

-on the hob. And six o'clock brought Mumby home; but still no Bill.</p>

-

-<p>"It's just like he's got scent of it," said she. "A boy like him won't

-stand to be corrected while he got legs to run away."</p>

-

-<p>Up at the Manor House they were so less perplexed.</p>

-

-<p>Young Grantley had stowed his easel at the farm, and hurried in to

-dinner, all anxiety to hear what had been done. But all the Squire

-could tell him, was that neither Mrs. Mumby nor the boy had been.</p>

-

-<p>"It's my opinion, grandfather," said Will, "that Mrs. Mumby has changed

-her mind. She's like a silly mother; doesn't want him punished. That's

-the fact of it."</p>

-

-<p>"You oughtn't to have spoken out so plain," said Sigismund. "You've

-frightened her. You take my word; she's hiding Bill."</p>

-

-<p>In this conviction, they all retired for the night.</p>

-

-<p>Next morning, just as breakfast was concluded, a servant came to say

-that, "Mrs. Mumby, from the cottages beyond the Manor Farm," was

-waiting in the hall.</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Mumby's face was drowned in tears.</p>

-

-<p>"Bill's gone and drowned hisself, or run away," she sobbed. "He knew

-he'd catch it extra hard; and I shall never see my boy again—my only

-boy."</p>

-

-<p>"My good woman," said the Squire soothingly, "you may be quite sure

-your boy has too much respect for his own life, to do anything so

-foolish as jump into the river. Far more likely he is hiding somewhere

-near about, until the storm is past; so dry your eyes, and tell me what

-you can."</p>

-

-<p>Mrs. Mumby obeyed.</p>

-

-<p>"He's took a lot o' food out o' the cupboard," said she, choking

-down her sobs, and speaking through her apron. "Pretty nigh a half a

-quartern loaf, he did. I always have 'em in a day before, to get 'em

-stale."</p>

-

-<p>"Proof positive," said Will, "he's run away."</p>

-

-<p>"What should he want with bread in the river, I wonder!" giggled

-Sigismund, snacking at the flies with a bit of whip-cord, and half

-thinking of Bill the whole time.</p>

-

-<p>"He may have gone into the woods," observed the Squire, half to himself.</p>

-

-<p>"Picnicking," put in Will.</p>

-

-<p>"Has any search been made?" continued his grandfather aloud to Mrs.

-Mumby.</p>

-

-<p>The mother answered tearfully that all the neighbours had turned out

-with lanterns after dark, on hearing that the boy had not come home;

-and many people in the village street had joined the search. Every

-outhouse and haystack in the neighbourhood had been ransacked; and many

-of the searchers had not given up till dawn.</p>

-

-<p>"They reckoned, you see, sir, that he was bound to drop asleep

-somewheres, if so be he was alive," explained Mrs. Mumby; "and they'd

-liker hit upon him in the dark than by broad daylight, when he'd be

-upon the tramp."</p>

-

-<p>"It looked remarkably as if he had made off," the Squire thought.

-"Well, well," said he, "the way will be to telegraph the fact to

-Scotland Yard. A thorough search will soon be set on foot." So,

-repairing to the study, a description of the runaway was written out,

-and a man on horseback forthwith despatched with it to the town.</p>

-

-<p>Whilst this was being arranged, Hal had slipped round to Mrs. Mumby's

-side. "I think, you know," said he, "if I could get hold of Bill, and

-talk to him, it might do good; but then, you see, you don't know where

-he is."</p>

-

-<p>The mother shook her head. "I wish I did," said she.</p>

-

-<p>"I wish you did," echoed Hal. "When you don't know where a person

-is, it makes you feel so bad. You see, he'll soon eat up that bread.

-It wouldn't last me long; and everybody says I eat so little, for a

-growing boy."</p>

-

-<p>"And he eats such a lot," rejoined Bill's mother, comforted by the

-interest Hal seemed to take in her boy's fate. "Bless you, sir! You

-need to be poor people, like Mumby and me," she added, "to know how

-much he does eat."</p>

-

-<p>"And the question is," said Hal reflectively, "what will he do when

-that's gone?"</p>

-

-<p>Dick also had heard of the great stir caused by Bill's disappearance.</p>

-

-<p>"There was pretty near a score on us," old Kirkin told him when he ran

-down the garden, early that morning. "We didn't put our lanterns out

-till four; and up again at six. I can tell 'ee, I ha'n't had a wink o'

-sleep."</p>

-

-<p>"I wonder you didn't stay in bed to-day," said Dick.</p>

-

-<p>But Kirkin shook his head. He had been a gardener in his prime, but now

-had to get his living by odd jobs as best he could.</p>

-

-<p>"Sleep or no sleep, can't afford to throw up work," said he. "But when

-a lad's missing, so that no one knows what's come of him, a man can't

-stay in bed to sleep. His mother's like to kill herself."</p>

-

-<p>"I wonder where he's gone," said Dick, which was quite true, so far

-as it went. Nevertheless, he felt very uncomfortable, sitting down to

-breakfast with the secret of Bill's disappearance on his mind.</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image017" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image017.jpg" alt="image017"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<h3><a id="Chapter_13">CHAPTER XIII.</a></h3>

-

-<p class="t3">

-<b>THE YOUNG SQUIRE ASSUMES A NEW CHARACTER.</b><br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>THREE or four days passed, but no tidings came of Bill the Kicker.</p>

-

-<p>A week went by, and still he was away. They had the river dragged,

-and all the ponds; every ditch and pitfall in the neighbourhood was

-searched; and printed bills, describing him, were posted up outside all

-the police stations of the district; but all to no effect.</p>

-

-<p>The April rains had come on now, and the world had suddenly burst into

-verdure. It was a lovely vista that the Squire looked down over the

-gate of the wood, when he went to see after the repairs at the cottage.

-But he had to take his morning walks alone now. The tutor had returned,

-and Easter holidays were up.</p>

-

-<p>Dick's presentiments, too, were realized. His father had found a school

-for him; and nine o'clock saw him strapping up his books and hurrying

-off to learn as much mischief and as little solid information as he

-could—after the fashion of boys made on his pattern.</p>

-

-<p>Meanwhile, Farmer Bluff's gout and the repairs had gone on apace. The

-old fellow's prediction had come true more speedily than he desired.

-Not many days had elapsed when the left hand was seized, and he became

-entirely dependent upon Elspeth—being unable even to feed himself.</p>

-

-<p>As long as the holidays had lasted, Hal had contrived to drop in pretty

-often; and he would hardly have believed how much he was missed,

-now that lessons and April showers combined to keep him away. One

-half-holiday proving fine, however, Hal slipped out between school and

-lunch, and set off for the farm. He rang, as usual, but no one came;

-so, finding the door on the latch, he pushed it open and announced

-himself.</p>

-

-<p>A savoury smell greeted him. Farmer Bluff's dinner tray was on the

-table. Hal apologized for his intrusion.</p>

-

-<p>"I didn't know you dined quite so soon," said he.</p>

-

-<p>"No more I do, it seems," returned Farmer Bluff gruffly. "That's how

-she serves me pretty nearly every day; just brings it in and takes the

-covers off. Then leaves it here for me to smell until it's all gone

-cold,—to go and eat her own, I s'pose. And here am I, can't move hand

-or foot!"</p>

-

-<p>"That's bad," said Hal; "it spoils the gravy so. You get the fat all on

-the top."</p>

-

-<p>It was a mutton chop, and there were greens with it, according to the

-doctor's express orders.</p>

-

-<p>"Greens aren't nice cold, either," added Hal. "They get so dabby, don't

-they? I suppose it rather comes of your having gout in both hands,

-though. Grown-ups are intended to be able to help themselves, you see."</p>

-

-<p>The farmer groaned. He always did, when Hal made these little moral

-reflections. If any one had scolded, it would have only angered him and

-made him obstinate; but Hal's remarks came out so naturally, and he

-looked so sympathetic all the while, that a more ill-tempered man than

-Farmer Bluff could scarcely have felt annoyed.</p>

-

-<p>"I'll tell you what," said Hal suddenly. "As I happen to be here just

-now, why shouldn't I help you? I can manage quite as well as Mrs.

-Elspeth, if you like."</p>

-

-<p>When Elspeth returned, she was astonished to find the young Squire

-seated on a corner of the table, with his crutches one side, and the

-bailiff's plate the other, preparing dainty mouthfuls with the knife

-and fork, and skilfully conveying them to her master's mouth.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, I never!" exclaimed she, pausing in the open doorway in amaze.</p>

-

-<p>"It seemed a pity all this gravy should get cold, because you were

-so busy that you couldn't come," explained Hal. "I think, if I were

-you, I'd try and make sure of that before I brought the dinner in. I

-shouldn't like mine cold. And you must excuse my sitting on the table

-too. If I stand, you see, I want my hands to hold my crutches with; and

-if I sit down on a chair, I come so low I couldn't reach. I hope I make

-it salt enough," he added, as he lodged another forkful in the great

-bird's mouth.</p>

-

-<p>Hal's relations with the bailiff became of a far more confidential

-nature after this. We often hear it said that a right to give advice

-is earned by lending help. So Hal found; only he put it in a different

-way. He felt that he had found his way to Farmer Bluff's affection

-by performing such a homely office for him; and he treated him

-accordingly. He often managed to run in upon half-holidays; and he

-didn't only lecture him about the gout. He soon succeeded in making him

-talk; so that before long, he knew more of Farmer Bluff's history than

-most other people did. He found out how the old man liked to talk of

-sport and dogs; but he also learned how Mrs. Bluff had died quite young

-of fever, and how one by one, the children whom she left had gone to

-follow her, so that in six short weeks, he had been left alone.</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image018" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image018.jpg" alt="image018"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>"That was very sad for you," said he. "I shouldn't wonder if that

-partly made you have the gout."</p>

-

-<p>"Trouble does act on the system, so the doctors say," said Farmer

-Bluff, glad of an excuse for what he knew Hal blamed as his own fault.</p>

-

-<p>But that was not exactly Hal's meaning. "It might have been what made

-you take to beer," observed he.</p>

-

-<p>"Now if you'd looked at it like this," continued Hal after due

-reflection: "My wife and children are gone on to heaven, where I mean

-to join them by and by, when I've done work. Just see what a difference

-it would have made. Some people," added he sagely, "only look at every

-day as it comes; and if it rains or snows, they think it's never going

-to stop. Other people look right ahead to the summer holidays—or to

-the harvest, if they're farmers, of course; and that makes all the

-difference. They know it will be all right in the long run, don't you

-see?"</p>

-

-<p>But Hal's tacit reproof had not made Elspeth one whit more attentive

-to the invalid; indeed, if anything, she had been even more neglectful

-than before. Her master's time at the farm was getting short, and she

-had quite made up her mind to seek another place.</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff raged and swore when she informed him of her

-determination. But Elspeth only taunted him with his powerlessness to

-execute one word of all his threats or oaths; and finally, having done

-her best to rouse his worst passions, she left him to meditate upon his

-awkward situation.</p>

-

-<p>Just then Hal, happening to get caught in a shower, swung himself up

-the yard and into the porch.</p>

-

-<p>Elspeth grinned as she let him in.</p>

-

-<p>"He's in an awful temper, that I warn you, Master Hal," she said. "I'd

-a'most as soon go talk to Blazer as him."</p>

-

-<p>But Hal was not afraid; and before the lapse of many minutes, Farmer

-Bluff—without a single oath—had told him how things stood.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, now, let's see," said Hal. "What must you do? You must have

-somebody, that's clear. If you hadn't got this gout just now, it would

-be different, and you could laugh her in the face,—though I don't know

-that it would be exactly Christian to laugh the face of a person who

-'despitefully used you;' but I mean you could do without her if she was

-determined not to stay. Or rather," added Hal, his thoughts suddenly

-taking a leap back to the source of all the difficulty, "you wouldn't

-be in such a bother at all; because she would never have given notice

-if you hadn't had to move out of the farm. It's all the gout, you see."</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff moved impatiently upon his chair. It was rather hard to be

-constantly twitted with that fact—even by Hal; because if it was "all

-the gout," it was therefore "all his own fault." But he was paid back

-for his pains with such a twinge in either leg, that he involuntarily

-moved his arms in their slings; whereupon each finger of each hand

-seemed to say—"No good, old fellow; you can't escape your punishment;

-for 'whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.'"</p>

-

-<p>Meanwhile Hal was busy trying to think what could be done.</p>

-

-<p>"Haven't you got somebody?" suggested he at last. "Relations are the

-best, I think, because they have an interest in you. You must have got

-a sister, haven't you?"</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff said "No" at first; but afterwards, he changed his mind.

-"Leastways not one who would come," said he. The matter stood thus. He

-had a sister once, who married somebody he did not like—a pious man,

-who would not drink for the sake of good fellowship, and did not swear.

-So he quarrelled with his sister; and when she wrote and told him that

-she had a baby boy named after him, he did not answer her; he had never

-seen or written to her since.</p>

-

-<p>"She couldn't come in any case, you see," said Hal; "because she has

-her own home and her husband to look after."</p>

-

-<p>The bailiff shook his head.</p>

-

-<p>"He's dead," said he. "He died about the same time as my wife, and so

-did the boy. She wrote to me to know if I could give her any help.

-There was a little girl, I think."</p>

-

-<p>"Then she's just the very one," said Hal.</p>

-

-<p>"Unless she's married some one else," added Farmer Bluff. "But she

-wouldn't come. 'Tain't likely, after how I've treated her."</p>

-

-<p>"You don't deserve it, certainly," admitted Hal; which was not exactly

-what the farmer meant. "But sisters are amazingly forgiving—so they

-say. (I always wish I'd got one, do you know?) If I were you, I'd write

-to her."</p>

-

-<p>This advice was rather out of place, seeing the helpless condition of

-the old fellow's hands. The upshot of it was, however, that Hal sat

-down to write from Farmer Bluff's dictation; and between them they made

-up a letter, setting forth the state of things, and offering Mrs. Rust

-a home, if she were willing to forgive the past, and come to live with

-him. Then Hal got up to say good-bye.</p>

-

-<p>"I'll be sure and have it posted," said he. "If I put it in the hall

-with all the other letters, Perkins will take it when he goes from

-work."</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image019" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image019.jpg" alt="image019"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<h3><a id="Chapter_14">CHAPTER XIV.</a></h3>

-

-<p class="t3">

-<b>THE VERY ONE.</b><br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>FARMER BLUFF'S answer came sooner than he expected.</p>

-

-<p>Although Mrs. Rust had been deeply wounded by her hard-hearted

-brother's evident lack of affection, she had never cherished the least

-ill-will against him. She rather mourned to think that his evil ways

-should separate them whilst so many years of life to love each other

-were theirs.</p>

-

-<p>But, as it chanced, this proposal that she should make her home with

-him, came very opportunely to the lonely, hard-worked widow. Her little

-girl, now just eleven, had grown-up very delicate; and in their one

-poor room in London, poor Maggie could not have the air and nourishment

-of which she stood so much in need. Nothing could be better for her

-than the free life of the fields and lanes.</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff read and re-read the letter, which was full of

-affectionate expressions, reminding him how they had played together in

-the years gone by, before they had begun their separate paths in life,

-and learnt what trouble meant. It seemed so wonderful to think that

-after these ten years of estrangement on his part, she should still

-care for him.</p>

-

-<p>But it was just what Hal had said. "Sisters are amazingly forgiving—"</p>

-

-<p>"Far more so than you deserve," conscience added, in a tone he could

-not choose but hear.</p>

-

-<p>He contrived to send a message up to Hal that afternoon. One of the men

-happening to come in about the selling of some piglings, he at once

-seized the opportunity of letting "the young Squire" know the result of

-their joint penmanship. Hal came directly lessons were over for the day.</p>

-

-<p>"Hurrah!" cried he as he entered. "Three cheers for Mrs. Rust!"</p>

-

-<p>Then, after talking it over for a little while, they composed the

-answer, directing Mrs. Rust to pack her things together, and come down

-next week, to superintend the remove.</p>

-

-<p>Of course, when Elspeth heard of this arrangement, she declared that

-she wasn't going to be "mississed over" by a widow woman who was so

-hard up that she was ready to snap at the first chance of a home.

-And the end of it was that the ill-natured woman cleared out of the

-house the very day that Mrs. Rust came in, leaving no provisions ready

-cooked, and all the work to do.</p>

-

-<p>But Mrs. Rust made light of that, for there were eggs in plenty to be

-had; with the sweet, fresh country bread and butter, she and Maggie

-made a hearty meal, and after a short rest, she set herself to work to

-take old Elspeth's place.</p>

-

-<p>When the Squire heard of it from Hal, however, he was very angry, and

-sent a woman up at once to help her with the work. "It isn't fair,"

-said he. "She cannot possibly do it all—look after Farmer Bluff, and

-see to things about the dairy and farmyard, and get the cottage into

-order too."</p>

-

-<p>Next afternoon, he went round with Hal to see what Mrs. Rust was like,

-after her ten years of widowhood.</p>

-

-<p>He found her all that her girlhood had given promise of; tidy,

-respectful, and cheery—a thorough specimen of English matronhood.

-Meanwhile Hal made acquaintance with her little girl, who stood shyly

-near the window, watching Grip, and playing with the flowers she had

-gathered in the fields. But she was not shy long; for Hal's frank ways

-soon put her at her ease, and they became good friends.</p>

-

-<p>A week later, two of the farm waggons, piled with furniture, rolled

-slowly across the yard, and up the road towards the gate of the wood.

-And that same evening, with many groans and grunts—but not a single

-oath, for little Maggie Rust was by—poor, gouty Farmer Bluff himself,

-in a bath-chair, with his two dogs tied behind, was wheeled to his new

-home. Next day, the future bailiff took possession of the farm; and the

-old life was a thing of the past.</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image020" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image020.jpg" alt="image020"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<h3><a id="Chapter_15">CHAPTER XV.</a></h3>

-

-<p class="t3">

-<b>UNDER SENTENCE.</b><br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>IT was more difficult for Hal to get as far as Farmer Bluffs cottage;

-nevertheless, on the very first half-holiday after the remove, he

-appeared there, just as Maggie ran out at the door.</p>

-

-<p>Such a difference there was in her already! The fresh air seemed to

-have acted like magic on her languid frame. She would skip and bound

-and run; and everywhere her merry voice was heard, laughing, singing,

-calling to the dogs; mimicking the birds, or chattering through the

-open window to her uncle, who still sat in his arm-chair, bound hand

-and foot by gout.</p>

-

-<p>Maggie had made great friends with both the dogs, but especially with

-Blazer. It was wonderful to see the fierce, rough creature jump up when

-he heard her voice, and stand there pulling at his chain, and whining

-for her to come and pat his great head.</p>

-

-<p>And as for Maggie, she did not seem the least afraid of him. "He's

-ferocious, but he's honest," she would say. "I wouldn't come within a

-mile of him, if I were a thief; but he knows who are friends and who

-are not."</p>

-

-<p>Hal was going in to talk to Farmer Bluff, but Maggie stopped him.</p>

-

-<p>"Wait a bit," said she; "the doctor's there just now."</p>

-

-<p>So Hal went round with her to have a word with his friend Blazer.</p>

-

-<p>It was very pretty in the garden now. The wood was emerald green with

-the young foliage, and ferns were springing up through the carpet of

-dead leaves, uncrumpling their pale brown fronds in the sunlight that

-fell on them through the lacy branches of the beech and hornbeam trees.</p>

-

-<p>Maggie had already learnt to leap the ditch. "Though mother says I

-mustn't stray into the wood," said she, "for fear of getting into

-mischief. So I just keep close at hand, and fancy that I'm far away.

-It's such a pity, too, my Uncle Bluff won't have the garden planted. He

-says the rabbits come across the ditch, and eat whatever grows. I mean

-to watch for them."</p>

-

-<p>Indoors the doctor was talking in this sort of strain to Farmer Bluff.

-"Fact is, farmer, this gout is mounting to your stomach as fast as it

-can go; and if once it gets there, ten chances to one no power on earth

-will get it out. You'll die of it, that's all."</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff looked scared. "Is there nothing you can do to stop it,

-doctor?" asked he piteously.</p>

-

-<p>"Do? When for the last five years and more you've undone every attempt

-I've made? Look at that!" And Dr. Winthrop pointed to the mug. "If you

-will drink beer, as I am sick of telling you, why, you must abide by

-the consequences. Dash my wigs!" exclaimed the doctor, warming up. "If

-I'd a mug of solid gold that made a fool of me, I'd throw it in the

-ditch and bury it."</p>

-

-<p>In this strain, the doctor talked at him for ten minutes or more; then

-he went away. And Hal, seeing that the coast was clear, went in. But

-Farmer Bluff was unusually glum that morning. Do what Hal would, he

-could not cheer him up; for the poor old sinner had got it on his mind

-that he was doomed to die.</p>

-

-<p>"If I were you," said Hal to Maggie, as he went out at the gate, "I

-think I'd sing to Farmer Bluff. I can't, you know, or else I would; but

-I can manage talking best. He's right down in the dumps to-day. I can't

-think why—unless it is because he had to leave the farm."</p>

-

-<p>A few days later told them, though. Gout doesn't attack the more

-important parts of the body without letting a man know it. Farmer Bluff

-was in such fearful pain that Dr. Winthrop was sent for in a hurry.</p>

-

-<p>The doctor shook his head.</p>

-

-<p>"He's had no beer since you were here last, sir," said Mrs. Rust. "He

-called for it no end of times; but I refused to bring it in."</p>

-

-<p>"You did quite right," the doctor said. "When grown-up patients won't

-be sensible, they must be treated like children."</p>

-

-<p>He little knew the language Farmer Bluff had hurled at her for carrying

-out these orders for his good.</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff was watching Dr. Winthrop's expression very anxiously.</p>

-

-<p>"Is there any change—for the better, doctor?" asked he eagerly. "What

-can be the cause of all this pain?"</p>

-

-<p>The doctor shook his head again.</p>

-

-<p>"You mustn't think," said he, "that three days can cure disease brought

-on by the habits of a lifetime. I will do my best for you; but you have

-killed yourself."</p>

-

-<p>Hal met Dick that day.</p>

-

-<p>"It's a pity," said he. "Dr. Winthrop says that Farmer Bluff can't

-possibly get well. The gout has reached his stomach. It's all through

-drinking too much beer."</p>

-

-<p>Then he went on to the cottage to talk to Farmer Bluff in his own

-simple, sympathetic way. "I'm very sorry," he told him gently,

-"especially as it's your own fault. That makes so much worse of it."</p>

-

-<p>"In this world and the next," put in Farmer Bluff gloomily. "But it's

-too late to talk about that now."</p>

-

-<p>"Too late!—Why?" asked Hal.</p>

-

-<p>But although Farmer Bluff knew pretty well his own reasons for saying

-so, he did not answer the boy's question.</p>

-

-<p>So Hal went on: "I don't at all think it's too late. 'Never too late to

-mend' is a good saying; but 'Never too late to repent' seems to me a

-better. Because, you see, if what Dr. Winthrop says is right, your gout

-won't let you mend; but Jesus said that everybody who repented in their

-heart, would be accepted and forgiven."</p>

-

-<p>"I've tried singing to him," Maggie told Hal, when he came downstairs

-again. "I know a lot of hymns; and he likes it too."</p>

-

-<p>Hal looked about for Dick, when he got outside.</p>

-

-<p>But at school, Dick had made a lot of new acquaintances who were not

-likely to know anything about the adventure with Bill; so he preferred

-their company, and had gone off birds'-nesting with some of them.</p>

-

-<p>Arrived on the terrace, Hal went straight to the Squire's library.

-He found his grandfather sitting in his great arm-chair, with his

-gold-rimmed spectacles upon his nose, reading a big folio volume that

-lay open on his knee; for the Squire was rather fond of learned books.

-He drew his glasses off as Hal came in, and laid them on the page.</p>

-

-<p>"Grandfather," said Hal, in a tone of great concern, "the doctor says

-that Farmer Bluff will have to die. The gout has got so far it can't be

-stopped."</p>

-

-<p>"It's as bad as that, is it?" replied the Squire. "I thought as much,"

-added he, half to himself.</p>

-

-<p>Hal sat down upon the edge of a chair with a dejected air.</p>

-

-<p>"It serves him right," added the Squire.</p>

-

-<p>Hal looked up quickly, as if about to speak; then changed his mind and

-relapsed into silence again. He was disappointed. He had cherished the

-hope of being able to convince Farmer Bluff of his folly; and he had

-failed.</p>

-

-<p>But his grandfather did not quite understand this.</p>

-

-<p>"It's his own fault," said he; "he had fair warning."</p>

-

-<p>Hal shifted again, and looked like speaking, but got no further. There

-was a big lump in his throat.</p>

-

-<p>"All the arguing in the world wouldn't do it, if tweaking and twinging

-wouldn't," continued the Squire, mentally referring to his own and the

-doctor's discourses, together with the pains and premonitions of the

-disease itself. "It's astonishing what a man will bear, rather than

-give up his besetting sin."</p>

-

-<p>"I did my best," added Hal, thinking of nobody's efforts but his own.

-"I spoke out plainly too."</p>

-

-<p>"Ah!" said the Squire, suddenly remembering those words of Hal's when

-first he learnt that the bailiff was to be discharged. "You've been in

-and out a good deal, I suppose, Hal; as you say, you've done your best."</p>

-

-<p>"But, you see, it hasn't saved him," rejoined Hal mournfully. "That's

-the worst of it."</p>

-

-<p>"It's very sad," said the Squire, after a pause, during which he put

-his gold-rimmed glasses on, and took them off again. "It's always sad

-when a man reaps the fruits of his own folly."</p>

-

-<p>"Especially when he has had fair warning," added Hal, "and might have

-done so differently."</p>

-

-<p>"I must go and see him one of these mornings, I suppose," observed the

-Squire presently.</p>

-

-<p>The next few days made a great difference in Farmer Bluff. When the

-Squire went, he found the downstairs room vacant.</p>

-

-<p>"Where's Farmer Bluff?" asked Hal uneasily.</p>

-

-<p>"Upstairs," answered Maggie, who had opened the door for them. "He

-can't get out of bed any more."</p>

-

-<p>And she ran to ask if they could go up.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, Bluff," said the Squire kindly, as he approached the bedside;

-"I'm sorry to see you like this."</p>

-

-<p>"They tell me it's my own fault, sir," said the sufferer meekly.</p>

-

-<p>Somehow, he had come to swear less and less since Maggie had been

-there. "My own fault!" he repeated, with a sigh.</p>

-

-<p>"It's a hard thing to tell a man, when he's on his death-bed,"' said

-the Squire gently.</p>

-

-<p>"But I suppose it's true," rejoined Farmer Bluff.</p>

-

-<p>"And it's better that a man should know it's true," the Squire added

-solemnly; "for then he has a chance of taking comfort from the

-assurance that 'if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to

-forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.'

-Though our sins and folly may have destroyed our body, the moment

-that we cast them from us by our faith in Him whom God sent to be our

-Saviour, they lose power to harm our soul; and the only condition

-of forgiveness and acceptance is we cease to cherish our sins, and,

-trusting in Jesus, seek to be restored."</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff was silent. Perhaps his conscience told him it was less

-the sin that he was sorry for than the consequences it had brought.</p>

-

-<p>"You weren't far wrong, you see, sir, when you turned me out," said he

-presently. "It was a hard blow, but I deserved it. I had no right to

-murmur; for I wasn't equal to my work."</p>

-

-<p>"And I didn't leave you unprovided for," the Squire added kindly. "I

-chose this place, too, because I thought you would be happier near the

-wood than anywhere. I see you've brought the dogs here, too."</p>

-

-<p>"Grip and Blazer, sir; yes. I can't make out what's got 'em both

-to-day."</p>

-

-<p>The two dogs were barking "fit to fetch the house down," as the farmer

-put it. They had been barking so all night, and ever since sunset the

-evening before; so he told the Squire.</p>

-

-<p>"I heard old Dobson throw his window up once or twice," said he; "and

-at last he took his gun and had a look about, to see if it was anybody

-prowling round."</p>

-

-<p>"Perhaps it was only rabbits," suggested the Squire. "I've heard Dobson

-say that even hares will come into these gardens on moonlight nights."</p>

-

-<p>"They will, sir, I can certify," said Farmer Bluff, amused for the

-minute; "though they won't find much to pay 'em here. I wasn't going to

-have the ground planted, for them to eat up every shoot that grew."</p>

-

-<p>Hal was standing by the casement during this conversation, now watching

-his grandfather and the farmer, now looking out of the window at the

-kennel, where Blazer was jumping and plunging angrily, tearing the air

-with his furious cries. Just as Farmer Bluff finished speaking, he

-uttered a sudden exclamation.</p>

-

-<p>"Grandfather!" cried he. "Blazer has burst his collar, and got free!"</p>

-

-<p>At the same instant, the barking had ceased, and Blazer, without a

-scrap of chain about him, had gone racing down the clearing through the

-wood. The next minute Maggie's voice was heard on the staircase.</p>

-

-<p>"Uncle Bluff! Uncle Bluff!" cried she, as she climbed. "Blazer has got

-loose and run away!"</p>

-

-<p>In the excitement of the moment, Farmer Bluff made a desperate effort

-to get to a sitting posture; but that was beyond him, and he earned

-nothing but pain for his exertion.</p>

-

-<p>"He's run right away," said Maggie, appearing in the doorway with an

-agitated face.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh! He'll come back right enough," returned her uncle, lifting his

-head to look at her. "The mischief is—mercy on any one he should meet.

-And I don't know the man, except old Dobson, who dare go after him."</p>

-

-<p>"I dare," said Maggie bravely; "I'll go to the ditch and call."</p>

-

-<p>"No, child," cried Farmer Bluff; but quick as lightning Maggie was

-gone. "Stop her!" roared he, as she sped downstairs and out at the

-house door. "He'll knock her down! He'll kill the child!"</p>

-

-<p>"Not he!" said Hal. "Not Blazer! He's far too fond of Mag. She's not

-afraid of him; no more am I. I'll go too."</p>

-

-<p>But the Squire stopped him.</p>

-

-<p>"I'd hardly dare go myself," said Farmer Bluff. "Hark! There she's

-calling him!"</p>

-

-<p>And the little girl's voice was heard ringing out clear and

-loud—"Blazer, Blazer; where have you rushed off to? You bad old doggie,

-you!"</p>

-

-<p>The Squire had his head out of the casement, calling her to come in;

-but Blazer had heard her voice and come back with a rush, leaping the

-ditch and bounding up to lick her hand, then crouching at her feet,

-whilst Maggie stood firm as a rock, and fearlessly patted his broad

-head. Then he leapt the ditch again, and barked, and looked towards the

-child; then came back, and jumped around her; then back to the ditch,

-as if he wanted her to go with him.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, I'll leap the ditch then, Blazer," they heard her cry; "if that

-is what you want." And stepping back a pace or two, she took a run, and

-jumped it clean and clear.</p>

-

-<p>"That was a good leap, my lass," the Squire called approvingly. "Surely

-she's not town-bred, Bluff," added he, drawing in his head to look back

-towards the bed.</p>

-

-<p>"She is, sir," answered Farmer Bluff; "and such a white-faced thing,

-too, when her mother brought her here."</p>

-

-<p>"Well, come!" rejoined the Squire cheerily. "There's something to set

-off against your leaving the farm. If you hadn't had to come up here,

-I suppose she'd be white-faced yet. But what about this dog? I don't

-see how he's going to be got upon the chain again. The collar is broken

-too."</p>

-

-<p>"There used to be another collar about the place," Farmer Bluff

-answered.</p>

-

-<p>For the brute had always seemed so fierce, they had not dared to depend

-upon a single one; but where it was, he could not say—though Mrs. Rust

-might know when she came in—nor who would undertake to put it on.</p>

-

-<p>"I shouldn't be afraid if I could manage it," said Hal, who had

-reluctantly obeyed his grandfather's desire that he would not go down.

-"But you see my crutches are so in the way."</p>

-

-<p>The Squire shook his head.</p>

-

-<p>"Better wait till old Dobson's home," suggested Farmer Bluff. "The dog

-knows him."</p>

-

-<p>"Only," put in Hal, "just think how frightened Mrs. Rust will be when

-she comes in."</p>

-

-<p>Meanwhile Blazer was still rushing madly to and fro. Far from satisfied

-with having got Maggie across the ditch, he was evidently trying hard

-to prevail on her to go into the wood with him. If she ran a step or

-two he seemed so pleased, but as soon as she stopped, he barked and

-leapt, and tugged at her dress, making every sign dog ingenuity could

-suggest to coax her into going forward down the track.</p>

-

-<p>"There's something at the bottom of all that, depend upon it," said

-the Squire, walking to the foot of the bed. "Blazer has found somebody

-or something; and he wants to show his find. I shell venture down and

-follow his lead. He knows me pretty well."</p>

-

-<p>"He knows me better, grandfather," said Hal.</p>

-

-<p>"We'll both go," said the Squire, setting off towards the stairs, Hal

-following.</p>

-

-<p>A ditch was an obstacle both for the old gentleman and the cripple boy,

-neither of whom could leap like the little London maid. There was a

-way out of the difficulty, however, by going round to the gate of the

-wood; and in a very few minutes, the Squire and Hal had joined Maggie,

-and were following Blazer down the track, much to the jealousy of Grip,

-who stood watching from his kennel in the front garden, and uttering a

-series of short, snappish barks, by way of protest at this unfairness.</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image021" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image021.jpg" alt="image021"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<h3><a id="Chapter_16">CHAPTER XVI.</a></h3>

-

-<p class="t3">

-<b>A RUNAWAY'S STORY.</b><br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>THE old Squire had always made a point of having a civil word for both

-dogs whenever he went to the farm; so that, as he said, both Blazer

-and Grip were tolerably familiar with him. On the present occasion,

-however, Blazer was too much delighted at getting his own way to show

-any disagreeable tempers. He did nothing but run and leap and bark in

-an ecstasy of triumph, looking back from time to time, to make sure

-that he was being followed, and exerting himself ten times more than

-was necessary, in his efforts to incite them to speed.</p>

-

-<p>But the uneven surface of the track was less easy for Hal's crutches

-than the open road; and Blazer had to be content with rather slow

-progress, whilst Maggie ran backwards and forwards, jumping and

-calling, thoroughly enjoying the fun, and doing her best, by her own

-excitement, to keep up Blazer's.</p>

-

-<p>They had not proceeded very far in this manner, however, when Blazer

-changed his course, darting in amongst the undergrowth.</p>

-

-<p>The Squire pulled up.</p>

-

-<p>"Now, Blazer, old boy," said he, "that isn't just the sort of place an

-old gentleman finds convenient to scramble through. What do you want

-with it?"</p>

-

-<p>But the dog was evidently in real earnest. There was no mistake about

-that. He trotted on a little way ahead, then turned and leapt and

-barked, and came bounding back, jumping round the Squire, and all but

-beckoning him to come.</p>

-

-<p>"What a pity he can't speak!" exclaimed Hal, looking up into his

-grandfather's face, as if to read his thoughts.</p>

-

-<p>"We must contrive to go with him somehow, that's certain," returned

-the Squire, stopping to consider; "or, at least, I must. He has found

-something, and he wants to show it us. Hal, you wait here with Maggie;

-no, stay! Let Maggie come with me, in case I want a messenger."</p>

-

-<p>And putting one shoulder to the hazel bushes, to Blazer's infinite

-delight, the old gentleman commenced pushing his way in amongst them,

-Maggie following close upon his heels.</p>

-

-<p>A shade of disappointment came over Hal's face. This was how he had to

-feel his affliction every now and then. But Hal was not a boy to stop

-at disappointment. He only stood still a minute or so; then turning,

-set off down the track again, to search for an opening by which to

-reach the spot whither the dog was leading them—sure, at all events, of

-knowing by his barks the direction that they took.</p>

-

-<p>He had but just lighted on a cross track when the barking ceased. They

-must have reached the place.</p>

-

-<p>Hal stopped to listen just an instant, then set forward, breathing

-fast, and flushing with his exertions to lose no time, and hoping that

-as Blazer had led them off in a slanting direction, this track, which

-crossed the cartway at right angles, would converge with their path.</p>

-

-<p>Presently, however, the track ended in a sort of winding path, which

-seemed to lead into thicker and thicker tangle. Hal stopped, perplexed,

-and listened, but could hear no sound. Next minute, however, Blazer's

-bark sounded out again, short and sharp; once, twice, thrice. Hal set

-forward instantly, with increased vigour, and after following the

-windings of the path for a short distance, he was able to distinguish

-voices, whilst every now and then Blazer gave a sharp bark, as if to

-call him on.</p>

-

-<p>All on a sudden, an idea struck Hal, and resting on his crutches to get

-breath, he called Blazer's name with all his might.</p>

-

-<p>The plan succeeded. Blazer heard, and gave an answering bark. In a few

-seconds, Hal heard the crackling of the dry leaves under his paws; then

-out he rushed along the path. They were not far off, and Hal was going

-straight for them. He hurried on after the dog.</p>

-

-<p>"Where are you, grandfather?" called he, when he got near enough to

-distinguish the Squire's voice.</p>

-

-<p>"Here!" was the reply.</p>

-

-<p>And at the same instant, Hal spied Maggie's pink apron through the

-bushes.</p>

-

-<p>Hal paused a second; then pushing one crutch in among the twigs, he

-made his way to where the others were.</p>

-

-<p>The Squire was bending over something on the ground, Maggie kneeling by

-his side. "He's opening his eyes!" cried she, as Hal came up.</p>

-

-<p>And there, to his astonishment, half-raised upon the turf mound at the

-foot of a hazel clump, lay the long-lost runaway, Bill the Kicker.</p>

-

-<p>Bill drew a long breath and rolled his eyes round; then the lids

-dropped to again.</p>

-

-<p>Maggie gave vent to an exclamation of mingled pity and disappointment,

-and the Squire observed,—</p>

-

-<p>"It's evidently a case of starvation. From the look of him, I should

-imagine that the young scamp has kept away as long as he could hold

-out. If Blazer hadn't happened to find him, he would have died here

-before night."</p>

-

-<p>The sound of voices roused Bill again. His eyes opened, and he drew

-another long breath. Then suddenly a look of bewilderment came over his

-face. "Where 'm I got to?" he asked excitedly.</p>

-

-<p>But before any one could answer, he had recognised the Squire. The

-bewildered look gave place to one of terror, and Bill made a desperate

-effort at scrambling to his feet; but he had long since reached the

-point when starved and exhausted nature could do no more. He only fell

-back upon the bank with a sick and dizzy sensation, and his eyelids

-closed again.</p>

-

-<p>"Lie still, my boy," said the Squire kindly. "You must have something

-to eat. You're starving."</p>

-

-<p>Bill put his hand to his waist-belt. He had ceased to remember that

-he was hungry; but the Squire's words brought back the craving. He

-recollected how he had felt before he swooned.</p>

-

-<p>"Have either of you anything eatable about you?"' asked the Squire,

-turning to Hal and Maggie. "A sweetmeat, or a bit of biscuit; anything

-that he could suck or munch."</p>

-

-<p>Hal had not. He was not a boy who cared for sweets. Maggie, however,

-produced a chocolate drop, given her over the counter by the grocer's

-man.</p>

-

-<p>"But what is that when he's starving!" exclaimed she.</p>

-

-<p>"All the better," returned the Squire. "In his present state, it would

-be dangerous to give him much. But you may run home," added he, as

-Bill eagerly took the tiny mouthful and crunched it up. "Run home—you

-can find your way?—And bring cup of bread or biscuit sopped in milk—or

-water, if you can't find milk; be as quick as ever you can. The poor

-boy is nearly starved."</p>

-

-<p>Some good people would have tried to get Bill's story out of him

-whilst Maggie was running for the food. But Hal's grandfather did no

-such thing, having too much common sense, as well as too much pity for

-the boy. Besides, his story was so plainly told by every feature of

-his face, and every inch of tattered garment that he wore. His whole

-appearance seemed to say, in language that no eyes could fail to read,

-that it was one thing to get into a scrape and run away in order to

-escape the consequence, but quite another thing to keep decent clothes

-upon his back, and pick up food enough to hold the wolf at bay. In

-short, poor Bill had learnt the value of a home.</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image022" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image022.jpg" alt="image022"></figure>

-<p class="t4">

-<b>THE SQUIRE FINDS BILL THOROUGHLY EXHAUSTED.</b><br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>Meanwhile, Maggie had scrambled back to the cart-track, making fearful

-havoc of her zephyr apron in her haste; and had torn home, panting and

-breathless, taking the ditch at a bound, and astonishing beyond measure

-her mother, who was just returning up the garden path. On learning what

-had happened, however, Mrs. Rust quickly made the pap, and, calling up

-the stairs to Farmer Bluff, set off with Maggie to the spot.</p>

-

-<p>"I made it warm, sir," said she, as she knelt down by Bill's side to

-feed him from the cup.</p>

-

-<p>Bill took it eagerly, and would have made short work of it, had he

-not been restrained. It quickly revived him, however, and he sat up,

-looking very much as if he would like to run away again.</p>

-

-<p>"You'll be all the better for that, my boy," said Mrs. Rust, standing

-back a step or two with the empty cup in her hand.</p>

-

-<p>But Bill felt rather foolish. He looked from one to another of the

-group round him, and said nothing.</p>

-

-<p>The Squire was the first to speak. "Well, young man," said he,

-possessing himself of his gold-headed cane, which he had laid down

-beside Bill on first stooping to examine him; "I'm glad to see you've

-come home again. And I hope you've had enough of a lesson about the

-folly of running away."</p>

-

-<p>Bill hung his head. "I don't know as I'm going home," said he, in a

-low, dogged tone of voice.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh! Don't you?" said the Squire. "I'll take care of that."</p>

-

-<p>"Likely!" continued Bill defiantly. "To have the strap."</p>

-

-<p>"Perhaps, if you behave well, and answer all I want to know," returned

-the Squire, "I may feel inclined to beg you off the strapping—though I

-must confess that you deserve it every bit."</p>

-

-<p>Bill subsided and looked down, waiting in sullen silence to be

-questioned, whilst Maggie drew a little nearer, moving her eyes rapidly

-from him to the Squire with lively interest.</p>

-

-<p>"Why did you run away?" commenced the Squire.</p>

-

-<p>Maggie's eyes went back to Bill.</p>

-

-<p>"'Cause he told me to," said Bill.</p>

-

-<p>"He?" rejoined the Squire. "Who's he?"</p>

-

-<p>"Him what I stole the egg for," answered Bill. "Dick Crozier, sir."</p>

-

-<p>"Dick Crozier!" exclaimed Hal and his grandfather in a breath. "Mind

-you're not inventing lies," added the Squire. "Why, dear me," he

-continued half-aside, "I had fancied him a better lad. It seems

-incredible!"</p>

-

-<p>"He said as you was comin' round a purpose to 'indemnifight' me," Bill

-went on; "an' if he was me, he wouldn't stand still to be took."</p>

-

-<p>What Bill had supposed this terrible word to mean, it would be hard to

-determine; but he had kept on repeating it to himself all the way he

-had run, until it had got so mixed up as to come out entirely wrong.

-"Nor I wasn't going to neither," added Bill, with the defiant look

-again.</p>

-

-<p>"How came you to steal an egg for him?" asked the Squire next.</p>

-

-<p>"'Cause I wanted sixpence," answered Bill. "But he's as bad as me,"

-added Bill eagerly. "He hadn't ought to ha' taken what I'd stole. I've

-heard my father say so once."</p>

-

-<p>"Quite right," rejoined the Squire. "Receiving stolen goods is

-punishable by law. He sucked this egg, then, I suppose; and gave you

-sixpence for it."</p>

-

-<p>Then came out the history of how Bill's evil conscience had brought

-about the smashing of the eggs; and how, in self-defence, he had

-inflicted on the unfortunate goose the injuries that had caused her

-death. "I didn't want to hurt her, sir," said Bill; "but when one o'

-them things is after you—"</p>

-

-<p>"It's rather terrible, I must admit," returned the Squire, hardly able

-to restrain a smile. "Then you didn't get your sixpence after all?"</p>

-

-<p>"Yes, I did though," replied Bill quickly, with a cunning grin. "He guv

-it me to keep from splitting, 'cause he knew as how if I was caught, I

-was bound to let out who I'd stole it for. If it hadn't been for that,"

-said Bill, whose meal had pretty well revived him by this time, "and t'

-other, what I got for bein' made a pictur' of, I'm blest if I'd 'a' had

-a rag o' flesh on any o' my bones by now—grub's that hard to get."</p>

-

-<p>"Ah! Recollect that, next time that you're tempted to do wrong,"

-returned the Squire solemnly.</p>

-

-<p>"But he was just as bad as me," repeated Bill, who seemed inclined to

-take comfort in companionship in his disgrace.</p>

-

-<p>He found, however, that the Squire entertained a different view of

-the matter. "Gently," said he. "You had the first of it; for you put

-temptation in his way, by offering to undertake the theft. But now, one

-question more. What did you want the sixpence for?"</p>

-

-<p>Bill hung his head and looked more than half a mind not to answer; but

-he changed his mind, thinking that it was sure to come out, and that,

-all things considered, he had better enjoy the merit of making a clean

-breast of the whole affair.</p>

-

-<p>"'Cause I wanted a new knife," said he; "and so I'd borrowed sixpence

-from the rent."</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>"You've got to beg me off the strapping, sir," said Bill, as they set

-off back towards the cartway, a few minutes later; "'cause you promised

-if I answered square."</p>

-

-<p>"And when I promise anything, I keep my word," replied the Squire,

-rather pleased than otherwise with the boy's straightforwardness. He

-took occasion by the way, however, to administer a lecture on the

-wickedness of breaking in through hedges after other people's property.

-"If Blazer had caught you there, instead of half dead in this wood,"

-said he, "he would have shown you little mercy, you may make quite

-sure."</p>

-

-<p>Bill also related by degrees a lot of his adventures since leaving

-home; how he had escaped along the riverbank, running till his breath

-gave out, and walking till he nearly dropped, to reach the town before

-the night came on; how he had slept under porches or in doorways, in

-wind and wet and darkness, frightened, cold, and wretched, night after

-night; and how, after his food and money were all gone, he had begged

-for work, and gone from door to door to ask a piece of bread, until he

-grew so weak and wild with living on the scanty crusts he got, that he

-began to wish he had not run away.</p>

-

-<p>"Leastways," said Bill, "I wished I hadn't stole the eggs."</p>

-

-<p>And he went on to tell how at the last he had determined to come back,

-but had not had the courage to face his parents' anger; and so had

-wandered on into the wood, and round to the back of the two cottages,

-where he was about to beg food, when to his surprise, he spied Blazer

-chained up, and Blazer spied him.</p>

-

-<p>"And for the life of me I durstn't ask," said Bill; "so I cut away into

-the wood, and there I tumbled down."</p>

-

-<p>"And there you would have died," the Squire added, "if Blazer had not

-broken loose and followed on your track, and found you where you lay,

-you poor silly boy. Well, you have had your punishment; and I can

-promise you, your parents will be glad enough to see you back. Only

-mind you show that you are worthy of forgiveness by making a fresh

-start."</p>

-

-<p>Arrived at Farmer Bluffs, Bill was glad to sit down quietly and have

-some more to eat, whilst the Squire went and saw Blazer's collar mended

-up. As for Blazer, he came quite gently to take a biscuit and a lump of

-sugar out of Maggie's hand, and then submitted to have the chain put

-on; after which, he retired into his kennel, and lay down to rest.</p>

-

-<p>Then the Squire, having directed Mrs. Rust to search the other collar

-out, or get a new one made, set out with Bill, to see him safe into his

-parents' hands.</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image023" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image023.jpg" alt="image023"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<h3><a id="Chapter_17">CHAPTER XVII.</a></h3>

-

-<p class="t3">

-<b>LOOSE AGAIN.</b><br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>ON reaching the stile by the Manor Farm, the Squire went on to the

-cottages with Bill, leaving Hal to return home alone, and tell his

-mother all that had happened. They had scarcely parted, when Dick,

-surrounded by a number of his schoolfellows, overtook him.</p>

-

-<p>Dick threw Hal a nod, proud to show off his grand acquaintance; but Hal

-beckoned him.</p>

-

-<p>"Bill's come home," said he, as Dick ran forward from the group.</p>

-

-<p>"Hooray!" shouted the other boys, who, of course, had seen the whole

-story in the local newspaper. "Hooray!" And half-a-dozen caps flew in

-the air.</p>

-

-<p>But Hal's business was with Dick.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm disappointed in you, Dick," said he.</p>

-

-<p>"How's that?" returned Dick in a tone of bravado, guessing what Hal

-meant.</p>

-

-<p>"I didn't think you were the sort of boy to encourage other boys in

-stealing eggs for you to suck," said Hal. "It seems to me, I'd rather

-steal myself than get another boy to do it for me. You see, it's very

-mean to put your dirty work upon another fellow, isn't it?"</p>

-

-<p>"I paid him fair," said Dick.</p>

-

-<p>Hal considered a minute. This line of argument was rather difficult to

-answer, and yet Hal's sense of right and wrong told him it was false.</p>

-

-<p>"You'd no right to pay him for dishonesty," said he; "so no payment

-could be fair."</p>

-

-<p>"I don't know so much about that," returned Dick stoutly. "If a

-fellow's fool enough to sell his soul for sixpence, that's his own look

-out. It's always fair to pay a fellow what he'll take."</p>

-

-<p>"That's not the way to look at it at all," said Hal. "A fellow's soul

-is worth a great deal more than any one can pay, and if he loses it,

-he's done for outright. And whoever gets it from him, is his murderer

-for ever," added Hal quite solemnly. "The Bible tells you that."</p>

-

-<p>"Chapter the one hundredth, verse the millionth!" sang out Dick in a

-mocking tone.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, I must be getting home," said Hal. "I'm sorry, for I liked you

-at the first. And I thought that when I came to be Squire—if ever I

-do—you would be one of my best tenants, and help me to make the Manor

-prosperous. You see, a Squire wouldn't be able to do much good if all

-his tenants were like that, and didn't care a pin about each other's

-souls."</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>Will and Sigismund would have been rather envious of Hal's good fortune

-in the enjoyment of such an adventure as the finding of a runaway by

-Farmer Bluff's dog Blazer, had not their attention been rather taken up

-just then with the half-term holiday, which some cousins were to spend

-with them. These cousins were London boys, and were coming down that

-same evening, to make the most of a whole day at the Manor House. When

-Hal got in, his brothers were just getting up into the waggonette to

-fetch them from the station, and there was plenty else to talk about

-when they came in.</p>

-

-<p>The first thing after breakfast next morning, the six boys all turned

-out, bent upon fun and frolic.</p>

-

-<p>Dick was on his way down the hill with his books as they came out

-shouting and laughing on to the terrace, and he sprang up to the

-palings to see what was going on.</p>

-

-<p>But, unfortunately for Dick, it was not "half-term" at his school; so

-with a feeling of envy, he leapt back to the pathway, and continued his

-road.</p>

-

-<p>"Hare and hounds!" he heard them cry, as they came pelting down the

-drive.</p>

-

-<p>Will was with the foremost ones, but Sigismund, always more considerate

-for his brother, lagged behind, as Hal came hurrying after on his

-crutches.</p>

-

-<p>"You can't play, Hal, if we have hare and hounds," he was saying.</p>

-

-<p>"Oh! Never mind," returned Hal. "I can't play at anything, you see."</p>

-

-<p>"The woods will be the place," cried Will, in front, "Say, Sidge; the

-woods—eh?"</p>

-

-<p>"But Hal—" began Sigismund.</p>

-

-<p>"The woods, by all means," echoed Hal, however, interrupting him. "It's

-no use, Sidge, don't you see," added he, in a lower tone to Sigismund.

-"If you'd got my legs, you wouldn't want everybody to stop playing on

-your account."</p>

-

-<p>A boy of Hal's brave disposition was sure to find it less hard to bear

-his affliction quietly than to feel himself a constant mar-joy to the

-others.</p>

-

-<p>"I'll go as far as the wood with you," continued he; "and then I'll go

-inside and rest. I told Farmer Bluff the boys were coming, but I said

-that I expected I should be able to go and see him all the same."</p>

-

-<p>So at the gate of the wood they parted; and whilst Will, as swiftest

-runner, was being chosen "hare," Hal was climbing up the narrow stair

-to Farmer Bluff's room.</p>

-

-<p>"I've come, you see," said he cheerily, as he swung himself towards the

-bed.</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff's face brightened.</p>

-

-<p>"I was thinking of ye," answered he.</p>

-

-<p>"It's rather early, I'm afraid," continued Hal; "but I came down with

-the others as far as this. They've all gone into the wood for hare and

-hounds, and I can't manage that, you know. I hope you don't mind."</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff, on the contrary, expressed himself heartily delighted to

-see "the young Squire."</p>

-

-<p>"You and Maggie," said he, "I don't know what I should do without the

-two of you—though I suppose I oughtn't to mention you in one breath."</p>

-

-<p>Hal, with a puzzled expression, said that he did not see why. He

-generally managed to see to the bottom of things pretty quickly, and to

-catch people's meaning when it was not quite on the surface. But this

-notion perplexed him not a little. Inequality of rank did not enter

-much into Hal's ideas.</p>

-

-<p>"She sings to you, doesn't she?" observed he presently, after having

-thought all round the question in vain.</p>

-

-<p>"And you talk," rejoined Farmer Bluff. "Maggie doesn't talk; she

-chatters, if she does anything in that line."</p>

-

-<p>"I like to talk," answered Hal simply; "as much as other boys like to

-run and jump, I fancy; perhaps it is because I can't run and jump."</p>

-

-<p>"Perhaps it is," said Farmer Bluff. He was thinking that it seemed as

-if God had given the boy a better power in exchange for the one He had

-withheld. "A ready tongue 'll be useful to you when you come to the

-Manor," added he.</p>

-

-<p>"Only I shan't be able to follow the hounds," said Hal regretfully.</p>

-

-<p>"Never you grieve for that," returned Farmer Bluff. "You'll have the

-hearts of your tenantry; that I'll certify."</p>

-

-<p>"Farmer Bluff," said Hal suddenly, "I've been thinking a good deal

-about Dick Crozier since yesterday. I expect he'll be one of my tenants

-by and by, you know, and I'm afraid he won't be a very good one."</p>

-

-<p>"About the average run, perhaps," said Farmer Bluff. "Some better, and

-some worse."</p>

-

-<p>"But don't you see," said Hal, "he's got no principle. He doesn't think

-it matters the least bit in the world if a boy chooses to sell his soul

-for sixpence—like Bill, when he thieved to get the goose egg for him."</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff was silent. He knew so well how many men there were among

-the tenantry—how many who owned manors, too—with little or no principle.</p>

-

-<p>It was on his conscience, too, how he himself had sold his soul time

-and again for drink, for pleasure, or for gain.</p>

-

-<p>"There 'll be some things you'll have to take as you find 'em," said he

-presently.</p>

-

-<p>"I should like to alter that,"' said Hal. "There must be a remedy."</p>

-

-<p>"No one has ever found it yet," said Farmer Bluff.</p>

-

-<p>"Perhaps they haven't looked in the right place," said Hal. "I expect

-it's in the Bible, if it's anywhere."</p>

-

-<p>"Maybe 'tis," said Farmer Bluff; and then he was silent a good while

-again. "I don't know much, about the Bible," he continued presently.

-"I didn't use to read it when I could, and I can't hold a feather now,

-much less a book."</p>

-

-<p>So it came about, that Hal proposed to read it for him. And when Maggie

-came upstairs, he was sitting by her uncle's bedside, with the Bible

-on his knee. But the information Maggie brought put a stop to reading

-rather suddenly.</p>

-

-<p>"Uncle Bluff!" cried she. "Blazer's loose again. I don't know where he

-is."</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image024" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image024.jpg" alt="image024"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<h3><a id="Chapter_18">CHAPTER XVIII.</a></h3>

-

-<p class="t3">

-<b>TO THE RESCUE.</b><br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>DICK CROZIER was on the Squire's mind as well as upon Hal's.</p>

-

-<p>Upon the stroke of noon, he left his study and started up the hill.

-"He'll be in by half-past twelve, or thereabouts," he calculated; "and

-I'll have a talk with him."</p>

-

-<p>Now it happened that Dick's master, having a train to catch for town

-on important business, Dick had got out of school rather earlier than

-usual. Just as he turned the corner by the Manor Farm, he spied the

-Squire plodding up the hill with his gold-headed cane.</p>

-

-<p>Dick halted instantly, for it occurred to him that precisely the same

-thing he had warned Bill of was about to happen to himself.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm in for a good lecture," said he, "and if my father don't 'give it

-me' when he hears, my name ain't Dick, that's all."</p>

-

-<p>So, after due reflection, Dick concluded that it would be most prudent

-policy to give the Squire the slip.</p>

-

-<p>"I shan't go in till dinner-time," said Dick. And going back across the

-road, he struck into the pathway for that still forbidden ground, the

-riverbank.</p>

-

-<p>Meanwhile the Squire, totally unconscious of having been spied out, was

-seated in the sunny little parlour which Dick's mother loved so well,

-making acquaintance with his tenant's wife, and explaining the nature

-of his errand.</p>

-

-<p>"He should be in by now, sir," said Dick's mother, looking at her

-watch,—her grandparents' present on her wedding day,—"but he gets late

-sometimes."</p>

-

-<p>So the Squire proposed to wait awhile, if Mrs. Crozier would allow him

-to; and they talked, to pass away the time, Mrs. Crozier taking the

-Squire's heart by storm with her gentle manners, but looking uneasily

-at her watch from time to time.</p>

-

-<p>Bill had been received back home with open arms, and without a word

-of scolding, on a promise—signed by the Squire, as it were—of future

-good behaviour. It happened that, being anxious to avoid a meeting with

-Dick Crozier, whose school stood within a stone's throw of the parish

-school which he attended, Bill had conceived the idea of returning by

-the riverbank. In arriving at this resolution, he had not forgotten the

-geese; but Bill was sharp enough to know that now the grass was laid

-down for hay, these terrors of humanity would no longer be abroad. He

-set off, accordingly, with the virtuous intention of running great part

-of the way, so as to reach home punctually. Dick had not proceeded far

-along the bank, therefore, when he perceived Bill coming full speed

-towards him.</p>

-

-<p>Bill, too much out of breath to look higher than his toes, failed to

-perceive Dick until they were within a few yards of each other, when he

-suddenly awoke to the unpleasant fact that he was face to face with his

-enemy.</p>

-

-<p>"Hullo, sneak!" exclaimed Dick.</p>

-

-<p>"Let be!" cried Bill, as Dick attempted to bar his passage.</p>

-

-<p>But Dick did not budge. He only dodged Bill, without attempting to make

-way.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm in a hurry home," said Bill. "Let me by."</p>

-

-<p>"Sneak!" repeated Dick. "Who split?"</p>

-

-<p>"I didn't split," said Bill. "They made me tell."</p>

-

-<p>"Made you tell?" sneered Dick. "When you had sixpence of me to hold

-your tongue! I'd have had mine cut out before I'd have been guilty of

-such a dirty trick."</p>

-

-<p>"You'd 'a' had your'n cut out afore you'd 'a' been guilty of such a

-dirty trick as to suck an egg what you got another boy to steal for

-you!" retorted Bill, stammering and spluttering in his warmth. "It's

-'receiving stolen goods.' The Squire said so; and you're to be had up

-for it."</p>

-

-<p>Dick only answered by a mocking guffaw.</p>

-

-<p>"Now, then," said Bill, "are you going to let me by?"</p>

-

-<p>"Look out for old mother goose behind there," jeered Dick.</p>

-

-<p>"Let me by!" reiterated Bill. "I'm in a hurry."</p>

-

-<p>"Washerwoman!" jeered Dick. "Sixpence a pocketful."</p>

-

-<p>Bill was getting exasperated. Moreover, he saw only one way out of it.

-"Now, then," threatened he suddenly, gathering up all his pluck, "do

-you mean to give in?"</p>

-

-<p>Dick answered by striding across the bank, a foot each side and both

-arms akimbo, and burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. But Bill

-cut him short.</p>

-

-<p>"You'd better look out then," shouted he, squaring up.</p>

-

-<p>"All right," grinned Dick, accepting the challenge. "Look out for a

-ducking, pockets and all. It was a goosing last time."</p>

-

-<p>This last fling was more than Bill could stand.</p>

-

-<p>"Come on!" roared he, maddened beyond control. And rushing for Dick

-with both fists doubled, he went at him with all his might.</p>

-

-<p>Dick was a pretty tough boy, and had done his share of fights at

-school; but Bill was tougher, and Dick soon found that he was in for

-such a mauling as he had never had in all his previous experience. For

-full five minutes, they tugged and tussled, and pounded and hammered at

-all available portions of each other's frames, until Dick began to wish

-that he had never provoked the combat. He was almost at the end of his

-strength, when a most unlooked-for accident delivered him out of Bill's

-hands.</p>

-

-<p>Forgetting the narrowness of the footway in the heat of the fight,

-the boys had got crosswise, instead of lengthwise of it, when Dick,

-suddenly growing furious, to find that he was being worsted, drew

-off an instant, to gather up all his strength for a final onset;

-but, inadvertently stepping too far back, his heel struck over the

-treacherous grass of the shelving bank, and, with a slip and a yell, he

-went splashing backwards into the water.</p>

-

-<p>Bill's first impulse was a shout of triumph; his second, that when a

-boy goes head over heels out of his depth, there is no telling how he

-will come up. Bill knew the look of a drowned dog, and had no wish to

-be taxed with making Dick look that way. Quick as thought, he turned to

-fly.</p>

-

-<p>But though a scamp, Bill was not altogether bad. In the midst of

-all his fears, it struck him that people always rose to the surface

-before they drowned. If Dick rose, he might reach him. In an instant,

-he was back again. The exact spot was easy to find by the heel-mark

-on the bank and the brown swirl in the water, where the mud had been

-disturbed. Some distance out, too, beyond the ripples where the water

-had closed over Dick, was his cap, floating merrily down stream; but

-not a sign of Dick himself.</p>

-

-<p>Bill went hot all over. Once having turned back, he seemed rooted to

-the spot by a strange fascination that forced him to watch for Dick's

-rising.</p>

-

-<p>"It was his own fault," said he, mopping his forehead with one jacket

-cuff: "He should ha' let me by! I guess though, if he ain't comin'

-up, I'd better be off, afore I'm caught here! Golly!" exclaimed Bill,

-giving vent to his favourite expression, as a sudden thought flashed

-upon him. "Better rob a goose's nest and break her breast-bone than

-drownd a boy." And off he started at a run.</p>

-

-<p>But as he ran away down the stream, following the cap, a dark brown

-object caught his eye. It was the drenched hair of Dick's head. The

-current there below the bend was very strong, and had washed him out

-into mid-stream, and was carrying him rapidly along towards the weir.</p>

-

-<p>For a moment Bill scarcely knew whether to be glad or sorry; then the

-nobler instincts of his nature gained the upper hand, and he dashed

-along the bank, shouting—"Hold on! Keep it up till I catch hold of

-something to fish you out!"</p>

-

-<p>At the same instant, there was an outcry from among the willow-trees.

-A dog sprang forward with a bark, and a dear treble voice rang out

-excitedly—"Why! It's some one's head! In, Blazer; in! Fetch him out!

-Oh! Quick! Quick!"</p>

-

-<p>It was Maggie Rust, who had gone out with Hal to look for the dog, and

-found him on the riverbank, worrying at a knuckle bone dropped there by

-a careless butcher boy on his way to the Vicarage.</p>

-

-<p>A bare moment sufficed Blazer to reach the bank, and in he splashed,

-paddling bravely across the current, with his fierce eyes starting, and

-his hard breaths frothing the surface of the water as he swam.</p>

-

-<p>Maggie cheered him on. "Quick, Blazer; quick! Oh, he's floating down so

-fast!" she cried towards Hal, who had been slower getting to his feet

-to gain the spot. "He'll never reach in time."</p>

-

-<p>But Blazer was also going with the stream as well as crossing it. In

-a few minutes more, the brave animal was up with Dick, and had his

-teeth firmly fastened in his jacket. And now came the tug of war.

-Maggie watched breathlessly, with beating heart and tightly clasped

-hands, whilst Hal, his face white and his lips parted, hung by her on

-his crutches. But Blazer was strong, and the water buoyed his burden

-up. The stream, too, helped in one way, whilst it hindered in another;

-for it lengthened every stroke, and carried him forward as he tried to

-cross back to the shore.</p>

-

-<p>"Hurrah!" shouted Hal, at length unable any longer to keep his

-excitement in. "Hurrah! He'll do it! He'll do it! Hurrah!"</p>

-

-<p>And Maggie's hands unclasped to clap as she took up the cry—"Hurrah!"</p>

-

-<p>On first recognising "the young Squire," Bill had come to a sudden

-halt, and watched from a safe distance, half a mind to turn back; then

-he had come slowly on. Now he, too, took up the cheer with his whole

-might, and shouted—"Hooray!—Hooray!" as he ran excitedly forward.</p>

-

-<p>A minute more, Dick was at the bank, and Maggie had sprung forward

-to help him out, whilst Blazer ran round about them in great glee,

-claiming praise for his heroic rescue, and splashing everybody with the

-water of his coat. Bill hung back an instant; then he, too, sprang to

-Maggie's side, and seizing Dick by the other arm, soon had him up on to

-the bank.</p>

-

-<p>A wretched-looking object was Dick as he sat up and gazed round about

-him. His wet clothes clung tightly to his benumbed limbs; his teeth

-chattered with cold and fright; water dripped from his hair; and his

-face and knuckles were a mass of cuts and bruises, from their recent

-acquaintance with Bill's fists.</p>

-

-<p>"You had better get home as fast as you can," advised Hal.</p>

-

-<p>But Dick had caught sight of Bill, whom in his anxiety to get safely on

-terra firma he had not recognised.</p>

-

-<p>"I'll give him a taste of it first," he muttered between his teeth.</p>

-

-<p>"Better go home and get some gruel," was Bill's contemptuous rejoinder.

-"Golly how your teeth clack!"</p>

-

-<p>This taunt put the last limit to endurance. The blood rushed to Dick's

-face, and his fists clenched; then to his feet, he flew at Bill.</p>

-

-<p>But before he could get at him, Hal had guessed how matters stood, and

-raised one crutch between them; and the two antagonists stood glowering

-at each other across this forbidding barrier.</p>

-

-<p>Bill burst out laughing; but Hal quickly put his crutch to the ground

-and swung himself between them. "Look here," said he, "nobody ever

-thinks of fighting before a girl; besides, when a fellow has just

-escaped from drowning, he ought to have something else to think of; and

-so ought you," he added, turning round on Bill.</p>

-

-<p>"He might ha' been in t' other world by now," jeered Bill, with an

-attempt at drollery.</p>

-

-<p>But Hal turned round on him with dignified reproof. "A boy who has just

-seen a life saved ought to know better than to mock," said he. "It's a

-shame," he added, looking from one to another with a pained expression,

-"when boys who have both done wrong want to tear each other to pieces

-for it. They ought to be too much ashamed. So get home both of you, and

-let us have no more such unchristian behaviour."</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image025" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image025.jpg" alt="image025"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>At this point in the young Squire's discourse, Blazer, probably

-considering that he had not received due notice for his deed of valour,

-began to growl and whine. The consciences of both boys being somewhat

-overloaded, however, they interpreted his remarks as referring to

-themselves; and not desiring to provoke him further, they dropped their

-hostile attitude.</p>

-

-<p>Bill was the first to make a move.</p>

-

-<p>"You ought to shake hands," said Hal, as he turned to slink off.</p>

-

-<p>But Bill's magnanimity was not capable of rising to this degree; and he

-felt as if he was being quite as generous as any one could reasonably

-expect in allowing poor dripping Dick to slip through his fingers in

-this easy way.</p>

-

-<p>Hal stood gazing after Dick's retreating figure, as he ran off home

-at the top of his speed. "It's a pity that boys don't care more about

-being like Jesus Christ," observed he. "Of course, it's a sort of thing

-that takes a lot of trying, and boys naturally don't like trouble. They

-like play a good deal better. But then they ought to consider that

-they won't have to play when they're men; and what sort of men will

-they make, if they don't choose a good copy? As to it's being hard to

-imitate such a grand example as Jesus Christ—well! It isn't as if you'd

-got it all to do by yourself. There's the Holy Spirit, you know, who is

-promised in the Bible to all those who want to get along well."</p>

-

-<p>Having delivered himself of these originally expressed sentiments, Hal

-also set forward; Maggie, with a thoughtful expression on her brow,

-walking by his side, and Blazer trotting on in front.</p>

-

-<p>"Girls don't care about it either," said she presently.</p>

-

-<p>"And that," added Hal, "is why there are so many bad men and women in

-the world. I should like it, when I'm Squire, if all the people on my

-estate were Christians—real ones, you know; not shams. You'd see the

-difference! It would entirely do away with policemen and gaols, and all

-that sort of thing."</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image026" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image026.jpg" alt="image026"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<h3><a id="Chapter_19">CHAPTER XIX.</a></h3>

-

-<p class="t3">

-<b>REVENGE.</b><br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>ALL this while the Squire had been waiting for Dick in vain. At length,

-his usual luncheon-time being nearly half an hour past, he gave up, and

-set off down the hill, still thinking that he might meet him by the

-way; but desiring Mrs. Crozier, if such should not prove the case, to

-send Dick up to the Manor House that afternoon.</p>

-

-<p>This, however, Mrs. Crozier had no chance of doing. Hurrying up the

-fields from the riverbank, it had occurred to Dick that it would be

-more prudent to dry his clothes before going home; so, taking a short

-cut across the grass to the back of the Manor Farm, he made his way

-to a haystack he knew of, which had been partly cut away on the sunny

-side. Here, stripping off his garments, and spreading them out in the

-sun, he covered himself up with the loose, warm hay, to wait and think

-over the story by which he would account for his absence from dinner,

-and his battered face.</p>

-

-<p>Meanwhile Hal, hearing the church clock strike half-past one, had left

-Maggie to take Blazer home, and had struck across the fields and past

-the farm. Hot and flushed with hurrying, he arrived at the lodge gate

-just as the Squire came in sight.</p>

-

-<p>Hal pulled up to wait for him, glad of breathing space.</p>

-

-<p>The Squire was walking briskly. "We shall deserve a scolding for

-keeping lunch waiting," said he as he came up. "How come you to be late

-too?—And what have you done with the other boys? By the by, have you

-seen anything of Dick Crozier?"</p>

-

-<p>"That's what made me late," answered Hal, guessing that his grandfather

-must have met Dick in his deplorable condition. "He had enough of his

-ducking, I should think."</p>

-

-<p>The Squire stared. "Enough of what?"</p>

-

-<p>"But you met him?" said Hal.</p>

-

-<p>"Not a bit of it," returned the Squire. "I've been waiting this hour or

-more in Mrs. Crozier's parlour to lecture him."</p>

-

-<p>Then Hal told his tale.</p>

-

-<p>Bill also had heard half-past one go, and had suddenly recollected that

-he was on a promise of good behaviour. Now, he was sorely perplexed

-what to do. It was clear enough that his behaviour was not exactly

-good; but how to tell his story to his own credit, or, in fact, to get

-believed at all, Bill was entirely at a loss. So, hungry as he was, he

-did what cowards always do—kept out of it, and went wandering about the

-fields behind the farm.</p>

-

-<p>"I don't see much in Bill's fine promises," remarked his mother, as her

-husband set foot on the threshold; "for all the Squire made himself

-surety for the boy. He ought to ha' been in this hour ago; and I ha'n't

-set eyes on him since nine o'clock, when he went down to school."</p>

-

-<p>"'Spare the rod and spoil the child,'" quoted Mumby, sitting down

-heavily in his accustomed corner by the chimney-piece. "I wouldn't ha'

-let him off so easy for anybody else; but if the worst comes to the

-worst, why, I must reckon up wi' him, for all the Squires in the world.

-A father's got his dooty to his boy to think of first; and I ain't

-agoin' to shirk mine, not for all the firmament." After which paternal

-speech, he fell to work in silence on the steaming lump of steak

-pudding which his wife served out to him.</p>

-

-<p>"Now, wife," said he, as he pushed his plate back and got up, "when

-Bill turns up, you don't give him a scrap o' this, d'ye mind?

-Dinner-time's when I come in, and, if he ain't ready for his'n then,

-why, he can go without, or else make shift to fill himself with bread."

-And having lighted his pipe, he went out again.</p>

-

-<p>But Bill, having once given way to his cowardly fears, grew less and

-less brave about showing his face at home, and, as he was getting

-dreadfully famished, he began to wonder how he could get a meal. He

-thought of the gap in the hedge; but that was almost within sight of

-home, and the men would be just returning to work. Besides, Bill had

-had enough of stealing eggs. But it struck him that he might find

-some small birds' eggs to suck. At the bottom of the field in the

-hedge which bounded it from the orchard were some trees of which the

-blackbirds were particularly fond; and to these Bill now directed his

-steps, in hopes that he might find something to stay his hunger.</p>

-

-<p>He was unusually lucky too. The first nest which he found contained

-four or five fledglings; but the second and the third had each five

-eggs in it, all of which he sucked.</p>

-

-<p>"Better than nothing," said Bill to himself, as he threw the last shell

-down, and prepared to descend the trunk again. "It'd take a lot o' them

-to make up a goose's egg, though."</p>

-

-<p>But in moving on to the next group of trees, Bill passed the haystack,

-and, casting a look round, to see that no one was about, whom should he

-discover but his old enemy, lying fast asleep in the hay, his clothes

-spread out around him on the grass to dry?</p>

-

-<p>Once out of his wet garments, and snugly covered up, with the hot May

-sun shining down upon him, Dick had soon become so helplessly drowsy,

-that before the lapse of many minutes, he had become oblivious to

-everything, and was soundly sleeping off the effects of his cold plunge.</p>

-

-<p>Bill stood still a moment in sheer amazement; then he tiptoed nearer,

-with his neck outstretched, laughing to himself, to think how

-completely luck had placed Dick in his power. A moment more, and he had

-darted forward, gathered up the clothes, and, as swiftly as caution

-would allow, had sped up the ladder with them.</p>

-

-<p>"Now you're done, my fine fellow, or my name ain't Bill!" said he to

-himself, as he lodged his bundle, and took up his position at the top

-of the ladder, where the thatched slant was cut away. "Let's see how

-you'll look running home without your clothes!"</p>

-

-<p>But an hour passed, and Dick did not rouse.</p>

-

-<p>At first Bill had forgotten his hunger; now he began to cast longing

-looks at the branches of the trees beyond the stack. It was already

-seven or eight hours since he breakfasted; and he was beginning to find

-revenge rather painful.</p>

-

-<p>Another half-hour went by.</p>

-

-<p>Bill's patience was nearly exhausted, but Dick was still sound asleep,

-entirely unconscious of the trick that had been played him.</p>

-

-<p>"I wonder," exclaimed Bill, "how long he's wound up for!"</p>

-

-<p>But the idea of Dick's awakening only suggested other difficulties;

-for the longer Bill put off going home, the less pleasant he found the

-prospect of having to face it out in the end. It would certainly make

-ten times worse of it, if this should come out. Perhaps, on the whole,

-it would be better to descend at once, and leave Dick to make the

-discovery of his loss alone; but Bill somehow could not give up the fun.</p>

-

-<p>"Let's rouse him up," said he at length; and pulling out some of

-the osier switches with which the thatch was pegged, he broke them

-into bits, and commenced pelting at Dick's upturned face. The first

-half-dozen missed, but presently one hit the mark. Dick stirred in his

-sleep, and turned over on his back, baring one arm and poking one foot

-up through the hay.</p>

-

-<p>Bill chuckled, and sent another missile straight for his face. This

-time it missed; but the next hit hard, right in the centre of his

-forehead. Dick's eyes opened, then dropped to again, and he turned over

-on his other side. Bill aimed again, and hit him in the ear. This time,

-up went one of Dick's hands to rub the place, and he awoke outright.</p>

-

-<p>First of all, he stared round in a bewildered sort of way, as if unable

-to make out his surroundings; then he examined his bare arm, and pushed

-the hay back from his chest, as if to remind himself that he was

-without garments. Finally he sat upright, the dry covering falling back

-from his arms and shoulders.</p>

-

-<p>Now was Bill's time of triumph. Feasting on Dick's look of utter

-dismay, he no longer even felt his hunger. The very thought of Dick's

-having to get from the farm to the top of the hill beyond the Manor

-House without a rag to his back, was ample reward for all his waiting

-and fasting. Bill's revenge was so delicious to the taste, that it was

-all he could do to restrain his chuckles of delight. But Bill was not

-going to spoil the fun. By a strong effort of self-control, he mastered

-his merriment, and sat still to watch what course his unfortunate

-victim would adopt.</p>

-

-<p>Whilst Dick had been snugly rolled up in the hay, the Manor House boys

-and their cousins, not satisfied with their morning's game at hare and

-hounds, had been for a long walk round in the opposite direction; and

-just as Dick sat up, hardly able to believe his eyes, yet guessing who

-had played him the trick, and wondering what in the world he was to do,

-up they came along the favourite pathway from the riverbank across the

-fields.</p>

-

-<p>Bill from the top of the stack not only heard, but saw them trooping

-merrily along—Hal, on his crutches in the midst, keeping up bravely

-with the rest. Dick, also, from the shelter of the stack, heard the

-sound of their gay laughter, as they chattered by the way; and it just

-flashed across his mind that here was an opportunity to get helped

-out of his awkward predicament. Only the situation was so utterly

-ridiculous, that natural pride made him shrink from exposure. He was

-still hesitating, unable to make up his mind whether to call to them or

-to wait till dark should lend a friendly cloak to flight, when he heard

-Sigismund shout, "Who'll climb a haystack?"</p>

-

-<p>Will took up the challenge, and off they raced across the grass, Hal

-following at his quickest.</p>

-

-<p>Will and Sigismund were first at the stack. They had scarcely reached

-it, however, when there was a grand outcry, and a tremendous explosion

-of laughter; for there, bolt upright, and stark naked to the waist, sat

-Dick Crozier, with the most comical look of helplessness upon his face.</p>

-

-<p>"Hullo!" exclaimed Will.</p>

-

-<p>"Whatever are you up to?" cried Sigismund.</p>

-

-<p>"A leaf out of Robinson Crusoe," yelled one of the cousins, holding his

-sides; "a naked savage!"</p>

-

-<p>"A what?" shouted Hal, putting on all the speed he could command.</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image027" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image027.jpg" alt="image027"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>Dick had turned red all over.</p>

-

-<p>"He's taking a sun bath," jeered Will.</p>

-

-<p>"They say it's very salutary," added one of the others, his eyes

-running over with merriment.</p>

-

-<p>"Don't let the police catch you at it, that's all," said another, as

-Dick tried to scrape the hay together round him.</p>

-

-<p>Sigismund had turned back towards Hal, who by this time was nearly at

-the spot. "It's Dick Crozier," called he.</p>

-

-<p>"Dick Crozier!" echoed Hal. "What's the matter?"</p>

-

-<p>The next instant, however, the question answered itself, and for a

-brief space Hal was at a loss whether to laugh or look serious.</p>

-

-<p>"But where are your clothes?" asked he at length, in a tone of

-incredulity.</p>

-

-<p>"Goodness knows," answered Dick snappishly, "Gone."</p>

-

-<p>"But how did you get out of them?" asked Hal further.</p>

-

-<p>"Took 'em off," said Dick in a surly voice.</p>

-

-<p>"Queer place to choose," put in Will.</p>

-

-<p>"But what have you done with them?" asked Hal, utterly at a loss.</p>

-

-<p>"Nothing!" exclaimed Dick indignantly. "They're gone."</p>

-

-<p>"Gone?"</p>

-

-<p>"Can't you understand!" broke out Dick, with injured dignity most

-ludicrous to behold. "Some one's taken 'em."</p>

-

-<p>The others roared with laughter anew; but the whole thing suddenly

-flashed upon Hal. Dick, afraid to go home, had conceived the idea of

-drying his clothes in the sun; and Bill, finding him there asleep, had

-played him this waggish but shameful trick.</p>

-

-<p>Hal didn't laugh.</p>

-

-<p>"Run for some clothes, one of you," ordered he; "to the cottages will

-be quickest. Bill shall answer for this—the mean scoundrel!" added he,

-in a tone of voice that changed the expression of that youth's face in

-a twinkling, and made the others look in awe at Hal.</p>

-

-<p>Sigismund, always ready to do his elder brother's bidding, dashed off,

-followed by one of his cousins; but at that instant, Will, recollecting

-what they had come for, glanced upward, and caught sight of Bill.</p>

-

-<p>"Hullo!" cried he. "There he is! Look! Look! Up there!"</p>

-

-<p>All eyes were instantly directed to the top of the stack. But Bill,

-suddenly arriving at the determination that it would be more prudent to

-make off, had scrambled to the ridge, and over; and all of him except

-his hands had disappeared.</p>

-

-<p>"Why! He's got the clothes up there!" exclaimed one of the cousins,

-catching sight of the bundle.</p>

-

-<p>"I'm going up," said Will, setting foot on the ladder.</p>

-

-<p>"Stop, stop!" cried Hal, afraid of a tussle at such a height from the

-ground, and half hoping that some one would come back from the cottages

-with Sigismund, and see fair play. "Let be till Sidge and Watt come

-back."</p>

-

-<p>But Bill had caught Will's words like a shot, and, determined upon

-escape at all costs, had let go the ridge. Almost the same instant they

-heard a heavy thud upon the ground.</p>

-

-<p>"What was that?" cried Will and the two cousins in a breath.</p>

-

-<p>Hal turned white.</p>

-

-<p>"He has never jumped it?" cried he.</p>

-

-<p>Not a sound came from the other side of the stack; but there was

-scarcely a doubt as to what had happened. For a moment none of them

-dared stir; then Hal put one crutch forward, and nerved himself for the

-awful possibility, praying as he went,—"God grant he isn't dead!"</p>

-

-<p>On the grass, a yard or so from the foot of the stack, lay Bill, white

-as a sheet. At first sight Hal uttered a cry of horror, thinking that

-his worst fears were realized. But at the sound of his voice Bill's

-eyes opened.</p>

-

-<p>"My leg!" moaned he. "My leg!"</p>

-

-<p>The right leg was doubled backwards underneath him, broken at the thigh.</p>

-

-<p>"Here!" shouted Hal. "Help! Where are you all? Won't anybody lend a

-hand?"</p>

-

-<p>The others had followed him, however, and were closer than he knew

-of. Half-a-dozen hands were instantly stretched out; Bill was quickly

-lifted, and the injured limb straightened.</p>

-

-<p>"Bring him round on to the hay," directed Hal. "He'll lie easier there,

-whilst you go for help."</p>

-

-<p>So Bill was carried round to where Dick sat—now shivering with terror

-and alarm.</p>

-

-<p>"He'll want a stretcher," said Hal next. "You three can't carry him;

-and I should think it will be a case for the Infirmary."</p>

-

-<p>The three boys declared themselves quite equal to the task of carrying

-Bill, and were anxious to start at once. But as they were in the midst

-of a warm debate with Hal, who stood out for the superior merits of a

-stretcher, the sound of footsteps announced the return of Sigismund and

-Watt.</p>

-

-<p>"Grandfather is behind," shouted Sigismund triumphantly, as he

-advanced. "Now we shall see fair play."</p>

-

-<p>The Squire had been up the hill to Mrs. Crozier's again, after hearing

-Hal's account of Dick's ducking; and perplexed at finding him still

-absent, had proceeded to Mrs. Mumby's cottage, to hear what Bill had to

-tell on the subject. Learning from Sigismund the fresh turn of affairs,

-he now at once followed to the scene of action, Mrs. Mumby hurrying

-after, vowing punishment on Bill for this fresh escapade, and carrying

-his Sunday suit for Dick.</p>

-

-<p>Seeing Mrs. Mumby, Hal, with a quick thought for her mother's heart, at

-once started forward.</p>

-

-<p>"Don't be frightened," called he, as he swung himself towards her;

-"it's only his leg. Bill went and tried to jump down from the top, and

-he has broken his thigh."</p>

-

-<p>Of course, as neither Mrs. Mumby nor the Squire knew anything about the

-"king o' the haystack" position which Bill had for the last three hours

-enjoyed, further explanation was called for. But Hal soon put them in

-possession of the principal facts—how Will had caught sight of the

-young rascal, and started to go up after him; and how Bill, resolved

-not to be caught, had left his hold and slidden down with a rush.</p>

-

-<p>In another minute, Will and Sigismund were racing to the farmyard, with

-the Squire's orders that a cart be brought round at once, to convey

-Bill to the Infirmary.</p>

-

-<p>"Well, young man," said the Squire, as he stood over Bill awaiting

-their return, "I should think that you have had lessons enough by this

-time. For, remember, this all comes of getting through a hedge to steal

-goose eggs."</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<figure class="figcenter" id="image028" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">

-  <img class="w100" src="images/image028.jpg" alt="image028"></figure>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<h3><a id="Chapter_20">CHAPTER XX.</a></h3>

-

-<p class="t3">

-<b>IN MEMORY OF FARMER BLUFF.</b><br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>A FEW hours later, Bill had made acquaintance with one of the narrow

-beds in the accident ward of the Riverbridge Infirmary, where—after

-going through the exhausting process of having his clothes removed,

-and his leg put in splints—he fell asleep and dreamt all sorts of

-extraordinary things. Amongst others, that the Squire had caught him

-stealing eggs in the hay, and had him nailed out on a flat board—like

-the stoats on the lower boarding of the barn; and that when he tried

-to get away, Farmer Bluff's dog came and barked at him. Then the dog

-suddenly changed into a woman with a snow-cloud on her head, who

-clapped ice on his forehead, to make him forget for a little while.

-This imaginary ice being none other than the hand of the kind-hearted

-night nurse, under the touch of whose cool palm Bill from time to time

-forgot his feverish struggles to toss about. And so the morning dawned;

-the first of forty days, or more, that the Bill would have to spend

-upon that narrow bed.</p>

-

-<p>In the meantime, Dick, arrayed in Bill's Sunday suit, and escorted by

-the Squire, had gone off up the hill, leaving his half-dry clothes in

-Mrs. Mumby's charge.</p>

-

-<p>Arrived at home, he was at once put to bed between blankets, and

-made to swallow a large basinful of hot gruel, which would have been

-unpalatable enough, had he not been so long fasting that anything of

-the nature of food was welcome.</p>

-

-<p>Between the gruel and the blankets, he was soon perspiring violently,

-and in a sound sleep, from which he did not rouse until long

-after Bill—in accordance with the early rule of the Infirmary—had

-breakfasted. Then, feeling very much dispirited and out of sorts, and

-looking a wretched object, with his bruised and battered face and

-fists, he dressed and came downstairs, more thankful than words can

-describe, to find his father already gone, and as grateful for the

-message he had left behind, excusing him from school for the day, on

-condition that he did not stir outside the house.</p>

-

-<p>Dick, as may readily be imagined, willingly accepted the condition,

-and remained at home, answering his mother's numerous questions, and

-enduring her reproaches as stoically as he could; and looking forward

-with great misgivings to the lecture which, he knew only too well, he

-could not hope to escape, on his father's return from business.</p>

-

-<p>Next morning, he went back to school as usual, and after several days

-of quizzing and jeering on the part of his schoolmates, things fell

-back into their ordinary course. By degrees the cuts and bruises

-disappeared; and but for two things Dick might perhaps have soon

-succeeded in forgetting the whole occurrence—at any rate until Bill's

-discharge from the Infirmary brought him home, with one leg a full inch

-shorter than the other, to limp for life—a perpetual reminder of the

-whole disgraceful affair.</p>

-

-<p>Meanwhile, Dick had been forced to abide by the harsh, though just

-words with which his father had concluded his lecture that evening.</p>

-

-<p>"You pride yourself on common sense," said Mr. Crozier, "and have on

-more than one occasion rebelled against seeing by the light of my

-maturer wisdom. Common sense should have taught you that no person,

-young or old, can violate the laws of God, but they are sure to reap

-due punishment. Bill has learnt the wholesome truth in a manner that I

-hope he will not easily forget. It will be my duty to make sure that

-you remember too. I had intended taking you on the river this coming

-Bank Holiday, to give you your first lesson in rowing. But since you

-have so persistently and dishonourably disregarded my injunctions with

-regard to it, I shall put off doing so another year, or until I find

-that you have learnt obedience."</p>

-

-<p>As time went on, Dick found this decision of his father's harder than

-he had even thought; for several of his schoolmates had boats upon the

-river, and every invitation to their water-parties had to be refused.</p>

-

-<p>The hardest time of all was when Hal invited him to his birthday picnic.</p>

-

-<p>Hal's birthday was always the closing fête of the summer holidays; and

-this year the Squire had planned an excursion to some picturesque old

-ruins, eight or ten miles up stream. A large pleasure-boat had been

-hired, with men to tow or row, as convenience required; and there were

-grand preparations to be undertaken in the Manor House kitchen for the

-rural spread. A number of cousins, boys and girls, were to join them,

-and Hal—as hero of the day—was invested with carte blanche to invite as

-many as the boat would accommodate.</p>

-

-<p>"Ask just whom you please," the Squire said to him, knowing that he

-might rely on Hal's good taste. "The more the merrier, so long as we

-can see our water-mark. I want your picnic to be a grand success."</p>

-

-<p>Hal instantly thought of Dick.</p>

-

-<p>Now, it was not surprising that Dick, heartily ashamed of the figure he

-had cut on the unfortunate afternoon of Bill's accident, should have

-so carefully avoided Hal ever since, that they had not once so much

-as exchanged nods. The fact was, Dick hardly thought that Hal would

-care to speak to him again. But Hal, much as he disapproved of Dick's

-conduct, was not the sort of boy to throw him up on that account; and

-guessing that shame was most probably Dick's chief reason for holding

-aloof, he was determined to do his utmost towards bringing about a

-correct understanding. And here was his opportunity.</p>

-

-<p>The first thing was to waylay Dick. This was not difficult. Hal had

-only to watch at the plantation palings till he saw Dick coming down

-the hill; then lay in wait inside the gate till just as he came up, and

-pop out on him before he had a chance to run.</p>

-

-<p>Dick looked "caught," and tried to get away; but Hal was not to be

-done in that fashion. He button-holed him without ado, and stated his

-business.</p>

-

-<p>Dick stammered an excuse; but Hal saw, by the blank look on his face,

-that there was something behind it. A little pressing brought it out.</p>

-

-<p>"And it's no go," said Dick regretfully. "You might as well waste your

-strength trying to move a mountain as my father when his mind is made

-up."</p>

-

-<p>Hal offered to see what he could do to soften Mr. Crozier's heart; but

-Dick shook his head.</p>

-

-<p>"It's no go," repeated he; "and I shall have to stay away."</p>

-

-<p>So all that glorious September day Dick spent in vain regrets that but

-for his own folly, he might have been one of Hal's merry birthday party.</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>But as the autumn days fell on the woods, a shadow settled on the

-cottage by the gate, where Farmer Bluff was drawing towards his death.

-Death is not always dark. The end of life is sometimes like a glorious

-sunset, when the light of day sinks in triumphant promise of another

-dawn. But Farmer Bluff had sinned, and had never made the Bible

-promises his own.</p>

-

-<p>Hal often went to sit beside his bed.</p>

-

-<p>"The others play as well without me," he would say. "I'm not much good

-in games, you see; and I would rather come and help you bear your pain."</p>

-

-<p>"It's not so much the pain," the farmer said to him one day. "I'd go

-on bearing that. But they tell me that I'm going fast; and I can't see

-where. I've never been a praying man; and now it's dark. 'Prepare to

-meet thy God,' they say. How can a man prepare?—What can I do?—I've

-lost my right to think of ever getting Him to listen to my prayers; and

-I must go before His judgment-seat with all my sins upon my back."</p>

-

-<p>Hal was silent.</p>

-

-<p>"It's very sad," said he presently; "because, you see, you've wasted

-all the best part of your life. And I should think a man wouldn't like

-to have to go to God and ask to be taken into heaven, when he'd done

-so badly all along. Of course, there was the prodigal, who squandered

-all his father gave him so disgracefully; but you see, he was a young

-man, and he went back to work again as soon as the feast was over. The

-Bible doesn't say so; but it seems to me he'd work like two, whenever

-he remembered how his father ran to meet him, open-armed. You're more

-like the man who didn't come to work until the eleventh hour," added

-Hal thoughtfully.</p>

-

-<p>Farmer Bluff asked to have the passage read to him.</p>

-

-<p>"He got his penny just the same as all the rest, you see," said Hal,

-when he had finished it.</p>

-

-<p>But the sick man shook his head.</p>

-

-<p>"That's not like me," he said. "He worked one hour. I'm past that. I'm

-good for nothing; I've destroyed myself."</p>

-

-<p>And Hal went away grieved; for he felt the words were just. And

-yet—although he knew that God was ready to receive all those who turn

-to Him through Christ—he could not think of how to tell him so.</p>

-

-<p>But the following Sunday, as he sat beside the Squire in the

-high-backed Manor pew, his crutches either side of him, the "how" was

-made quite plain.</p>

-

-<p>"This is the work of God," the vicar read, "that ye believe on Him whom

-God hath sent."</p>

-

-<p>Will and Sigismund were very busy watching a wasp that had strayed in

-at one of the windows, and was making up its mind to settle on the

-velvet hangings of the pew. They glanced at Hal, but his thoughts were

-too much occupied with Farmer Bluff to notice any of their signs.</p>

-

-<p>All at once he seemed to see how it is faith in Christ alone that gives

-the sinner peace, when looking back repentant on a misspent life.</p>

-

-<p>He seemed to see, too, how that "faith" can be called "work," since "to

-be" alone enables man "to do."</p>

-

-<p>"I've got it, Farmer Bluff!" he cried, next time he went up to his

-room. "Believe in Jesus Christ,—that is 'the work of God;' and you can

-do that lying here. It's only to be sorry, and to trust in Christ, who

-died for us." And sitting down by him, he found the verse and read it

-out.</p>

-

-<p>"And I think," he added, "that perhaps in heaven God will give you

-something to do for Him, to make amends for what you left undone down

-here."</p>

-

-<p>The dying man lay still for some minutes; then a light broke over his

-face, and he repeated,—"Only to be sorry—He knows I'm truly sorry—and

-to trust in Christ—who died for me. That's all 'the work of God.'"</p>

-

-<p>And so, just when the bitter punishment of all his sins was near at

-hand, the Saviour's sacrifice brought peace and light; and Farmer Bluff

-began the life that might have been so full of fruit in this world and

-the next, had he but commenced it earlier.</p>

-

-<p>But next time Hal came upstairs to see him, he said he had been

-thinking there was one thing he could do. "I could warn some other

-sinner what an awful grief it is to go down to the grave with nothing

-but a wasted life," said he; "and maybe they might listen to a man who

-hasn't many days to live."</p>

-

-<p>So Hal brought Dick and Bill to see the dying man; and Farmer Bluff

-talked to them in a way that neither of the boys ever forgot.</p>

-

-<p>"There's one thing more I want to do before I die," said Farmer Bluff

-to Hal, when they were gone. "I feel the end is coming fast; another

-day I mayn't have strength. That mug. It's on the chest of drawers.

-Bring it me, will you?"</p>

-

-<p>Hal fetched the silver mug, and brought it to the bed.</p>

-

-<p>The old man took it in his hands and turned it over many times.</p>

-

-<p>"I want to give it to you," he said at length; "because I'd like it

-melted down. I wouldn't like to put the blame of all my folly on this

-silver mug; because the evil was inside me, in my evil heart, that

-nothing save the grace of God could change. But it seems like part of

-the old life. It stood there by my side and tempted me; and I should

-like to feel that when my body's underneath the grass, the old life is

-all done away. No matter what you make of it, so you promise me to have

-it melted down."</p>

-

-<p>"I promise," answered Hal.</p>

-

-<p>And the farmer put the mug into his hand.</p>

-

-<p>"Then there's Grip and Blazer," continued Farmer Bluff. "I've given

-Grip to Dobson there, next door; but Maggie and her mother very likely

-mayn't stay here, and Blazer is very much attached to you. I'd like to

-know he'll have a master when I'm gone."</p>

-

-<p>"And why not have the silver made into a collar for him?" cried Hal

-suddenly. "And he shall wear the mug upon his neck, in memory of you."</p>

-

-<p>So it was agreed; and Hal went home.</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>Hal never saw his old friend any more alive. Going home through heavy

-rain that afternoon, he caught a chill that forced him to stay indoors

-for several days; and one morning, before the week was out, a message

-came to say that at the break of dawn, poor Farmer Bluff's spirit had

-departed to its rest.</p>

-

-<p>The cottage by the wood was soon untenanted again. Maggie, through the

-Squire's interest, was got into an orphan school, where she soon gave

-promise of a bright and useful womanhood; and Mrs. Rust obtained a

-responsible place as housekeeper, where she went on saving up whatever

-she could spare, to lay by with the little sum of money left her by her

-brother at his death; so that when old age crept on she might not be a

-burden on her child.</p>

-

-<p><br></p>

-

-<p>Meanwhile, from the day when Blazer became Hal's property, the young

-Squire was seldom seen abroad without his dog; and on his neck,

-Blazer always wore a massive silver collar, bearing on one side his

-name and the four words—"Who saved two lives;" and on the other, the

-inscription—"In memory of his old master, Farmer Bluff."</p>

-

-<p>Thus reminded what a solemn charge is God's great gift of life, Hal

-went onward towards the time when his aged grandfather must follow

-Farmer Bluff, and leave the Manor in his hands.</p>

-

-<p>There is little hope that he will ever be robust enough to lead the

-steeplechase, or ride out in the morning mist behind the hounds.

-Probably he will never learn to do without his crutches, and will

-never be "a stalwart Englishman" to look upon. But his heart is brave

-and true; and these are things he does not much regret. His strong

-determination is to do his best in hunting out the sin and godlessness

-that work such havoc in the lives of men; and—God helping him—to be the

-foremost in the race that has the throne of heaven for its aim.</p>

-

-<p>But that time, he hopes, is still some years ahead.</p>

-

-<p>Meanwhile, he strives to gather wisdom as he grows; and since his

-copy—as he told Dick Crozier—is the perfect God-man, Jesus Christ,

-there is no doubt that he will grow to be a useful, honoured man, and

-at last receive the incorruptible crown.</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<p class="t3">

-THE END.<br>

-</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<p>PRINTED BY MORRISON AND GIBB LIMITED, EDINBURGH.</p>

-

-<p><br><br><br></p>

-

-<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 74082 ***</div>

-</body>

-</html>

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+    <meta charset="UTF-8">
+    <title>
+      Farmer Bluff's Dog Blazer or At the Eleventh Hour, by Florence E. Burch—A Project Gutenberg eBook
+    </title>
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+</head>
+<body>
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 74082 ***</div>
+
+<p>Transcriber's note: Unusual and inconsistent spelling is as printed.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image001" style="max-width: 33.8125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image001.jpg" alt="image001">
+</figure>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image002" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image002.jpg" alt="image002">
+</figure>
+<p class="t4">
+<b>THE GOOSE DUCKED HER HEAD, OPENED HER WINGS,</b><br>
+<b>AND RUSHED FORWARD WITH A SCREAM.</b><br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<h1>FARMER BLUFF'S<br>
+<br>
+DOG BLAZER</h1>
+
+<p class="t3">
+OR<br>
+</p>
+
+<p class="t1">
+AT THE ELEVENTH HOUR<br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+BY<br>
+</p>
+
+<p class="t1">
+FLORENCE E. BURCH<br>
+<br>
+</p>
+
+<p class="t4">
+AUTHOR OF "JOSH JOBSON," "RAGGED SIMON," ETC.<br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br><br></p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<em>WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY GORDON BROWNE</em><br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br><br></p>
+
+<p class="t4">
+LONDON<br>
+</p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY<br>
+</p>
+
+<p class="t4">
+56 PATERNOSTER ROW AND 65 ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD<br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image003" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image003.jpg" alt="image003"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p class="t3b">
+CONTENTS.<br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>CHAP.</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p><a href="#Chapter_1">I. IN SEARCH OF A COMPANION</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#Chapter_2">II. GRIP AND BLAZER</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#Chapter_3">III. FARMER BLUFF</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#Chapter_4">IV. THE SQUIRE'S GRANDSONS</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#Chapter_5">V. "WHATEVER IS, IS RIGHT"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#Chapter_6">VI. THE YOUNG SQUIRE</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#Chapter_7">VII. THE SHORTEST CUT</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#Chapter_8">VIII. "CONSCIENCE MAKES COWARDS OF US ALL"</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#Chapter_9">IX. RENEWING ACQUAINTANCE</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#Chapter_10">X. THE INQUEST</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#Chapter_11">XI. AN ARTIST-DETECTIVE</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#Chapter_12">XII. BILL'S FUTURE</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#Chapter_13">XIII. THE YOUNG SQUIRE ASSUMES A NEW CHARACTER</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#Chapter_14">XIV. THE VERY ONE</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#Chapter_15">XV. UNDER SENTENCE</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#Chapter_16">XVI. A RUNAWAY'S STORY</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#Chapter_17">XVII. LOOSE AGAIN</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#Chapter_18">XVIII. TO THE RESCUE</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#Chapter_19">XIX. REVENGE</a></p>
+
+<p><a href="#Chapter_20">XX. IN MEMORY OF FARMER BLUFF</a></p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image004" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image004.jpg" alt="image004"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p class="t2">
+<b>FARMER BLUFF'S DOG BLAZER.</b><br>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<h3><a id="Chapter_1">CHAPTER I.</a></h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<b>IN SEARCH OF A COMPANION.</b><br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>"I CAN'T see why I shouldn't use my own common sense," said Dick
+Crozier to himself one fine morning, as he sauntered along the lane.
+"What else was it given to me for, I should like to know?"</p>
+
+<p>It was a holiday, and Dick had a mind to enjoy himself. Now it happened
+that Dick's idea of enjoyment on this particular morning did not quite
+agree with his father's. Before leaving home, Mr. Crozier had given him
+particular injunctions not to extend his walk beyond the common, and
+not to go near the river.</p>
+
+<p>"Another time," said he, "I shall have leisure to teach you how to
+manage a boat. Then I shall not be afraid to trust you; but until then
+I would rather you kept away."</p>
+
+<p>Dick ventured to argue the point. "Another time," he mightn't have a
+holiday. His parents had only recently removed into the neighbourhood;
+and he felt pretty certain that his father would put him to school as
+soon as ever they got settled in the new place.</p>
+
+<p>"No time like the present," said Dick to himself, as he tried to
+shake his father's determination. "To-day is my own; no knowing whose
+to-morrow may be."</p>
+
+<p>But when a wise father has really made up his mind, his determination
+is not to be shaken.</p>
+
+<p>"You must be content to let me judge what is best for the present,"
+said Mr. Crozier. "When you are older, you will see that I was right."</p>
+
+<p>So Dick had to submit—outwardly, at any rate; and as soon as he had
+watched his father disappear round the corner towards the railway, away
+he walked in the opposite direction, grumbling to himself as he went.</p>
+
+<p>It was not a morning for grumbling. The time of year was the end of
+March. The wind, having made the discovery that all its roar and
+bluster could not stop the trees and flowers from coming out to meet
+the spring, had gone to sleep, and left them to enjoy the sunshine till
+the April showers came on. Birds were singing blithely on the boughs,
+and even a few humble-bees were to be seen riding through the air with
+an important buzz, as if they felt that they had got things their own
+way at last; whilst their working relatives flew hither and thither in
+quest of honey, with a sharp-toned hum that plainly said—"We must be
+busy."</p>
+
+<p>Dick heard them, and stopped grumbling. It was too bad to be in an
+ill-humour whilst everything else—from the kingcups in the hedge to the
+larks in the sky—was so full of enjoyment. It was not even as if all
+the ill-humour in the world could alter what his father had said. So
+he just gave one or two cuts at the hedge with the stick in his hand
+as a final protest, and began to whistle. A few minutes later he was
+climbing along a grassy bank, holding by the wooden palings at the top.</p>
+
+<p>There was a plantation on the other side of these palings, and just
+then a clock in a little tower, with a golden weathercock, struck nine.
+Dick had heard his father speak of this house as the residence of the
+Lord of the Manor, so he stopped to have a peep at it through the trees.</p>
+
+<p>It was a large, white stone building, with balconies to the upper
+windows, supported on twisted pillars, so as to form a shady verandah
+in front of the lower rooms. A smooth lawn, green as emerald and soft
+as velvet, sloped up to the gravelled terrace; and behind the house,
+the grass slanted away to an iron hurdle-fence, within which deer were
+grazing. Beyond was a little copse, where pines and Scotch firs showed
+dark against the pale green mist of leaf-buds on the other trees. A
+gate leading into this copse was painted red; and Dick now noticed that
+all the gates and railings about the place were of the same unusual
+colour—which formed a very pretty contrast with the grass.</p>
+
+<p>As he clung to the fence, making these observations, a French window at
+one end of the verandah opened, and three boys trooped out, followed
+by a lady, whom Dick took to be their mother. She was young, and
+very beautiful—or so Dick thought, as she stepped into the sunlight,
+shading her eyes with one hand, to watch them off; so beautiful that,
+for the moment, his eyes seem riveted. But only for a moment. The boys
+no sooner reached the steps than Dick's eyes left her for them. The
+foremost two bounded down, three or four steps at a time, leaving the
+third one far behind; and Dick now perceived that the poor fellow went
+upon crutches, and that upon one sole he wore an iron stand, which
+raised it full two inches from the ground, whilst the other barely
+reached so low. In spite of this, he was considerably shorter than his
+brothers; and Dick immediately concluded that he was the youngest of
+the three.</p>
+
+<p>"Poor fellow!" said he to himself. "I shouldn't care to be like that. I
+daresay, though, they're good to him,"' he added, as the others pulled
+up short and waited for the cripple, who swung himself carefully down,
+step by step.</p>
+
+<p>But Dick little guessed how hard it is to "be good" to a boy who has to
+go at a snail's pace, when you yourself have the strength to run and
+jump. He didn't even notice how the others continually walked a step
+ahead, nor how the cripple laboured to keep up with them. Neither did
+he guess how tiring it was to get along so fast. Presently, however,
+something attracted the attention of the three boys—an early butterfly
+it must have been. The cripple saw it first, and nodded towards it, and
+forthwith off the others raced, and left him resting on his crutches
+watching them. Then Dick understood a little more clearly how hard it
+was for him; for his brothers entirely forgot him in their wild, mad
+chase, and he was left alone.</p>
+
+<p>He followed them a minute with his eyes, then turned and looked towards
+the terrace; but his mother was not even there to wave her hand. She
+had gone in.</p>
+
+<p>It came into Dick's head to wonder whether the poor fellow could see
+him there above the fence. He had half a mind to whistle. Dick—with
+nothing else to do—could very well spare time for half an hour's chat
+to cheer his loneliness. But just then he remembered who this cripple
+was, and how presumptuous it might be thought to dream of showing pity
+for a son of the great man to whom all the land about belonged. And as
+the other boys, panting and puffing, cap in hand, returned just then,
+the question was decided once for all. Dick watched them out of sight
+behind the avenue of trees that led to the lodge, then he jumped down
+from the bank and went his way, turning now and then to see if they
+were following.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image005" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image005.jpg" alt="image005"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<h3><a id="Chapter_2">CHAPTER II.</a></h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<b>GRIP AND BLAZER.</b><br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>A LITTLE further on, the road emerged upon a green; and at the back
+of this green there was a farm. The house stood back behind the yard,
+which was hidden from view by tall bushes; and half inside the yard,
+half outside upon the green, was a pond, where ducks were swimming
+about in search of dainty bits.</p>
+
+<p>This was the Manor Farm. The man who held it was the Squire's bailiff,
+Dick had heard his father say. He went up to the gate to look, rather
+wondering what sort of a thing it was to be bailiff to so great a man,
+and whether he had any boys.</p>
+
+<p>A shaggy-looking dog, dozing in the sun before his kennel, sprang to
+his feet with a loud bark as Dick approached, rattling his chain and
+growling, as if to warn him not to come too near. Finding Dick paid no
+heed, he jumped up on his kennel and set, up barking so vociferously
+that another dog behind the house took up the cause. Next minute a
+servant, wondering what could be amiss, and probably suspecting tramps,
+opened a side door and came round the corner of the house to look. At
+the same instant, a man with a pitchfork in his hand appeared from the
+other corner of the house.</p>
+
+<p>"Hey! Grip, old boy," called he; "what's up? You'll upset the firmament
+with your row."</p>
+
+<p>Exactly what he meant by this it would be hard to say. He had caught
+the word up from the Bible, as something made "in the beginning," and
+therefore very "firm;" so probably it seemed to him the most that any
+one could do in the upsetting line.</p>
+
+<p>Anyhow, the dog seemed to understand the rebuke. He gave one or two
+more barks, then jumped down off his kennel with an injured air; and:
+his colleague of the back premises, finding he was pacified, gave in
+too, and so the hubbub ceased.</p>
+
+<p>"What was up wi' him?" said the man, coming a pace or two nearer, and
+resting on his pitchfork. "There's now't amiss, so fur's I can see."
+For Dick had left the gate, and gone to watch the ducks.</p>
+
+<p>The servant shook her head. "Like his master," returned she; "always
+kicking up a fuss for nothing in the world. Some folks seem as if they
+can't be happy else; and quadrupeds is much the same, I s'pose."</p>
+
+<p>"Belike," answered the man, with a laugh. "But if that's so, why,
+Blazer's the master's dog! My word! I wouldn't like to try his fangs;
+he'd tear the firmament to shreds."</p>
+
+<p>With this characteristic remark, he shouldered his fork, and, turning
+on his heel, went back to his work in the rick-yard.</p>
+
+<p>The servant stood a minute at the door looking about her; then she,
+too, turned and went inside, shutting to the door, but throwing up the
+window, as if this taste of sunshine had made her long for the free air.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile Dick had reached the other gate; for the farmyard had an
+entrance at each side of the pond, so that carts could come in either
+way. Here he stopped again; but this time Grip took no notice beyond
+raising his nose off his paws a second or two and blinking, to show
+that he was awake; then he composed himself again, or pretended to—just
+to give the enemy a chance of showing his weak side. But Dick was not
+to be deceived that way, nor had he any thoughts of invading Master
+Grip's territory.</p>
+
+<p>After standing still a few minutes, taking observations of the
+picturesque old house, with its latticed windows and its long,
+red-tiled, gabled roof, he was just about to go his way, when he was
+suddenly startled by a most unearthly whoop.</p>
+
+<p>Before he had time to look round, a boy about his own size came full
+tear into the road a yard or two ahead. "Hullo!" cried he, perceiving
+Dick.</p>
+
+<p>"Hullo!" responded Dick.</p>
+
+<p>Then they stared at one another.</p>
+
+<p>"Who are you?" asked Dick.</p>
+
+<p>The other burst out laughing. "Who are you?" retorted he.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! It doesn't matter," answered Dick, a trifle proudly; "only—my
+father has just moved into the neighbourhood, and I suppose I shall
+have to get to know the boys; so I thought I might as well begin with
+you."</p>
+
+<p>The other looked him over well from head to foot. Dick's father was a
+gentleman, and Dick was dressed accordingly. The other's father was a
+labourer upon the Manor Farm.</p>
+
+<p>"My name's Dick Crozier," added Dick.</p>
+
+<p>"And mine is Bill the Kicker," returned his new acquaintance.</p>
+
+<p>"That is, your nickname," added Dick.</p>
+
+<p>"Call it what you like; that's all the name I want," said Bill the
+Kicker in such a final manner that Dick said no more.</p>
+
+<p>"Where do you live?" next asked he.</p>
+
+<p>"Up yonder," answered Bill the Kicker, pointing backward with his
+thumb. "My father works for Farmer Bluff."</p>
+
+<p>"And mine goes up to town every morning," rejoined Dick. "We live
+beyond the Manor House, up the hill."</p>
+
+<p>This interchange of confidences was a pretty good basis for an
+acquaintance, and the two boys were soon engaged in a lively
+conversation.</p>
+
+<p>"There's a hornets' nest up there," said Bill presently, jerking his
+thumb in the direction of the field. "I see one goin' in just now.
+I mean to sell it to the Squire's grandsons," added he, nodding to
+himself.</p>
+
+<p>"What for?" asked Dick, who was a town-bred boy.</p>
+
+<p>"For sport, of course," answered Bill promptly. "Squires always go in
+for sport. I reckon we shall have a game."</p>
+
+<p>"Hornets are dangerous, aren't they?" said Dick doubtfully.</p>
+
+<p>"It don't do to get stung," returned Bill; "but then you don't if you
+can help; and that's what makes the sport. I wonder," added Bill the
+Kicker, struck with an original thought, "who'd care to storm a flies'
+nest!—Supposin' that they made 'em, which they don't. And there again,
+you see," he added further, "flies don't make nests, because they
+haven't got to keep out of the way—" Which remark contained a wholesome
+moral, if he had but possessed the wit to see it.</p>
+
+<p>Knowing nothing of such country matters, Dick naturally felt some
+respect for Bill the Kicker, who talked as if he had it all on good
+authority.</p>
+
+<p>"Look here," proposed he presently; "tell me when the sport's to be."</p>
+
+<p>Bill shook his head with a doubtful air.</p>
+
+<p>"Why not?" asked Dick.</p>
+
+<p>Bill the Kicker drew his mouth tight, stretching it almost from ear to
+ear, and shook his head again.</p>
+
+<p>Dick held out a bait.</p>
+
+<p>"I've got a goodish big-sized boat at home," said he persuasively. "I
+mayn't go near the river yet, but so soon as ever I get leave, I'll let
+you know."</p>
+
+<p>Bill expressed considerable contempt for the idea of "getting leave;"
+however, he went so far as to say that when the sport was all arranged,
+he might see fit to make it known to Dick. "It's the Squire's
+grandsons, you see," said he importantly. "'Tisn't every one as I could
+introduce to them."</p>
+
+<p>Dick rather wondered what it mattered whom Bill introduced, so long as
+it was somebody no lower than himself. But he promised to be in the way
+as often as he could; and Bill the Kicker, having duly warned him not
+to drop a word to any one, went off to find the Squire's grandsons and
+"sell the nest."</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image006" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image006.jpg" alt="image006"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<h3><a id="Chapter_3">CHAPTER III.</a></h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<b>FARMER BLUFF.</b><br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>WHILST Dick was making acquaintance with Bill the Kicker, the Squire's
+bailiff, Farmer Bluff, was sitting in his parlour, with his leg upon a
+cushion and a pint mug on the table by his side, swearing inwardly—if
+not aloud—at the fate which had cursed him with the gout.</p>
+
+<p>Now this fate was none other than the blustering old farmer's own
+stupidity; for time after time the doctor had warned him that as long
+as he made that mug his boon companion, so long exactly would his enemy
+pursue him with its twinging pains.</p>
+
+<p>But Farmer Bluff was obstinate as well as blustering—to every one
+except the Squire, of course, in whose presence he was like the latter
+end of March—a lion transformed into a lamb. The excuse he made to
+himself turned upon the mug, of which he was naturally proud, it being
+solid silver, an heirloom that his grandfather had left to him. He
+liked to have it on the table by his side; and if upon the table, why,
+it must have something in it. And that something must of course be
+beer, and must be drunk. And so the stupid fellow's gout grew angrier
+year by year, until at length it got so bad that if he did not swear
+aloud, it was for no better reason than because nobody was by to hear.</p>
+
+<p>As he sat there by the hearth, looking across his shoulder out of the
+window at the bright March sunshine that used to call him up and abroad
+at six o'clock, until this gout got hold of him, he heard Grip set up
+the furious bark that fetched the servant out to look. Then he heard
+Blazer take up the challenge; and shortly afterwards the voices of the
+servant and the man fell on his ear.</p>
+
+<p>Now it was a peculiarity of the old bailiff to resent not being able to
+hear what passed between other people; so after chafing and fretting
+for some minutes, he reached out for the handbell that stood beside the
+silver mug, and rang it lustily. Then he took another pull at the mug,
+and having poked the fire to a roaring blaze, impatiently awaited the
+answer to his summons.</p>
+
+<p>This happened exactly at the moment when the servant threw up the
+kitchen window to let in the air.</p>
+
+<p>"Always kicking up a fuss for nothing in the world," said she again,
+flouncing back to her washing up, with a strong determination to let
+him ring a second time. After a minute or two, however, she let drop
+her dish-clout in the tub, and drying her hands on her apron as she
+went, hurried off to the parlour.</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff was known to be a bit of a miser, and had few near
+relatives to leave his money to; and Elspeth had her eye upon a
+handsome legacy.</p>
+
+<p>"He's over sixty-five," she used to tell herself, by way of comfort
+when he swore at her; "and gout don't make old bones. I can put up with
+it a bit longer, on the chance of being mentioned in his will."</p>
+
+<p>But, as it happened, just as Elspeth reached the parlour, there
+was another ring, this time at the outer door; not so lusty as her
+master's, though, for all that the bell itself was twice the size.</p>
+
+<p>Filling up a waste space in the hall, there was a cunning china closet,
+with a narrow window looking through into the porch. A step or two
+aside and one quick glance revealed who stood without. Going swiftly to
+the door, Elspeth threw it open with a deferential curtsey. It was the
+Squire who had given that modest ring; and she never kept the Squire
+waiting, for he always had a civil word, in spite of his high rank.
+Then having answered his inquiry as to whether her master was up, she
+stepped briskly back towards the parlour.</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff was in the act of ringing his handbell a second time.</p>
+
+<p>"A man might die in a fit, for all the haste you make!" exclaimed he
+with an oath, banging down the bell so violently that the clapper
+uttered a "twang" of protest. "An indolent, slow-footed hussy!" He was
+going on with a regular string of abuse, but just as he was in the
+midst of some words that no proper thinking man had any business to lay
+his tongue to, the door flew open, and to his great dismay, his eyes
+met those of no less a personage than the Lord of the Manor.</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff's tirade came to an abrupt termination, and Elspeth having
+announced, "The Squire, sir," withdrew, leaving her master to put the
+best face on it.</p>
+
+<p>What with beer, and rage, and shame, the old sinner's countenance was
+nearly as red as the live coals in the grate. He made desperate efforts
+to rise as the Squire approached, bearing like a man the torture that
+would have made him swear like a trooper if Elspeth had been by instead.</p>
+
+<p>The Squire, however, hastened to stop him.</p>
+
+<p>"Keep your seat, Mr. Bluff," said he good-naturedly, as the bailiff
+blurted out an apology. "Pray don't put yourself to any pain on my
+account. No; not so near the hearth, thank you," as Farmer Bluff tried
+to reach a chair. "I'll sit here. The air is mild this morning, and I
+can see you've been serving your fire to the same sort of rousing as
+you treat your woman servant to."</p>
+
+<p>The old farmer reddened still more, and mumbled something about "your
+blood being chilly when you had the gout."</p>
+
+<p>"And you find that swearing makes it circulate," remarked the Squire
+sarcastically. "Dependence upon others is a very unfortunate condition
+to come to," added he; "and you have apparently a very inattentive
+attendant too."</p>
+
+<p>The Squire's caustic tone did not escape Farmer Bluff. He blurted out a
+few words about "not so bad," only she needed "keeping up to the mark."</p>
+
+<p>"You've chosen a somewhat unscriptural way of setting about it,"
+observed the Squire; "and my experience—the experience of fourscore
+years—is that whatever is unscriptural is unprofitable, and altogether
+wrong. Therefore, Mr. Bluff, if I were you I should give it up."</p>
+
+<p>Having uttered this straightforward piece of advice, the Squire dropped
+the subject, and went on to speak of his bailiff's health.</p>
+
+<p>It was wonderful the contrast there was between the two men. The
+Squire, brought up all his lifetime in the midst of luxury—had he
+chosen to live softly—had as elastic a tread as many a man of forty,
+and looked as hale and hearty as if he had been accustomed to weather
+wind and storm out in the fields with his own shepherds. His bailiff,
+nearly twenty years his junior, looked bloated and unhealthy, in spite
+of his invigorating out-door life about the farm and woods; and half
+his days, at least, were spent in this arm-chair, with one foot or the
+other upon a cushion.</p>
+
+<p>There was good reason for the difference; there is for most things, if
+men only had the sense to find it out. The Squire, from his youth up,
+had been temperate, using the good gifts of God wisely, not abusing
+them. His bailiff had never got beyond regarding these gifts as the
+wages which it was his good fortune to earn from the Squire; and he had
+gone to work with the intention of getting the greatest possible amount
+of enjoyment out of this little bite off the great man's luxury. Thus,
+grasping all, he had come pretty near losing all; for, ask anybody who
+has made close acquaintance with gout, and they will tell you that
+there is next to no enjoyment in life for those who have made it their
+companion.</p>
+
+<p>The moral is,—avoid intemperance, remembering always that beer is
+not the only thing that may be abused, and that gout is not the only
+punishment; for, sad to say, there are as many sins as there are weeds
+in this fair world, and a punishment to each. As the Bible has it—in a
+form that no one need forget—"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he
+also reap."</p>
+
+<p>Sow sins, and you shall reap punishment as surely as did Farmer Bluff.</p>
+
+<p>This was the sum and substance of the Squire's thoughts as he sat
+down on the window-seat. "I'm thankful I shall go down to my grave
+without gout," said he to himself, as he watched the contortions of
+his bailiff's features; for it was vain for Farmer Bluff to think of
+not making faces. He had put his foot to unusual inconvenience in his
+attempts to show respect; and it cost effort enough to refrain from
+bellowing aloud at the pain.</p>
+
+<p>"I hoped to find you better than this, Mr. Bluff," began the Squire
+after a pause, putting his gold-headed cane between his knees, and
+crossing his hands over it. "This has been a long attack."</p>
+
+<p>"It has, sir; a—very long attack."</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff usually hesitated a good deal in talking to the Squire;
+otherwise he might have let slip unsuitable expressions, such as he was
+in the habit of using to Elspeth.</p>
+
+<p>"The longest you ever had, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>The Squire did not want to be unkind, but he had called in with the
+intention of saying something rather disagreeable; and it had got to be
+said, in spite of his natural inclination to say pleasant things.</p>
+
+<p>"By far the longest," repeated he.</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff declared himself heartily tired of it, adding in an
+injured way that no one knew what suffering was until they had tried
+gout.</p>
+
+<p>The Squire shook his head. A man has no right to feel hardly done by
+when he deliberately chooses to bring pain upon himself. "I'm heartily
+tired of it, too," said he; "and the fact is, Bluff, I'm getting
+too far into years to be my own bailiff—and that's what it comes to
+nowadays. For these keepers and labourers of yours—well! I've no
+doubt you give your orders. A man might give his orders in the other
+hemisphere by telegram. But if I didn't go round and see to things for
+myself, they would be in a pretty muddle. Why! I was in the saddle
+at half-past six this morning to do your work. A glorious morning it
+was too; as glorious as God ever made. Time Was when I'd as soon have
+been out myself as trouble you—except for the sense that a man with
+abundance of this world's goods is bound to broadcast some of his
+money amongst dependants. But an octogenarian begins to need a little
+indulgence, or he will do very shortly, for the time must come to all
+of us, Mr. Bluff."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, that it must, sir," acquiesced the bailiff meekly, feeling rather
+as if his time had come; for he could see pretty plainly what the
+Squire was driving at.</p>
+
+<p>"I should not like," continued the old gentleman after a pause, "to
+leave the estate out of working gear when I go. It is not as if I left
+a grown man in my place. My grandson is such a mere child that I can
+hardly hope even to see him attain his majority; and that is what I
+came to speak to you about. You have served me many years, Bluff; but
+the fact is, you are not what you were, and I feel that I ought to see
+a competent man in your place, whilst I myself am still competent."</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff began to whine. Long service deserved indulgence, he
+hinted. "A man must take what the Lord sends him," said he.</p>
+
+<p>But the Squire stopped him. "Men often make mistakes about the source
+of their misfortunes, Bluff," said he. "I don't believe that your
+complaint is often of the Lord's sending."</p>
+
+<p>The bailiff's eyes reverted uncomfortably to the silver mug. He knew
+very well what his patron referred to.</p>
+
+<p>"I might very easily have put myself in the way of it," continued the
+Squire. "My father left me a well-stocked cellar, and I have had to
+dispense hospitality; but I have mostly contented myself with listening
+to other people's praises of my wines, remembering an old saying that
+those who constantly seek their own reflections at the bottom of their
+tankards are likely oftenest to see an ass. The saying certainly holds
+good of a man who, in immediate opposition to his doctor's orders,
+feeds his gout on beer. No, Bluff: if the Almighty were responsible for
+your gout, I should feel very differently about the matter. As it is,
+although I shall consider myself bound to see that your old age does
+not come to want, you must certainly understand that you will have to
+make way, within due notice, for a man who can put his beer mug on one
+side in favour of duty."</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff tried hard to obtain a commutation of this sentence.</p>
+
+<p>But the Squire was a man who knew his own mind, once it was made up,
+and who did not make it up hastily either. He had for some years past
+been much disgusted with his bailiff conduct; and the experience of
+the last few months had finally decided him. He was determined to
+leave upon the estate a thoroughly efficient bailiff. To this intent,
+having given due notice to the gouty old rascal who at present held
+the office, he now rose and took his leave, Farmer Bluff ringing his
+handbell— though not so roughly as before—for Elspeth to show the
+Squire out.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image007" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image007.jpg" alt="image007"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<h3><a id="Chapter_4">CHAPTER IV.</a></h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<b>THE SQUIRE'S GRANDSONS.</b><br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>WHILST the Squire had been giving old Bluff his deserts in the farm
+parlour, his three grandsons—none other than the boys whose mother Dick
+had thought so beautiful—had left the grounds by a winding path that
+skirted the plantation and emerged on to a fieldway leading into the
+road a few hundred yards above the farm. Turning to the left hand of
+the farm, this road ran round the foot of a piece of rising ground.
+Probably the man who first made a cart-track there, found it pay better
+to go a little way round than to make his beasts drag their burdens
+over the hill. But there was a shorter cut for pedestrians almost
+opposite the pathway from the Manor House; and for this the boys were
+bound.</p>
+
+<p>Just as they were in the act of crossing the stile, who should come
+round the bend but the Squire, whose next business took him up that
+very road. The boys saw him at once. Two of them—the two taller
+ones—ran forward to meet him, the other following at his quickest
+pace. The Squire was a favourite with his grandsons. He was such a boy
+amongst them, although he had been born over eighty years before them;
+and yet withal he was so grand and courtly.</p>
+
+<p>Will and Sigismund dashed forward, but the Squire looked beyond them
+to the cripple, who was exerting himself manfully to show equal
+appreciation of his aged relative.</p>
+
+<p>"Bravo, Hal, bravo!" cried he, applauding with his gold-headed cane.</p>
+
+<p>Will and Sigismund faced about, looking half-ashamed, as if they felt
+it was almost mean to have taken such an advantage of their afflicted
+brother. But the Squire did not exactly intend that. It would have been
+altogether too hard for boys with strong legs to give up using them
+because their brother limped on irons. It was rather that the Squire
+had a very tender spot in his heart for Hal, and that he saw in the
+boy's brave, invincible spirit an earnest of what the man would be.</p>
+
+<p>"God grant that he may grow to be a man!" he often uttered in his
+heart. And it really seemed that Hal was growing stronger year by year.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile Hal, flushed and out of breath, was up with them.</p>
+
+<p>"Where are you going, grandfather?" asked he eagerly, as he swung
+himself round to walk by the Squire's side, Sigismund making way for
+him.</p>
+
+<p>"Up to the cottages by the wood gate," replied his grandfather, laying
+one hand on his shoulder. "Almost out of bounds for you, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>But Hal shook his head. "Why, I've been right into the wood, you know;
+last autumn, nutting."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, to be sure!" acquiesced the old gentleman.</p>
+
+<p>"But what are you going there for, grandfather?" questioned Hal, who
+was noted for his inquisitive spirit. Impertinent, some good people
+would have said; but not so his grandfather.</p>
+
+<p>"How can a boy learn what he doesn't know, if he may not ask a
+question?" he would say. "A spirit of inquiry is one of the first
+requisites to learning." So now he answered without reserve.</p>
+
+<p>"To see about having one put in repair for Farmer Bluff," said he.</p>
+
+<p>"For Farmer Bluff?"</p>
+
+<p>The question was from all three at once.</p>
+
+<p>The Squire nodded gravely. "For Farmer Bluff," repeated he. "He has to
+leave the Manor Farm."</p>
+
+<p>"To leave?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, grandfather?"</p>
+
+<p>This was Hal's question. Hal always came straight to the point, as if
+he had a right to know; and his grandfather seldom, if ever, put him
+off.</p>
+
+<p>"Because," answered he, "the time has arrived when he must make way for
+a better man."</p>
+
+<p>"But surely, grandfather," said Hal, "you won't turn him away, after
+all the years he has been bailiff. Why! Ever since mother first brought
+us to live with you."</p>
+
+<p>"Ay, and before that," broke in the Squire regretfully. "When I thought
+your poor father would have been Squire after me. Twenty-seven years
+Farmer Bluff has lived on that farm; but—"</p>
+
+<p>"But it isn't fair to turn him out because he's getting old,
+grandfather," interrupted Hal, with a bold familiarity that no one else
+would have dared to use towards the old gentleman.</p>
+
+<p>"Tut, tut, lad," rejoined the Squire. "Who said was because he was too
+old?"</p>
+
+<p>"Well, grandfather," put in Sigismund, who according to size would be
+the next youngest to Hal, "you said 'a better man.'"</p>
+
+<p>"Better doesn't always mean younger," said Hal eagerly; "does it,
+grandfather?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nor does younger mean better," returned the Squire. "I always like to
+think of my eighty-four years as a token of God's favour."</p>
+
+<p>"Good people generally live to be old, don't they?" suggested
+Sigismund, straying from the point at issue. "In the Bible they did."</p>
+
+<p>"Steady living is conducive to longevity;" replied the old man.
+"That is to say, those who live sober, temperate lives give their
+constitutions the fairest chance of withstanding natural decay, and of
+escaping the ravages of disease by which so many are prematurely cut
+off."</p>
+
+<p>"Is that why Farmer Bluff has the gout?" queried Hal. "Because he has
+been intemperate?"</p>
+
+<p>"Very likely," replied the Squire. "It is quite certain that at the
+present time he is aggravating the complaint and forfeiting my esteem
+by the childish obstinacy with which he persists in drinking beer, when
+he knows it is as good as drinking so many pains and twinges. But you
+mustn't run away with the notion that God always rewards virtue with
+long life; for that is not His greatest gift."</p>
+
+<p>Hal asked no more questions just then. They had crossed the stile
+during this conversation, and were climbing the pathway up the hill
+towards the wood, where there was plenty to claim the attention of boys.</p>
+
+<p>Larks were rising from the tussocks; finches darted in and out the
+hedge; and as they got nearer to the wood, wild rabbits, all tail,
+frisked about their burrows. Once or twice a grey rat ran out of
+his hole, and sat upon his haunches in the track, staring stupidly
+before him until they were quite close; then doubling suddenly, and
+disappearing in the ditch.</p>
+
+<p>Will and Sigismund were full of excitement, running and jumping and
+leaping; but Hal kept by his grandfather, swinging himself along at an
+even pace that agreed very well with the old gentleman's step; and so
+they reached the gate of the wood, and the cottages in one of which the
+Squire intended his bailiff to live rent free.</p>
+
+<p>There was already a noise of carpenters at work, and a cheery sound of
+men talking over their saws and planes. Hal followed his grandfather
+inside, and went round, listening with great interest to all that
+passed between him and the workmen. But the other boys stayed outside,
+overrunning the garden, and talking to the gamekeeper, who lived next
+door. Finally they strayed into the wood, which was only separated from
+the garden by a ditch, dry summer and winter alike. By the time the
+Squire had finished giving his orders, they were quite out of sight and
+hearing.</p>
+
+<p>At length, the Squire sent the keeper down the clearing after them. Hal
+was standing by his side, resting on his crutches. The Squire, looking
+down at him, saw that his face wore a thoughtful look, and fancied he
+was tired.</p>
+
+<p>"Better go inside and sit down on Champion's sawstool," suggested he
+kindly; "it's a long way back, and you and I aren't so young as those
+two madcaps. Eh?"</p>
+
+<p>At that instant, however, Will and Sigismund appeared, talking gaily to
+the man as they advanced.</p>
+
+<p>The Squire beckoned, and they set forward at a run, giving the stout
+old Velveteens a good view of their soles, and leaving him to follow at
+his sober pleasure. But Hal had already seized his opportunity.</p>
+
+<p>"Grandfather," said he, moving nearer.</p>
+
+<p>The old man faced about.</p>
+
+<p>"Grandfather, I was wondering if I could make Farmer Bluff see how
+silly it is to keep on having gout?"</p>
+
+<p>"To keep on drinking beer?—Hardly," quoth the Squire, "since his doctor
+fails. People usually believe their medical man, if anybody, when they
+are in pain."</p>
+
+<p>"And I mean," added Hal, anxious to gain his point before the others
+came up, "if he left off having gout, should you still be obliged to
+turn him out of the Manor Farm?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, no," answered the Squire; "not if he showed himself capable of
+doing his duty as bailiff of the estate. But the fact is, I can't be
+Squire and bailiff too at my age; and if I could, I shouldn't long be
+able to, because—things don't go on for ever and a day, Hal."</p>
+
+<p>Just then the other two boys cleared the ditch, and bounded up, with a
+ready apology for having kept their grandfather waiting; then, passing
+in at the back door, they all went through to the road again.</p>
+
+<p>On reaching the front door, the Squire suddenly remembered something he
+had meant to say, and stepped back again. Hal waited with him, but Will
+and Sigismund ran straight out.</p>
+
+<p>In the middle of the road a boy was standing, looking this way and
+that, as if undecided in which direction to go. Seeing two lads his own
+age, he at once advanced.</p>
+
+<p>"Can you tell me where I am?" asked he.</p>
+
+<p>"By the gate of the wood," answered Will, pointing past the cottages to
+the red-painted gate.</p>
+
+<p>"Is this beyond the common?" asked the boy.</p>
+
+<p>"Most certainly," was Will's reply.</p>
+
+<p>"Then I'm where I've no business," rejoined the boy, who was none other
+than Dick Crozier. On leaving his new acquaintance, Bill the Kicker, he
+had wandered on by the right-hand road, until his way had met that of
+the Squire and his grandsons by the cottages.</p>
+
+<p>Apart from Hal, Dick did not recognise them as the Manor House boys.
+Hal no sooner appeared in the doorway, however, than their identity
+flashed upon him. The next minute, the Squire himself emerged, tapping
+the ground briskly with his cane as he walked, as an indication that
+time was short and they must get forward without delay.</p>
+
+<p>Perceiving Will in conversation with a strange boy, he stopped short;
+whereupon Will explain that Dick had lost his way.</p>
+
+<p>The Squire inquired where he came from, but this Will had not yet
+asked; so the Squire turned to Dick himself.</p>
+
+<p>"Your name, my boy?" asked he.</p>
+
+<p>Dick had no sooner recognised Hal than it flashed upon him that the
+grand old gentleman with the gold-headed cane was none other than the
+Squire himself; and although not more troubled with bashfulness than
+most boys of his age, he was just a trifle flustered at the discovery.
+Nevertheless, he answered straightforwardly enough,—</p>
+
+<p>"Crozier, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Crozier; a son of my new tenant, surely?" said the Squire in his
+courtly way. "I am always pleased to make the acquaintance of a tenant,
+Master—"</p>
+
+<p>"Dick, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Master Dick; and as we're all going one way, we will proceed together,
+if you please."</p>
+
+<p>So they set off, Dick and Hal walking on either side of the Squire, the
+other two a pace or two in front.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image008" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image008.jpg" alt="image008"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<h3><a id="Chapter_5">CHAPTER V.</a></h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<b>"WHATEVER IS, IS RIGHT."</b><br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>BEING Easter holidays, and the tutor who superintended studies at
+the Manor House having gone North to visit his friends, Hal and his
+brothers had things pretty much their own way from sunrise to bedtime.
+They walked; they played games; they followed their grandfather about;
+they rode the donkey about the field—or rather Will and Sigismund did,
+whilst Hal looked on and clapped his hands.</p>
+
+<p>In short, they did all that boys in holiday-time try to do; they took
+every possible means to make the best of their freedom. All things
+considered, too, they were very good to Hal, who—hard as he tried to
+keep up with them—was rather a clog with his crutches and his irons.</p>
+
+<p>On the morning after the Squire's interview with his bailiff, however,
+Hal evolved a scheme which relieved them of this clog.</p>
+
+<p>One of the men had let loose a ferret in the granary, to hunt the rats,
+which of late had been committing great depredations in the henhouses.
+For some time the boys had been too excited to notice their brother's
+sudden disappearance. But presently, the hunt drifted upstairs into the
+loft overhead. This at once recalled Hal to mind, because he could not
+very well climb a ladder without assistance.</p>
+
+<p>"Where can he have got to?" exclaimed Sigismund, who had been outside
+to look about for him.</p>
+
+<p>Somehow Sigismund, being of a more unselfish disposition, was always
+the one to wait behind for Hal.</p>
+
+<p>"Gone indoors, I expect," returned Will, already half-way up.</p>
+
+<p>Hal had a way of "going indoors" when he found the game beyond him.
+"It's no fun when you ache," he would say; "and it doesn't make you a
+bit worth playing with." And he would be found afterwards, deep in a
+book—not always a story-book either.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, Hal, having slipped out through the stable-yard and
+gained the road, was on his way to the Manor Farm, meditating on the
+unaccustomed rôle which he had taken on himself.</p>
+
+<p>About the same time, Dick Crozier, intending to hang about the farm,
+on the chance of catching Bill and hearing something of the hornets'
+nest, had chosen that direction for his morning's stroll. Recognising
+the wooden tap-tap of Hal's crutches on the gravel as he hurried down
+the hill, Dick determined first to renew acquaintance with the Squire's
+grandson; so he slackened pace, and the boys met at the lodge gate.</p>
+
+<p>Hal at once nodded pleasantly; and Dick, returning the nod, joined him
+without further ceremony.</p>
+
+<p>"You get along jolly fast, considering," remarked Dick pleasantly, as
+the conversation turned on walking. "That's hard work, though, I should
+say."</p>
+
+<p>Hal nodded, and went a little faster, breathing short with the effort.</p>
+
+<p>"Was it an accident?" inquired Dick; "or were you born so?"</p>
+
+<p>"It came on when I began to walk," answered Hal; "at least, so I'm
+told. Of course, I don't remember being any different."</p>
+
+<p>He didn't seem to mind talking about it, which Dick thought very
+sensible. "Where would be the use of minding?" said he to himself. "It
+wouldn't alter the fact." He little knew the effort it cost Hal to put
+his injured pride on one side.</p>
+
+<p>"What are the irons for?" asked Dick next.</p>
+
+<p>"To stretch this leg," answered Hal, nodding to the right. "That one
+was the worst; and the sinews shrank—just like a wet string. It's
+pulled out tight all the while, to try and stretch it longer."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't it make it ache?" asked Dick.</p>
+
+<p>"Sometimes," assented Hal.</p>
+
+<p>He might with truth have said, "most of the time;" but Hal was a bit of
+a hero in his way. "I'm used to it, you see," he added patiently.</p>
+
+<p>"I shouldn't like to be like that," said Dick.</p>
+
+<p>"Nobody would, of course," returned Hal; "but when you are, you've got
+to make the best of it. You think of all the great men you've ever read
+about, and wonder how they'd have borne it; and that helps you."</p>
+
+<p>Dick was so much struck by this way of looking at a misfortune, that
+for several minutes he was silent; and Hal's crutches went on tapping
+out their melancholy tale upon the road; step by step, step by step,
+patiently—the only way to rise superior to a misfortune of that kind.</p>
+
+<p>"Who is the greatest man you ever read about?" asked Dick presently.</p>
+
+<p>Hal assumed a thoughtful air. "That's rather hard to say," answered he;
+"because some are great for one thing, some for another. It's like that
+with plants, too, you know. There's corn, and there are potatoes; and
+we couldn't very well do without either. I shouldn't like to do without
+apples, nor green peas—we always have them sooner than other people;
+(forced, you know;) and I'll ask grandfather to send you some. Then
+again," he ran on, before Dick had time to thank him for this promise,
+"there are flowers—more beautiful than useful, as we count use. It's
+just like that with men, I think."</p>
+
+<p>Dick could not jump quite the length of this argument. He suggested
+Robinson Crusoe.</p>
+
+<p>But Hal's estimate of greatness differed from Dick's. "Crusoe was
+pretty well in some things, considering how he began," said he. "He
+was shifty, but he wasn't all round; besides, he was an awful coward,
+and he swore. And then, he's only in a book. Now Socrates—only he was
+a heathen—he died bravely when they made him choose between the dagger
+and the poison cup. And Napoleon—he made himself a king out of a common
+soldier, and he must have been a great man, or people wouldn't have
+given in to him; but then he did it all for the sake of power, and he
+wasn't good.</p>
+
+<p>"A man's motives go for a great deal, you know. Then there were the
+martyrs; I like them. They had their bodies broken on the wheel
+because they wouldn't tell lies. I often think of that, because it was
+something like having my leg stretched, only thousand times worse.
+There was Shakespeare too. He wrote very fine plays. That was more like
+being a flower, I should say; and I don't know that he was particularly
+good, or that he did anything else worth doing. And there was Sir Isaac
+Newton, who discovered why apples fall done instead of up. He was very
+learned, of course. But I like men such as Wilberforce and Clarkson,
+who did so much to abolish slavery; or Moffat, the missionary; or
+Howard, who went into a lot of gaols, and made a fuss about having them
+kept cleaner, and the prisoners better treated. In my opinion," added
+Hal, "they were some of the greatest men that ever lived—except Jesus
+Christ."</p>
+
+<p>Dick had not read about any of these heroes. He said that he should
+like to.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course," continued Hal; "none of them come near Jesus Christ. You
+don't expect that. There was Buddha. A missionary once told me about
+him; and I've read since. He was a prince in India; and he gave up
+everything to try and find out how to make people happier, because
+one day when he went outside the palace, he discovered that everybody
+wasn't so well off as himself, and that people had to be ill and die.
+But he didn't end up the same as Jesus Christ," Hal concluded. "And
+then it's such an immense while ago that I don't think it's very easy
+to be sure whether it's all true."</p>
+
+<p>Hal was fond of books, and had an original way of talking about what he
+read.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't suppose that any of them went on crutches," suggested Dick.</p>
+
+<p>Hal thought not. "One of them was lame," said he. "His name was
+Epictetus; he was an eminent philosopher. It was through his master's
+cruelty; and that was very hard to bear. But crutches don't matter to
+some sorts of greatness," added he. "You wouldn't get along very well
+on crutches if you wanted to fight; and fighting isn't always wrong
+either, though I don't like it. Where you do it to put down injustice,
+for instance, or to help the weaker side, it's noble and right."</p>
+
+<p>"Or if you do it to defend your wife and children," put in Dick.</p>
+
+<p>"There were some great men deformed," continued Hal. "There was Pope.
+He had to be laced up in a pair of tight stays to keep him from
+doubling up; he used to sit up in bed and write poetry. I've read some
+of it, and it's very fine. 'Whatever is, is right,' comes from Pope;
+and though you can't say that of everything, there is a sense in which
+it is very true. But Pope wasn't brave always. He used to be very
+disagreeable to his servant when he was in pain; and I think if any one
+was really great, they would rise superior to affliction, and not make
+other people feel it. You see," added Hal, in a tone of reflection,
+"it's bad enough for one person to go on crutches, without making all
+the rest miserable."</p>
+
+<p>"You mean to be great, I suppose," observed Dick admiringly. "What
+shall you be?"</p>
+
+<p>Hal reflected. "That's difficult to say exactly," said he. "Of course
+I've got to be the Lord of the Manor."</p>
+
+<p>"You have?" interrupted Dick. "I thought it was your tallest brother."</p>
+
+<p>"Will?—No; it's always the eldest son. I'm the eldest," added Hal, just
+a trifle proudly.</p>
+
+<p>Dick was astonished. He had made up his mind from the very first, that
+Hal was the youngest of the three.</p>
+
+<p>"You see, I'm short," said Hal simply. "It makes you grow slowly when
+you're like this."</p>
+
+<p>"That's a pity," said Dick, knowing of nothing better to say.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; I suppose it is," said Hal; "only—'Whatever is, is right,'
+unless, of course, it is something contrary to God's will; and
+this can't be, as I was born so. I mean all the same to be like my
+grandfather."</p>
+
+<p>"He isn't very big," put in Dick, cheerfully.</p>
+
+<p>"Some people," continued Hal, "don't think you can be a proper Squire
+unless you can ride in the steeplechase and follow the hounds. My
+grandfather doesn't now; but he used to formerly. I've heard him say
+what a pity it was that I couldn't learn to sit a horse. But you see
+it isn't just the same as it used to be in the olden times when there
+were serfs, and the lord of the manor lived in a castle with a moat
+and drawbridge. He had to be a sort of petty king in those days. And
+if other lords stole his vassals' sheep or wives, he had to rally all
+his men and besiege their castles. I'm afraid I shouldn't be very well
+able to do that. But all that is changed nowadays, and there are no
+serfs—which ought to make the poor people much better off. What a good
+Squire has to do is to pull down all the badly built cottages on his
+estate, and have them properly drained, and damp courses put in, so
+that the walls don't rot."</p>
+
+<p>Dick inquired whether that was the reason why some cottages near his
+father's house were being pulled down.</p>
+
+<p>Hal nodded. "Why," said he, "the jam actually mildewed in the parlour
+cupboard! Think of that I saw it. And the old lady's wedding-dress
+went all spotty where it hung in the press upstairs. It was silk; and
+she had worn it every Christmas Day and Easter Sunday since she was
+married, and every time any of her sons and daughters had a wedding. It
+was very vexatious for her. You couldn't let such a house stand."</p>
+
+<p>Hal spoke with such earnestness that Dick was quite convinced, and
+immediately thought of the preservation of old silk wedding-dresses as
+one of the chief duties of a good Squire.</p>
+
+<p>"There's to be a proper slate course at the bottom of the walls this
+time," added Hal. "You'll see it will be quite dry."</p>
+
+<p>"Then there's the drainage," continued he; "because if that's bad, the
+wells get poisoned, and people have fevers. And although it doesn't say
+anything in the Bible actually about drainage, it says a great deal
+which seems to me to mean that if you own an estate, you ought to look
+after the health and comfort of the tenants. Oh, there's a lot a Squire
+has to do that I think I could do! And perhaps," he added thoughtfully,
+"I should do it all the better for not riding in the steeplechase and
+following the hounds. You can't do everything; and if you come to
+think," concluded Hal, "perhaps that is why God let me be like this;
+because, you know, He could have made it different if He had chosen to."</p>
+
+<p>"A Squire has to make a speech at the rent dinner, doesn't he?"
+suggested Dick, glad to show that he had some knowledge of a Squire's
+duties.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! I think I could manage that all right," returned Hal, "when I got
+to be of age. It wouldn't be noticed that I was like this when I stood
+up behind the table; so I shouldn't feel bashful about it. Besides, I
+don't think I should mind when once I was Squire, because people would
+respect me; and I should try to show them how great men bear such
+things."</p>
+
+<p>Dick thought this a very plucky way of looking forward to such a
+terrible ordeal.</p>
+
+<p>"Another thing you have to do," said Hal, as they arrived at the gate
+of the Manor Farm, "is to see that the bailiff and other people about
+the estate do their duty. And if they don't—through drink or laziness,
+you know—you have to turn them out, and hire somebody who does. But I'm
+going in here," added he, breaking off abruptly.</p>
+
+<p>Dick was sorry, for he found Hal's company both instructive and
+entertaining; moreover, his vanity was rather flattered by this
+acquaintance with the future Squire. But fortunately Hal appreciated a
+good listener.</p>
+
+<p>"Where shall you be when I come out?" asked he, resting on his crutches
+to open the gate; "because I like somebody to talk to."</p>
+
+<p>Dick, having nothing particular in view, readily promised to wait about
+until Hal came out; and having watched him past Grip—who only rose to
+his feet in a respectful sort of way, and walked quietly forward the
+length of his chain—he sauntered slowly on.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image009" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image009.jpg" alt="image009"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<h3><a id="Chapter_6">CHAPTER VI.</a></h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<b>THE YOUNG SQUIRE.</b><br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>ON going, as usual, before answering the doorbell, to peep through the
+little window in the china closet, Elspeth was not a little surprised;
+for there, on the seat in the porch, his crutches on either side of
+him, sat the young Squire, resting.</p>
+
+<p>He was examining a leaf-bud on a tendril of the honeysuckle when she
+first caught sight of him; but directly the door opened, he got to his
+feet, inquiring for Farmer Bluff.</p>
+
+<p>Elspeth at once invited him to enter. "A message from the Squire, sir?"
+asked she, as she closed the door behind him.</p>
+
+<p>Elspeth knew all about the nature of the Squire's business with her
+master on the previous morning, for the old sinner, in his rage and
+vexation, had drunk more beer than ever, and had used more bad language
+than enough about it, whenever she had had occasion to go near him.
+She was not sure, moreover, how his dismissal would affect her own
+prospects, for he would be in receipt of less money; and ill as he
+could do without her help, in his frequently crippled condition, it was
+very doubtful whether the miserly old fellow would choose to draw upon
+his hoard in order to pay her the usual wages.</p>
+
+<p>In that case, much as Elspeth disliked the idea of breaking away from
+the old place, she was determined to seek her fortune elsewhere; for it
+need hardly be said that Farmer Bluff was not the sort of master to win
+the affection of a dependant.</p>
+
+<p>"For money," and not "for love," had been Elspeth's rule of service.
+Having, however, one or two cronies in the neighbourhood, from whom she
+did not care to part, she was fain to entertain a half hope that Hal
+might have been sent round to negotiate a compromise.</p>
+
+<p>But Hal was not disposed to divulge the purpose of his visit.</p>
+
+<p>"I want to see Farmer Bluff, if you please," said he, "if he's up. If
+not, perhaps you could take me to his room. I daresay he wouldn't mind."</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff was up, though, as Elspeth promptly informed the young
+gentleman; and, stepping to the parlour door, she flung it open,
+announcing, "The young Squire, sir."</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff, as it happened, was in a brown study, leaning forward on
+the elbows of his chair, with his eyes fixed on the fire. Not catching
+the first two words of Elspeth's announcement, he looked up with a
+start, expecting to see his master come to torment him again. His
+relief can best be imagined when, instead of meeting the penetrating
+gaze of the Squire, his eye fell upon the slight form of Hal, with his
+frank, boyish face all abeam to greet him, as he swung himself across
+the room.</p>
+
+<p>"Good morning, Mr. Bluff," said he pleasantly. "I'm glad to find you
+up. You ought to be out this fine weather. You're missing ever so much,
+so I thought I'd come and have a chat with you about it."</p>
+
+<p>"And make me want all the more to be out," said the old farmer, doing
+his best to assume a pleasant manner. But his thoughts, ever since
+Elspeth landed him in that chair, had been of such la disagreeable
+nature, that he found it quite impossible, all in a minute, to shake
+the growl out of his tone.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm glad my legs don't prevent me getting out," said Hal,
+contemplating the bandaged limb with compassion, as he seated himself
+opposite, and lodged his crutches against his chair.</p>
+
+<p>"You're not of a gouty age yet, young master," returned Farmer Bluff.
+"It'd be sorry work to have it at your time of life."</p>
+
+<p>"It isn't everybody has it when they're old," said Hal. "My grandfather
+doesn't. I don't think I shall."</p>
+
+<p>"Maybe not," returned Farmer Bluff. "'One thing at a time' is the
+saying. You've got your share in the way of legs."</p>
+
+<p>"But I mean," explained Hal, determined to make this the thin end of
+his wedge; "I mean that I shall take care not to have it."</p>
+
+<p>Bluff laughed—a cynical sort of laugh.</p>
+
+<p>"You'll have to take pretty much what comes," croaked he.</p>
+
+<p>"But some things don't come," said Hal.</p>
+
+<p>"You don't send for 'em," returned the bailiff, with another laugh.
+"That's very certain; not such things as gout."</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you?" said Hal. "It seems to me you do. Beer makes gout, doesn't
+it? You're always drinking beer."</p>
+
+<p>The bailiff involuntarily reached out for his mug; but it was
+empty—which went to prove the truth of what Hal said. Farmer Bluff
+drank beer so often that he hardly knew when he did it.</p>
+
+<p>"It may be partly owing to that mug," continued Hal, after a few
+minutes' consideration. "You're rather proud of it, you see. I think
+that's natural. But, do you know, if I had a mug that made me have
+the gout, I'd send it to the smith's to be melted down and made into
+something else. Let me see—you might have it converted into a silver
+inkhorn, like my grandfather's. You couldn't drink out of that."</p>
+
+<p>"That's certain," returned the bailiff, amused in spite of himself.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, will you think about it?" said Hal. "Because that's what I
+came about. You see, if you go on having gout, you can't go on being
+bailiff. My grandfather says so. It's one or the other; and it's quite
+fair, if you come to look at it. You're no bailiff if you have to sit
+with your leg up on a cushion all day like that; because you ought to
+be out and about the estate, seeing after things. And if it's your own
+fault that you can't, why, there's no doubt about it's being just; is
+there?"</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff shifted on his chair. He knew Hal was quite right. And Hal
+had brought out his arguments very warily too. First, that the gout was
+of the old fellow's own seeking; second, that being gouty, he couldn't
+attend to his business, and had clearly no right to be bailiff; and
+third, that this being so, he stood self-condemned, and could in nowise
+complain if the Squire turned him out.</p>
+
+<p>Hal knew this very well, and was not surprised at getting no answer
+to his question. "I think I'll go now," said he, taking his crutches.
+"It's a beautiful morning. I wish you could be out of doors."</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff reached out for the bell, but Hal stopped him. "You
+needn't ring for the servant," said he. "I can get out all right by
+myself; and I daresay she's busy. When you have to wait on any one who
+can't move much, I should think it gives you a lot to do."</p>
+
+<p>So the old farmer left the bell alone.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm very much obliged to you for looking in, Master Hal," said he, as
+the boy did not attempt to go.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll come again," said he, "if you like it. There's one thing more I
+was thinking. It's in the Bible. 'Thou hast destroyed thyself.' I don't
+remember who it was, but I've got the words in my head somehow. It's a
+pity to destroy yourself, isn't it?—Because there are so many ways that
+you can't help, of getting destroyed."</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff shifted again; and Hal, resting on his crutches, looked
+as if he very much wished he knew how to go on. But it was rather
+difficult, especially when the old fellow didn't make any reply.</p>
+
+<p>At length, he put his right crutch forward, preparatory to moving on.
+"Well, good morning, Mr. Bluff," said he. "Don't forget about the mug;
+and I hope your gout will be better. I should like you to go on being
+bailiff when I'm Squire, because I'm used to you, and strangers aren't
+so nice. Good morning."</p>
+
+<p>And away went the crutches across the floor, with their measured tap,
+tap, whilst the old bailiff sat looking after him with an astonished
+expression on his face; and when Hal, halting to turn the door-handle,
+gave him a last bright nod, he nodded too, twice or thrice. Then he
+twisted himself round in his chair, to watch the boy across the yard.
+But Hal went first to pay his respects to Grip, and peep round the
+corner of the house at Blazer. Catching sight of the old man through
+the window as he passed, however, he approached and put his face close
+to the glass.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't forget the mug!" called he.</p>
+
+<p>Whereupon Farmer Bluff, too much astonished even to nod, took the empty
+heirloom in his hand, turning it over and over, and falling back again
+into a brown study.</p>
+
+<p>Out in the road again, Hal looked about for Dick. But he was nowhere
+to be seen. Dick was one of those people who find time hang very
+heavy when they have to wait; and seeking temporary diversion, he had
+completely forgotten his appointment with Hal.</p>
+
+<p>Just past the farmyard was a pathway over the fields, behind the
+orchard and back premises; and having perched himself upon the stile to
+wait, it occurred to Dick to wonder where it led to. No sooner wondered
+than both Dick's legs were over the top-rail, and, jumping down, he
+started off to see for himself, whistling as he went.</p>
+
+<p>Now, these back premises were Blazer's especial charge; and such a
+vigilant sentinel was Blazer, that he no sooner heard the sound of
+Dick's whistle than he was up in arms.</p>
+
+<p>Dick came to a halt, remembering the character he had heard of the
+beast from Bill the Kicker's father. But at that very moment, who
+should appear from behind the orchard but Bill himself.</p>
+
+<p>"Hullo!" called he.</p>
+
+<p>Whereupon Blazer barked more furiously than ever.</p>
+
+<p>Blazer had his own reasons for mistrusting the sound of Bill the
+Kicker's voice.</p>
+
+<p>"Ain't he sharp!" said Bill. "He smells you out if you creep by ever so
+quiet."</p>
+
+<p>Dick nodded. "What about the hornets' nest?" asked he eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>But Bill put him off with a half answer. The fact was he had been in
+too much of a hurry in proclaiming it a nest, and it had turned out to
+be no such thing.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, Blazer had not ceased barking.</p>
+
+<p>"Rather a dangerous animal, isn't he?" suggested Dick.</p>
+
+<p>"I shouldn't care to meet him out for a walk," returned Bill.</p>
+
+<p>"Is he near the hedge?" asked Dick.</p>
+
+<p>"Agen' the back door," answered Bill. "You ain't afraid of him?" added
+he, with a grin.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, no," said Dick, ashamed to own the contrary. "Lots of people go
+this way, I expect."</p>
+
+<p>"In course," returned Bill; "else what's the pathway for? Nobody takes
+any notice of Blazer. My eye, though, ain't he wild if you get through
+the hedge!"</p>
+
+<p>Dick inquired if Bill was ever guilty of such a thing.</p>
+
+<p>Bill answered by a mysterious nod and the word "apples," accompanied
+by a jerk of his thumb towards the orchard. "You have to look out when
+there's nobody about, though," said he; "else he'd bring 'em out like a
+shot with his row. To see him, you'd think he'd break his chain."</p>
+
+<p>"It's too strong I should think," said Dick, with a feeling, however,
+that it would be preferable to go without the apples rather than risk
+meeting Blazer off the chain.</p>
+
+<p>"He got loose the other day, though," returned Bill. "Killed a goose,
+and made old Bluff so mad. Old Bluff always reckons to get a lot by
+his geese; and now there's a whole setting spoilt. Thirteen short for
+market next Christmas," added Bill knowingly.</p>
+
+<p>Dick knew nothing about geese. He made numerous inquiries concerning
+their nesting and hatching, all of which country-bred Bill was able to
+answer in detail.</p>
+
+<p>"They lay pretty big eggs I should think," said Dick, recollecting an
+ostrich egg which he had seen in a South African uncle's cabinet.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh don't they!" responded Bill. "A dinner and a half for a chap. I
+often help myself when there's no one about."</p>
+
+<p>Dick, instead of being shocked, looked rather envious of Bill's
+experience.</p>
+
+<p>"I daresay I could get you one," hinted Bill obligingly. "They're worth
+a shilling each; but as it won't cost me nothing but the trouble, I'll
+say sixpence to you."</p>
+
+<p>Dick thought that a good deal. Sixpences were not very handy in finding
+their way to his pockets for his father was by no means rich. The
+prospect was tempting, however; and not knowing that the sum named was
+full double the ordinary market price, he at once closed with the offer.</p>
+
+<p>"When am I to have it?" asked he eagerly.</p>
+
+<p>But this Bill was not prepared to say. It depended on so many things;
+on Blazer, on Elspeth, on his father, and on the geese. So Dick must
+needs be content with a conditional promise that at some time or other,
+within the shortest possible limit, he should be in possession of the
+coveted delicacy.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image010" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image010.jpg" alt="image010"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<h3><a id="Chapter_7">CHAPTER VII.</a></h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<b>THE SHORTEST CUT.</b><br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>BILL the Kicker had his own reasons for wanting sixpence.</p>
+
+<p>A few days since, being very hard up for a pocket-knife, he had watched
+an opportunity to abstract the necessary amount from his mother's
+rent-money; and he was anxious to replace it before the theft was
+discovered.</p>
+
+<p>This rent-money was the proceeds of his mother's exertions with her
+mangle, and was always dropped into an old tea-pot occupying a place of
+honour on the mantel-shelf—each amount put in or taken out being duly
+entered in red pencil on a square of card, which also had its quarters
+in this Britannia-metal safe.</p>
+
+<p>Now it always fell to Bill's lot to carry the mangling home out of
+school hours; and it seemed to him, when he got the idea of taking the
+sixpence, that it was nothing but fair he should have something for his
+pains.</p>
+
+<p>"If other people don't pay you, why, you must pay yourself," reasoned
+Bill. "That's square enough."</p>
+
+<p>When he came to see the red pencil entries on the card, he was somewhat
+shaken as to the safety of this policy, however "fair and square" it
+might be. It was not even as if he had been one of many brothers.
+The coin would certainly be missed; and upon whom but himself should
+suspicion fall?</p>
+
+<p>It occurred to him to make the experiment of rubbing out one of the
+entries. He had no eraser, but he was pretty ready with expedients.
+Quick as lightning, one finger went to his mouth, and thence to the
+tidily kept account; but such a horrible smear was the result, that his
+hair almost stood on end. It was impossible but that his mother would
+see that the card had been tampered with; if, in addition, she found
+the money sixpence short, the mischief would be out, and he would be
+"in for it."</p>
+
+<p>Exactly what that might mean was not clear to Bill. All he knew was
+that his father had given him the strap on one occasion, and that
+he did not desire a repetition of the experience. It was already
+Thursday. Under ordinary circumstances, the sixpence would have had to
+be replaced before Monday. But since Farmer Bluff had been laid up,
+the rents had been running; so that, unless the Squire suddenly took
+it into his head to send some one round, there would be no particular
+hurry.</p>
+
+<p>Bill, however, was shrewd enough to believe in being on the safe side.
+Accordingly, he had left no stone unturned to put himself in a position
+to restore the stolen sixpence. The scheme about the hornets' nest
+having fallen through, he had even hunted up and down outside the shop
+fronts in the street, in hopes of picking up change dropped by some
+careless housewife when out marketing. But, fortunately for the good of
+thieves, they do not often receive such encouragement in their crooked
+ways; and Bill's researches proved fruitless.</p>
+
+<p>He was still puzzling his brains after a way out of the difficulty,
+when Dick's curiosity about geese furnished the very idea he wanted.
+Bill had robbed the hens' nests before this, as well as the orchard.
+What was to prevent him from getting a goose's egg?</p>
+
+<p>To be sure, geese were not very nice to have to do with.</p>
+
+<p>Jenny Greenlow, carrying her father's dinner along the riverbank to the
+Infirmary, where he was at work upon the roof, had been attacked by one
+and knocked down; and there the child had lain until her father, badly
+in want of his meal and perplexed at her delay, went along to meet her,
+and found her half dead with fright, whilst the goose was still feeding
+on the contents of the basket. But the goose was probably attracted by
+the smell of the basket's contents; and then Jenny was only a girl!
+What goose of any sense would dream of molesting a boy! Bill went to
+work at once to plan the details of the adventure, delighted with the
+scheme.</p>
+
+<p>Due consideration suggested morning, while the farm men were at
+breakfast, as the most suitable time for carrying it into effect.
+So far as he knew, none of them were in the habit of taking their
+provisions with them. As they all lived in the row adjoining his
+father's cottage, a mere stone's throw away, they found it pay better
+to slip in and drink their coffee hot by their own fireside. A few
+minutes after the stroke of eight, therefore, Bill might make pretty
+sure that the coast would be clear.</p>
+
+<p>The geese, too, having laid their eggs and been fed, would have
+wandered away to their pastures. There was only one other thing to be
+considered. The hole in the hedge through which he meant to creep was
+behind the shed, but so soon as he crept round to the door, Blazer was
+sure to catch sight of him; and if Elspeth were anywhere near at hand,
+his noise was sure to bring her out. Out of this difficulty, however,
+Bill saw positively no way. The only thing was to hope that Elspeth
+would be busy waiting on her master just then, and to dare the rest.</p>
+
+<p>"I've done worse things before now," said Bill to himself, by way of
+encouragement.</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly, next morning he was up with the sun, determined to get
+quickly through his woodchopping, and the various other duties that
+were expected of him. On ordinary occasions, Bill was given to being
+rather slow.</p>
+
+<p>"If you're through too quick, you get more to do next day," was his
+way of arguing; so he always took care to make his work last out, as a
+country boy knows how.</p>
+
+<p>But on this morning, he was particularly brisk. He had just finished,
+and was counting on getting clean off, when he heard his mother's voice.</p>
+
+<p>"Bill!—Oh!—Just done, are you? You've been spry. Here!" As Bill was
+lounging off. "I just want you to come and help me through with this
+mangling; and there 'll be time to run with Mrs. Wayling's before daddy
+comes in to breakfast."</p>
+
+<p>At the first mention of mangling, all Bill's sense of justice had risen
+in rebellion; but an errand before breakfast fell in with his plans
+beautifully.</p>
+
+<p>His mother thought he had never come with such alacrity, and wondered
+what magic it was that regulated the moods and caprices of boyhood.
+"He's that slow and obstinate by times," she said to herself, as she
+spread the folded linen ready; "and look at him this morning. Couldn't
+be a better help if he was a girl, and grown-up!" She little thought.</p>
+
+<p>"Mother," said the wily Bill presently, on coming to the end of
+a batch. "Mother, I'm awful hungry; and it's a good step to Mrs.
+Wayling's. Couldn't I have a bit o' summat afore I start out? They keep
+you such a while up there; likely it'll be half over before I get in."</p>
+
+<p>"To be sure you can," answered his mother, thoroughly pleased with his
+cheerful industry. And forthwith going to the dresser, she cut and
+spread a thick slice. "Have what you want afore you go," said she,
+reckoning to get things cleared up and out of her way, ready for her
+ironing by and by.</p>
+
+<p>And Bill stood munching hungrily, as he waited to start, turning
+afresh, and congratulating himself that now, come what might, his
+breakfast was secure.</p>
+
+<p>It was about half-past seven when he set out for Mrs. Wayling's with
+the bundle on his head. It was a good distance. Mrs. Wayling was the
+schoolmaster's wife, and lived up by the church. Bill usually took a
+barrow; but this time he had his own reasons for wishing to be entirely
+unencumbered so soon as ever he should have delivered his burden. A
+barrow would not be handy at stiles, and he intended coming back by the
+river and the fields, so as to avoid the chance of meeting his father.</p>
+
+<p>Bill was warm by the time he arrived at the schoolhouse. He had got
+over the ground pretty quickly, considering the weight of his burden,
+and the church clock still wanted two minutes of the quarter. If only
+they did not keep him waiting, he would be back at the farm at the very
+right moment.</p>
+
+<p>As luck would have it, the servant returned almost immediately, to say
+that her mistress had no change, and would send the money round with
+the next bundle of linen. And Bill, only too glad to be free, money
+or no money, nodded and ran off towards the river as fast as his legs
+would carry him.</p>
+
+<p>It was a good deal farther that way, but Bill had now nothing but
+himself to carry. In a very short time, he had reached the riverbank,
+and was hurrying along the towing-path. The geese were already in the
+field. He saw them marching towards the river in their pompous way,
+with the old white gander at their head. There would be nothing to
+fear from them; and, puffing and panting with hurry and excitement,
+Bill scudded along until he reached the back of the orchard, when he
+slackened pace and went tiptoe, stealing along behind the hedge towards
+the hole through which he intended to creep.</p>
+
+<p>It was not much of a gap, for it had grown-up a bit since last Bill had
+squeezed through—which was when the apples were ripe. But gap or no
+gap wasn't going to stand in his way just then. Bill got down into the
+ditch, to wait until he should hear eight strike and the men tramp past
+to breakfast. He had not long been there when the clock sounded out the
+hour.</p>
+
+<p>Bill took his hands out of his pockets, and laid hold of a stoutish
+stem of whitethorn on either side, breaking or bending back the smaller
+twigs, so as to clear his passage. Then he waited again. He could
+plainly hear somebody moving about inside the hedge, and he began to
+be terribly afraid that one of the men had made up his mind to spare
+himself the trouble of going home to breakfast.</p>
+
+<p>Bill let go the whitethorn stems in dismay.</p>
+
+<p>"There's a go!" exclaimed he to himself. It seemed such a pity, too,
+when everything was so splendidly arranged. But just then, he heard the
+footsteps moving towards the door of the shed.</p>
+
+<p>"Gone eight, mate?" asked a voice.</p>
+
+<p>Blazer sprang to his feet and uttered a bark; but there was no other
+answer.</p>
+
+<p>"Blest if oi yeerd it strike!" exclaimed the voice. "But they be all
+gone, sarting sure, and oi be left behoind. Oi reckon that 'ere clock
+bean't much account. 'Twants a bigger clapper to t' bell."</p>
+
+<p>And with these words, the door banged to, and the hobnails went
+dragging across the yard. It was old Jaggers, the cowman, who was as
+deaf as a post, and was always getting "left behind" if his mates
+forgot to hail him when the breakfast hour arrived.</p>
+
+<p>The coast was clear at last. Bill laid hands anew on the whitethorn
+stems. But at that very moment, a dull thud, thud, in his other ear
+made him stop short. It was a sound of approaching footsteps on
+the worn grass of the footway. Some one was coming along from the
+river-side. Would interruptions never cease? Bill gave a guilty look
+round. It would not do to be seen in the ditch.</p>
+
+<p>A yard or two to the right was a large bramble bush, which had sprung
+up on the field and straggled over to the hedge, catching hold of the
+whitethorn with its thorny arms, and interlacing with the blackberry
+brambles in a thick tangle. Under this shelter, he crept to hide.</p>
+
+<p>Thud, thud came the steps, nearer and nearer. A few minutes more and he
+would be able to come out. But just as the passer-by reached the very
+spot where Bill crouched in hiding, the footsteps suddenly ceased.</p>
+
+<p>Bill was puzzled. Who could it be? And why had he stopped exactly
+there? Bill was shrewd enough to know that if he could not see, neither
+could he be seen; but it was too bad to be obliged to stop there whilst
+the moments of that precious half-hour were running to waste.</p>
+
+<p>At length, impatience got the better of prudence, and he determined
+to get a peep, at the risk of being discovered. With this intent, he
+commenced creeping by inches towards the limit of his shelter. But a
+boy's eyes cannot be in two places at once. In his anxiety to keep
+a watch on the bank, he entirely forgot the necessity of looking to
+his feet. At the very moment when he caught sight of a well-blacked
+boot, down slipped his foot into a deep hole, and poor, luckless Bill
+suddenly found himself measuring his length at the bottom of the ditch.</p>
+
+<p>"Hullo!" exclaimed a voice from above. "What's up?"</p>
+
+<p>Bill was not hurt; but he lay quiet, still hoping to escape discovery.
+The owner of the voice, however, to whom the boot also belonged, was
+not likely to be so easily satisfied.</p>
+
+<p>"What's up?" repeated he, facing about, and seeing to his infinite
+astonishment a somewhat unkempt figure sprawling at the bottom of the
+ditch.</p>
+
+<p>Finding concealment impossible, Bill scrambled to his feet with a
+sheepish grin.</p>
+
+<p>"What are you after?" asked the stranger.</p>
+
+<p>He was dressed in a suit of dark-coloured tweed, and had under his arm
+what looked like a bundle of deal sticks and a flat, square package
+buckled up in a shiny black case. Bill's rapid survey satisfied him
+that he did not belong to the neighbourhood, and that it was therefore
+safe to tell as many lies as ingenuity could invent.</p>
+
+<p>"Rats," answered he promptly. "Got a hole here; and they steals the
+eggs."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah!" observed the gentleman. "And you get so much a head for them, eh?"</p>
+
+<p>Bill nodded.</p>
+
+<p>The gentleman turned on his heel, laughing to himself at the idea that
+any rat should be so unwary as to come out of his hole when somebody
+was by to knock him on the head. A minute later, he had forgotten the
+whole thing, and relapsed into his former attitude, looking away across
+the fields to the right. He was an artist, and had come down by rail to
+make the best of the mild spring day; for there was an open view of the
+church from that point before the leaves were thick.</p>
+
+<p>Bill, not knowing all this, stood at the bottom of the ditch staring at
+his back, and wondering what spirit of contrariness could possess him
+that he must choose that very spot to loiter on. He was just thinking
+whether it would be safe to leave him out of the question altogether,
+and proceed to the business of getting through the hedge, when the
+gentleman faced about again.</p>
+
+<p>"Hullo!" said he, unrolling the bundle of sticks under his arm as he
+spoke, and nodding towards the farm. "You don't work there?"</p>
+
+<p>Bill shook his head. "My father does though," answered he.</p>
+
+<p>"You couldn't borrow a chair for me, I suppose," said the gentleman.
+"They know you, I daresay."</p>
+
+<p>Bill stared for a minute or two, then suddenly broke into a grin.
+"Dessay I could," said he.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, look sharp!" returned the gentleman. "And I'll give you a
+copper."</p>
+
+<p>To his infinite astonishment, Bill had no sooner received the order,
+than he advanced a few steps along the ditch, turned his face to the
+hedge, and seizing firm hold of the two whitethorn sterns, commenced
+drawing himself through the gap.</p>
+
+<p>"He knows how to take an order," said the artist to himself. "That's
+what I call going the shortest cut."</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, Bill's mental comment was, "My! If he ha'n't nearly done
+me!" And he made like a shot for the door of the shed, casting a rapid
+glance towards Blazer's kennel, to see if he were on the watch. For
+once, however, Blazer was otherwise occupied, and Bill gained the shed
+unobserved.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image011" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image011.jpg" alt="image011"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<h3><a id="Chapter_8">CHAPTER VIII.</a></h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<b>"CONSCIENCE MAKES COWARDS OF US ALL."</b><br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>ON first peeping into the shed, Bill was disconcerted to see a goose on
+one of the nests.</p>
+
+<p>But Bill was no coward when there was anything to be gained. He went
+cautiously forward towards the furthest boxes, keeping an eye on the
+sitting bird the while, and ready to beat a retreat on the first alarm.
+But the goose had no intention of quitting her position. She only
+raised her head with a little warning scream and hiss; and he reached
+the nests without further challenge.</p>
+
+<p>Bill uttered an exclamation of delight. In the first nest were three
+eggs; in the second, two. "Let's make 'em even," said he, possessing
+himself of the odd egg, and stowing it carefully in his jacket-tail.</p>
+
+<p>Just as he was about to turn, however, an idea came to him. Ten to one
+such a splendid chance would not return in a hurry. "One a-piece 'll
+be fairer," said he, taking an egg from the other nest, and tucking it
+in the opposite pocket. "They can lay another," added he, with a grin.
+Then he recrossed the shed, and regained the door.</p>
+
+<p>Peeping round, before venturing out, he saw that Blazer had come out of
+his kennel, and was standing on the alert, waiting for somebody to bark
+at. Bill's first impulse was to draw back. Perhaps the dog had heard
+the goose's scream. But second thought convinced him that to think of
+remaining longer in the shed was useless, and that, in fact, the sooner
+he got out of it the better, since by this time it must be very close
+on half-past eight. With another glance at Blazer, he slipped out and
+darted round the side of the shed. But Blazer had seen him, and dashed
+forward on his chain with a furious bark.</p>
+
+<p>Bill turned, terrified, half expecting to see Blazer on his heels; and
+not looking to see where he was going, ran full tilt against the corner
+of the shed, leaving the print of a louvre-board on his eyebrow. But
+anyhow he was safe behind the shed, and Blazer was not loose.</p>
+
+<p>Bill felt his pockets tenderly, congratulating himself that the blow
+had been in front instead of behind. Then the difficulty of getting
+through the gap without smashing the eggs occurred to him for the
+first time. "Head first 'll be the style," decided he at length; and
+with another guilty glance, to make sure that Blazer was not on his
+track, down he went on hands and knees, wriggling through the gap,
+and reaching down with his hands until they touched the bottom then
+paddling along sideways, much after the fashion of a lizard coming out
+of his hole.</p>
+
+<p>It was not surprising that his face was pretty red by the time he got
+to his feet. His first thought was to feel whether the eggs were safe.
+He had been terribly afraid they would roll out of his pockets as he
+felt his jacket-tails fall forward on to his shoulders whilst he was
+upside down; but they were none the worse.</p>
+
+<p>He was still feeling them over when he suddenly became aware of the
+artist standing on the bank looking down at him. He had set up his
+easel, and was waiting for his chair.</p>
+
+<p>Bill's hands came out of his pockets all in a hurry. Like all people
+who have anything to conceal, he felt as if everybody must guess his
+guilty secret.</p>
+
+<p>"Hullo!" said the artist. "I should come through feet first next time,
+if I were you. Where's all chair? Wouldn't they give it you?"</p>
+
+<p>Bill was one of those unscrupulous people who are never at loss for an
+answer.</p>
+
+<p>"Dog's got loose," said he.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah!" said the artist, glancing uncomfortably at the gap through which
+Bill had just come. Where a boy could get through, a dog could also. "A
+savage brute, is he?" asked he.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, rather," admitted Bill. "I'd sooner you met him than me," he
+added, feeling his injured eyebrow tenderly. "I ran agen' the shed, I
+did."</p>
+
+<p>"He isn't likely to come through after you?" asked the artist, still
+with an uneasy eye on the gap.</p>
+
+<p>Bill shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"Couldn't say for positive," answered he. "Dogs is wonderful keen. But
+I could go round to the front and tell 'em to chain him up."</p>
+
+<p>"Do so," said the artist promptly.</p>
+
+<p>And Bill, feeling rather awkwardly conscious of his jacket-tails,
+started off, to lay siege to Grip's domain.</p>
+
+<p>Within the space of ten minutes he returned, carrying a chair, and
+followed by Elspeth, who had in view two ends—first, to insure the
+safety of her chair; second, to inform the gentleman that if he should
+be wanting lunch, she could make arrangements for his comfort in her
+front kitchen. Bill having intimated that the gent was rather timid of
+dogs, she also added that there was nothing to fear from either animal,
+as they were both on the chain.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile Bill, with the eggs still in his pockets, stood at the
+artist's elbow, watching his preparations with a curious eye, and
+waiting for his copper.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm going to make a picture of the church," said the artist presently.
+"Perhaps I may want a boy in the foreground. Would you like me to put
+you in?"</p>
+
+<p>Bill looked up sharply, and nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"That'd be two coppers, sir, wouldn't it?" said he.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, yes; I suppose it would," admitted the artist carelessly. "Go
+and stand yonder against that tussock, and let me see how picturesque
+you can look."</p>
+
+<p>Bill obeyed.</p>
+
+<p>"Put your arms up as if you were carrying something," the artist called
+to him. Then after a minute or so, beckoning him back. "I shan't want
+you for an hour or two," said he. "No doubt you could bring a basket
+or a bundle. Or stay! You haven't got a goat or a donkey—or a little
+brother?"</p>
+
+<p>Bill hadn't; but he thought it might be possible to borrow one.</p>
+
+<p>"That'd be three coppers, sir, wouldn't it?" bargained that mercenary
+young scamp.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! Come," returned the artist; "you're too sharp by half for a
+country boy. I daresay some one else will come along who will think it
+an honour to be put in a picture and hung in the Academy. If it ever
+attains to that honour," he added to himself, as Bill anxious not to
+lose all by his grasping, declared himself ready and willing to stand
+on any terms.</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, then," concluded the artist, who had taken rather a fancy
+to the boy's shaggy appearance. "In an hour or two, I shall expect you
+back."</p>
+
+<p>And Bill went off up the field towards the river.</p>
+
+<p>Truth to tell, those two goose eggs were beginning to weigh very heavy
+in Bill's pockets. It was quite a chance when he might meet with Dick
+Crozier; but it was plain he could not carry an egg about in his pocket
+until he did. One, of course, he intended to suck as soon as he was at
+a safe distance from the farm; but meantime the other must be hidden
+somewhere. Bill wandered on; but the fine day had brought a good
+many people out, and he kept meeting first one, then another, until
+at length he arrived at the riverbank without having had a chance of
+tasting his stolen sweets.</p>
+
+<p>The geese had reached the bank too, and were standing about in various
+attitudes of burlesque dignity, some snapping the grass with their
+great, broad bills, others with their awkward necks upstretched, always
+ready to scream. They numbered ten or a dozen.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! Mrs. Geese," Bill thought to himself as he approached, "I wonder
+which of you these eggs belong to. You'll just have the trouble of
+laying a couple more, unless you choose to go short of eggs to sit on."</p>
+
+<p>He had often been that way before, and laughed at the idea of being
+afraid of geese; but somehow this time, as he drew near, every head in
+the flock seemed turned to look upon him, and when they commenced their
+usual "Ya-hi!—Ya-hi!" he stopped short, to consider the advisability of
+going on.</p>
+
+<p>Of course it was nonsense to suppose that they could know anything
+about the theft. But the thief knew, which was the same thing with a
+difference; it is so true, that wise old saying that "conscience makes
+cowards of us all."</p>
+
+<p>If Bill had looked behind, he would have seen Dick Crozier coming along
+from the opposite direction.</p>
+
+<p>Dick had at length determined upon using "his common sense" in the
+matter. Having accidentally transgressed his father's injunctions on
+the morning when he made the Squire's acquaintance, he had come to
+the conclusion that he would get no harm by repeating the accident on
+purpose, with regard to the river. He had found his way by another
+field-path, a mile or two beyond the Manor Farm, and was now coming
+along the towing-path, with the intention of returning by the way which
+Bill had just come.</p>
+
+<p>Bill, however, was too much engrossed to notice anything but the geese.
+He was having a fight with his own cowardice, and had just gained the
+victory.</p>
+
+<p>"It's all rubbish," he was saying to himself; "as if they could know!"
+And he set forward at a determined pace.</p>
+
+<p>Just then the foremost goose waddled forward, assuming a decidedly
+hostile attitude; and at the same instant Dick, recognising Bill from
+behind, gave a shrill whistle. Between the goose and the whistle, Bill
+was so startled that he came to a sudden halt, completely unmanned;
+then seeing the goose still advance, he turned to fly.</p>
+
+<p>This, of course, was the last thing he should have done; for the bird
+no sooner saw his back, than ducking her head and opening her wings,
+she rushed forward with a scream. Bill heard her coming, and put on
+the speed; but the goose was sure to win the race. A minute later, she
+would have had him by the back of his small clothes, had not Bill, in
+flinging a terrified glance over his shoulder, swerved to the edge of
+the towing-path, and overbalancing himself, slipped and fallen, rolling
+over and over down the incline into the ditch that separated the bank
+from the field.</p>
+
+<p>The enraged goose was after him like lightning, screaming and flapping
+her wings. But Bill's terrified imagination put spurs to his energy.
+Imagining that the whole flock had taken up the fray, he scrambled to
+his feet, and plucking up all his valour, just as the goose rushed
+forward, he caught her in the breast-bone with such a fling of his
+heavy boot as sent her staggering and rolling over backwards, silenced
+at any rate for the present.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile Dick, seeing Bill in difficulties, had maintained a safe
+distance; he now came on, whilst Bill, fearing the recovery of the
+goose, or the vengeance of her allies, fled towards him, panting and
+red in the face.</p>
+
+<p>"Killed her?" called Dick excitedly.</p>
+
+<p>"Dunno," cried Bill, without so much as turning to look back. "Run!"</p>
+
+<p>And Dick adopting the suggestion, both lads sped as if for their lives.</p>
+
+<p>"That was a first-rate kick!" was Dick's admiring comment, when they at
+length stopped where a bend of the river and a clump of weeping-willows
+suggested safety.</p>
+
+<p>The terrible geese were now only visible a long way behind over the
+water, with their necks still upstretched, and now and then screaming
+a faint "ya-hi!" as a bird flew across, or some equally unimportant
+matter arrested their attention.</p>
+
+<p>Bill felt rather foolish. "Guess I shan't come this way again in a
+hurry," observed he.</p>
+
+<p>Dick remarked that he didn't know geese were dangerous.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! Ain't they, though," said Bill, changing his opinions to suit his
+case. "You've only seen 'em hangin' up by the necks, I guess. Never
+offered to touch me before, though," added he, with a touch of bravado.
+"Seems like they know when you've been meddling with their nests."</p>
+
+<p>"Have you got it?" asked Dick eagerly, referring to the promised egg.</p>
+
+<p>Bill nodded. "One a-piece," said he, clapping a hand to each
+jacket-tail. Then suddenly remembering his roll down the bank, his face
+fell,—"I'm licked!" exclaimed he with a blank look. "If they ain't all
+smashed! Now, there's a go!"</p>
+
+<p>What a mess it was; and what a face Bill made as he drew his hands out,
+yellow and sticky, and stood staring helplessly at Dick!</p>
+
+<p>"There's a go!" repeated Dick. "My word and honour!"</p>
+
+<p>"After all that trouble!" added Bill, thinking of the sitting goose
+and Farmer Bluff's dog Blazer, and all the other obstacles he had
+surmounted. "It's sixpence all the same though," added he.</p>
+
+<p>Bill had pulled his jacket off by this time, and was down upon his
+knees on the grass, turning out the pockets.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't you wish you may get it!" returned Dick derisively. "You don't
+call that an egg?"</p>
+
+<p>Bill had got his mouth down to one pocket, lapping, up the yellow mess.
+"It warn't my fault they broke," said he, looking up, his face all
+smeared with yolk.</p>
+
+<p>"Nor mine; that's certain," retorted Dick decisively, turning on his
+heel. "You can have the other one too," he called over his shoulder as
+he went.</p>
+
+<p>"Stop a bit!" cried Bill. "Hi! Stop! It's sixpence, or I split on you!"</p>
+
+<p>"Will you though!" retorted Dick, facing round with a jeer. "Who stole
+'em?"</p>
+
+<p>"Who asked me to?" retorted Bill.</p>
+
+<p>"Who offered to?" Dick flung back.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't do anything again for you in a hurry," said Bill, applying his
+mouth to the other pocket. "You're a sneak!"</p>
+
+<p>But Dick only jeered, and went his way.</p>
+
+<p>Bill knelt upright a minute or two, to look after him; then he
+proceeded to lay himself out flat on the bank, feet furthest from the
+edge, and set to work washing out the pockets in the river.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image012" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image012.jpg" alt="image012"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<h3><a id="Chapter_9">CHAPTER IX.</a></h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<b>RENEWING ACQUAINTANCE.</b><br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>ELSPETH fully anticipated the honour of giving lunch to this strange
+artist, for whom Bill had borrowed the chair. It was a good step up
+to the public house by the church; and common sense told her that
+a shelter so near at hand, where he could rest and eat, would be a
+convenience not to be despised.</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly, she laid forward with her work, in order to be ready to
+do the honours of a cold-meat spread any time after eleven o'clock,
+by which hour she counted he might reasonably be getting hungry. As
+fortune would have it, however, she was doomed to disappointment.</p>
+
+<p>Setting out about half-past nine for a walk his grandsons, the Squire
+with Hal at his side, arrived at the stile beyond the Manor Farm,
+intending to proceed by way of the riverbank and the fields to the
+church, and thence to the gate of the wood, to see how Farmer Bluff's
+place of exile was progressing.</p>
+
+<p>Will and Sigismund were quickly over; and whilst Hal and the old
+gentleman were following at leisure, on they ran as usual. They no
+sooner disappeared beyond the corner where the path curved round the
+orchard than they came racing back.</p>
+
+<p>"Such an odd object!" cried Will, in his clear, sharp voice. "A man
+under a white canvas umbrella!"</p>
+
+<p>"Like a missionary teaching the heathen," put in Sigismund; for the
+equinoctial sun was in one of its rare hot moods, and our artist had
+been glad to screen his eyes from its glare.</p>
+
+<p>A few moments later, the Squire and Hal were in sight of him. Hal, as
+usual, was just ready with some question, when his grandfather uttered
+an exclamation of pleasure and surprise. At the same moment, a look of
+recognition passed over the artist's face, and he rose, respectfully
+doffing his hat.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Grantley!" exclaimed the old gentleman, hurrying forward with
+extended hand. "I little thought you were upon my domains."</p>
+
+<p>"On Tommy Tinker's ground," put in, sotto voce, Will, who always had
+something mischievous at the tip of his tongue.</p>
+
+<p>The artist replied that he himself had not been aware of it until,
+inquiring his way of a labouring man up by the church, he had learned
+the name of the place. "I intended doing myself the honour of calling
+on you later in the day," he added; "when the air becomes too chilly
+for work."</p>
+
+<p>"By all means," said the Squire cordially. "I shall be delighted.
+I see you have already made acquaintance with my bailiff, or his
+housekeeper," added he, glancing at the chair.</p>
+
+<p>Grantley acquiesced. "A decent, hospitable kind of body too," returned
+he; "offered to get me luncheon presently—which, by the way, I think
+will come acceptable before long; for I breakfasted at six, preparatory
+to my tramp over from the town; and I find your country air sharpening
+to the appetite."</p>
+
+<p>"You will find my bailiff but indifferent company, I fear," said the
+Squire. "Farmer Bluff is all that his name implies; a gouty old sinner,
+too, who deserves every twinge in his joints as heartily as ever any
+one did. However, if he is expecting you, of course—"</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! From what the good woman said," interrupted Grantley, "I am not to
+enjoy the honour of sitting down with Farmer Bluff. She spoke of her
+front kitchen."</p>
+
+<p>"I suspected as much," rejoined the Squire. "Bluff was never noted
+for the virtue of hospitality, and never will be. This is simply a
+scheme of Dame Elspeth's to turn an honest half-crown. That being so,
+I propose that you come up to lunch with me at the Manor House; or if
+that will take you from your work too soon, go in and have a snack of
+bread and bacon in Elspeth's kitchen, and come on to dine with me at
+six."</p>
+
+<p>This arrangement seemed best to suit Grantley, who was anxious to lose
+none of the short spring day. "It will make a pretty sketch," said he,
+"if I can do it justice; but I am expecting a lad back presently—the
+one who fetched out Dame Elspeth and the chair; a lively urchin, from
+the way in which he scrambled through the hedge there, rather than go
+round like ordinary folk to the front entrance."</p>
+
+<p>"Well for him that the old farmer has his gout on, if he is familiar
+with the way through that hedge," observed the Squire. "But if Farmer
+Bluff suffers that way, his dog Blazer doesn't; and the dog isn't a
+whit more bland-tempered than his master."</p>
+
+<p>"Oh, grandfather!" put in Hal, who was listening as usual, his keen
+eyes moving quickly from one to the other of the speakers. "Blazer is
+ever so much nicer than Grip. He's an honest old doggie."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps Farmer Bluff might become an honest old bailiff in your hands,
+my boy," returned his grandfather, "if only his gout allowed him to
+live long enough to see you in power. This is Hal, the coming man,"
+continued he to Grantley; "the eldest son of your old schoolfellow, who
+will be Squire in my stead one of these days, I hope."</p>
+
+<p>Grantley said something pleasant in answer to this information; but Hal
+could not help feeling that he cast a pitying glance at his crutches
+and irons.</p>
+
+<p>"I hope I shall be as good a Squire as you, grandfather," said he in a
+low voice.</p>
+
+<p>"Aim at being better, my boy," returned his grandfather, laying a fond
+hand on his shoulder. "The higher our ideal, the higher we may hope
+to reach. Set before yourself not the Squire your old grandfather
+has been, but the Squire Christ Jesus would have been if He—the only
+perfect man—had been Lord of the Manor to the people here."</p>
+
+<p>And somehow, with his grandfather's words, it came over the cripple
+boy, that with such an ideal before him, it would not so very much
+matter to his squireship if he could not follow the hounds or ride in
+the steeplechase.</p>
+
+<p>Then they set forward, and presently they met Dick Crozier on his way
+back from witnessing Bill's encounter with the goose.</p>
+
+<p>The Squire stopped.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Master Dick," said he, for he rarely forgot a name, "you're out
+early; and you haven't missed your way to-day."</p>
+
+<p>Dick answered "No;" but coloured to the crown, for conscience reminded
+him that he had none the less been out of bounds.</p>
+
+<p>The Squire, however, knowing nothing of his father's injunctions,
+misinterpreted the blush, judging him to be of a modest turn. Now the
+Squire liked a boy who wasn't "made of brass;" so he took Dick to his
+heart thenceforth.</p>
+
+<p>"My grandsons will be pleased to show you the grounds at the Manor
+House any time you like to come up for a game," said he.</p>
+
+<p>Dick thanked him.</p>
+
+<p>"And if you're not too tired to turn back with us just now," continued
+the Squire, "we shall all be pleased to have your company."</p>
+
+<p>So Dick, who had till one o'clock upon his hands, turned back towards
+the river with them, nothing loth to walk in such august society.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile Bill, upon the riverbank, behind the willow clump, had just
+finished washing out his pockets, which he had wrung out as dry as he
+could before putting his jacket on again. This done, he turned to take
+a survey of the distant hostile squadron.</p>
+
+<p>To his amazement and dismay, whom should he behold but Dick Crozier and
+the Squire's grandsons making straight for the very spot where he had
+given the goose that vicious kick; and in their midst the brisk, trim
+figure of the Squire himself, one hand behind his back, as usual, the
+other grasping the gold head of his cane.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, if he ha'n't been straight and split on me!" exclaimed Bill to
+himself. "There's a mess!"</p>
+
+<p>This was precisely what Dick—being somewhat in the same mess—had not
+done, and had no intention of doing. The history of the affair was this.</p>
+
+<p>Turning to the left, along the riverbank, to gain the cottages by
+the gate of the wood, the Squire and his grandsons had come upon the
+extraordinary spectacle of a flock of some ten or a dozen geese huddled
+together in apparent agitation and concern at a distance of several
+yards from one member of their flock, who was writhing and flapping
+on the grass in evident distress and agony. Their conduct betrayed a
+curious mixture of fear and sympathy. Now and again, one or another
+would come out from among her fellows, and make a few steps forward
+with outstretched neck, whilst the rest of the flock chorused her with
+warning screams of "Ya-hi!—Ya-hi!" But having contemplated the poor
+sufferer for some seconds, the spectacle of a sister's sufferings
+evidently became too much for her feelings, and she waddled away again
+to seek support of the gander, who stood hindermost of all, utterly
+useless in such an emergency.</p>
+
+<p>Hal's quick eyes had been the first to catch sight of her.</p>
+
+<p>"She's dying, grandfather!" exclaimed he; and as his brothers rushed
+forward, he felt in all its keenness the privation of his crippled
+condition.</p>
+
+<p>Dick was in no such hurry, for he guessed pretty accurately what was
+the matter with the goose; though whether Bill's boot had broken her
+breast-bone or bruised her internal organs, he could not tell; so he
+followed on with Hal and his grandfather.</p>
+
+<p>The Squire looked on for some minutes with both perplexity and concern
+at the poor creature's distress, then he turned to Hal and Sigismund.</p>
+
+<p>"Run to Farmer Bluff's, both of you," said he. "Bring one of the men.
+The poor thing must be attended to at once."</p>
+
+<p>Off ran Will and Sigismund at the top of their speed, whilst the other
+three looked on, not knowing what to do.</p>
+
+<p>And in the distance stood Bill, watching them, and wondering what
+would come of it all. At length, recollecting his appointment with the
+artist, and concluding that it would be safer not to venture back to
+Farmer Bluff's field by that path, Bill set off running in the opposite
+direction, intending to go round the longer way by which Dick had met
+him when they quarreled about the broken egg.</p>
+
+<p>All this while, Dick was in a sad dilemma, for he dared not tell what
+he knew, although he could so easily have put them on the right track
+with regard to the poor bird's sufferings.</p>
+
+<p>At length, two of the farm labourers arrived, and after a short
+examination, amid much cackling and screaming from the rest of the
+flock, they carried off the injured goose in a basket they had brought
+for the purpose, to doctor her after their simple light; or, as a last,
+humane measure, to put a quick end to her struggles.</p>
+
+<p>"For it's my opinion, sir," said one of the men wisely, as they placed
+her in the basket, "that her 'll not get over this. I've seen 'em took
+like this before; and they never live."</p>
+
+<p>"Then kill her mercifully, by all means," the Squire answered him; "and
+end her sufferings."</p>
+
+<p>And they continued on their way.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image013" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image013.jpg" alt="image013"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<h3><a id="Chapter_10">CHAPTER X.</a></h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<b>THE INQUEST.</b><br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>"THAT'S two geese lost this spring," observed one of the men next
+morning, as the injured bird breathed her last under his hand. "Warn't
+the governor mad!"</p>
+
+<p>And so he was. He cursed, he swore, he raged; he would have stamped,
+had not his infirmity prevented it. Above all, he felt deeply injured
+that his gout prevented him from going out to see after things himself;
+for when he used to be about, such casualties never happened. Being
+tied to his chair, however, and having now one hand bad, in addition to
+his feet, he could use nothing more violent than his tongue.</p>
+
+<p>And at length, the men, having listened as long as they thought
+necessary, to his stream of abuse, carried out the goose to execute
+their mournful duty.</p>
+
+<p>Left to himself, Farmer Bluff gradually cooled down; and as he cooled,
+certain words of Hal's came back to mind. This gout, Hal had said, was
+of his own seeking. If so, it was his own fault that he had lost the
+geese. Farmer Bluff instinctively reached out his sound hand for the
+silver mug, and having drained it of its contents, fell into a brown
+study.</p>
+
+<p>In the midst of his reflections, he heard a sudden tap against the
+window at his back, and looking round, he saw Hal's face pressed
+against the glass. The boy nodded; so did the bailiff—in spite of his
+grumps; and Hal swung himself off to ring at the bell, sitting down in
+the porch to wait.</p>
+
+<p>Elspeth was more astonished than ever, on taking her usual peep through
+the slit window.</p>
+
+<p>"Well! If you ain't layin' yourself open to hear a lot of language that
+ain't fit for the ears of the likes o' you!" exclaimed she, as she
+opened the door. "The master's that mad about the goose, that he's done
+nothing but swear ever since they brought her in."</p>
+
+<p>Hal was already on his feet—or rather, his crutches.</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind," said he. "It won't hurt me if he swears ever so. It's not
+what goes in at your ears that defiles you, you know, but what comes
+out of your mouth; because that shows what's in your heart."</p>
+
+<p>So Hal went in, and was announced as before—"The young Squire, sir!"</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff was looking towards the door in expectation. His features
+relaxed on sight of the boy's cheery face.</p>
+
+<p>Hal wished him "good morning."</p>
+
+<p>"Left hand," said he, as his young master swung himself across to shake
+hands. The right arm was suspended from his neck in a large checked
+handkerchief.</p>
+
+<p>Hal looked serious. "Is that gout too, Mr. Bluff?" asked he, standing
+in front of him, and eyeing the bandaged arm.</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! Young master," said he; "you didn't know what a plaguesome thing
+it was, once it got hold of your system; did you now? It couldn't
+be satisfied with getting me off my legs, but it must disable my
+knife-hand. It'll have the fork one next, I'll be bound; and then there
+'ll be a pair of 'em. A quadruped of gout!"</p>
+
+<p>He looked rather proud over this joke. It wasn't many he made when he
+had gout.</p>
+
+<p>But Hal stood silent.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm disappointed," said he. "I expected to find you better; and
+instead of that, you're worse." And he went and sat down on a chair
+opposite—the same one he had occupied on his first visit—looking
+perplexed and grieved. Presently he said,—"It's that mug, Mr. Bluff.
+I'm sure of that. Have you thought about it any more?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, no," returned the bailiff; "not much. I can't say I have. I've
+thought more about the goose, a long chalk."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes; that was a pity," said Hal sympathetically. "I was very sorry for
+the poor thing."</p>
+
+<p>"Two broods lost in one year," said Farmer Bluff, getting on his moody
+expression again. "More than a man like me can afford to lose. Now, if
+I'd been about—"</p>
+
+<p>"There you are again," put in Hal. "If you will have gout—"</p>
+
+<p>"It's all those men," continued the old fellow wrathfully. "They're
+so—" Farmer Bluff pulled up suddenly, before he added "careless." He
+was going to throw in one of his swearing expressions, to give weight
+to the word; but he fortunately recollected Hal in time, and checked
+himself.</p>
+
+<p>"Did they find out what she died of?" asked Hal.</p>
+
+<p>"Of a knife in her throat, of course," laughed the old bailiff grimly.</p>
+
+<p>"But what was the matter first, I mean," explained Hal.</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff shook his head. "They brought her in to me," said he; "and
+I couldn't see, except that she was dying pretty fast. So I told 'em to
+put an end to it."</p>
+
+<p>"You'll have an inquest, won't you?" said Hal presently.</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff laughed outright. "An inquest on a goose!" roared he.
+"Upon my soul, young master, you're an original; though, when you come
+to look at it, half the inquests are on geese. He! he!—" And he laughed
+again at his own wit.</p>
+
+<p>But Hal was quite in earnest. To him there was nothing funny in it at
+all. "There always is a post-mortem," said he seriously, "when anybody
+dies without the doctor being able to tell the cause of death. I think
+that if I were you, I should like to know why that goose died. It might
+enable you to prevent any more of them dying the same way, you know.
+Perhaps it was something in the food."</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff shook his head. "I daresay it's been 'post-mortemed' for
+somebody's dinner by now," said he, with grim humour. "I told 'em to
+cut her throat and put her underground; but such as them don't often
+get the chance to taste goose flesh. I'll be bound she's twirling on
+the spit by now."</p>
+
+<p>After a little more talk, Hal took his crutches. "Well," said he, "I
+must wish you 'good morning,' Mr. Bluff; and as you've got the gout
+in your right arm I won't trouble you to shake hands. But I'd have it
+out of there, if I were you, feet and all. You really must think about
+that mug this time; now, won't you? I'm certain it's the mug that does
+the mischief; because, you see, you're proud of it, and directly we're
+proud of anything, we forget all the rest. But you won't have a goose
+to put it out of your head this time?"</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff replied that he "hoped to goodness not."</p>
+
+<p>And Hal let himself out.</p>
+
+<p>That evening at dinner,—for the boys always enjoyed the privilege of
+dining with their grandfather in the holidays,—the subject of the goose
+came up, and Hal told what he knew of its fate.</p>
+
+<p>"Upon my word," remarked the Squire, after hearing how Hal had aired
+his ideas about the post-mortem, "you were right too; and if I had
+known it, the bird should not have been put out of the way in that
+slip-shod fashion. As it is, the thing shall be looked into."</p>
+
+<p>"Your bailiff is guilty of allowing the consumption of unwholesome
+food," observed young Grantley, who had had accepted the Squire's
+pressing invitation to make the Manor House his home whilst his pencil
+was busy in the neighbourhood. "It is to be hoped the 'fortunate'
+family will reap no disastrous effects."</p>
+
+<p>"Such a thing might have very serious consequences," added Hal's
+mother, who was very much concerned.</p>
+
+<p>Finally, after due deliberation, the Squire gave orders that some one
+should at once be sent to ascertain the name of the man to whom the
+fate of the goose had been intrusted; and that having done this, the
+messenger should at once proceed to the man's cottage, and learn what
+had become of the stricken bird's remains.</p>
+
+<p>It was quite late in the evening when at length a servant came to say
+that Hobbs—the man who had gone—was waiting in the hall.</p>
+
+<p>The boys' bedtime was already long past, but they had begged to sit up
+a little longer, and they now all followed their grandfather out to
+hear the result of the investigations.</p>
+
+<p>Hobb's account, however, although it quieted all anxiety with regard to
+the meal afforded to the Grig family, only involved in further mystery
+the cause of the goose's death.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Grig, on being questioned, had reported that when plucking it
+ready for trussing, she had discovered a great black bruise upon its
+breast, and that upon further examination she had found the breast-bone
+to be broken. As to the wholesomeness of the flesh, however, she was
+ready to affirm before anybody that a sweeter bird never came from the
+poulterer's,—although "it wasn't quite in prime condition, not being in
+the fatting season." She had finished up by giving it as her opinion
+that there was no doubt about death having been due to accident rather
+than disease.</p>
+
+<p>"There was one item rayther cur'ous 'bout the information as I got,
+sir," said Hobbs finally. "When old Jaggers went home to he's breakfast
+at the stroke of eight that morning, there was three eggs in the old
+white goose's nest, and two in the speckled's, as stood nighest it. But
+when he comed back, blest if there hadn't out o' each nest disappeared
+one egg; so's to leave no more'n two in one, and one in t'other,"
+repeated Hobbs, looking round about upon his hearers to make sure they
+followed him. "And depend upon it, that old white goose had had a fight
+wi' some un as came to steal her egg. Though how the crittur dragged
+herself right away down to the river, wi' that broken bone, is past all
+understanding—except that sittin' birds 'll do 'most anything."</p>
+
+<p>"What about the dog Blazer too?" exclaimed young Grantley, who had
+followed out to hear the news. "Why! That was the first morning I was
+there sketching. They said the dog was loose too."</p>
+
+<p>"Who said so?" asked the Squire sharply.</p>
+
+<p>"The boy who fetched my chair. And, by the by," exclaimed young
+Grantley suddenly, "I have it all! That young rascal was down there
+hiding in the ditch when first I came along; and he got in through
+hedge in quite a practised fashion."</p>
+
+<p>"Ha!" exclaimed the Squire. "But he didn't bring your chair that way?"</p>
+
+<p>"No; he just used that as a pretext for getting through, and came back
+with a black eye and a tale about the dog being off the chain; and,
+having crammed me with that, he offered to go round to the front—"</p>
+
+<p>"Where Blazer could have got at him just the same, if he had really
+been loose," put in Hal.</p>
+
+<p>"Now that I remember," added Grantley, "when I first came up and
+caught him in the ditch, he invented a history about rats, for which
+he professed to get so much a head. He said they stole the eggs; but
+I guess the young scapegrace himself was the biggest rat of the lot,
+and had his eye upon the biggest eggs. I should hardly think that rats
+would tackle a goose's egg."</p>
+
+<p>"There's not a doubt about it but you've found the clue," returned the
+Squire. "The question to be answered is, Who was the boy?"</p>
+
+<p>Young Grantley shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"But you put him in your picture, didn't you?" suggested Hal.</p>
+
+<p>The Squire smiled. "Hal thoroughly believes in your power of faithful
+portraiture," observed he.</p>
+
+<p>Young Grantley laughed. "Yes," said he; "I put him in. I told him to
+return in an hour or two. He was nearer three. He said he had been
+home."</p>
+
+<p>"Which way did he go?" asked Hal.</p>
+
+<p>"Towards the riverbank," was the reply; "but then we haven't yet
+decided who he was. My easel, Squire," he added, "is in Elspeth's
+charge. I'll run down and fetch the canvas if you like."</p>
+
+<p>"No, no; not the least hurry," returned the Squire; "the morning will
+do just as well. We will sleep upon the information that you've given
+us."</p>
+
+<p>The boys begged hard to be allowed to escort young Grantley to the farm
+at once; but it was getting very late, and their grandfather would not
+entertain the idea.</p>
+
+<p>"Dame Elspeth wouldn't thank us for curtailing her hours of rest,"
+said he. "She is up betimes, no doubt. To bed, now; and directly after
+breakfast to-morrow, we will start, and identify the thief."</p>
+
+<p>Finding that there was no appeal, the boys gave in. Will and Sigismund
+went off to bed in high spirits at the idea of dragging a culprit to
+justice by means of an artist's sketch; but Hal lingered behind, a
+minute.</p>
+
+<p>"Grandfather," said he, "what will be done with the boy? Will he go to
+prison, or what?"</p>
+
+<p>"That depends," replied the Squire. "According to the old proverb, we
+must catch him first before we cook him. He certainly shall not be let
+off punishment if we do; you need not fear."</p>
+
+<p>"I meant," replied Hal, "that I don't want him punished. I should fancy
+that it would harden a boy. I would rather have him talked to."</p>
+
+<p>"Be sure he would remember a good smarting far longer," rejoined his
+grandfather; "and I should feel myself to blame if I neglected to let
+him feel the consequence of his bad conduct. Such small beginnings are
+as the seed-corn in the earth, which bringeth forth some thirtyfold,
+some sixtyfold, and some an hundredfold. That is equally true of bad,
+as of good seed. But now be off."</p>
+
+<p>That night Hal went to bed with two sinners on his mind,—Farmer Bluff,
+with his silver mug and his gout, and the youthful but unknown villain
+who had murdered the old white goose and robbed her nest.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image014" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image014.jpg" alt="image014"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<h3><a id="Chapter_11">CHAPTER XI.</a></h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<b>AN ARTIST-DETECTIVE.</b><br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>THE family assembled with great punctuality at the breakfast-table
+next morning. Will and Sigismund crowded round young Grantley, who
+had acquired great importance in their eyes, since he had assumed his
+novel rôle of detective. Hal, on the contrary, looked rather serious,
+wondering who the culprit would turn out to be, and what punishment he
+would have to undergo.</p>
+
+<p>Immediately breakfast was over, the Squire rose and took his
+gold-headed cane. Young Grantley and the boys followed him out on to
+the verandah, Hal's mother accompanying them, to shade her eyes with
+her hand and watch them off, as Dick had seen her do on the first
+occasion of his peeping over the plantation palings at the Manor House.</p>
+
+<p>Outside the lodge they chanced upon Dick, who had been down to the
+railway with his father. The squire gave him a benevolent salute, and
+the boys stopped to speak.</p>
+
+<p>"We can't stay though," said Sigismund. "Turn back with us."</p>
+
+<p>So Dick turned back.</p>
+
+<p>"We're off to the Manor Farm," explained Will. And he went on to give
+the details of the theft, and how suspicion had come to rest upon the
+boy whom Mr. Grantley had put in his sketch of the church, but whose
+name was of course unknown to him. "We're going to identify him by the
+sketch," added he.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. Grantley leaves his easel at the farm," put in Sigismund. "I think
+it's splendid fun. It's exactly like a real police case, isn't it?"</p>
+
+<p>Dick's face had become nearly as serious as Hal's at this intelligence.
+If the theft should be brought home to Bill, his own share in the
+affair was certain to come out, and then it would be all up with his
+pleasant footing at the Manor House.</p>
+
+<p>"Whoever it was, pretty nearly killed the goose," added Will.</p>
+
+<p>And between them, they narrated the events of the preceding evening,
+and how the Grig family had feasted on the poor goose's remains.</p>
+
+<p>This was getting hotter and hotter for Dick. At length, he grew so
+uncomfortable that on reaching the gate of the farm, he said he would
+go no farther and in spite of all their pressing that he should wait
+outside and see the picture when Mr. Grantley brought it out, he
+turned, and left them to go in alone.</p>
+
+<p>They had no sooner knocked at the kitchen door, however, than Dick
+changed his mind, and followed on towards the cottages beyond the farm.
+If Bill were anywhere about, he might give him a hint to keep out of
+the way a bit, until the storm blew over.</p>
+
+<p>Dick's chief motive in this design was to avoid getting his character
+blackened in the Squire's eyes by association with Bill. He overlooked
+the more important consideration that he who meddles with mire is
+blackened, whether other people know it or not; and that there is One,
+before whose piercing gaze no hiding can avail, since He "looketh on
+the heart."</p>
+
+<p>As it happened, Bill was just outside, off for a stroll. Seeing Dick,
+he turned the other way; but Dick ran after him.</p>
+
+<p>"I say," cried he, "you're in for a pretty row. It's all come out about
+the goose and those two eggs you stole."</p>
+
+<p>"I daresay!" flung out Bill. "Of course you've been and told."</p>
+
+<p>"Of course I haven't," answered Dick. "The gentleman that put you in
+his picture smelt it out; and the Squire's gone up with him to the
+farm, to see the picture and identify your phiz."</p>
+
+<p>This information was so startling that poor Bill's hair positively
+stood on end.</p>
+
+<p>"It's only to be hoped he hasn't drawn you well," continued Dick; "but
+somehow these things always do come out. It's what they call the law of
+justice I expect. If I were you, I guess I'd hide away a bit. You see,
+you don't exactly know what they may do. You wouldn't get less than a
+month, you may make pretty sure, with the Squire after you, and Farmer
+Bluff behind, to back him up."</p>
+
+<p>"But where am I to go?" asked Bill, so seriously that Dick perceived at
+once how terrified he was.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, right away somewhere," said he, determined upon striking whilst
+the iron of Bill's fear was hot. "If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't
+even stay to think. I'd set off this very minute, and I'd go on running
+till I dropped. I'd walk till night. I'd do anything, short of jumping
+into the river, to escape a month in gaol. I saw inside a cell once,"
+continued Dick impressively.</p>
+
+<p>And then he shook his head with such effect that Bill looked round,
+almost expecting that his gaolers were at hand. As nothing was to be
+seen of them, however, Bill began to examine the matter more closely.</p>
+
+<p>"How can I get food to eat, if I run away?" said he.</p>
+
+<p>"Work for it, of course," returned Dick contemptuously. "A boy your
+size must be a donkey if he can't pick up enough to buy his victuals.
+You mightn't get much else but bread; but if you come to think, you'd
+get no more than that in gaol."</p>
+
+<p>And it struck Bill that bread and water, with liberty, would be sweeter
+far than the daintiest fare in a prison cell.</p>
+
+<p>"You'd have your hair cropped too," urged Dick; "and all the boys would
+pelt you, and call names, when you came out again."</p>
+
+<p>"I should have nowhere to sleep," said Bill, still hesitating.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! You could get a lodging cheap enough," said Dick; "and anyhow—I'll
+tell you what. If don't make your mind up pretty quick, you'll have 'em
+down on you. The Squire's sure to recognise your picture; and he'll
+come right straight off here. If I were you, I'd go inside and grab
+whatever I could find to stuff my pockets with, and then I'd be off
+like a shot. I wouldn't stand stock-still and let 'em put the handcuffs
+on; not I!"</p>
+
+<p>Bill turned. His mother had gone out, and he could take just what he
+liked.</p>
+
+<p>"Look here," said Dick, with a sudden show of generosity, "I'll start
+you with that sixpence I was to give you for the egg; and then, you
+mind!—You've never got to say a word about my name, d'ye hear?"</p>
+
+<p>And Bill, convinced that he had better escape, and glad to get so much
+to start him on his wanderings, promised, and ran indoors. A minute
+later, he reappeared, his jacket-tails stuffed out to twice their size,
+and in his hand a huge hunch of bread, which he was cramming down his
+throat as fast as he could swallow.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm off!" said he; and away he ran along the road.</p>
+
+<p>"Good luck to you!" cried Dick. And having watched him out of sight, he
+clambered over the gate of a field just opposite the cottages, and hid
+behind the hedge, to wait and see what would happen.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, Elspeth had been astonished beyond measure at the formidable
+party that besieged her kitchen door. In the first place, she was not
+accustomed to let the Squire in that way; and in the second, she caught
+up at once, from odd remarks, that something was amiss; so having
+brought the easel out from its place behind the churn, she retired to a
+respectful distance to listen and pick up what hints she could.</p>
+
+<p>The Squire was the first to look. He examined the canvas closely for an
+instant; then he said,—"Now, boys; let each one take a look; then tell
+me who this is. To my mind, there's no doubt."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Bill the Kicker!" sang out all three with one voice.</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image015" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image015.jpg" alt="image015"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>"And so say I," confirmed the Squire.</p>
+
+<p>"It's splendid!" added Will.</p>
+
+<p>"The rascal!" said the Squire. "He shall smart for it."</p>
+
+<p>Elspeth came a step or two towards the group.</p>
+
+<p>"Would it be the lad that fetched the chair?" asked she.</p>
+
+<p>"The same," nodded young Grantley. "Will you like to look?"</p>
+
+<p>And he politely turned the canvas towards her, whilst the boys made way.</p>
+
+<p>"That was Bill Mumby—Bill the Kicker, as they call him," said Elspeth
+as she approached. "And so is this," she added, the instant she was
+near enough to see. "You've drawed him very true, sir, too."</p>
+
+<p>"Then there remains no doubt," returned the Squire, summing up
+the evidence, and tapping briskly on the red-brick floor with his
+gold-headed cane. "We know whose door the mischief lies at now. The
+portrait does you credit, Grantley. You'll be a great man yet."</p>
+
+<p>"Of whom it will be told in after days," said Grantley, not displeased,
+"that his first hit was made as a detective in the case of a country
+bumpkin versus a goose. Ah! Well, it remains to be seen whether or not
+it will be counted worthy of a place in the Academy."</p>
+
+<p>"It shall certainly have a place in the Manor House," returned the
+Squire warmly, "if you will name your price."</p>
+
+<p>So the picture found a purchaser before it was completed; and the young
+artist went out to his work well pleased.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image016" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image016.jpg" alt="image016"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<h3><a id="Chapter_12">CHAPTER XII.</a></h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<b>BILL'S FUTURE.</b><br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>HALF an hour later, the Squire stood before the door of Bill the
+Kicker's home.</p>
+
+<p>Dick, from his hiding-place behind the hedge, saw him arrive, striking
+the ground importantly with his cane, and followed by his grandsons.</p>
+
+<p>"Now for it!" thought Dick, and rubbed his hands in glee.</p>
+
+<p>The Squire knocked; but no one answered, so he knocked again. Still no
+one came.</p>
+
+<p>"Go round to the back," said he to Will.</p>
+
+<p>Will went, and returned with the news that he had tried the wash-house
+door and found it fast, but through the window he could see a little
+fire in the grate.</p>
+
+<p>"We'll knock once more," said the Squire.</p>
+
+<p>This time the upper window of the next door cottage opened, and a head
+was hastily thrust out. "Mrs. Mumby a'n't at home," the neighbour
+called. Then, seeing who was waiting down below, she humbly begged
+pardon, and further informed the Squire that Mrs. Mumby had gone up the
+road to carry home some linen.</p>
+
+<p>The Squire thanked her with his customary courtesy; and having hoped
+the children were quite well, was going down the pathway, when the good
+woman called again to say that Mrs. Mumby was in sight.</p>
+
+<p>When she arrived, her honest face was red with toiling through the
+sun; and it went redder when she saw the Squire at her door. But Mrs.
+Mumby knew her manners, so she asked him with a curtsey if he wouldn't
+step inside; and there she dusted chairs for him and the three young
+gentlemen, and stood up, with a corner of her apron in her hand, to
+hear what he had come about.</p>
+
+<p>"It's about your boy, Mrs. Mumby," began the Squire, when he had said
+a pleasant thing or two about the weather and her health. "He isn't in
+just now, I believe."</p>
+
+<p>"No, sir," said the mother; "he isn't in just now."</p>
+
+<p>"And you couldn't say exactly where he is?"</p>
+
+<p>"I couldn't, sir," said she.</p>
+
+<p>"Can you tell me where he was all the morning, two days ago?" the
+Squire asked.</p>
+
+<p>"Two days ago?" reflected Mrs. Mumby. "Yes, sir; I believe I can. We
+did some mangling early, him and me, afore his father comed in to he's
+breakfast; and Bill went out to take it home. All the morning arter
+that, sir, he was in the field just by the farm, along o' some strange
+gent as took a fancy to the looks of him, and wanted for to put him
+in a pictur' of the church. A pretty bit it is, too, sir. I've often
+noticed it agoin' 'crost the fields on summer evenings, when the bells
+was ringing out for service, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Mrs. Mumby," said the Squire, anxious to recall her to the point.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir; as I was a-saying," continued Bill's mother, "and I wanted
+him so bad that day to turn the mangle and carry linen home; but of
+course I naturally thinks, thinks I, 'he'll sure to give him something
+for his time.' But it's like such folks, sir; ne'er a copper did my
+Bill get out of him. Come home empty-handed, sir; that he did! And me
+near dragged to death."</p>
+
+<p>"Did he though!" returned the Squire. "I've heard a different tale
+to that. The gentleman—a friend of mine, now staying at the Manor
+House—informs me that he gave the boy a silver sixpence for his time.
+Now what say you to that?"</p>
+
+<p>"That I'm sorry I should have to tell it of my own, sir," answered Mrs.
+Mumby, looking down; "but I'm bound to own as Bill is often caught out
+in untruths. It a'n't for want of bringing up. His father never catches
+him but what he gets the strap; and so he shall this time, sir, that he
+shall. His father 'll be right mad to hear of it."</p>
+
+<p>"But that is not all, I'm grieved to say," pursued the Squire, going on
+to tell her the rest of his charges against her rapscallion son.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Mumby's face fell lower and lower.</p>
+
+<p>"It's not for want o' being strict with him," repeated she. "Mumby and
+me, we're always at him, sir; and, as I say, his father never finds him
+out but what he straps him well."</p>
+
+<p>But the Squire shook his head. "It isn't strapping that 'll make a boy
+right-minded," answered he, "any more than cutting back will make a
+wild plum bear a garden fruit."</p>
+
+<p>"Then what's to do, sir?" said the mother ruefully. "Don't the good
+book tell us, 'Spare the rod, and spoil the child'?"</p>
+
+<p>"But it also tells us," said the Squire, "that the evil deeds men do
+proceed out of their evil hearts; and that nothing can effect a change
+save the Holy Spirit of God, that 'bloweth where it listed' in this
+world of sin."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Mumby was silent. She knew her Bible pretty well, as she had heard
+the parson read it from the desk; but she had hitherto thought only of
+the parent's duty of bringing up a child in the way he should go.</p>
+
+<p>This idea that her boy Bill needed a changed heart to make him want
+less strapping, was new to her. It had never struck her that "bringing
+up" is only like preparing the heart—as ploughing does the field—and
+breaking up its hard surface to receive the gospel seed of truth.</p>
+
+<p>"What would you wish us to do, sir?" asked she nervously.</p>
+
+<p>"First of all, to bring the young culprit face to face with me,"
+replied the Squire. "I will question him, and see what argument can do;
+and if I find him obdurate—well, I shall see what steps to take. There
+is no doubt about the truth of what the 'wise man' says; and there are
+many 'rods' that can be used to teach the wholesome lesson how that
+crooked ways are sure to find their chastisement."</p>
+
+<p>"He'll be in by one, sir, sure," said Mrs. Mumby, half-doubtful whether
+to be glad or sorry that the Squire agreed with her about the need of
+punishment. "He never lags behind at dinner-time."</p>
+
+<p>"Then bring him round to me," rejoined the Squire, rising to his feet.</p>
+
+<p>The mother dropped a curtsey.</p>
+
+<p>"But you won't be hard on him, sir?" said she timidly.</p>
+
+<p>The Squire struck his cane upon the ground.</p>
+
+<p>"We have his future to consider, Mrs. Mumby," answered he. "A boy who
+lies and thieves at his age, must be curbed, or he will end by worse.
+But we will hope that, by God's grace, we may turn him from his evil
+ways."</p>
+
+<p>The Squire and his grandsons were no sooner fairly out of sight than
+Dick came out of hiding, and set off home.</p>
+
+<p>"Bill's well out of that," said he to himself as he thrust his hands
+down in his trousers pockets, and set up whistling. Then, recollecting
+the price he had paid to get Bill off, he broke off his tune to
+add—"And I'm well rid of him." And for all the scarcity of sixpences
+with Dick, he even went so far as to count himself cheaply rid of Bill.
+"I wouldn't care to have the Squire looking after my future," said Dick.</p>
+
+<p>Meantime, young Grantley's brushes worked busily at the picture of the
+church, whilst the Squire and his grandsons made their way across the
+fields and by the river to the wood; and having ascertained that the
+repairs were progressing satisfactorily, they returned to lunch.</p>
+
+<p>Then the Squire sat down in his study to await the arrival of Mrs.
+Mumby and her scapegrace son; and the boys went out of doors to play
+about the plantation, taking care to keep well within sight of the
+gate, so that they might see when Bill arrived. But the afternoon
+wore on. Mumby came in to his dinner, and went back to work; and his
+wife put aside the plateful she had reserved for Bill. Then she went
+upstairs and cleaned herself against his coming in, so as to be ready
+to go up to the Manor House with him.</p>
+
+<p>"I durstn't breathe a word of it till I've got my bonnet on," said she,
+"else he'd be off like a shot."</p>
+
+<p>But Mrs. Mumby tidied up, and came downstairs again with her best
+bonnet in her hand; and still she found the plate untouched. And all
+the afternoon she worked away at her shirt-fronts; but still no Bill
+came in.</p>
+
+<p>Presently she made the tea, and had a cup, setting the pot to keep warm
+on the hob. And six o'clock brought Mumby home; but still no Bill.</p>
+
+<p>"It's just like he's got scent of it," said she. "A boy like him won't
+stand to be corrected while he got legs to run away."</p>
+
+<p>Up at the Manor House they were so less perplexed.</p>
+
+<p>Young Grantley had stowed his easel at the farm, and hurried in to
+dinner, all anxiety to hear what had been done. But all the Squire
+could tell him, was that neither Mrs. Mumby nor the boy had been.</p>
+
+<p>"It's my opinion, grandfather," said Will, "that Mrs. Mumby has changed
+her mind. She's like a silly mother; doesn't want him punished. That's
+the fact of it."</p>
+
+<p>"You oughtn't to have spoken out so plain," said Sigismund. "You've
+frightened her. You take my word; she's hiding Bill."</p>
+
+<p>In this conviction, they all retired for the night.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning, just as breakfast was concluded, a servant came to say
+that, "Mrs. Mumby, from the cottages beyond the Manor Farm," was
+waiting in the hall.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Mumby's face was drowned in tears.</p>
+
+<p>"Bill's gone and drowned hisself, or run away," she sobbed. "He knew
+he'd catch it extra hard; and I shall never see my boy again—my only
+boy."</p>
+
+<p>"My good woman," said the Squire soothingly, "you may be quite sure
+your boy has too much respect for his own life, to do anything so
+foolish as jump into the river. Far more likely he is hiding somewhere
+near about, until the storm is past; so dry your eyes, and tell me what
+you can."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Mumby obeyed.</p>
+
+<p>"He's took a lot o' food out o' the cupboard," said she, choking
+down her sobs, and speaking through her apron. "Pretty nigh a half a
+quartern loaf, he did. I always have 'em in a day before, to get 'em
+stale."</p>
+
+<p>"Proof positive," said Will, "he's run away."</p>
+
+<p>"What should he want with bread in the river, I wonder!" giggled
+Sigismund, snacking at the flies with a bit of whip-cord, and half
+thinking of Bill the whole time.</p>
+
+<p>"He may have gone into the woods," observed the Squire, half to himself.</p>
+
+<p>"Picnicking," put in Will.</p>
+
+<p>"Has any search been made?" continued his grandfather aloud to Mrs.
+Mumby.</p>
+
+<p>The mother answered tearfully that all the neighbours had turned out
+with lanterns after dark, on hearing that the boy had not come home;
+and many people in the village street had joined the search. Every
+outhouse and haystack in the neighbourhood had been ransacked; and many
+of the searchers had not given up till dawn.</p>
+
+<p>"They reckoned, you see, sir, that he was bound to drop asleep
+somewheres, if so be he was alive," explained Mrs. Mumby; "and they'd
+liker hit upon him in the dark than by broad daylight, when he'd be
+upon the tramp."</p>
+
+<p>"It looked remarkably as if he had made off," the Squire thought.
+"Well, well," said he, "the way will be to telegraph the fact to
+Scotland Yard. A thorough search will soon be set on foot." So,
+repairing to the study, a description of the runaway was written out,
+and a man on horseback forthwith despatched with it to the town.</p>
+
+<p>Whilst this was being arranged, Hal had slipped round to Mrs. Mumby's
+side. "I think, you know," said he, "if I could get hold of Bill, and
+talk to him, it might do good; but then, you see, you don't know where
+he is."</p>
+
+<p>The mother shook her head. "I wish I did," said she.</p>
+
+<p>"I wish you did," echoed Hal. "When you don't know where a person
+is, it makes you feel so bad. You see, he'll soon eat up that bread.
+It wouldn't last me long; and everybody says I eat so little, for a
+growing boy."</p>
+
+<p>"And he eats such a lot," rejoined Bill's mother, comforted by the
+interest Hal seemed to take in her boy's fate. "Bless you, sir! You
+need to be poor people, like Mumby and me," she added, "to know how
+much he does eat."</p>
+
+<p>"And the question is," said Hal reflectively, "what will he do when
+that's gone?"</p>
+
+<p>Dick also had heard of the great stir caused by Bill's disappearance.</p>
+
+<p>"There was pretty near a score on us," old Kirkin told him when he ran
+down the garden, early that morning. "We didn't put our lanterns out
+till four; and up again at six. I can tell 'ee, I ha'n't had a wink o'
+sleep."</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder you didn't stay in bed to-day," said Dick.</p>
+
+<p>But Kirkin shook his head. He had been a gardener in his prime, but now
+had to get his living by odd jobs as best he could.</p>
+
+<p>"Sleep or no sleep, can't afford to throw up work," said he. "But when
+a lad's missing, so that no one knows what's come of him, a man can't
+stay in bed to sleep. His mother's like to kill herself."</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder where he's gone," said Dick, which was quite true, so far
+as it went. Nevertheless, he felt very uncomfortable, sitting down to
+breakfast with the secret of Bill's disappearance on his mind.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image017" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image017.jpg" alt="image017"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<h3><a id="Chapter_13">CHAPTER XIII.</a></h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<b>THE YOUNG SQUIRE ASSUMES A NEW CHARACTER.</b><br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>THREE or four days passed, but no tidings came of Bill the Kicker.</p>
+
+<p>A week went by, and still he was away. They had the river dragged,
+and all the ponds; every ditch and pitfall in the neighbourhood was
+searched; and printed bills, describing him, were posted up outside all
+the police stations of the district; but all to no effect.</p>
+
+<p>The April rains had come on now, and the world had suddenly burst into
+verdure. It was a lovely vista that the Squire looked down over the
+gate of the wood, when he went to see after the repairs at the cottage.
+But he had to take his morning walks alone now. The tutor had returned,
+and Easter holidays were up.</p>
+
+<p>Dick's presentiments, too, were realized. His father had found a school
+for him; and nine o'clock saw him strapping up his books and hurrying
+off to learn as much mischief and as little solid information as he
+could—after the fashion of boys made on his pattern.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, Farmer Bluff's gout and the repairs had gone on apace. The
+old fellow's prediction had come true more speedily than he desired.
+Not many days had elapsed when the left hand was seized, and he became
+entirely dependent upon Elspeth—being unable even to feed himself.</p>
+
+<p>As long as the holidays had lasted, Hal had contrived to drop in pretty
+often; and he would hardly have believed how much he was missed,
+now that lessons and April showers combined to keep him away. One
+half-holiday proving fine, however, Hal slipped out between school and
+lunch, and set off for the farm. He rang, as usual, but no one came;
+so, finding the door on the latch, he pushed it open and announced
+himself.</p>
+
+<p>A savoury smell greeted him. Farmer Bluff's dinner tray was on the
+table. Hal apologized for his intrusion.</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't know you dined quite so soon," said he.</p>
+
+<p>"No more I do, it seems," returned Farmer Bluff gruffly. "That's how
+she serves me pretty nearly every day; just brings it in and takes the
+covers off. Then leaves it here for me to smell until it's all gone
+cold,—to go and eat her own, I s'pose. And here am I, can't move hand
+or foot!"</p>
+
+<p>"That's bad," said Hal; "it spoils the gravy so. You get the fat all on
+the top."</p>
+
+<p>It was a mutton chop, and there were greens with it, according to the
+doctor's express orders.</p>
+
+<p>"Greens aren't nice cold, either," added Hal. "They get so dabby, don't
+they? I suppose it rather comes of your having gout in both hands,
+though. Grown-ups are intended to be able to help themselves, you see."</p>
+
+<p>The farmer groaned. He always did, when Hal made these little moral
+reflections. If any one had scolded, it would have only angered him and
+made him obstinate; but Hal's remarks came out so naturally, and he
+looked so sympathetic all the while, that a more ill-tempered man than
+Farmer Bluff could scarcely have felt annoyed.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll tell you what," said Hal suddenly. "As I happen to be here just
+now, why shouldn't I help you? I can manage quite as well as Mrs.
+Elspeth, if you like."</p>
+
+<p>When Elspeth returned, she was astonished to find the young Squire
+seated on a corner of the table, with his crutches one side, and the
+bailiff's plate the other, preparing dainty mouthfuls with the knife
+and fork, and skilfully conveying them to her master's mouth.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I never!" exclaimed she, pausing in the open doorway in amaze.</p>
+
+<p>"It seemed a pity all this gravy should get cold, because you were
+so busy that you couldn't come," explained Hal. "I think, if I were
+you, I'd try and make sure of that before I brought the dinner in. I
+shouldn't like mine cold. And you must excuse my sitting on the table
+too. If I stand, you see, I want my hands to hold my crutches with; and
+if I sit down on a chair, I come so low I couldn't reach. I hope I make
+it salt enough," he added, as he lodged another forkful in the great
+bird's mouth.</p>
+
+<p>Hal's relations with the bailiff became of a far more confidential
+nature after this. We often hear it said that a right to give advice
+is earned by lending help. So Hal found; only he put it in a different
+way. He felt that he had found his way to Farmer Bluff's affection
+by performing such a homely office for him; and he treated him
+accordingly. He often managed to run in upon half-holidays; and he
+didn't only lecture him about the gout. He soon succeeded in making him
+talk; so that before long, he knew more of Farmer Bluff's history than
+most other people did. He found out how the old man liked to talk of
+sport and dogs; but he also learned how Mrs. Bluff had died quite young
+of fever, and how one by one, the children whom she left had gone to
+follow her, so that in six short weeks, he had been left alone.</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image018" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image018.jpg" alt="image018"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>"That was very sad for you," said he. "I shouldn't wonder if that
+partly made you have the gout."</p>
+
+<p>"Trouble does act on the system, so the doctors say," said Farmer
+Bluff, glad of an excuse for what he knew Hal blamed as his own fault.</p>
+
+<p>But that was not exactly Hal's meaning. "It might have been what made
+you take to beer," observed he.</p>
+
+<p>"Now if you'd looked at it like this," continued Hal after due
+reflection: "My wife and children are gone on to heaven, where I mean
+to join them by and by, when I've done work. Just see what a difference
+it would have made. Some people," added he sagely, "only look at every
+day as it comes; and if it rains or snows, they think it's never going
+to stop. Other people look right ahead to the summer holidays—or to
+the harvest, if they're farmers, of course; and that makes all the
+difference. They know it will be all right in the long run, don't you
+see?"</p>
+
+<p>But Hal's tacit reproof had not made Elspeth one whit more attentive
+to the invalid; indeed, if anything, she had been even more neglectful
+than before. Her master's time at the farm was getting short, and she
+had quite made up her mind to seek another place.</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff raged and swore when she informed him of her
+determination. But Elspeth only taunted him with his powerlessness to
+execute one word of all his threats or oaths; and finally, having done
+her best to rouse his worst passions, she left him to meditate upon his
+awkward situation.</p>
+
+<p>Just then Hal, happening to get caught in a shower, swung himself up
+the yard and into the porch.</p>
+
+<p>Elspeth grinned as she let him in.</p>
+
+<p>"He's in an awful temper, that I warn you, Master Hal," she said. "I'd
+a'most as soon go talk to Blazer as him."</p>
+
+<p>But Hal was not afraid; and before the lapse of many minutes, Farmer
+Bluff—without a single oath—had told him how things stood.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, now, let's see," said Hal. "What must you do? You must have
+somebody, that's clear. If you hadn't got this gout just now, it would
+be different, and you could laugh her in the face,—though I don't know
+that it would be exactly Christian to laugh the face of a person who
+'despitefully used you;' but I mean you could do without her if she was
+determined not to stay. Or rather," added Hal, his thoughts suddenly
+taking a leap back to the source of all the difficulty, "you wouldn't
+be in such a bother at all; because she would never have given notice
+if you hadn't had to move out of the farm. It's all the gout, you see."</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff moved impatiently upon his chair. It was rather hard to be
+constantly twitted with that fact—even by Hal; because if it was "all
+the gout," it was therefore "all his own fault." But he was paid back
+for his pains with such a twinge in either leg, that he involuntarily
+moved his arms in their slings; whereupon each finger of each hand
+seemed to say—"No good, old fellow; you can't escape your punishment;
+for 'whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.'"</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile Hal was busy trying to think what could be done.</p>
+
+<p>"Haven't you got somebody?" suggested he at last. "Relations are the
+best, I think, because they have an interest in you. You must have got
+a sister, haven't you?"</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff said "No" at first; but afterwards, he changed his mind.
+"Leastways not one who would come," said he. The matter stood thus. He
+had a sister once, who married somebody he did not like—a pious man,
+who would not drink for the sake of good fellowship, and did not swear.
+So he quarrelled with his sister; and when she wrote and told him that
+she had a baby boy named after him, he did not answer her; he had never
+seen or written to her since.</p>
+
+<p>"She couldn't come in any case, you see," said Hal; "because she has
+her own home and her husband to look after."</p>
+
+<p>The bailiff shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"He's dead," said he. "He died about the same time as my wife, and so
+did the boy. She wrote to me to know if I could give her any help.
+There was a little girl, I think."</p>
+
+<p>"Then she's just the very one," said Hal.</p>
+
+<p>"Unless she's married some one else," added Farmer Bluff. "But she
+wouldn't come. 'Tain't likely, after how I've treated her."</p>
+
+<p>"You don't deserve it, certainly," admitted Hal; which was not exactly
+what the farmer meant. "But sisters are amazingly forgiving—so they
+say. (I always wish I'd got one, do you know?) If I were you, I'd write
+to her."</p>
+
+<p>This advice was rather out of place, seeing the helpless condition of
+the old fellow's hands. The upshot of it was, however, that Hal sat
+down to write from Farmer Bluff's dictation; and between them they made
+up a letter, setting forth the state of things, and offering Mrs. Rust
+a home, if she were willing to forgive the past, and come to live with
+him. Then Hal got up to say good-bye.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll be sure and have it posted," said he. "If I put it in the hall
+with all the other letters, Perkins will take it when he goes from
+work."</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image019" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image019.jpg" alt="image019"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<h3><a id="Chapter_14">CHAPTER XIV.</a></h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<b>THE VERY ONE.</b><br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>FARMER BLUFF'S answer came sooner than he expected.</p>
+
+<p>Although Mrs. Rust had been deeply wounded by her hard-hearted
+brother's evident lack of affection, she had never cherished the least
+ill-will against him. She rather mourned to think that his evil ways
+should separate them whilst so many years of life to love each other
+were theirs.</p>
+
+<p>But, as it chanced, this proposal that she should make her home with
+him, came very opportunely to the lonely, hard-worked widow. Her little
+girl, now just eleven, had grown-up very delicate; and in their one
+poor room in London, poor Maggie could not have the air and nourishment
+of which she stood so much in need. Nothing could be better for her
+than the free life of the fields and lanes.</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff read and re-read the letter, which was full of
+affectionate expressions, reminding him how they had played together in
+the years gone by, before they had begun their separate paths in life,
+and learnt what trouble meant. It seemed so wonderful to think that
+after these ten years of estrangement on his part, she should still
+care for him.</p>
+
+<p>But it was just what Hal had said. "Sisters are amazingly forgiving—"</p>
+
+<p>"Far more so than you deserve," conscience added, in a tone he could
+not choose but hear.</p>
+
+<p>He contrived to send a message up to Hal that afternoon. One of the men
+happening to come in about the selling of some piglings, he at once
+seized the opportunity of letting "the young Squire" know the result of
+their joint penmanship. Hal came directly lessons were over for the day.</p>
+
+<p>"Hurrah!" cried he as he entered. "Three cheers for Mrs. Rust!"</p>
+
+<p>Then, after talking it over for a little while, they composed the
+answer, directing Mrs. Rust to pack her things together, and come down
+next week, to superintend the remove.</p>
+
+<p>Of course, when Elspeth heard of this arrangement, she declared that
+she wasn't going to be "mississed over" by a widow woman who was so
+hard up that she was ready to snap at the first chance of a home.
+And the end of it was that the ill-natured woman cleared out of the
+house the very day that Mrs. Rust came in, leaving no provisions ready
+cooked, and all the work to do.</p>
+
+<p>But Mrs. Rust made light of that, for there were eggs in plenty to be
+had; with the sweet, fresh country bread and butter, she and Maggie
+made a hearty meal, and after a short rest, she set herself to work to
+take old Elspeth's place.</p>
+
+<p>When the Squire heard of it from Hal, however, he was very angry, and
+sent a woman up at once to help her with the work. "It isn't fair,"
+said he. "She cannot possibly do it all—look after Farmer Bluff, and
+see to things about the dairy and farmyard, and get the cottage into
+order too."</p>
+
+<p>Next afternoon, he went round with Hal to see what Mrs. Rust was like,
+after her ten years of widowhood.</p>
+
+<p>He found her all that her girlhood had given promise of; tidy,
+respectful, and cheery—a thorough specimen of English matronhood.
+Meanwhile Hal made acquaintance with her little girl, who stood shyly
+near the window, watching Grip, and playing with the flowers she had
+gathered in the fields. But she was not shy long; for Hal's frank ways
+soon put her at her ease, and they became good friends.</p>
+
+<p>A week later, two of the farm waggons, piled with furniture, rolled
+slowly across the yard, and up the road towards the gate of the wood.
+And that same evening, with many groans and grunts—but not a single
+oath, for little Maggie Rust was by—poor, gouty Farmer Bluff himself,
+in a bath-chair, with his two dogs tied behind, was wheeled to his new
+home. Next day, the future bailiff took possession of the farm; and the
+old life was a thing of the past.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image020" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image020.jpg" alt="image020"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<h3><a id="Chapter_15">CHAPTER XV.</a></h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<b>UNDER SENTENCE.</b><br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>IT was more difficult for Hal to get as far as Farmer Bluffs cottage;
+nevertheless, on the very first half-holiday after the remove, he
+appeared there, just as Maggie ran out at the door.</p>
+
+<p>Such a difference there was in her already! The fresh air seemed to
+have acted like magic on her languid frame. She would skip and bound
+and run; and everywhere her merry voice was heard, laughing, singing,
+calling to the dogs; mimicking the birds, or chattering through the
+open window to her uncle, who still sat in his arm-chair, bound hand
+and foot by gout.</p>
+
+<p>Maggie had made great friends with both the dogs, but especially with
+Blazer. It was wonderful to see the fierce, rough creature jump up when
+he heard her voice, and stand there pulling at his chain, and whining
+for her to come and pat his great head.</p>
+
+<p>And as for Maggie, she did not seem the least afraid of him. "He's
+ferocious, but he's honest," she would say. "I wouldn't come within a
+mile of him, if I were a thief; but he knows who are friends and who
+are not."</p>
+
+<p>Hal was going in to talk to Farmer Bluff, but Maggie stopped him.</p>
+
+<p>"Wait a bit," said she; "the doctor's there just now."</p>
+
+<p>So Hal went round with her to have a word with his friend Blazer.</p>
+
+<p>It was very pretty in the garden now. The wood was emerald green with
+the young foliage, and ferns were springing up through the carpet of
+dead leaves, uncrumpling their pale brown fronds in the sunlight that
+fell on them through the lacy branches of the beech and hornbeam trees.</p>
+
+<p>Maggie had already learnt to leap the ditch. "Though mother says I
+mustn't stray into the wood," said she, "for fear of getting into
+mischief. So I just keep close at hand, and fancy that I'm far away.
+It's such a pity, too, my Uncle Bluff won't have the garden planted. He
+says the rabbits come across the ditch, and eat whatever grows. I mean
+to watch for them."</p>
+
+<p>Indoors the doctor was talking in this sort of strain to Farmer Bluff.
+"Fact is, farmer, this gout is mounting to your stomach as fast as it
+can go; and if once it gets there, ten chances to one no power on earth
+will get it out. You'll die of it, that's all."</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff looked scared. "Is there nothing you can do to stop it,
+doctor?" asked he piteously.</p>
+
+<p>"Do? When for the last five years and more you've undone every attempt
+I've made? Look at that!" And Dr. Winthrop pointed to the mug. "If you
+will drink beer, as I am sick of telling you, why, you must abide by
+the consequences. Dash my wigs!" exclaimed the doctor, warming up. "If
+I'd a mug of solid gold that made a fool of me, I'd throw it in the
+ditch and bury it."</p>
+
+<p>In this strain, the doctor talked at him for ten minutes or more; then
+he went away. And Hal, seeing that the coast was clear, went in. But
+Farmer Bluff was unusually glum that morning. Do what Hal would, he
+could not cheer him up; for the poor old sinner had got it on his mind
+that he was doomed to die.</p>
+
+<p>"If I were you," said Hal to Maggie, as he went out at the gate, "I
+think I'd sing to Farmer Bluff. I can't, you know, or else I would; but
+I can manage talking best. He's right down in the dumps to-day. I can't
+think why—unless it is because he had to leave the farm."</p>
+
+<p>A few days later told them, though. Gout doesn't attack the more
+important parts of the body without letting a man know it. Farmer Bluff
+was in such fearful pain that Dr. Winthrop was sent for in a hurry.</p>
+
+<p>The doctor shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"He's had no beer since you were here last, sir," said Mrs. Rust. "He
+called for it no end of times; but I refused to bring it in."</p>
+
+<p>"You did quite right," the doctor said. "When grown-up patients won't
+be sensible, they must be treated like children."</p>
+
+<p>He little knew the language Farmer Bluff had hurled at her for carrying
+out these orders for his good.</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff was watching Dr. Winthrop's expression very anxiously.</p>
+
+<p>"Is there any change—for the better, doctor?" asked he eagerly. "What
+can be the cause of all this pain?"</p>
+
+<p>The doctor shook his head again.</p>
+
+<p>"You mustn't think," said he, "that three days can cure disease brought
+on by the habits of a lifetime. I will do my best for you; but you have
+killed yourself."</p>
+
+<p>Hal met Dick that day.</p>
+
+<p>"It's a pity," said he. "Dr. Winthrop says that Farmer Bluff can't
+possibly get well. The gout has reached his stomach. It's all through
+drinking too much beer."</p>
+
+<p>Then he went on to the cottage to talk to Farmer Bluff in his own
+simple, sympathetic way. "I'm very sorry," he told him gently,
+"especially as it's your own fault. That makes so much worse of it."</p>
+
+<p>"In this world and the next," put in Farmer Bluff gloomily. "But it's
+too late to talk about that now."</p>
+
+<p>"Too late!—Why?" asked Hal.</p>
+
+<p>But although Farmer Bluff knew pretty well his own reasons for saying
+so, he did not answer the boy's question.</p>
+
+<p>So Hal went on: "I don't at all think it's too late. 'Never too late to
+mend' is a good saying; but 'Never too late to repent' seems to me a
+better. Because, you see, if what Dr. Winthrop says is right, your gout
+won't let you mend; but Jesus said that everybody who repented in their
+heart, would be accepted and forgiven."</p>
+
+<p>"I've tried singing to him," Maggie told Hal, when he came downstairs
+again. "I know a lot of hymns; and he likes it too."</p>
+
+<p>Hal looked about for Dick, when he got outside.</p>
+
+<p>But at school, Dick had made a lot of new acquaintances who were not
+likely to know anything about the adventure with Bill; so he preferred
+their company, and had gone off birds'-nesting with some of them.</p>
+
+<p>Arrived on the terrace, Hal went straight to the Squire's library.
+He found his grandfather sitting in his great arm-chair, with his
+gold-rimmed spectacles upon his nose, reading a big folio volume that
+lay open on his knee; for the Squire was rather fond of learned books.
+He drew his glasses off as Hal came in, and laid them on the page.</p>
+
+<p>"Grandfather," said Hal, in a tone of great concern, "the doctor says
+that Farmer Bluff will have to die. The gout has got so far it can't be
+stopped."</p>
+
+<p>"It's as bad as that, is it?" replied the Squire. "I thought as much,"
+added he, half to himself.</p>
+
+<p>Hal sat down upon the edge of a chair with a dejected air.</p>
+
+<p>"It serves him right," added the Squire.</p>
+
+<p>Hal looked up quickly, as if about to speak; then changed his mind and
+relapsed into silence again. He was disappointed. He had cherished the
+hope of being able to convince Farmer Bluff of his folly; and he had
+failed.</p>
+
+<p>But his grandfather did not quite understand this.</p>
+
+<p>"It's his own fault," said he; "he had fair warning."</p>
+
+<p>Hal shifted again, and looked like speaking, but got no further. There
+was a big lump in his throat.</p>
+
+<p>"All the arguing in the world wouldn't do it, if tweaking and twinging
+wouldn't," continued the Squire, mentally referring to his own and the
+doctor's discourses, together with the pains and premonitions of the
+disease itself. "It's astonishing what a man will bear, rather than
+give up his besetting sin."</p>
+
+<p>"I did my best," added Hal, thinking of nobody's efforts but his own.
+"I spoke out plainly too."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah!" said the Squire, suddenly remembering those words of Hal's when
+first he learnt that the bailiff was to be discharged. "You've been in
+and out a good deal, I suppose, Hal; as you say, you've done your best."</p>
+
+<p>"But, you see, it hasn't saved him," rejoined Hal mournfully. "That's
+the worst of it."</p>
+
+<p>"It's very sad," said the Squire, after a pause, during which he put
+his gold-rimmed glasses on, and took them off again. "It's always sad
+when a man reaps the fruits of his own folly."</p>
+
+<p>"Especially when he has had fair warning," added Hal, "and might have
+done so differently."</p>
+
+<p>"I must go and see him one of these mornings, I suppose," observed the
+Squire presently.</p>
+
+<p>The next few days made a great difference in Farmer Bluff. When the
+Squire went, he found the downstairs room vacant.</p>
+
+<p>"Where's Farmer Bluff?" asked Hal uneasily.</p>
+
+<p>"Upstairs," answered Maggie, who had opened the door for them. "He
+can't get out of bed any more."</p>
+
+<p>And she ran to ask if they could go up.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, Bluff," said the Squire kindly, as he approached the bedside;
+"I'm sorry to see you like this."</p>
+
+<p>"They tell me it's my own fault, sir," said the sufferer meekly.</p>
+
+<p>Somehow, he had come to swear less and less since Maggie had been
+there. "My own fault!" he repeated, with a sigh.</p>
+
+<p>"It's a hard thing to tell a man, when he's on his death-bed,"' said
+the Squire gently.</p>
+
+<p>"But I suppose it's true," rejoined Farmer Bluff.</p>
+
+<p>"And it's better that a man should know it's true," the Squire added
+solemnly; "for then he has a chance of taking comfort from the
+assurance that 'if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to
+forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.'
+Though our sins and folly may have destroyed our body, the moment
+that we cast them from us by our faith in Him whom God sent to be our
+Saviour, they lose power to harm our soul; and the only condition
+of forgiveness and acceptance is we cease to cherish our sins, and,
+trusting in Jesus, seek to be restored."</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff was silent. Perhaps his conscience told him it was less
+the sin that he was sorry for than the consequences it had brought.</p>
+
+<p>"You weren't far wrong, you see, sir, when you turned me out," said he
+presently. "It was a hard blow, but I deserved it. I had no right to
+murmur; for I wasn't equal to my work."</p>
+
+<p>"And I didn't leave you unprovided for," the Squire added kindly. "I
+chose this place, too, because I thought you would be happier near the
+wood than anywhere. I see you've brought the dogs here, too."</p>
+
+<p>"Grip and Blazer, sir; yes. I can't make out what's got 'em both
+to-day."</p>
+
+<p>The two dogs were barking "fit to fetch the house down," as the farmer
+put it. They had been barking so all night, and ever since sunset the
+evening before; so he told the Squire.</p>
+
+<p>"I heard old Dobson throw his window up once or twice," said he; "and
+at last he took his gun and had a look about, to see if it was anybody
+prowling round."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps it was only rabbits," suggested the Squire. "I've heard Dobson
+say that even hares will come into these gardens on moonlight nights."</p>
+
+<p>"They will, sir, I can certify," said Farmer Bluff, amused for the
+minute; "though they won't find much to pay 'em here. I wasn't going to
+have the ground planted, for them to eat up every shoot that grew."</p>
+
+<p>Hal was standing by the casement during this conversation, now watching
+his grandfather and the farmer, now looking out of the window at the
+kennel, where Blazer was jumping and plunging angrily, tearing the air
+with his furious cries. Just as Farmer Bluff finished speaking, he
+uttered a sudden exclamation.</p>
+
+<p>"Grandfather!" cried he. "Blazer has burst his collar, and got free!"</p>
+
+<p>At the same instant, the barking had ceased, and Blazer, without a
+scrap of chain about him, had gone racing down the clearing through the
+wood. The next minute Maggie's voice was heard on the staircase.</p>
+
+<p>"Uncle Bluff! Uncle Bluff!" cried she, as she climbed. "Blazer has got
+loose and run away!"</p>
+
+<p>In the excitement of the moment, Farmer Bluff made a desperate effort
+to get to a sitting posture; but that was beyond him, and he earned
+nothing but pain for his exertion.</p>
+
+<p>"He's run right away," said Maggie, appearing in the doorway with an
+agitated face.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! He'll come back right enough," returned her uncle, lifting his
+head to look at her. "The mischief is—mercy on any one he should meet.
+And I don't know the man, except old Dobson, who dare go after him."</p>
+
+<p>"I dare," said Maggie bravely; "I'll go to the ditch and call."</p>
+
+<p>"No, child," cried Farmer Bluff; but quick as lightning Maggie was
+gone. "Stop her!" roared he, as she sped downstairs and out at the
+house door. "He'll knock her down! He'll kill the child!"</p>
+
+<p>"Not he!" said Hal. "Not Blazer! He's far too fond of Mag. She's not
+afraid of him; no more am I. I'll go too."</p>
+
+<p>But the Squire stopped him.</p>
+
+<p>"I'd hardly dare go myself," said Farmer Bluff. "Hark! There she's
+calling him!"</p>
+
+<p>And the little girl's voice was heard ringing out clear and
+loud—"Blazer, Blazer; where have you rushed off to? You bad old doggie,
+you!"</p>
+
+<p>The Squire had his head out of the casement, calling her to come in;
+but Blazer had heard her voice and come back with a rush, leaping the
+ditch and bounding up to lick her hand, then crouching at her feet,
+whilst Maggie stood firm as a rock, and fearlessly patted his broad
+head. Then he leapt the ditch again, and barked, and looked towards the
+child; then came back, and jumped around her; then back to the ditch,
+as if he wanted her to go with him.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'll leap the ditch then, Blazer," they heard her cry; "if that
+is what you want." And stepping back a pace or two, she took a run, and
+jumped it clean and clear.</p>
+
+<p>"That was a good leap, my lass," the Squire called approvingly. "Surely
+she's not town-bred, Bluff," added he, drawing in his head to look back
+towards the bed.</p>
+
+<p>"She is, sir," answered Farmer Bluff; "and such a white-faced thing,
+too, when her mother brought her here."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, come!" rejoined the Squire cheerily. "There's something to set
+off against your leaving the farm. If you hadn't had to come up here,
+I suppose she'd be white-faced yet. But what about this dog? I don't
+see how he's going to be got upon the chain again. The collar is broken
+too."</p>
+
+<p>"There used to be another collar about the place," Farmer Bluff
+answered.</p>
+
+<p>For the brute had always seemed so fierce, they had not dared to depend
+upon a single one; but where it was, he could not say—though Mrs. Rust
+might know when she came in—nor who would undertake to put it on.</p>
+
+<p>"I shouldn't be afraid if I could manage it," said Hal, who had
+reluctantly obeyed his grandfather's desire that he would not go down.
+"But you see my crutches are so in the way."</p>
+
+<p>The Squire shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"Better wait till old Dobson's home," suggested Farmer Bluff. "The dog
+knows him."</p>
+
+<p>"Only," put in Hal, "just think how frightened Mrs. Rust will be when
+she comes in."</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile Blazer was still rushing madly to and fro. Far from satisfied
+with having got Maggie across the ditch, he was evidently trying hard
+to prevail on her to go into the wood with him. If she ran a step or
+two he seemed so pleased, but as soon as she stopped, he barked and
+leapt, and tugged at her dress, making every sign dog ingenuity could
+suggest to coax her into going forward down the track.</p>
+
+<p>"There's something at the bottom of all that, depend upon it," said
+the Squire, walking to the foot of the bed. "Blazer has found somebody
+or something; and he wants to show his find. I shell venture down and
+follow his lead. He knows me pretty well."</p>
+
+<p>"He knows me better, grandfather," said Hal.</p>
+
+<p>"We'll both go," said the Squire, setting off towards the stairs, Hal
+following.</p>
+
+<p>A ditch was an obstacle both for the old gentleman and the cripple boy,
+neither of whom could leap like the little London maid. There was a
+way out of the difficulty, however, by going round to the gate of the
+wood; and in a very few minutes, the Squire and Hal had joined Maggie,
+and were following Blazer down the track, much to the jealousy of Grip,
+who stood watching from his kennel in the front garden, and uttering a
+series of short, snappish barks, by way of protest at this unfairness.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image021" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image021.jpg" alt="image021"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<h3><a id="Chapter_16">CHAPTER XVI.</a></h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<b>A RUNAWAY'S STORY.</b><br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>THE old Squire had always made a point of having a civil word for both
+dogs whenever he went to the farm; so that, as he said, both Blazer
+and Grip were tolerably familiar with him. On the present occasion,
+however, Blazer was too much delighted at getting his own way to show
+any disagreeable tempers. He did nothing but run and leap and bark in
+an ecstasy of triumph, looking back from time to time, to make sure
+that he was being followed, and exerting himself ten times more than
+was necessary, in his efforts to incite them to speed.</p>
+
+<p>But the uneven surface of the track was less easy for Hal's crutches
+than the open road; and Blazer had to be content with rather slow
+progress, whilst Maggie ran backwards and forwards, jumping and
+calling, thoroughly enjoying the fun, and doing her best, by her own
+excitement, to keep up Blazer's.</p>
+
+<p>They had not proceeded very far in this manner, however, when Blazer
+changed his course, darting in amongst the undergrowth.</p>
+
+<p>The Squire pulled up.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Blazer, old boy," said he, "that isn't just the sort of place an
+old gentleman finds convenient to scramble through. What do you want
+with it?"</p>
+
+<p>But the dog was evidently in real earnest. There was no mistake about
+that. He trotted on a little way ahead, then turned and leapt and
+barked, and came bounding back, jumping round the Squire, and all but
+beckoning him to come.</p>
+
+<p>"What a pity he can't speak!" exclaimed Hal, looking up into his
+grandfather's face, as if to read his thoughts.</p>
+
+<p>"We must contrive to go with him somehow, that's certain," returned
+the Squire, stopping to consider; "or, at least, I must. He has found
+something, and he wants to show it us. Hal, you wait here with Maggie;
+no, stay! Let Maggie come with me, in case I want a messenger."</p>
+
+<p>And putting one shoulder to the hazel bushes, to Blazer's infinite
+delight, the old gentleman commenced pushing his way in amongst them,
+Maggie following close upon his heels.</p>
+
+<p>A shade of disappointment came over Hal's face. This was how he had to
+feel his affliction every now and then. But Hal was not a boy to stop
+at disappointment. He only stood still a minute or so; then turning,
+set off down the track again, to search for an opening by which to
+reach the spot whither the dog was leading them—sure, at all events, of
+knowing by his barks the direction that they took.</p>
+
+<p>He had but just lighted on a cross track when the barking ceased. They
+must have reached the place.</p>
+
+<p>Hal stopped to listen just an instant, then set forward, breathing
+fast, and flushing with his exertions to lose no time, and hoping that
+as Blazer had led them off in a slanting direction, this track, which
+crossed the cartway at right angles, would converge with their path.</p>
+
+<p>Presently, however, the track ended in a sort of winding path, which
+seemed to lead into thicker and thicker tangle. Hal stopped, perplexed,
+and listened, but could hear no sound. Next minute, however, Blazer's
+bark sounded out again, short and sharp; once, twice, thrice. Hal set
+forward instantly, with increased vigour, and after following the
+windings of the path for a short distance, he was able to distinguish
+voices, whilst every now and then Blazer gave a sharp bark, as if to
+call him on.</p>
+
+<p>All on a sudden, an idea struck Hal, and resting on his crutches to get
+breath, he called Blazer's name with all his might.</p>
+
+<p>The plan succeeded. Blazer heard, and gave an answering bark. In a few
+seconds, Hal heard the crackling of the dry leaves under his paws; then
+out he rushed along the path. They were not far off, and Hal was going
+straight for them. He hurried on after the dog.</p>
+
+<p>"Where are you, grandfather?" called he, when he got near enough to
+distinguish the Squire's voice.</p>
+
+<p>"Here!" was the reply.</p>
+
+<p>And at the same instant, Hal spied Maggie's pink apron through the
+bushes.</p>
+
+<p>Hal paused a second; then pushing one crutch in among the twigs, he
+made his way to where the others were.</p>
+
+<p>The Squire was bending over something on the ground, Maggie kneeling by
+his side. "He's opening his eyes!" cried she, as Hal came up.</p>
+
+<p>And there, to his astonishment, half-raised upon the turf mound at the
+foot of a hazel clump, lay the long-lost runaway, Bill the Kicker.</p>
+
+<p>Bill drew a long breath and rolled his eyes round; then the lids
+dropped to again.</p>
+
+<p>Maggie gave vent to an exclamation of mingled pity and disappointment,
+and the Squire observed,—</p>
+
+<p>"It's evidently a case of starvation. From the look of him, I should
+imagine that the young scamp has kept away as long as he could hold
+out. If Blazer hadn't happened to find him, he would have died here
+before night."</p>
+
+<p>The sound of voices roused Bill again. His eyes opened, and he drew
+another long breath. Then suddenly a look of bewilderment came over his
+face. "Where 'm I got to?" he asked excitedly.</p>
+
+<p>But before any one could answer, he had recognised the Squire. The
+bewildered look gave place to one of terror, and Bill made a desperate
+effort at scrambling to his feet; but he had long since reached the
+point when starved and exhausted nature could do no more. He only fell
+back upon the bank with a sick and dizzy sensation, and his eyelids
+closed again.</p>
+
+<p>"Lie still, my boy," said the Squire kindly. "You must have something
+to eat. You're starving."</p>
+
+<p>Bill put his hand to his waist-belt. He had ceased to remember that
+he was hungry; but the Squire's words brought back the craving. He
+recollected how he had felt before he swooned.</p>
+
+<p>"Have either of you anything eatable about you?"' asked the Squire,
+turning to Hal and Maggie. "A sweetmeat, or a bit of biscuit; anything
+that he could suck or munch."</p>
+
+<p>Hal had not. He was not a boy who cared for sweets. Maggie, however,
+produced a chocolate drop, given her over the counter by the grocer's
+man.</p>
+
+<p>"But what is that when he's starving!" exclaimed she.</p>
+
+<p>"All the better," returned the Squire. "In his present state, it would
+be dangerous to give him much. But you may run home," added he, as
+Bill eagerly took the tiny mouthful and crunched it up. "Run home—you
+can find your way?—And bring cup of bread or biscuit sopped in milk—or
+water, if you can't find milk; be as quick as ever you can. The poor
+boy is nearly starved."</p>
+
+<p>Some good people would have tried to get Bill's story out of him
+whilst Maggie was running for the food. But Hal's grandfather did no
+such thing, having too much common sense, as well as too much pity for
+the boy. Besides, his story was so plainly told by every feature of
+his face, and every inch of tattered garment that he wore. His whole
+appearance seemed to say, in language that no eyes could fail to read,
+that it was one thing to get into a scrape and run away in order to
+escape the consequence, but quite another thing to keep decent clothes
+upon his back, and pick up food enough to hold the wolf at bay. In
+short, poor Bill had learnt the value of a home.</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image022" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image022.jpg" alt="image022"></figure>
+<p class="t4">
+<b>THE SQUIRE FINDS BILL THOROUGHLY EXHAUSTED.</b><br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, Maggie had scrambled back to the cart-track, making fearful
+havoc of her zephyr apron in her haste; and had torn home, panting and
+breathless, taking the ditch at a bound, and astonishing beyond measure
+her mother, who was just returning up the garden path. On learning what
+had happened, however, Mrs. Rust quickly made the pap, and, calling up
+the stairs to Farmer Bluff, set off with Maggie to the spot.</p>
+
+<p>"I made it warm, sir," said she, as she knelt down by Bill's side to
+feed him from the cup.</p>
+
+<p>Bill took it eagerly, and would have made short work of it, had he
+not been restrained. It quickly revived him, however, and he sat up,
+looking very much as if he would like to run away again.</p>
+
+<p>"You'll be all the better for that, my boy," said Mrs. Rust, standing
+back a step or two with the empty cup in her hand.</p>
+
+<p>But Bill felt rather foolish. He looked from one to another of the
+group round him, and said nothing.</p>
+
+<p>The Squire was the first to speak. "Well, young man," said he,
+possessing himself of his gold-headed cane, which he had laid down
+beside Bill on first stooping to examine him; "I'm glad to see you've
+come home again. And I hope you've had enough of a lesson about the
+folly of running away."</p>
+
+<p>Bill hung his head. "I don't know as I'm going home," said he, in a
+low, dogged tone of voice.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! Don't you?" said the Squire. "I'll take care of that."</p>
+
+<p>"Likely!" continued Bill defiantly. "To have the strap."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps, if you behave well, and answer all I want to know," returned
+the Squire, "I may feel inclined to beg you off the strapping—though I
+must confess that you deserve it every bit."</p>
+
+<p>Bill subsided and looked down, waiting in sullen silence to be
+questioned, whilst Maggie drew a little nearer, moving her eyes rapidly
+from him to the Squire with lively interest.</p>
+
+<p>"Why did you run away?" commenced the Squire.</p>
+
+<p>Maggie's eyes went back to Bill.</p>
+
+<p>"'Cause he told me to," said Bill.</p>
+
+<p>"He?" rejoined the Squire. "Who's he?"</p>
+
+<p>"Him what I stole the egg for," answered Bill. "Dick Crozier, sir."</p>
+
+<p>"Dick Crozier!" exclaimed Hal and his grandfather in a breath. "Mind
+you're not inventing lies," added the Squire. "Why, dear me," he
+continued half-aside, "I had fancied him a better lad. It seems
+incredible!"</p>
+
+<p>"He said as you was comin' round a purpose to 'indemnifight' me," Bill
+went on; "an' if he was me, he wouldn't stand still to be took."</p>
+
+<p>What Bill had supposed this terrible word to mean, it would be hard to
+determine; but he had kept on repeating it to himself all the way he
+had run, until it had got so mixed up as to come out entirely wrong.
+"Nor I wasn't going to neither," added Bill, with the defiant look
+again.</p>
+
+<p>"How came you to steal an egg for him?" asked the Squire next.</p>
+
+<p>"'Cause I wanted sixpence," answered Bill. "But he's as bad as me,"
+added Bill eagerly. "He hadn't ought to ha' taken what I'd stole. I've
+heard my father say so once."</p>
+
+<p>"Quite right," rejoined the Squire. "Receiving stolen goods is
+punishable by law. He sucked this egg, then, I suppose; and gave you
+sixpence for it."</p>
+
+<p>Then came out the history of how Bill's evil conscience had brought
+about the smashing of the eggs; and how, in self-defence, he had
+inflicted on the unfortunate goose the injuries that had caused her
+death. "I didn't want to hurt her, sir," said Bill; "but when one o'
+them things is after you—"</p>
+
+<p>"It's rather terrible, I must admit," returned the Squire, hardly able
+to restrain a smile. "Then you didn't get your sixpence after all?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I did though," replied Bill quickly, with a cunning grin. "He guv
+it me to keep from splitting, 'cause he knew as how if I was caught, I
+was bound to let out who I'd stole it for. If it hadn't been for that,"
+said Bill, whose meal had pretty well revived him by this time, "and t'
+other, what I got for bein' made a pictur' of, I'm blest if I'd 'a' had
+a rag o' flesh on any o' my bones by now—grub's that hard to get."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! Recollect that, next time that you're tempted to do wrong,"
+returned the Squire solemnly.</p>
+
+<p>"But he was just as bad as me," repeated Bill, who seemed inclined to
+take comfort in companionship in his disgrace.</p>
+
+<p>He found, however, that the Squire entertained a different view of
+the matter. "Gently," said he. "You had the first of it; for you put
+temptation in his way, by offering to undertake the theft. But now, one
+question more. What did you want the sixpence for?"</p>
+
+<p>Bill hung his head and looked more than half a mind not to answer; but
+he changed his mind, thinking that it was sure to come out, and that,
+all things considered, he had better enjoy the merit of making a clean
+breast of the whole affair.</p>
+
+<p>"'Cause I wanted a new knife," said he; "and so I'd borrowed sixpence
+from the rent."</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>"You've got to beg me off the strapping, sir," said Bill, as they set
+off back towards the cartway, a few minutes later; "'cause you promised
+if I answered square."</p>
+
+<p>"And when I promise anything, I keep my word," replied the Squire,
+rather pleased than otherwise with the boy's straightforwardness. He
+took occasion by the way, however, to administer a lecture on the
+wickedness of breaking in through hedges after other people's property.
+"If Blazer had caught you there, instead of half dead in this wood,"
+said he, "he would have shown you little mercy, you may make quite
+sure."</p>
+
+<p>Bill also related by degrees a lot of his adventures since leaving
+home; how he had escaped along the riverbank, running till his breath
+gave out, and walking till he nearly dropped, to reach the town before
+the night came on; how he had slept under porches or in doorways, in
+wind and wet and darkness, frightened, cold, and wretched, night after
+night; and how, after his food and money were all gone, he had begged
+for work, and gone from door to door to ask a piece of bread, until he
+grew so weak and wild with living on the scanty crusts he got, that he
+began to wish he had not run away.</p>
+
+<p>"Leastways," said Bill, "I wished I hadn't stole the eggs."</p>
+
+<p>And he went on to tell how at the last he had determined to come back,
+but had not had the courage to face his parents' anger; and so had
+wandered on into the wood, and round to the back of the two cottages,
+where he was about to beg food, when to his surprise, he spied Blazer
+chained up, and Blazer spied him.</p>
+
+<p>"And for the life of me I durstn't ask," said Bill; "so I cut away into
+the wood, and there I tumbled down."</p>
+
+<p>"And there you would have died," the Squire added, "if Blazer had not
+broken loose and followed on your track, and found you where you lay,
+you poor silly boy. Well, you have had your punishment; and I can
+promise you, your parents will be glad enough to see you back. Only
+mind you show that you are worthy of forgiveness by making a fresh
+start."</p>
+
+<p>Arrived at Farmer Bluffs, Bill was glad to sit down quietly and have
+some more to eat, whilst the Squire went and saw Blazer's collar mended
+up. As for Blazer, he came quite gently to take a biscuit and a lump of
+sugar out of Maggie's hand, and then submitted to have the chain put
+on; after which, he retired into his kennel, and lay down to rest.</p>
+
+<p>Then the Squire, having directed Mrs. Rust to search the other collar
+out, or get a new one made, set out with Bill, to see him safe into his
+parents' hands.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image023" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image023.jpg" alt="image023"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<h3><a id="Chapter_17">CHAPTER XVII.</a></h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<b>LOOSE AGAIN.</b><br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>ON reaching the stile by the Manor Farm, the Squire went on to the
+cottages with Bill, leaving Hal to return home alone, and tell his
+mother all that had happened. They had scarcely parted, when Dick,
+surrounded by a number of his schoolfellows, overtook him.</p>
+
+<p>Dick threw Hal a nod, proud to show off his grand acquaintance; but Hal
+beckoned him.</p>
+
+<p>"Bill's come home," said he, as Dick ran forward from the group.</p>
+
+<p>"Hooray!" shouted the other boys, who, of course, had seen the whole
+story in the local newspaper. "Hooray!" And half-a-dozen caps flew in
+the air.</p>
+
+<p>But Hal's business was with Dick.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm disappointed in you, Dick," said he.</p>
+
+<p>"How's that?" returned Dick in a tone of bravado, guessing what Hal
+meant.</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't think you were the sort of boy to encourage other boys in
+stealing eggs for you to suck," said Hal. "It seems to me, I'd rather
+steal myself than get another boy to do it for me. You see, it's very
+mean to put your dirty work upon another fellow, isn't it?"</p>
+
+<p>"I paid him fair," said Dick.</p>
+
+<p>Hal considered a minute. This line of argument was rather difficult to
+answer, and yet Hal's sense of right and wrong told him it was false.</p>
+
+<p>"You'd no right to pay him for dishonesty," said he; "so no payment
+could be fair."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know so much about that," returned Dick stoutly. "If a
+fellow's fool enough to sell his soul for sixpence, that's his own look
+out. It's always fair to pay a fellow what he'll take."</p>
+
+<p>"That's not the way to look at it at all," said Hal. "A fellow's soul
+is worth a great deal more than any one can pay, and if he loses it,
+he's done for outright. And whoever gets it from him, is his murderer
+for ever," added Hal quite solemnly. "The Bible tells you that."</p>
+
+<p>"Chapter the one hundredth, verse the millionth!" sang out Dick in a
+mocking tone.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I must be getting home," said Hal. "I'm sorry, for I liked you
+at the first. And I thought that when I came to be Squire—if ever I
+do—you would be one of my best tenants, and help me to make the Manor
+prosperous. You see, a Squire wouldn't be able to do much good if all
+his tenants were like that, and didn't care a pin about each other's
+souls."</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>Will and Sigismund would have been rather envious of Hal's good fortune
+in the enjoyment of such an adventure as the finding of a runaway by
+Farmer Bluff's dog Blazer, had not their attention been rather taken up
+just then with the half-term holiday, which some cousins were to spend
+with them. These cousins were London boys, and were coming down that
+same evening, to make the most of a whole day at the Manor House. When
+Hal got in, his brothers were just getting up into the waggonette to
+fetch them from the station, and there was plenty else to talk about
+when they came in.</p>
+
+<p>The first thing after breakfast next morning, the six boys all turned
+out, bent upon fun and frolic.</p>
+
+<p>Dick was on his way down the hill with his books as they came out
+shouting and laughing on to the terrace, and he sprang up to the
+palings to see what was going on.</p>
+
+<p>But, unfortunately for Dick, it was not "half-term" at his school; so
+with a feeling of envy, he leapt back to the pathway, and continued his
+road.</p>
+
+<p>"Hare and hounds!" he heard them cry, as they came pelting down the
+drive.</p>
+
+<p>Will was with the foremost ones, but Sigismund, always more considerate
+for his brother, lagged behind, as Hal came hurrying after on his
+crutches.</p>
+
+<p>"You can't play, Hal, if we have hare and hounds," he was saying.</p>
+
+<p>"Oh! Never mind," returned Hal. "I can't play at anything, you see."</p>
+
+<p>"The woods will be the place," cried Will, in front, "Say, Sidge; the
+woods—eh?"</p>
+
+<p>"But Hal—" began Sigismund.</p>
+
+<p>"The woods, by all means," echoed Hal, however, interrupting him. "It's
+no use, Sidge, don't you see," added he, in a lower tone to Sigismund.
+"If you'd got my legs, you wouldn't want everybody to stop playing on
+your account."</p>
+
+<p>A boy of Hal's brave disposition was sure to find it less hard to bear
+his affliction quietly than to feel himself a constant mar-joy to the
+others.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll go as far as the wood with you," continued he; "and then I'll go
+inside and rest. I told Farmer Bluff the boys were coming, but I said
+that I expected I should be able to go and see him all the same."</p>
+
+<p>So at the gate of the wood they parted; and whilst Will, as swiftest
+runner, was being chosen "hare," Hal was climbing up the narrow stair
+to Farmer Bluff's room.</p>
+
+<p>"I've come, you see," said he cheerily, as he swung himself towards the
+bed.</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff's face brightened.</p>
+
+<p>"I was thinking of ye," answered he.</p>
+
+<p>"It's rather early, I'm afraid," continued Hal; "but I came down with
+the others as far as this. They've all gone into the wood for hare and
+hounds, and I can't manage that, you know. I hope you don't mind."</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff, on the contrary, expressed himself heartily delighted to
+see "the young Squire."</p>
+
+<p>"You and Maggie," said he, "I don't know what I should do without the
+two of you—though I suppose I oughtn't to mention you in one breath."</p>
+
+<p>Hal, with a puzzled expression, said that he did not see why. He
+generally managed to see to the bottom of things pretty quickly, and to
+catch people's meaning when it was not quite on the surface. But this
+notion perplexed him not a little. Inequality of rank did not enter
+much into Hal's ideas.</p>
+
+<p>"She sings to you, doesn't she?" observed he presently, after having
+thought all round the question in vain.</p>
+
+<p>"And you talk," rejoined Farmer Bluff. "Maggie doesn't talk; she
+chatters, if she does anything in that line."</p>
+
+<p>"I like to talk," answered Hal simply; "as much as other boys like to
+run and jump, I fancy; perhaps it is because I can't run and jump."</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps it is," said Farmer Bluff. He was thinking that it seemed as
+if God had given the boy a better power in exchange for the one He had
+withheld. "A ready tongue 'll be useful to you when you come to the
+Manor," added he.</p>
+
+<p>"Only I shan't be able to follow the hounds," said Hal regretfully.</p>
+
+<p>"Never you grieve for that," returned Farmer Bluff. "You'll have the
+hearts of your tenantry; that I'll certify."</p>
+
+<p>"Farmer Bluff," said Hal suddenly, "I've been thinking a good deal
+about Dick Crozier since yesterday. I expect he'll be one of my tenants
+by and by, you know, and I'm afraid he won't be a very good one."</p>
+
+<p>"About the average run, perhaps," said Farmer Bluff. "Some better, and
+some worse."</p>
+
+<p>"But don't you see," said Hal, "he's got no principle. He doesn't think
+it matters the least bit in the world if a boy chooses to sell his soul
+for sixpence—like Bill, when he thieved to get the goose egg for him."</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff was silent. He knew so well how many men there were among
+the tenantry—how many who owned manors, too—with little or no principle.</p>
+
+<p>It was on his conscience, too, how he himself had sold his soul time
+and again for drink, for pleasure, or for gain.</p>
+
+<p>"There 'll be some things you'll have to take as you find 'em," said he
+presently.</p>
+
+<p>"I should like to alter that,"' said Hal. "There must be a remedy."</p>
+
+<p>"No one has ever found it yet," said Farmer Bluff.</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps they haven't looked in the right place," said Hal. "I expect
+it's in the Bible, if it's anywhere."</p>
+
+<p>"Maybe 'tis," said Farmer Bluff; and then he was silent a good while
+again. "I don't know much, about the Bible," he continued presently.
+"I didn't use to read it when I could, and I can't hold a feather now,
+much less a book."</p>
+
+<p>So it came about, that Hal proposed to read it for him. And when Maggie
+came upstairs, he was sitting by her uncle's bedside, with the Bible
+on his knee. But the information Maggie brought put a stop to reading
+rather suddenly.</p>
+
+<p>"Uncle Bluff!" cried she. "Blazer's loose again. I don't know where he
+is."</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image024" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image024.jpg" alt="image024"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<h3><a id="Chapter_18">CHAPTER XVIII.</a></h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<b>TO THE RESCUE.</b><br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>DICK CROZIER was on the Squire's mind as well as upon Hal's.</p>
+
+<p>Upon the stroke of noon, he left his study and started up the hill.
+"He'll be in by half-past twelve, or thereabouts," he calculated; "and
+I'll have a talk with him."</p>
+
+<p>Now it happened that Dick's master, having a train to catch for town
+on important business, Dick had got out of school rather earlier than
+usual. Just as he turned the corner by the Manor Farm, he spied the
+Squire plodding up the hill with his gold-headed cane.</p>
+
+<p>Dick halted instantly, for it occurred to him that precisely the same
+thing he had warned Bill of was about to happen to himself.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm in for a good lecture," said he, "and if my father don't 'give it
+me' when he hears, my name ain't Dick, that's all."</p>
+
+<p>So, after due reflection, Dick concluded that it would be most prudent
+policy to give the Squire the slip.</p>
+
+<p>"I shan't go in till dinner-time," said Dick. And going back across the
+road, he struck into the pathway for that still forbidden ground, the
+riverbank.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile the Squire, totally unconscious of having been spied out, was
+seated in the sunny little parlour which Dick's mother loved so well,
+making acquaintance with his tenant's wife, and explaining the nature
+of his errand.</p>
+
+<p>"He should be in by now, sir," said Dick's mother, looking at her
+watch,—her grandparents' present on her wedding day,—"but he gets late
+sometimes."</p>
+
+<p>So the Squire proposed to wait awhile, if Mrs. Crozier would allow him
+to; and they talked, to pass away the time, Mrs. Crozier taking the
+Squire's heart by storm with her gentle manners, but looking uneasily
+at her watch from time to time.</p>
+
+<p>Bill had been received back home with open arms, and without a word
+of scolding, on a promise—signed by the Squire, as it were—of future
+good behaviour. It happened that, being anxious to avoid a meeting with
+Dick Crozier, whose school stood within a stone's throw of the parish
+school which he attended, Bill had conceived the idea of returning by
+the riverbank. In arriving at this resolution, he had not forgotten the
+geese; but Bill was sharp enough to know that now the grass was laid
+down for hay, these terrors of humanity would no longer be abroad. He
+set off, accordingly, with the virtuous intention of running great part
+of the way, so as to reach home punctually. Dick had not proceeded far
+along the bank, therefore, when he perceived Bill coming full speed
+towards him.</p>
+
+<p>Bill, too much out of breath to look higher than his toes, failed to
+perceive Dick until they were within a few yards of each other, when he
+suddenly awoke to the unpleasant fact that he was face to face with his
+enemy.</p>
+
+<p>"Hullo, sneak!" exclaimed Dick.</p>
+
+<p>"Let be!" cried Bill, as Dick attempted to bar his passage.</p>
+
+<p>But Dick did not budge. He only dodged Bill, without attempting to make
+way.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm in a hurry home," said Bill. "Let me by."</p>
+
+<p>"Sneak!" repeated Dick. "Who split?"</p>
+
+<p>"I didn't split," said Bill. "They made me tell."</p>
+
+<p>"Made you tell?" sneered Dick. "When you had sixpence of me to hold
+your tongue! I'd have had mine cut out before I'd have been guilty of
+such a dirty trick."</p>
+
+<p>"You'd 'a' had your'n cut out afore you'd 'a' been guilty of such a
+dirty trick as to suck an egg what you got another boy to steal for
+you!" retorted Bill, stammering and spluttering in his warmth. "It's
+'receiving stolen goods.' The Squire said so; and you're to be had up
+for it."</p>
+
+<p>Dick only answered by a mocking guffaw.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, then," said Bill, "are you going to let me by?"</p>
+
+<p>"Look out for old mother goose behind there," jeered Dick.</p>
+
+<p>"Let me by!" reiterated Bill. "I'm in a hurry."</p>
+
+<p>"Washerwoman!" jeered Dick. "Sixpence a pocketful."</p>
+
+<p>Bill was getting exasperated. Moreover, he saw only one way out of it.
+"Now, then," threatened he suddenly, gathering up all his pluck, "do
+you mean to give in?"</p>
+
+<p>Dick answered by striding across the bank, a foot each side and both
+arms akimbo, and burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. But Bill
+cut him short.</p>
+
+<p>"You'd better look out then," shouted he, squaring up.</p>
+
+<p>"All right," grinned Dick, accepting the challenge. "Look out for a
+ducking, pockets and all. It was a goosing last time."</p>
+
+<p>This last fling was more than Bill could stand.</p>
+
+<p>"Come on!" roared he, maddened beyond control. And rushing for Dick
+with both fists doubled, he went at him with all his might.</p>
+
+<p>Dick was a pretty tough boy, and had done his share of fights at
+school; but Bill was tougher, and Dick soon found that he was in for
+such a mauling as he had never had in all his previous experience. For
+full five minutes, they tugged and tussled, and pounded and hammered at
+all available portions of each other's frames, until Dick began to wish
+that he had never provoked the combat. He was almost at the end of his
+strength, when a most unlooked-for accident delivered him out of Bill's
+hands.</p>
+
+<p>Forgetting the narrowness of the footway in the heat of the fight,
+the boys had got crosswise, instead of lengthwise of it, when Dick,
+suddenly growing furious, to find that he was being worsted, drew
+off an instant, to gather up all his strength for a final onset;
+but, inadvertently stepping too far back, his heel struck over the
+treacherous grass of the shelving bank, and, with a slip and a yell, he
+went splashing backwards into the water.</p>
+
+<p>Bill's first impulse was a shout of triumph; his second, that when a
+boy goes head over heels out of his depth, there is no telling how he
+will come up. Bill knew the look of a drowned dog, and had no wish to
+be taxed with making Dick look that way. Quick as thought, he turned to
+fly.</p>
+
+<p>But though a scamp, Bill was not altogether bad. In the midst of
+all his fears, it struck him that people always rose to the surface
+before they drowned. If Dick rose, he might reach him. In an instant,
+he was back again. The exact spot was easy to find by the heel-mark
+on the bank and the brown swirl in the water, where the mud had been
+disturbed. Some distance out, too, beyond the ripples where the water
+had closed over Dick, was his cap, floating merrily down stream; but
+not a sign of Dick himself.</p>
+
+<p>Bill went hot all over. Once having turned back, he seemed rooted to
+the spot by a strange fascination that forced him to watch for Dick's
+rising.</p>
+
+<p>"It was his own fault," said he, mopping his forehead with one jacket
+cuff: "He should ha' let me by! I guess though, if he ain't comin'
+up, I'd better be off, afore I'm caught here! Golly!" exclaimed Bill,
+giving vent to his favourite expression, as a sudden thought flashed
+upon him. "Better rob a goose's nest and break her breast-bone than
+drownd a boy." And off he started at a run.</p>
+
+<p>But as he ran away down the stream, following the cap, a dark brown
+object caught his eye. It was the drenched hair of Dick's head. The
+current there below the bend was very strong, and had washed him out
+into mid-stream, and was carrying him rapidly along towards the weir.</p>
+
+<p>For a moment Bill scarcely knew whether to be glad or sorry; then the
+nobler instincts of his nature gained the upper hand, and he dashed
+along the bank, shouting—"Hold on! Keep it up till I catch hold of
+something to fish you out!"</p>
+
+<p>At the same instant, there was an outcry from among the willow-trees.
+A dog sprang forward with a bark, and a dear treble voice rang out
+excitedly—"Why! It's some one's head! In, Blazer; in! Fetch him out!
+Oh! Quick! Quick!"</p>
+
+<p>It was Maggie Rust, who had gone out with Hal to look for the dog, and
+found him on the riverbank, worrying at a knuckle bone dropped there by
+a careless butcher boy on his way to the Vicarage.</p>
+
+<p>A bare moment sufficed Blazer to reach the bank, and in he splashed,
+paddling bravely across the current, with his fierce eyes starting, and
+his hard breaths frothing the surface of the water as he swam.</p>
+
+<p>Maggie cheered him on. "Quick, Blazer; quick! Oh, he's floating down so
+fast!" she cried towards Hal, who had been slower getting to his feet
+to gain the spot. "He'll never reach in time."</p>
+
+<p>But Blazer was also going with the stream as well as crossing it. In
+a few minutes more, the brave animal was up with Dick, and had his
+teeth firmly fastened in his jacket. And now came the tug of war.
+Maggie watched breathlessly, with beating heart and tightly clasped
+hands, whilst Hal, his face white and his lips parted, hung by her on
+his crutches. But Blazer was strong, and the water buoyed his burden
+up. The stream, too, helped in one way, whilst it hindered in another;
+for it lengthened every stroke, and carried him forward as he tried to
+cross back to the shore.</p>
+
+<p>"Hurrah!" shouted Hal, at length unable any longer to keep his
+excitement in. "Hurrah! He'll do it! He'll do it! Hurrah!"</p>
+
+<p>And Maggie's hands unclasped to clap as she took up the cry—"Hurrah!"</p>
+
+<p>On first recognising "the young Squire," Bill had come to a sudden
+halt, and watched from a safe distance, half a mind to turn back; then
+he had come slowly on. Now he, too, took up the cheer with his whole
+might, and shouted—"Hooray!—Hooray!" as he ran excitedly forward.</p>
+
+<p>A minute more, Dick was at the bank, and Maggie had sprung forward
+to help him out, whilst Blazer ran round about them in great glee,
+claiming praise for his heroic rescue, and splashing everybody with the
+water of his coat. Bill hung back an instant; then he, too, sprang to
+Maggie's side, and seizing Dick by the other arm, soon had him up on to
+the bank.</p>
+
+<p>A wretched-looking object was Dick as he sat up and gazed round about
+him. His wet clothes clung tightly to his benumbed limbs; his teeth
+chattered with cold and fright; water dripped from his hair; and his
+face and knuckles were a mass of cuts and bruises, from their recent
+acquaintance with Bill's fists.</p>
+
+<p>"You had better get home as fast as you can," advised Hal.</p>
+
+<p>But Dick had caught sight of Bill, whom in his anxiety to get safely on
+terra firma he had not recognised.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll give him a taste of it first," he muttered between his teeth.</p>
+
+<p>"Better go home and get some gruel," was Bill's contemptuous rejoinder.
+"Golly how your teeth clack!"</p>
+
+<p>This taunt put the last limit to endurance. The blood rushed to Dick's
+face, and his fists clenched; then to his feet, he flew at Bill.</p>
+
+<p>But before he could get at him, Hal had guessed how matters stood, and
+raised one crutch between them; and the two antagonists stood glowering
+at each other across this forbidding barrier.</p>
+
+<p>Bill burst out laughing; but Hal quickly put his crutch to the ground
+and swung himself between them. "Look here," said he, "nobody ever
+thinks of fighting before a girl; besides, when a fellow has just
+escaped from drowning, he ought to have something else to think of; and
+so ought you," he added, turning round on Bill.</p>
+
+<p>"He might ha' been in t' other world by now," jeered Bill, with an
+attempt at drollery.</p>
+
+<p>But Hal turned round on him with dignified reproof. "A boy who has just
+seen a life saved ought to know better than to mock," said he. "It's a
+shame," he added, looking from one to another with a pained expression,
+"when boys who have both done wrong want to tear each other to pieces
+for it. They ought to be too much ashamed. So get home both of you, and
+let us have no more such unchristian behaviour."</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image025" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image025.jpg" alt="image025"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>At this point in the young Squire's discourse, Blazer, probably
+considering that he had not received due notice for his deed of valour,
+began to growl and whine. The consciences of both boys being somewhat
+overloaded, however, they interpreted his remarks as referring to
+themselves; and not desiring to provoke him further, they dropped their
+hostile attitude.</p>
+
+<p>Bill was the first to make a move.</p>
+
+<p>"You ought to shake hands," said Hal, as he turned to slink off.</p>
+
+<p>But Bill's magnanimity was not capable of rising to this degree; and he
+felt as if he was being quite as generous as any one could reasonably
+expect in allowing poor dripping Dick to slip through his fingers in
+this easy way.</p>
+
+<p>Hal stood gazing after Dick's retreating figure, as he ran off home
+at the top of his speed. "It's a pity that boys don't care more about
+being like Jesus Christ," observed he. "Of course, it's a sort of thing
+that takes a lot of trying, and boys naturally don't like trouble. They
+like play a good deal better. But then they ought to consider that
+they won't have to play when they're men; and what sort of men will
+they make, if they don't choose a good copy? As to it's being hard to
+imitate such a grand example as Jesus Christ—well! It isn't as if you'd
+got it all to do by yourself. There's the Holy Spirit, you know, who is
+promised in the Bible to all those who want to get along well."</p>
+
+<p>Having delivered himself of these originally expressed sentiments, Hal
+also set forward; Maggie, with a thoughtful expression on her brow,
+walking by his side, and Blazer trotting on in front.</p>
+
+<p>"Girls don't care about it either," said she presently.</p>
+
+<p>"And that," added Hal, "is why there are so many bad men and women in
+the world. I should like it, when I'm Squire, if all the people on my
+estate were Christians—real ones, you know; not shams. You'd see the
+difference! It would entirely do away with policemen and gaols, and all
+that sort of thing."</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image026" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image026.jpg" alt="image026"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<h3><a id="Chapter_19">CHAPTER XIX.</a></h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<b>REVENGE.</b><br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>ALL this while the Squire had been waiting for Dick in vain. At length,
+his usual luncheon-time being nearly half an hour past, he gave up, and
+set off down the hill, still thinking that he might meet him by the
+way; but desiring Mrs. Crozier, if such should not prove the case, to
+send Dick up to the Manor House that afternoon.</p>
+
+<p>This, however, Mrs. Crozier had no chance of doing. Hurrying up the
+fields from the riverbank, it had occurred to Dick that it would be
+more prudent to dry his clothes before going home; so, taking a short
+cut across the grass to the back of the Manor Farm, he made his way
+to a haystack he knew of, which had been partly cut away on the sunny
+side. Here, stripping off his garments, and spreading them out in the
+sun, he covered himself up with the loose, warm hay, to wait and think
+over the story by which he would account for his absence from dinner,
+and his battered face.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile Hal, hearing the church clock strike half-past one, had left
+Maggie to take Blazer home, and had struck across the fields and past
+the farm. Hot and flushed with hurrying, he arrived at the lodge gate
+just as the Squire came in sight.</p>
+
+<p>Hal pulled up to wait for him, glad of breathing space.</p>
+
+<p>The Squire was walking briskly. "We shall deserve a scolding for
+keeping lunch waiting," said he as he came up. "How come you to be late
+too?—And what have you done with the other boys? By the by, have you
+seen anything of Dick Crozier?"</p>
+
+<p>"That's what made me late," answered Hal, guessing that his grandfather
+must have met Dick in his deplorable condition. "He had enough of his
+ducking, I should think."</p>
+
+<p>The Squire stared. "Enough of what?"</p>
+
+<p>"But you met him?" said Hal.</p>
+
+<p>"Not a bit of it," returned the Squire. "I've been waiting this hour or
+more in Mrs. Crozier's parlour to lecture him."</p>
+
+<p>Then Hal told his tale.</p>
+
+<p>Bill also had heard half-past one go, and had suddenly recollected that
+he was on a promise of good behaviour. Now, he was sorely perplexed
+what to do. It was clear enough that his behaviour was not exactly
+good; but how to tell his story to his own credit, or, in fact, to get
+believed at all, Bill was entirely at a loss. So, hungry as he was, he
+did what cowards always do—kept out of it, and went wandering about the
+fields behind the farm.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't see much in Bill's fine promises," remarked his mother, as her
+husband set foot on the threshold; "for all the Squire made himself
+surety for the boy. He ought to ha' been in this hour ago; and I ha'n't
+set eyes on him since nine o'clock, when he went down to school."</p>
+
+<p>"'Spare the rod and spoil the child,'" quoted Mumby, sitting down
+heavily in his accustomed corner by the chimney-piece. "I wouldn't ha'
+let him off so easy for anybody else; but if the worst comes to the
+worst, why, I must reckon up wi' him, for all the Squires in the world.
+A father's got his dooty to his boy to think of first; and I ain't
+agoin' to shirk mine, not for all the firmament." After which paternal
+speech, he fell to work in silence on the steaming lump of steak
+pudding which his wife served out to him.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, wife," said he, as he pushed his plate back and got up, "when
+Bill turns up, you don't give him a scrap o' this, d'ye mind?
+Dinner-time's when I come in, and, if he ain't ready for his'n then,
+why, he can go without, or else make shift to fill himself with bread."
+And having lighted his pipe, he went out again.</p>
+
+<p>But Bill, having once given way to his cowardly fears, grew less and
+less brave about showing his face at home, and, as he was getting
+dreadfully famished, he began to wonder how he could get a meal. He
+thought of the gap in the hedge; but that was almost within sight of
+home, and the men would be just returning to work. Besides, Bill had
+had enough of stealing eggs. But it struck him that he might find
+some small birds' eggs to suck. At the bottom of the field in the
+hedge which bounded it from the orchard were some trees of which the
+blackbirds were particularly fond; and to these Bill now directed his
+steps, in hopes that he might find something to stay his hunger.</p>
+
+<p>He was unusually lucky too. The first nest which he found contained
+four or five fledglings; but the second and the third had each five
+eggs in it, all of which he sucked.</p>
+
+<p>"Better than nothing," said Bill to himself, as he threw the last shell
+down, and prepared to descend the trunk again. "It'd take a lot o' them
+to make up a goose's egg, though."</p>
+
+<p>But in moving on to the next group of trees, Bill passed the haystack,
+and, casting a look round, to see that no one was about, whom should he
+discover but his old enemy, lying fast asleep in the hay, his clothes
+spread out around him on the grass to dry?</p>
+
+<p>Once out of his wet garments, and snugly covered up, with the hot May
+sun shining down upon him, Dick had soon become so helplessly drowsy,
+that before the lapse of many minutes, he had become oblivious to
+everything, and was soundly sleeping off the effects of his cold plunge.</p>
+
+<p>Bill stood still a moment in sheer amazement; then he tiptoed nearer,
+with his neck outstretched, laughing to himself, to think how
+completely luck had placed Dick in his power. A moment more, and he had
+darted forward, gathered up the clothes, and, as swiftly as caution
+would allow, had sped up the ladder with them.</p>
+
+<p>"Now you're done, my fine fellow, or my name ain't Bill!" said he to
+himself, as he lodged his bundle, and took up his position at the top
+of the ladder, where the thatched slant was cut away. "Let's see how
+you'll look running home without your clothes!"</p>
+
+<p>But an hour passed, and Dick did not rouse.</p>
+
+<p>At first Bill had forgotten his hunger; now he began to cast longing
+looks at the branches of the trees beyond the stack. It was already
+seven or eight hours since he breakfasted; and he was beginning to find
+revenge rather painful.</p>
+
+<p>Another half-hour went by.</p>
+
+<p>Bill's patience was nearly exhausted, but Dick was still sound asleep,
+entirely unconscious of the trick that had been played him.</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder," exclaimed Bill, "how long he's wound up for!"</p>
+
+<p>But the idea of Dick's awakening only suggested other difficulties;
+for the longer Bill put off going home, the less pleasant he found the
+prospect of having to face it out in the end. It would certainly make
+ten times worse of it, if this should come out. Perhaps, on the whole,
+it would be better to descend at once, and leave Dick to make the
+discovery of his loss alone; but Bill somehow could not give up the fun.</p>
+
+<p>"Let's rouse him up," said he at length; and pulling out some of
+the osier switches with which the thatch was pegged, he broke them
+into bits, and commenced pelting at Dick's upturned face. The first
+half-dozen missed, but presently one hit the mark. Dick stirred in his
+sleep, and turned over on his back, baring one arm and poking one foot
+up through the hay.</p>
+
+<p>Bill chuckled, and sent another missile straight for his face. This
+time it missed; but the next hit hard, right in the centre of his
+forehead. Dick's eyes opened, then dropped to again, and he turned over
+on his other side. Bill aimed again, and hit him in the ear. This time,
+up went one of Dick's hands to rub the place, and he awoke outright.</p>
+
+<p>First of all, he stared round in a bewildered sort of way, as if unable
+to make out his surroundings; then he examined his bare arm, and pushed
+the hay back from his chest, as if to remind himself that he was
+without garments. Finally he sat upright, the dry covering falling back
+from his arms and shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>Now was Bill's time of triumph. Feasting on Dick's look of utter
+dismay, he no longer even felt his hunger. The very thought of Dick's
+having to get from the farm to the top of the hill beyond the Manor
+House without a rag to his back, was ample reward for all his waiting
+and fasting. Bill's revenge was so delicious to the taste, that it was
+all he could do to restrain his chuckles of delight. But Bill was not
+going to spoil the fun. By a strong effort of self-control, he mastered
+his merriment, and sat still to watch what course his unfortunate
+victim would adopt.</p>
+
+<p>Whilst Dick had been snugly rolled up in the hay, the Manor House boys
+and their cousins, not satisfied with their morning's game at hare and
+hounds, had been for a long walk round in the opposite direction; and
+just as Dick sat up, hardly able to believe his eyes, yet guessing who
+had played him the trick, and wondering what in the world he was to do,
+up they came along the favourite pathway from the riverbank across the
+fields.</p>
+
+<p>Bill from the top of the stack not only heard, but saw them trooping
+merrily along—Hal, on his crutches in the midst, keeping up bravely
+with the rest. Dick, also, from the shelter of the stack, heard the
+sound of their gay laughter, as they chattered by the way; and it just
+flashed across his mind that here was an opportunity to get helped
+out of his awkward predicament. Only the situation was so utterly
+ridiculous, that natural pride made him shrink from exposure. He was
+still hesitating, unable to make up his mind whether to call to them or
+to wait till dark should lend a friendly cloak to flight, when he heard
+Sigismund shout, "Who'll climb a haystack?"</p>
+
+<p>Will took up the challenge, and off they raced across the grass, Hal
+following at his quickest.</p>
+
+<p>Will and Sigismund were first at the stack. They had scarcely reached
+it, however, when there was a grand outcry, and a tremendous explosion
+of laughter; for there, bolt upright, and stark naked to the waist, sat
+Dick Crozier, with the most comical look of helplessness upon his face.</p>
+
+<p>"Hullo!" exclaimed Will.</p>
+
+<p>"Whatever are you up to?" cried Sigismund.</p>
+
+<p>"A leaf out of Robinson Crusoe," yelled one of the cousins, holding his
+sides; "a naked savage!"</p>
+
+<p>"A what?" shouted Hal, putting on all the speed he could command.</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image027" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image027.jpg" alt="image027"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>Dick had turned red all over.</p>
+
+<p>"He's taking a sun bath," jeered Will.</p>
+
+<p>"They say it's very salutary," added one of the others, his eyes
+running over with merriment.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't let the police catch you at it, that's all," said another, as
+Dick tried to scrape the hay together round him.</p>
+
+<p>Sigismund had turned back towards Hal, who by this time was nearly at
+the spot. "It's Dick Crozier," called he.</p>
+
+<p>"Dick Crozier!" echoed Hal. "What's the matter?"</p>
+
+<p>The next instant, however, the question answered itself, and for a
+brief space Hal was at a loss whether to laugh or look serious.</p>
+
+<p>"But where are your clothes?" asked he at length, in a tone of
+incredulity.</p>
+
+<p>"Goodness knows," answered Dick snappishly, "Gone."</p>
+
+<p>"But how did you get out of them?" asked Hal further.</p>
+
+<p>"Took 'em off," said Dick in a surly voice.</p>
+
+<p>"Queer place to choose," put in Will.</p>
+
+<p>"But what have you done with them?" asked Hal, utterly at a loss.</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing!" exclaimed Dick indignantly. "They're gone."</p>
+
+<p>"Gone?"</p>
+
+<p>"Can't you understand!" broke out Dick, with injured dignity most
+ludicrous to behold. "Some one's taken 'em."</p>
+
+<p>The others roared with laughter anew; but the whole thing suddenly
+flashed upon Hal. Dick, afraid to go home, had conceived the idea of
+drying his clothes in the sun; and Bill, finding him there asleep, had
+played him this waggish but shameful trick.</p>
+
+<p>Hal didn't laugh.</p>
+
+<p>"Run for some clothes, one of you," ordered he; "to the cottages will
+be quickest. Bill shall answer for this—the mean scoundrel!" added he,
+in a tone of voice that changed the expression of that youth's face in
+a twinkling, and made the others look in awe at Hal.</p>
+
+<p>Sigismund, always ready to do his elder brother's bidding, dashed off,
+followed by one of his cousins; but at that instant, Will, recollecting
+what they had come for, glanced upward, and caught sight of Bill.</p>
+
+<p>"Hullo!" cried he. "There he is! Look! Look! Up there!"</p>
+
+<p>All eyes were instantly directed to the top of the stack. But Bill,
+suddenly arriving at the determination that it would be more prudent to
+make off, had scrambled to the ridge, and over; and all of him except
+his hands had disappeared.</p>
+
+<p>"Why! He's got the clothes up there!" exclaimed one of the cousins,
+catching sight of the bundle.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm going up," said Will, setting foot on the ladder.</p>
+
+<p>"Stop, stop!" cried Hal, afraid of a tussle at such a height from the
+ground, and half hoping that some one would come back from the cottages
+with Sigismund, and see fair play. "Let be till Sidge and Watt come
+back."</p>
+
+<p>But Bill had caught Will's words like a shot, and, determined upon
+escape at all costs, had let go the ridge. Almost the same instant they
+heard a heavy thud upon the ground.</p>
+
+<p>"What was that?" cried Will and the two cousins in a breath.</p>
+
+<p>Hal turned white.</p>
+
+<p>"He has never jumped it?" cried he.</p>
+
+<p>Not a sound came from the other side of the stack; but there was
+scarcely a doubt as to what had happened. For a moment none of them
+dared stir; then Hal put one crutch forward, and nerved himself for the
+awful possibility, praying as he went,—"God grant he isn't dead!"</p>
+
+<p>On the grass, a yard or so from the foot of the stack, lay Bill, white
+as a sheet. At first sight Hal uttered a cry of horror, thinking that
+his worst fears were realized. But at the sound of his voice Bill's
+eyes opened.</p>
+
+<p>"My leg!" moaned he. "My leg!"</p>
+
+<p>The right leg was doubled backwards underneath him, broken at the thigh.</p>
+
+<p>"Here!" shouted Hal. "Help! Where are you all? Won't anybody lend a
+hand?"</p>
+
+<p>The others had followed him, however, and were closer than he knew
+of. Half-a-dozen hands were instantly stretched out; Bill was quickly
+lifted, and the injured limb straightened.</p>
+
+<p>"Bring him round on to the hay," directed Hal. "He'll lie easier there,
+whilst you go for help."</p>
+
+<p>So Bill was carried round to where Dick sat—now shivering with terror
+and alarm.</p>
+
+<p>"He'll want a stretcher," said Hal next. "You three can't carry him;
+and I should think it will be a case for the Infirmary."</p>
+
+<p>The three boys declared themselves quite equal to the task of carrying
+Bill, and were anxious to start at once. But as they were in the midst
+of a warm debate with Hal, who stood out for the superior merits of a
+stretcher, the sound of footsteps announced the return of Sigismund and
+Watt.</p>
+
+<p>"Grandfather is behind," shouted Sigismund triumphantly, as he
+advanced. "Now we shall see fair play."</p>
+
+<p>The Squire had been up the hill to Mrs. Crozier's again, after hearing
+Hal's account of Dick's ducking; and perplexed at finding him still
+absent, had proceeded to Mrs. Mumby's cottage, to hear what Bill had to
+tell on the subject. Learning from Sigismund the fresh turn of affairs,
+he now at once followed to the scene of action, Mrs. Mumby hurrying
+after, vowing punishment on Bill for this fresh escapade, and carrying
+his Sunday suit for Dick.</p>
+
+<p>Seeing Mrs. Mumby, Hal, with a quick thought for her mother's heart, at
+once started forward.</p>
+
+<p>"Don't be frightened," called he, as he swung himself towards her;
+"it's only his leg. Bill went and tried to jump down from the top, and
+he has broken his thigh."</p>
+
+<p>Of course, as neither Mrs. Mumby nor the Squire knew anything about the
+"king o' the haystack" position which Bill had for the last three hours
+enjoyed, further explanation was called for. But Hal soon put them in
+possession of the principal facts—how Will had caught sight of the
+young rascal, and started to go up after him; and how Bill, resolved
+not to be caught, had left his hold and slidden down with a rush.</p>
+
+<p>In another minute, Will and Sigismund were racing to the farmyard, with
+the Squire's orders that a cart be brought round at once, to convey
+Bill to the Infirmary.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, young man," said the Squire, as he stood over Bill awaiting
+their return, "I should think that you have had lessons enough by this
+time. For, remember, this all comes of getting through a hedge to steal
+goose eggs."</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<figure class="figcenter" id="image028" style="max-width: 25.3125em;">
+  <img class="w100" src="images/image028.jpg" alt="image028"></figure>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<h3><a id="Chapter_20">CHAPTER XX.</a></h3>
+
+<p class="t3">
+<b>IN MEMORY OF FARMER BLUFF.</b><br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>A FEW hours later, Bill had made acquaintance with one of the narrow
+beds in the accident ward of the Riverbridge Infirmary, where—after
+going through the exhausting process of having his clothes removed,
+and his leg put in splints—he fell asleep and dreamt all sorts of
+extraordinary things. Amongst others, that the Squire had caught him
+stealing eggs in the hay, and had him nailed out on a flat board—like
+the stoats on the lower boarding of the barn; and that when he tried
+to get away, Farmer Bluff's dog came and barked at him. Then the dog
+suddenly changed into a woman with a snow-cloud on her head, who
+clapped ice on his forehead, to make him forget for a little while.
+This imaginary ice being none other than the hand of the kind-hearted
+night nurse, under the touch of whose cool palm Bill from time to time
+forgot his feverish struggles to toss about. And so the morning dawned;
+the first of forty days, or more, that the Bill would have to spend
+upon that narrow bed.</p>
+
+<p>In the meantime, Dick, arrayed in Bill's Sunday suit, and escorted by
+the Squire, had gone off up the hill, leaving his half-dry clothes in
+Mrs. Mumby's charge.</p>
+
+<p>Arrived at home, he was at once put to bed between blankets, and
+made to swallow a large basinful of hot gruel, which would have been
+unpalatable enough, had he not been so long fasting that anything of
+the nature of food was welcome.</p>
+
+<p>Between the gruel and the blankets, he was soon perspiring violently,
+and in a sound sleep, from which he did not rouse until long
+after Bill—in accordance with the early rule of the Infirmary—had
+breakfasted. Then, feeling very much dispirited and out of sorts, and
+looking a wretched object, with his bruised and battered face and
+fists, he dressed and came downstairs, more thankful than words can
+describe, to find his father already gone, and as grateful for the
+message he had left behind, excusing him from school for the day, on
+condition that he did not stir outside the house.</p>
+
+<p>Dick, as may readily be imagined, willingly accepted the condition,
+and remained at home, answering his mother's numerous questions, and
+enduring her reproaches as stoically as he could; and looking forward
+with great misgivings to the lecture which, he knew only too well, he
+could not hope to escape, on his father's return from business.</p>
+
+<p>Next morning, he went back to school as usual, and after several days
+of quizzing and jeering on the part of his schoolmates, things fell
+back into their ordinary course. By degrees the cuts and bruises
+disappeared; and but for two things Dick might perhaps have soon
+succeeded in forgetting the whole occurrence—at any rate until Bill's
+discharge from the Infirmary brought him home, with one leg a full inch
+shorter than the other, to limp for life—a perpetual reminder of the
+whole disgraceful affair.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, Dick had been forced to abide by the harsh, though just
+words with which his father had concluded his lecture that evening.</p>
+
+<p>"You pride yourself on common sense," said Mr. Crozier, "and have on
+more than one occasion rebelled against seeing by the light of my
+maturer wisdom. Common sense should have taught you that no person,
+young or old, can violate the laws of God, but they are sure to reap
+due punishment. Bill has learnt the wholesome truth in a manner that I
+hope he will not easily forget. It will be my duty to make sure that
+you remember too. I had intended taking you on the river this coming
+Bank Holiday, to give you your first lesson in rowing. But since you
+have so persistently and dishonourably disregarded my injunctions with
+regard to it, I shall put off doing so another year, or until I find
+that you have learnt obedience."</p>
+
+<p>As time went on, Dick found this decision of his father's harder than
+he had even thought; for several of his schoolmates had boats upon the
+river, and every invitation to their water-parties had to be refused.</p>
+
+<p>The hardest time of all was when Hal invited him to his birthday picnic.</p>
+
+<p>Hal's birthday was always the closing fête of the summer holidays; and
+this year the Squire had planned an excursion to some picturesque old
+ruins, eight or ten miles up stream. A large pleasure-boat had been
+hired, with men to tow or row, as convenience required; and there were
+grand preparations to be undertaken in the Manor House kitchen for the
+rural spread. A number of cousins, boys and girls, were to join them,
+and Hal—as hero of the day—was invested with carte blanche to invite as
+many as the boat would accommodate.</p>
+
+<p>"Ask just whom you please," the Squire said to him, knowing that he
+might rely on Hal's good taste. "The more the merrier, so long as we
+can see our water-mark. I want your picnic to be a grand success."</p>
+
+<p>Hal instantly thought of Dick.</p>
+
+<p>Now, it was not surprising that Dick, heartily ashamed of the figure he
+had cut on the unfortunate afternoon of Bill's accident, should have
+so carefully avoided Hal ever since, that they had not once so much
+as exchanged nods. The fact was, Dick hardly thought that Hal would
+care to speak to him again. But Hal, much as he disapproved of Dick's
+conduct, was not the sort of boy to throw him up on that account; and
+guessing that shame was most probably Dick's chief reason for holding
+aloof, he was determined to do his utmost towards bringing about a
+correct understanding. And here was his opportunity.</p>
+
+<p>The first thing was to waylay Dick. This was not difficult. Hal had
+only to watch at the plantation palings till he saw Dick coming down
+the hill; then lay in wait inside the gate till just as he came up, and
+pop out on him before he had a chance to run.</p>
+
+<p>Dick looked "caught," and tried to get away; but Hal was not to be
+done in that fashion. He button-holed him without ado, and stated his
+business.</p>
+
+<p>Dick stammered an excuse; but Hal saw, by the blank look on his face,
+that there was something behind it. A little pressing brought it out.</p>
+
+<p>"And it's no go," said Dick regretfully. "You might as well waste your
+strength trying to move a mountain as my father when his mind is made
+up."</p>
+
+<p>Hal offered to see what he could do to soften Mr. Crozier's heart; but
+Dick shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"It's no go," repeated he; "and I shall have to stay away."</p>
+
+<p>So all that glorious September day Dick spent in vain regrets that but
+for his own folly, he might have been one of Hal's merry birthday party.</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>But as the autumn days fell on the woods, a shadow settled on the
+cottage by the gate, where Farmer Bluff was drawing towards his death.
+Death is not always dark. The end of life is sometimes like a glorious
+sunset, when the light of day sinks in triumphant promise of another
+dawn. But Farmer Bluff had sinned, and had never made the Bible
+promises his own.</p>
+
+<p>Hal often went to sit beside his bed.</p>
+
+<p>"The others play as well without me," he would say. "I'm not much good
+in games, you see; and I would rather come and help you bear your pain."</p>
+
+<p>"It's not so much the pain," the farmer said to him one day. "I'd go
+on bearing that. But they tell me that I'm going fast; and I can't see
+where. I've never been a praying man; and now it's dark. 'Prepare to
+meet thy God,' they say. How can a man prepare?—What can I do?—I've
+lost my right to think of ever getting Him to listen to my prayers; and
+I must go before His judgment-seat with all my sins upon my back."</p>
+
+<p>Hal was silent.</p>
+
+<p>"It's very sad," said he presently; "because, you see, you've wasted
+all the best part of your life. And I should think a man wouldn't like
+to have to go to God and ask to be taken into heaven, when he'd done
+so badly all along. Of course, there was the prodigal, who squandered
+all his father gave him so disgracefully; but you see, he was a young
+man, and he went back to work again as soon as the feast was over. The
+Bible doesn't say so; but it seems to me he'd work like two, whenever
+he remembered how his father ran to meet him, open-armed. You're more
+like the man who didn't come to work until the eleventh hour," added
+Hal thoughtfully.</p>
+
+<p>Farmer Bluff asked to have the passage read to him.</p>
+
+<p>"He got his penny just the same as all the rest, you see," said Hal,
+when he had finished it.</p>
+
+<p>But the sick man shook his head.</p>
+
+<p>"That's not like me," he said. "He worked one hour. I'm past that. I'm
+good for nothing; I've destroyed myself."</p>
+
+<p>And Hal went away grieved; for he felt the words were just. And
+yet—although he knew that God was ready to receive all those who turn
+to Him through Christ—he could not think of how to tell him so.</p>
+
+<p>But the following Sunday, as he sat beside the Squire in the
+high-backed Manor pew, his crutches either side of him, the "how" was
+made quite plain.</p>
+
+<p>"This is the work of God," the vicar read, "that ye believe on Him whom
+God hath sent."</p>
+
+<p>Will and Sigismund were very busy watching a wasp that had strayed in
+at one of the windows, and was making up its mind to settle on the
+velvet hangings of the pew. They glanced at Hal, but his thoughts were
+too much occupied with Farmer Bluff to notice any of their signs.</p>
+
+<p>All at once he seemed to see how it is faith in Christ alone that gives
+the sinner peace, when looking back repentant on a misspent life.</p>
+
+<p>He seemed to see, too, how that "faith" can be called "work," since "to
+be" alone enables man "to do."</p>
+
+<p>"I've got it, Farmer Bluff!" he cried, next time he went up to his
+room. "Believe in Jesus Christ,—that is 'the work of God;' and you can
+do that lying here. It's only to be sorry, and to trust in Christ, who
+died for us." And sitting down by him, he found the verse and read it
+out.</p>
+
+<p>"And I think," he added, "that perhaps in heaven God will give you
+something to do for Him, to make amends for what you left undone down
+here."</p>
+
+<p>The dying man lay still for some minutes; then a light broke over his
+face, and he repeated,—"Only to be sorry—He knows I'm truly sorry—and
+to trust in Christ—who died for me. That's all 'the work of God.'"</p>
+
+<p>And so, just when the bitter punishment of all his sins was near at
+hand, the Saviour's sacrifice brought peace and light; and Farmer Bluff
+began the life that might have been so full of fruit in this world and
+the next, had he but commenced it earlier.</p>
+
+<p>But next time Hal came upstairs to see him, he said he had been
+thinking there was one thing he could do. "I could warn some other
+sinner what an awful grief it is to go down to the grave with nothing
+but a wasted life," said he; "and maybe they might listen to a man who
+hasn't many days to live."</p>
+
+<p>So Hal brought Dick and Bill to see the dying man; and Farmer Bluff
+talked to them in a way that neither of the boys ever forgot.</p>
+
+<p>"There's one thing more I want to do before I die," said Farmer Bluff
+to Hal, when they were gone. "I feel the end is coming fast; another
+day I mayn't have strength. That mug. It's on the chest of drawers.
+Bring it me, will you?"</p>
+
+<p>Hal fetched the silver mug, and brought it to the bed.</p>
+
+<p>The old man took it in his hands and turned it over many times.</p>
+
+<p>"I want to give it to you," he said at length; "because I'd like it
+melted down. I wouldn't like to put the blame of all my folly on this
+silver mug; because the evil was inside me, in my evil heart, that
+nothing save the grace of God could change. But it seems like part of
+the old life. It stood there by my side and tempted me; and I should
+like to feel that when my body's underneath the grass, the old life is
+all done away. No matter what you make of it, so you promise me to have
+it melted down."</p>
+
+<p>"I promise," answered Hal.</p>
+
+<p>And the farmer put the mug into his hand.</p>
+
+<p>"Then there's Grip and Blazer," continued Farmer Bluff. "I've given
+Grip to Dobson there, next door; but Maggie and her mother very likely
+mayn't stay here, and Blazer is very much attached to you. I'd like to
+know he'll have a master when I'm gone."</p>
+
+<p>"And why not have the silver made into a collar for him?" cried Hal
+suddenly. "And he shall wear the mug upon his neck, in memory of you."</p>
+
+<p>So it was agreed; and Hal went home.</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>Hal never saw his old friend any more alive. Going home through heavy
+rain that afternoon, he caught a chill that forced him to stay indoors
+for several days; and one morning, before the week was out, a message
+came to say that at the break of dawn, poor Farmer Bluff's spirit had
+departed to its rest.</p>
+
+<p>The cottage by the wood was soon untenanted again. Maggie, through the
+Squire's interest, was got into an orphan school, where she soon gave
+promise of a bright and useful womanhood; and Mrs. Rust obtained a
+responsible place as housekeeper, where she went on saving up whatever
+she could spare, to lay by with the little sum of money left her by her
+brother at his death; so that when old age crept on she might not be a
+burden on her child.</p>
+
+<p><br></p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, from the day when Blazer became Hal's property, the young
+Squire was seldom seen abroad without his dog; and on his neck,
+Blazer always wore a massive silver collar, bearing on one side his
+name and the four words—"Who saved two lives;" and on the other, the
+inscription—"In memory of his old master, Farmer Bluff."</p>
+
+<p>Thus reminded what a solemn charge is God's great gift of life, Hal
+went onward towards the time when his aged grandfather must follow
+Farmer Bluff, and leave the Manor in his hands.</p>
+
+<p>There is little hope that he will ever be robust enough to lead the
+steeplechase, or ride out in the morning mist behind the hounds.
+Probably he will never learn to do without his crutches, and will
+never be "a stalwart Englishman" to look upon. But his heart is brave
+and true; and these are things he does not much regret. His strong
+determination is to do his best in hunting out the sin and godlessness
+that work such havoc in the lives of men; and—God helping him—to be the
+foremost in the race that has the throne of heaven for its aim.</p>
+
+<p>But that time, he hopes, is still some years ahead.</p>
+
+<p>Meanwhile, he strives to gather wisdom as he grows; and since his
+copy—as he told Dick Crozier—is the perfect God-man, Jesus Christ,
+there is no doubt that he will grow to be a useful, honoured man, and
+at last receive the incorruptible crown.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<p class="t3">
+THE END.<br>
+</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<p>PRINTED BY MORRISON AND GIBB LIMITED, EDINBURGH.</p>
+
+<p><br><br><br></p>
+
+<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 74082 ***</div>
+</body>
+</html>
+