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diff --git a/34535.txt b/34535.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..71e50ea --- /dev/null +++ b/34535.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11731 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Digby Heathcote, by W.H.G. Kingston + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Digby Heathcote + The Early Days of a Country Gentleman's Son and Heir + +Author: W.H.G. Kingston + +Illustrator: H. Weir + +Release Date: December 1, 2010 [EBook #34535] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DIGBY HEATHCOTE *** + + + + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + + + + +Digby Heathcote, by W.H.G. Kingston. + +________________________________________________________________________ + +________________________________________________________________________ +DIGBY HEATHCOTE, BY W.H.G. KINGSTON. + + + +CHAPTER ONE. + +THE HERO'S EARLY DAYS--BLOXHOLME, ITS SQUIRE, HIS FAMILY AND DEPENDENTS. + +"I'll not stand it, that I won't, Master Digby. To think that you, a +young gentleman who has plenty to eat and drink of everything that's +nice, and more than enough, too, should come and put your fingers +through the paper into my jam pots, which I've just been and nicely tied +down, and all for mischief's sake, it's not to be borne, let me tell +you. You've been and eaten up a whole pot of raspberry jam, and better +than half a one of greengage. I wonder you are not sick with it. If +you ever do it again, I'll leave your honoured father's service sooner +than submit to such behaviour, that I will--remember, Master Digby." + +These exclamations were uttered by Mrs Carter, the housekeeper at +Bloxholme Hall, the residence of Mr Heathcote, the representative of +one of the oldest families in the county. + +The culprit thus addressed, who had been caught in _flagrante delicto_, +stood before her with very sticky fingers, his countenance, however, +wearing anything but an expression of penitence. + +"I like jam, and you don't give me enough in my puddings," was the only +excuse he deigned to offer for his conduct. + +"You'll go without it altogether, Master Digby, let me tell you," +retorted Mrs Carter. She was the only person in the establishment who +ventured to thwart the young gentleman, though he did not love the old +lady the worse for that. + +Digby was Mr Heathcote's eldest son and heir. He had just attained the +mature age of nine years, and had hitherto in many respects been +considerably spoilt. Mr Heathcote had not succeeded to his property +till rather late in life, and he had not till then married. A son had +long been wished-for, and when one was given, the grateful hearts of the +parents felt that they could not prize him too much. Too thankful they +might not have been, but they petted and indulged him more than was for +his good. He had also three elder sisters. They, in their fondness, +did their best to spoil him; indeed, as Mrs Carter used to observe to +Alesbury, the butler, she was afraid Master Digby would soon become as +much of a pickle as any she had in her store-room. He was a sturdy +little fellow, with fat, rosy cheeks, and a figure which already gave +promise of considerable muscular powers. Alesbury was wont to remark +that it was quite a pity Master Digby had not been born a younger +instead of an elder son, he seemed so well able to fight his way in the +world. He had a fair complexion--already a little tanned, by the by-- +light brown curling hair with a tinge of gold in it, he had good-sized +honest eyes, and looked as he was--from head to foot a thorough English +boy. He had been spoilt hitherto, certainly, but not altogether so. He +had been taught by both his parents to worship and fear God, and to hate +and abhor a lie. He had only once been known to tell an untruth, and +then Mr Heathcote did what very nearly broke his heart to do; he +flogged him severely, and shut him up, and would not speak to him for +the remainder of the day. Digby did not care much about the pain of the +flogging, but he felt the disgrace keenly, and it impressed on his mind +the enormity of the crime of which he had been guilty. I believe that +he never after that event uttered a falsehood. His very varied tricks +and numerous eccentric pranks were therefore constantly being brought to +light, when less honest boys might have managed to escape detection for +those they had committed; but few could find it in their hearts to +punish the young heir of Bloxholme when he ingenuously confessed his +fault, and expressed himself, as he really felt at the time, sorry for +what he had done. + +"Oh, Master Digby! Master Digby! what would your mamma say if she saw +you now?" continued Mrs Carter. + +"I like jam," repeated Master Digby; an assertion of the truth of which +he had given strong evidence. + +"Are you not ashamed of yourself?" added Mrs Carter, not taking notice +of his reply. + +"The jam isn't yours, Mrs Carter," exclaimed Digby, as if a bright idea +had struck him. + +"It is given into my charge by my mistress, Master Digby, and I am +answerable for every pot of it," answered the housekeeper, in a serious +tone, in which sorrow and rebuke were blended. + +Digby was silent for a moment, and then seemed to see the matter in a +new light. + +"I'm sorry for taking the jam, Mrs Carter; I'll tell mamma what I've +done, and then she won't be angry with you, I know," he replied, looking +very penitent. + +"There's a darling, now," exclaimed Mrs Carter, catching him up in her +arms, and giving him a kiss; whereby, in consequence of his struggles to +get free, for he had a great dislike to such marks of affection, her +black silk dress was very considerably daubed with the jam yet adhering +to the young gentleman's fingers. "Oh, Master Digby, Master Digby, what +have you done!" cried the old lady, when she discovered the injury which +her demonstration of affection had brought upon her dress. "Oh, it +never will look nice again." + +"I am so sorry, Mrs Carter, indeed I am," said the boy, eyeing the dark +marks his fingers had left. "The first money I get I will buy you a new +gown, that I will; I won't take your jam any more, that I won't." + +After this promise, Mrs Carter knew that her jam was safe, and she +willingly bore the injury done her dress for such a result. She would +have given Digby another hug, but she took the precaution of washing his +hands before attempting such a proceeding. + +"There now, Master Digby, I dare say the dress won't be much the worse, +after all," she remarked, as soon as she had dried his hands. "You're a +dear, good child, that you are." + +Digby knew what was coming, and watching his opportunity, he bolted out +of the room. Snatching up his cap, away he ran, shouting, through the +gardens and woods which surrounded the old hall, in very exuberance of +spirits, without any definite idea as to where he was going or what he +should do with himself. Similar to this had hitherto been most of +Digby's misdemeanours and scrapes, and thus, as he had not learned to +estimate the evil consequences of his naughtinesses, he was not +deterred, when the temptation came in his way, of committing fresh ones. + +One of Digby's sisters was but a year older than himself, and very +naturally was his constant companion. Kate, that was her name, was a +very quick, intelligent girl, the cleverest of the family, but her +talents were like wild plants, which bear flowers very beautiful to look +at, but if allowed to grow without training, apt, from their very +exuberance, to do mischief. Kate could write poetry, and very funny +poetry it was too. Digby admired it amazingly. At all events it was +rhyme, and the lines were of the same length and not inharmonious. +Nobody could read it without laughing at the quaint ideas and, curious +expressions. The handwriting was curious--I wish that I could give an +idea of it. The letters were very round and irregular, capitals and +small letters were oddly mingled, and the lines wandered up and down the +pages. The orthography, too, was not of the most orthodox description. +Her little inaccuracies in that respect, however, Digby himself was not +likely to discover. Kate could draw, too, and indulged largely in +caricaturing the eccentricities of any of her friends and acquaintance. +If her poetry was funny, the designs she produced with her pencil were +still more so. They never failed to produce roars of laughter from +Digby, who, if not witty or talented himself, was fully able to +appreciate her wit and talent. + +Both her poetical effusions and her caricatures had hitherto been +devoted exclusively to Digby's amusement, and no other member of their +family was aware of her powers in that direction. This arose from the +little maiden's modesty and timidity. She knew that Digby would +certainly appreciate to the full her productions; but she doubted too +much whether others would do so to allow her to show them. Besides, the +exquisite delight which the two enjoyed in looking over together, in +secret, her drawings and verses would have been much decreased had other +eyes been allowed to see them, and to discover faults perhaps to which +they themselves were willingly blind. Not only could Kate write poetry +and draw, but she could sing too; and that everybody knew, and +wonderfully wild and warbling were her notes, when she did not fancy +that any one was listening to her, as she ran bounding along the green +lawn, like a young fawn, or made her way among the shrubberies to any of +her favourite haunts. Kate was not pretty; her figure was small and +thin, and her features were rather sharp, but her eyes were bright, and +full of intelligence, and she had a sweet smile, which lightened up her +countenance when anything pleased her, which was very frequently. +Digby, however, would have been very much surprised had any one +pronounced her to be any otherwise than very pretty. His usual +description of her was, "Oh, she is jolly, that sister of mine--Kate! +I'll bet there isn't another girl like her in the world! Up to +anything--bird's-nesting, cricketing, or fishing. Why, she can saddle +her own pony, and doesn't mind where she goes when I am with her. She's +as plucky as any fellow, and I hope to see her leap a five-barred gate +some day--that I do." + +Kate admired Digby in return, though not perhaps in the same degree, but +she was quite as fond of him as he was of her, probably even fonder. I +think sisters generally love their brothers more than they get loved in +return, and most decidedly are ready to make more sacrifices for them, +to give up more to them, to endure more from them, more shame to the +boys. Yes, unselfish indeed is a good sister's love, a thing to be +cherished, a thing to be grateful for. + +I said Kate was not pretty. As she ran along with her garden bonnet +thrown back, hanging by the string to her neck, and her frock not in the +most tidy condition, she might have been mistaken for one of the little +gipsies from the encampment which was frequently made on the +neighbouring common. When, however, Kate spoke, a person of discernment +who might have mistaken her for a gipsy would at once have been +undeceived. Her accent and manners were particularly ladylike; and if +she met a stranger, she sobered in a moment, and became perfectly quiet +and sedate. A blush would suffuse her cheeks, and her mouth would +pucker up in a curious way as she attempted to check the laughter which +was springing to her lips. After the stranger had disappeared, she +would walk on a few paces seemingly in a meditative mood, or still under +the influence of the unwonted restraint she had put on herself, but +either a squirrel would cross her path and mount a neighbouring tree, a +blackbird would fly chattering through the bushes, or a butterfly would +go fluttering before her, and off she would go in chase, and was soon +again the buoyant-spirited hoydenish little creature she generally +appeared. Kate Heathcote was certainly not a model girl, nor was Digby +a model boy. Both had very considerable faults. There was good stuff +in them, but it required more cultivation than it was then receiving to +bring forth good fruit. There was also bad in them, as there is in +everybody, which will inevitably bring forth bad fruit unless it is +counteracted. In their case it produced no little amount of highly +indecorous conduct--so that although people who knew them could not help +liking them, their example is in no way to be imitated. + +Digby and Kate were very fond of Bloxholme. They thought no other place +they had ever heard of in the world to be compared to it. Indeed, it +was a very attractive spot. The Hall was a fine old red-brick edifice, +built in the time of Queen Elizabeth, with richly ornamented windows, +and fine gables, and curious ins and outs of all sorts; and there were +wide-extending wings of a later date, with the dining-room and a +conservatory on one side, and bachelors' bedrooms and domestic offices +on the other. The garden, filled in the summer with a profusion of +flowers, came right up to the drawing-room windows on one side, and a +broad gravelly drive swept round in front of the house with an avenue of +tall elms, in which generation after generation of rooks had built their +nests, reared their young, and returned, cawing in concert, evening +after evening, for centuries past. The park stretched away for a +quarter of a mile in front of the house. It was a fine meadow, mottled +in early spring with yellow cowslips and other flowers which betokened a +rich land. Fine clumps of trees were scattered over it, arranged to +give a picturesque effect to the scene. Beyond them were seen the +silvery line of a rapid clear stream, and a range of blue hills in the +far distance. The view from the garden side of the Hall was still more +attractive. Both to the right and left were thick banks of tall trees, +some advancing, others receding, so as to prevent a too great uniformity +of appearance. Between them, and sloping away till lost in the meadows +beyond, was a wide expanse of soft velvety lawn. Pleasant was the sound +in the early summer mornings, when the dew was on the grass, of the +gardeners sharpening their scythes to keep it smooth and shorn. Here +and there scattered over it were clumps of rhododendrons and other large +flowering shrubs, and nearer the house were beds full of gay-coloured +and sweet-scented flowers. There were also some clumps of elegant +evergreens, and a few vases of marble or Maltese stone, beautifully +carved, which looked well either in summer or winter. Digby thought no +lawns were so green, no gravel walks so yellow as those of Bloxholme. +The view, too, from the lower windows, as from the lawn itself, was very +beautiful, and perfectly English. There were green slopes and +corn-fields, and hazel and beech woods, and rows of tall elms, and +clumps of fir-trees, and patches of wild land gleaming with the bloom of +the golden-coloured gorse; and then beyond all was to be seen, dancing +in the sunbeams, the wide expanse of the blue ocean, with a silvery +river finding its way down on the right to the little town of Osberton, +which stood on its shores. Numberless are the scenes of similar beauty +which are to be found throughout England. To the left of the lawn, +well-kept gravel walks twisted and twined away through shrubberies of +evergreens, passing several open spaces filled with flower beds and +trellised arbours, and rock-work and grottoes, and other similar +conceits, made with very good taste though, till they reached two wide +sheets of water, which might well be called lakes, connected by a +serpentine channel crossed at each end by a rustic bridge. The ponds +were surrounded by trees, the shadows of which were seen reflected in +the clear waters. There were picturesque little islands dotted about +here and there, not far from the shore, to which one of the largest was +joined by a bridge. It had a summer-house on it, a very favourite +resort of Digby and Kate. Perhaps they prized the ponds for being well +stocked with fish which consented now and then to be caught, even more +than for their beauty. The upper and largest pond was full of pike, and +perch, and eels. In the others were carp, and roach, and dace, and the +finest and fattest tench to be found in the county. There were several +smaller ponds full of water lilies and other aquatic plants, which, when +in bloom, as they floated borne up by their broad leaves on the calm +water, looked very beautiful. These ponds had been carefully stocked +with nearly all the species of fish to be found in English waters; and +in the rapid stream which ran out of the lowest pond and found its way +to the sea, a good basket full of mottled trout was to be caught by the +expert angler. In most places it was so thickly shaded by hazel and +alder, and other bushes which love moisture, that the bungler was very +certain to lose his hook and line, and to catch no fish. + +There was another spot, a still more favourite resort of Kate's and +Digby's. It was a high mound--partly natural and partly artificial-- +near the upper lake. The base of the mound on one side was washed by a +stream and tributary of the lake, and on the other was a grassy meadow. +The mound itself was thickly covered with trees to the very top, where a +summer-house, or sort of temple, was placed. From the windows a +beautiful view was obtained over the lakes and woods, and gardens and +fields of Bloxholme; and on one side of the village of Otterspoole and +its church-spire, and trout-stream and hanging woods, and on the other +of the valleys and hills and downs which intervened between the grounds +and the sea. Glimpses of the blue ocean were obtained from every +height, and much did it enhance the beauty of the scenery. The path +which led to the top of the mound was very intricate and steep--indeed +it formed a complete labyrinth, which, though it made it far more +attractive to Kate and her brother, prevented it from being so much the +resort of the elders of the family. + +I have described these spots as Digby's favourite resorts. I suspect, +however, that had it not been for Kate, he would not have often found +his way there. He liked them because she did, and he went there for the +sake of her society. Hearty were the laughs the two enjoyed there. +There she read to him her poetical effusions--there she showed him her +drawings, and there they concocted, I am sorry to say, many a scheme of +mischief. + +The Hall itself was a thoroughly comfortable, warm, well-furnished +mansion, with handsome drawing-rooms, and dining-room and library; and +bedrooms which could accommodate Mr Heathcote's largish family, and a +good many guests besides. He himself seemed fit in every respect to be +the owner of such a place. He was a fine looking person--a thorough +English country gentleman. He did not appear talented, and he was not; +but he had the character of being a thoroughly upright, honest man, +anxious to do his duty in that state of life to which God had called +him. He was a good landlord, and watched over all the poor around, +whether or not living on his estate. He was a county magistrate, and +was never missed in his place on the bench when the Court sat. He was +strict, especially with poachers and smugglers. There was very little +maudlin sentiment in his composition. If a person did wrong he +considered that he ought to be punished, not only to teach him not to +act in the same way again, but to teach others also. Still, no kinder +or more indulgent master, to all employed in his service, was to be +found in the county. "If we do not inflict the legal punishment on the +man, how is he, or how are others, to know what is right or what is +wrong," he used to remark to his brother magistrates. From his +invariable strictness he was looked upon as a severe magistrate, and +many a poacher had to rue the night in which he was caught trespassing +on the preserves of any of the neighbouring estates, till it was found +to be a very unpaying amusement, and poaching was almost put down. +Smugglers, also, either landsmen or seamen, who were captured breaking +the revenue laws, were treated in the same manner. Every man in the +district knew, that if caught aiding in running an illicit cargo of +goods, the county gaol would be his abode for some months afterwards. +So the smugglers found it very difficult to procure men to help them +land their tubs of spirits or bales of silks. Smuggling was not +entirely put down, but it received a severe check from Mr Heathcote's +system of proceeding. The gipsies, and indeed all ill-doers, held him +in great awe. At the same time he might have been seen visiting the +cottages of the men who had been sent to prison, ascertaining the real +wants of their families, and supplying them liberally. It was not in +his way to talk much to them or to give them good advice. He would +remark, perhaps, "Well, when your Bill comes out, tell him that if he +does it again, he'll have to go in again. Remember that." As the +county gaol was far from a pleasant abode, the warning had generally the +effect intended. Mr Heathcote was a Tory, somewhat of the old school, +and an unwavering supporter of the Church of England. Indeed, he was +very unwavering in all his ways of proceeding. He regularly attended +all poor-law boards and road-trust meetings; indeed, a large portion of +his time was occupied in public matters. He was also an enthusiastic +sportsman. The first of September found him, gun in hand, intent on the +destruction of partridges. At every meet of the hounds in the +neighbourhood he might be seen in red coat and top-boots, few in the +field better mounted, while he rode about with cheery voice greeting his +numerous acquaintance. He no longer attended races, however. When at +college he had done so, very much to his own let and hindrance. He had +betted, lost money, and incurred debts which hung over him like an +incubus for years afterwards. He had barely managed to take his degree, +even at a college where no great amount of knowledge was demanded for +obtaining that honour. When he came into his estate he was unable to +take that place in the county which his ancestors had so long held. If +he had had an extravagant wife he would never have obtained it, but +happily for him Mrs Heathcote was a sensible, light-minded, +straightforward person. She saw what was wanted. Retrenchment was +wanted, or rather, a refraining from expenditure. A plan was laid down +and persevered in, and in a few years Mr Heathcote found his estate +unencumbered. He was not, however, a rich man; his house was rather +large for his property, and as people judge rather by the size of the +mansion than by the number or quality of the acres which surround it, he +was supposed to be more wealthy than he really was, and was consequently +expected to live in a more expensive way than he found to be wise. His +first children having been daughters, fancying that he had nothing to do +with their education, he not being a reading man, he was much oftener to +be found out of the house than in it. He had learned, therefore, to +consider that his public duties had the greatest call on his time and +attention. When Digby was born, he at first looked upon him as a baby, +and he had got so into the habit of regarding him in that light, that it +did not occur to him afterwards that his boy's mind, as well as his +stature, was enlarging, and that even greater care was required to +strengthen and cultivate the former than the latter. Happily, Mrs +Heathcote did not altogether overlook this, and she did her best to +instruct him and to teach him what was right. In this she did not +altogether fail. But she had the education of her daughters to attend +to, and Digby was left more to his own devices than was altogether good +for him. She might, of course, have had a governess, but she felt +herself well able to instruct her daughters, and had an idea that no +person could do so better than their mother. Motives of economy had in +the first place induced her to make the attempt, which she afterwards +persevered in from the pleasure it afforded her. She was a thoroughly +English, ladylike person, with no littleness about her. Tittle-tattle, +scandal, or indeed talking of people except to praise them, she +thoroughly detested. Her two eldest daughters did justice to her +instructions. + +Eleanor and Mary Heathcote were good-feeling, right-minded, ladylike +girls. I shall not have much to say about them, except in connexion +with Digby. One was seventeen, the other fifteen. They made attempts +to assist in his education, but they found him very unmanageable. There +was a large town some miles off, from which masters came, and Mrs +Heathcote had begun to talk of obtaining a governess to attend to Kate +and Digby, and the younger children as they grew older. A very superior +person had all along superintended the nursery, but Digby had already +broken through all the restraints she could put upon him, except when in +her immediate presence, and then he was obedient enough, both from habit +and affection. + +Digby's next brother was Augustus--Gusty he was generally called; he was +three years younger--a fat chubby little fellow. Digby was very fond of +him, and did his best to spoil him as much as he himself was spoiled. +He generally would do anything for him, or bear anything from him, but +sometimes Digby lost his temper, and he would then turn round and give +him a cuff, or carry off some of his property; but he was always sorry +before long for having hurt the child, and would restore what he had +deprived him of, with interest. + +Mrs Heathcote's health had always been delicate, and latterly it had +been more so than usual, and in consequence, Kate had been left to do +very much what she liked, except when she and Digby were called in by +Eleanor to do their lessons. She got over hers very quickly, and helped +Digby to do his, so that he also had an abundance of time to follow his +own fancies and devices. Three or four days in the week a master came +over to initiate him in the mysteries of the Latin accidence, as well as +writing and arithmetic--sciences which Mr Heathcote supposed the lady +members of his family were less able to impart than could one of the +sterner sex. Digby, it must be owned, did not take kindly to any of +them, and showed but little respect or affection for his instructor. +When Mr Heathcote made inquiries as to his son's progress, Mr Crammer +invariably replied that Mr Digby was getting on nicely, and he was +content, and did not think it necessary to trouble his head further on +the matter. + +I said a river was to be seen from Bloxholme. It flowed away for a +distance of six or seven miles, till it reached the sea, on the shores +of which, at its mouth, a little old sea-port town was situated, called +Osberton. The Rector, Mr Nugent, was brother to Mrs Heathcote. He +had a small income and a large family, and so he took pupils. He was a +refined, pleasing-mannered man, very earnest and zealous, but rather +strict and precise (not about religion, for in that no man can be too +strict), but with regard to the behaviour of his pupils, in small as +well as in important matters. As, however, he entered into their +sports, and showed a deep interest in their welfare, he perfectly won +their love and affection. Osberton was an old place altogether. An old +castle, with a few old guns which had not gone off for ages, guarded, or +rather pretended to guard, the entrance to the river. In reality, it +was no greater defence to the river than would be a stuffed dog in a +court-yard. The little boat harbour and the quays were old, and the +inhabitants were old-fashioned into the bargain. Now and then Digby had +been sent to stay with his uncle, but the atmosphere of the place did +not at that time suit his notions, and he always did his best to get +home again. + +In the neighbourhood of Bloxholme was Melford Priory, the residence of +the Honourable Stephen Langley. It had been granted to Mr Langley's +ancestors by Henry the Eighth, on the abolition of the monasteries in +England. His family had, however, resided in the neighbourhood for +centuries before that time. The estate belonged to Lord Calderton, his +elder brother, who was a diplomatist, and consequently seldom came to +the place. He allowed Mr Langley to live at Melford on the supposition +that he devoted himself to looking after the property. Mr Langley had +several children--the youngest, Julian, was about a year older than +Digby. They had occasionally met--Digby thought him a very fast fellow, +and admired him exceedingly. He described to Kate how he could ride the +biggest horse in the stable, and break in the most intractable dog, and +bring down a bird flying at a vast distance, and thrash any bumpkin +twice his size. Mr Heathcote had a very great--an almost hereditary-- +respect for Lord Calderton's family. Many of them had been very +excellent people, and the present lord bore a high character. It did +not, therefore, occur to him that any of them could be otherwise than +good. Perhaps had he made inquiries, and ascertained how Julian was +being brought up, he would not have wished his son to become his +associate. The truth is, that Mr Langley was not a good man, and poor +Julian was left to grooms and other servants, who did their best to ruin +him, physically and morally. He listened eagerly to their conversation, +imbibed their notions, and gained a taste for beer and spirits, with +which they, in their ignorance of the injury they were inflicting, +supplied him. + +I think that we have now got a very good idea of Bloxholme, its +inhabitants, and its neighbourhood. I must again warn my readers that +none of the characters I have described were model people. Mr +Heathcote himself certainly was not, nor was altogether Mrs Heathcote, +nor was her brother, Mr Nugent; and the troubles and difficulties Digby +brought upon himself, and the pain and suffering he endured, will show +that he is intended for a warning rather than an example. + +I must not, however, forget my old friend John Pratt--a very worthy, +honest fellow. He was a sort of under steward on the property. He +looked after the cows, and pigs, and poultry, and sheep, and young +colts. He assisted in the kitchen garden, but did not profess to know +much about flowers. He acted also as a gamekeeper, but he was +especially great in fishing matters, and everything connected with the +ponds and the rookery. He always decided when the young rooks were to +be shot, and when the ponds were to drained or drawn. He superintended +the taking of all wasp's nests. He had charge of the ferrets, the +hawks, and dogs; and as to vermin, the stoats, and the weasels, and +polecats, and even the rats, it was supposed had positively an +instinctive dread of him. He was a tall, thin, wiry man, with a bald +forehead, and grey hair, and a keen intelligent countenance. Digby was +very fond of him, and he in return doted on the young master, and would +have gone through fire and water to serve him. He had already contrived +to instruct Digby in many of the secrets of his science, and as he used +to say, "It was a pleasure to teach Master Digby, he took to it so +kindly, and was afraid of nothing. He'd grapple with a weasel, or a +snake, or a pike, and not cry out for help, when most other young 'uns +would a been running screaming away from them. To see him once +tackle-to with one of the big swans, and only a little stick in his +hand, it was for all the world like St. George a-fighting the dragon, +just as you see on a gold sovereign." + +Digby, however, had, in the encounter mentioned, very nearly got his arm +broken, and would in other ways have suffered probably severely had not +John come to the rescue. It proved, however, the fearlessness of his +disposition, which had so won John Pratt's admiration. John Pratt +himself feared no mortal foes; but the poorer classes in that part of +the country were excessively superstitious, and he partook to the full +of the general feeling. + +Whereas, happily, throughout England generally, the grosser styles of +superstition have been in a great degree eradicated by the exertions of +the ministers of the Gospel and by the spread of education, in some +parts, and this was one of them, all the absurd notions in which our +ancestors indulged in the dark ages have been handed down to the present +generation. Ghosts, hobgoblins, witches and their secret powers, +charms, amulets, spirits of every sort, were believed in with undoubting +faith. Education had not spread into the district, and, unfortunately, +the clergymen who had successively ministered in that and the +neighbouring parishes had done little or nothing to eradicate the +pernicious and anti-Christian notions which were prevalent among the +people. They had been what were called very good sort of men. They had +preached very fair average sermons on a Sunday, and if people chose to +come to church to hear them they were welcome to do so. If any of their +parishioners were sick and sent for them, they went to them, with their +Bibles in their pockets, from which, perhaps, they read a chapter or +two, and, with a few ordinary words of consolation or advice, they +hurried away as fast as they could. They hunted, and shot, and dined +with Mr Langley and Mr Heathcote, and all the gentlemen round; and +drank their wine, and told good stories, and amused themselves and those +with whom they associated to the utmost of their power. They passed for +worthy jolly good fellows, and no more was demanded of them. It never +seemed to occur to them that they would have to answer some day or other +respecting the souls of their fellow-creatures committed to their +pastoral care. They wondered why there was so much ignorance and +superstition in their parishes; why people did not come to church; why +dissent was rife; why dissenting chapels were built; why the country +people were so immoral; why there was so much drunkenness, folly, and +wickedness. + +John Pratt, as I was saying, notwithstanding all his good qualities, was +a firm believer in witches, ghosts, and hobgoblins, and an arrant coward +with regard to the spiritual world. + +As Digby ran through the grounds he found him by the side of the lake, +repairing one of the fishing punts. As he sat with mallet and blunt +chisel in hand, driving the oakum into her seams, he was neither +whistling nor smiling, as was his wont. So absorbed was he, indeed, in +his own thoughts, that he did not observe the young master's approach. + +"What's the matter, John?" said Digby; "you don't seem happy to-day." + +John started, and looked up, "Oh, Master Digby, is that you? I didn't +see you, that I didn't," he exclaimed. "Happy, did you say, Master +Digby? No, I ain't happy by no means. I'm going to be bewitched; and +that's enough to make a man anything but happy, I'm thinking." + +"What does that mean, John?" asked Digby; "I don't understand." + +"Why, Master Digby, you knows Dame Marlow--she as lives with her old man +down in the gravel-pits at Mile-End--she's a witch, and a wicked old +body, if ever there was one in this world. Well, t'other day, as I was +sauntering like down the green lane, who should I see breaking through +the fence at the corner of the copse but the old Dame herself. She'd a +bird in her hand, and as I ran up to her I found 'twas a hen pheasant. +When she seed me she tried to hide it away under her red cloak, and, in +her hurry, very nearly toppled down the bank on her nose, into the road. +`Oh, Dame Marlow, Dame Marlow, what have you been about?' I cried out. +`You've been a-stealing master's pheasants, that you have; you wicked +old woman, that you are.' Still I didn't like to lay hands on her, do +you see, for I know'd well what she was, and what she can do. On she +went, hobbling away with her crutch as fast as I could walk, almost. At +last she stopped, and turning round her face--oh how wicked and vengeful +it looked, how her red ferret eyes glared at me--says she to me, `Who +calls? Ay, is that you, John Pratt? Ay; and you're seeking your own +harm. You want to bring down a curse on your own head; you want to +malign and injure a poor old body with a decrepit husband, who can't +help himself, do you? Speak, man--what is it you want?' `I want +master's pheasant which you've been trapping, dame,' says I; `and I must +have it, too,' says I, growing bold. `Ay, I see you want to be cursed,' +says she; `you want to have the marrow dry up in your bones, and the +skin wither up on your flesh, and the hair fall off your head, and your +eyes grow dim, and your teeth drop out, and your legs not to bear your +body, and your hands to tremble,'--`Stop, stop, dame,' says I, `don't +curse me now; I'm only doing my duty. I want the pheasant back; I'd +sooner give you its value than quarrel with you.' `It's too late,' says +she, looking more wicked than ever, and not trusting me, I suppose; +`you're bewitched already, and you'll find it out before long, that you +will, let me tell you.' Saying this, on she hobbled, as before. I +followed, thinking that I ought and must have the pheasant; but she +turned upon me such a wicked look, and again hissed out, `You're +bewitched, John Pratt; you're bewitched, man,' that I couldn't stand it, +and had to run away as fast as my legs could carry me, while she set up +a shout of laughter which is even now ringing in my ears." + +"Very horrid, indeed, John," said Digby, who did not exactly know +whether or not to believe in Dame Marlow's powers. "But do you really +think she can do what she says?" + +"No doubt about it, Master Digby," answered the old man, with grave +earnestness; "you should just hear what all the folks in the country +round do say of her. There's no end of the cows, and sheep, and pigs, +she's bewitched in her time. Many's the one she's sent to their graves +before their glass was run out, just because they'd offended her. Oh, +she's a terrible woman, depend on that, Master Digby." + +Much more nonsense of a similar character did poor John talk. I need +not repeat it. Digby was almost persuaded to believe all that the old +man told him. + +This conversation was interrupted by a light, hearty fit of laughter. +So eager had they become that they had not perceived that Kate had +approached them, and had been an attentive and amused listener to much +that had been said on the subject. + +"All that you have been saying is arrant nonsense, John," she exclaimed, +unable longer to restrain herself; "and you, Digby, are a little goose +to believe him. Why, Dame Marlow has no more real power over the +elements or over her fellow-creatures than you or I, or her own black +cat has. We'll soon concoct a plan to make her undo her own curse, and +to punish her, at all events. An idea just now came into my head when I +heard you two wise people talking. Come along, Digby, to our island, +and we'll work it out. If it comes to anything, as I think it will, +we'll get John to help us; and we'll make Dame Marlow repent that she +ever pretended to be a witch, or threatened to injure any of the poor +people who are silly enough to believe in her." + +From the hearty shouts of laughter which John soon heard coming across +the water from the island, there could be little doubt that Kate's idea +was considered by her and Digby as a very bright one, and that, under +the influence of their united wits, it was undergoing a rapid +development. + +John Pratt was amazed. He had great admiration of Master Digby's +physical courage. He felt a sensation approaching to awe as he +contemplated the fearlessness with which Miss Kate proposed to encounter +one who possessed such unlimited powers over even the spirits of +darkness. "There's the true old blood in their veins, that there is," +remarked John to himself, as he went on caulking the punt. + + + +CHAPTER TWO. + +HOW DIGBY AND KATE CARRIED OUT THEIR PLOT--AN EVIL COUNSELLOR--YOUTHFUL +TRICKS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES. + +As soon as Digby and Kate could make their escape from the schoolroom +the next morning, they repaired to an attic, where all sorts of lumber +was piled up, and refuse articles of every description were collected +till some destination was assigned for them. Here they soon found what +they came to look for. There was some rope, and the lining of a black +gown, and some black silk, and a few bits of red cloth. The things were +done up tightly in bundles, and, with delighted eagerness, they hurried +off with them to the summer-house on the top of the mound. Soon after +they got there, John Pratt appeared, with a bundle of hay. + +"All right, John," exclaimed Digby, "that will stuff him well. And have +you got the other things I asked you for?" + +"Yes, Master Digby, but there's something I don't half likes about the +matter. It will look too horrid, I zuzpect." + +"Never fear, John; it will punish the old woman properly, and be great +fun," cried Kate, eagerly. "Give me the things; we shall soon be ready; +and do you go down and keep ward and watch to give us timely notice of +any one's approach." + +Thus exhorted, John produced from his capacious pockets a couple of +deer's antlers and two deer's hoofs, with the greater part of the skin +of the legs attached to them. Kate eyed them with a merry glance. +Digby did not half like to touch them, it seemed. The young lady was +evidently the leading spirit on the occasion. + +"That will do, John," she said, with a nod. "Nothing could be better." + +John turned slowly, and went down the mound. His mind was evidently not +quite satisfied with the work in which he was engaged. Still, he could +not bring himself to refuse any of the requests made him by Miss Kate +and Master Digby. + +As soon as he had gone, Kate, who had been cutting up the black stuff, +produced some large needles, and twine, and thread. Digby held the +materials, and tied the knots as she directed him. It is surprising how +rapidly her little fingers performed the work. She first made a ball, +into which she fixed the two antlers. + +"There is a capital head," she remarked. "We will work in the eyes and +mouth and nose directly." + +Then she made an oblong cushion, to serve as a body, and fastened the +head to it. She next formed a pair of long arms, and made some pieces +of skin do duty for the hands and fingers, while the two hoofs were +secured to the end of the legs. With the red cloth, part of an old +hunting-coat she made a mouth, and a long tongue sticking out of it; and +then she made white eyes, with red eyeballs, and she fastened on a long +hooked nose, rapidly formed with paper and the black stuff. Some shreds +of the latter did duty as hair, and a twist of it, with a bit of red +cloth at the end, as a tail. In a very short time the young lady had +put together a very ugly little imp, which did more credit to her +ingenuity and imagination than perhaps it did to her good taste. Digby, +however, was delighted, and clapped his hands, and danced the figure +about round and round the room, with fits of uproarious laughter. It +was scarcely, however, completed in all its details when the sound of a +bell reached their ears. + +"Oh, we must run in, Digby, or they will be sending to look for us," +exclaimed Kate. "Here, we will put young Master Blackamoor away under +the table. Nobody will be strolling this way, I hope; and, as soon as +our afternoon lessons are over, we'll come back and finish him, and get +John Pratt to carry him to Mile-End for us." + +Telling John Pratt to meet them again at three o'clock, they hurried +back to the Hall. Kate tried to look as grave as possible all +dinner-time, but whenever hers and Digby's eyes met, from their +ill-repressed twinkle their mother saw that there was some amusing +secret between them. + +There were some guests taking luncheon at the hall. Among them was Mr +Bowdler, the newly-appointed vicar of the parish. He watched the +countenances of his young friends, and he saw that there was some joke +between them. What it was he could not tell, and did not choose to ask. +After luncheon he took his departure, and strolled through the grounds +on his way home. + +They got over their lessons very quickly--indeed, Kate was never long +about hers--and off they hurried again to the mound. + +"Where are you going to, children?" asked Mrs Heathcote, as they were +running out. + +"To the mound, to meet John Pratt," answered Digby. "I'll take care of +Kate, that she doesn't get into mischief. We are going to have a piece +of fun, that's all." + +This answer, from its very frankness, satisfied Mrs Heathcote, and away +they went to carry out their scheme. As they approached the mound +misgivings arose in their minds lest any body should have been there +during their absence; but when they reached it, they found their ugly +little imp in the position in which they had left him under the table, +and their minds were satisfied on the subject. They now gave him the +last few finishing touches, fastened on his tail, and secured a rope at +his back. When they had done this Digby insisted on having another +dance with him, and then John Pratt appeared with a large game basket. +Into this, neck and crop, they stuffed the figure and the rope, and John +carrying it, away they went laughing and chattering through the grounds +in the direction of Mile-End. + +"Now, John, you are to go into Dame Marlow's cottage, and remember you +are to sit down and ask her to take the curse off you," said Kate. "She +will say that she will not, and then you are to beg and entreat her, and +to tell her that if she is so wicked that some one will be coming to +carry her off one of these days, and then that she'll have good reason +to be sorry for what she has done. Leave the rest to us; only, if you +do see anything come down the chimney, you are to run screaming away as +if you were in a dreadful fright." + +"Yez, Miss Kate, I'll do as you zays. But zuppose anything real was to +appear, what should I do then?" said John, evidently repenting that he +had entered into the young people's scheme. + +Kate thought a moment; Digby looked very grave; John's fears were +infecting him. + +"I do not think any harm can possibly come, John," said Kate, after some +time. "You know we only want to frighten and to punish the old woman +who stole the pheasants, and tried to frighten you. There cannot be any +harm in that, surely." + +"I doan't know, I doan't know, Miss," answered John, rubbing his head +very hard, as he walked on faster than before, the children having to +keep almost at a run by his side. + +It was curious to see that little girl, with her bright, though just +then misdirected, intelligence managing that gaunt, venerable-looking, +but ignorant old man. + +John's education had been sadly neglected in his youth. When they got +near the gravel-pits at Mile-End the party made a circuit to approach +Dame Marlow's cottage at the rear. It was a curious edifice, built down +on a low ledge of the gravel-pit, one side of which formed the back +wall, while the roof rested on the edge. The chimney was consequently +very accessible; and Digby and Kate could without difficulty reach to +the top, and look down it. John, having deposited the basket containing +the imp went round to the front of the cottage, to be ready to perform +his part of the drama. He had to descend to the bottom of the pit, +which, with the exception of a narrow causeway, which led to the +professed witch's abode, was full of water. He crossed the causeway, +and then winding up a zig-zag path, stood before the door of the +cottage. Digby and Kate got their figure ready to let down the chimney. +Though there was a fire on the hearth, it did not send forth sufficient +smoke to prevent them from looking down and hearing what was going +forward within the cottage. John knocked. + +"Come in, whoever you bees," exclaimed the old woman, in a harsh +croaking voice. "Bad or good, old or young, little or big, rich or +poor, if you've anything to zay to Dame Marlow she bees ready to hear +you." + +"I bees come, dame, to ask you to take the curse off me," said John, +entering and sitting down. "Your zervant, Mr Marlow." + +A cough and a grunt was the only answer the old man deigned to give. + +"Is that the way the wind blows? I thought az how you wouldn't wish to +make an enemy of me, John. There's zome things that can be done, and +zome that can't. Now, when I'ze once bewitched a man it's no easy +matter for me, or anyone else, to take the curse off on him: so, do you +zee, John Pratt, what I've cast at thee must stick by thee, man." + +The wicked old woman thought that she had got John in her power, and had +no inclination to let him off easily. + +Poor John begged and prayed that the dreaded curse might be taken off +him; but the more earnest he seemed the more inflexible she became, and +only laughed derisively at his fears. When he appealed to the old man, +a grunt or a chuckle was the only answer he received. + +"Then listen to me, both on you," cried John, mustering courage, and +recollecting his lesson. "You bees a wicked old couple, and zome on +these days there will be a coming zome one who'll make you sorry you +ever cursed me, or any one else." + +Scarcely had he spoken when a noise in the chimney was heard, the pot on +the fire was upset, out blew a thick puff of smoke, and, amid a shower +of soot, a hideous little black imp appeared, jumping about; while +frightful shrieks, which seemed to be uttered by him, rent the air. + +John, with loud cries, jumped up, oversetting the table, and ran into +the open air. The old man, attempting to follow, tripped up and fell +sprawling on the ground; while the dame herself, catching hold of John's +coat tails, hobbled after him, exclaiming that she was a wicked old +sinner, that she had no power to curse him or anybody else, and that she +would never utter another curse as long as she lived. However, the +shrieks and hisses from the chimney continued, and at last, overcome +with terror, she fell down in a swoon. + +Digby and Kate having ascertained that their device had taken the full +effect they anticipated, hauled up their figure, and packing it away in +the basket, in which operation they considerably blackened their hands +and dresses, sat down till John should join them. Getting tired of +doing nothing, they cautiously approached the edge of the gravel-pit, +when, looking over, they saw the wretched old couple still on the +ground. They were very much alarmed when they found that they did not +move, thinking perhaps they had really frightened them to death. + +"Oh dear, oh dear, I wish that we hadn't done it," exclaimed Kate, +looking very miserable. "And I to have led you to help me. It was very +naughty of me, I know. I know--I know it was." + +"Oh no, Kate, it wasn't all your fault; I'm sure I thought it was very +good fun," answered Digby. "Perhaps, after all, they are not dead. +I'll go and have another look." Digby approached near, stooping down, +and when he looked over he saw the dame lifting up her head and gazing +cautiously around. She did this more from instinct or habit than +because she fancied any one might be near. Digby thought that she must +have seen him. He crept back to Kate, satisfied, at all events, that +she was not dead; and John Pratt soon afterwards joining them, he +shouldered the basket, and they set off as fast as they could for the +Hall. What to do with the imp, which had played so prominent a part in +the drama, was a puzzle, till John undertook to carry it home, and burn +it. + +When they got back to the Hall the state of their dresses and their +hands, which were more than usually dirty, caused some grave suspicions +in the mind of Mrs Barker, the head nurse, who had to prepare them to +come in to dessert, after dinner; and she was not long in ascertaining +from Digby what had really occurred. She thought it very wrong in John +Pratt to have assisted in such a proceeding; but he was a favourite, and +she was afraid that if she made much of the matter she should bring him +into trouble; she therefore merely gave Kate and Digby a lecture, and +they fancied that they had escaped without any further ill result from +their frolic. It happened, however, that that very evening a neighbour +of Dame Marlow's came running to the vicarage to say that the dame and +her old man were both very ill, that they had something on their +consciences, and that they wished to see the vicar and to disburden +them. + +Mr Bowdler was ever at the call of any of his poor parishioners who +sent for him. Although he had but just finished his frugal dinner, and +taken his books and sat down to enjoy himself after his own fashion, in +communing in thought with great and good men. He rose from his seat, +and said he would go immediately. + +It was a fine moonlight night, and so he mounted his horse and trotted +off to Mile-End. He found the old couple not nearly so ill as he +expected, but still suffering very much from fear. I need not repeat in +their own words what they said. + +The dame confessed that she had done many wicked things, and that she +had tried to impress people with a belief in her supernatural powers, +though she knew that she was a weak old woman, without any power at all. +At length, however, while she was endeavouring to frighten an honest +man out of his senses, the spirit of evil had himself appeared down the +chimney, and very nearly frightened her and her husband out of theirs. +What she had sent to Mr Bowdler for was, it appeared, not so much to +say how sorry she had been, but to entreat him to exorcise the evil +spirit, so that he might not venture to come back again. + +Mr Bowdler looked grave. He might have said that prayer, and +penitence, and watchfulness, were the only preventives against the +approach of the evil one. However, in the present instance, he did not +like to say this. The fact was that he had become completely +enlightened from what he had just heard as to the true state of the +case. After taking luncheon at the Hall, he had strolled, as he had +been requested to do, through the grounds. The day being very fine, and +not having been before at the Mound, he hunted about till he found his +way through the labyrinth, and then he climbed up to the summer-house to +enjoy the view which, he had been told, could be seen from it. Just as +he was leaving the building, the little imp under the table had caught +his eye. He pulled out the monster, and could scarcely help indulging +in a smile as he examined it. He doubted, however, whether he ought to +leave it there, or carry it off; but guessing from the workmanship that +young hands had formed it, and recollecting Kate and Digby's glances at +luncheon, he had little difficulty in guessing that it was the produce +of their ingenuity. Had he been less of a stranger, he would, I have no +doubt, have taken it away, or stopped and remonstrated with them on the +impropriety of making such a figure; but he was a judicious man, and he +feared that he might injure his future usefulness in the family by +appearing officious. He was a man who only placed confidence in good +principles. He believed that preaching against one sin, or one fault, +and leaving sin in general, evil dispositions unassailed, produced no +permanent effect. However, he resolved to keep his eye on his young +friends, and to speak to them when he could find a favourable +opportunity. He now at once discovered how the figure had been +employed, though he could scarcely persuade himself that Kate and Digby +alone could have carried out by themselves the drama which had evidently +been enacted. He did not mention his suspicions to the old couple, but +he strongly urged them to repent of their evil ways, and to resolve in +future to lead better lives. He assured them that neither he nor any +other mortal man had the power of exorcising evil spirits; and they were +silly old people to fancy so. As to what they had seen, he did not +choose to pronounce an opinion; but he told them that they ought to have +stopped and examined it, and that then they would probably not have been +so much frightened. He was not very well satisfied, however, with the +result of his visit. + +"This is a pretty prank for these young people to play," said he to +himself, as he rode home. "It is high time that Master Digby should be +sent to school, and that Miss Kate should have a governess to look after +her. If something is not done they will be getting into some worse +scrape before long. I must try and speak to Mr Heathcote on the +matter. He appears to think that they are still babies, and never seems +to dream of the rapid development of their genius for mischief." + +Not long after this, Julian Langley, who had not yet been sent to +school, was invited to spend a few weeks at the Hall. From what I have +said it may be supposed that he was not likely to do Digby any good. +Kate, from the first, could not abide him; and even John Pratt looked at +him with no little suspicion. Julian was tall for his age, with a +slight figure, fair, with light hair, and an inexpressive rather than a +bad countenance. I believe that his was one of those characters which +may be moulded without difficulty either for good or for ill, according +to the hands into which they fall. Nothing would have made Julian +Langley a very great man, or a very important member of society; but he +might have become, by proper care and culture, useful in his generation, +and religious and happy. Alas, poor fellow, how different was his lot. +He could discourse very learnedly about horses and dogs, and all +sporting matters; and of course Digby thought him a very fine fellow. +It was not long before he led Digby into a variety of scrapes. + +The first Sunday after his arrival all the family went to church. The +Bloxholme pew had very high sides and curtains, and was directly in +front of the pulpit, the preacher being the only person who could look +directly down into it. Outside it, also facing the pulpit, there had, +from time immemorial, been seats for a number of poor and old people. +One of the occupants was an old man, who wore a scratch-wig; he was very +deaf, also, and as he could not hear a word the vicar said, he +invariably fell asleep during the sermon, and, as was often the case, if +he had any cold, snored loudly. + +Stephen Snookes was certainly not a nice old man, and Digby and Kate had +no affection for him. People complained of his snoring; and the vicar +had more than once spoken to him about the impropriety of his conduct in +going to sleep during the sermon. Stephen promised to try and amend; +but the next Sunday invariably committed the same fault. + +Julian and Digby had sat quiet during the beginning of the sermon; but +when old Snookes began to snore, they got up on their seats and looked +over down upon the head of the delinquent. As it happened, they had +heard, the evening before, a very sad, but very beautifully written +tale, read in which the unhappy hero, in the days of his boyhood, hooks +off an old man's wig in church. Undeterred by the sad fate which +ultimately befel the hero, Julian Langley was seized with a strong +inclination to imitate his example. Digby also jumped at the suggestion +made to him by his companion on their way home from church. + +As soon as luncheon was over they hurried to Digby's room, where they +supplied themselves with a fish-hook and a line. Their eagerness to +accompany the Miss Heathcotes to church in the afternoon might have +created just suspicions in the minds of some of the elders of the +family, but it did not; and off they set in high good humour. + +Sermon time came. Old Snookes fell asleep, his loud snoring gave notice +of the circumstance. Julian and Digby stood up, and the hook descended, +its barbs becoming entangled in the curls of the scratch-wig. The line +was then drawn tight, and the end secured to the brass rod at the top of +the pew. What was the horror of Mr Bowdler, when raising his voice, to +see old Snookes suddenly bob his head, when, in the sight of a large +part of the congregation, off flew his wig, it seemed, and up he stood, +bare-headed. Putting his hands to his bald pate, he exclaimed, "I bees +bewitched, I knows I bees! Oh, where is my wig? where is my wig?" + +Even Mr Bowdler, who had observed the cause which had produced this +effect, had some difficulty in keeping his countenance, while I am sorry +to say his congregation did very little to keep theirs. He of course +felt much vexed with the conduct of the boys. The wig was drawn up +rapidly to the edge of the pew, and then it fell down again to the +ground, from which the old man picked it up, and, in his hurry, clapped +it on again hind part before. + +Mr Bowdler felt that any good effects his sermon might have produced +were too likely to be obliterated, and he resolved more than ever to +advise Mr Heathcote to send Digby off to school. + +Neither Digby nor Kate were aware that some time before this their +parents had come to the resolution of obtaining a governess who might +assist Mary in her studies, and take entire charge of them and Gusty. +Their mother's health had lately become much worse, and she was utterly +unfit for the task she had imposed on herself. Only the day before the +arrival of the lady they were told of the arrangements that had been +made. Neither of them had formed any favourable notions of governesses +in general, and Julian had assured them that those he had heard of would +beat and pinch them and make them sit in the stocks, and keep them in at +their lessons all day, and deprive them of their dinners. Long, indeed, +was the catalogue of the enormities governesses were supposed as a class +to commit. + +"I should like to see anyone trying on those tricks with me," exclaimed +Digby, looking very fierce, "I would soon show them what I was made of!" + +"Horrid old creature, I'll not attend to her," said Kate, pouting. +"I'll pretend to be as dull and stupid as a sick pig. She'll find it +very difficult to knock anything into my head, let me assure her." + +"Don't you think that we could play her some tricks, just to make her +sorry she came here?" suggested Julian. "I'll show you how to make an +apple-pie bed, and we can put salt into her tumbler at dinner, and we +can pretend the cat is in the room and make a terrible fuss all +dinner-time, so that she will fancy we do not hear a word she says to +us. There's no end of things I can put you up to, if you will be guided +by me." + +Of the truth of this assertion of Master Julian's there could be no +doubt, but how far they were to be guided well was a very different +question. That did not, perhaps, occur to his auditors at the time. +Kate's innate delicacy revolted from the idea of preparing an apple-pie +bed for their new governess, especially if, as she fancied, she was an +old lady, and might arrive fatigued after a long journey; but Digby +thought it would be very good fun, and undertook to assist Julian in +carrying out his proposal. While the two boys were discussing the +matter, Kate was absorbed in meditation. + +"I know one thing I should like to do," she exclaimed. "I have often +thought about it. It would give her a tremendous fright, and perhaps +she would pack up her things and go off again at once." + +"What is it?" exclaimed the boys in a breath, for they knew that Kate's +ideas were generally very bright; "tell us all about it." + +"Then listen," said Kate. "In the long gallery at the top of the house +there are several pictures of old gentlemen and ladies, our ancestors I +believe, in full bottomed wigs and hoops, and long coats and breeches, +and swords and fans--and--that is to say, the gentlemen have some, and +the ladies the other articles I mention," she added, for she saw that +the boys were laughing. + +"Well, go on," they exclaimed eagerly. + +"Some of the portraits have been taken down and placed leaning against +the walls. Now though when they were hung up they appeared as large as +life, now they are on the ground the figures do not seem to so much +taller than any of us. The fancy took me as I was looking at them to +cut out the eyes, and to put mine in their stead; and I couldn't help +laughing at the idea of how frightened any one would be to see the eyes +rolling about, and to hear at the same time a groan or a sigh, as if the +portrait had all of a sudden become animated. After the idea had once +seized me, I could not rest satisfied till I had put it in part into +execution. There would have been no fun merely to put my eyes through +two holes, so after I had cut out the eyes of an old gentleman, our +great-great-great-grandfather, I believe, with a steel cuirass on his +breast, and a heavy sword in his hand, I got a looking-glass, and just +at dusk last evening, I carried it up and placed it on a chair before a +portrait of the old knight. Then I got behind the canvas, and put my +eyes at the holes and rolled them about till I caught sight of them in +the glass. I very nearly shrieked with horror--the eyes looked so +natural and bright, I quite forgot they were my own. I couldn't endure +it any longer, but had to run out of the gallery without looking up at +any of the portraits, for I could not help fancying that I should see +them all rolling their eyes round at me." + +"How dreadful," said Digby, shuddering. "I wonder you could stand it, +Kate." + +"Oh, I had to go up again to bring away the looking-glass, and as the +old gentlemen and ladies all looked very quiet and demure, I soon got +over my fright." + +"What, then, do you want us to do?" asked Julian. "Depend on it we're +up to anything." + +"I will tell you," replied Kate. "There are two big pictures I have +fixed on, I will cut out the eyes, and the nose, and the mouth of each +of them, I can easily fasten them in again with gum. You shall go up as +soon as it is dusk, and put your faces at the holes. I will then invite +the new governess, Miss Apsley, I hear is her name, to come up and +inspect our ancestors, and then you can sigh and groan, and then she is +certain to take fright; and I'll run away, and she will follow, and you +must then set up loud shrieks of horrid laughter; and my idea is, that +she will insist on going away, thinking the house is haunted, and never +wish to come near it or us again." + +"Oh, glorious, grand, magnificent!" exclaimed the boys. + +The terms were not very appropriate it must be owned. Little did the +elders of the family dream of the mischief the children were committing +among their ancestors in the picture gallery. + +The morning came on which Miss Apsley was to arrive. John Pratt had +fixed that same morning for draining one of the ponds. This was an +operation at which very naturally the boys were anxious to be present. +There were eels innumerable, and tench and perch in the pond, that was +certain, and it was believed that there were also some giant pike, which +refused to be caught by any of the baits thrown to them. They had no +lessons to do that morning, so at an early hour they set off in high +glee at the fun they expected. Even Gusty was allowed to accompany +them, and Kate was to follow shortly. It was neither of the large ponds +which was to be drained, but still it was one of considerable size. +Even people of greater age might have been highly interested at the +prospect of seeing the long-hidden depths of the pond exposed to view. +John Pratt was in all his glory, and his attendants stood obedient to +his commands. The sluices were forced up after a good deal of +hammering, and out rushed the water in a dense rapid current, rushing +down with a loud roar through the serpentine canal into the lowest lake, +whence it found its way to the river. A net had been drawn across to +catch any of the larger fish who might be drawn in by the current, but +generally speaking the noise and unusual commotion made them seek what +they fancied would be safety in the lower depths of the pond. The water +was not allowed to run off very fast lest it should commit some +mischief, so the operation was a long one. At length, however, the +interest increased as shoals began to appear, and here and there an +astonished tench or an eel was seen struggling away through the mud to +get into the clearer liquid. The boys shouted and shrieked as they saw +them. + +"Oh there's another big fellow," cried Digby; "we must have him." + +"What a whopper," exclaimed Julian; "I'll bet he weighs a dozen pounds +at least." + +"There goes another, there's another--there's another--oh! what a huge +eel!" were the exclamations heard on every side. + +John Pratt stood calm and collected. He knew that the moment of action +had not yet arrived. Landing-nets were in readiness, and so was a flat +punt with eel-forks, or prongs; indeed, he had omitted nothing that +would enable him to capture any of the finny tribe on which he might set +his eyes. At length the wished-for moment arrived. Nearly the whole +bottom of the pond was laid bare, with the exception of a hole +sufficiently deep to float the punt, and a narrow channel leading to it. +The exposed parts of the mud were waving in every direction with the +floundering struggling fish, while innumerable eels of all sizes were +wriggling about and seeking for shelter. Just then Kate came down, +almost breathless, to the pond. The boys had leaped into the punt with +John Pratt, and were shoving off. Their jackets, and shoes, and hats, +indeed, everything but their shirts and trousers, had been thrown aside, +in imitation of John and the men who were assisting. They pushed back, +yielding to her petitions to take her in. The punt was very narrow, +John Pratt was tall, they were all very eager. The fish swarmed around +them; some they took up with the landing-nets, the big eels John forked +with his prong, the tench and perch they caught with their hands; the +other men were wading about with landing-nets, putting the fish into +buckets, to transfer them alive to another pond while this was being +cleansed. The water still kept running off, and more and more fish +appeared. The boys and Kate shrieked again and again with delight. +Their eagerness increased. John was aiming his prong at a large eel, +the young party all leaned over on the same side, not seeing that the +other edge of the punt was on the mud. The bottom was slippery with the +slime of the tench and eels, John's foot slid away--in an instant over +went the punt, and let them all out into the water and mud. At first +Kate was frightened and shrieked, and Digby was alarmed on account of +her and little Gusty, but he only laughed, and they soon found that +there was very little water there, and that the bottom was hard, and so +they thought it very good fun, and refused to get into the punt again. +Away they went, floundering about in chase of the fish, covered from +head to feet with mud, but thinking it very good fun. Digby's fear was +lest some big pike should catch hold of Gusty. He himself had a +desperate tussle with a big fellow, which would have got away, or, +perhaps, bit him, had not John Pratt come to his assistance. Certainly +very curious figures were the four children, and no one would have +supposed that they were the descendants of long lines of well-born, +proud ancestors. + +Scarcely had Kate left the house, when the expectant governess, Miss +Apsley, arrived. After she had taken luncheon, as she was not tired +with her journey, Mrs Heathcote invited her to take a stroll through +the grounds to the ponds. + +"We shall find the children there, and you will be able to observe them +without being remarked," said Mrs Heathcote. "I hope that you will +think well of them, for they are, I believe, as well-behaved, tractable +children as any in the county. Digby is a dear good boy, and Kate is a +clever little thing, though slightly hoydenish I own, but every one may +see at a glance that she is a perfect little lady as Digby is a +gentleman. You will find no difficulty in managing them." + +Mrs Heathcote spoke with the pardonable pride of a mother. She was +much pleased with the new governess, and wished to impress her with a +favourable opinion of her children. + +Miss Apsley, who was a very sensible, ladylike, right-minded person, +thought that she should like Mrs Heathcote, and was congratulating +herself on having such nice well-behaved little children placed under +her charge. Engaged in pleasant conversation the two ladies drew near +the ponds. Shouts and shrieks reached their ears, and expressions +anything but refined, which Mrs Heathcote fancied must be uttered by +some groom boys, or young gipsies, were heard. When they got in sight +of the pond they both stood aghast. There were the children, on whom +their mother had just been passing so warm an eulogium, covered from +head to foot with black mud, shouting and bawling as they ran after the +fish--the refined little ladylike Kate being in no better condition than +her brothers, while Julian Langley, having in his eagerness thrown off +all restraint, was shouting and swearing, and using expressions which +would disgrace the lips of any but the most ignorant heathens. + +Poor Mrs Heathcote was horrified. For some time so eager were the +children that they did not perceive her. Kate was the first to see her +mother and the strange lady, as she was chasing a big eel close up to +where they were standing. + +"Oh, mamma, the punt upset and we tumbled in and got all muddy, and so I +thought that it was a pity to come out, and it is such fun," she +exclaimed, making a grab at the eel, and not thinking it at all +necessary to appear ashamed of herself. + +She probably was not aware of the very odd figure she, appeared. Miss +Apsley smiled, but said nothing. + +Poor little Gusty next came up, with his pockets full of the smaller +fish he had managed to catch hold of. Digby was too much engaged to see +anything but the fish he was chasing. Away he went, as indifferent to +the dirt as any mud-larker on the banks of the Thames, floundering away +after the fish, and throwing them as he caught them into the pails and +baskets prepared for their reception. + +"They seem to enjoy the amusement," observed Miss Apsley at length; "I +hope they will not catch cold." + +Mrs Heathcote was pleased that she did not speak in a satirical tone. +She thought, however, that it was high time that the amusement should +come to an end, so she desired Kate and Gusty to come out of the pond, +and directed John Pratt, who at length caught sight of his mistress, to +tell the other boys that she wanted them. John could not help feeling +that the young people who had been entrusted to his charge were not in a +very presentable condition, so he thought that he ought to make the best +apology in his power. + +"They bees very like young frogs, I does own, Mrs Heathcote, marm," +said he; "but they does take to it so kindly loike, I couldn't find it +in my heart to prevent them." + +I feel that I cannot do justice to worthy John's peculiar provincial +phraseology. Mrs Heathcote smiled. She did not think that John had +paid her children any very great compliment. At last Digby and Julian +came forth from the mud, without a single white spot about them--hands +and face, and hair and clothes, all covered with mud. They were not at +all pleased at being told to go into the house to be cleansed, for they +were not nearly tired of their sport, but Mrs Heathcote was afraid of +Digby's catching cold, and was firm, though they pleaded hard to be +allowed to remain. + +"There mamma, there, see that huge pike," exclaimed Digby, about to dart +back again; "he's one of the giant fellows we have been looking for all +along, and thought he must have got out somewhere. I wonder you don't +feel inclined to jump in after him. There, they've caught him; he must +be thirty pounds weight." + +Mrs Heathcote fairly laughed at the idea of her rushing into the mud in +chase of a pike, but still Digby had to accompany her home. Whatever +might have been his other delinquencies, he never had disobeyed her +expressed wishes, for he loved her dearly. He and Julian, however, as +they followed a little way behind, looked at the strange lady and +thought that she had, in some way or other, something to do with their +being called in. She was so ladylike and young, and nice-looking, and +so different from what they had fancied the new governess was to be, +that they never suspected that she was the awful and dreaded Miss +Apsley. + +Great was the dismay of Mrs Barker when the mud-besprinkled, or rather +mud-covered children, made their appearance. Mrs Carter was summoned +to give her assistance, and much soap and many tubs of hot-water were +used before they were at all in their usual presentable condition. They +scolded them much more severely than their mother had done. Poor little +Gusty cried, and could not help fancying that he had been very naughty. +When also Digby and Kate found that the lady with their mother was the +new governess, and that it was owing to her arrival that they had been +compelled to come in thus early, their hearts, in spite of her kind +manner and nice looks, hardened towards her, and, instigated by Julian, +they resolved to put into execution the plan which Kate had concocted. +Mr Heathcote dined out that day, so the parlour dinner was soon over. +Mrs Heathcote was fatigued, so lay down on the sofa and fell asleep. +The boys had disappeared. The summer evening was drawing to a close. +Now or never was the time. Kate had scarcely seen Miss Apsley. + +"Will you come and look over the old house," she said, at length, in a +voice which trembled somewhat. + +It was late, and getting dusk, but Miss Apsley was glad of an +opportunity of having some conversation with her rather silent pupil, +and consented readily. + +Kate really was very much agitated, and repented of her undertaking +before even she reached the picture gallery. She hurried through the +other rooms; she felt that she was acting a treacherous part; she tried +to talk, but her tongue clung to the roof of her mouth; still there was +so much determination, or obstinacy some would have called it, in her +composition, that she would not turn aside from her resolution. Miss +Apsley guessed that there was something or other on her young friend's +mind, but made no remark. The gallery was reached. It was a long, +wide, and high passage in the centre of the house, lighted at both ends +and partially from the top. The portraits reached to the very roof, and +looked very grim and dark--very few of them deserved much commendation +as works of art. The gallery Kate thought looked more gloomy than ever; +she could scarcely bring herself to utter a word. + +"Come to the other end, marm," at last she said in a faltering voice. + +She could scarcely help running away and screaming even before she got +to the portraits whose faces she had so ill-treated. She got up to +them; she dared not look at them; she was certain that the eyes were +rolling horribly. Miss Apsley walked calmly on. Kate thought that she +saw the governess look first on one side, then on the other, but she was +not certain. They reached the end of the gallery; there was a fine view +from the window; the rich glow of that fine summer evening still +lingered in the sky. Miss Apsley seemed to enjoy it very much, as she +stood contemplating it for some time, till hill, and wood, and fields +became so blended as to be scarcely distinguishable. + +"We will now return to the drawing-room, Kate, if you please," she said +quietly. + +Kate followed her. Again they reached the two portraits on the floor; +there was a groan on one side, and what was meant for a sigh on the +other. Kate was really frightened, and rushed off shrieking. + +"Stop, stop, Kate, my dear, there is nothing to be alarmed about," said +Miss Apsley, in a calm voice. "Come back and see." + +As she spoke she caught hold of the nose of one of the portraits, which +squeaked out "Oh, oh, oh!" Kate's fancy was tickled, and she burst into +a fit of laughter; her admiration, also, was much excited for her new +governess. Digby came forth from behind the other portrait; Julian, +whose nose had been caught literally in his own trap, drew it back as he +did his tongue, which he had protruded as far as he could, and also came +out looking very sheepish, without a word to say for himself. + +Digby, however, in a manly way, at once said--"I beg pardon, Miss +Apsley, I thought that we were going to play you a good trick, which +would have frightened you very much; but I am glad it did not, and I am +sure we are very sorry, and I hope you will forgive us." + +Miss Apsley's calmness had won Digby's admiration even in a greater +degree than it had Kate's. + +"Yes, indeed I will," she replied, pleased at his frankness. "It was +silly and wrong in you, and the consequences might, in some instances, +have been serious. I am bound to tell you this that I may warn you +against playing such tricks in future; but as far as I am individually +concerned I most heartily forgive you, and will entirely overlook the +matter." + +Julian could not understand these sentiments, and thought Digby a very +silly fellow to make what he called an unnecessary apology. They all +went downstairs together, and then Kate took the governess to her room, +and confessed that she had herself concocted the scheme which had so +signally failed, and told her, indeed, all I have already described +about the matter. With eager haste she undid, too, the apple-pie bed +which Digby and Julian had made, and assuring her how different a person +she was to what she expected, promised that she would never again +attempt to play her another trick, and that she would be answerable that +Digby would not either. + +"Why did you come out and show yourself, Digby?" said Julian, when they +were alone together. "I don't understand your way of doing things; if +you had groaned, as it was arranged, when that Miss Apsley and Kate +first appeared, we should have put her to flight, and I should not have +had my nose pulled--she knows how to pinch hard let me tell you." + +Digby confessed that she really was so nice a person that he did not +like to frighten her, and that had he not undertaken to groan, he could +not have brought himself to do so at all. + +Julian only sneered at this, and said no more on the subject. + +It was most unfortunate for Digby that he had at that time so evil a +counsellor as Julian to turn him aside from the right course, in which +Miss Apsley was so anxious and so well able to direct him. Often and +often have boys been warned to avoid bad companions. Let me assure my +readers, that they are the emissaries of the evil one, and that their +vocation is to destroy, both in body and soul, all who come under their +influence. + + + +CHAPTER THREE. + +MORE MISCHIEF--JULIAN'S BAD ADVICE--DIGBY'S FIRST TUTOR--HOW TIME WAS +SPENT AT OSBERTON--TOBY TUBB AND HIS YARNS. + +There was a large gathering at Bloxholme Hall, both from far and near, +of most of the principal families in the county. The house was full of +those acquaintances of Mr and Mrs Heathcote who lived too far off to +return the same night, but numbers came who were to drive home again the +same evening. + +There was an archery meeting in the morning, and then a dinner and a +dance afterwards. Julian and Digby voted it very slow work. It was, +probably, so to them. Kate liked the archery, and especially the +dancing, for gentlemen asked her to dance, and chatted with her, and she +skipped about like a little fairy, as merrily as possible. The boys had +not gone in to the dinner, but they had helped themselves plentifully to +the good things on which they could lay hands, and Julian especially had +got hold of some wine. In consequence of this, he had become very +pot-valorous. + +"I'll tell you what, Digby," said he, "we must do something, or I shall +go to sleep. This dancing is all nonsense. Come into the garden. I +dare say I shall knock out an idea; it's seldom I fail, when I try." + +That was true; but they were very bad ideas Master Julian knocked out. + +Before long they found their way into the court-yard, where the +carriages of the company were left standing by themselves. The horses +were in the stables, pleasantly munching their corn. The coachmen and +grooms were in the servants' hall, as agreeably occupied in eating their +suppers. + +Julian went in and out among the carriages, and whatever rugs, or +gloves, or wrappers, or halters he could find, he transferred from one +carriage to the other. + +"I say, Digby, it will be a capital joke," he exclaimed. "When the fat +old coachmen come out, they'll all set to quarrelling. One will think +that the other has stolen his things; and they will never dream that we +did it." + +Digby thought the joke a good one, and helped to take the articles out +of some carriages and to put them into others, till it was evidently +almost impossible for any one, in the dark, to regain their lost +property. When this was done, and the joke, as they called it, enjoyed, +the boys sat down to consider what else they could do. + +"I have a notion of something," said Julian. "It is dangerous, because, +if we were found out, we should get into a terrible scrape; but I should +like to try it." + +"What is it?" asked Digby, eagerly. "As for the scrape, I don't mind +that; I rather like the risk." + +"Well, young 'un, that's according to fancy," said Julian. "I like to +take care of myself, but still I like fun. My notion is, that if we +were to take the linch-pins out of the carriages we should see a scene +not often beheld. As soon as they begin to move, the wheels will go +spinning off in every direction, and the people will be spilt right and +left into the road. Wouldn't it be fun?" + +Digby did not think so. He could scarcely fancy that Julian was in +earnest. "Why, some of the coachmen might be killed," he exclaimed; +"and the people inside would certainly be hurt." + +"Oh, nonsense," answered Julian. "You are qualmish. I'll do it. You +just stand by and see. Look, they are out in a minute. Just untwist +the wire. Here's somebody's chaise; I suspect it is the parson's. +There, he'll get a spill. Now, then, this old family coach; it belongs +to those old frumps the Fullers. Lord, what fun, to see them all +sprawling out into the road." + +Thus Julian went on, Digby felt very much inclined to stop him, and to +entreat him to replace the linch-pins; but Julian rattled away, and was +so amusing, that his first feeling of the wrong to which he was a party +wore off. It never occurred to him that, if he could not stop Julian, +his wisest course would have been to tell the coachmen to look to their +linch-pins. Fortunately, many of the carriages had been built in +London, and were supplied with patent boxes, so that they escaped the +contemplated mischief. + +While the boys were thus engaged they heard some footsteps, and they +guessed that the coachmen were returning from their suppers to look +after their horses. They therefore beat a precipitate retreat through +the gate which led into the garden, and quickly made their way into the +ball-room. + +Mr Bowdler was walking about the room, speaking a kindly word whenever +he had an opportunity, both to young and old, of those among whom he had +come to live, and whom he was anxious to instruct, and endeavouring, as +he felt it most important to do, to win the confidence of all, when he +saw the two boys return. Their hair was disordered, their shoes were +far from clean, and there were thin lines of dust or mud on their +jackets. Julian looked flushed, and Digby had a sheepish abashed +manner, very different from that which usually distinguished him. He +was very certain that they had been about something they should not, but +the question as to what they had been doing he did not think fit to ask. +It was already getting later than the hour which he liked to be away +from home, so, wishing Mr and Mrs Heathcote good-night, in that +pleasant cordial manner which had already gained him their good-will, he +walked out to get ready his own carriage. The glass door of the house +which led into the garden was open, and so was that which led from the +garden into the court-yard. Near his own carriage he saw something +shining on the ground. He stooped down, and picked up a clasp knife +which he himself had given to Digby a few days before. A groom came and +brought out his horse and harnessed it to his carriage. When, however, +the man led it out to be clear of the other carriages, in crossing a +shallow open drain, first one wheel came off, and then, to his surprise, +another followed. As the carriage was moving very slowly, and no one +was in it, there was little harm done. + +Mr Bowdler said nothing. "That was a cruel trick of those thoughtless +boys," he uttered to himself. "They could scarcely have wished to +injure me, but I fear they are the guilty ones." + +He and the groom hunted about till they found the linch-pins and the +wires which kept them in, and, having examined the other wheels, he got +in and drove off. + +The groom, of course, wondered how it could have happened, but it did +not occur to him to accuse the young gentlemen. + +Soon after this, Mrs Fuller's coach was ordered. The fat coachman put +the horses to, and drove slowly up to the front door. She and four +daughters, and two young sons, came down the steps, the first got in, +and the latter got up outside, while Digby and Julian stood in the hall +looking on. Digby nearly bit off the thumb of his glove in his +eagerness, and hesitation and regret, as he watched for the catastrophe +he expected. Julian, fancying that they were secure from detection, +stood more in front, highly amused at the thoughts of seeing the fat +coachman tumble off into the dust. + +Just as they were starting, a carriage was heard coming rapidly along +the road. The fat coachman thought that he ought to move out of the +way, so he whipped on his horses and away they trotted. A stone had +been cast on to the carriage-way--the old family coach bumped over it-- +off flew a wheel--over went the carriage, the coachman and the two lads +were thrown off with no little violence, right and left, greatly to +Julian's delight, and the ladies screamed. + +Fortunately the windows had not been drawn up, and no one was cut, but +being stout people and closely packed, they were very much jammed +together. The poor coachman was the most hurt, and the young men had +their coats spoilt. They were on their legs in a moment, and while one +helped up the coachman the other ran to the horses' heads. The next +thing was to get out the ladies, who, trembling and alarmed, reentered +the hall. Grooms, and servants, and gentlemen, assembled from all +quarters. + +"Look at the other wheels," said a voice. + +It was that of Mr Bowdler. His mind had misgiven him that the trick +which he had discovered might have been played to other carriages, and +he had driven back. He returned to the coach-yard and warned the +coachmen of what he suspected. He found them in a state of great +commotion, all crying out for the things they had lost, one accusing the +other of having appropriated them. Their anger was still further +increased when, in accordance with Mr Bowdler's advice, they discovered +the linch-pins had been abstracted from several of the carriages, and +that the necks of some of them had narrowly escaped being broken. They +were loud in their threats of vengeance on the heads of the unknown +ragamuffins who had committed the atrocious act. + +"It's they gipsies," said one; "they've done it to rob the ladies as we +drove along." + +"It's some on old Dame Marlow's tricks. I don't think az how any one +could a come in here to play zick a prank," observed another, a believer +in the Dame's powers. + +Some, however, ventured to suggest that as there were young gentlemen at +the Hall, and young gentlemen did play very bad tricks at times, they +might have done it. Opinion was setting very much in this direction, +when John Pratt appeared, and was highly indignant that any such +reflection should be cast on his young master. + +Mr Bowdler having assured himself that no more harm was likely to +occur, drove away again. + +"I am not justified in allowing the boys to go on in this way," he said +to himself. "I must inform Mr Heathcote of what has occurred, and get +them sent to where they will be properly looked after; I should like to +get them separated; one will learn no good from the other." + +Meantime the disturbance in the coach-yard increased, and John Pratt had +at last to summon his master from the ball-room to quell it. Mr +Heathcote's voice was now heard inquiring what was the matter, when a +dozen people tried to give their own versions of the state of affairs. + +"Very well, my friends," said Mr Heathcote, after listening to them +patiently, "keep the peace among yourselves for the present, and if the +culprits can be discovered, I will take care, I promise you, that they +shall be properly punished. And John Pratt, get more lanterns, and have +all the things in the carriages collected, and distributed to the proper +owners as they are claimed." + +Having said this, the master of the house returned to his guests. +Julian and Digby, when they heard what Mr Heathcote had said, were in a +great fright. Digby knew very well that what his father said he would +do--that he assuredly would do. He had no hope of escaping detection, +and was certain that he should be punished. Of course, he remembered +that he had not actually taken the linch-pins out of the carriages, but +he had stood by, if not aiding and abetting, at all events not making +any strenuous effort to prevent the deed. He, therefore, never for a +moment dreamed of sheltering himself under the plea that he had not +touched the linch-pins. It scarcely occurred to him that Julian might +have exonerated him in a great degree by generously declaring that he +himself had proposed the trick and had carried it out. Had he been in +Julian's place, that is what he would have done; but he did not ask +Julian to act thus for him, and he made up his mind to abide the +consequences. He felt that any excuse he could offer for himself would +throw more blame on Julian, and it did occur to him that even then his +word might be doubted. + +In the meantime Mrs Fuller's carriage was put to rights, the coachman +mounted on his box, the ladies were handed in, and the young gentlemen +got up once more on the rumble, all of them very angry and annoyed, as +well they might be, and some not a little bruised. Mr Heathcote +assured them of his vexation at what had occurred, and promised them, as +he had the coachmen, that he would get the culprits properly punished. + +The party at length separated, and Digby, more unhappy and discontented +with himself than he had been for a long time, went to bed and cried +with very vexation till he fell asleep. It was a pity that his +repentance was not of a more permanent nature. + +The next morning he arose refreshed, and though he felt an unusual +weight at his heart, yet he looked at things in a brighter light. +Julian looked immaterial (as Kate called his expression of countenance) +when he came down to breakfast, and had evidently made up his mind to +brazen out the affair, should suspicion fall on him. The event of the +evening naturally, however, became the subject of conversation, and +Digby felt conscious that he was blushing, while he dared not meet the +eye of any one present. He eat away perseveringly at his breakfast, and +bolted so hot a cup of tea, that he scalded his mouth, and was about to +make his escape, when his father's eye fell on him. Digby knew it, +though he did not dare to look up, and Mr Heathcote felt very nearly +certain that the culprit was his own son. Had he doubted it much, he +would have asked him, in joke, if he could tell how the affair happened; +but he was silent, and felt sad and annoyed. He was sorry to suppose +that Digby had been guilty of so foolish and really wicked an act, and +his pride too, of which he had a good deal, was hurt at the thought of +having, in accordance with his word, publicly to punish him. + +All doubts were at an end when, in a short time, Mr Bowdler appeared, +mentioned what he had ascertained, and firmly recommended the course he +thought ought to be pursued. + +"You are right," answered Mr Heathcote, "but he is such a child--it +seems to me but the other day that he was a baby. Let me see, how old +is he? Ah, to be sure, I went to school at an earlier age. Old or +young, I am bound to punish him, however. Yet stay, we have no right to +condemn him unheard." + +Mr Heathcote rang the bell, and ordered the servant to send in Master +Digby to him. He felt very like that Roman father we read about, who +condemned his own son to death. + +"Digby," said Mr Heathcote, when his son and heir stood before him, +"did you take the linch-pins out of the carriages last night?" + +Digby thought a moment. + +"No, I did not," he answered firmly. + +"Do you know anything about the matter," said Mr Heathcote, somewhat +astonished but firmly believing the assertion. Oh what a blessed thing +is that perfect confidence in the honour and truthfulness of those +connected with us. + +"Do you say that I must answer that question, papa?" said Digby. + +"I do not wish to force you to say anything," remarked Mr Heathcote, +"but I do wish to ascertain how the circumstance occurred." + +Digby thought for some time, while his father sat looking at him. + +"I should like to know how you intend to punish the person who committed +the mischief," he said at last. + +"If you had done it, I should probably have flogged you, and have sent +you off to school, as soon as I could find a suitable one. That would +have been a lenient punishment for you. A poor boy would be flogged and +sent to the house of correction." + +"Then you must send me to school, papa, though I should be glad if you +would omit the flogging," replied Digby, frankly. "I will not say who +played the trick; but, as I see somebody ought to be punished, I'm ready +to suffer, as I think I ought." + +Mr Bowdler was very much interested in hearing this conversation, and +certainly thought very much better of Digby than he had before been +inclined to do. "There is a great deal in that boy which may bring +forth good fruit, if it is properly developed," he said to himself. It +made him very anxious that Digby should go to some school where the +moral as well as intellectual qualities of the boys were attended to. + +Mr Heathcote did not wish to press the matter further on his son. He +was convinced that he was innocent of the act committed, and he had no +doubt of the real delinquent. Still he was very unwilling to have to +punish Julian, and he wished to pass the matter over, unless the boy was +positively accused before him of the crime. Digby was told that he +might go back to the schoolroom and prepare for Mr Crammer. + +Mr Bowdler had heard Mr Nugent, Mrs Heathcote's brother, very highly +spoken of, and he recommended that Digby should be placed under him till +a good school could be found. + +Mr Heathcote liked the notion. He could not bear the idea of having +Digby far separated from him. Not that he saw much of the boy, but he +liked to feel and know that he was near him. He fancied that he was +getting on very well with Mr Crammer, and, now that so excellent a +governess had come to instruct him, he thought that his education would +be well provided for. He promised Mr Bowdler, therefore, that he would +ride over to Osberton and get his brother-in-law to take charge of +Digby. + +Mr Bowdler, on his part, undertook to make inquiries for a good school +for the boy. + +"I will send young Julian home," said Mr Heathcote. "I see no +particular harm in him. He seems a quiet, inoffensive lad; but, as you +think it advisable, it will be a good excuse for separating the two." + +"Yes, a very good excuse," said Mr Bowdler. + +Julian had been with Digby when the footman summoned him into his +father's presence. He waited anxiously for his return. + +"You've not peached, I hope, Digby?" said he. + +"No, indeed," answered Digby, rather proudly. "I wasn't going to tell a +story, either. Your name wasn't mentioned, so you need not be afraid." + +"That's jolly," exclaimed Julian, brightening up. "I was afraid that +you would be letting the cat out of the bag." + +"I don't know exactly what that means," answered Digby; "I said that if +some one was to be punished I was ready to suffer, and so I'm to be sent +off to school, and that's not very pleasant, let me tell you. Not that +I mind the idea of school. It may be a very good sort of place; but I +don't like to have to leave so many pleasant things behind me. What +will my poor dear old dog Tomboy do without me? And there's my pretty +pony Juniper, which papa only bought last spring for me, and which I've +taught to know me and follow me about the field like a dog. How many +pleasant rides I expected to have on him; and he will have forgotten all +about me when I come back. Then I was to have gone out shooting with +John Pratt in September; and I'm pretty certain papa would have got me a +small gun, for I know he would like to see me a good shot; he's a +first-rate one himself. John says he'll back me up to kill a brace of +partridges within a week after I get my gun; but all that's come to an +end. Then we were to have had such capital fishing. John has been +getting my tackle ready for me, and has made me a prime rod, much better +than can be bought in the shops. Trap and ball, and hoops, and cricket, +and marbles--not that I ever can endure marbles--and rounders, and +prisoner's base, and all those sort of games, can be had at school even +better than at home, with the fellows one may pick up; so that won't +make any difference. But, as far as I can make out, they don't let one +go out birds'-nesting, or ferreting, or cross-bow shooting, or badger +hunting, or any of those sort of things which John Pratt is up to. +Schools must be very slow places, that's my opinion. I don't suppose we +might even blow up a wasps' nest, if we were to find one. If John Pratt +might go and live near, and take me out every day, and have some fun or +other, I shouldn't mind it. Then, you see, I don't like leaving Kate +and little Gusty. What Kate will do without me I do not know at all. I +hope Miss Apsley will treat her kindly; if he don't I'll--" and Digby +looked very fierce, but said nothing more. + +"If you don't like school, all you've to do is to run away," said +Julian, ever ready to offer evil counsel. "That's what I would do, I +know; or, if you don't like the idea of going there, run away before. +Send to me, and I'll help you; I'm always ready to help a friend in +need." + +"Thank you," said Digby; "oh, I know you would be, but I promised my +father that I would go willingly if he wished to send me; so go I must." + +Julian might have urged that promises were like piecrust, as the vulgar +saying runs, made to be broken: but he already knew enough of Digby to +be aware that such an opinion would have no response in his bosom, so he +only said, "Well, when you get there, and change your mind, only let me +know, and I will help you if I ran." + +Julian, two days after this, to his astonishment found that his things +were packed, and his father's carriage coming to the door, he was told +that after he had had some luncheon he was to go home. Mr and Mrs +Heathcote, however, wished him good-bye very kindly, and so did the Miss +Heathcotes, and of course Digby did, so he began to hope that nothing +had been discovered. No one, however, said that they hoped soon to see +him again. He went away smiling in very good humour with himself, and +tolerably so with the rest of the world. The next day Digby was sent +off to Mr Nugent's; this he did not at all like; he would rather have +gone to school at once. He recollected how very slow he had always +thought the life there--the hours were so regular and early, and he had +no field-sports of any kind to indulge in. Kate, however, promised to +keep up a constant correspondence with him, and to tell him all that +went forward at home. He undertook to write long letters to her in +return, at which she smiled, for hitherto he decidedly had not exhibited +any proficiency either in orthography or calligraphy, indeed it required +a considerable amount of patience and ingenuity to decipher his +epistles. Digby loved his father and mother well, though I have not +said so; he had an affectionate parting from them. John Pratt drove him +over to Osberton. His uncle received him in a very kind way; he did not +allude in the slightest way to any of his late misdemeanors. There were +four or five other boys there as pupils, considerably older than he was. +They seemed very quiet, well-behaved lads, and perfectly happy and +contented with their lot. Mr Nugent, though strict in insisting on his +directions being obeyed, evidently ruled by love rather than by fear. +Mrs Nugent was also a very amiable, kind person, who took a warm +interest in the lads committed to her husband's charge. Digby had +before seen very little of his aunt. Before he had been there many days +he felt that he liked her very much. Really the time was much more +pleasantly spent than he expected. Mr Nugent was never idle for a +moment; when out of doors he was always moving about visiting his +parishioners; in the house, he was superintending the studies of his +pupils, or writing or reading himself. In an evening he would always +read some interesting book to them--he never failed to select one with +which they were anxious to go on; he encouraged those who could draw, or +net, or make models of wood, or pasteboard, to go on at the same time +with their manual occupations. Digby could do nothing of the sort. His +notion of drawing was very limited indeed; however, his aunt undertook +to teach him. By learning how to hold his pencil properly, and to move +his hand freely, he was surprised to find what rapid progress he made; +he first had very simple sketches to copy--houses and barns, the greater +number of the lines in which were perpendicular or horizontal. She +would not let him have any other sketches till he had learned to draw +what he called the up and down, and the along lines properly. + +"You must do that again, Digby," she used to say in her laughing, kind +tone. "I make my houses stand upright, and I cannot allow you to let +them tumble down. Till you have learned to build up a barn or a cottage +you must not attempt to erect a church or a castle. See, you will be +able, if you persevere, to do drawings like these." + +And she showed him some very attractive coloured sketches, well +calculated to excite his ambition to equal them. The books, too, his +uncle read, or which he allowed one of the other boys to read, were +frequently very amusing, though instructive fictions--accounts of the +adventures and travels of lads, just such as boys like; sometimes +history was read, and always once in the week some very interesting book +on religious subjects. It is a great mistake to suppose that such +subjects cannot be made interesting, independent of their vast, their +unspeakable importance. Altogether Digby found the evenings pass much +more pleasantly than he had when he spent them in the idle, do-nothing +way to which he had been accustomed at home. What numbers and numbers +of valuable hours are thrown away--not even spent in amusement, but +literally in doing nothing, and in being discontented, and sleepy, and +stupid, which might and ought to be employed in so profitable and +interesting a manner. Mr Nugent frequently spoke to his pupils on the +subject of the proper employment of their time, and although many had +come to him as accustomed to idle and waste it, as was Digby, they very +soon, from experiencing the pleasure and advantages it afforded them, +began to wish to spend it profitably. He used to remark--"Never suppose +that you are doing no harm when you are idle. Remember, in the first +place, that `Satan finds some evil still for idle hands to do;' so you +are voluntarily exposing yourself to his temptations. In that alone you +are wrong; but also understand that time is given us to be employed +aright; that is tilt tenure, so to speak, on which we hold our +existence; our intellects, our talents, our strength, our faculties of +mind and body, were bestowed on us for that object. Boys and young +people, and even grown men and women, fancy they were sent into the +world only to amuse themselves. If they have wealth at their disposal +they think that they are at liberty to spend their time in as pleasant a +way as possible, and as for reckoning up each day what good thing they +have done in the world, and saying how have I employed the talent +entrusted by my Maker to my charge, such an idea never comes into their +heads; but, my boys, I want it to come into your heads and hearts, and +to fix it there firmly. If you have wealth at your disposal, consider, +and reflect, and pray, that you may be guided how to employ it aright; +if you are compelled to labour for your existence, work away with a +willing heart and hand, always remembering that you are labouring in the +sight of God, and that he approves of those who are doing their best to +perform their duty in that state of life into which he has called them." +Digby listened to these remarks; they were quite new to him, and he did +not entirely understand them; but they made an impression, and got +stowed away somewhere in the crannies of his mind and heart, and in +after years found their way to the surface to some effect. Digby got on +much better with his lessons than he had done with Mr Crammer. All +that gentleman seemed to aim at was to make him _say_ a lesson; he +learnt to say his Latin grammar glibly enough, and to answer set +questions in geography and history; and as to his comprehension of what +he was repeating, no inquiries were made. The consequences may be +supposed, and poor Digby, with fair natural abilities, possessed the +very smallest modicum of the information which the books he had read +were capable of affording. Mr Nugent, on the contrary, cared little +how a pupil said his lessons from a book; his object was to put +information into his head, and not only to make it stay there, but to +show him how to employ it profitably when required. He used to explain +that dictionaries, and grammars, and delectuses, and graduses, and pens, +and ink, and paper, and the art of reading, were only so many mechanical +contrivances for acquiring knowledge. The first thing to be done is to +learn to use them to the best advantage. + +[Note: a Gradus is a textbook used to train people learning Latin in the +art of writing Latin verse, especially hexameters and pentameters.] + +"Now, Marshall and Digby, take those two Latin dictionaries, and find me +out the meaning of the words _Luna circum terram movetur_." + +Marshall placed his dictionary well before him, rapidly turning over the +leaves with the thumb of one hand, while he held them fast with the +other: as his quick eye caught sight of them, he wrote them down on a +piece of paper by his side. + +Digby fumbled away awkwardly, going backwards and forwards, showing +clearly that he did not know how to handle a dictionary. "What were the +words you said, Uncle?" he asked at last. + +Marshall had looked out and written all his down and poor Digby had +actually forgotten them before he had been able to find one of them out. + +"The moon moves, or is moved, round the earth," said Marshall, quietly. + +"Now you see, Digby, the advantage of being able to turn over the leaves +of a dictionary rapidly," said Mr Nugent. "Of two people with equal +talents, the one who possesses that simple mechanical power to the +greatest perfection will beat the other, in as far as he will gain the +information for which he is seeking in so much less time. A rapid, +clear writer, and a person with a quick observant eye, has a great +advantage over those who do not possess those qualifications." + +Digby very well understood these observations, and set to work to +practise turning over the leaves of his dictionary and in looking out +words, till, with no little triumph, he proved that he could find out a +word almost as quickly as Marshall. + +It was not, however, all work and no play at Mr Nugent's. He was near +a river as well as near the sea, and, though he did not wish to give the +boys a taste for a naval life, yet he was anxious that they should be +instructed in rowing and sailing a boat, and in swimming. Digby had +prided himself in being a proficient for his age in all manly sports, +but he found that he was very inferior to his fellow-pupils with regard +to those connected with the water. It was satisfactory, however, to +find from Marshall, who became his chief friend, that when they first +came they were no better than he was. They were mostly as ignorant, and +accustomed to be idle, and knew nothing of aquatic amusements. Mr +Nugent, who was very fond of boating, though he had little time to spend +in it, occasionally went out with them; but on other occasions they were +committed to the charge of an old seaman, Tobias Tubb by name. Of +course he was always called Toby Tubb, or still more familiarly spoken +of as Toby. Toby had served in all sorts of craft, from a +line-of-battle ship to a collier, and, report said, at one time in a +smuggling lugger; but he had good reasons for not wishing that +circumstance to be alluded to. He was loquacious enough, however, with +regard to all the other events of his life, which he pumped up from time +to time from the depths of his memory, and sent them flowing forth in a +rich stream for the benefit of his hearers. He was a great favourite +with the boys, who delighted to listen to his yarns; and he took an +interest in his young charges, and was equally pleased to describe the +events of his nautical career. His boat was a fine wholesome craft, +eighteen feet long, with good beam. She had a spritsail, jib, foresail, +and mizen. Never did he appear so happy as when he had them all on +board for an afternoon's sail. Tubb was a very appropriate name for +him. He was somewhat stout and short, with a round, ruddy, good-natured +countenance, a bald forehead, and white hair on either side of it. He +was all roundness. His head was round, and his face was round, and his +eyes, and his nose, and his mouth were round. His nose was like a very +funny little round button; but it looked so good-natured, and cocked up +so quaintly, that the boys declared that they would not have it changed +on any account for the first Roman nose in existence. No more, +probably, would Toby, who had been very well contented with it for full +sixty years, it having, as he said, served him many a good turn during +that period. "No, no; we should never be ashamed of old friends who +have been faithful and true, and wish to exchange them for finer folk," +he used to remark, when, as was sometimes the case, his fellow-boatmen +humorously twitted him about his lose. + +The first day that Digby went out in the John Dory, as Toby called his +boat, he discovered his ignorance of nautical affairs. He had day after +day been on the ponds at Bloxholme, but then John Pratt had rowed him +about, and he had never thought of learning to row himself. + +The river was wide at the mouth, and, as there were deep sheltered bays, +it was a good place for rowing. When sailing, however, it was necessary +to be careful, for gusts often came down suddenly between the cliffs, +and had frequently upset boats the people in which had not been ready to +let go the sheets in an instant. There was no wind this day. + +"Now, young gen'man," said Toby, looking at Digby, "you'll just take an +oar and pull with the rest?" + +"Oh yes," answered Digby, who was always ready to undertake any manual +exercise, "I'll row." + +Marshall and the other boys got out the oars. Toby eyed Digby, and +guessed, by the way he handled his oar the state of the case. However, +Digby persevered in silence. + +The boat slowly receded from the shore, Toby steering. Digby, who sat +about midships, looked at Marshall, and Easton, and Power, who sat +further astern, and tried to imitate their movements. He did so very +fairly. He thought that he was performing his part wonderfully well. + +Toby's nose curled more than usual as he looked at him. + +"Give way, my lads, give way," he sung out. + +The other boys instantly bent to their oars, and made much more rapid +strokes than before. Digby had not the slightest notion what "giving +way" meant. He only knew, to his cost, that he gave way, for his oar +caught in the water, and over he toppled on his back to the bottom of +the boat. + +"Caught a crab, caught a crab," sung out the other boys, laughing. + +Digby jumped up immediately, full of eagerness, not minding his bruises +a bit. + +"Have I? Where is he? where is he? Let me see him," he exclaimed. + +This made the rest laugh still more. + +"It's only the sort of crab most young ge'men catches when first they +begins to learn to row," said Toby; "jump up and take your oar, and +you'll soon catch another, I warrant." + +So Digby found, but he was not a boy to be beat by such an occurrence. +Each time he jumped up as quickly as he could, and grasping his oar, +went on pulling as before. + +"What do you mean by `Give way?'" he asked, when he discovered that +these words invariably produced the unpleasant results. + +"I means much the same as the soldier officers does when they says +`Double quick march.'" + +"Oh, I see, we are to make the boat go as fast as we can," observed +Digby. + +After that he caught fewer crabs, Toby having also advised him not to +dip the blade of his oar so deeply in the water. In a few days he +learned how to feather his oar, that is, when lifting the blade out of +the water, to turn it, so as to keep it almost horizontal with the +surface. This is done that it may not hold wind, and in a rough sea, +that it may be less likely to be struck by a wave, or if it is, that it +may cut through the top. He also learned to keep time with the rest, a +very essential requisite in rowing. + +"You've done capitally," said Marshall, after they landed the first day, +"many fellows have been here for some time before they have done as +well." + +This praise encouraged Digby, and he determined to learn to be a good +boatman. He expressed his intentions to Toby. The old man laughed. + +"You'll be good enough in time, I've no doubt, master, but it will take +you some years before you are fit to be trusted. There's nothing but +experience will make a sailor. You must be out in gales of wind, and +have all your sails blown away, and your masts carried over the side, +and find yourself on a lee shore on a dark night, with rocks close +aboard, and no room to wear, and the wind blowing great guns and small +arms, and a strong current running here and there, and setting you on to +the coast; and then, if you find means to save the ship, I'll allow that +you're something of a sailor." + +Digby did not know what all this meant, but he thought the description +very dreadful, and certainly he had no notion how he should act. As, +however, he had no wish to become a real sailor, that did not trouble +him. Easton, however, took in every word that was said. He had set his +heart on going to sea, and none of the descriptions of shipwrecks and +disasters in which the old man indulged had any terrors for him. They +only the more excited his ardour, and he longed to encounter and +overcome them. + +When Toby Tubb saw that Digby could row fairly, he began to teach him to +sail a boat. + +"First you have to learn how to steer, Master Digby," he observed; "look +over the stern, you see how the rudder is, now put your hand in the same +line above it. Now I press against your hand, the water is pressing +just in the same way against the rudder. If you keep your arm stiff, I +should make you turn round. Now, the rudder is stiff as long as you +don't let the tiller move, and so the water turns the boat round. Now +put the tiller over on the opposite side, then you see the boat also +turns the opposite way. You understand, to steer you must be going on, +or, what's the same thing, a current must be running past you. If there +is no movement in the water, you may wriggle the tiller about as much as +you please, and you can't turn the boat's head. Just understand, too, +that the water is a thing that presses. It will give way, certainly. +It is not like a rock, but still it presses all around you. That's the +reason why a vessel sails stem first, that is to say, she cuts the water +with the sharpest part, if the sails are trimmed properly to make her do +so. You may trim the sails to make her sail stern first, or if there's +a gale of wind right abeam, she goes partly ahead, but also drives +before it with her side, that's what we call making lee way. Now as to +the sails, you see, we have to balance them, or to trim them, as we call +it. Once, I'm told, ships were only made to sail right before the wind. +Funny voyages they must have been, I'm thinking. What a time they must +have been about them, waiting for a fair wind; no wonder they didn't get +round the world in those days. Now, you see, we can sail not only with +the wind abeam as close, as four and a half points to the wind in fore +and after craft. Still if we want to get where the wind blows from, we +could never do it if we couldn't tack ship, and sail away four and a +half points on the other side of the wind. That's what we call working +a traverse. Away a ship sails, zig-zagging along if there isn't too +much wind to blow her back, every tack making good some ground till she +reaches the port to which she's bound. That's what I calls the +_philusfy_ of navigation. But I haven't yet told you how the sails act +on the vessel. You see the wind presses on them, just as the water does +on the hull. The better you can get the wind to blow on them at what +they calls a right angle, the greater force it has. So in a +square-rigged ship, if you can bring the wind a little on the quarter, +so that every sail, studden-sails, alow and aloft, can be made to draw, +you'll have the greatest pressure on the sails, and send the ship on the +fastest. But we come to balancing, when a ship is on a wind. If all +the sail was set forward, it would turn her head round, or if all was +set aft it would turn her stern round. So we set some forward, and some +aft, and some amidships, and then we trim them together properly, and +away she goes in the direction we put her head. Then, you see, if we +want to turn her head round we shake the wind out of her after sails, or +trice them up, and if we want her stem to go round, we do the same with +her head sails, and that, Master Heathcote, is what I calls the theory +of sailing. There's a good deal more for you to learn before you will +be fit to be trusted in a boat by yourself, but if you keeps close to +those principles, you can't be far wrong in the long run." + +Such was Digby's first lesson in seamanship. He did not take in all +that was said to him; indeed he was rather young for comprehending the +subject, but it made him think and inquire further; and Toby Tubb was +perfectly satisfied that his lessons were not thrown away. + +"It's very strange," soliloquised Toby, "the fathers and mothers of +these young ge'men pays lots of money to have 'em taught to ride and +dance, and to speak Latin and French, and all sorts of gimcrack +nonsense, and not one in a thousand ever thinks of making them learn how +to knot, and splice, and reef, and steer, and to take an observation, or +work a day's work, which to my mind is likely to be far more useful to +'em when they comes to take care of themselves in the world. As for me, +I don't know what I should have done without the first, though the +shooting the sun and the navigation was above me a good way." + +"There's nothing like leather." Toby would have said, there is nothing +like hemp, and pitch, and tar, and heart of oak. It is quite as well +that different people should have different opinions. Thus the world is +prevented from stagnating. + + + +CHAPTER FOUR. + +DIGBY GAINS A KNOWLEDGE OF BOATING AND OTHER MANLY EMPLOYMENTS--THE +WONDERS OF THE SEA-SIDE--A SHIPWRECK--DIGBY PROVES HIMSELF A HERO--HOW +HE GAINED A FRIEND. + +Digby, as he became more practised in the arts, gained a keen relish for +boating, not mere pulling, but for sailing--the harder it blew, the +better pleased he was. In this he was joined by Easton, who was always +delighted when old Toby would take them out on a stormy day. Marshall +and the others confessed that they liked fine weather sailing. + +"But, suppose the boat was capsized, what would you do?" said Marshall +to Digby. + +"Hold on to her, I suppose," was the answer. + +"But very likely you would be thrown to a distance, what then?" + +"Why I should try and catch what was nearest to me," replied Digby. + +"But suppose there was nothing near you," remarked his friend. + +"Then, I suppose I should--. Let me see, I scarcely know what I should +do--I should try to swim," said Digby, after some hesitation. + +"That is just what I wanted to bring you to," said Marshall. "You have +not learned to swim, you know, and you assuredly would not then swim for +the first time, so that if no one was near to help you, you would +inevitably be drowned. Take my advice--learn to swim forthwith; Toby +will teach you. If you were to go to Eton, you would not be allowed to +go in the boats till you had learnt. Everybody should know how to swim, +both for their own sakes and for the benefit of their fellow-creatures. +It is really disgraceful for an English boy not to know how to do what +even savages can do so well." + +Marshall went on in this style till Digby felt perfectly ashamed of +himself, and resolved to learn as soon as possible if Toby would teach +him. He was manly enough, as has been seen, in disposition, but all his +knowledge of manly exercises he had acquired from John Pratt, except +riding, which his father had taken a pride in teaching him. Swimming +was not among John Pratt's accomplishments, and so Digby had remained +ignorant of it. There are many boys like him, brought up at home or at +small private schools, who are even worse off. In many instances their +education is very carefully attended to, but for fear of accidents they +are not allowed to bathe, or climb trees, or to shoot. Numbers have +suffered from this mistake when they have had to go out into the world +and take care of themselves--they have been drowned, when, had they been +able to swim, their lives would have been saved; had they been +accustomed to climb, they might have scaped from a burning house, a +wrecked ship, or a wild beast, while they have been called upon to use +fire-arms before they know how to load a gun. + +"Toby," said Digby, "I want to learn how to swim." + +"Then come along, master," replied the old man, and they rowed across to +a quiet little bay, with a sandy shore, sheltered by rocks, on the side +of the river opposite the town. "Pull off your clothes, master," said +Toby, as they were still some little way from the shore. + +Digby did as he was bid. + +"Now, jump overboard," added Toby. + +Digby stood up, but as he looked into the water and could see no bottom, +he shuddered at the thought of plunging in. Toby passed a band round +his waist with a rope to it, but Digby scarcely perceived this--he felt +himself pushed, and over he went, heels over head, under the water. + +"Oh, I'm drowning, I'm drowning," he cried out when he came to the +surface. + +"Oh no, you're not, master, you're all right," said the old man. +"Strike out for the shore, and try if you can't swim there." + +Digby did strike out, but wildly, and not in a way that would have kept +him afloat. + +"That's the way you'd have done if the boat was capsized, and you'd have +drowned yourself and any one who came to help you," remarked Toby; "but +catch hold of this oar. Now strike away with your feet, right astern; +not out of the water, though; keep them lower down. That's the way to +go ahead. Steady, though; strike both of them together. Slow, though; +slower. We're in no hurry, there's plenty of time; you can learn the +use of your hands another day. Draw your legs well under you. Now, as +I give the word--strike out, draw up; strike out, draw up. That will do +famously. If you keep steadily at it you'll learn to swim in a very few +days." + +Digby felt rather tired when he and the boat at length reached the +shore. He had some notion that he had towed her there, which he had +not, though. He had learned an important part of the art of swimming. +When he came out of the water, and had dressed, Toby showed him how to +use his hands. + +"Now, Master Heathcote, look here. Do as I do." + +Toby put his hands together, with the fingers straight out and close to +each other, and the palms slightly hollowed. Then he brought them up to +his breast, and darting them forward, separated his hands and pressed +them backwards till he brought his elbows down to the hips, close to his +body, and again turned his wrists till his hands once more got back to +the attitude with which he had started. He made Digby do this over and +over again, till he was quite eager to jump into the water and put his +knowledge into practice. + +"No, no, master," said Toby, "you've had bathing enough to-day. Just do +you keep on doing those movements whenever you have a spare moment, and +to-morrow we'll see how well you can do them in the water." + +Digby was certain that not only would he do them perfectly, but that he +should be able to swim any distance. + +Toby said nothing, but his nose curled up in its quiet funny way. + +The next day was very fine, and all the boys came down to bathe, and to +see Digby swim, as he boasted he could do perfectly well. They crossed +over to the bay, all of them getting ready for a plunge. + +"Now, Digby," cried Marshall, when they got near the shore, "overboard +we go." + +"All right," cried Digby, putting his hands into the scientific +attitude, as far as he could recollect it; and, with great courage, he +jumped into the water. + +Somehow or other, he could not tell why, down he went some way under the +surface, and when he came up he had forgotten all about the way to +strike out which Toby had taught him. Instead of that, he flung about +his arms and kicked his legs out in the wildest manner, and would have +gone down again had not Marshall swam up alongside him, and, putting his +hand under his chin, told him to keep perfectly quiet till he had +collected his senses. He had resolution enough to do this, and was +surprised to find himself floating on the surface of the water with so +little support. + +"Bravo, Master Marshall," cried Toby. "Now strike out, Master +Heathcote, as I showed you." + +The recollection of how to strike came back to Digby, and, to his great +delight, he found himself making some progress towards the shore, his +friend still holding him up by the chin. + +"Let me go, I am sure I can swim alone," he cried. + +Marshall did so, but, after a few strokes, down he went, and again he +forgot what he had done so satisfactorily on dry land. His feet, +however, touched the bottom, and, hopping on one leg, he went on +striking out with his hands, and fancying that he was swimming, till he +reached the shore. His companions, of course, laughed at him, but he +did not mind that, and, running in again, he made one or two more +successful attempts, but he forbore boasting any more of the distance he +was going to swim. When once again he had gone out till the water +reached his chin, he found the boat close to him. + +"Don't be swimming any more, Master Heathcote, but give me your hand," +said Toby, taking it. "There, now throw yourself on your back, stick +your legs out, put your head back as far as it will go, lift up your +chest, now don't move, let your arms hang down. There, I'll hold you +steady; a feather would do it. Now you feel how the water keeps you up. +There, you might stay there for an hour, or a dozen hours for that +matter, if it wasn't for the cold, in smooth water. You'll learn to +swim in a very few days now, I see, without your clothes, and then you +must learn with your clothes on. If I couldn't have done that I should +not have been here; I should have been drownded long ago." + +Thus discoursing, the old man let Digby float by the side of the boat +till he had been long enough in the water, and then he helped him out +and made him dress quickly. + +The other boys then got in, and consulted together how they should spend +the remainder of the afternoon. Power, who was the chief fisherman of +the party, voted for going outside and trying to catch some mackerel. +No objections were made. Toby consented: he had lines and hooks in the +boat. + +They pulled down to the mouth of the river, and were very soon in the +open sea. There was scarcely any wind, the sea was blue and bright, the +coast was picturesque, with rocky headlands, and white sandy bay; and +green downs above, and cliffs on which numberless wildfowl had taken up +their habitations. As they pulled close under the rocks, numbers of +gulls flew out, screaming loudly at the intruders on their domains. + +"I have often thought, when I have heard people talking of their ancient +families and their ancient homes, how much more ancient are the families +and the abodes of those white-coated gentry," observed Marshall. "Up +there, now, perhaps, the ancestors of those birds have lived, from +generation to generation, since the flood. They witnessed the first +peopling of our tight little island by the painted savages, who were as +barbarous as the New Zealanders or the Fejee Islanders of the present +century; the landing of Julius Caesar and his warriors, the battles of +the Norsemen, the Danes, and the Saxons, and the defeat of the Spanish +armada. I wish that they could tell us all the interesting things they +have seen." + +Easton liked the idea. Digby did not understand it, for his knowledge +of history was very limited. + +"I know what they've seen," observed Toby. "They've seen many a cargo +of smuggled silks, and teas, and brandies run hereabouts, in days gone +by." + +"Oh, those smugglers are jolly fellows!" exclaimed Digby. "I should +like to see something of their fun. I can't fancy any finer sport than +landing a cargo and having to run the gauntlet among a whole posse of +revenue officers." + +"Something like prisoners' base, you would say," observed Marshall, +"only, I suspect, with a greater chance of being caught and shut up for +a longer time than would be pleasant." + +"I'll tell you what it is, young gentlemen," said Toby, who had been +listening in silence to Digby's and the other boys' thoughtless remarks, +"smuggling is a very bad business, let me tell you. I've seen something +of it, and I know what it is. I've seen money made by it, I'll allow, +just as I've seen money made by other evil practices; but I've seen very +many fine fellows brought to a bad end by it, and have never known any +to prosper long at it. Laws were made for the good of all, and no man +has a right to break them for his own advantage or pleasure. Though I'm +only a poor boatman I've found that out, and it's my duty to make others +understand the truth, as well as I can." + +The boys confessed that they had never before seen the matter in that +light. They had thought smugglers, and pirates, and bandits, and +highwaymen, and outlaws of all descriptions very fine fellows; and it +had never occurred to them that they should be looked upon as base +scoundrels, who deserved to be hung, or severely punished in some other +way. + +"Now let us have out the lines," exclaimed Power, who was eager to begin +fishing. Two of the party paddled the boat on, relieving each other, at +the rate of about two miles an hour. + +Toby produced four long, thin lines, wound up on wooden reels. The +lines were considerably slighter than log-lines. Five hooks were +fastened to each, about a yard apart. + +"But where is the bait?" asked Digby. "You cannot catch fish without +bait." + +"Oh, mackerel are in no ways particular," answered Toby; "a bit of tin +or white rag will attract them; but see, I have some hooks with some +capital bait. It is called a white cock's hackle. The feathers are +fastened on to the butt, and project an inch or more beyond the bend, so +as to cover the barb. This is certain to catch any fish which see it." + +The lines were thrown overboard, one on each side, and one over each +quarter. Toby assisted Digby to manage his. + +Digby was quite delighted when he felt a sharp tug at the end of his +line. + +"Haul in, haul in; you've got him," said Toby. + +Digby hauled away, and soon he saw a fish skimming and jumping along on +the smooth surface of the blue water, leaving a thin wake behind him, +while his bright scales glistened in the sun. Digby shouted with +glee,--"I've the first, I've the first. Huzza!" + +He almost tumbled overboard in his eagerness to catch hold of the fine +mackerel which came with what he called a hop, skip, and a jump +alongside. He lifted the fish in. The poor mackerel, with his dark +back and white belly, did not look nearly so bright out of the water as +he had done in it. Digby thought it a very elegant-looking fish, and +very unlike any he had ever before caught with John Pratt. + +"Now we shall catch a plenty," said Toby, as, to Digby's dismay, he took +the fish, and, cutting it up into strips, baited each of the hooks with +it. "These mackerel like nothing better than their own kind." + +Two or three dozen mackerel were quickly caught, of which Digby hauled +up several. + +"But have we no chance of catching any carp, or tench, or perch?" he +asked, seriously. "I should have thought that there must be plenty +about here." + +His companions laughed heartily. + +"What is the taste of the water alongside?" asked Marshall. + +"Salt," said Digby, tasting it. + +"Do you think freshwater fish will live in salt-water?" observed his +friend. + +"Oh, you fine sportsman! You laugh at us for not knowing so much about +dogs, and horses, and shooting, and racing, and hunting as you pretend +to do, and yet you are ignorant of far more important, and just as +interesting matters." + +"Still, young gentlemen, I'm thinking that every man shines most in his +own element, as the mackerel would say, if they could speak, and would +rather be left there," observed Toby, who was a great philosopher in +many respects, although no man could be much more prejudiced with regard +to his own calling of a sailor than he was. Such is often the ease. +When judging of the opinion of others, we should always try to discover +whether we are not prejudiced too much in favour of our own. + +The boys had a capital evening's sport, and Digby learned much more +about conger-eels, and whiting, and bass, and mullet, and turbot, and +plaice, and John Dories, and brill, and other salt-water fish, than he +had ever known before. He was daily discovering, by practical +experience, that there are many things in creation "of which he had +never before dreamed in his philosophy." In other words, he began to +suspect, that though he was a very fine fellow, daring to do anything, +and ready to fight any boy of his age, he was in reality a remarkably +ignorant young gentleman. This, to a lad of Digby's disposition, was a +very important discovery. He was, I hope, on the high road to +improvement. There is a saying, that "Where ignorance is bliss, it is +folly to be wise;" but depend on it, the moment the ignorance is +suspected, it is much greater folly not to set strenuously to work to +correct it. + +When the lads got home, they recounted with great glee their adventures, +and offered, with much satisfaction, their baskets of fish to Mrs +Nugent. They were served up fresh for breakfast and dinner the next +day, and for two or three days afterwards, cut open and salted. + +Digby heard Mr Nugent speaking of the wonders of the deep. + +"What, uncle, are there any things besides fish in the sea?" he asked +with, what the other boys thought, an almost incredible amount of +simplicity. + +One of the few recreations Mr Nugent allowed himself, was a fishing +expedition on board a trawler. Not that he cared much for the fish +which the trawl caught, but his delight was to examine the numberless +specimens of animal marine life which came up at the same time. Digby +heard his uncle and Marshall talking about Noctilucae, and Medusae, and +Cydippi Actiniae, and Asterias, and Echini, and Terebellae, and +Nereides, and Cirripedes, and Solens, and Gastropods, and numberless +other creatures with hard names, which he thought that he could never +recollect, and about which he was persuaded he could not understand. + +"And are all these animals found in the sea near here?" he asked. + +"Yes, and thousands more," answered his uncle; "it would take a lifetime +to catch and note the habits of those found on this coast alone. Each +person can only hope to add a little to the stock of knowledge which +others have obtained, and to ascertain what has been discovered by +others. Still, the pursuit of that knowledge is so delightful, as is, +indeed, the study of all God's works, that those occupied in it find +themselves amply repaid for all the physical and mental exertion they +have to take to attain it." + +"Are the things you speak of like horses, and dogs, and cats, or more +like fish?" asked Digby, seriously. "I should think with such curious +names they must be very curious looking things." + +Marshall and Power laughed heartily, and even his uncle could not help +smiling as he replied: + +"Curious and wonderful, indeed, they are, but they are not fish in +appearance, and still less like terrestrial quadrupeds. Some have their +heads at the end of their feet, and their eyes at the extremities of +their arms. Some walk on their heads, and others have their arms +growing from the top of their heads. Some, too, can turn themselves +inside out, and others of their own accord, break themselves to pieces, +and then, what is more wonderful still, like one of the tricks to be +seen at a pantomime, the bits send forth arms, and legs, and heads, and +tails, and become perfect animals again." + +Digby listened with mute astonishment. He knew that his uncle would not +tell him an untruth, and yet he fancied that, somehow or other, he must +be laughing at him. The account he had heard, however, made him look +forward eagerly to the promised trawling expedition. + +The day approached, but Digby was doomed to be disappointed. A heavy +gale of wind sprung up in the evening, and blew with great violence +during the night. + +The next day was Saturday, and was a half-holiday. Just as the boys had +finished their lessons, a servant-girl came running in, exclaiming: + +"Oh, sir, they say that there is a big ship driving on the shore, and +that all the poor souls in her will be lost. Oh, it's very dreadful! oh +dear! oh dear!" + +Mr Nugent seized his hat and stick, and the boys prepared to follow +him. + +"Stay, we will take a brandy-flask, and any rope to be had--a long pole +may be useful." + +These articles being quickly found, the boys carrying them, they hurried +out to the beach. + +Not the eighth of a mile from the shore was a dismasted vessel, rolling +and tumbling about in the most fearful manner. The crew were trying to +get up jury-masts, or sheers rather, which are formed of two spars, the +butt ends resting against the sides of the ship, and the others joined +together. The sheers were got up, and then an endeavour was made to +hoist a sail on them, to beat the ship off the shore. It was utterly +useless. The sail was blown to ribbons, and the sheers blown away. The +last resource was to anchor. This was done, and the ship rode head to +wind, plunging, however, even more violently than before. Toby Tubb +just then joined Mr Nugent and his pupils. + +"There's no use in it. There's no ground here will hold an anchor ten +minutes together." His prediction proved too true. On drove the +hapless ship. She had parted from her anchors, no human power could +avert the expected catastrophe. The only hope that any of those on +board could be saved, would be that the ship might drive into the sandy +cove in which they were standing. If she struck on the dark ledges of +rock outside, not a person on board, it was thought, could be saved. +The sea was breaking with tremendous violence over them, creating sheets +of foam, which were driven towards the shore, almost blinding the +lookers-on. + +Digby thought he could almost hear the shrieks of the unfortunate people +on board. He could see them, clearly, throwing up their arms, as if +imploring aid from their fellow-men, who were utterly unable to afford +it. + +"Could no boat go off to them?" asked Mr Nugent, eagerly. + +"No, sir, no boat would live a second in that sea, alongside those +rocks," answered Toby; "what men can do we will do, when the time comes; +more is unpossible." + +"I have a rope and some poles, you see," said Mr Nugent; "they may be +useful." + +"So have I, sir, but two ropes may be better than one," was Toby's +reply. "Now, lads, be ready to do what I tells you; follow me." + +He addressed a party of seamen and fishermen, not all very young though, +who were standing near with their hands in their pockets, exhibiting, +apparently, very little interest in what was going forward. The +ill-fated ship rose on the top of the huge waves which rolled onward +towards the shore. Now it appeared that she would be engulphed between +them. No further effort was made on board to save her. Such would have +been hopeless. Each person was intent on making preparations for his +own safety. Digby gazed with horror; he felt inclined to shriek out +himself, as he saw the danger of the poor fellows on board. He would +gladly have run away and forgotten all about it, but yet he could not +tear himself from the spot, or his eyes from the driving ship. A few +minutes more, and her fate would be sealed. + +"Follow me, lads," suddenly exclaimed old Toby, and led the way towards +a ledge of rocks which jutted out into the sea, and formed one side of +the bay of which I have spoken. + +In a moment the fishermen had their hands out of their pockets, and were +all life and activity. Carrying some long spars and several coils of +rope, they hurried after Toby to the end of the reef. Toby was seen to +stop. Digby and his companions held their breath--well they might. It +seemed as if the ship must strike the very end of that black reef, over +which the sea was breaking with violence so fearful that it must have +shattered to fragments the stoutest ship that ever floated. On she +came; there was a pause it seemed; a cross-sea struck her, and amidst a +deluge of foam she was hurled past the point, and driven in towards the +bay. Another sea lifted her up, and then down she came on the beach, +still far out among the breakers, with a tremendous crash, which seemed +to shake the very shore. Now was the moment of greatest peril to those +on board--the seas meeting with a resistance they had not hitherto +found, dashed furiously over the hull, carrying away the bulwarks, and +the boats, and caboose, and everything still remaining on deck. The +crew clung to ropes made fast to the stumps of the masts, or to +ring-bolts in the decks, but the strength of many of them could not +withstand the fury of the seas. One after the other was torn from his +hold, and hurled among the boiling breakers. In vain the poor fellows +struck out; the receding waves dashed them against the side of the ship, +or carried them struggling hopelessly far out to sea, where they were +lost to sight among the foam. + +While this was going forward, Toby and his companions were trying every +means they could think of to get a rope carried to the wreck. +Unfortunately they were unprovided with Captain Manby's apparatus, or +any other contrivance for throwing a shot with a line attached to it +over a wreck, so that by the line a hawser might be hauled on shore. +There were none of those excellent inventions--life-boats--in the +neighbourhood, which are now, happily, stationed all along the British +coast, and have been the means of saving the lives of numbers of human +beings; even the coastguard officer and most of his men had gone that +morning to a distance. Toby had, therefore, to trust to his own +resources. The crew seemed utterly unable to make any effort to save +themselves; indeed they saw that should they let go their hold, any +moment they might be washed overboard and drowned. Toby had got a small +keg, to which he fastened a line, and seemed to hope that it might be +carried out by the receding wave towards the wreck, but though it went +some way, another wave came in before it got far enough to be of any +use, and sent it rolling back again with a coil of seaweed, mixed with +sand and foam, on the beach. Toby next fastened a rope round his own +waist, and seemed to contemplate the possibility of swimming off himself +to the wreck, but the men round him held him back, persuading him that +the risk was too great. He stood, evidently seeing that there was very +little chance of success. Now another huge wave came foaming up. The +crew turned their heads with a gaze of horror and alarm as they watched +its approach. On it came, roaring loudly. All on board grasped with a +gripe, in which the force of every sinew and muscle was exerted to the +utmost, the masts and ropes to which they were holding. The wave struck +the ship, shaking her huge hull to the keel, and driving her still +further on the beach. One poor fellow must have had a less secure gripe +than the rest, or else its fury must have been concentrated on him. It +tore him from his hold, lifted him up, and as it passed over, he was +seen struggling in the water. He struck out boldly. Now the roaring +hissing sea carried him onward, then back again, now a side wave took +him and drove him in the direction of the spot where Toby and his +companions were standing. Toby signed to the men to hold the rope, and +plunging in amid the foam, struck out towards the struggling seaman. +Now they were separated, now they were brought nearer together. Now it +seemed as if the stranger would be carried out, as had been the others, +by the receding wave. But the brave fellow still struggled on. It was +too evident, however, that his efforts were growing weaker and weaker. +Toby sung out to him to encourage him to persevere. Toby got close to +him, but just then a hissing wave went rolling back, the stranger threw +up his arms in despair, and was buried beneath the foam. Toby darted +forward and disappeared beneath the water. + +"Oh, he is gone, he is drowned, our poor Toby!" exclaimed Digby, giving +way to his feelings. + +But Toby had only dived, and the next instant appeared grasping the body +of the seaman, but was being carried at a fearful rate out to sea. His +friends on shore hauled in, however, gently on the rope, and gradually +drew him and the seaman towards them. Still, Toby had much to contend +with; the sea tumbled about and broke wildly around him, and now the +water would make a rush in one direction and then in another, rendering +swimming almost impossible. At length the rocks were reached. Several +of the fishermen who had fastened ropes to their waists, rushed into the +sea to his assistance, and at length he and the nearly drowned man were +hauled up on the rocks. + +"Bravo! excellent, brave fellow!" exclaimed Mr Nugent, +enthusiastically, "thank heaven, too, that the poor man is saved." + +Digby shouted with delight. "Oh, Toby is a grand fellow!" he exclaimed; +in which sentiment he was joined by his fellow-pupils. + +Meantime, Mr Nugent hurried off to be of assistance, if required, to +the rescued man. + +The escape of one of their shipmates seemed to give courage to the other +people on board. Another man leaped off the wreck with a line, and +boldly struck out for the rocks. Toby, notwithstanding his previous +exertions, dashed into the sea to meet him, but whether or not he would +succeed appeared very doubtful. + +Meantime, another sea came rolling over the wreck. Directly afterwards, +two human forms were seen struggling in the waves. Sometimes the sea +carried them so close to the beach, that it seemed as if they could +almost touch the sand with their feet; then out they were carried once +more, and it appeared that they would be lost altogether. This was the +more sad as Toby and the man, who had jumped off the wreck with the +line, had almost succeeded in establishing a communication between it +and the shore. One of the people got so close to them that they could +see his features. He was evidently a lad, not so old as Marshall. + +"I am certain I could get hold of him," cried Digby, suddenly fastening +the rope round his own waist in the way Toby had taught him. "Here, do +you hold the rope tight." + +"I ought to go," said Marshall, throwing off his jacket. + +"No, no--no time to be lost--now or never," cried Digby, rushing into +the sea just as the wave, having brought the almost senseless lad close +to the beach, was about to carry him off again. + +Had he hesitated for a moment he would have been too late. He thought +not of his own safety. On he rushed. The receding water took him off +his legs. He struck out; he was turned heels over head. Still he +dashed on. He was within half an arm's-length of the drowning lad. +"Oh, I must have him," he thought to himself. He sprung on; he caught +him by the collar of his jacket. "Haul away," he sung out. + +Marshall and the rest saw that he had got hold of the boy, though they +could not hear him speak. + +Nothing but death would have made him relinquish that grasp, he felt. + +His companions hauled away, and much force was required, for so strong +was the reflux of the wave that all his own strength would not have +opposed it. + +Almost drowned himself, and scarcely sensible, holding tight on to the +boy, he at length was caught hold of by his friends, who ran up with him +and his burden out of the reach of the waves. + +They undid the lad's collar and handkerchief. He was breathing, but +insensible. He was as well dressed as they were, and was certainly not +a poor sailor-boy, as Digby had fancied,--not that that would have made +any difference, of course. + +Easton ran off to call Mr Nugent, while Marshall, Power, and Norton +attended to the stranger and Digby. + +Meantime, they were anxiously looking out for the other person they had +seen in the water. They could just distinguish him, but he had drifted +a long way out, and was making no effort to save himself. + +Digby very soon came to his senses, as did the boy he had so gallantly +rescued. No sooner did the latter open his eyes than he looked up and +exclaimed, "Oh, my father, my father; where is he?" He gazed with a +countenance expressive of the greatest fear towards the ocean. Then he +started up, and would have rushed back into the water, had not Marshall +and Digby prevented him. + +In the mean time, some more fishermen and other persons had assembled at +the scene of action. One of them was noted for being a first-rate +swimmer. He was somewhat of a rival, too, of Toby's, though they were +excellent friends. Fastening a rope round his waist, he plunged in and +swam out boldly and strongly amid the foaming breakers towards the +drowning man. When the rescued boy saw what he was doing, he was +immediately calm, and kneeling down on the sand, with uplifted hands, +regardless of the bystanders, was evidently praying. What mattered it +to him what others thought; the life of a beloved parent was in the +greatest extreme of danger. He saw clearly that no help which he could +afford him or could obtain would be of any avail, and thus wisely and +with right faith he sought it whence alone it could be given. + +The other boys stood around. Marshall joined his prayers to those of +the young stranger, that his father might be saved. Digby wished it, +and would have done anything to assist the struggling man; but how to +pray he knew not. It was a moment of awful suspense; he felt it so +himself. How must that kneeling boy have felt it! + +The brave fisherman--John Holmes was his name--swam on. He was joined +by Toby, and at the same time the cask was floated out. It was let go +at the light moment. The person struggling in the water saw it, and +endeavoured to reach it. Twice he was washed away far off from it. No +exclamation all the time was heard from the lips of his son. He gazed +intently on what was going forward. Sometimes he appeared to be about +to rise and rush towards the ocean; but he restrained himself, and +continued kneeling. A shriek, it was one of joy, escaped him when he +saw his father at length grasp hold of the cask. + +The two brave fishermen now swam up near him and assisted to hold him +on, while all three were hauled through the foaming surf towards the +rocks. + +Then, and not till then, did the young stranger rise from his knees, and +hurry on towards the spot where he believed his father was about to be +landed. + +Those in the water were, however, still exposed to a very great danger. +This was from the pieces of wreck which were dashing about in every +direction, and a blow from which might prove fatal. + +The boy hurried along over the slippery rocks. He got near enough to +see his father's countenance turned with eyes of affection towards him. +The son knew that he was recognised, and that his father was aware of +his safety. A piece of timber came dashing by. Had not the fishermen +been near him, it would have torn him from his hold. As it was, Holmes +received a severe blow which almost disabled him, but he held on, and in +another minute all three were in the grasp of the men collected on the +rock to assist them. + +The first impulse of the father and his son was to throw themselves into +each other's arms, and then the father knelt down and returned thanks to +Heaven for his preservation. + +While this episode in the fearful history of that shipwreck was going +forward, a hawser or stout rope had been carried from the stranded ship +to the shore. Several seamen worked their way along it, and readied the +rock in safety. Then another came, but a sea rolled by, and, sweeping +him from his hold, he was carried far away out of sight. + +The tide was rising, and rendering it more dangerous every moment to +those remaining on the wreck. This made the seamen hurry on along the +hawser. Dangerous was the transit, requiring a strong arm and firm +nerves. Another huge sea came rolling in. The already shattered vessel +could not withstand its force, and in a moment, as if it had been formed +of the most brittle materials, was shivered into a thousand fragments, +which came rolling on in tangled masses towards the shore. + +Most of the men, and two of the officers, had reached the rocks; but the +master and one of his mates, who had refused to leave the ship till all +had left her, with two or three of the men, still remained on board at +the moment she broke up. They were now seen struggling in the waves +among the broken masses of the wreck. + +In vain the brave fishermen dashed into the sea to save them. One after +the other, struck by pieces of timber, or spars, or floating packages, +were seen to go down without further efforts to save themselves. At +last, one only remained alive. On him all the interest of those on +shore was concentrated. + +"Our captain, our captain," cried some of the rescued crew; "oh, how can +we save him? how can we save him?" + +He seemed a fine old man, with a noble forehead and grey hair. He +reached a spar, and threw his arms over it. Thus supported, he lifted +himself out of the water, and looked calmly around, as if considering +how he might best reach the shore. The spar was sent rushing on towards +the beach. Many of his crew, all indeed who were uninjured, got ropes +ready to dash forward to his assistance. He seemed to observe the +efforts preparing to aid him. Digby was struck with the wonderful +calmness of the old man. Death and destruction on every side, he seemed +not for a moment to have lost his presence of mind. He fancied even +that he could see him smile, as the fishermen and his own people made a +rush towards him. It proved unsuccessful. He looked in no way +disconcerted. Another wave came on and carried him forward; now he +beckoned them to come to him; on they dashed. It was the work of a +moment. They seized him by the collar of his coat, and Digby saw that +they had him safely landed on the beach. Digby could not help running +forward and saying-- + +"I am very glad that you are saved, sir." + +"Thank you, my boy," answered the old master, "if I mistake not, you are +one of the lads who saved my young Haviland there. His father will +thank you, I know. I saw it all from the wreck. Nobly done, it was!" + +Digby felt highly pleased at being thus praised; not that he thought +that he had done any great thing after all. + +The master having thus expressed himself, called the rescued people +round him, and spoke a few words to them, telling them how thankful they +ought to be at being saved. When he looked round and missed so many of +his late shipmates, he dashed his hand across his eyes as if he felt +severely their loss. "God's will be done," he said, in a voice +trembling with agitation. It was clear that, though his nerves were +strong, his heart was tender. + +Mr Nugent, who had all along been attending to those who most required +his aid, now came forward and invited the gentleman who had been saved +and his son, as well as the old master, to his house. The chief +magistrate and other authorities of Osberton undertook to look after the +crew, while Toby and Holmes were appointed to take charge of the cargo +which might be washed on shore. + +Mr Haviland and his son, as well as Captain Burton, gladly accepted Mr +Nugent's invitation, greatly to the delight of the boys, who were eager +to know where the ship had come from, and how she had been wrecked. Mr +Nugent hurried them up to his house, where he had beds immediately made +ready for them, into which he insisted on their getting, although the +old captain protested that, for his part, he was not a bit the worse for +his ducking. + +That evening all the family, with the rescued strangers, were seated +round Mrs Nugent's tea-table. Mr Haviland seemed to be a very +gentlemanly person, and his son, Arthur, quickly won the regards of all +the party by his kind and gentle manners, his intelligence, and the +affectionate and dutiful way in which he treated his father. Captain +Burton was a fine old seaman; he had been so knocked about in the world, +and had met with so many adventures and mishaps, that he seemed to make +very light of the mere wreck of his ship, much as he grieved for the +loss of so many of his crew. + +"We seamen know well what we have to expect one day or other. We may +well be thankful when we are able to reach the shore alive in a +civilised land," he remarked; "sad is the fate of the poor fellows who +may be cast on a barren coast, or one inhabited by savages, cannibals +may be, who may knock them on the head as soon as they set foot on +shore. Now I hope in a few days to be at home with my wife and family, +and soon to forget all my misfortunes." + +The ship had come, he told them, from South America. Owing to the thick +weather, they had not made the land; though he knew that he was running +up channel, he was not aware how near the shore he was when he was +struck by the gale and dismasted. The ship in that condition, no +seamanship was of any avail to preserve her. + +The next morning he and his crew took their departure from Osberton, +after he had collected all the articles of his private property which +had come on shore. + +Mr Haviland gladly accepted Mr Nugent's invitation to remain some days +longer, that he might sufficiently recover his strength to enable him to +travel to London. Again and again he expressed his gratitude to Digby +for having rescued his son from the waves, and Arthur himself +endeavoured to show how much he felt, and how unable he was to repay +him. + +Mr Haviland was able to repay both Toby and Holmes, as well as the +other men, in a more substantial mode, for the gallant way in which they +had exerted themselves to save him. Remittances from London supplied +him amply with funds; and all those who had assisted on the occasion of +the wreck declared, that so liberal a gentleman had never before +appeared in their town. + + + +CHAPTER FIVE. + +SEA-SIDE SPORTS--TOBY TUBB'S NAVAL YARN--A PIC-NIC, AND WHAT OCCURRED AT +IT. + +"You must come and stay with us when we settle," said Arthur Haviland to +Digby, the morning on which the former, with his father, was to take his +departure from Mr Nugent's. "I am to go to school, but papa intends to +take a house to receive me in the holidays, when we shall expect you, +and then I will tell you more about the Brazils, and the wonders of +other parts of South America." + +Digby replied that if he could get leave he should be delighted to +accept the invitation for a part of the holidays. "I tell you that I +should not like to be away the whole time: I could not miss seeing my +dear little sister Kate, and Gusty and the rest at home, on any account. +I don't fancy that I should like to be anywhere so much as at home. +Oh, it is such a dear, jolly place. You must come to my home, Arthur, +some day, and then you'll see that I am right." Such were the terms on +which Digby and Arthur Haviland parted. + +Digby felt very sorry and quite out of spirits when his new friend had +gone. He liked Marshall, and Eastern, and Power, indeed all his +companions, very much, but there was something so gentle, and amiable, +and intelligent about Arthur; in many respects he was so different to +himself, that he had been insensibly attracted towards him. He had been +the means of saving Arthur's life, too, and though his friend was so +much older than himself, he ought to be his protector and guardian. "I +wish that we had been going to the same school," he said to himself; +"Arthur is just the sort of fellow the boys will be apt to bully. How +Julian would sneer at him and tease him. Even Power and Easton couldn't +help now and then having a laugh at his notions. How I should like to +stand up for him, and fight his battles. I'm not very big, but I would +not mind a thrashing for his sake." + +The summer was drawing to a conclusion, but still the weather was very +warm. One evening Mr Nugent had been called out to visit a sick +person. On his return he invited his pupils to accompany him to the +beach. + +"I have seldom seen the water so beautifully luminous as it is +to-night," he observed. "Bring two wide-mouthed bottles, my +naturalist's water nets, and a long pole, and we will go and fish for +night shiners." + +Digby was puzzled to know what his uncle meant. The nets which Marshall +produced were in shape like a landing-net, but smaller and lighter--fine +gauze being used instead of the twine net. It was a dark night, and the +party stumbled along over the not very well-paved streets of the little +town till they reached the water. Great was Digby's surprise to see the +whole ocean covered with glowing flashes; while, as the gently rippling +wavelets came rolling in, a line of light was playing over them, and as +they reached the shore it broke into still greater brilliancy, leaving, +as they retired, thousands of shining sparkles glittering on the smooth +beach. + +"What is it?" he exclaimed, after gazing for some time in mute +astonishment. "What has come over the ocean?" + +"A mass of phosphorescent creatures," answered his uncle. "We will go +to the deep pool (this was a quiet little bay close at hand). We shall +then be able to fish up a supply for examination." + +On reaching the pool all at first appeared dark, but Mr Nugent and +Marshall stooping down, swept the surface with their nets, when wherever +they touched the water, it glowed with the most brilliant flashes. +Having filled the bottles, they lifted the water up in the nets, when it +looked as if they had got in them a lump of the most glittering gold, or +a mass of molten lead. A still more beautiful appearance was produced +when they threw the water up in the air and it came down in glittering +showers, like the dropping stars from a firework. + +"Glorious! beautiful!" shouted Digby; "I did not think the sea could +produce anything so fine." + +Then they stirred the water about with a long pole, till the whole pool, +which had been in tranquillity so dark, became like a caldron of boiling +metal. After amusing themselves with the variety of effects to be +produced, the party returned homeward. + +"What is the use of all that shining stuff, now, I wonder?" said Digby. + +"I am glad to hear you ask the question," replied his uncle. "That +shining stuff is called the phosphorescence of the ocean. It is +composed of numberless minute animals, each not larger than a pin's +head. Through a microscope we should see that all parts of the animal +shine, but at different times. It emits, as it were, sparks, now from +one part of its body, now from another. It is a very beautiful object, +especially in southern latitudes, and that alone may account for its +creation; just as birds with gay plumage, and flowers of varied hues and +sweet scents, were formed for the benefit of man. It wonderfully +relieves, also, on a dark night, the obscurity of the ocean, and its +light is so great during storms that it enables seamen the better to +perform the duties of the ship. Of one thing you may be certain, that +nothing is created in nature without a very adequate object." + +On reaching home, Mr Nugent got out his microscope, and exhibited to +Digby the wonders of the creatures they had caught. Power had also +brought home a bucketful of water. It contained, among other creatures, +a little melon-shaped animal, which Mr Nugent turned into a glass +tumbler. It was smaller than a small hazel nut, of a transparent +consistency, and with bands down it like the divisions in a melon. +These bands, when the tumbler was shaded, glittered in the most +beautiful way, while the creature moved about in the water, now rising +to the surface, and now sinking almost to the bottom. When again +brought to the light, it was seen putting forth what Digby called its +fishing lines. These, when it was on the surface, reached to the +bottom, and were evidently employed for the object Digby supposed. + +"This beautiful little creature is called a Cydippe or Beroe," observed +Mr Nugent. "Those bands are denominated cilia. See, they are like +little paddles. They are the means by which the animal moves. Now +look--he has turned his head down, and away he plunges to the bottom; +now he rises slowly, like a balloon. I doubt not that there is much +enjoyment even in that little mass of jelly. Wonderful are all God's +works. Who can measure the happiness which exists even in an atom." + +Digby became far more interested than, a few weeks before, he would have +thought possible. At the same time he did not take in all the remarks +his uncle and Marshall made. He would have found it impossible to +describe the curious marine animals they showed him. At the same time +the impression left on his mind was beneficial, as he in that way +learned to comprehend the fact of the existence of the numberless +wonders of nature, and to regard them with interest and respect. +Although he could not manage to recollect a single one of the hard names +he heard, he surely was better off than a person who remains ignorant +that even such things exist. + +The day after the Noctilucae had exhibited their brightness on the sea +in so remarkable a degree, a heavy gale sprung up and blew on the shore +for some hours with great violence. + +"I hope no other shipwreck happened last night," said Digby, as they got +up in the morning. + +"I hope not," answered Marshall. "We should have heard of it before +this. But if you will come down with me to the beach, by and by, we +shall find that other floating things have been wrecked, and that the +sea has cast them up in great numbers on the shore." + +As soon as lessons were over the boys set out. Digby was now quite +eager for anything of the sort. They had not gone far along the beach +when Marshall pounced on a dark-looking mass, which he put into his jar. + +"What nasty thing is that?" exclaimed Digby, looking at it with disgust. + +"Nasty! no; it is a magnificent Holothuria, or sea-cucumber. Toby would +call it a sea-pudding. It will look very different when it is in my +vivarium, let me tell you. It now looks like a great bag, but the +outside of that bag is covered with numbers of suckers, by which it is +able to crawl about at a rapid rate; while in the inside are its head +and intestines, and all its fishing apparatus." + +"I should like to see it in full action," said Digby. "But I say, +Marshall, what are all those lumps of jelly? Are they good to eat? +They look as if they would be, boiled a little, perhaps." + +Marshall laughed heartily. "I doubt if even the Chinese attempt to eat +them. If they do, they must eat them raw, for even in the air they very +soon dissolve. Those are Medusae, or jelly-fish, or sea-nettles. The +first English name they obtain from their appearance, the second on +account of the property they possess of stinging; and that you would +soon discover if, when you were bathing, one of them got his long arms +round you." + +"Arms, surely they have not got arms?" said Digby. + +"Indeed they have, and very long arms, too, with which they can catch +all sorts of prey. They have mouths and all internal arrangements, and, +soft and gelatinous as they appear, they can consume animals of a much +higher organisation than themselves. You would not suppose that they +could gobble up crabs, yet they can do so without the slightest +difficulty. They have also the property of giving forth light. You may +see them by thousands floating about near the surface of the water, in +shape like small umbrellas, and moving up and down just as if a heart +beat beneath. You will find them often in the river when the flood-tide +is coming in; and when we go on our trawling expedition we shall see +numbers of them." + +Digby, notwithstanding what Marshall had told him, had not quite made up +his mind about them; and as he had brought a basket in which to carry +curiosities, he put several of them into it. + +"Ah, here are some of the things I admire," exclaimed Digby, picking up +a star-fish. "They are curious." + +"Not more so than many others," answered Marshall. "Yet I agree with +you, that they are very curious indeed. You would not suppose that they +can crawl along at the bottom of the sea at a considerable rate, and +that they are the most voracious of marine animals. They have a big +mouth in the centre of the lower side; and those star-like arms supply +them with food. They progress by means of suckers, with which the whole +of the lower part of their bodies is covered. They are the scavengers +of the ocean; and it is wonderful the amount of animal food they can +consume, which would otherwise tend to putrefy the ocean itself. +Another curious circumstance about them is, that when one or more of +their rays are broken off, fresh ones are produced; indeed, I have seen +it stated in print that a single ray has produced the mouth and the +other rays, and then that the old ray has fallen off, and that a new +star-fish, in its perfect proportions, has been thus reformed." + +"I dare say what you tell me is all true," said Digby; "but it is very +hard to believe." + +"I am only telling you what I have heard from others, though I have +observed some of the facts myself," answered Marshall. "See, now; what +do you call that?" he added, holding up a very perfect Echinus. + +"A sea-egg, of course," answered Digby. "But I own that it has always +puzzled me how any fish can manage to lay an egg covered with spines." + +"It is not an egg at all; it is much more properly called a sea-urchin +or a sea-hedgehog. It is allied to the star-fish. By means of these +spines it can move about with great ease; they serve also as its +protection. The covering is most curious: it is composed of several +hundred pentagonal plates. By a process going on continually from the +inside, each one of these plates is enlarged by a fresh deposit; and +thus, without altering their shape, the animal, as it grows, has its +coat of armour growing also." + +"Well, Marshall, I must say that you spin wonderful yarns, as Toby Tubb +would say, about all these things. I suppose that they are all true; +but they do sometimes make me open my eyes." + +"Depend on it they are all true. Mr Nugent can tell still more +wonderful ones," answered Marshall. "The more we examine the +productions of nature the more wonderful things we shall discover. +There is no doubt, also, that--" + +"I dare say not," said Digby, yawning. "But do you know, Marshall, +that, somehow or other, I would rather sometimes hear old Toby spin one +of his yarns than listen to my uncle's lectures on natural history. +They are all very well in their way when one is in the humour for them, +but, just now, I am rather inclined for a brisk walk; and, thinking of +Toby, I say, I wish that we could get him to tell us how the ship he was +on board of attacked I don't know how many Frenchmen, or some other of +our enemies, and took one of them in sight of their own port. He was +telling Easton all about it one day. Perhaps he will not feel inclined +to tell it again." + +Marshall laughed at the idea of an old sailor _not_ liking to spin a +yarn a second time, when the chances were in favour of his having +already spun it many hundred times. He took the hint, also, about the +lectures on natural history, and said nothing more to Digby on the +subject. He well knew that if he was to attempt to cram it down his +throat, Digby would be very likely to take a disgust to it, and +obstinately set his face against all branches of natural history. He +promised, moreover, to try and get Toby to spin the yarn in which Easton +had been so much interested. + +The next Saturday half-holiday was very lovely, and all Mr Nugent's +pupils agreed to make a boating excursion up the river as far as they +could go, and to dine in pic-nic fashion at the end of the voyage. + +"We must try and get Toby Tubb to spin his yarn," observed Digby, as +they were starting. + +Mrs Nugent had supplied them with some cold provisions; and they took +potatoes to cook, and tea and sugar; and they hoped to catch some fish, +which would be a great addition to their fare. However, they were +fortunately independent of the fish, which sometimes obstinately refuse +to be caught. + +Power, however, who had great confidence in his own success as a +fisherman, wanted the rest to leave a cold veal pie behind, assuring +them that he would take care that they had an ample supply of +salmon-peel, and bass, and flounders, which he promised to catch and +cook for them. + +"That is all very well," said Marshall; "but I vote that we take the +pie, and then we can be eating that while Power is dining on the fish +which he has not yet caught." + +"Now, do you, Toby, take the helm, and we will row," said Marshall, +seating himself ready to pull the stroke oar. + +Digby jumped in next him, for he knew that he was about to fulfil his +promise, to get Toby to spin a yarn. + +All took their seats, up went the oars. "Give way!" sung out Toby. The +oars came with a simultaneous flop into the water, and the young crew +bending to them, the boat glided swiftly and steadily over the smooth +surface. The scenery for some distance was very beautiful: there were +high cliffs, broken and fantastic in shape, with here and there openings +through which green fields, and woods, and cottages could be seen, and +deep bays and inlets, and, further off, downs, or heather land, on which +sheep or cattle were feeding. The sky was blue, the air was fresh and +pure; all were enjoying themselves, though they could not perhaps tell +why. + +"Try old Toby now," whispered Digby into Marshall's ear. + +Marshall began in a diplomatic way. "Now, Toby," he said, "while we are +pulling and cannot talk much, it seems a pity that you should not be +telling us something we should like to hear. You have been in a battle +or two, I dare say; perhaps fought with double your numbers, and came +off victorious, as I have heard of British seamen doing more than once." + +"I believe you, Master Marshall," interrupted Toby. "I have been in a +battle when we had three to one against us, and still we thrashed them. +I'll tell you how it was. I belonged, in those days, to the _Spartan_, +a smart frigate of thirty-eight guns, and a first-rate dashing officer, +Captain Jahleel Brenton, commanded her. We were in the Mediterranean in +the year 1810. Many were the things we did which we had a right to talk +about. It was about the end of April we were cruising in company with +the _Success_ frigate, Captain Mitford, and the sloop _Espoir_, when, +standing in for the Castle of Terrecino, on the Italian coast, we made +out a ship, three barques, and several feluccas, at anchor under shelter +of the guns of that fort. Our captain, as soon as he saw them, +determined to have them; so as he was commodore, do you see, he ordered +away the boats of the squadron to cut them out. I was not a little +pleased to find myself in one of the _Spartan's_ boats. The whole +expedition was commanded by Lieutenant Baumgart, of the _Spartan_; and +we had with us another brave officer, Lieutenant George Sartorius, of +the _Sirius_. + +"We rendezvoused on board the _Spartan_, and soon after noon pulled in +for the castle, covered by the fire of the squadron, which opened a +brisk cannonade on the town and batteries. The enemy were not idle, and +the shot were flying pretty thick about us, but that did not stop our +way. + +"`There's the ship, my boys, and we must have her, and the barques too, +if we can,' sung out our lieutenant; and on we dashed, with a loud +cheer, towards her. + +"Round-shot and bullets came rattling about our heads, but they didn't +stop our way more than would a shower of hail. Away we pulled, maybe a +bit faster, to get through them the quicker. In a quarter less no time +we were alongside the ship, which mounted six guns, scrambling up her +sides, knocking everybody who opposed us on the head--not that all +stopped for that, seeing that many leaped into their boats as soon as we +gained the deck, and pulled away for the shore. The rest, however, made +a tough fight of it before they knocked under. To cut the cables and to +let fall the topsails and sheet home was the work of a few moments only, +and we were under weigh almost before the enemy had turned the guns of +the castle on us. + +"The other boats, meantime, divided the barques among them, and, +attacking them altogether, drove their crews into the water, and, +cutting their cables, made sail after us. We lost only one man killed +and two wounded in the whole affair, and carried all four vessels off in +safety. + +"That's what we call a cutting-out expedition. There's nothing we used +to like better. They were generally pretty sharp slap-dash affairs; no +shilly-shallying, and counting what was dangerous and what was not; but +it was pull in, jump aboard, and we were out again with the prizes +before the enemy had time to find out what we were about. But that +wasn't what I was going to tell you about. + +"Soon after this, our squadron was cruising off the Bay of Naples--not +all, by the by, the Espoir had been sent away somewhere, and we had only +the _Spartan_, that was our ship, and the Success. Well, we made out, +under weigh in the Bay, two ships, a brig and a cutter. Not many +moments had gone by before we had crowded all sail in chase. It was a +French squadron we saw, but they didn't like our looks, so they put +about and stood towards Naples, we following them almost up to the Mole. +That was on the first of May. The next morning at daylight we saw our +friends at anchor, but they seemed in no way inclined to come out and +fight us. + +"`Perhaps if they see one of us alone they may come out and take a taste +of our quality,' says our captain; so he sent off the Success to wait +for us about eight leagues from the island of Capri, thinking that the +Frenchmen would then, without doubt, venture out to attack us. + +"In the meantime, the French General who had command at Naples, Prince +Murat, had formed a plan to capture us. His French squadron consisted +of a 42-gun frigate, the _Ceres_; a 28-gun corvette, the _Fama_; an +8-gun brig, the _Sparviere_; and a cutter, mounting 10 guns; but besides +these there were seven gunboats at least, each with one long 18-pounder +and 40 men. General Murat had also embarked four hundred Swiss troops +on board the ships, so that they had altogether 95 guns and 1,400 men, +while we had only 38 guns and about 260 men. [Note.] We didn't mind +the odds against us, all we thought of was how we could take the enemy. +They made sure, however, it seems, with the great odds in their favour, +on the other hand, do ye see, of taking us; but we sung, with some right +to sing it, too:-- + + "Hearts of oak are our ships, + Jolly tars are our men; + We always are ready, + Then steady, boys, steady, + We'll fight, and we'll conquer again and again." + +"All we were anxious for was the moment to begin. At last, before +sunrise, on the third day after we had first made them out, which, do +you see, was the 3rd of May, 1810, we got a slant of wind from the +South-east, though it was very light, and we, being well to the +southward, stood under easy sail into the Bay of Naples. + +"Well, we were keeping a bright look-out for the enemy, and just at +daybreak we made them out about six miles ahead, standing out from the +Mole of Naples, and just between the island of Capri and the mainland. +We were on the starboard tack, and they were on the larboard, or what we +now call the port tack, remember." + +"What do you mean by the starboard and port tacks?" asked Digby, who was +much interested in the details of the account, and wanted to understand +it. + +"Why, you see, the two lower corners of square sails have ropes to them +called tacks and sheets. The tacks haul the corners of the sail down to +the fore part of the ship, and the sheets to the after part. If the +tack is hauled down on the starboard side, the sheet is of course on the +other side, or to leeward, and the ship is then said to be on the +starboard tack. So you'll know if the wind strikes the starboard side, +the ship is on the starboard tack, or, if it comes on the other side, +she's on the port or larboard tack." + +"Thank you," answered Digby; "I know now, I think. But go on; it's very +interesting." + +"I vote that no one interrupts to ask questions," exclaimed Power. +"When the story is done we'll all fire away as much as we like. Won't +that be best, Toby?" + +Toby seemed to be of Power's opinion, so the motion was agreed to _nem +con_. + +"Where was we?" began Toby, having been slightly put out, as even the +best story-tellers are when interrupted. "Let's see. Oh, I know, +standing in towards the Bay of Naples, to meet the French squadron. We +were on the starboard tack; they were on the opposite one. There's a +picture been done of the fight. It always does my old heart good to +look at it; because, do ye see, it's not like some pictures of battles-- +it's true. An officer, an old shipmate, gave it me, and so I had it put +in a frame, with a glass over it, and hung up in my cottage. + +"There we were, do ye see, the three French ships and we, drawing nearer +and nearer to each other on opposite tacks. The Frenchmen followed each +other in line, the _Ceres_ leading, followed by the _Fama_ and +_Sparviere_, with the wind abeam. Instead, however, of keeping close +together, as they ought to have done, they were some distance from each +other. The light wind was thus all in our favour, as I'll make you +understand. At last the _Ceres_ clewed up her courses, and we did the +same, and right glad we were to do it. + +"Now, remember, that the Frenchman's decks were crowded with troops, +poor Swiss fellows, who had no wish naturally to hurt us any more than +we had to hurt them. + +"`Now, lads, all hands lie down at their quarters. We shall be having a +pretty hot shower of musketry among us before many minutes are over, and +it will be just as well to let it pass over our heads,' sung out our +captain. All the time, though, he did not lie down, nor did some of the +officers; but of course all the people did as they were ordered, except +the men at the helm. It was close upon eight o'clock, when we were +within pistol-shot of the _Ceres_, that she opened her fire on us. +Still we lay quiet. Now, do ye see, all our guns on the main deck were +treble shotted. + +"Our captain calmly waited, eyeing the enemy till every one of our guns +bore on him. `Up, boys, and fire away!' he shouted. Didn't we just +spring to our feet and blaze away like fury. What shrieks and cries +rose from the Frenchman's decks. Our shot mowed down the troops like +corn-stalks before the sickle, besides killing numbers of the crew. The +soldiers were drawn up all ready for boarding, but our captain was too +wise to let them do that. As we were going little more than two knots +through the water, we had plenty of time to load again, and to give the +second Frenchman, the _Fama_, the same taste of our quality. Numbers +were killed and wounded aboard her, and then, loading once more, we +continued our course and fired into the brig. We had still the gunboats +to talk to. They were not to be despised, and, as it proved, they were +the worst enemies we had. As we approached them we fired our headmost +starboard guns at them, and then, going about, let fly our whole +larboard broadside, which we had again got ready for their amusement. +They returned it with interest, though, and we lost many men from the +shot of their long guns, while most of our masts and spars were likewise +wounded. As we went about our starboard broadside was not idle, and we +kept peppering away at the brigs and the two ships ahead of us. Well, +the French commodore ought to have steered for the gunboats, but instead +of that he wore round and stood away for Baia, on the north side of the +Bay, where there were some batteries. We wore after him. Our captain +had taken his stand on the capstan head, that he might have a clear view +of everything, and a fine sight it was to see him standing up there +undaunted, while the round-shot and musket-balls were flying thick +around his head. `Ay, he's the right sort of stuff, that skipper of +ours,' said my messmate, Bill Simmonds. `If we don't take one or more +of those Frenchmen I'm very much mistaken.' After we had got up to the +gunboats, and a large cutter there was among them, and hammered away at +them, the breeze fell, and left us surrounded with enemies. The _Ceres_ +lay ahead, with her starboard broadside turned towards us; and we had on +our port bow the corvette and brig, while the cutter and gunboats came +sweeping up astern, and pounding us pretty severely with their long +eighteen-pounders. In spite of our first success, it seemed just then +as if matters would go very hard with us. What was our sorrow, too, to +see our brave captain knocked off his post badly wounded. He was +carried below, for a grape-shot had hit him in the hip. Our first +lieutenant, Mr Willes, then took the command. How we did whistle for a +wind. Scarcely was our brave captain carried below before a light +breeze sprung up: and I can't tell you how our hearts beat with joy when +we found ourselves once more drawing near the French frigate. There we +soon were, on her starboard quarter, and on the starboard bow of the +corvette, so that our guns were able almost to rake them both at the +same time. We had, however, the brig peppering away at us on our +larboard quarter, while the cutter and gunboats, some of which were +astern and others on the starboard quarter, kept up a hot fire at us all +the time. The enemy, it seemed, however, had no wish to continue at +such close quarters, for as soon as the frigate's sails felt the breeze, +away she ran as fast as her legs could carry her, till she got under the +shelter of the batteries of Baia. We should have followed her, but our +rigging and sails had been so knocked about and riddled with shot that +for the best of all reasons we didn't--because we couldn't. We managed +to wear, however, and gave the frigate and corvette a parting benefit, +raking them fore and aft with our starboard guns, and knocking away the +corvette's foretopmast. At the same time we poured our whole larboard +broadside into the brig. Hearty was the shout raised aboard us, when +down came her main-topmast, and, lowering her colours, she sung out for +mercy, lest we should give her a second dose of the same character. +Dropping a boat to take possession, we stood after the corvette, and +should have taken her, but the gunboats came up with their long sweeps, +and, in spite of a pretty severe fire we kept up at them, towed her in a +very spirited way out of action. As I was saying, we couldn't then +follow, or we'd have had her also, at least. Perhaps we might have had +the frigate, too. We hadn't given up all hopes of another prize, and +with a hearty good will we set to work to repair damages. We had +altogether been rather more than two hours pretty closely engaged with +the enemy. We'd lost by this time ten killed and twenty-two wounded. +Both our captain and first lieutenant were very severely hurt. When the +French frigate saw that we could not get up to her, she sneaked away +from Baia and stood back towards Naples. By the time we were put +somewhat to rights the sea-breeze set in, and so our captain ordered the +prize to be taken in tow, and away we stood, passing just in front of +Naples, before which the rest of the enemy had just dropped their +anchors. Whether they thought that we were going to fetch any of them +out I don't know. We heard afterwards that the French General, Prince +Murat, who called himself King of Naples, was watching all the time, +expecting to see his frigate tow us in; and you may be sure that he was +in a pretty great rage when he saw us carry off one of his ships +instead, as our prize, before his very nose. I've heard since that the +French, to excuse themselves, declared that our frigate was a _rase_, or +cut-down ship, and that we carried fifty heavy guns. You may read of +many gallant actions, young gentlemen, but I don't believe that you'll +ever hear tell of one better-fought battle. It showed the Frenchmen the +stuff we were made of, though they'd found that out pretty often before. +There's one thing you may depend on,--every victory gained helps to win +another. The enemy can't help expecting to be beaten, and you feel that +you've a fair prospect of winning the day. It's just the same thing, +take an old man's word for it, when you've got to fight with bad habits, +or vices, or sin of any sort, evil tempers, and evil propensities. Gain +one victory. Learn that you can conquer the foe, and the next time you +try you'll find that he gives way more easily than at first; but, if you +let him gain the victory, why 'tis you will go to the wall, faster and +faster each time, till he knocks you down altogether. But I was telling +you how the gallant _Spartan_ captured the _Sparviere_; and don't forget +to come and see the picture, which 'll show you all about it." + +The boys thanked Toby for his story, and all promised that they would go +and pay him a visit, and see the prints of the battle. I need not +repeat all the questions they asked him about it; how he liked having +the shot flying about his head, and seeing his shipmates knocked over +near him, and all that sort of thing. + +"As to the first, young gentlemen," he answered, "I can't say as how I +ever thought much about it; and as to the second, a man before he goes +into battle knows that it may be his lot, and so he makes up his mind to +it. When a man makes up his mind to a thing it is much easier to bear +it, let me tell you. Besides, very few men, when they once begin to +fight, think about anything else but the fighting." + +The conversation to which Toby's history led lasted the party till they +reached the place at which they intended to pic-nic. It had been +selected not so much because of its peculiar beauty, as on account of +the good fishing which Power expected to get there. He talked of +salmon-peel, and basse, and flounders, and plaice, all of which come up +salt-water rivers, and often venture into brackish waters. Power at +once set off to the spot where he intended to fish: it was on a bank +just below a mill-dam. The salt-water flowed in with the flood-tide, +and when the ebb made a strong current run out, which always kept open a +deep channel. Some shade-giving trees grew about, the turf was soft and +green, and, at a little distance, the cliffs turned inland, and formed a +ravine, in which stood the mill and the mill pond. Marshall and Easton +went off to botanise, and to search in the cliffs for geological +specimens and other subjects of natural history; while Digby and two +other boys accompanied Power with their rods. Ten minutes passed, and +all except Power began to make signs to each other expressive of +increasing hunger; but no sign was there of a fish. + +"Hurra!" he at last exclaimed; "I have a bite; I knew I should." His +float began to bob, and away it went down the stream. He gave his rod a +jerk. "I have him fast enough," he exclaimed. High he lifted his rod, +and up came a fish--but such a fish--a little, ugly, big-headed, +flat-snouted monster. + +"A miller's thumb!--a miller's thumb!" shouted the party, laughing +heartily. "What a fine dinner he will make for us," cried one. "I hope +you'll let us have something else, Power," said Digby. + +"Not unless you will all hold your tongues, and let me try again, for I +don't think any of you will catch anything," said Power. + +Just then Toby arrived, with a stick and line. He held up the poor +bull-head with a comical look, and pretended to let it drop down his +throat--a proceeding which he would have found very unpleasant as +besides its large head its back was armed with a row of sharp spines. +"We call this a sea-scorpion, or sea-toad, and some call it a +father-lasher, because he is supposed to be so wicked that he would beat +even his own father," said Toby, putting back the fish with a pretence +of the greatest care into the basket. "Now, young gentlemen, I'll see +what I can do for the pot; it's on, and boiling, and only wants +something put into it. I'll make you some pebble-soup if we don't catch +any fish; but the fish will be best, I think." Toby, on this, went a +little lower down the creek, and taking his seat on the bank, let his +line drop into the water, throwing in, every now and then, some ground +bait. Before long, he pulled out a shining silvery little fish, of most +graceful form; another and another followed in rapid succession. + +Digby, who had caught nothing, went up to him. "Why, Toby, what are +those pretty little fish? I should like to have some of them," he +observed. "How do you catch them?" + +"I'll show you if you'll sit down and try," answered Toby. "You've +caught no fish because you've been wandering about from place to place, +and not taking advantage of the experience you have got with your first +trials. If one depth won't do, raise or lower your float; if one bait +don't do, try another; and the same with your hook, if you find that you +get bites and don't catch anything. Perseverance is the thing. I +generally can tell how a lad is likely to get on in life by the way I +see him fish. You'll excuse my freedom, Master Digby; I like to say +what I think will be likely to be useful to you." + +Digby thanked Toby, though he did not quite see the drift of his +reasoning. He, however, put on a very small hook, and watched how he +caught the smelts; and, in a short time, he had pulled up nearly a +dozen. He might have captured more, but turning his head up the stream +he saw that Power was hauling some big fish out of the water, and he +could not resist the temptation of running off to see what it was. + +"Help! help! Here, the landing-net, the landing-net," shouted Power. +"I've a conger, a conger; there's no doubt about it." + +The conger-eel, which occasionally comes up salt-water rivers, is a +ferocious fish, with powerful jaws. This was of good size, and +struggled so violently, that Digby was afraid of losing hook, and net, +and line. The other young fishermen had gone to a little distance, and +were busily engaged in hauling in some captives which their skill had +taken. Digby, in his eagerness, leaned over so far with the net that, +just as he had got the conger into it, he lost his balance, and in he +went heels over head. Power nearly followed. The conger got entangled +in the net; and Digby's first impulse, as his head came above water, was +to grapple hold of the fish. This he did most effectually, and a +tremendous struggle commenced; the conger trying to bite Digby, and +Digby determined not to let him go. Power's feelings were divided +between his anxiety for Digby's safety and his wish not to lose his +captive. His shouts called Marshall and Easton, who were not far off. +"Haul him out, haul him out!" he cried, lustily. "He'll make a +magnificent dish." + +"Which?" asked Marshall, laughing, "Digby or the fish?" + +"Digby, Digby," answered Power, really thinking that he was in danger. + +"No, no," cried Digby, "I won't be cooked. Get out the fish first. +He's half mine, though, for I helped to catch him." + +The conger was wriggling about all the time, and Power was making every +effort to keep his head away from Digby, whom the fish had apparently a +strong wish to bite. Between all parties there was a tremendous amount +of laughing, and shouting, and splashing. At last Marshall got hold of +Digby's collar, and out he pulled him, still grasping the net and the +fish. + +"Don't let us go till you have got us well up from the water," exclaimed +Digby, panting with his exertions. "If you do, the beast may be getting +away, and escape us after all." + +His caution was not unnecessary, for, breaking from the hook, no sooner +was Digby's grasp off him than away he wriggled at a great rate towards +the water. It was no easy matter to catch him, for he turned round with +his savage head and made desperate bites at the lads, who were in hot +pursuit of him. + +"Oh, stop him!" shouted Digby, almost crying in his agitation. "Oh, +he'll be off,--he'll be off!" + +Nearer and nearer the water he wriggled; with a hook in his mouth, and +the mauling he had got, he was not likely to find much pleasure in his +future career; still, life is dear even to fish. He was almost at the +edge of the bank, when Marshall seizing his geological hammer, which he +had thrown down to help Digby, with it dealt the poor conger such a blow +on the tail that in an instant it was paralysed, and though its jaws +moved a little, it no longer made an attempt to reach its native +element. + +It was now voted that dinner-time had arrived, or rather that it was +time to begin cooking the fish. Altogether a very good supply had been +caught: besides the smelt, Toby brought two grey mullets, a foot in +length; these, he said, were rarely caught with the hook, as they suck +in their food. They do not often eat living creatures, but grub down at +the bottom for offal or weeds. It is a very sagacious fish, and, when +enclosed by a net, always makes the greatest efforts to escape by +leaping over it, or by seeking for some opening. Only a very perfect +net will secure them. In some parts the fishermen form an inner line of +straw, or corks, and the mullets leaping over it, and finding themselves +still enclosed, do not make a second attempt till there is time to draw +them to the shore. + +Power had done even more than he had promised, for he had caught a +salmon-peel and three or four flounders, besides his conger; while the +rest of the party, who had gone to another spot, had caught some basse, +and some plaice, and other flat fish. The basse is like a freshwater +perch in some respects, but it is not so rounded, nor has it the bright +colours of the perch. The plaice and flounders were not very large. + +"What funny twisted-head fellows they are," observed Digby, as he handed +them to Toby to clean. "Well, it never did occur to me before I came +here what a vast number of curious animals of all sorts live in the +sea." + +"I believe, if people would look for them, they'd find as many in the +sea as on land," answered Toby. "Some of them are wonderful curious. +Just think of a big whale, and then of a little shrimp; and there are +thousands of things smaller than shrimps which live in the sea, and +quite as curious." + +What a frying, and broiling, and boiling of fish took place; everybody +was busy. Digby wanted, by the by, to remain in his wet clothes, but +Toby would not let him, but made him strip, and then hung them up on the +black rock, against which the sun was striking with full force. Here +they quickly dried, while he sat near the fire, the butt for his +companions' jokes. + +"Arrah, now," exclaimed Power, "would Mr and Mrs Heathcote ever +mistake you for their own eldest son and heir of all their virtues and +estates, if they were to come by and see you sitting for all the world +like a little Irish spalpeen or a gipsy boy, before his camp fire, +gutting fish?" + +"It's hard, Power, after I helped you to save the conger, to laugh at +me," said Digby. "He'll stick in your throat, depend on it." + +Had Digby seen himself in a glass he might have learnt one important +lesson, and discovered how very slight a difference there was between +him and the characters Power described. + +The cooking part of the pic-nic was very amusing, but the eating the +provisions was still pleasanter. Jokes and laughter ran high, and old +Toby told them some more of his stories, of which I have no record. +Altogether, they all agreed that they never had passed a pleasanter or +more amusing day. They had saved a very nice dish of fish for Mrs +Nugent; and in the cool of the evening they once more embarked, and +pulled back to Osberton. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Note. I have no doubt that old Toby's account is perfectly correct, +because it agrees with one just narrated to me by Admiral Saumarez, who +was a midshipman on board the _Spartan_. He was showing me some prints +of the action--one of the most spirited on record, and seldom has an +account of a sea fight been told me in a more graphic way. Toby's +narrative scarcely comes up to it, I fear. + + + +CHAPTER SIX. + +THE REAPPEARANCE OF DIGBY'S EVIL GENIUS--A TRAWLING EXPEDITION--HOW THE +GUNS OF THE OLD FORT WENT OFF. + +Digby was to all appearance getting on very well with Mr Nugent; a +watchful eye was upon him; he had steady companions, older than himself, +who were not inclined to lead him into temptation, while old Toby +contributed much to keep him out of harm's way. It may very well be +doubted whether this was the best sort of training for a lad of his +disposition and the style of life for which he was intended. He would +be called upon to mix with the world, to associate with all sorts of +people, and to go through the ordeal of a public school and college. +One important point was in his favour; his uncle was endeavouring to +instil into him good principles, and to make him love, and comprehend, +and follow the only light which could guide him on his onward path +through life--the Bible. Digby listened oftentimes earnestly, always +complaisantly, to what his uncle said to him, and thinking that +listening to what was good was of itself a virtuous act, he began to +fancy that he had grown into a reformed and very steady character. He +might not have found out his mistake, had not a new boy come to his +tutor's; his coming was spoken of some time before he made his +appearance. Who he could be was the question. At length a carriage +drove up to the door, and out of it stepped Julian Langley. + +"Ah, Digby, how de ye do, how de ye do?" exclaimed Julian in an affected +way, putting out his hand. "Introduce me to your friends. We are to be +companions for some time, I'm told, so we may as well become intimate at +once." + +Digby welcomed his old friend, and mentioned his name, but Easton and +the other boys could not resist imitating his affected way of talking. + +"How de ye do, how de ye do, Langley?" they exclaimed, laughing; while +Marshall turned away, somewhat disgusted with the little jackanapes as +he called him. + +Julian, however, soon made himself at home. He had never held Digby in +very high estimation, simply because he found that he could so easily +lead him, and he therefore fancied that he should have a good right to +look down upon his new companions. His reasoning was not very sound, +and they were in no way inclined to be looked down upon. On the +contrary, though they were all well disposed to treat him civilly, they +showed no disposition to allow him to become very intimate with them. +Marshall, indeed, very soon let him know what he thought of him, but it +took a great deal to make Master Julian in any way dissatisfied with +himself, or any of his belongings, or anything that he had done. It +appeared unfortunate for Digby that Julian Langley should have been sent +to Mr Nugent's. Mr Langley finding at last that his son was getting +into mischief at home, and hearing that his friend Heathcote had sent +his boy to Mr Nugent, wrote to ask if he would take charge of him. Mr +Nugent only knew that he was a friend of his brother-in-law, and without +making any inquiries as to the character of the boy, at once agreed to +receive him under his roof. One afternoon, a few days after Julian's +arrival, Mr Nugent announced that he had engaged a vessel for the +following morning, and that he hoped the long talked-of trawling +expedition would at length take place. The weather was fine, the sea +was smooth, and there appeared every prospect of their enjoying a +pleasant day. + +"I don't think that you have been much on the water, Julian," said +Digby. "I wonder how you will like it." + +"Very much, as you all seem to do," answered Julian, superciliously. +"You don't suppose that I should be afraid of the water?" + +"Not afraid of it exactly; but it makes people who are not often on it +feel very queer, I know," observed Digby. + +"It might such a fellow as you," replied Julian, who never lost an +opportunity of showing how superior he thought himself to Digby. "I'll +tell you what though, I should take very good care that it doesn't upset +me. I'm above that sort of thing." + +Had Marshall, or Easton, or Power overheard him, how they would have +laughed at the nonsense he was talking. All the evening Mr Nugent and +Marshal were preparing the jars, and bottles, and boxes for preserving +the specimens of marine zoology which they hoped to dredge up. The next +morning proved as bright and beautiful as it had promised to be, and a +very merry party embarked on board the Mermaid, a cutter of thirty tons, +with a crew of six men besides Toby Tubb, who went as master. The +fishing ground selected for the day was about four miles off the mouth +of the harbour, and they had a fair though a light breeze to take them +there. + +"It may at first appear strange that one spot of ground should be +suitable for trawling and not another," observed Mr Nugent, as they +sailed away from the shore. "There are several reasons for this. One +is, that the flat fish which are to be caught feed only among certain +weeds, to which their prey is attached, or among which they live; then, +again, the trawl cannot be used over rough and rocky ground. Trawlers, +therefore, generally drag their nets over smooth and shallow spots, +where there is little chance of their being lost. They of course also +prefer shallow places, where the net has not so far to descend. Besides +the trawl-net, I am going to use a dredge, with which I hope to bring up +shells and various specimens of marine zoology, which might be spoilt in +the net." + +Mr Nugent's dredge was a canvas bag, stretched on an oblong iron frame, +with iron plates attached to it to serve as scrapers. Drawn along the +bottom, as he explained, shells, and crabs, and other slow-moving +animals were easily swept into it. + +The trawl-net Digby examined with some curiosity. One end was stretched +along a stout beam, with small but heavy iron triangles at each end. +Just above the beam is a long bag, into which whatever the beam stirs up +is forced. Fish, when touched by the beam, dart into the net, thinking +that it is the way out, and soon get entangled in its meshes. Ropes are +attached to each end of the beam, and they serve also to keep the well +part of the net stretched upwards, and at the same time leaning +forwards. Toby showed him exactly how it would work when it got to the +bottom. + +Julian looked on with a supercilious air, as if such matters were +entirely beneath his notice. + +"You little think, young gentlemen, of the immense number of vessels +engaged in this work. There are some firms which own from a hundred and +fifty to two hundred vessels, all more than twice the size of this one. +Each vessel carries a hundred men, and they fish in fleets, from twenty +to two hundred miles off the coast. Some go to the mouth of the Texel, +and they remain out six weeks and two months together, fishing every +day. Vessels employed as carriers tiring them provisions, and ice in +which to pack their fish and carry them away. Little do you think, when +you are eating a piece of turbot, how far it has come, and what trouble +it has cost to bring it to you in a fresh state." + +By this time they reached the trawling-ground, and the great beam and +its net was cast overboard, and the two ropes which were fastened to it +were secured, one to the fore part and one to the after part of the +vessel. Her peak was lowered, as also was the throat. The tack was +triced up, the foresail hauled down, and a small jib only set. Thus, +under easy sail, she slowly dragged on her net. + +If there is any swell, a vessel feels it, thus partially anchored, much +more than when she is under weigh. This Julian discovered to his cost. +At first he was very proud of himself, as he walked about, and talked of +going into the navy. Now, however, he became very silent, and grew +yellower and yellower. + +Slowly and gently the little vessel moved to the heaving wave. + +"And that same voice which bade the Romans mark him, and write his +sayings in their books, cried, `Give me some drink, Titanus,' like a +sick girl--" said Marshall, who had been watching poor Julian with a +look in which there was very little commiseration. + +Julian said nothing, but he showed more and more of the white of his +eyes, and his lips curled in a very peculiar and ominous way. + +"Wouldn't you like to come to sea with me?" asked Easton. "It's a jolly +life fellows lead there. Plenty of fat pork and peas pudding." + +Julian shut his eyes, and would not reply, but his efforts to ward off +the evidence of the malady from which he was suffering were perfectly +fruitless. He had to rush to the side, and I need not describe what +followed. He threw himself down on the deck, looking the picture of woe +and wretchedness. Had he not already given himself so many airs, and +made himself so disagreeable, he would undoubtedly have obtained the +commiseration of his companions. As it was, no one except Digby pitied +him, and even he could not feel very sorry for his discomforts. +However, he went and sat down by him, and began to speak a few kind +words, but Julian received his attentions in so uncourteous a way that +he was not sorry to get up and watch the proceedings of the fishermen. + +The trawl had not been down an hour, when it was resolved to haul it up. +All hands were required for this, and everybody helped except Julian, +who declared that he was too ill to move. + +By slow degrees the ropes were hauled in, and at last the beam appeared, +and a considerable portion of the net. + +"Why, where are all the fish?" exclaimed Digby, who expected to see them +sticking about in the net. + +"Wait till we get the purse aboard, and then we'll see what we have +caught," remarked old Toby, leaning over to secure the mouth of the said +purse, or bag. "I see something big walloping about in it, at all +events." + +Now came the most exciting moment--to discover the results of the hour's +trawling. + +Fishermen do not always catch fish, but Mr Nugent was sure that +numberless living things would be brought up in which he would be +interested. + +"Now see what we've got! see what we've got!" shouted Marshall, with all +the enthusiasm of a naturalist; nor was Mr Nugent much less excited. + +Up came the purse, with a mass of living things floundering and +wriggling, and twisting about, with one huge monster in the centre. A +part of the deck was sunk for the purpose, and into it the whole living +mass was turned. + +"Well, it isn't often I've seen such a haul as this," exclaimed Toby; +"but take care, young gentlemen, that big fellow don't catch hold of any +of your fingers. He'd have them off in no time. We'll haul him up out +of that, or he'll be knocking all Mr Nugent's curiosities to pieces +with his tail." + +"What is it, what is it?" was the question asked by all. Even Mr +Nugent could not tell. + +The monster at which they were gazing was fully six feet long, almost +flat, of a dark brown colour, and a rough shark-like skin, with a huge +broad head, and very widely-extended side fins. + +Toby replied, "Some calls him an angel, and others a monk-fish, or a +flat shark; but to my mind he's very little of the angel about him, and +if he's a monk he's a very ugly monk, you'll all allow. He is very +strong. If you were to stand on him, master Digby, he would lift you +up." + +Digby did stand on him, and the huge fish gave a heave, and a snap with +his jaws which made him jump off at a great rate. + +"What, did you think the monk was going to leap overboard with you?" +exclaimed Power, laughing. + +"Indeed I did," answered Digby, "I'm sure he felt as if he would." + +Meantime Mr Nugent was examining the rest of the contents of the purse, +while the trawl, having been once more let down, was towing astern. + +Two large skates were hauled out, and Digby came aft to look at them. +They were perfectly flat, and had long thin tails, with spines on them, +their pectoral or side fins being very wide. "It would puzzle any one +to cut their heads off," he observed. + +"Why, Digby?" asked his uncle. + +"Because they have not the slightest approach to a neck," he answered. +"If I had to describe one, I should say that it was more like a toy-shop +kite than any other thing in shape. But I see there's something else +below all the seaweed and crabs, and other things. Stay, I'll get it +out." + +Mr Nugent was examining some of the living things he had picked out. + +Digby stooped down to get hold of what he saw, but very quickly drew +back his hand. "Some one has hit me on the arm," he exclaimed, "or I +have been stung, or something or other has happened. I cannot make out +what, but it's very disagreeable, that I know." + +"Let me see," said Mr Nugent, taking the boat-hook and clearing away +the weeds and mud. "Ah, we are indeed fortunate. We have caught a fine +specimen of a somewhat rare fish. It is the torpedo, or electric ray. +See, the body forms an almost circular disc; the tail, too, is much +shorter than that possessed by the other skate we have got. You may +well say that it has no neck. It gave you, Digby, the shock you +complained of. We will examine its galvanic apparatus. We shall find +it on either side, consisting of a number of tubes, having much the +appearance of a honeycomb. Its peculiar property is given to it that it +may benumb its prey, and, perhaps, digest it more easily. Animals +killed by lightning more quickly decompose than those destroyed in other +ways, and they do not grow stiff. This electric skate can emit the very +same substance as lightning, and though a very small quantity entered +into your body, it caused you some pain. When in the water, possessed +of all its vigour, it may be supposed that it can very easily destroy +the smaller fry on which it feeds." + +"I am very glad that the brute hadn't its full vigour, for it has hurt +me considerably as it is," answered Digby. + +Besides the skates, the net had brought up half a dozen good soles and a +large supply of crabs of various sizes and descriptions, star-fish, +jelly-fish, shrimps, and other crustacea, all of which were examined by +Mr Nugent, and the best specimens transferred to his jars, and pots, +and bottles. There were some hermit crabs among them, who had taken +possession of various shells, but one or two unfortunate fellows had +been caught while in the act of changing their homes, and had no +covering for their nakedness. The head and shoulders were like those of +a lobster, but the lower extremities were perfectly soft. + +Mr Nugent explained how they have to look out for an unoccupied shell, +or perhaps eat up the occupant, and then wriggle in their own tails. + +The hermit crab grows bigger, but the shell does not, so, when he feels +his tail pinched, he has to look out for a larger home. It is amusing +to watch him crawling along, examining shell after shell, till he has +discovered one to his satisfaction. Then, when he has ascertained that +it is unoccupied, he whisks his tail out of one and as rapidly pops it +into the new one. + +Mr Nugent pointed out that one claw was much larger than the other, and +he showed how, when the hermit wishes to withdraw itself into its shell, +he can perfectly coil himself away by doubling up the little claw and +closing the larger one over it. + +Digby was really much interested in the number of star-fish, and shells, +and sea-weeds, and many other things, about which his uncle did not +think it wise to enter on long explanations to him. + +With the next haul of the trawl they were not nearly so successful, +giving them an idea of the precarious nature of the fisherman's calling; +while in the third there was scarcely a fish, but Mr Nugent pronounced +it more prolific than any of the former ones to him. + +It was now time to return home. The net was thoroughly washed, and then +triced up in the rigging, while the beam was lashed alongside. + +Julian had begun to recover, but he was very unlike himself, and not at +all inclined to talk and boast; indeed, Power remarked that he had never +seen him so agreeable since he had come to Osberton. + +Digby had been examining the crustacea with grave attention, the +lobsters, crabs, and shrimps, when, lifting up one, he exclaimed, "It's +very odd; I always thought they were red. How is it, uncle, that these +are black?" + +A loud laugh from his companions was their reply to the question. + +"You are thinking of the lobsters you have seen brought to the table +cooked, and ready to be eaten," observed Mr Nugent. "But go on, Digby, +never be ashamed of asking questions, although, now and then, they may +bring down a laugh upon you. It would fare but ill with the poor crabs +and lobsters if they were not black, or rather of the colour of the +rocks and weeds among which they live. Their colour thus enables them +to escape detection from the sharp-sighted fish, which are constantly +swimming rapidly about in search of them, and, in spite of their +coats-of-mail, easily gobble them up. But I was going to show you this +little pea-crab, Pinnotheres. He is said to have established a +friendship with the inhabitant of a bivalve shell, the Pinna, or +Sea-wing. When he wants to go out in search of food, the Pinna opens +her shell, and lets him out. He, argus-eyed, watches the approach of +their mutual enemy, the Polypus, and instantly rushes back, and by his +return giving notice of danger, the shell closes, and both are safe. +Otherwise the Polypus might get one of his rays inside the Pinna, and +destroy its vitality in a moment, or he might touch the crab, and kill +it in the same way. When the pea-crab discovers a supply of food he +brings it to his friend, the Pinna, to be divided equally. I will not +vouch for the truth of this account; and I am afraid that Master +Pinnotheres has some more interested motive in his attachment, and may, +in the end, eat up his friend, the Pinna, out of house and home." + +This and many other interesting accounts Mr Nugent gave to his pupils +on the return trip. Sometimes he even won the attention of Julian, who +condescended to smile at his anecdotes. That young gentleman got a good +deal better by the time he reached the shore, but he was not himself all +the evening, and went fast asleep while Mr Nugent and his fellow-pupils +were examining some of the marine insects they had brought home in their +jars, through the microscope. + +Several days passed away, and, to all appearance, Julian had gained a +lesson from which he had profited, not to think so much of himself. He +had found out that others could be brisk and sprightly under +circumstances which made him dull and wretched, and that they also knew +a great deal more about all sorts of things than he did. To his +surprise he found that his tutor, and Marshall, and Power, knew even far +more about horses, and dogs, and game of all sorts, than he did. His +knowledge was confined to the limited range of his father's park, and to +such information as the grooms and gamekeepers had given him. They knew +where the various races came from, their habits in their wild state when +they were introduced into England, and they had read about sporting in +all parts of the world. He thus found himself instantly put down, as he +called it, when he began to talk in an authoritative way on what he had +been taught to consider the most important subjects for the attention of +a gentleman. + +Bad habits and erroneous notions are not without much difficulty +eradicated; and so Julian Langley very soon forgot the lesson he had +received, and began to think and act very much in his old way. "I say, +Digby, the way we have to go on here is horribly slow work," he observed +one day, when he and his old companion were alone. "Don't you think, +now, we could put each other up to some fun or other. I want to do +something to astonish the natives down here." + +Digby said he could not think of anything just then, but that he would +try. They were strolling along the beach; it was a fine autumn day, but +fresh. "I vote we have a run," said Digby. "It's cold." + +They ran on till they reached the old castle, of which I have before +spoken. Julian never liked running, so he proposed going in and sitting +down in a sunny sheltered spot under the walls. There were six or eight +cannon of large size mounted on very rotten honeycombed carriages in the +fort. They had not been fired within the memory of man, but they every +few years received a coat of paint, which prevented them turning into +rust; and a superannuated gunner from the Royal Artillery, with much +ceremony, cleaned them out of the stones and rubbish which the children +in the neighbourhood had thrown into them. Once upon a time they might +have proved very serviceable weapons for defending the entrance to the +harbour. + +"I say, Digby, what do you say to letting off one of those big fellows +one of these days? It would make a great row, and astonish people not a +little," exclaimed Julian, after eyeing the guns for some time. + +"We should get into a great row if we did, I suspect," answered Digby. +"I don't think that it would be worth while to try." + +"Oh, nonsense," said Julian. "I mean that no one should find out who +did it; that would be the great fun. We should hear people talking of +the explosion, and what it was, and how it could have happened, and all +that sort of thing, and we should be laughing in our sleeves all the +time. Oh, it would be rare fun. Besides, it is not going to do anybody +any harm, you know." + +It did not occur to either of the boys that it might do them a very +great deal of harm, and perhaps kill them. + +Digby was very soon won over to agree to Julian's proposal. It suited +his taste, and he also thought that it would be rare fun. How to carry +out their scheme was the question. Their great difficulty was to +procure gunpowder in sufficient quantities to load the gun without +leading suspicions on themselves. + +When mischief was to be done Julian was very acute, so indeed was Digby. +They agreed to buy half a pound at a time at different places; Julian +was to go to one place, Digby to another. They were both amply supplied +with money; and as Digby did not care very much for cakes, he generally +had some to spare. Julian was always ready, by the by, to borrow it of +him. Their plans were soon arranged. The event which was to astonish +the natives was to be brought about on as early a day as possible. +Instead of going home together they separated. Julian went to one shop, +Digby to another, to make their first purchase of gunpowder. +Fortunately for Digby, the master of the shop was absent, and a shop-boy +served him out the powder without asking any questions, merely +remarking, "I suppose you young gentlemen want to let off fireworks on +the fifth of November? This won't make many, though." Had the master +asked him, he would have answered probably, "Give me the powder, and +I'll pay you for it;" or he would have held his tongue, and perhaps by +his looks betrayed himself. + +Julian, meantime, went to the great shop of the place, where groceries, +hardware, ironmongery, and even chemical drugs, soaps, and perfumery, +were sold; indeed, it would have been difficult to point out what Mr +Simson did not sell. + +"What do you want all this gunpowder for, young gentleman?" asked Mr +Simson. + +"To make fireworks, to be sure," answered Julian, in an angry tone. "I +wonder you ask." + +"No offence, sir, but I like to know when young gentlemen get things of +a dangerous character that they will do no harm with them. I should +never forgive myself if I hadn't warned you, and you blew yourself up. +Remember, a spark falling into that paper of powder would kill any one +near, and, perhaps, set the house on fire. You are at Mr Nugent's, I +presume?" + +"Yes, I am," answered Julian, in an angry tone. "Is there anything else +you want to know?" + +"Oh, I beg pardon, young gentleman; I did not want to offend you," said +the kind-hearted Mr Simson. "You know that I cannot be too cautious +about these matters." + +"You can be too officious," growled Julian, as he left the shop. + +Digby and Julian met at Mr Nugent's door. They had now got a pound of +powder between them; but Julian said that was not nearly enough. + +The next day they would go again, and each to ask in the other's name +for another half pound. + +Julian walked boldly into Mr Simson's shop as if nothing had happened, +and said that one of his fellow-pupils wanted to manufacture some +fireworks, and begged to have another small quantity--half a pound would +not be too much. He got it; not, however, without creating some +suspicion in Mr Simson's mind that Mr Nugent would not approve of what +his pupils were about. This feeling was increased when, a day or two +afterwards, Digby appeared, and asked for another half pound. Three +half pounds were likewise procured from Mr Jones's small shop. Mr +Jones made some remarks, however, to Julian which, at first, rather +frightened him. + +"I suppose, sir, you wouldn't mind Mr Nugent knowing that you have all +that powder now, would you?" said the shopkeeper, eyeing him keenly; +"well, I didn't say that I was going to talk about it to him, and I hope +that I may have the pleasure of your custom." + +Julian assured Mr Jones that he would patronise him, and, with his +usual dignified air, strutted out of the shop. + +"I'll tell you what, Digby," said he, when the two fellow-pupils next +met, "we must not be in too great a hurry to fire the gun. If we do, we +shall be found out. Old Simson and that fellow Jones already smell a +rat, so we must be cautious; I'll tell you another thing, too, I've been +thinking, that it won't do to fire it by daytime, we should be seen by +somebody near the place and suspected. It will have much greater effect +if we let it off in the middle of the night. We can easily get out of +window and be back again in a few minutes. What say you? there will be +great fun in it." + +The spice of danger in the adventure had especial charms for Digby, and +without taking anything else into consideration, he willingly consented +to all Julian proposed. + +It is extraordinary how quiet and out of mischief this notable scheme of +the two young gentlemen kept them. They could think of nothing else. +Whenever they thought no one was observing them, they went together to +the old castle, and ascertained the best means of entering it and +escaping again over the ramparts. There was no great difficulty or +danger in doing that, even on a dark night. + +Three or four weeks passed away--The Holidays were approaching--They +could no longer resist their desire to make the attempt. + +"Digby," said Julian, as they were walking out together, "we must do it +to-night. It will be dark, but it is perfectly calm and dry. Are you +ready to do it?" + +Digby answered that he was. + +"Then to-night the affair shall come off," exclaimed Julian. "I've got +the rope we knotted all ready; I'll get it out of my box, and stow it +away under my bed. I wish the time was come; it will be glorious fun." + +How very demurely the two young gentlemen sat up that evening in the +drawing-room, and pretended to be busily reading, though their thoughts +were certainly not on their books; indeed, had Mr Nugent asked them +what they were reading about, they would have been puzzled to give a +satisfactory reply. + +At last bed-time came, and the whole family retired to their rooms. + +Mr Nugent made a practice of getting up early and never sat up late, +except in a case of necessity, when he had some work of importance to +finish. The boys, therefore, calculated that he would be asleep soon +after eleven. The house was a large one, the elder boys had, therefore, +rooms to themselves; but Julian and Digby slept in the same room on the +first floor, and their window looked into the garden. All these +circumstances were favourable to their design. Finding that there was a +bolt on the door, they secured it. They did not undress, but, having +put out their light, sat upon the foot of their beds whispering to each +other till they thought everybody would be asleep. They then relighted +their candle, and Julian, wetting some of their gunpowder, made a +compound well known by the name of a Vesuvius; this he did up in a piece +of paper. They then poured most of their powder into a +pocket-handkerchief. It was a mercy that they did not blow themselves +and indeed the house up. They stuffed their pockets full of paper, the +rest of the powder, and some old handkerchiefs. Julian had not +forgotten to provide a thick stick to serve as a rammer. The next thing +they did was to fasten one end of their knotted rope to a bar across +their window. + +"Now all's ready. Come along, Digby," exclaimed Julian. + +Digby descended first at the request of his companion, who wanted to +ascertain whether the rope was properly secured before he trusted +himself on it; finding it was safe, he followed. They looked about them +as if they had been young thieves, to ascertain that they were not +watched, and then crossing the lawn, they scrambled over a high wall, +and ran on as hard as they could go towards the old fort. + +It was close upon midnight when they reached the walls. They clambered +in, and having selected a gun which pointed down directly on the +harbour, they commenced the operation of loading. + +"We must put in the handkerchief and all," whispered Julian. + +This was done, taking care to allow the powder to escape sufficiently at +the upper side to communicate with the touch-hole. Then they rammed in +a quantity of paper. + +"Now let's have some shot," said Julian, "saw yesterday a pile of large +gravel-stones, they will do famously." + +Some gravel-stones, or rather some large lumps of flint were found and +rammed in, and the remainder of their paper was rammed in after them. +Never before, probably, had the old gun been so fully charged. The +nervous time was approaching. They filled the touch-hole with +gunpowder, and on the top of it Julian placed his Vesuvius. + +"We've got powder enough for another gun," said he, feeling in his +pockets; "haven't you more?" + +"Yes," answered Digby, "I've got enough to load a gun almost." + +So they poured nearly all that they had remaining into Julian's silk +pocket-handkerchief, and rammed it into another gun. They filled it up +with stones, and then rammed in what little paper they could collect, +and as that was not enough, Julian insisted on Digby's sacrificing his +pocket-handkerchief also. Digby did so without a murmur, though I do +not know what Mrs Barker or Mrs Carter would have said to the +proceeding. He filled up the touch-hole of that gun also, and placed a +Vesuvius over it. + +"Now's the time," whispered Julian. + +The church-clock began to toll forth slowly the hour of midnight. He +lighted a lucifer match, and in another moment had ignited the Vesuvius +of the gun they first loaded, while Digby taking a match lighted the +other. The damp gunpowder fizzed, and spluttered, and flamed up, +occasionally throwing a lurid glare over the interior of the fort, as +well as on their countenances. Julian's face looked very pale and +ghastly, for he already began to tremble for the consequences of what he +had done. Little did he suspect what those consequences were to prove. + +"We shall be seen if we stand here," he exclaimed, "let's get away, +Digby, as soon as we can." + +Digby thought the advice too good not to follow it, so they both +scampered off to one of the embrasures, and having just got within it +were about to jump down into the ditch, when a loud roar was heard, the +whole fort shook, a bright light burst forth, followed by a crashing and +clashing noise, as if heavy bits of metal were falling on the ground. + +"Oh, oh, oh!" cried Julian, in an agony of terror, "what shall we do?" + +"The cannon has burst," said Digby, calmly; "there's another to come, +though." + +It did not occur to either of them that they had just been mercifully +preserved from a most terrific danger. Digby looked out; the Vesuvius +on the other gun being somewhat wetter than the first was still fizzing +away. + +"Oh, come along," cried Julian, recovering somewhat from his fright; "we +must get home as fast as we can, or we shall be discovered to a +certainty. The coastguard men will be up here directly to see what is +the matter. Oh come along! come along!" + +Even then they thought that they heard footsteps approaching the fort. +They sprang out of the embrasure, and slid down the bank into the ditch. +Just as they were sliding down, off went the gun with as loud a noise +as the first, while the effects were no less disastrous; a lump of iron +flew directly through the embrasure where they had been sitting, and +just clearing their heads, fell at some distance beyond the ditch. +Digby remembered the circumstance many years afterwards, but it made but +a slight impression at the time. + +"We had a narrow escape," said Julian, as they reached the bottom of the +ditch; "it is lucky we were out of that hole, or we should have been +made to squeak out I suspect." + +They quickly clambered out of the ditch, and looking about to ascertain +that no one was observing them, ran on as fast as they could move. They +had already marked out the path they were to take, so they lost no time +in having to stop and consider which way they were to go. + +On they ran. Digby found no difficulty in keeping up the speed, but +Julian had never ran so fast in his life. They had to scramble through +several hedges and across several stubble fields. Julian's foot caught +in a trailing weed, and down he came on his nose. He cried out with +pain, but Digby helped him up again. + +"You can't be much hurt, I hope," said Digby; "let me help you along; we +must make haste, you know, or we shall be caught." + +"But I am very much hurt; my nose feels as if it was smashed in," +answered Julian, sulkily. "You don't care for that though, I suppose. +However, help me along; we must make haste I know." + +With Digby's aid he was once more in motion. Their great fear was that +they might be met by some one on his way to the fort to learn what had +occurred. They had nearly reached Mr Nugent's garden-wall, when they +thought they saw some one coming along. A deep ditch was near; Julian +jumped into it, dragging Digby after him. They were only just in time +to escape a person whose footsteps they heard passing by. Then up they +jumped again, and ran on till they reached the wall for which they were +aiming. They scrambled over it, and breathed more freely when they +found themselves concealed in the shrubbery. Great caution was +required, however, to get back into their room. + +"Suppose," whispered Digby, "some one should have come to our room, and +tried to awaken us, or found the rope hanging out of the window?" + +"Oh, don't let us think of such things," answered Julian, who had the +greatest dread of being found out in any of his tricks, though he had +not the slightest objection to doing what was wrong. + +There are, unfortunately, a great number of people in the world like +Julian Langley. They do not comprehend the awful fact that the Almighty +God sees and knows all they do and think, even to their most trivial +acts and thoughts, and that at the great Day of Judgment they will have +to answer for all the evil they have committed, all the evil thoughts in +which they have willingly indulged. Not understanding, or forgetting +this great truth, their only dread is lest their sins should be +discovered by their fellow-men, or should in any way disturb the +equanimity of their own consciences. No greater offence, therefore, can +be committed against them than to speak to them of their vices, or to +try to prove to them that they have done wrong. Ostriches, when chased, +are said to run their heads into a bush, and to fancy that because they +cannot see they are free from pursuit; so men try to shut out their sins +and faults from their own sight, and, as foolishly as the ostrich, to +fancy that they are not perceived by others, or, still more foolishly +and madly, that a due and just punishment, which an all-righteous God +has said he will inflict on evildoers, will not ultimately overtake +them. Unhappy Julian, I would rather not have had to narrate his +career. + +"Come on, Julian," said Digby, at last. "I hear no one about; we must +make a push for our window and get in. If we are caught, patience! The +thing is done, and can't be undone." + +Digby was, in reality, by far the most daring of the two, in cases of +real danger. Off he set across the lawn, Julian following. They +reached the window. The rope was there. Up he climbed. + +Julian fancied that he heard some one speak, and then that footsteps +were coming along the gravel walk. He was in an agony of terror. He +could scarcely climb up the rope, and was almost letting go, but Digby +caught his arm, and helped to drag him in. They hauled up the rope, and +Julian stowed it away again in his box. They then shut their window and +unlocked their door. + +When they came to undress, they found that their clothes were very +muddy, and that they had got their shoes very wet and dirty in the ditch +into which they had jumped. Even Julian's fertile brain was puzzled as +to how they should account for this, should they be questioned on the +subject. He lay cold and trembling, and very uncomfortable. He was +paying somewhat dear for his lark; people generally do for such like +proceedings. + +There is an old French proverb, "The game is not worth the candle," +meaning, which is burnt while it is played. In a true and Christian +point of view, sin, however delicious, however attractive it may appear, +never is worth a hundredth part of the consequences it is sure to +entail. + +Digby was not much less unhappy than Julian. Still, as he was prepared, +with sturdy independence, to undergo whatever consequences his prank +might bring upon him--for a prank only it was, though an unwise one--he +did not trouble himself much more about the matter, but coiled himself +up in his bed to try and get warm, and prepared to go to sleep. He was +just dozing off, when he heard the voices of his uncle, and Marshall, +and Power, passing the door. + +"Some people can sleep through a thunder-storm, or a battle at sea; and +so, I suppose, those youngsters were not awoke by all that tremendous +noise," observed Marshall. + +"More likely that they were awoke, and that fellow Julian Langley is +lying quaking in his bed, and wondering what all the noise was about," +answered Power. + +"Do not call them now, at all events," said Mr Nugent. "We will ask +them to-morrow what they thought about the matter. What could have +exploded those old guns?" + +Julian and Digby would have been fully satisfied had they witnessed the +commotion the explosion of the guns created in the quiet old town. Half +the male population, and even some of the women, turned out of their +beds and ran to the fort. Some thought the Russians or the French, or +some other enemies of England, had come, and were firing away at the +fort--a very useless proceeding it would have been, considering that the +poor old fort could not fire at them. Others, not aware of this latter +fact, thought that a body of artillery had suddenly been transported +there, and that they were defending the place in the most desperate +manner. The braver men who thought this ran to assist them; and others, +and some of the women, ran out of the town to be further from danger. + +However, a very large number of people collected in the fort, everybody +asking questions, and nobody being able to give a satisfactory reply. + +Some asserted that a dozen guns had been fired off; others even a +greater number. One thing only was evident, when lanterns were brought +to make an examination--that two of the old guns had burst, and had +scattered their fragments far and wide around. + +"Some malicious people must have done it," observed the worthy mayor, +who did not at all like being thus rudely summoned out of his bed, as he +had been by the explosion. "High treason, rebellion, and--and--" (he +could not find a third word of sufficient force to express his feelings) +"has been committed in this loyal, respectable, quiet town, and the +villainous perpetrators of the atrocious deed must be brought to condign +punishment." + +It was a pity Julian and Digby could not hear these expressions. + +Some people in the crowd had their own opinions on the subject. Mr +Simson was there, and he picked up a thick stick, with a thicker head, +and kept it. + +The coastguard men thought the smugglers had done it, but with what +object they could not divine. Some wiseacres thought that the guns had +gone off of themselves; others, that Dame Marlow, whose fame had long +been great at Osberton, had had a hand in the work. However, though +everybody looked about and talked, they were not much the wiser, and at +length they retired to their homes, and the old fort was allowed to +sleep on with its usual tranquillity. + + + +CHAPTER SEVEN. + +DIGBY FINDS THAT A BAD ADVISER IS THE WORST OF FRIENDS--MORE MISCHIEF +AND ITS INCONVENIENCES--SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES THREATENED. + +Julian and Digby would very much have liked to have been sent to +Coventry, the morning after their cannon-firing, so that no disagreeable +questions might have been asked them. They dressed slowly and tried to +look over their lessons in their room, but got very little information +out of their books. They felt very foolish when the bell rang, aid they +had to make their appearance in the breakfast-room. Morning prayers +were over, and they took their seats round the breakfast-table. + +"Well, Julian, did you not hear the noise last night?" were the first +words Marshall spoke. + +"What noise?" asked Julian; "I sleep very soundly; it must have been a +row to awake me." + +"Why, the guns of the old castle going off by themselves," said Power. + +"Not a sound," said Julian, hoarsely. + +Digby looked at him, and wondered if his friend had any conscience. +What should he say? there was the difficulty. He had always scorned a +lie; if so point blank a question were put to him, how could he answer +and not betray their secret? + +"And did you sleep through it too, Digby?" said his uncle. + +"No, I heard the noise very clearly," answered Digby, and he felt +happier after he had said this, though Julian gave him a tremendous kick +on the shins under the table. + +"How could you remain quietly in bed after it?" asked Marshall. + +"I was out," answered Digby firmly, "but I got back before you, since +you must know all about it. I don't think that you have a right to be +asking me questions, which I may not wish to answer. If I speak at all, +I wish to speak the truth. More I do not wish to say; and now, if you +like, tell me what you thought about it." + +Mr Nugent looked surprised at Digby's firmness and unusual vehemence, +but suspecting that Julian had not spoken the truth, and that Digby +wished not to betray him, forbore to press the matter further. + +Of course, both the boys were on tenter-hooks during the whole of +breakfast. Digby applied himself sturdily to his food and eat on +without speaking, as if he was in a very sulky mood. All day, too, +while they were at their lessons, every time there was a ring at the +door, they fancied that some one was coming to accuse them of their +misdemeanor. Digby thought much less about it than Julian, and it also +troubled him much less, because he had made up his mind, if directly +accused of the deed, to acknowledge it at once, without the slightest +attempt at evasion. His conscience told him, that this was the only +right course to pursue; any other would plunge him into a sea of +falsehood, from which he shrunk with dread. He intended, if he could +avoid so doing, not to inculpate Julian, but to take all the blame on +his own shoulders. + +"Julian says he was not out of bed that night; he is very wrong, but I +don't want to get him into a scrape if he wishes to avoid it," he +thought to himself. + +Unfortunately, he did not see Julian's conduct in its true light. That +young gentleman was all the time thinking, and plotting, and contriving, +how he should himself get out of the scrape. He had already told one +falsehood, he must invent others to avoid being found out after all. He +could not fix his attention on his lessons, and, of course, he did them +very badly. + +"You must stay in and learn these twelve lines of your Delectus by +heart," said Mr Nugent, who was much displeased with him. + +Digby, who had done his lessons much in his usual way, which was seldom +very first-rate by-the-by, was allowed to go out. Of course all the +rest were eager to go to the fort, and Digby was compelled to go with +them. This was doubly annoying to Julian, who wanted to have a few +minutes' conversation with him to get him to promise not to betray him, +and to induce him, if possible, to tell a long story which he had +concocted, to account for his not hearing the noise, and for his not +accompanying Digby afterwards to the fort. + +When Digby and his companions reached the fort, he was astonished at the +mischief which had been committed. The old guns lay on the ground with +large pieces torn out of them, and their carriages knocked to atoms, +while a portion of the parapet round the embrasures had been crumbled +into powder. + +While they were running about, who should walk into the fort but worthy +Mr Simson, the grocer. He watched his opportunity when Digby was +separated from his companions, and drew him aside. + +"I hope the other gentleman isn't hurt," he said. + +"No, he hasn't done his lessons, so he is not allowed to go out," +answered Digby. + +"I was afraid he might be hurt. Well, you two had a fortunate escape," +observed Mr Simson; "I know all about it; I don't want to betray you, +though; I have boys of my own: but you mustn't do the same thing again, +that is all." + +"Thank you," answered Digby, "I am very much obliged to you, indeed I +am." + +"That's what I like, young gentleman, that's manly and right-spirited," +said Mr Simson, taking his hand and pressing it warmly. "I wouldn't +betray you on any account, that I wouldn't. Trust to me." + +Digby was much happier after this. He felt, however, that he had +escaped a great danger of the whole matter being known, and though he +couldn't exactly divine what punishment he might have inflicted on him, +he knew that he should at all events have been made to look very +foolish. + +"They wouldn't hang a fellow for such a thing, and I don't suppose they +would send me to prison. Still, I am really very grateful to kind Mr +Simson for not peaching. I'll always deal with him in future. How did +he find out all about it, I wonder?" + +He heard with much more indifference than at first, the various remarks +and conjectures made on the subject, and the feeling that he had acted a +manly part about it enabled him to look people boldly in the face, and +thus he escaped the suspicion which would otherwise have fallen on him. +When he got home he found Julian very dull and sorry for himself. He +told him what Mr Simson had said. + +"Oh, then, he will go and peach upon us, and it will all be found out," +exclaimed Julian, half-crying. + +"But he promised that he would say nothing about the matter," urged +Digby. + +"So he might, but one can't trust to a shopkeeper," answered Julian, +with a scornful turn of his lip. + +"I don't see that," replied Digby; "if he is an honourable man and has +good feelings, I think that one may trust to a shopkeeper as well as to +the first noble in the land; I know that my uncle often says that one +man's word is as good as that of another, provided both are equally +honest and upright." + +"All I know is, that old Simson was very impertinent to me when I went +to buy the gunpowder," said Julian; "if I hadn't wanted more I wouldn't +have gone to him again." + +"He cautioned me about it, and not without some reason," said Digby; "So +I'll maintain that old Simson is a very good fellow, and, what's more, +I'm sure he looks like a gentleman in every way." + +Several days passed by, and though inquiries were made and numbers of +people were examined, no clue was discovered to the originators of what +the county papers called that mysterious circumstance at Osberton. +Digby couldn't help cutting out the paragraph, and sending it to Kate, +darkly hinting that he might, perhaps, some day enlighten her about the +matter. He was afraid of committing the account to paper, but her very +acute perception at once divined that he had taken a prominent part in +the affair. How she did long to hear all about it, and how he did long +for the holidays that he might tell her. He had an idea that his uncle +knew something about it, because after this neither he nor Julian were +allowed to go out, except in company with Marshall or Power, or Toby +Tubb. One day, however, all the boys had gone together to the beach, +and by some means or other, unintentionally, while some were climbing up +over the cliffs, Digby got separated from the rest. As he knew his way +home, however, perfectly well, he did not care about it, even though it +was growing dark. He had not gone far when two men overtook him; they +were rough-looking fellows and dressed as seamen; he did not altogether +like their appearance. They went on some little way, and then turning +back, they looked him in the face, and one of them said-- + +"Are you Squire Heathcote's son, master?" + +"Yes," answered Digby, "I am. Why do you want to know?" + +"I've asked a civil question, and you've given a civil answer, master. +Good-night," replied the man who had before spoken; and then they both +walked rapidly on. + +Digby thought it rather odd that men of that sort should wish to know +who he was, but troubled himself very little more about the matter. + +When he got home, his uncle inquired how he came to be later than the +rest; and knowing he always spoke the truth, was perfectly satisfied +with his explanation. + +"Your uncle seems to think that he can trust you much more than he can +me," observed Julian one day. "It is very hard upon me, as I am older. +He favours you as a relation, that's it, I've no doubt." + +Digby made no reply, but he felt indignant, as he could not bear to have +his uncle, whom he respected, spoken ill of. + +By degrees Julian recovered his usual state of mind, and, as he did so, +his fertile brain began to devise fresh schemes of mischief. Since his +liberty had been curtailed he found them, however, much more difficult +to carry out. It may seem strange that, after all the anxiety and +inconvenience he had suffered in consequence of his last achievement, he +should be eager to do something which was likely to produce the same +results; but such is unfortunately too generally the case with +evildoers. Unless some severe punishment follows they go on and on, +committing the same evil again and again. Indeed, even punishment will +not always deter people who have given themselves up to evil ways from +continuing in them; and men have frequently been known, the very day +after they have been released from prison, to have committed the very +crime for which they have been confined. Reformation of heart and +character is what is required, and this had not taken place with regard +to Julian Langley. + +"I've hit upon a capital idea, Digby," said he one day when the two were +alone; "help me out with it." + +"What is it?" asked his companion. + +"I've been thinking what fun it would be to set all the fishing-boats +out in the river adrift. How they would knock about each other, and how +angry the boatmen would be." + +"I should think they would be angry, indeed," answered Digby, stoutly. +"Fun is fun, but it seems to me that a great deal of harm might be done +by what you propose. I'd advise you to give up the idea; I'll have +nothing to do with it." + +"I thought you were a fellow of spirit, Digby," sneered Julian. "What +great harm can there be in letting a few old fishermen's boats knock +together?" + +"Why, they might get carried out to sea, and be lost altogether, and +have their sides stove in, or holes made in their bottoms, or be sunk, +and lose their oars and sails; indeed, I can fancy a great deal of +damage might be done," said Digby. "I think that it would be very wrong +and cruel to the poor fishermen." + +"Oh, now I see you are going to take a leaf out of your uncle's book, +and to turn saint," sneered Julian. This was one of his most powerful +expressions. He knew that Digby especially disliked being called a +saint, and that he often confessed, as do many older people with equal +thoughtlessness, that he did not set up for a saint. People seem not to +consider, if they do not wish to become saints, what they really do +desire to become. Certainly none but saints can inherit the glories of +eternity; and unless they trust in the merits of One who can cleanse +them from their sins, and make them saints, so that they may be +presented spotless to the Father Almighty, from those glories they will +be shut out. + +Poor Digby winced under Julian's sneer. "A saint; no, I am no saint, I +hope, but I don't want to injure the poor fishermen," he answered, +firmly. + +"Injure them! Who's going to injure them?" exclaimed Julian, +petulantly. "I've made up my mind to have my lark, and have it I will. +If any great harm comes I'm ready to bear it. You won't peach upon me, +I suppose?" + +"No," answered Digby, indignantly. "I like fun as much as you; and if I +saw the fun I'd do it willingly." + +Julian thought that Digby was relenting, and still pressed the matter, +but in vain. "Well, if you won't go I must get somebody else. I know a +fellow who will help, though none of the sneaks here will join me," said +Julian, walking away. + +Digby felt satisfied that he had done right, still he did not like to +let Julian go away, and have his fun by himself. + +The latter young gentleman went into the garden, and disappeared in the +shrubbery. In spite of the prohibition still existing against his going +out alone, he jumped over the wall, and betook himself to the river +side. He had scraped acquaintance with a lad of his own age, the son of +a small innkeeper, who had been a smuggler, and was still, it was +suspected, intimately connected with smugglers. + +Dick Owlett was certainly not a fit associate for the son of the +Honorable Mr Langley; but vice more than anything else creates +incongruous companionships. Young Owlett was ready to do anything +Julian proposed, because he fancied that he might easily throw all the +blame on Julian's shoulders, or else that, through Julian's influence, +they both might escape punishment. Dick had none of Digby's scruples, +so the whole plan was soon arranged. Both had thoroughly ill-regulated +minds, and rejoiced in mischief for mischief's sake. + +Julian came back unperceived, and, in high spirits, told Digby that he +was going to have his fun in spite of him. + +The following night Julian awoke Digby about eleven o'clock, and told +him that he must help him to get out of the window, and wait his return +to let him in again. + +Digby expostulated, but in vain; he had not yet learned that the only +sure way for the young to avoid the contamination of evildoers is to +keep out of their society altogether. So Digby agreed to sit up till +Julian's return. + +The rope was secured, Julian descended by it, and off he ran across the +lawn towards the wall, over which he had so often before made his escape +from the premises. + +Digby waited and waited; Julian did not return. He became very anxious +about him. He wished that he had taken stronger measures to prevent his +carrying out his foolish and mischievous prank. The only effectual way +to have prevented him would have been to have told Marshall or his +uncle, but such a proceeding was so contrary to all his notions of what +ought to be done, that it did not even occur to him. He could not +exactly tell how time passed, but he thought that Julian must have been +away a very long time. He could bear the suspense no longer. Some boys +of his age would have gone to bed, and cried, or sat quaking with fear. +To do this was not at all in Digby's nature. He loved action; he must +be up and doing. He knew the road Julian would have taken, and he +resolved to go and look for him. It did not occur to him that he should +thus run a great risk of being implicated in whatever his companion had +done; had he, I do not believe that the fear of that would have weighed +with him a moment. He put on all his clothes and his shoes, and, +without further consideration, slipped down the rope, gained the wall, +and ran on as fast as his legs could carry him towards the river. He +got very nearly to the spot where he thought Julian would have embarked, +when he met two boys running. "Who's there?--Julian, is that you?" he +exclaimed. + +"Oh, Digby, how you startled me," exclaimed one of the boys. It was +Julian who spoke. + +"All right," cried Digby. "I became very anxious. I was afraid some +harm had happened, and so I set off to look for you; but why are you +running so fast?" + +"Because we are afraid somebody is after us," answered Julian, almost +breathless. "We've done it, though, and rare fun there will be +to-morrow to see what has become of all the boats." + +It was not necessary for Julian to tell Digby to turn back; he had at +once done so, and they were running on together. They turned their +heads for a moment, and Dick Owlett had disappeared. His reason for so +doing was very evident. Digby thus, very unintentionally, slipped into +his shoes. They soon had to cross a meadow; their own footsteps now +making but a slight noise, they were able to hear the sound of another +person fast approaching them. + +"It may be Dick Owlett," said Julian, in a low voice. "Still, if it is +one of the coastguard men we shall catch it. Run, Digby, run." + +Digby could have run a great deal faster than he was running, but had he +done so he would have left Julian behind. Their pursuer, whoever he +was, came on very rapidly. They had scarcely crossed the field when, +looking back, they saw him at the other end of it. He must have seen +them. It seemed very useless, therefore, to attempt to escape, but +their natural impulse was to run on till he put his hand on their +shoulder to stop them. Julian wanted to jump into a ditch and hide, as +they had before done, but Digby protested against this, and insisted on +running on. Across the fields they went--now they thought that they had +escaped their pursuer--now they saw him again. Sometimes he got very +close to them, and then they distanced him. At last they got up to the +garden-wall. The footsteps sounded terribly loud close behind them. +They rushed on. Julian, always most anxious to escape from danger, had +first sprung to the top of the wall, and Digby was helping him over, +when a person leaped forward, and seizing Julian by the leg, and Digby +by the shoulder, exclaimed-- + +"Hillo, young gentlemen, is it you, then, who have been about this +pretty piece of mischief? What will your master say to you, I should +like to know? It's lucky we found it out, or there's no saying what +damage might have been done; however, that's no excuse for you--so come +along with me to the front door, and I'll hand you over to Mr Nugent, +or I'll take you to the lock-up house, and let you stay there till the +morning." + +Julian nudged Digby, to induce him to speak. He took the hint. + +"I have nothing to do with the mischief of which you are talking," he +exclaimed, boldly. "I don't know by what right you venture to detain +me. I had a good reason for being out, which will, I believe, satisfy +Mr Nugent, but I do not see that you, whoever you are, or any other +man, has a right to call on me to explain it." + +"Tell that to the marines, youngster; you are not going to impose on an +old salt," answered the revenue man, for such he appeared. "Why, I +traced you from the time you jumped on shore every inch of the way to +this place." + +"That you could not," answered Digby; "I have not been on the water +to-night." + +"Well, you are a bold young ruffian," exclaimed the man, fairly +exasperated at Digby's coolness. "I never have heard anybody, man or +boy, tell a lie and stick to it as you can do." + +"You are very impertinent," said Digby, who, knowing that he really was +speaking the truth, forgot that it was not possible for the man to +believe him. It did not occur to him that he very naturally was +mistaken for Dick Owlett. + +"Well, if it comes to that," said the man, "the sooner we go and talk to +Mr Nugent the better. I don't suppose that he allows his young +gentlemen to be running about at nights for their own amusement." +Saying this their captor, who was a strong stout man, carried them off +in spite of their struggles to the front door of the house. He rang and +knocked for some time without succeeding in awaking any one. + +The feelings of Digby and Julian may more easily be conceived than +described, though, as may be supposed from what I have already mentioned +of their characters, they were very different. They did not dare to +communicate with each other, and so all they could do was to hold their +tongues. At last Mr Nugent was aroused, and supposing that some sick +parishioner wanted his attendance, he got up, dressed, and came down +stairs. What was his astonishment at seeing two of his pupils in the +hands of a revenue officer. + +"Please, sir, I've brought you these two young gentlemen, to tell you +that they have been playing no end of mischief down in the harbour, +there, to-night--cutting the fishing-boats adrift, and letting them run +foul of each other. If you like to take charge of them and have them +ready when they are wanted, I'll leave them; if not, I'll take them off +to the lock-up house, to pass the rest of the night." + +Poor Mr Nugent could not believe his senses. He stood staring first at +one and then at the other, fully believing that he was dreaming. Then +he rubbed his eyes and felt his clothes, to assure himself that he had +got up and dressed. "What is it all about?" he at last exclaimed. "Out +on the river--in the middle of the night--you, Digby--you, Julian +Langley. I cannot comprehend it. Come in, though, I am very much +grieved; I beg that you, James Sutton, will explain matters more fully." +Without saying more, Mr Nugent led the way to his study, when lighting +the candles he sat down, while the accuser and the two culprits stood +before him. "Now, James Sutton, tell me your story, if you please," he +said, calmly. + +"Why, sir, these young gentlemen have been having what I suppose they +call a lark. They went down to the river, shoved off in a boat, and +went round, and with their knives cut the cables of a number of the +fishermen's boats and other small craft lying in the harbour. The ebb +was just making, and the boats drove one against another; some went on +shore, and others would have gone out to sea and been lost, but our boat +was just coming in. Of course we boarded them, and finding no one in +them, suspected that something was wrong. As our boat is white, and we +pulled with muffled oars, and our young gentlemen were very busy, they +did not see us. We should have caught them in the act, but that we had +to look after some of the boats. We saw them just landing, so our chief +boatman put me on shore, and told me to follow them up and see where +they went to. I didn't think, you may be sure, that they were your +young gentlemen." + +"You acted in every way rightly," said Mr Nugent. "And now, Julian, +what have you to say to this?" + +"That it is a base fabrication," answered Julian. "I had no right to be +out at night, that I know. I went out for a lark, because I couldn't +sleep, and meeting Digby we came back together; but that I did anything +else I defy anybody to prove." + +"Oh," said Mr Nugent. "What do you say to this, Digby?" + +"That I had not been out of the house twenty minutes when this man +caught hold of me," answered Digby, quietly. "I certainly was not doing +any harm, though I ought not to have left the house without leave. I, +however, am ready to stand the consequences of doing so." + +"Well!" exclaimed Sutton, "he is the lad to swear that black is white, +and make another believe it." + +"I never knew him tell an untruth, Sutton," observed Mr Nugent. "There +is a mystery about the matter which I cannot yet fathom." + +"Well, sir, I will leave the young gentlemen with you, and you will be +answerable for their appearance when they are wanted," said Sutton, +laying a strong emphasis on that word wanted, which has so much +significance to thieves and vagabonds. + +Julian and Digby did not quite comprehend it in the way Sutton wished, +but they guessed that there was something unpleasant connected with it. + +"Of course, Sutton, I will take care that they are forthcoming when +required to answer for what has occurred," replied Mr Nugent, in a tone +which showed how grieved and annoyed he was. "Come to me, however, at +nine o'clock in the morning, and I will inquire further into it." + +When Sutton had taken his departure, Mr Nugent, desiring Digby to stay +where he was, led Julian upstairs to his bedroom. The window was open, +and the knotted rope hung to it. Mr Nugent stood aghast. "Have you +often made use of this, young gentleman?" he asked. + +Julian was really frightened, and burst out crying, in dread that his +various misdemeanors would at length be brought to light. "Only once or +twice, and merely for a lark, without any harm in it," he answered, as +soon as he could bring out his words. "If you will overlook it this +time, sir, Digby and I won't do it again--that I promise; indeed we +won't, sir." + +"I conclude that you will not," said Mr Nugent, drily. "However, I do +not consider it at all a slight thing to have my young gentlemen running +about the country at midnight, and laying themselves open to such +accusations as have been brought against you to-night. You ran as great +a risk of having an accusation brought against you of being concerned in +a burglary, or in the robbery of a hen-roost. And listen to me, Julian +Langley, I deeply regret that I cannot trust your word, and I am not at +all satisfied that you will be proved innocent of the crime of which +Sutton says you are guilty. Now, go to bed, and pray that you may have +a new heart put into you." + +"But Digby, sir, you'll forgive him, may he not come up and go to bed," +said Julian, making a mighty effort to speak, for he thought that +everything would depend on his being able to put Digby up to what he +should say. + +"Certainly not," answered Mr Nugent, who divined his motive. "I cannot +allow you and Digby again to associate till this mystery is cleared up. +Pull off your clothes and jump into bed." + +Mr Nugent having taken possession of the rope, and shut, the window, +took the candle, and walked away, leaving Julian to his meditations, or +to sleep if he could. His meditations could not have been of a pleasant +character, though it was not so much the folly of his conduct as the +fear of the consequences which annoyed him. At last he fell asleep. +Meantime Mr Nugent went back to his nephew. + +"Digby," he said, looking gravely at him, "you have often been +thoughtless and idle, but I have ever found you truthful; I trust that +you will be so on this occasion. Tell me what you know about this +matter." + +"I will tell you about my share in it, uncle, but I hope you will let +Julian answer for himself. All the fellows say that there is nothing so +bad as one fellow peaching against another, and I don't want to do it," +answered Digby, firmly. + +Mr Nugent was too well acquainted with schoolboy notions of honour and +morality to be surprised at this speech. + +"But it is also very bad to shield the guilty, as in that way vice is +encouraged and crime escapes its proper punishment," he remarked. +"However, let me hear what you have got to say. One thing is very +certain, both you and he were doing what you should not have done, in +leaving the house at night. Go on." + +"Then, uncle, all I have to say is, that Julian went out and asked me to +sit up for him and let him in. I did, but he was longer absent than I +expected, and so I got out of the window and took the road I thought he +had gone to try and find him, fearing that some accident might have +happened to him. I met him coming back, and just as we got near the +house that man Sutton caught hold of us." + +"I believe you, entirely," said Mr Nugent. "But I wish to know if you +can guess what Julian Langley was about during his absence." + +"That is the very point about which I don't want to say any thing," said +Digby. "Let Julian tell his own story." + +"But he does not seem inclined to exculpate you; he leads me to suppose +that whatever he was about you were helping him to do. You will have to +prove the contrary, or you will be considered as guilty as he is," +observed Mr Nugent. + +"I cannot help that," answered Digby, after a little thought. "I have +stated the truth; I am ready to be punished for leaving the house, and, +as things turned out, I am sorry I did it, but I should have been very +miserable if any harm had come to Julian which I could have prevented." + +"Then since you refuse to enlighten me, I will not press the matter +now," said his uncle. "I will consider to-morrow what punishment I +shall inflict on you. Take this cloak and go to sleep on the sofa. +Remember that you are not to communicate by word or writing, or in any +way with Julian. Promise me that you in this will obey me." + +"I do promise," said Digby. + +"Good-night," said his uncle, not altogether displeased with the boy. + +Oh, what a blessed thing it is to be able to confide thoroughly in the +word of a person, to know that he always, and under all circumstances, +speaks the truth--not only that he scorns a falsehood, but that he +deeply feels how odious it is in the sight of God, a pure God who is +truth itself. In what different estimation are two boys held, who are +perhaps in most respects equal. They have equal talents, can play +equally well at games, of the same strength, and appearance, and +manners, are equally good-natured, and are equally well supplied with +pocket-money, and the means of treating their companions. One has been +proved never to deviate from the truth, either through fear, or for the +sake of telling a good story, or on any other account; the other it is +known never scruples to tell a falsehood, if it suits his convenience, +or it can afford amusement to himself or others, while if he thinks he +can by it avoid detection from any fault he may have committed, he +invariably does so. One is looked up to, honoured, and loved, both by +boys and masters; the other may find plenty of associates, but no one +trusts him, and all in their hearts despise him, and what is strange, +even those who will at times prevaricate and deviate as widely from the +truth as he does, have a feeling of contempt for him. Remember, that it +is not the only sin, vile as it is, which a boy can commit, but it is +one with others which should be watchfully guarded against, and +earnestly prayed against, and certainly none, even in the eyes of +worldly people, is considered more unworthy of the character of an +English country gentleman. + +Sutton, the revenue man, made his appearance the next morning; he said +some of the fishermen were so furious at the mischief which had been +intended them, that unless they could be appeased the matter must go +before a bench of magistrates. If so, Mr Heathcote and Mr Langley +would have to try their own sons, and the whole affair would be very +disagreeable and painful. Poor Mr Nugent was very much annoyed. He +went to Julian's room; that young gentleman was still asleep. He roused +him up, made him put on his clothes rapidly, without allowing him time +to reflect. He had previously sent Digby out of the study; he now took +Julian to it. + +"How do you account for yourself from the time you left the house till +Digby found you?" he asked. + +"Another fellow and I were taking a row on the water, and trying to +catch some fish," answered Julian, doggedly. + +"Who was the other fellow?" asked Mr Nugent. + +"He's called Dick Owlett, I believe; he gets bait for us sometimes." + +"Then I can fancy how it happened," said Sutton. "I'll now get hold of +Master Owlett, who is the wildest young scamp in the place; he'll lie +through thick and thin, there's no doubt of that, but I'll squeeze the +truth out of him before I've done with him, depend on that." + +Julian when he heard this felt very sure that Dick Owlett, to escape +punishment, would throw the entire blame upon his shoulders. Could he +have communicated with Dick he thought that he might have bribed him to +be silent, but as he had no hopes of so doing he was excessively puzzled +to know how to act. He had already denied having had anything to do +with the matter. He doubted even whether further falsehoods would +assist him; still he could not bring himself to speak the truth, confess +his folly, and take the whole blame on himself. However, Sutton had +learned quite enough for his purpose. His style of proceeding with +Owlett was likely to be very different to that of Mr Nugent's with his +pupils. Julian was sent back to his room to finish his toilet, Mr +Nugent telling him that he must breakfast there, and not leave it +without his permission. He consequently had to spend a very miserable +and solitary day in a cold room; but he did not escape having to do his +lessons, which he might possibly have considered a counterbalancing +advantage, as Mr Nugent took him his books and went there to hear him. +He was left in doubt all the time what steps Sutton had taken with +Owlett, and also as to what Digby had said. + +As may be supposed, Sutton had no great difficulty in getting the whole +truth, and perhaps something more even, out of Dick Owlett, who, in the +hope of escaping punishment, was ready enough to throw all the blame on +his young gentleman companion. + +Mr Nugent bethought him of calling in the aid of Toby Tubb. The affair +had become the conversation of all the seafaring population of the +place. + +Toby was very unhappy to think that Digby was implicated, but, when he +heard that he had nothing to do with it, he undertook to arrange +matters, observing that somebody would have to pay pretty smartly for +the lark, if lark it was, though he thought it a very bad one. + +Neither Julian nor Digby had an idea that any such negotiations were +going forward, and they were left with the impression that they should +have to present themselves before a bench of magistrates, and perhaps be +sent to the house of correction and receive a sound flogging, or be set +to work at the treadmill, or some other dreadful thing to which they had +read in the newspapers that juvenile delinquents were subjected. + +Mr Nugent, of course, was compelled to write to Mr Langley, to explain +the whole matter, and, from the tone of that gentleman's reply, he saw +that the only satisfactory course he could pursue was to request him to +remove his son to another place of instruction. He from the first, when +he discovered how his young gentlemen contrived to leave the house, had +suspected that they had been engaged in the cannon-firing affair. + +Though Mr Simson did not forfeit his word by saying anything, he +ascertained enough to satisfy him on the matter from the less scrupulous +Mr Jones, whose only bond to keep silence was the hope of getting more +out of them. + +Miserably always are those mistaken who put confidence in dishonest +persons. Such are influenced only by interested motives, and invariably +betray their dupes if it suits their convenience. + +The holidays at length arrived. The last few weeks at Osberton, Julian +Langley had found very disagreeable. His lather wrote him a scolding +letter, for having put him to so much expense, as he had thought it +wiser to pay the fishermen their demand for the damage done their boats +rather than allow the transaction, so disgraceful to his son, to become +public. + +Mr Nugent kept a strict watch over him. He was not allowed to +associate with Digby, while the rest of his fellow-pupils treated him +with marked contempt, not so much on account of what he had done, as +because he had denied having done it, and because they believed that he +would have drawn Digby into the scrape, and, if he could, have thrown +the blame on him. + +Digby did not remain very long out of spirits. His conscience was +tolerably at ease. He thought that his uncle had treated him very +kindly, and as he wished, therefore, to please him, he set diligently to +work to do his lessons each day as well as he could. He had not yet +learned to study for the sake of the knowledge he should thus acquire. +He did not appreciate the value of knowledge, the use it is of in every +way, the delight it affords, the satisfaction it brings. He did his +lessons because he knew that all boys were made to do lessons, and he +did not expect to avoid the general fate of boyhood. He had a sort of +indefinite idea that boys were compelled to do lessons from some +tyrannical motive of grown-up people; probably because they, when +children, had been made to do them, now, when they were grown up, they +retaliated on the next generation for the annoyance they themselves had +suffered; much in the same way that boys who have been most bullied and +fagged when, they were little fellows, frequently bully most, and make +the severest masters, when they get into the upper forms--not always, +but frequently, that is the case. Digby now and then wished for the +society of his former companion, and thought it rather hard that they +were not allowed to speak to each other except at meal-times. + +Mr Nugent or Marshall used to take Julian out to walk, never allowing +him to go out of their sight. This was more galling to him as Digby now +enjoyed the same unrestricted liberty as at first. He seldom, however, +went out by himself, except, perhaps, to run to the post-office, or to +carry a message to some neighbour. + +Dick Owlett did not escape the consequences of his lark, for the +fishermen did not overlook the mischief he had wished to do them, and +many a kick and a cuff he got from their hands which he might otherwise +have avoided. Soon afterwards, he was taken up before the magistrates +for another misdemeanor, and Mr Langley, hearing who he was, told his +father that he would receive the most severe punishment which could be +inflicted if he did not at once send him off to sea. To sea, therefore, +went master Owlett, not at all to his own satisfaction, and very much to +his father's rage, who vowed that he would be revenged on some of the +aristocracy for what had happened. + +The magistrates had lately got the character of being unusually severe. +A gang of smugglers had some time before been captured, and a revenue +officer having been killed in the affray, two were transported, and +others sent for a year or more to gaol--a punishment which, to men of +the habits of that class, is peculiarly galling. Although some of the +band were taken, others escaped, and the latter, furious at the +punishment inflicted on their friends, had sworn, it was said, to take +vengeance on the magistrates who had procured their conviction by +sending them up for trial, and on Squire Heathcote especially, through +whose means they had been captured. + +One of the transported men was a grandson of old Dame Marlow, and though +it was supposed that she loved nothing human, she had certainly always +shown an affection for the ill-conditioned youth in question. Ever +since, she had been heard, it was said, muttering threats of dire +vengeance against those who had caused it. Time, however, passed on, +and nothing occurred, and even those who fully believed in the old +woman's power, as well as in the means at the disposal of the smugglers, +thought that nothing would come of the threats of one or the other. + +Mr Heathcote, when told of what was said, laughed the matter to scorn. +"Dame Marlow has done nothing else but mutter foolish threats against +all the human race for the last twenty years," he observed; "and as for +the smugglers, they know too well to come and burn down my ricks, or +anything of that sort; and as to personal violence, they are pretty well +aware that they would get as much or more than they gave. The man who +is afraid of poachers, smugglers, gipsies, or vagabonds of any sort, had +better not attempt to act the part of an English country gentleman; he +isn't fit for his place." + +To return to Osberton. Mr Nugent's pupils took their departure for +their different homes. Julian Langley, it was understood, was not to +return there again. That Digby would come back was very uncertain. Mr +Nugent had heard of a school which he thought might suit him. The +head-master was an old college friend of his, a good scholar, and a very +excellent as well as gentlemanly man. + +"He is conscientious and gentle-hearted," he observed to his sister, to +whom he was writing on the subject; "I am therefore certain that he will +do his best to instruct his pupils, and will treat them with the +greatest kindness. Of course, after the lapse of so many years, I might +find the character of my old friend Henry Sanford somewhat changed, but +I cannot for a moment suppose that the change will be in any material +point for the worse." + +"Oh, Mr Sanford's is exactly the school to which I should wish Digby to +go," exclaimed Mrs Heathcote, after reading her brother's letter; "he +will be well taken care of, and well taught. What more can we wish?" + +"I would rather send him at once to Eton or Winchester, and he would +soon learn to take care of himself," observed the Squire. "As for the +learning, he'll pick up enough of that, somehow or other, to roll along +with, and to enable him to look after his property by and by. Really, I +think we had better send him at once to Eton." + +Mrs Heathcote pleaded so hard against this, that at last it was settled +that Digby should go to Mr Sanford's for a couple of years, and +afterwards be sent to one of the above-mentioned public schools. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHT. + +RETURN HOME--CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES--HOW THEY WERE INTERRUPTED--THE HEIR +OF BLOXHOLME MISSING--DAME MARLOW'S REVENGE--ARTHUR HAVILAND GOES IN +SEARCH OF HIS FRIEND. + +There were great rejoicings when just before Christmas time Digby's +jovial, smiling, and sunburnt countenance beamed forth in the hall of +Bloxholme. How pleased were his father and mother to see him--how +delighted Kate was--how fondly she kissed him, and how eagerly she asked +him, as soon as he could, to come and tell her about everything. Gusty +shouted and cheered as if some great event had occurred--so it had to +him--for one of the most important personages he had ever known, had +just returned, after a long absence, to the home of his ancestors. John +Pratt came to the door, hat in hand, grinning all over with glee, and +eagerly helped the coachman to unstrap Digby's trunk and play-box. +Alesbury, the butler, looked benignly at him--"Glad to see you, Master +Digby, very glad, that I am," he exclaimed, in his usual well-bred +undertone; "so grown too, you are. Well, we've all sorts of things +ready for the holidays--very glad to see you, very." Mrs Carter +hurried out of the housekeeper's room to welcome him, and after shaking +hands and looking at him proudly for a minute, she gave way to the +feelings of her heart, and seizing him in her arms, covered his cheeks +with kisses. Nurse treated him much in the same way. He was too happy +to resent the indignity, though he did rub his cheeks pretty hard +afterwards with his handkerchief, when they were not looking. His two +elder sisters were out riding when he arrived. When they came back they +gave him as hearty a welcome as the rest of the family. Miss Apsley, +too, in her quiet ladylike way, expressed her pleasure at seeing him. +Her discernment enabled her to discover that he possessed many qualities +which, if properly directed, would make him both generally liked, and a +useful member of society. She liked him because she thought that he was +an honest true-hearted, English boy. + +Digby had good reason, therefore, to be satisfied with the reception he +met with from every member of the family after this his first absence +from home. So he was, and he felt that he was a very happy fellow. +Still more full of glee was he, when he at length having been +sufficiently looked at, and talked to, and cross questioned, and kissed, +and hugged, and fed, found himself running through the grounds, with +Kate by his side, towards their favourite resort, the summer-house on +the mound. + +It was a bright clear day, and though the air was cold, the sun striking +through the glass windows for several hours made the room warm and +pleasant. Then looking out together at the view, which, even in winter, +was beautiful, Digby told Kate of all that had happened him at Mr +Nugent's. How she did laugh at the idea of firing off the old guns at +the Castle, though she very nearly cried with horror when he described +how they had burst, and how narrowly he and Julian had escaped being +killed. + +Digby touched very lightly on Julian's behaviour, but he could not help +saying enough to make Kate exclaim-- + +"Oh, I hate him!--mean-spirited, disagreeable boy. I hope papa will not +ask him here again. I never liked him--I did not know why--now I guess +the reason." + +Kate then told Digby that all sorts of preparations had been made for +his amusement during the holidays, and that several people, young and +old, had been invited to come to the house. + +"And who do you think is among them?" she asked. "Somebody you will be +very glad to see, and whom I never saw. I begged that I might be the +first to tell you, because I know that it will give you so much +pleasure." + +Digby guessed all sorts of people, but gave it up at last. Perhaps he +knew how much Kate would like to tell him. + +"Then I won't leave you longer in doubt," she exclaimed, eagerly. +"Arthur Haviland is coming." + +"You don't say so," said Digby, clapping his hands. "How very jolly." + +"Yes, he is, though," cried Kate. "Papa, it seems, knew Mr Haviland, +who wrote to him about your having helped to pull Arthur out of the sea, +and then they found that they were old friends, and so it was arranged +that Arthur should come here for your holidays. Who else do you suppose +is coming? I'll tell you, as you are not in a guessing mood to-day. +Cousin Giles. We could not get on this Christmas without him, I'm sure. +He'll manage everything. He'll direct all our games in the evening, +and settle about all the sports in the morning for you boys. We were +quite anxious till we knew that he would come; now I am certain that +everything will go smoothly." + +"Capital! how jolly!" exclaimed Digby. + +Everything which promised to be pleasant was jolly with him. If he had +been asked what was the most jolly thing in existence, he would have +answered--his sister Kate. + +Cousin Giles and Arthur Haviland were to arrive the very next day, and +several other people who had sons with them were coming before +New-year's-day, so that the house would be full from the top to the +bottom. + +Kate had another surprise for Digby. After they had had their +confabulation, and the sinking sun warned them that it was time to +return home, she led him round the back way, under pretence of showing +him the dogs and some young pups Juno had produced. By chance, it +appeared, as she passed the stables, she threw open the door, and there +stood John Pratt, grinning with pleasure, and holding by the head a +beautiful little pony, with a new bridle and saddle on. + +"Oh Kate, how kind, how delightful, how jolly!" exclaimed Digby. "Is +that really for me? What a beauty. What grand gallops I'll have on +him, and go out with you on your Tiny. It is of all things just what I +should have liked the best, if I had been asked. What is his name? I +hope that it is a pretty one." + +"Guess," said Kate, who, although Digby never had guessed anything in +his life, always persisted in making him try and do so. + +"Oh, I can't! Angel, or Fairy, or Beauty, or something of that sort," +he answered. + +"You burn, you burn--something very nice," cried Kate. "Well, then, if +you give it up I'll tell you--Sweetlips. We didn't give him the name. +It was what he was called by the person from whom papa bought him, but +as he knows it, and will follow like a dog when he is called, we did not +like to change it." + +"It's a funny name for a pony, but as he has got it, we will still call +him by it, and I shall like it very much," answered Digby. "But I say, +John Pratt, can't I have a gallop on him at once across the park? I +won't be ten minutes away, and it would be so delightful." + +"I sees no reason again it, Master Digby," replied John; "I thought as +how you'd be liking it, and so I put the new saddle on him, which the +Squire sent and made me buy for you." + +"Says he, `John, our Digby will be coming to cover with me, to see the +hounds throw off, and he'll be by my side I hope when I go a coursing; +and I wish him to appear as my son should appear, John.' This was afore +we bought the pony. I heard of it, and I was certain that it would just +do, so the Squire told me to go and settle for it at once, and not to +stand on price, and right glad I was when I brought back Master +Sweetlips; and says the Squire, `I never saw a greater beauty in my +life, John. He'll just do for our boy. Now go and buy a new saddle and +bridle to fit him. You can judge of what it ought to be just as well as +I can.' Wasn't I proud; and so, Master Digby, here he is, all your own. +And here's a new whip I bought at the same time. The Squire didn't +tell me to get that, but if you'll accept it from an old man, you'll +make his heart right glad." + +"Oh, thank you, John--thank you, John Pratt," exclaimed Digby, his heart +so swelling with kindly and grateful feelings that the tears almost came +into his eyes. "You run in, Kate, and say I'll be back directly, but I +must have a gallop on Sweetlips." + +John had been assisting him to mount, and adjusting his stirrups all the +time. Away trotted the young heir of Bloxholme, and truly he looked the +worthy scion of a sturdy race. John Pratt stood outside the yard gate, +watching him with admiration, and Kate remained on the upper step of the +hall-door, gazing at him with affectionate interest, till he was lost to +sight among the trees, and the sound of his pony's hoofs died away in +the distance. + +"He is a dear fellow!" she exclaimed, as at length she entered the +house, and ran up stairs to prepare for dinner. She was to dine late +that day in honour of Digby's arrival. She anticipated a delightful +evening. He would have so much to tell her, so much to talk about--she +felt so proud of him. He looked so well--so manly, she thought, and was +so much improved in every way. Kate dressed and came down to the +drawing-room long before dinner-time, that she might have another talk +with Digby. He had not made his appearance, so she sat down and took up +a book, thinking that he would come soon. Miss Apsley appeared next. +Kate remarked that she thought Digby was a long time dressing for +dinner. She ran up to his room, but he was not there. When she came +back, expecting to find that he had in the mean time come to the +drawing-room, she felt blank at not seeing him. + +"He probably is with your papa or mamma, dear," observed the governess; +"it is scarcely fair to wish to monopolise his society." + +"No, I will not; of course everybody will wish to speak to him," said +Kate, and she resumed her book. + +In a few minutes, however, she laid it down again. + +"It is very odd that he does not come," exclaimed Kate; "I must go and +find him." + +She ran again to his room. His evening clothes and shoes were put out, +the hot-water jug was on his wash-hand stand untouched, and his +hair-brushes were in order on the dressing-table. He evidently had not +been there to dress. She ran to her father's room, and then to her +mother's and sisters', but he was not with them. + +"Then he must be with Mrs Carter," she said to herself, and away she +ran to the housekeeper's room, but Mrs Carter had not seen him nor was +he in the nursery. + +She was in hopes that he might have gone to play with Gusty before he +went to bed. Coming back she met Alesbury, and begged him to send to +the stables to ascertain if Digby was still there. Hoping that her +brother might have gone into the drawing-room during her absence, she +returned there. Her father was standing before the fire, her mother and +sisters were sitting down on sofas and comfortable chairs, attempting to +snatch a few minutes light reading in that generally very idle portion +of the day. + +"Kate, where is Digby?" asked her father, as she entered. + +"I have been looking for him, papa, but I cannot find him," she +answered. + +"He has forgotten the dinner-hour, and is still renewing his +acquaintance with the horses and dogs," said the Squire, adjusting his +cravat. + +He poked the fire, turned himself about before it once or twice, and +then took up the newspaper. While thus occupied, the footman abruptly +entered the room with a startled expression:-- + +"Mr Alesbury sent me out to the stable to bring in Master Digby, sir," +he exclaimed in a hurried tone; "I went, sir, but neither John Pratt nor +any of the men could I see; and while I was there the new pony came +trotting in by himself with the reins hanging over his head." + +"What is this, what is this I hear?" cried Mr Heathcote, in a state of +great agitation, running to the hall-door. + +He was going out, he scarcely knew where, when Alesbury came into the +hall, and handed him his hat. + +"You will put on your coat, sir; the evening is cold. We don't know +where Master Digby is," he said in a tone which showed that he also was +much agitated. + +Meantime Mrs Heathcote, who had not exactly understood the footman's +announcement, was very much alarmed. + +"Has Digby been thrown? is he hurt? where is he?" she asked, hurriedly, +trying to go out into the hall, but her elder daughters and Miss Apsley +held her back, thinking that it was much better to keep her quiet till +they could ascertain what had really happened. + +Kate had followed her father out of the room; she thought that she would +at once set off to find Digby; she flew up into her room to put on her +walking things. + +Into the hall speedily hurried Mrs Carter, and nurse, and all the +servants. Everybody was asking questions which no one was able to +answer. Neither John Pratt nor any of the other men had yet come back. + +Mr Heathcote, telling Thomas the footman to attend on him, seized a +thick stick, and set out in the direction he understood Digby had gone +with the pony. He had no definite plan; he forgot that it would have +been wiser had he remained at home to have directed the search, and +heard the reports of those sent to look for his son. + +Kate came down prepared for her expedition soon after her father had +gone out and disappeared in the darkness. She wanted to follow, but she +did not know which way he had gone, and Alesbury, who thought that she +ought not to go out, would not tell her. + +"I will go," she exclaimed vehemently; "I have as good eyes as anybody, +and I am as likely to see him." + +Eleanor and Mary came out several times to make inquiries, and then +Alesbury and Mrs Carter were summoned into the drawing-room to state +all they knew and had heard. All anybody could say was, that Master +Digby galloped off on his new pony, and that when John Pratt and the +other men found that he did not come back, they set off to look for him. +They must have missed his pony, because the pony came back by itself. + +As soon as Kate saw that she was not watched, she opened the hall-door, +and slipping out, closed it behind her unperceived. Then down the steps +she went, and away she ran as fast as her light feet could carry her +along the path she had seen Digby go. She could not bear to think that +any very serious injury had happened to him, but she fancied that he had +been thrown from his pony and stunned; or, perhaps, that his ankle might +have been sprained or broken, and that he was, in consequence, unable to +walk home. + +The sky had become overcast and the night was very dark. Poor little +Kate ran on, looking anxiously on every side and calling out Digby's +name.--Snow, too, began to fall, and came down in large flakes on hat +face. For herself she did not care, she did not feel the cold, but she +thought of dear Digby, lying on the bare ground; and, perhaps, unable to +move or to call out. Perhaps he might have attempted to leap, and got +thrown, or his pony might have stumbled. Still it appeared so +sure-footed and sagacious a beast, that that could scarcely have +happened. + +"Oh Digby, Digby, where are you?" she every now and then cried out in a +piteous tone. + +Not a ditch nor a recess in the road of any sort, escaped her +scrutinising glance. But no Digby replied, no sign of him could she +discover. On she went, it appeared that she had got a long way from +home. The road, and the country seemed strange to her; she had scarcely +ever been out at night during her life; she did not like to turn back, +but she began to fear that she might be looking for him in one +direction, while he might have gone another. She had just begun to +think this, when a snow-flake fell on something shining on the ground, +she stooped down, and she found that it was Digby's whip. She had no +doubt about it. + +"He must be near! he must be near!" she exclaimed. "Digby, Digby, +answer, where are you? it is Kate calls you. Digby, dear. Brother, +brother, speak to me. Oh do! do speak, Digby, just one word that I may +know where to look for you. It is so dark that I cannot see you. +Digby, Digby, brother, brother, speak!" she screamed out almost +frantically. + +No answer came to her repeated calls. + +"He must have dropped his whip as the pony was galloping on," she +thought; "he may have gone further than this before he fell; and yet +Digby was not likely to be thrown off; no boy of his age rides better." + +So again the brave little girl ran on, crying out his name as before. +Oh, what a loving affectionate sister was Kate, well worthy to be +cherished. I fully believe that there are many such who would do the +same, if occasion required, for their brothers' sakes. She did not feel +faint, or fatigued, or cold; she did not think of herself, all her +thoughts were for Digby, as she pictured him lying maimed on the cold +ground. The snow fell thickly, the north wind blew keenly, she did not +feel it herself, but she thought he did. She would have run on crying +out Digby's name till daylight, or till nature had given way and she had +sunk on the ground. She heard footsteps coming along the road. + +"Oh, can you tell me anything of my brother Digby?" she cried out, "Mr +Heathcote's son, he is lost. He rode away and has not come back." + +"Mercy on me, my sweet Miss Kate, is this you?" exclaimed a voice near +her. It was that of John Pratt. + +"Dear, oh dear, we mustn't be a losing two on you in one day. We cannot +find him, Miss Kate; but bear up, dear. It will break my heart, that it +will; but that's no matter. We be a going back to get lanterns and +torches, and more people, to help in the search. The Squire will be for +sending out all the men and boys from the village to look for him. He +must be somewhere, and not far off, that's my opinion. But come along +back, Miss Kate; you'll be catching your death of cold, and they'll be +wondering what has become of you next at the Hall." + +John Pratt spoke so rapidly that Kate had not been able to put in a +word. She at last told him that she had found Digby's whip not far from +where they were, and that she should know the spot by some high trees of +peculiar form, which were near it. Many people would have picked up the +whip, and afterwards would have been unable to tell where they had found +it, but her natural sagacity at once showed her the importance of being +able to return to the exact spot. John wanted to carry Kate, but she +would not hear of it; she consented only to hang on his arm as he +hurried along. He tried to keep up her spirits in his somewhat uncouth, +though not rough way. + +"He'll come back, Miss Kate, no fear. It's not likely any great harm +could have happened to him. Mayhap he has got into some cottage, and +the pony ran away. When we gets lights we'll find him. He'll be late +for dinner. It can't be that any great harm can have happened to the +heir of Bloxholme; it's impossible, Miss Kate, I am sure it is." + +Thus rambling on in his talk, John, with poor Kate, reached the Hall. +Everybody there was in a state of consternation. In the first place, +Kate had been missed, and it was supposed that she had been spirited +away, as had been Digby. Then, not far from the Hall, the Squire and +Thomas had been set upon by half a dozen men or more, whose aim seemed +to be to inflict a severe injury on them. The Squire cried out who he +was, but they only seemed the more eager to conquer him. Fortunately +his thick stick stood him in good stead; and Thomas being armed in a +similar manner, they had for some time kept their assailants at bay; but +the Squire was at length brought on his knees, being very severely +handled, and almost overpowered, when some of the men who had gone out +to look for Digby, came up, and his assailants fled. He called on his +people to pursue, but, much injured as he was, he stumbled and fell +before he got far, and the ruffians escaped. His condition was +deplorable. He was brought back to the Hall, his mind racked with +anxiety at the disappearance of his son, and indignant at the way he +himself had been treated. He was puzzled to ascertain whether the two +circumstances were in any way connected. As soon as he was a little +recovered, and had been able to collect his thoughts, he sent off to the +village to demand the services of most of the male population, as John +Pratt had suspected he would do. He also sent off in every direction to +borrow lanterns, and anything that would serve as torches. + +John Pratt, on his return with poor little Kate, was heartily welcomed. +The Square was too ill to direct the search, so he desired John to make +all the arrangements he thought necessary, and to carry them out without +delay. He wished to go out again himself, and would have done so had +not Mrs Heathcote and his daughters entreated him to remain within. + +The attack on the Squire had naturally created a new cause for alarm +about Digby. It seemed more than probable that the same ruffians who +had attacked him had got hold of his son. Still it was not supposed +that they had killed him; the very idea was too dreadful. + +Through the active measures taken by John Pratt, the inhabitants of +every cottage and house for miles round were aware of what had occurred; +but John's hopes that he might have got into some cottage were +disappointed; not a trace of him could be found. + +A sleepless night was passed by all the inmates of the Hall; no one +thought even of going to bed. Everybody sat up expecting to receive +information about Digby; but though people continued constantly to +return, no satisfactory information was brought. The place where Kate +had found her brother's whip was carefully searched by men with torches +and lanterns, but nothing else belonging to him could be discovered in +the neighbourhood. It became evident, at last, that they must wait for +daylight to make a more satisfactory search. + +Never had the inmates of Bloxholme Hall passed a more anxious and +miserable night. The morning brought no news of the lost one; not a +trace of him could be discovered. The snow lay thickly on the ground, +and must completely have covered up all marks of every description, if +any had been left. + +Poor Kate wandered about the house more like a ghost than a thing of +this world, watching anxiously for every person who came in, and +trembling at every footstep she heard. + +Early in the day, cousin Giles--or rather Mr Woodcock, for that was his +proper designation--arrived with Arthur Haviland. They, of course, were +very much shocked at what had occurred. Arthur was eager to go out at +once to assist in the search. + +Mr Giles Woodcock had seen a great deal of the world, and had profited +by what he had seen. He was an acute, sensible, energetic man, full of +life and spirits, and fun too, which he was always ready to exercise in +its proper time and place. He was more, also, than all that--he was a +devout, serious-minded Christian, and never ashamed of acknowledging the +motives of his conduct. His arrival at the moment was most opportune. + +The Squire, although up and dressed, was, both in mind and body, so +prostrate that he could not take that active superintendence of all the +arrangements which were necessary. + +Cousin Giles saw the state of things, and at once set to work. He +called everybody in, and made them give their reports, of which he made +notes. He called for a map of the district; he inquired whether anybody +in the neighbourhood could have a motive for attacking Digby and the +Squire. He strongly suspected that the men who had assaulted Mr +Heathcote were in some way concerned in the disappearance of his son. +How to find out who they were, and to get hold of them, was the +difficulty. Although, however, he suspected one thing, he did not, as +is often the case, exert himself to prove his suspicions correct to the +neglect of all other points, but he directed the search to be continued +and inquiries to be made in every possible direction and way. + +At last John Pratt returned after another prolonged search over the +country. + +"Well, John," said cousin Giles, "this is a sad matter. We won't waste +words, though. Have you a suspicion who has got hold of the lad? Had +anybody any reason for attacking the Squire? Can you suggest any means +of finding this out?" + +John thought a little. "Old Dame Marlow may tell us something about it, +zur," he said, after scratching his head vehemently. "She knows +zomething of everything; and if she don't know, nobody does." + +Cousin Giles, having made further inquiries as to the dame's character, +was about to dispatch John to bring her to the Hall, when Mr Bowdler +arrived. + +He had been absent from home, and immediately on his return, hearing +what had occurred, set off for the Hall. + +Cousin Giles told him what he was about to do. + +"She may know something about the matter, but not by supernatural means, +as these poor ignorant people suppose," he remarked. "A magistrate's +warrant, in the hands of a constable, will have the best effect in +eliciting the truth from her. The Squire can issue it; a constable is +in attendance; we will send it off at once. A grandson of her's was +lately apprehended and transported through the Squire's means, and it is +probable that she has instigated some of her friends to this act, to +revenge herself." + +In less than an hour the wretched old woman was brought up to the Hall. + +Mr Bowdler first endeavoured by gentle persuasion to induce her to +confess all she knew; but she was deaf to all his exhortations. Though +she put on a stolid, dull look, and answered only in monosyllables, +there was a cunning twinkle in her eye, which showed that she fully +understood what was said to her, and was evidently not ignorant of the +matter. + +Cousin Giles next tried to draw some information out of her by threats. +She looked up several times with an inquiring look to ascertain whether +he had the power of doing what he threatened. When brought before the +Squire, she scowled fiercely at him, and not a word could be drawn from +her. She was sent under charge of the constable to remain in the +servants' hall. + +"Give her food and treat her kindly," said the Squire; "she is an old +woman, and feels the loss of her grandson." + +The old woman heard what was said, but made no remark. + +"At all events I am convinced she can, if she will, give us some of the +information we require," remarked cousin Giles; "she completely betrayed +herself by her looks and gestures. I remarked particularly her fear of +me, not knowing who I was, and her hatred of the Squire, while she had +made up her mind to turn a deaf ear to your exhortations, Mr Bowdler." + +"What do you advise, then?" asked the clergyman. + +"Keep her here, and work upon her fears. Then show her that it is her +interest to tell us what we want to know," answered cousin Giles; "force +will not do. I doubt if even the judges of the Inquisition would get +much out of her." + +The whole day passed by and no clue as to what had become of Digby was +obtained. Even John Pratt was knocked up, and was obliged to go to bed +to recover strength, that he might continue the search. + +When it was known that Dame Marlow was had up to the Hall, two men came +in and stated that they had heard her threaten both the Squire and his +heir with her vengeance, though they supposed that she intended to carry +it out by means of her incantations. Their evidence, however, was +sufficient to enable the Squire to detain her at the Hall. A bed was +made up for her in a little room where people, who came to speak to him +on magisterial business, were put till their turn arrived to see him. +She much wanted to be left alone. + +"No, no, old lady," answered the constable, laughing; "you'd be flying +up the chimney, or burning the house down, or playing some prank or +other. That would never do." + +Arthur Haviland felt very sorry. He was very anxious to be doing +something, but did not know what to do. Kate very naturally took him +into her confidence. + +"Oh, I wish that I was a boy," she exclaimed. "I would roam the country +round till I found Digby, or cross the seas, and search for him through +every land, if I thought he had been carried there. But they will not +let me go. Mamma says I must not, and Miss Apsley made me promise to +obey, and so I must submit; but it is very cruel." + +"Fortunately I am a boy, and I will go," cried Arthur, enthusiastically. +"He saved my life, and I am sure that my father would not disapprove of +my going." + +"Thank you, Arthur, thank you," she answered. "I am sure that he is +alive. I should have felt very differently had he been dead. I could +not have borne that thought. You will find him; I feel that you must +find him, remember that. Poor mamma and my sisters think that he has +been killed by those dreadful men who attacked papa." + +This sad event made Arthur at once feel himself at home, and one of the +family. He was prompt in all he did. He went at once to Mr Woodcock, +and asked him to obtain a man to accompany him, saying that he would set +off the next morning at daybreak, and prosecute his inquiries through +the neighbouring districts. + +"Perhaps I may find out something which has escaped the notice of the +people here," he remarked. + +"I like your zeal and spirit, and will gladly aid your plan," answered +cousin Giles. + +Arthur was ready at the hour he had arranged; and he found a lad of +about eighteen prepared to be his companion. Adam Hodder seemed a very +intelligent fellow; and Arthur felt that he would rather have him than +an older person. + +Both Arthur and his companion were warmly clad and well prepared to +brave the cold. Arthur had put on his roughest clothing, but still he +looked the gentleman. They carried some provisions in a bag that they +might not have to go out of their way to obtain them: but they had taken +a good breakfast in the dark, that no time might be lost of the short +day of that season. The air smelt pure and fresh as they stepped out in +the grey light of the early dawn; and as they walked on briskly Arthur +found his spirits rising, and he felt sure that he should again see his +friend. + +"Well, Adam Hodder, what do you think can have become of Master +Heathcote?" he asked. + +"That's more than I can say, sir," answered Adam. "But I don't think +with some of the people about here, that old Dame Marlow has spirited +him away. It's more than likely that some of her people may have got +hold of him, and will either carry him away out of the country, or make +the Squire pay pretty largely before they give him back." + +This was a new idea to Arthur, and it served to help him in his +inquiries. He told Adam also to make his own observations, and to gain +certain information at every cottage they visited. He learned that some +men in the dress of seamen had been seen in the parish. They had not +spoken to any one, and no one knew where they were going. Then, again, +these were the men probably who had attacked the Squire, and they might +possibly have had nothing to do with Digby's disappearance. Still, from +their being dressed as seamen, Arthur resolved to prosecute his +inquiries towards the coast. He accordingly sent a messenger back to +the Hall to say what he had heard, and what he proposed doing. He hoped +to get as far as Osberton that night. He had gone some way when he +heard some horses' hoofs clattering along the hard road. He looked +round, and, as the riders approached, he saw that it was John Pratt and +another man. + +"I've come after you, sir, to tell you that we've got hold of some +information that may lead us on the right scent," said John, jumping +from his horse. "I am to go along with you, sir. If you like to ride +there's a horse, if not, I'll send him back." + +"I infinitely prefer walking such weather as this," answered Arthur. +"Send the horse back, and now tell me the news." + +"Why, sir, first, Mr Woodcock sent off to London for what they call a +detective, a sort of ferrety-like fellow, who pokes his head in +everywhere, and finds out everything. When Dame Marlow heard of it she +was in a great taking, and asked what reward she would have if she tried +to find out where the young Squire is? + +"`I'll tell ye what, Dame,' says Mr Woodcock to her, `if he isn't soon +found, you'll have very much the contrary to a reward, let me tell you. +When the detective comes down, you'll find that tricks like these can't +be played, and you go unpunished. However, I'll tell you what, Dame, we +don't want to be hard upon you, and if you help in any way to find the +young master, depend on it the Squire will be liberal to you, and you'll +be a richer woman than you have been for many a day.' + +"She made no answer, but sat smoking a pipe they had given her over the +fire, for a long time; she smoked and smoked away. At last, says she, +`I want to speak to that strange gentleman. He can see better with half +an eye than all you people can with two; and I have a respect for him.' + +"When Mr Woodcock went to her, says she-- + +"`I may put you in the way of finding the young Squire, but send at +once; there's no time to be lost. Look out an honest man, if you can +find such. It won't do to be sending a beak, remember that. Send a lad +with him; he may want somebody to help him.' + +"Mr Woodcock at once thought of me, as he knows that no one loves the +young Squire better; and so he sent for me, and told the old dame that I +was the man he would send, and that he was sure you, Master Haviland, +would wish to go also. She seemed well satisfied at this, and then went +on to tell me what to do. + +"`A mile to the west of Osberton, in Luccombe Cove, there's a +fisherman's cottage, close down to the beach,' said she; `there's no +other near. You'll find an old man there. Ask for Jem the Spotsman. +Say that I sent you to him. Tell him that if he shows you where the +young Squire is you'll give him five golden guineas. He'll not do it +for less. If he says he knows nothing about the matter, tell him that +the beaks will be on him, and that he'd better do as I bid him. If you +can get another fearless man to go with you it may be better. Jem will +lead you to a strange place, where you'll meet strange people. Speak +them fair; you'll not do much by force. Tell them that you've plenty of +friends at your back, who know where you are, and will come and look for +you if you don't soon return to them. I tell you this because I don't +want any more mischief to come out of the matter. Again I say, you +mustn't lose time. It's just possible that, even now, you may be too +late, and that the lad is on his way to far distant lands. That's no +fault of mine, remember. Those who have got him may be thinking of +taking him, or they may not. It is not very likely that they will be +wishing to send him back after they have shown him their hiding-place, +and let him into other of their secrets.' + +"I didn't stop to hear more, but I just got a couple of brace of +pistols, and came away at once to overtake you. We might have ridden +all the way into Osberton, but Mr Woodcock cautioned me to go in +quietly, lest the smugglers or the people, whoever they are, who have +got Master Digby, should hear of our coming, and suspecting treachery, +should carry him off elsewhere." + +"I am rejoiced to hear what you tell me," exclaimed Arthur, when John +Pratt had finished his account. It is impossible, by the by, to do +justice to the quaint and thoroughly provincial way in which he +expressed himself; so that Arthur at times could scarcely understand +him. "There can be but little doubt, from what you tell me, that he is +alive, and that we are in a fair way of recovering him. We must +proceed, I see, with caution and courage; and as we may employ another +man, I know one who will gladly aid us. He is a friend, too, of +Digby's--Toby Tubb is his name. If we want help, he can help us better +than anybody." + +"He may be a friend of Master Digby's, and I hope he has many friends, +but he can't be a greater, nor one who would give every day he has to +live for him," exclaimed John, with a very natural burst of feeling. + +They were walking on all this time rapidly towards Osberton. On +arriving there, they first went to Mr Nugent's house. He had been made +aware of what had occurred, and had already consulted with Toby Tubb on +the subject. While Arthur took some tea, and rested, he sent off for +Toby. + +When Toby, who had been thinking the matter over, as he said, arrived, +and was told Arthur's errand, he slapped his thigh, and exclaimed, "I +thought it was so. I know the gang; a set of daring ruffians as ever +lived. Poor Master Digby; it was hard for him to fall into their power. +But we will get him out again as soon as we can, if they haven't +spirited him away." Toby had come prepared for an expedition. He +begged Mr Nugent to lend him a brace of pistols. Arthur and John Pratt +were already armed. Adam Hodder had gone back with the horses. Arthur, +with his two attendants, therefore, John and Toby, immediately set forth +on their undertaking. As Toby Tubb knew every inch of the way, they +soon reached the high ground above Luccombe Cove. + +"There's the cottage," he observed, pointing to a hut low down on the +beach. "I know Jem the Spotsman well--a terrible old ruffian he is. Do +you, Master Haviland and John Pratt, go in and give him your message. +If he refuses to help you, call me, and I'll see what I can do." + +Arthur, followed by John Pratt, stepped boldly in. The expedition, +independent of the object, had peculiar charms for him; there was so +much romance and excitement in it. He did not stop to knock, but flung +open the door of the hut, and unhesitatingly entered. An old man, in a +blue Guernsey frock, sat bending over a drift-wood fire, which +spluttered and smoked as he kept piling on the yet damp chips. He +looked round at the noise, and, seeing strangers, rose with considerable +activity to his feet. He scowled at them beneath his white shaggy +eyebrows. + +Arthur had begged that he might be the spokesman; he felt fully up to +the emergency. At an early age, indeed, he had learned much to rely on +himself. "Jem the Spotsman, I have a message for you," he began. + +"Who told you that was my name?" asked the old man, with a growl. + +"Never mind, if it is your name," said Arthur. "We've come to do you +good, and show you how to gain five golden guineas." + +"Time was when I could gain fifty without much trouble," interrupted the +old man. + +"You cannot now, though; and five guineas is a good sum," observed +Arthur. "You'll get that, but not more. Dame Marlow bids me tell you +that the beaks will be on you; that you know where the young Squire of +Bloxholme is hid away, and that if you would keep your neck out of a +noose, you will show us where he is to be found." + +The old man sat down and began to rake the ashes of the fire with a +stick. He did not ask his visitors to take seats, though, but he kept +watching them warily out of the corners of his eyes. "Five golden +guineas, five golden guineas," he kept muttering. "Who are you who make +the promise?" + +"A friend of Mr Heathcote's," answered Arthur. "It will be faithfully +kept with you, depend on that." + +"Who's that man with you?" + +Arthur told him. + +"Ay, he looks as if he had the hay-seed in his hair," observed old Jem. +"I'd rather trust a seaman." + +"If I bring a seaman, one, perhaps, whom you know, will you trust him?" +asked Arthur. + +"Yes," answered the old man, after a little thought. + +Arthur made a sign to John Pratt to go and fetch Toby; but he seemed +unwilling to leave Arthur alone. + +"Go, go. What have I to fear?" said Arthur, firmly. + +The old man looked up at him. "Some who have been here have been +afraid, though," he muttered. "Take a seat, young gentleman. I like +your spirit." + +Arthur thanked him, and sat down on a three-legged stool, near a table, +which, from its appearance, he knew had formed part of the furniture of +the cabin of a ship, probably wrecked on the coast. Every portion of +the hut, indeed, was evidently composed of wreck-wood--the roof, the +sides, and floor. + +John Pratt soon returned with Toby. + +"Ho, ho, old shipmate," said Toby, as he entered, "so you won't believe +what the young gentleman promises; but you'll believe me. Five golden +guineas or a rope's-end, remember that." + +"The guineas," answered old Jem, who at once recognised Toby as an +acquaintance. "But I was placed here to receive a message; when they +come who will they give it to?" + +"Never you mind that; we'll be be back in time, I dare say," answered +Toby. + +"Then come along," said the old man, whose weak mind was evidently +powerfully influenced by the prospect of receiving the five golden +guineas to the exclusion of every other consideration. "It will be +rough work for the young gentleman, but he looks as if he wouldn't fear +it." + +Getting up, and walking with wonderfully firm steps, the old man led the +way to a little inlet of the sea, into which a stream fell. It was +large enough to allow four or five boats to float in it at once. One +only was seen, and she was drawn up on the beach. A pair of oars and a +rudder, and a mast and sails were in her. The old man called to Toby to +help him launch her. + +"What, be'es we going by the sea?" asked John Pratt, who had a thorough +dread of the ocean. + +"It's better than going by the land, seeing that we could not get there +at all, if I guess the place we are bound for," observed Toby. "Now +step in, young gentleman--step in, master." + +"Can you steer?" old Jem asked of Arthur. + +"Yes, I am well accustomed to it," he answered. + +"Then take the helm, and do as I bid you," said the old man, taking the +after oar. + +Toby took the other, and they pulled away from the land. The cove was +sheltered by a high reef of rocks, so the water was perfectly smooth--so +smooth, that a thin coating of ice had been formed at the margin, +through which the boat easily forced her way. The stars shone brightly +forth from the dark sky, and enabled Arthur to discern the whole outline +of the wild, and fantastically-shaped cliffs, which formed the coast, as +they towered high above his head on the right. The boat had gone out to +clear a reef of rocks which ran out from the shore, and having got to +the end of it, old Jem told Arthur to port his helm, and thus doubling +it, he steered close in under the cliffs. In many places there was no +beach, the water coming close up to their bases; and so close was the +boat that frequently the oars touched their rugged fronts. Often, too, +the sea-fowl, roosting low down on ledges of rocks, were disturbed from +their perches, and flew up with loud screams, circling round and round +their heads, till they had passed their resting-places. + +John Pratt looked about him with considerable awe, if not dread; all was +strange and new to him. + +Arthur had witnessed similar scenes. The boat made but slow progress, +for she was kept all the way in and out, through all the little bays, +and bends, and inlets of the shore. Many thoughts passed through +Arthur's mind during the long pull. He hoped to recover his friend, and +to enjoy the delight of restoring him to his family. At the same time, +he could not help recollecting what Dame Marlow had said to John Pratt, +and also the remarks of old Jem, and often he feared that they might +arrive too late at the cavern where they expected to find him; that he +might already be carried off to the distant lands of which the old woman +spoke. Such things had occurred before, and might occur again; yet he +was puzzled to know what motives the smugglers could have in such a mode +of proceeding. He thought and thought over the matter without coming to +any satisfactory conclusion. No one spoke above a whisper. + +"We might be seen or heard by some passing coastguard man," observed old +Jem. + +Now a lofty, dark, and beetling headland was seen before them. + +"It's on t'other side of St. Niven's Head. We'll have to go round it," +said old Jem. + +Arthur did not object to the long pull, but he was eager to discover +Digby, and to relieve him from all the anxiety he must be feeling. + +On pulling out towards the end of the promontory, a swell was felt +which, as it rolled in, broke on the cliffs, and compelled them to keep +at a somewhat greater distance. On they went. As Arthur looked up it +appeared as if the cliffs rose to a prodigious height above his head, +almost reaching the sky. In several places, indeed, they appeared to be +completely overhanging the water; and he could scarcely divest himself +of the feeling that they were about to fall down and overwhelm the boat. +The boat now rose and fell more rapidly to the heaving wave, and +nothing but John Pratt's earnest desire to find his young master, +prevented him from bitterly repenting that he had trusted himself on the +treacherous ocean. + +"Starboard your helm!" suddenly exclaimed Jem, with an energy which he +did not seem capable of exerting. + +A loud splashing, washing sound, was heard, and Arthur saw the sea +breaking wildly over a rock, on which, in another instant, the boat +would have struck. The danger passed, they pulled on till they rounded +the headland. Wilder than ever was the scene. On one side the lofty +cliffs, with their steep front, on which there appeared scarcely a ledge +on which a sea-fowl might set its foot; while on the other was the broad +boundless expanse of ocean. Arthur thought what would have been their +fate if the boat had struck on the rock, and sunk. + +"The cave where we may find him is not many hundred fathoms off," said +old Jem. + +Arthur's heart beat eagerly at the information; and John Pratt forgot +all his fears. + +"Remember, you have to deal with men who care not for law of any sort. +You must speak them fair, or you will gain nothing," said the old man. +"Now steer in for that white spot. You'll find some steps and a path +cut in the face of the rock. Take care you don't slip, or you'll chance +to break your neck. Enter the cave as boldly as you entered my nephew's +cottage; say your say, and wait for the answer. If they threaten you, +call for me. I want my five golden guineas." + +Arthur sprang out of the boat, followed by Toby and John Pratt. + +Toby whispered that he had no idea of the place they were going to. + +Arthur carefully groped his way up the cliff, but had great difficulty +in finding the path. He could not help allowing it to occur to him how +completely they were in the power of the ruffians they had come to seek. +A few stones rolled down would have precipitated them all into the sea. +Still the idea was far from making him repent that he had come on the +expedition. His chief thought and earnest wish was to rescue Digby. + +Toby Tubb puffed up after him, but John Pratt, once on dry land, was +himself again, and came along with easy strides. Lichens and +salt-loving plants grew on the face of the cliff, and served Arthur as +handles to assist him to mount, though he trusted chiefly to his feet +and the ledges and excrescences in the rock. Up he went--on, on, on. +He thought that he must have got into the wrong path; not a sight of a +cave appeared. Then he thought that perhaps old Jem had played them a +trick, and having placed them on the wild rock had pulled away. The old +man had charged him not to speak, so he was afraid of stopping and +consulting with Toby and John Pratt. He was beginning to despair, when +suddenly he found that he had reached a broad ledge. The party +collected on it. A dark spot on the face of the cliff was before them; +that was evidently the entrance to the cavern. He drew his breath +faster; who would not on such an occasion? Then he and his two +attendants walked rapidly forward, till they found themselves under the +arched roof of the cave. There was no light, or signs of any one being +there. Toby had brought a lantern; he lighted it. As he did so, he +whispered to Arthur-- + +"There may be pitfalls in the way; it's as well not to tumble into +them." + +The cave did not run directly into the cliff, but turned sharply round +to the left. Toby holding up his lantern, they boldly advanced. Still +no voices were heard. + +"The fellows are asleep," whispered Toby. + +They soon reached a narrower part of the cave, with a screen of rough +planks running across it. At one end of the screen was a low door; +Arthur pushed it open, and entered, fully believing that, in another +instant, he should grasp Digby's hand. Arthur saw before him a large +vaulted cavern. In the centre was a fire, over which an old man and a +boy were sitting toasting some slices of fish at the points of their +knives. So eager were they in their occupation that they did not +perceive his approach. Could the boy be Digby? The idiotic expression +of wonder and fear with which the lad looked up at him showed him that +he was not. The few inarticulate words uttered by the lad made the man +turn round, when, starting up, he drew a pistol, and presented it at +Arthur. + +"We come in peace, and have no wish to hurt you," said Arthur. "Tell me +where is Squire Heathcote's son. We come to seek him." + +While the man stood irresolute, without replying, Arthur's eye fell on +some clothes on the top of a cask. He took them up: there was a cap, +and jacket, and waistcoat, such as Digby was accustomed to wear. He had +little doubt that they were Digby's. His heart sunk within him. + +"Where is Squire Heathcote's son?" he repeated. + +The man stretched out his hand. "They have carried him off; he is far +down Channel by this time." + +All Arthur's worst apprehensions were realised; he was too late to save +his friend. + + + +CHAPTER NINE. + +DIGBY'S NEW PONY--ATTACKED BY SMUGGLERS--THE OUTLAWS' CAVERN--A VOYAGE-- +THE GALE--AN ILL WIND THAT BLOWS NO ONE GOOD--DIGBY SHIPWRECKED. + +"You beautiful little Sweetlips, many a jolly ride I'll have on you," +cried the young Squire of Bloxholme Hall, as he patted his pony's neck +while he cantered along over the ground, just crisping with the newly +set in frost. He had intended to go only as far as the park gates, but +the air was so refreshing, and the feeling of finding himself once more +in the saddle was so exhilarating that, seeing the gate open, he could +not help dashing through it, and giving his pony the rein and a cut with +his whip, galloping along a smooth piece of turf which ran for some +distance by the side of the road. "I shall be back quite time enough to +dress for dinner," he thought to himself, "and Sweetlips likes the fun +as much as I do." He galloped on a little longer. "Oh, this is +delightful! We must go a short distance further, Sweetlips," he +exclaimed. "We will turn back, then, and you shall have a capital feed. +I'll tell John Pratt to give it you. Oh, how kind is papa. You are a +first-rate pony, indeed you are, old fellow." On he went; the pony +certainly seeming to enjoy the gallop as much as his young master. "Now +we really must go back, Sweetlips," cried Digby, pulling in his rein, +for the gloom of evening was rapidly increasing. He did not perceive +that several men were coming quickly along the road close to him. "Now +for Bloxholme, at your best speed, my pony, he shouted in his glee." + +"Hillo! stop, master!" cried one of the men, springing forward and +seizing his rein. "Who are you?" + +"Let go my bridle," answered Digby, trying to free himself. "I am Mr +Heathcote's son, if you wish to know." + +"Ho, ho! are you, indeed, youngster?" said one of the men. "We are in +luck, then. I say, though, you are not going home just now. Come along +with us." + +"Along with you! Indeed I will not," answered Digby, with very natural +indignation. + +"Ho, ho, my cock of the woods, don't crow so loudly, or we may have to +squeeze your windpipe," exclaimed another of the ruffians coming up. + +All Digby's spirit was raised. He struck out right and left with his +whip, and endeavoured to force his pony out from among them. In vain +were his efforts. He, however, struck the ruffian who held the reins so +severe a blow across the eyes that the man let them go, and he might +have escaped, had not, at the same moment, two other fellows seized him +by the collar of his jacket, and he was dragged to the ground. The +pony, finding his head free, sprang forward, and before either of the +men could catch him, had galloped far beyond their reach, though one of +the most active ran on in the hope of catching it. Digby in the +scuffle, while bravely trying to escape, let go his whip, which fell to +the ground unperceived by his captors. Few other words were spoken. +They dragged him rapidly along the road they had come, which led past +Dame Marlow's cottage. One of them threatened to blow out his brains if +he made the slightest noise, and suspecting that they might put their +threat into execution, he refrained from crying out. Still, as he went +along, he was considering all the time how he could effect his escape. +He counted eight or ten men in the party who had got hold of him. When +they arrived at Mile-End gravel-pits, they turned off and took the path +to Dame Marlow's cottage. They seemed to be expected there. When they +entered, the old woman was leaning over the fire, stirring a large +caldron boiling on it. As the bright light fell on her thin, sharp +features, and her long, bony arm, almost bare, was stretched out +grasping the ladle, with her red cloak thrown over one shoulder, her +long, straggling hair, and her fantastic dress, she looked, indeed, like +one of the witches Digby had read of, and he could not help feeling that +the outrage of which he was the victim, was a just retribution for the +trick he had once played here--a retribution probably brought about by +her machinations. + +"We've caught the young bird sooner than we expected, Dame," said one of +the men. "But, we've more work on hand to-night. We'll leave him with +you and Dick Owlett till we come back. Take care that he doesn't fly +off." + +Master Dick Owlett, who had hitherto kept in the background, now made +his appearance. He had grown so much stouter and bigger since Digby saw +him last at Osberton, that dressed as he was, in a rough seaman's +costume, he could scarcely have recognised him. + +Digby knew that he had been sent off to sea, but he learned, from his +conversation with the old woman, that he had deserted and found his way +back to his old haunts. + +One of the men placed a bench near the fire. "Sit down there, +youngster," he said. "Mind you don't stir till we come back. Dick, +keep an eye on him." + +Dick Owlett scowled at Digby, and drawing a pistol from his coat-pocket, +sat himself down at the other end of the bench, eyeing him as a +bull-terrier does his master's bundle he has been placed to watch. The +rest of the men then hurried out, leaving only old Marlow, who lay +groaning on a bed at the further end of the cottage, the Dame, and +Owlett watching Digby. + +When the men were gone, the Dame came and placed herself before Digby, +eyeing him with a very sinister glance. "So, young Squire," she hissed +out, "the old Squire will learn that the poor can love their children as +much as the rich. He sent my boy across the sea with the help of the +law, and never will he come back to gladden his old grandmother's eyes; +and now I'm going to send his son far away, and may be he'll never come +back to brighten Bloxholme Hall with his smiles and his laughter. +Revenge is sweet, and there are many to-night who find it so, and there +are some who will find it bitter, too." + +Digby heard these words, but scarcely comprehended their full meaning, +or was aware of the very terrible misfortune threatening him. He sat +still for some time, while the old woman's words were ringing in his +ears. "I don't much fear her threats, and I ought to be ashamed of +myself in allowing the old woman, and that young rascal, not so many +years older than I am, to keep me a prisoner," he thought. "I'll break +away from them." He sprung up to rush to the door, but before he had +moved further, the click of the pistol-lock struck his ear. + +"I'll fire," exclaimed Owlett, with a dreadful oath. "I'm not going to +be informed against, and sent off to prison for this night's work." + +"Young Squire, he'll kill thee," cried the old woman, placing her long, +skinny hands on his shoulder, and forcing him down to his seat with a +strength he could not resist. + +He was too indignant to expostulate, but he eyed Dick Owlett, and +considered whether he could compete with him in a tussle, and wrest the +pistol from his hands. Then he recollected that if he made the attempt, +he should have the old woman attacking him in the rear with her sharp, +talon-like fingers. Whenever she moved, he felt that the Dame's keen +eye was upon him. Even while preparing the supper for her guests, and +stirring the caldron, her glance was constantly turned towards him. +Then, also, Owlett had his finger on the lock, and the muzzle of the +pistol pointed at his breast. A full-grown man might have felt very +uncomfortable under such circumstances, so, considering that Owlett +might possibly put his threat into execution, much against his will he +sat still. + +A long time seemed to pass, and then, at length, the band of ruffians +came back. From their appearance and conversation Digby supposed them +to be smugglers. They seemed highly delighted with their performances +that evening; and having hurriedly discussed their supper, they declared +that they must be off without further delay. + +Digby now thought it was time to speak out. + +"What is it you want with me?" he asked. "I wish to return home." + +"That's what you will be crying out for many a day, youngster," answered +one of the men. "No, no, you'll go along with us." + +In vain Digby expostulated, and threatened, and at last entreated his +captors to let him return home. They only laughed and sneered at him. +Had he himself only been the sufferer, he felt that he would not have +condescended to use any arguments but threats with such ruffians; but he +knew the misery his disappearance would cause his parents and sisters. + +"Poor dear little Kate; how she will cry about me," he said to himself; +and he thought again and again how he could get away. + +The men buttoned up their coats, slipped a rough pea-jacket over his +shoulders, and put a tarpaulin hat on his head, which they tied down so +that he could not throw it off. + +"Gag him," said one of them; and he found a handkerchief passed tightly +over his mouth, effectually preventing him from crying out. Two of them +then took him by the arms between them, and, nodding to Dame Marlow, +went out. She merely cast one very unpleasant glance at him, but said +nothing. The whole party followed, and walked along the road at a rapid +rate, every now and then looking behind them as if they expected to be +pursued. In about twenty minutes they reached a low public-house, well +known as the resort of smugglers and other bad characters. Two carts +were standing before the door; jumping into them, without entering the +house, they drove on at a rapid rate. Digby looked up at the sky, which +was beautifully clear. Mr Nugent constantly gave his pupils lessons in +practical astronomy, and Digby was therefore able to discover that they +were driving towards the sea. They kept, however, considerably to the +west of Osberton. At last they reached the edge of a cliff; before him +lay spread out the ocean, now sleeping in calm grandeur. The men +roughly pulled him out of the cart, and two of them taking him as +before, between them, made him descend a narrow zig-zag path down the +face of the cliff. Down, down they went, till they reached a small +curving beach, the high cliffs towering above it, and without any +communication with the other part of the shore. A boat lay there; she +was quickly launched, and the men, getting in, took Digby with them. + +He had been full well sure that search would be made for him, but he saw +that the difficulty of discovering him would be much increased by this +proceeding of the smugglers. He had been unable to drop anything on the +road by which he could be traced; and now embarked, and, as he thought, +about to be carried out of the country, he was brought to the verge of +despair. + +The smugglers, however, had not rowed far before they once more turned +the boat's head towards the land; and he soon found that they were at +the foot of a lofty cliff. + +"You may sing out now, youngster, as loudly as you like; no One will +hear you whom we fear," said one of the men, undoing the handkerchief +secured round his mouth. + +Up the cliff the whole party climbed till they reached a cave in the +face of the rock. Digby had not supposed so curious a place existed in +that part of the country. The entrance was of no great size, but when +they had gone a little way, he saw that it branched off into several +broad and lofty galleries. Into one of them the smugglers turned, when +a wooden partition appeared before them, and going through a small door, +he found that they were in what looked like a large hall, lighted with +lamps hung from the roof. A fire burnt in the centre with pots and +caldrons cooking over it, and near it were several long tables and +benches, sufficient to accommodate a considerable number of persons. +The glare of the fire fell on numerous packages, and bales, and casks, +piled up round the walls of the cave, while several ship's bunks and +rough-looking bedsteads were arranged at the further end of the hall. + +Several persons already occupied the place. Two of them were women, so +Digby judged by their dress, though they were the roughest specimens of +the female sex he had ever seen; the rest were men and boys. They all +evinced great curiosity about him, and made many inquiries as to how he +had been taken, and what was to be done with him. Digby did not hear +the answers made to these questions, so that he was left in the dark as +to the fate intended for him. The party were soon seated at the tables, +and fish, flesh, and fowl, in ample quantities, were placed before them. +Digby was invited to join them in somewhat a rough manner, but with no +unkind intention, apparently. At first he thought that he ought to +refuse, but he had grown very hungry, and he felt that it would be +foolish not to make himself as comfortable as he could. Room was made +for him near the fire, and one of the women brought him a plateful of +the most delicate of the morsels of food which she could pick out. + +"Poor little chap, it's hard for you to be taken away from home just +now; but cheer up, may be they'll let you go again, by and by." + +"Hillo, Bet! what are you talking to the child for?" exclaimed a man, +whom Digby had for some time suspected to be the captain of the band. + +The men, however, addressed him in the same familiar way that they spoke +to each other, and called him "Nat Charnick." Though roughly dressed, +his costume was neater than that of the other men; he spoke more +correctly also; in appearance there was, perhaps, less of the ruffian +about him. He was of moderate height, strongly built, and of a fairish +complexion, but the expression of his countenance showed that, in +essential points, he was in no way superior to the men who surrounded +him. The ruffian crew appeared, from some reason or other, to be +accustomed to look up to him, and a word from his lips speedily brought +the most unruly to order. Food, though somewhat coarsely dressed, there +was in abundance, and spirits of various sorts were passed round and +drunk, as if they had been so much water. When, however, the carouse +appeared to be growing fast and furious, Nat Charnick called his crew to +order, and reminded them that they had work to do that night. In an +instant the men put aside their glasses, and rising from their seats, +each one loaded himself with one of the casks, or bales, I have +mentioned, and went out of the tavern. Digby sat still, wondering what +was going to be done. The men, however, quickly returned and took up +more bales or casks. Everybody, even the boys and women, were employed +in the work. Like ants they kept going continually backwards and +forwards, till the heaps of goods sensibly diminished. + +"Oh, oh!" said Digby to himself, "here is a possibility of my effecting +my escape, and I will carry out a burden with the rest, and as soon as I +have put it down, I will try and make off, or hide myself somewhere +outside the cavern." + +Accordingly he jumped from his seat, and putting a bale of silk on his +shoulders, he followed Dick Owlett and some other lads out of the cave, +as he fancied, unobserved by any one. How delighted he felt at getting +into the open air, keen and cold as it was. + +"In a few minutes I shall be free," he thought; "if I once get to the +top of the cliff won't I run on? I doubt if even the fastest among the +smugglers would overtake me." + +On he went with his burden, which was a pretty heavy one. They soon +reached a narrow ledge on the face of a perpendicular cliff. Ropes were +hanging over it, and the smugglers securing their bales and casks to +them, away they were hoisted rapidly out of sight; but bitter was +Digby's disappointment when he found that there was not a spot near +where he could by possibility conceal himself. + +"Well done, youngster," said the voice of Captain Charnick; "I like to +see a lad willing to make himself useful; you'll soon become like one of +us, and spend a much more happy and free life than you would at school +or at the old Hall there." + +Digby found himself caught in a trap, and that the smugglers might not +suspect the design he had entertained, he was compelled to run backwards +and forwards with the goods, as they were doing, till the cave was +completely empty. The exercise had, however, the effect of making him +so thoroughly tired, that he was glad to throw himself on a bed pointed +out to him; and in a minute he was fast asleep. When he awoke the +smugglers were astir, and the women were bending over the fire, busy in +preparing breakfast. He was invited, as before, to partake of it. + +"They cannot intend to do me much harm, or they would not feed me so +well," he said to himself; and he very wisely resolved to keep up his +spirits, and to make himself as much at home as possible. He thanked +the women in a cheerful voice for their kindness, and laughed and +chatted in a perfectly natural and free way with every body round him. +Dick Owlett looked surprised and rather suspiciously at him. + +"You are a merry as well as active youngster, I see," said Captain +Charnick, coming up to him; "keep alive, and we will give you employment +before long." + +"Thank you," answered Digby, "I am much obliged to you for the good +supper and breakfast you have given me, and if you will pay me a visit +at Bloxholme Hall, I shall be very happy to give you as plentiful ones +in return." + +The smugglers laughed heartily at the remark. + +"It's a doubt whether you'd like to see us at Bloxholme Hall, in the way +we should go there," remarked one of them; "howsomdever, we are not +likely to put you to the trial." + +Breakfast over, most of the men left the cave; some of the remainder +hauled out ropes and sails, and began working away busily on them, while +others employed themselves in overhauling sea-chests, casks, and sacks +of provisions, or in cleaning and repairing arms. It was very evident +that the smugglers did not spend an idle life in the cavern; indeed, +from what Digby had hitherto had an opportunity of remarking, he could +not help thinking that the same industry employed in any of the lawful +callings of life, would have procured them far more wealth and comfort +than they could in any way at present enjoy. + +Thus the day passed on. Digby, however, found that he was still a +prisoner, for whenever he went towards the entrance of the cavern, Dick +Owlett jumped up and made a very significant sign to him to go back +again, and as Dick strengthened his argument with a loaded pistol in his +hand, Digby saw that it would be wise to submit. + +It was late in the afternoon when the greater number of the band +hurriedly entered the cavern. They evidently brought some information, +which was not of a pleasant character; the rest sprung quickly to their +feet--the sails were rolled up--the rigging was put in a form to be +easily carried; sea-chests, and cases, and baskets, were brought out and +placed near the entrance ready to be moved; indeed, as far as Digby +could judge, the smugglers were preparing to desert the place +altogether. The Captain was still absent. Soon after these +preparations were concluded, he made his appearance. Whatever had been +the information previously received, he corroborated it. + +"Be smart, my lads," he exclaimed; "the lugger is ready, and the revenue +people are on the wrong scent. We've no time to lose, or they may be +back on us." + +At these words the men loaded themselves with the various articles which +they had got ready to move, and one after the other left the cavern. + +Digby hoped that he was to be allowed to remain, and to find his way +home as best he could after the smugglers had gone; but again he was +doomed to disappointment. + +"Come, youngster, you are going with us," said Captain Charnick, who had +remained behind to see that nothing was left which he required. + +Digby began to expostulate. + +"Why, just now you were, I thought, all ready to join us," exclaimed the +Captain, with a laugh. "Come along, though. I want you, that's +enough." + +Saying this, he took Digby by the arm in no very gentle way, and led him +out of the cavern and down the face of the cliff. At the foot of it, so +close in that she looked as if she must be touching the shore, lay a +large lugger. The cliffs there formed a bay, in which she lay, and from +her position, no one, except those who stood near the mouth of the +cavern, could by any possibility see what was going forward on her deck. + +Digby found, on reaching the foot of the cliff, that nearly all the +things just carried from the cavern had been conveyed on board her. At +last everything was embarked. Even now Digby hoped that he might be +allowed to get away. + +"Come, my lad, wish good-bye to old England," said the Captain, taking +him by the arm, and lifting him into the boat. In another minute he was +on board the lugger; the boats were hoisted in, the anchor was got up, +and sail being made, with a fair and strong breeze she stood down +channel. + +Digby burst into tears; it was long since he had cried so bitterly. No +one seemed to pity him; but they allowed him to grieve on by himself. +The smugglers themselves, however, it was evident, were not free from +anxiety. A bright look-out was kept in every direction, and more than +once the lugger's course was altered to avoid a strange sail. The +weather, too, had changed for the worse, and had become very +threatening. To increase their difficulties, a thick mist and driving +rain came on, so that they could often see but a short distance beyond +the vessel. Still they ran on under all sail. The evening of a short +winter's day was drawing on, when suddenly, the mist clearing off, a +large cutter was seen right ahead, standing across their course. + +"Down with the helm! Haul aft the sheets!" cried the Captain; and the +lugger was brought on a wind. The movement, however, did not escape +those on board the cutter, for she immediately went about, and stood +after the smuggler. + +That she was a revenue vessel Digby had no doubt; and now he hoped that +his emancipation was near. But the lugger proved herself to be a very +fast craft; and though the cutter carried all the canvass she could +bear, she did not appear in the slightest degree to be overhauling them. + +"We are not in her clutches just yet, my lad," said Captain Charnick, as +he saw Digby anxiously watching the cutter. "Once upon a time we would +have fought her, and beat her off, but now we must trust to our heels. +We've a pair of smart ones, let me tell you; and if you expect ever to +step aboard that cutter you are mistaken." + +Digby's heart sunk at hearing the Captain express himself with so much +confidence. The wind continued increasing; and Digby heard some of the +smugglers say that it was shifting about very much, and that it would +settle down into a regular south-westerly gale. In spite, however, of +the strong wind, neither the smugglers nor those on board the cruiser +appeared inclined to shorten sail. The lugger tore through the water +with a mass of foam at her bows, which came flying in sheets over the +deck. The sea, too, was getting up; and as she rushed on she seemed to +be making such headlong plunges into it, that Digby sometimes thought +that she would never rise again. There was a little binnacle on deck. +Digby got a look at the compass within it, and found that the cutter was +once more running up Channel. This again raised his hopes; he thought +that there was a better chance of the lugger being overtaken by the +revenue cruiser, when he had little doubt that he should be able to make +himself known. The gale increased, the waves danced more wildly than +ever, their white crests gleaming amid the gloom of night, which rapidly +came on. Still the smugglers would not shorten sail; they trusted to +the stout little craft which had carried them safely through many a +storm, and to the darkness of night, to enable them to escape. + +Digby kept on deck in spite of the way the vessel tumbled about, and the +seas, which every now and then washed on board, soaked him through. He +had been for some time standing holding on by the weather bulwarks, +looking anxiously ahead, and wondering whether the lugger could possibly +mount again over the next foaming wave. Had he not learned a good deal +about sailing from Toby Tubb, he would have been much more alarmed. As +it was, the smugglers remarked to each other that he was a brave little +chap, and would make a good seaman some day or other, when he was one of +them. Digby might have been flattered with the remark, but he would +have rather shrunk from the career they proposed for him. He had stood +thus for some time, when turning round, and looking astern, the cutter +was no longer to be seen. In vain he tried to pierce the gloom; nothing +could he see but the dark waves, and the white spray, dancing up towards +to the sky. + +"There's no fear, we've given her the slip this time," he heard one of +the smugglers remark; and soon all were congratulating themselves on +their escape from their pursuer. + +Poor Digby felt very miserable. The gale came down stronger and +stronger. The lugger held on her course; the smugglers no longer spoke +to each other; only new and then the Captain issued some order in a loud +tone, which all hastened to obey. And Digby judged from this that they +were far from contented with the state of affairs. Some sail was taken +off the vessel, but she still had too much; she at times heeled over +fearfully, and the seas, with terrific force, washed on board. Digby +felt that he would have been carried away, but he had bound a rope fast +to the weather bulwarks, and securing it round himself, he was preserved +from a fate so dreadful. Hour after hour passed, and still the lugger +went tearing through the dark waters. + +"You'd better go below and turn in, youngster," said the Captain, +good-naturedly, to him. "There's some brandy and water and a biscuit +for you in the cabin; it will do you good." + +Digby thanked him, but said that he would rather stay where he was, and +see what was going to happen. + +Sometimes the wind seemed to lull, and Digby hoped that the storm was +going to be over, but it again breezed up, and blew harder than ever. +The smugglers stood some at the helm, and others clustered round the +masts. As the storm increased, the darkness became more intense. The +vessel seemed to be rushing into a mass of black; the rain came down in +torrents; thunder, in terrific peals, rolled overhead; and forked +lightning darted from the skies. Digby felt almost worn out, and ready +to sink--a dreamy unconsciousness came over him. Had he not secured +himself by the rope he would have fallen to leeward, and been washed +overboard. How long he had continued in this state he could not tell. +He was aroused by a terrific crash; he was up to his waist in water--a +tremendous sea had struck the vessel; the masts had gone by the board; +and many of the crew had been washed away. He could hear their shrieks +of agonising despair us the vessel was swept on away from them; and +they, with all their sins on their heads, were left amid that dark sea +to perish miserably. The survivors, bold seamen as they were, held on +to whatever they could grasp, knowing that, till daylight, they could do +nothing towards getting up a jury-mast, on which they could set sail, to +carry them into port. Were they destined ever again to see the bright +light of day? On went the lugger, impelled by the force of the wind, +bodily to leeward. Suddenly there was a crash; the vessel seemed to be +lifted up and down; she came again on a rock, which split her into +fragments. Shrieks of terror and despair sounded in Digby's ears. He, +too, cried out--it was that God would save him. He was alone, tossed +about by the wild waters, clinging to a part of the bulwarks. Soon the +voices of the once bold and hardy smugglers were silent. Digby felt +himself lifted up and down by the waves; the spray, in thick masses, +flew over him. The loud roar of the sea dashing on the shore almost +deafened him. There was a grating sound as if he was close to the +beach; he touched the sand with his feet. Now he was carried away; but +another wave rolled in, and sent him high up against a rugged rock. He +had become separated from the plank to which he had been but loosely +secured. He grasped hold of the rock; the wave rolled back, and he +found his feet touching the soft sand. He ran on as fast as he could +move, but he ran against a rock. Again he heard the roar of a wave as +it came rolling up, but it did not even reach his feet. He clung to the +rock till it had retired. Once more he tried to work his way on, but he +could discover no outlet, and stooping down, he found that the sand was +dry and soft; he therefore suspected that he had been thrown into a +cave. It did not, happily, occur to him that the tide might be rising, +and that even then the sea might pursue him. He crawled up to the +furthest end, where the ground was dry, and the air comparatively warm; +but he himself felt numbed and chilled, and could not help thinking that +he should be frozen to death. As he sat there he began to consider how +he could make his escape. In the dark he could do nothing. It was +still some hours to daylight he supposed. He wished that he could make +a fire; it would show him where he was, and help to dry his clothes. He +felt about, and found that there was an abundant supply of wood, but it +had been so long there that much of it was soft as tinder. Not long +before, one of his companions had given him a present, which every boy +prizes--a flint and steel, with some tinder; it was in a small tin case. +He expected to find that the water had got into it, and spoilt it, or +that it had been washed out of his pocket. He felt for it; there it was +safe. He scraped all the wood he could find round him, and then took +out his box; it was well made, and had proved water-tight. With a +grateful heart he struck a light, and put a piece of the burning tinder +under some of the soft wood; then, stooping down, he blew it steadily +till, to his joy, the wood caught, and very soon burst into a flame. He +piled more wood on till there was a good blaze. Looking around, he +found that he was in a large cavern, with the water filling its mouth, +and which ran up some way directly from it, and then turned sharply +round to the left. He had happily been guided to this turning, where he +was sheltered from the wind, and was well supplied with fuel. The +blazing fire again made the blood circulate through his numbed limbs, +and dried his clothes. He looked about and could not see how he could +escape; but he felt, after the merciful way in which he had been +preserved, that it would be gross ingratitude to doubt that means for +saving him would be provided. + +"Where are all the people who so lately were with me, full of life, on +board the lugger?" he thought to himself; "not one of them remains in +existence. I alone have been saved among them all, though the weakest, +and least able to help myself." + +Such, indeed, was the case. His strength had hitherto been wonderfully +kept up, but he was beginning to grow very faint and hungry, and he felt +as if he should not be able to hold out much longer. He, however, +exerted himself to the utmost to keep up his fire; he knew that his life +might depend on it. It was so cold and damp, though fortunately not +freezing, that he thought if he went to sleep, and let his fire go out, +he might be so chilled and benumbed as to be unable to rally. Whenever, +then, he felt very sleepy, he got up, and walked round and round his +fire to arouse and warm himself. How anxiously he looked for daylight; +how he longed for the storm to cease, that he might try and make his +escape. + +Poor Digby; he was very young, and not altogether very wise, but there +was good stuff in him, as the way he behaved on this occasion showed; +but it required care and attention to bring it into permanent practical +use. + +At length he grew very weary; he was obliged to sit down. He drew as +near the fire as he could venture to sit; his eyes closed, and his head +dropped on his knees. All sorts of strange scenes passed before him: he +felt as if he was still struggling in the waves; that he heard around +him the shrieks of the drowning wretches. He started up--a cry or shout +rung in his ears. The fire was still blazing, for the drift-wood burnt +slowly; the bright sunlight, too, was streaming in at the mouth of the +cavern, and the storm was over. + + + +CHAPTER TEN. + +FURTHER ADVENTURES OF ARTHUR AND HIS COMPANIONS--DIGBY RESCUED-- +REJOICINGS AT BLOXHOLME--CHRISTMAS AMUSEMENTS--THE LEADER OF THE +REVELS--THE END OF THE HOLIDAYS. + +Arthur Haviland and his companions having assured the old man and idiot +boy, whom they found in the cavern, that they had no wish to do them +harm, they, after some time, succeeded in quieting their apprehensions. +In vain Arthur tried to gain more information about Digby. All he could +learn was that the captain had carried him off in the lugger to foreign +parts, and that they had all made up their minds not to come back to +England. + +As it was getting late, and they had a long way to pull, Toby now +summoned Arthur to return. Arthur, however, was not satisfied with the +information he had obtained, and was unwilling to go away without +gaining some definite clue to the place to which Digby had been carried. +Finding that threats were of no avail, he tried to induce the old man +to say all he knew by the promise of rewards. + +"You hear what the young gentleman says," observed Toby. "You and I +know each other, old Joe, and you know that I would not deceive you. +What Mr Haviland says, he'll do; that he will, depend on it. Come +along, sir; I know where to find him. If he's got anything to say, +he'll tell me. We haven't another moment to lose, that I know." + +Saying this, Toby led the way from the cave, followed by Arthur and John +Pratt. + +The weather had evidently changed very much for the worse, and the wind +was blowing strongly, and sending the spray right up to where they were +standing. Toby shook his head doubtfully; but he continued to descend. + +"I thought so," he exclaimed, when they reached the bottom of the cliff. + +There was old Jem with the boat partly out of the water, he hauling away +with all his might to get her out of danger; but the waves were dashing +against her stern, and threatening every instant to knock her to pieces. +They had arrived only just in time; but, by dint of working away +together, they got the boat hauled up beyond the reach of the sea. When +this was done they went back to the cave, for the wind was blowing +stronger and stronger, and it was very evident that they would not be +able to leave the place that night. They had reason to be thankful that +they had a place which would afford them so complete a shelter during +that tempestuous night. When they got back they found the old man +perfectly ready to be civil; and making themselves at home, they +rummaged, out an ample supply of food, and materials for forming beds, +which they ranged round the fire. + +Toby talked for all the party, and told many of his best anecdotes and +stories. The genius of the place seemed to recall the memories of his +early days, and many a tale of smuggling life and adventure he poured +forth. + +Neither Arthur nor John Pratt were inclined to talk. They were thinking +too much of poor Digby, tossing about on the wild ocean that stormy +night. Had they been able to see the terrific danger to which he was +exposed, they would have been still more alarmed. How mercifully has +God hid the future from us, as well as the scenes of peril and suffering +to which those we love at a distance may be exposed. How it would +double our anguish to feel that we could not fly to their help, that we +could afford them no relief. How foolish and wicked, then, are those +persons who try to draw aside (by devices the most absurd however) that +impenetrable veil which the Almighty, in his infinite wisdom, has placed +before our eyes. Never let us put faith in those who pretend that they +can either show the future, or bring the present, when at a distance, +before our eyes. Clairvoyants, spirit-rappers, and similar pretenders, +under whatever name they may appear, we may depend on it, are impostors. +They have been shown to be so over and over again; but like Chinese +tumbling-figures, though knocked down, they will spring up again, over +and over again, as long as dupes can be found to put faith in them. + +Arthur Haviland long recollected that night in the cavern--the +flickering light of the fire; the red glow cast over some parts of the +sides and roof; and the dark, strange-shaped shadows, which passed over +others; the low voices of his companions; the howling of the wind; and +the incessant roar of the waves, as they beat against the foot of the +cliffs. He at length, however, fell asleep, and did not awake till Toby +called him, with an invitation to take a cup of coffee and a biscuit +before they embarked. He was not sorry to accept the offer. + +As soon as the meal was over Toby went out, and returned with so +favourable a report of the weather, that it was agreed that they might +venture once more to embark. + +Arthur repeated his promise to the old man, who undertook to bring any +information to him he could gain about Digby. + +The sun was shining, and the air was keen, for the wind had got round to +the north. That, however, was an important advantage, as it sent down +the sea; and the boat, when they had launched her, though tossed about a +good deal, was able to continue her progress by keeping close in shore, +and skirting all the bays and inlets. They had gone some way, and had +just rounded a reef of rocks, whose black heads rose with threatening +aspect out of the water, when Arthur exclaimed that he thought he saw a +smoke coming out of the cliff. Toby ceased pulling, but did not speak. +He looked round on every side; several pieces of timber were floating +about, and on the shore lay a mass of cordage and broken spars. + +"Some vessel was cast away not far from here last night," exclaimed +Toby, at length. "Heaven help the unfortunate fellows on board her; but +that smoke may be made by some of them who have escaped. What say you, +old Jem?" + +Old Jem agreed with Toby, and told him that there was a small cave just +in there, from which the smoke might proceed. + +Paddling in cautiously, for there were a good many rocks about capable +of knocking an ugly hole in the boat's bottom, as Toby observed, they +approached the cliff. The entrance to the cave on the sand was soon +perceptible. The boat reached a sandy beach. So completely did the +cliff overhang the water, and so much did it project on either side of +the cave, that only by means of a boat could anybody possibly leave it. +So Arthur remarked as he jumped with Toby and John Pratt on shore. They +could see the gleam of a fire from the interior. Arthur ran on; a +little sailor-boy was sitting over it. + +"Hillo, my poor lad; we have come to help you," exclaimed Arthur. + +The little sailor-boy looked up. There could be no doubt about it-- +there sat Digby Heathcote. + +With a shout of joy Arthur sprang forward, and lifted him up in his +arms. John Pratt, in his delight, gave him a hug which almost squeezed +the breath out of his body; and Toby Tubb seized his hand, and gave it a +shake which well nigh wrung it off. It was some moments before any one +could speak, and Digby could hurriedly give an account of what had +occurred. + +"Well, I be right glad, that I be," exclaimed Toby. "Them who has gone +to their account has brought their fate upon themselves. Howsomdever, +Master Digby, come into the boat; you are cold and hungry, I'll warrant, +and will be glad of a breakfast and warm bed." + +Digby was ready enough to go, but he begged that search might be made in +case any of the crew of the lugger might have been washed on shore, and +be still clinging on among the crevices of the rocks. + +Toby shook his head. "It was not likely any had escaped. It was a +wonder he had done so." + +Search was made, however, but there was not the sign of a living being, +nor had any of the bodies of the smugglers been washed ashore. + +Toby and John Pratt insisted on taking off their overcoats to wrap up +Digby; and the former had a little brandy in a flask, which he insisted +on pouring down his throat. Digby, to his surprise, found that it +appeared very little stronger than water, a proof of how much chilled he +was, and how important a stimulant this was to him. + +Little are spirit-drinkers aware of not only how much injury they are +doing themselves, but how completely they are depriving themselves of +important assistance in time of need. A glass of brandy may save the +life of a person who never touches spirits, but would have no effect on +an habitual brandy-drinker. + +The voyage back to Osberton need not be further described. The +reception Digby met with from Mr and Mrs Nugent may easily be +conceived. Digby indignantly declined to go to bed, but he did not +refuse to eat a hearty breakfast, in which Arthur joined him, or to +change his sailor's clothes for a suit more fitted for the heir of +Bloxholme to appear in. + +"Put up the others, however; I'll have them with me," he exclaimed. +"They will remind me of my trip in the smugglers' lugger, at all +events." + +"Of its fearful termination, and of the merciful way in which you were +preserved, my dear boy," observed Mr Nugent. + +"Yes, uncle, yes," said Digby; "I thought of that. I don't feel I can +ever be too thankful." + +A carriage was ordered, and Mr Nugent, and Digby, and Arthur, went +inside; and John Pratt and Toby Tubb, whom Digby insisted should +accompany them, went outside; and away they rattled as fast as four +horses could gallop towards Bloxholme. Every minute was of importance +to release Mr and Mrs Heathcote from their state of suspense. The +carriage with its four smoking horses, rattled up the avenue. Almost +before John Pratt had time to jump from the box the hall-door was flung +open; Alesbury had caught sight of Digby, and hurrying down the steps +faster than he had moved for many a day, he pulled him out of the +carriage, and carried him into the house. Then Digby found himself in +his mother's arms. Then, and not till then, did he burst into tears, +but they were tears of joy and gratitude. + +Poor little Kate, how she cried, too, and then she smiled and laughed; +and when she got hold of Digby she could scarcely refrain from beating +him for making her so very miserable; indeed, she gave him two or three +severe slaps, and called him naughty, dear, tiresome, good boy; and +Digby pulled her ears, and her nose, and showed his love in a variety of +other eccentric ways. Digby came in for a great deal of caressing from +all sides, of which he did not at all approve; but he submitted to it as +an unavoidable evil, and looked very much as a donkey does when harness +is about to be put on its back. + +Gusty shouted and laughed louder than ever that day; and his elder +sisters kissed him as elder sisters generally do their younger brothers; +but he took that sort of thing better from them than from any one else. + +Then he had to tell the story of his adventures over and over again. +John Pratt, however, was able to help him in that respect in the +servants' hall, where he did ample justice to the young Squire's +courage, and never was tired of telling all he knew about his +adventures. + +Digby was a strong hardy fellow, but he was not made of iron; and, long +before dinner-time, he gave signs of being very sleepy and tired. He +consented to go to bed, provided he was called in time to get up and +dress for dinner. When, however, he was called, he was so fast asleep +that nothing could awake him; and so he was allowed to sleep on till the +following morning. It was ever afterwards a constant joke against him, +that, when he came down, he fancied that he was coming down to dinner, +and was very much surprised to find breakfast on the table. + +Arthur Haviland had pretty well kept him in countenance by sleeping the +greater part of the time; and neither of them were quite themselves +again for two or three days. + +Their adventures were fully a nine days' wonder; and the whole visiting +acquaintance of the family called to hear about it. Indeed, Digby had +to tell the story so often that he got weary of it; and at last insisted +that Kate should represent him, and tell it instead, as if the events +had happened to her. He did not, however, forget poor Dame Marlow, of +the death of whose grandson he had heard from some of the smugglers. He +told Mr Bowdler of the trick he had once played her, and begged him to +go and break the news to the old woman before she heard it from any one +else. + +At first she would not believe that the only being she seemed to love +was lost to her for ever; and at length, when the Vicar assured her that +there was no doubt about the matter, she gave way to a fit of tears such +as she had not shed for years. Her heart was softened. The clergyman +placed before her in the clearest way the great truths of the Gospel. +Many days passed away, and many visits he had to pay, before she at all +seemed to comprehend them; but he persevered--as every true and faithful +minister of the Gospel will persevere--when he feels that a lost soul is +to be saved. At length the light seemed to dawn on her long-benighted +mind. + +"You tell me wonderful things, Mr Bowdler, which I never before +understood," she said, at last. "I am a sinner, I feel that; and if I +was left to myself, I am sure that I should be lost, for I don't think +that I could undo a quarter, nor an hundredth part, for that matter, of +the sins I have committed; but as you say, that if I repent I may go to +One who will wash away my sins, I will go to Him; and I am sure, from +everything he has caused to be said in the Bible, that he will wash away +my sins, and save my soul from death." + +Much more she said, showing that she fully comprehended the great truths +of the Gospel; find now her great anxiety was to warn those she had so +long misled, and she was never weary of going about, and telling them of +the Bible, and of the comfort it had been to her. At first, people +could scarcely believe their senses when they heard her talk, so +completely changed she had become, and so anxious she was to be doing +all the good in her power. She tried to make her old husband comprehend +the truths she had imbibed; but he afforded one of the numberless +examples of the danger of putting off repentance to another day. His +mind was dead, though his body was still alive, and in a short time he +sunk into the grave. Her great grief was about her grandson, to whom +she had set so bad an example, and whom she had never attempted to +direct aright. He was gone, and nothing she could do would now have any +power over his fate. + +Oh, may all those who read this reflect on the incalculable harm which a +bad example may do to those younger, or in an inferior station to +themselves. If they could see it, they would start back with horror and +dismay at the result of their conduct. An idle word, an idle +expression, or an irreverent joke, may seem a light thing in their eyes, +but even words may produce a great deal of harm; much more will a +continual course of idle, careless, and bad conduct; and depend upon it, +many a younger brother and companion has been lost, body and soul, who +might have had a very different fate had those who had an influence over +him endeavoured to lead him aright. + +Digby was very glad to hear the account Mr Bowdler gave of Dame Marlow, +though he probably did not understand the great importance of the +change. Kate, however, whose comprehension was far more advanced than +Digby's, did understand it fully, and, of her own accord, went and +explained the trick she had once played her, and expressed her sorrow +for it. + +Digby was not quite himself again for a week or more after his dangerous +adventure, and very often in the night he used to start up in his sleep, +dreaming that he was on board the lugger, and that she was being dashed +on the rocks. The holidays, however, promised to be as pleasant as +usual. Many a delightful ride Digby got on Sweetlips; while often Kate +cantered gaily by his side, dispelling, by her cheerful conversation, +any of the over-gloomy thoughts which, in spite of his well-strung +nerves and constitutional hardihood, would occasionally occur. + +The expected guests, also, arrived, and several of them had sons about +Digby's age; so that the house was full, and a very merry Christmas +party were collected. + +Cousin Giles was the life and soul of the younger portion of the +community. He started all the games in the evening, and arranged all +the out-door amusements. A hard frost set in, and, as soon as the ice +bore thoroughly, skating became the order of the day. Neither Digby nor +Arthur Haviland had ever skated; indeed, only two of the boys had begun +the previous year, and they were no great adepts at the art. Skates +were, therefore, sent for, and cousin Giles undertook to be the +instructor of the party. As he said that he should be frozen if he +fastened on all the skates to his pupil's feet at the pond, he had them +all fitted and secured in the house, and then procured a small cart, and +carried them all down bodily in it to the pond. He allowed those who +wished it a kitchen chair to shove before them; but Digby and Arthur +disdained such assistance, and preferred trusting to a stout stick and +their own legs to keep them from falling. Cousin Giles having taken +them out of the cart, arranged them in line about two yards apart. + +"Now, boys, watch me," he cried out, putting himself before them. +"Stand upright, as I do, feet a little apart, ankles stiff. Don't +tremble; you won't tumble if you do properly. Just give a slight touch +with the point of the right skate and away you go on your left foot; now +touch the ice with the point of your left foot, and you slide on with +your right. Away we go. Who's that tumbled down? Oh, Benjie Bowland. +Never mind; up, Benjie; at it again. Bravo, Arthur. Bravo, Digby. You +get on better than the fellows with the chair. You'll skate in a day or +two, do the outside edge in four or live days, and the spread-eagle in a +week." + +With such assistance and encouragement the boys got on rapidly, and +enjoyed their skating. Digby beat all the others by perseverance and +pluck. The moment he tumbled, he picked himself up, never minding the +bruises; while his sturdy little legs soon got the entire command of his +skates. He did not promise to make a peculiarly graceful skater, but it +was evident, from the rapid progress he made, that there were very few +things he would not be able to do. + +At last, however, a heavy fall of snow came on, and completely covered +up the ice. Though men were set to work with brooms to sweep passages +across and round the pond, yet a second fall again covered them up. +This happened three or four times. A small space was still cleared +every morning, but only the most persevering skaters frequented it; and +the boys expressed a wish for some other amusement. + +"I vote we build a snow-man, the largest snow-man that ever was built," +exclaimed Cousin Giles, while all the party were assembled at breakfast. + +The idea took, and was hailed with enthusiasm. + +Cousin Giles went about everything he undertook systematically. He set +John Pratt to work to cut out a number of bits of board, with handles, +to serve as trowels, and he collected all the wheelbarrows and +hand-barrows, and spades, on the premises. John Pratt and three other +men were called in to assist. A sheltered place on the lawn was chosen +for the erection of the snow-giant, while a large field on one side, +through a shrubbery, would afford an amply supply of snow, when that on +the lawn was exhausted. All hands, with great glee, set to work; some +were to bring the snow up to the spot, others were to act under Cousin +Giles, as masons. + +"He will be very imposing if we make him like an ancient king, seated on +his throne, with a huge staff in his hand," he observed. "We will make +him hollow, with steps in his inside, so that we may climb up, and look +out of his eyes, and halloo out of his mouth--eh, boys? Then we must +have a seat in each arm, and another in his crown, where one of you must +get up, and make a speech from. You see we have undertaken to perform a +gigantic labour; we must lose no time, therefore, though, luckily, our +material is not difficult to work." + +First, Cousin Giles marked the foundation of the giant's throne; the +sides of it were five feet thick, so that a large quantity of snow was +required for that alone. The greater part of it was scraped up from the +lawn. While that was being done, Cousin Giles made a model of the +proposed giant in snow, a couple of feet high, and that very much +assisted his young workmen in their undertaking, as they at once saw the +figure he had conceived, and which they wished to produce. Everybody +labouring with a will, and systematically, the work went on rapidly, and +the chair assumed gigantic proportions. The giant's feet, which were +placed on a footstool, were four feet long, and his legs were eight feet +high up to his knees. Ladders were soon required to reach the seat of +his chair; and then his body was commenced. A young pine-tree was +procured, and that supported one of his arms, while the other rested by +his side. Some pretty severe tumbles were got from the top of the +chair, but no one was much hurt. Cousin Giles arched the greater part +of the inside, but he did not disdain to make use of some timber to +strengthen his erection. + +A great deal had been done by luncheon time, when all the party +assembled, with very good appetites, in the dining-room; but Cousin +Giles begged that none of the visitors would go out to see their little +man till he was complete. + +After luncheon, they all went back; but though they worked away till +dark, the giant still wanted his head and crown. It was agreed that +though they might continue labouring with lanterns, they could not +complete it before dinner. Not to lose time, however, they all joined +in bringing in snow, and piled it up near the figure, ready to begin +work the next morning. + +They had a very merry evening, and all sorts of games were played. +Cousin Giles, however, disappeared earlier than usual, and they were +afraid that he was tired with his labours during the day, and had gone +to bed. + +The next morning the party assembled at breakfast, and, after it was +over, and the letters had been read, and the newspapers glanced at, +Cousin Giles invited everybody to see their little man. + +"But we have to finish his head," was the general exclamation from the +boys. + +"Never mind," was his answer. "Head or no head, or crown or no crown, I +beg that he may be looked at." + +Great coats and cloaks, and hats and bonnets, were procured, and the +party assembled. A sheet was seen thrown over the top of the figure, +and behind it was a tall pole, at the foot of which stood John Pratt. + +"Here is our snow-giant, ladies and gentlemen," cried Cousin Giles. +"Though so large, he is perfectly harmless, and no one need be afraid of +approaching him." + +He then made a signal to John Pratt, who, hauling away on the rope, +withdrew the sheet, and beneath it appeared not only the giant's head, +and a large pair of black eyes, and a red mouth, but a crown of gold a +foot or more high, on the top of it; while in the centre stood Kate +Heathcote, waving a flag, with Digby on one side, and Arthur Haviland on +the other. + +Loud shouts from the spectators greeted them; and everybody complimented +the architect on the execution of his vast undertaking. No one present +had ever seen so huge a man. He was said to be even larger than the +idols of the Assyrian temples, represented at the Crystal Palace. + +As Kate and her young companions found it somewhat cold on the top of +the giant's head, they very soon descended; and then all the boys amused +themselves by climbing up and about the monster, till they ran no small +risk of pulling him bodily down. He was, however, so scientifically and +securely built, that he withstood all the rough usage he received. The +snow-giant afforded a fund of amusement for a long time. The next +morning, his crown was gone, and a huge broad-brim hat was on his head. +Another morning, a pipe was found in his mouth actually smoking, and for +some time he continued to blow his cloud. Another day, he had a large +branch of holly in his hand, and a wreath of holly, with red berries, +round his head. Once he appeared in a high conical cap, very like a +fool's-cap, while in front hung a placard with "Won't say his lessons," +painted on it. Indeed, there was no end of the changes the snow-giant +underwent. Then he was seen to appear with a post-bag hanging from his +arm; and, on its being opened, it was found to contain a variety of +letters to different people present, mostly the younger ones of the +party. They were from very odd correspondents. One was from the Man in +the Moon; another signed himself--Your affectionate cousin, Timothy +Tugmutton; the Antipodes. The King of the Cannibal Islands wrote two +letters; and the Polar Bear another. They were very amusing epistles; +and the writers seemed to know in a wonderful way what was going forward +in the house. The arrival of the snow-giant's post-bag was looked +forward to with even more interest than had been the changes which had +taken place in his head-dress. + +Thus the early weeks of winter passed pleasantly by. Mr Nugent tried +to induce Digby to give some time in the morning to study, to prepare +himself for the new school, to which it was arranged he should go after +the Christmas holidays; but he appeared always to be in too great a +hurry and bustle to sit down quietly to his books, so as to imbibe any +information from them. + +"You will be sorry for your idleness, my dear boy," said his uncle. +"Not only are you acquiring no knowledge, but you are altogether getting +out of the habit of study--out of training, I will call it. Suppose +that you were to give up running for some months, do you think that you +would be able to move your legs as fast as when you were constantly +using them? Or if you were not to employ your arms for the same length +of time, you would be very unwilling, I suspect, to climb a tree. The +mind, in the same way, requires constant and regular exercise, or it +very rapidly gets out of use, and it takes a great deal of trouble to +bring it into working condition again." + +Digby listened respectfully to what his uncle said; and though the next +morning he got out his books very manfully, one of his young friends +coming in, made him put them up again, and they were not looked into +that day. + +Thus the holidays glided by, and the day of his departure approached. +He liked having so many guests in the house, but they prevented him from +enjoying Kate's society as much as formerly, and he was not sorry when +all of them, with the exception of Arthur Haviland, went away. + +Everybody liked Arthur. He was a great favourite with Mrs Heathcote, +as well as with the Squire and Digby's eldest sisters; and Kate thought +him a first-rate fellow; he was so very different to Julian Langley. + +Digby was very sorry to part from Arthur. He, as it had been arranged, +was to go to Mr Sanford's school, in Berkshire, while Arthur returned +to one in Hampshire, of which he spoke in the highest terms, and +regretted that his friend was not to accompany him. + +Digby pressed Arthur warmly to come back and spend the summer holidays. +This, however, he could not promise to do. + +"My father may wish me to accompany him somewhere, and I, of course, +shall wish to go with him," said Arthur. "But I will promise not to let +a year pass, if I can help it, without our meeting." + +No one ever quitted a house having more completely secured the regard of +all the family than did Arthur Haviland. + +Cousin Giles, who had great discernment of character, spoke very highly +of him, and regretted much that Digby could not have been more with him. + +To Digby's surprise, a day or two before he was to leave home, his +father called him into his study; not that the Squire ever did study +anything there beyond the newspaper, or a compendium of information for +justices of the peace, or some similar work. + +"So, my dear boy, you are going away again from us," he began. "I wish +that you could stay with us always, and have John Pratt to look after +you, as he did when you were a little chap; but as that can't be, you +must make the best use of your time when you are away from us. What I +want to talk to you about is this--your mother and I intended that you +should spend a couple of years or so at Mr Sanford's, at Grangewood +House, and then go to some public school; however, we shall talk about +that by-and-by. I wish to see how you get on at the school to which you +are going. It will be a very different sort of life to that to which +you have hitherto led. You'll get some hard knocks and kicks, but +you'll not mind them; and you will have to fight your way upward, but +that you are well able to do; and I have little fear that you will take +good care of yourself. I am not much in the habit of giving advice, as +you know, my boy; but there is one thing I must charge you, never to +forget that you are a Christian, and a gentleman. I have done my best +to make you hate and scorn to tell a lie, and the consequence is, that I +would sooner take your word than I would the oath of any man I know. +And now I charge you to fight against every bad thought which comes into +your mind, and to scorn to do a mean or ungenerous action. Guard +especially against selfishness; nothing so quickly grows on a person by +indulgence. Fight for your undoubted rights, but gladly give up +anything which may conduce to the pleasure of others, or benefit them. +I don't mean, of course, that you are to let a bully take anything he +may fancy from you, that is quite a different matter; but never try to +get hold of what you know another person wishes for, and of which you +will thus deprive him." + +Much more the Squire said to the same effect. Digby grasped his +father's hand. + +"Yes, papa, I will do my best, indeed I will, to act as you tell me," he +answered. "I have done a good many things I have been sorry for, but +yet I don't think there has been anything which would make you ashamed +of calling me your son." + +Such were the sentiments with which Digby went to school. His parting +was not a very melancholy one. Kate and Gusty cried, but he held up +very bravely; and when a postchaise came to the door, and his boxes were +secured, and he had manfully stepped in, and John Pratt, who was to +accompany him all the way, had taken his seat on the box, and the +postilion had cracked his whip, he was able to wave his cap out of the +window, and to sing out, in a cheerful voice--"Hurra for the Midsummer +holidays!" + + + +CHAPTER ELEVEN. + +DIGBY'S NEW SCHOOL--HOW HE WAS RECEIVED THERE--HE LEARNS THE +INCONVENIENCE OF WANT OF DISCIPLINE--HIS COMPANIONS AND THEIR +CHARACTERS--ADVANTAGE OF A BOLD FRONT IN A GOOD CAUSE. + +"Is this Grangewood House, John?" asked Digby, as he looked out of the +window of the fly which had brought them from the railway station, and +which was now stopping at a large white gate, which John Pratt had got +off the box to open. + +"Yes, sir; this be Mr Sanford's academy for young gentlemen. There's a +great many on 'em comes backwards and forwards by me at times," answered +the driver, instead of John, who did not hear the question. + +It was a substantial, large, red-brick house, completely in the country, +with a circular drive up to it, and a meadowish piece of lawn, with some +fine elms, in front. The place was not picturesque, but well suited for +the requirements of a school. There were wide-spreading wings on either +side, with a walled enclosure on the right, from which proceeded the +sound of many young voices, shouting, bawling, and laughing, showing +Digby that it was the playground. He altogether liked the look of +things outside. + +The fly stopped in front of the house; a flight of stone steps led up to +the chief door. John descended, and rang the bell, and, while it was +being answered, busied himself in taking his young master's things out +of the fly. + +"Is this Mr Sanford's school, young woman?" he asked of the +maid-servant, who opened the door. + +"It is, young man, and my name is Susan," was the quick reply; some +people might have called it pert. + +"Then, Susan, do you just tell your master that young Master Digby +Heathcote, the eldest son of Squire Heathcote, of Bloxholme, has come," +answered John, letting down the steps, and handing Digby out with an air +of the greatest respect. He unintentionally spoke, too, in a tone which +sounded not a little pompous. + +Several boys, who had been passing through the hall at the time, and, of +course, followed Susan to the door, to have a look at the new comer, +overheard the announcement. A loud shout of laughter from many voices +followed, in a variety of tones, as they retreated down a passage. +Digby heard them repeating one to the other "Young Master Digby +Heathcote, the eldest son of Squire Heathcote, of Bloxholme, has come. +Ho, ho! young Master Digby, what an important person you are--ha! ha! +ha!--we don't think." Great emphasis was laid on the words young +master, and eldest son. Digby knew quite enough of boys to wish +heartily that poor John had held his tongue. + +"You'll go round to the back door; or are you going away in the fly?" +said the maid-servant, addressing John, with rather a scornful glance. + +"Neither one nor t'other, Mistress Susan," answered John. "I'm going to +stay with Master Digby for the present." + +"You can't do that; Master Digby has to go at once to Mr Sanford," +replied Susan. + +"That's where I'm going to, young woman, let me tell you," exclaimed +John, bristling up. "He has been spirited away once, and we had a hard +job to get him back; and I'm not going to lose sight of him till I see +him safe in Mr Sanford's hands, who must be answerable for him whenever +he is sent for. A pretty thing to leave him with such as you, indeed, +who might go and declare that you never got him. No, Master Digby, +dear--that's what I'm going to do, I know my duty, and I'm going to do +it." + +The last remark was made to Digby, who was expostulating, by signs, with +John, fearing that he would offend Susan. The damsel, however, seemed +not to care a bit for what John said; and would have shut the hall-door +in his face, but he would not let go of Digby's hand. + +"Well, I don't know what master will say to you," exclaimed Susan, as +John entered the hall, evidently resolved not to lose sight of Digby, or +his boxes, till he had delivered them into what he considered proper +custody. Susan, meantime, disappeared at a door on one side of the +hall. She soon returned. + +"You are to go in there," she said, addressing Digby. "Not you," she +said, looking at John. + +"There are just two opinions about that," answered John, coolly opening +the door, and walking with Digby into a handsome library. + +A tall, delicate-looking man, was reclining in his dressing-gown on a +sofa, with a book in his hand. He looked up with an expression of +surprise on his countenance on seeing John; and then glanced at Digby, +but did not rise. + +"Bee's you Mr Sanford, sir?" asked John, pulling the lock of his hair +he usually employed for that purpose. + +"Yes, I am, and the head of this school; and who are you?" said the +gentleman, but not at all in an angry tone. + +"I'm Squire Heathcote's man, of Bloxholme, and this is his son, Master +Digby Heathcote; and I'm to deliver him safe and sound into your hands, +to keep him carefully till he is sent for home, or till you send him +back," answered John, firmly. "I suppose it's all right, sir?" + +"I will give you an acknowledgment in writing that I have him all safe," +said Mr Sanford, much amused at John's mode of proceeding. "Go into +the kitchen, and get something to eat and drink after your journey." + +"No, thank you, sir; I'd rather have the writing. I'm not hungry. We +had something, Master Digby and I, as we came along; and I have to go +back to the station with the fly." + +"Very well; push that table with the desk on it near me. I will give +you what you require." + +John did as he was desired; and Mr Sanford wrote a short note, which he +gave him. + +John forthwith handed it to Digby. "I suppose it's all right, Master +Digby, dear," he whispered. "I bean't no great scholard, sir, and so I +just wanted the young master to see that the lines was all right and +proper. No offence to you, sir, you know," he added, turning to Mr +Sanford. + +The schoolmaster was highly amused; but Digby was afraid that John had +gone too far. + +"It's all right, John," he exclaimed, taking his hand affectionately. +"Good by, good by. My love to papa and mamma, and Kate and Gusty, and +all; and don't forget to look after Sweetlips, and tell Kate to write to +me about him; but she'll do that, I'm sure. You must go, John, I know +you must." Digby felt more inclined to cry than he had done before. +John was the last link which united him with all the home associations +he was conjuring up. John warmly returned Digby's grasp. He went to +the door, and opened it. He turned round once more with his hand on the +lock. + +"You has him in charge, sir," he said, looking sternly at Mr Sanford. +"Oh, take care of him, sir; he's very precious down at Bloxholme there." + +John, afraid of trusting himself, bolted out of the door. + +Digby overheard some words between John and Susan outside; they ended in +a laugh, just before the fly drove off, so he had no doubt they had +become good friends; and he afterwards had reason to believe that John +had bestowed half a sovereign on her from his own pocket, to secure her +good services for the young master. + +"Sit down, young gentleman," said Mr Sanford, in his usual languid +tone, when John had taken his departure. "I am glad to have you as a +pupil, for I find that you are a nephew of my old friend, Nugent, for +whom I have a great regard. I dare say he has done you justice. What +books have you read?--Latin and Greek, I mean?" + +Digby told him; he had very little Greek to boast of, however. + +"I thought that you were more forward," observed Mr Sanford. "You will +be placed under the third master, Mr Tugman, in his upper class, I +hope. I must leave him to settle that. I will send for him, and he +will take you round the school before tea-time, and introduce you to +some of the boys. He may not be quite ready yet, so I will let Mrs +Pike, the housekeeper, show you your dormitory, and have your things put +away." + +Mr Sanford was taking unusual trouble about Digby. He rang the bell, +and the usher and housekeeper were sent for. Mrs Pike appeared first; +Old Jack, the boys called her. She had a stern, relentless expression +of countenance, Digby thought. Her dress was black, with a plain white +cap, and a large serviceable apron. There was business in her. + +"Come along, young gentleman," she said, taking Digby by the arm, when +she had received the master's directions. "It will be time for tea +soon, and I shall have to go and look after it." + +She first showed Digby a large room fitted all round with lockers, or +drawers, and numbers on each. Into this his things had been wheeled on +a truck. + +"Here is your drawer, Master Heathcote," she observed. "You will +remember the number--sixty-five. We had a hundred and thirty not long +ago. Here you will keep your clothes; your play-box you can have with +you in the play-room to-morrow; it can stay here till then. Now, come +along to your dormitory. Susan will unpack your trunk; and if there is +anything in it you want, you can have it when you come back." + +All this sounded very well. There were a dozen rooms on the first and +second floors appropriated as bedrooms; some had eight or ten beds in +them, others only three or four. Digby was shown a room looking out at +the back of the house, with eight beds, in one of which Mrs Pike told +him he was to sleep. There were wash-hand basins and tubs, and a drawer +for each boy to hold his dressing things. All looked very neat and +well-arranged. Mrs Pike prided herself on having her department in +good order. She looked as if she could have said, "Better washed and +fed than taught at this establishment." + +Digby returned well satisfied to the study, where Mr Sanford was still +reading his book. He looked up, and was putting a question, in a kind +tone of voice, to Digby, when the door opened. Digby looked up. A +broad-shouldered, pock-marked man, with sandy hair and small grey eyes, +entered. His costume, which consisted of a green coat, with a reddish +handkerchief, a many-coloured waistcoat, and large plaid trousers, did +not improve his appearance. He threw himself into a chair, if not with +grace, at all events with ease, and observed, in an off-hand way, that +it was a chilly day--a fact about which Mr Sanford did not seem +inclined to dispute. He looked at Digby with no pleasant expression, +and Digby looked at him, and hoped that he was not the usher under whom +he was to be placed. + +All doubt, however, about the matter was quickly removed by Mr Sanford +saying--"I have sent for you, Mr Tugman, to beg that you will take +charge of this new boy, Digby Heathcote. Examine him to-morrow, and +place him as you judge best. I hope that he will be in the highest of +your classes, as he has been lately under a clever man, an old college +friend of mine, his uncle, for whom I have a great regard." + +The usher was listening, with a look of impatience, to all this. + +"Oh, I know; he's the son of Squire Heathcote, of Bloxholme," he +observed, with a laugh, which Digby understood, for he spoke exactly +with the expression of the boys who had heard him announced. + +"I will take him with me, and introduce the young gentleman to his +future playmates. I hope that he may get on well with them." + +"Do, Mr Tugman, do," said Mr Sanford, languidly. "I wish that my +health would allow me to afford greater support to my assistants, +efficient as I am bound to say that they all are." + +Mr Tugman did not seem to listen to the compliment, but, with a slight +good evening, taking Digby by the shoulder, walked him off to the +schoolroom. + +Digby felt somewhat like a fly in the grasp of a spider, for there was +very little of the _suaviter in modo_, however much there might have +been of the _fortiter in re_, in Mr Tugman's proceedings. They passed +a large glass door, guarded on both sides by wire-work. + +"These are your future companions," he said, opening it, and pointing to +a wide-extending gravel space at the back of the house, which Digby +guessed was the playground. Though it was growing dark, the boys were +still there; but all he could see was a confused mass of fellows rushing +about, hallooing, and shouting: some with hoops, against which their +sticks went clattering away incessantly; others driving, with whips +cracking and horns tootooing; some were running races; others playing +leap-frog, or high cock-o'-lorum; indeed, nearly every game which could +make the blood circulate on a cold winter's evening, had its advocates. +From the darkness, and from the state of constant movement in which they +all were, there appeared to be double the number of boys Mrs Pike had +mentioned. + +"Well, what do you think of them?" asked Mr Tugman. + +Digby said, "That he could form no opinion from the slight view he had +of them." + +"Not badly answered," observed Mr Tugman. "Now I will show you the +schoolroom before they come in, and select a desk, so that you may make +yourself at home at once." + +Going down a few steps, Digby found himself in a large and lofty room, +or hall, lighted by lamps from the ceiling, with rows of desks across +it, and two large fire-places at the sides towards each end. At one end +was a high desk, and there were five or six smaller desks, intended for +the masters, down the hall, flanking the rows, as the sergeants stand in +a regiment, drawn up on parade. The hall ran at right angles to the +back of the house, by the side of the playground, and had evidently been +built for a schoolroom. + +Mr Tugman took Digby to the further end, where his own desk was, and +lifting up several in one of the last rows, he came to one which was +entirely empty. + +"Seventy is the number, is it not?" he asked, going to his own desk. +"Now, take this key, lock up whatever you like. I dare say you have +some good things in your play-box, or valuables of some sort; put them +there, and make yourself at home." + +Scarcely had these arrangements been concluded, when a bell rang, and +the boys came trooping into the schoolroom. He was fairly caught, like +a mouse in a trap. At first he was not perceived; but it was soon +buzzed about, that the new boy was there, and he was quickly saluted +by-- + +"How do you do, Master Digby Heathcote, son of Squire Heathcote, of +Bloxholme Hall?" + +"Pretty well, I thank you, young gentlemen," answered Digby, determined +not to be outdone, and resolved to put a bold face on the matter. "I +shall be happy to make the acquaintance of any of those who will favour +me with their cards, and an account of their own family, parentage, and +connexions." + +"He is a pert little chap," observed one. "Plenty of impudence in him," +said another. "A plucky little cock, though, I think," remarked a +fourth. Opinions among the bigger fellows varied considerably as to his +character, and how he was to be treated. + +Seldom is there a school without a bully, and Grangewood was no +exception to the rule. The chief bully was a big, hulking fellow, +called Scarborough. He remarked, "That there was a great deal to be +taken out of the little cock, and that he purposed having the +satisfaction of taking it." + +"I'm in the habit of giving small change, remember that," said Digby, +who had overheard the remark--as it had been intended he should. + +Scarborough turned white with rage on this being said; and would then +and there have inflicted condign punishment on the daring upstart, had +not the bell rang, and the boys been called to order by Mr Yates, the +head usher, who, entering Mr Sanford's desk, assumed command in the +evening. He only deferred doing so, however, till another opportunity. + +The little fellows, and those about Digby's own age, listened with eager +and surprised ears to what he said; and at once looked upon him as one +likely to prove their champion. In a very short time he had made a +number both of friends and foes; but, curiously enough, he knew none of +them by sight, as he could only distinguish the countenances of the few +who sat immediately about him. They being mostly about his age, and +having suffered from the tyranny of Scarborough, were inclined to side +with him. + +As, of course, he had nothing to do, he was able to sit quiet, and +observe what was going forward. Each of the masters called up a class +to say lessons, while the rest of the boys had to prepare them for the +following day. Books were got out, and a murmur of voices was heard +through the school. A stranger coming in might have fancied that +everybody was very studiously employed; but although all had piles of +books before them, on a closer inspection he would have seen, as Digby +did, that very few were really learning their lessons; some were +drawing, others playing games, draughts, or spillikins, or dominoes, and +some even had cards; many were cutting out things in card-board or wood, +making models of carriages, and houses, and boats. It had become the +practice of the school at that time of the evening, especially as they +would have another half hour in the morning to look over the lessons +they were then supposed to be learning. Digby was surprised, and +thought that he had come to a very slack sort of school. He was not +particularly shocked, for he could not fancy that what everybody was +doing was so very wrong. + +The classes had just been dismissed, when another bell rang, and +everybody hurried away out of the schoolroom. Digby, not knowing what +was to take place, sat still. + +"Come with me," said a boy, who looked rather smaller than himself. "I +am delighted with the way you answered that big bully, Scarborough. +Keep up to it; don't give in, and I will stick by you. We are now going +into tea. I will find a place for you near myself, and tell you all +about the fellows." + +Digby was very glad to fall in at once with a friend; and he at once +accepted the little boy's offer. + +"My name is Paul Newland," said his new companion, as they followed the +rest into the tea-room. "I am rather older than I look, for I am not +very big; but I intend to grow some day. You will be in my class, I +suspect. I'm at the top of it, and expect to get into the sixth soon; +that is, under Mr Moore, who is a very quiet sort of fellow. You must +try and work up along with me. There is nothing like working, I find. +I came in at the lowest, and got up three classes in one half year. But +this is the tea-room. Come along; don't mind what fellows say." + +This was not an unnecessary caution, for Digby found himself saluted as +he went along by the boys turning sharply round and saying-- + +"How do you do, Master Digby Heathcote, son and heir of Squire +Heathcote, of Bloxholme Hall? Welcome to Grangewood House, most noble +young Squire." + +It need not be said how Digby felt, but he fortunately kept his temper; +nor did he lose his appetite in consequence of these sarcastic +greetings. + +"I wish that John Pratt had not announced me in that way. Of course it +would make a capital joke for the fellows," he said to himself, as he +took his seat at the table. + +The boys near nodded to him, holding up their mugs of tea with mock +gravity. + +"Your health, Master Digby Heathcote, son and heir of Squire Heathcote, +of Bloxholme Hall," was repeated over and over again, in various tones. + +Digby was determined not to be put out, whatever was said or done. He +lifted his mug to his lips--it was filled with a liquid he thought most +execrable--some one had evidently put salt in it; but he pretended not +to have discovered the bad taste. + +"Young gentlemen," he said, holding up his mug, and mimicking the tones +of those who had spoken to him, "I beg to return you my thanks for the +honour you have done me. When I know your names and places of abode, as +well as you appear to know mine, I can address you more personally. As +neither tea nor salt-water are the proper things to drink to the health +of one's friends, I will make a libation with the contents of my mug +into the slop-basin, which you will receive as a mark of the honour I +wish to do you." + +Digby was sorely puzzled to pump up all these words. He had never made +so long a speech in his life before; but the importance of the object +inspired him; and a large slop-basin standing before him to receive the +dregs of the mugs, put the idea into his head. He had been afraid at +first that he should have been obliged to drink the salted tea. + +His young friend, Paul Newland, inquired why the boys addressed him as +they had been doing; and he then explained that it was owing to John +Pratt's desire to give him importance; instead of which, as is often the +case, a contrary effect had been produced. + +"I need not tell you not to mind, for I see you don't," observed Paul. +"Everybody has to go through something of the sort when they first come, +and some remain butts all the time they stay. That sort of thing +matters very little if a fellow keeps his temper, and pretends not to +notice it. They soon grow tired of a joke when it produces no effect. +They bothered me a great deal when I first came, and called me Paul Pry, +and Paul the Preacher, and Little Bank Note, and Pretty Poll, and Polly, +and all sorts of names, and they played all sorts of tricks; but I +pretended not to mind, though I was really very much annoyed; and, at +last, they gave it up, and it is only occasionally that I now get +addressed in that way." + +Digby thanked Newland for his good advice, and promised to follow it as +far as his temper would allow. + +"Oh, that is the very thing; you must keep in your temper," answered +Newland. "I don't mean to say that you may harbour revenge, or that you +intend to pay them off another day. Far from that; that would be +horrid, you know, not like a Christian or an honest Englishman; but that +you may disarm them, make them ashamed of themselves, or tired of their +stale tricks or jokes." + +Paul went on talking in a quiet, low tone, while Digby was munching a +thick slice of bread-and-butter. He sent up his cup for some more tea +by one of the attendant maid-servants; but was told by Mrs Pike, who +had seen him throw the first away, that he could have no more. + +"But some salt had got into the mug, marm; and salt with tea is not +pleasant, I assure you," exclaimed Digby, feeling very indignant, +notwithstanding Newland's exhortations and his own resolutions. + +"We only use sugar at Grangewood House, young gentleman," answered Mrs +Pike, looking angrily at the bold assertion of the new boy. "Those who +throw their tea away can have no more. That is the rule here; is it +not, Mr Tugman?" + +The third master, thus appealed to, replied, with what he intended to be +a bland smile, though it had very much the look of a grin-- + +"Certainly, marm, certainly. Master Digby Heathcote, of Bloxholme, has +been brought up with rather extravagant notions, and has been accustomed +to take salt as well as sugar in his tea." + +This sally produced a grin from the surrounding boys who heard it; for +the big fellows considered him a great wit, and a jolly cock, a +character he had striven to obtain from some, that he might the more +easily manage, or rather bully, the rest. + +"Never mind," whispered Paul; "wait a moment till no one is looking, and +take mine. I'll get some more presently, if I want it. Mrs Pike likes +me, as I never bother her. She'll like you some day, if you are quiet +and well-behaved. She's not ill-natured at bottom, but her temper gets +put out very often. She almost manages the school now, since Mr +Sanford has been ill." + +Digby accepted the offer; and Newland soon afterwards got a fresh and +ample supply for himself. Perhaps Mrs Pike winked at the arrangement, +after she had duly asserted her authority. + +Digby had been accustomed to very different tea arrangements, and did +not admire those he now saw. The tea was made in great urns, and there +were huge jugs of milk, or, as the boys declared, of milk-and-water, and +basins of brown sugar. The mixture was served out in blue and white +mugs, which did duty as beer mugs at dinner; while trays, with slices of +bread-and-butter, were continually being handed round. Of the latter, +the boys might have as much as they wanted; and their tastes were so far +consulted, that they might have milk-and-water without tea and sugar, if +they wished for it. They sat at table chattering away, or playing +tricks with each other, or reading, if they liked, provided the books +were not on the table, till the bell again rang, and they hurried back +into the schoolroom. + +Other classes were now called up, and more lessons were supposed to be +learned; but nothing was very strictly attended to at that time in the +evening. In summer, they would have been out in the playground. The +boys in those classes which had said their lessons were allowed to amuse +themselves as they liked at their desks, either in reading, or writing, +or making some of the nine hundred and ninety-nine curious articles +which boys are wont to manufacture. + +As Digby had nothing to do, Newland lent him an interesting book--"The +Swiss Family of Robinson"--which he had never seen. He was soon +absorbed in it, and not at all inclined to be interrupted. The +shipwreck he had suffered enabled him to realise that described in the +book. At length, however, he heard somebody speak to him. What was +said he did not understand. He turned round, thinking it was Newland; +but, instead of him, he saw a much older, taller boy, with a fair +complexion, and greyish eyes. At the first glance, he did not like the +expression of his countenance; and he was not over-pleased at being +interrupted. + +"What do you think of our school?" said the boy. "Some of the fellows +have been trying to make fun of you, but you do not mind that. I hate +that sort of thing myself. We have got some tremendous bullies here. +I'll point them out to you, and show you how to avoid them. Where do +you live?" + +Digby told him. + +"I live in Berkshire, some miles away from here, though. My name is +John Spiller. I manage to get on very well with the fellows, and I'll +put you up to a thing or two which will be of great assistance to you. +Now, about your play-box; you haven't unpacked it yet, I suppose?" + +"No," said Digby; "not yet." + +"All right. Don't till I can help you, or you'll have everything +carried off by the fellows," observed Spiller. "While you are looking +to see who has got hold of a knife, or a saw, or a cake, or a boat, +others will be carrying off a pot of jam, or a Dutch cheese, or some +gingerbread, or a pot of anchovies, or a parcel of herrings, or--" + +"Oh, there's no fear of that. I have not got half the things you speak +of," said Digby, rather inclined to laugh at the collection of valuables +his box was supposed to contain. + +"What have you got, then?" asked Spiller, point blank. + +Digby, who had not suspected his new acquaintance's object in +introducing the subject, was going to tell him, when Paul Newland came +back to his desk. + +Spiller did not see him. He started, and seemed very much annoyed when +Paul put his hand on his shoulder, and said, quietly-- + +"Well, what do you find that he has got?" + +Spiller looked big enough to keep in awe a dozen such little fellows as +Paul Newland, but he seemed in no way inclined to pick a quarrel with +him. + +"Nothing that I know of," he answered. "We have been merely talking +about things in general; have we not, Heathcote? It will soon be +bed-time, or I should like to have heard more about your part of the +country. I'll get you to tell me to-morrow. Good-night, Heathcote." +Saying this, he moved away. + +"I'm glad I came back when I did," sail Newland. "That fellow is the +most notorious sponge in the school. We call him Spongy Spiller. He +makes friends with all the new fellows, and sticks like a leech to them +as long as they have a piece of cake, or a lump of barley-sugar, or +anything else in their boxes, which he can get hold of. His desk is +full of things, which, he says, were given him, but which he has, in +reality, sponged out of fellows. About your box; unless there is +anything in it which won't keep, just don't open it for a day or two, +till you are able to judge for yourself a little of fellows. To-morrow +is a half-holiday, and you will better see what the different fellows +really are." + +Digby said he would take his advice, for he felt sure that he might +trust him. Both Newland and Spiller were strangers, but, when comparing +the two, he did not for a moment hesitate as to which was most worthy of +his confidence. + +Just then the bell rang; and Paul told him they were to have prayers. +He expected to see Mr Sanford; but instead, Mr Yates entered the +head-master's desk, and saying that he was too unwell to come into the +schoolroom, read a very brief form of prayer, while the boys knelt up on +the forms at their desks. + +Digby was not surprised to find very little attention or reverence, for +though Mr Yates read slowly, in a loud voice, there was a something in +his tone which showed that the devotional spirit was not there. + +The moment prayers were over, the boys rushed off upstairs. The lamps +were put out by a man in a fustian coat, whom Digby had not seen before. +Digby found Paul by his side. + +"Come along quickly, or you will have an apple-pie bed made," he said, +in a low voice. "You ought to have been out one of the first." + +"Never mind," answered Digby, laughing. "I know how to unmake it fast +enough. I have done such a thing as make one myself." + +"Very well, then," said Paul, "we need not hurry. You are to sleep in +our room, I find. I have gone through a good deal from the fellows +there, though they now let me alone. You'll not have a pleasant night +of it, I am afraid. I wish that I could help you." + +"You can help me," exclaimed Digby, who had been been silent for some +time, as they went upstairs. "I have made up my mind how to act. Is +there no one who would support you?" + +"Yes; I think that there is one, Farnham. He is a good sort of fellow, +but he generally sides with the majority. However, if he sees anything +done in a spirited way, it would take with him." + +"Then I'll do it," cried Digby. "There are no very big fellows who +could thrash me easily." + +"There are two or three a good deal bigger than you are; and I don't +think that you could thrash them." + +"I don't mind that," answered Digby. "They would find me very tough, at +all events, if they attempt to thrash me. You go into the room first; +it won't do to let it appear as if we had formed any plan together." + +Newland seemed highly delighted at Digby's proposal, and ran on into the +room, which was at the end of a long passage. + +Digby followed in a few seconds. He had noted well the position of the +bed Mrs Pike had told him was to be his, so he walked straight up to +it. Susan had placed his night-shirt and night-cap on the pillow. A +lamp, with a tin reflector, placed against the wall, over the wash-hand +places, gave light to the room. Most of the boys had already got their +clothes off, and had tumbled into bed; they were laughing, and talking, +and cutting jokes with each other. + +Paul had begun to undress. Presently one of them, directly opposite +Digby's bed, put up his head, and said-- + +"Ah, Master Digby Heathcote, son of Squire Heathcote, of Bloxholme Hall, +how are you?" + +"That's me," answered Digby, firmly; "I'm very well, I thank you, in +very good condition, and not bad training; and I am strong, though not +very big. And now I'll tell you what I am going to do: I am going to +make my bed, to see that it is comfortable, and then I am going to say +my prayers, as I always do; and I beg that you fellows will not make a +row till I have done. I shall not be long; then I intend to undress, +and get into bed. After the candle is put out, if anything is shied at +me, or any other trick is played, I'll tell you what I intend to do. I +have fixed upon one of the beds, with a fellow in it, and, big or +little, as he may be, I'll pay him off in such a way that he will be +glad to help me another night in keeping order. I am not a greenhorn; I +just want you to understand that." + +There was something in Digby's well-knit figure, sunburnt, honest +countenance, and firm voice, which, as the boys, one after the other, +popped up their heads to look at him, inspired them, if not with respect +for him, at all events with a dislike to bring down on their heads the +chastisement he threatened. The bigger boys, though they might have +thrashed him in open daylight, could not tell what means he might have +for attacking them; and those of his own size saw that he was very +likely to thrash them, even on fair terms, if they attempted to try +their strength together. No answer was made; so, whistling a merry +tune, he set to work: first, he carefully and systematically undid his +bed, which had been made into an apple-pie, and smoothing down the +sheets, and tucking in the feet, he said--"Ah, now that will do." Then +he knelt down by the side of the bed, and most earnestly and sincerely +repeated the prayers he had been accustomed to use. Several attempts +were made to disturb him. + +"Shame, shame!" cried Paul Newland from beneath the bedclothes. + +Another voice said, "Shame! Let him at least say his prayers." + +Digby very soon rose from his knees. + +"I am much obliged to those who cried shame," he said, firmly. "It is a +shame. It is an insult, not to me, but to Him to whom I was trying to +pray. To morrow night I shall know most of the voices of our fellows, +and I am resolved not to be interrupted. Now, make as much row as you +like; I can sleep through it all; but you remember what I said." + +Digby began undressing, and stowing his clothes away at the head of his +bed, so that they could not be removed, jumped into bed. + +Just then an usher entered, to put out the light. It was the French +master, Digby concluded, for one or two of the boys exchanged +salutations with him, calling him Monsieur Guillaume. "Bon nuit, bon +nuit--va dormir, mes enfants." There was a great deal of chattering and +noise as he went out. + +"Remember," said Digby, in a firm voice; and then put his head on the +pillow. + +"Oh, he's a crowing little cock," cried some one. "A regular bantam," +observed another. "I wonder if there are more like him at Bloxholme +Hall?" exclaimed a third. + +But Digby made no answer. Similar remarks were made for some minutes, +but he kept silence, till his persecutors began to grow sleepy. One +after the other they dropped off, and so did he, at last; and never +slept more soundly in his life. + +If all right-thinking boys would exercise the same firmness and +resolution as Digby did on this occasion, the better disposed would soon +gain the upper hand, and there would be much less bullying and general +bad conduct than is too often to be found even at the best-regulated +schools. + + + +CHAPTER TWELVE. + +DIGBY'S TRIALS AND TRIUMPH--THE BULLY AND THE SPONGE--A DINNER AT +GRANGEWOOD--DIGBY'S FIGHT WITH BULLY SCARBOROUGH--A FRIEND IN NEED. + +Digby had gained a great triumph--more important, probably, than he was +aware of. That first night of his arrival at Grangewood had been the +turning-point of his school life. Had he yielded in the first instance, +been terrified by threats, lost his temper, shown the white feather in +any way, he would, insensibly, have become like one of the rest-- +leavened with their leaven, addicted to their bad habits, a thoughtless, +idle little tyrant; too likely, on entering the world, to become a +useless profligate. As it was, in consequence of his conduct, he had +inspired some of his new companions with admiration, and others with +respect; while even those of baser nature felt that he was likely to +prove a person with whom it would be disagreeable and inconvenient to +contend; and so it became impressed on their minds, that it would be +better to let him alone. Of course, these feelings were only shared +among the boys of his room. He had still to make his way in the school. +Like a knight-errant of old, there were many giants for him to +overcome; many castles, surrounded by enchantments, to enter, before he +could hope to establish himself on a proper footing in the school. Of +course he did not think all this; he only felt that he had altogether +acted in a perfectly satisfactory way, and was contented, and pretty +happy. He slept soundly, but was the first to awake in the room. He +jumped up, put on some of his clothes, said his prayers, and then went +to the wash-hand basin, and began sousing his face away in the cold +water, as was his custom. + +Slowly the cold, grey light of a February morning drew on. A bell now +sounded loudly through the house, to rouse the inmates from their +slumbers. The other boys awoke, and lifted up their heads to see how +the new boy looked by daylight. They saw him standing in his trousers +and shirt, with his sleeves tucked up, his face glowing with the cold +water, his hair brushed back, and scrubbing away at his hands in a basin +full of lather, with an energy which showed that cold water had no +terrors for him. His well-knit frame, broad chest, and muscular little +arms, appeared to considerable advantage. Some of the boys, who were +unable to appreciate higher qualifications, could not fail to feel +respect for these; though Digby had not thought about them, nor was he +aware of the strength which he possessed, which, for his size, was +considerable. He brushed his hair with the same sort of energy with +which he had washed his hands, and then went to the drawer which had +been awarded to him, to put away his things. He was rather disgusted +than amused at seeing the dawdling way in which the boys put on their +clothes, and the mode in which they dabbed their faces over with the +cold water, and hurriedly dipped their hands in, though some only half +dried them, after all. Paul and Farnham were an exception to the rule. + +"Well, Heathcote, I hope that you have slept soundly in this, to you, +strange place," said Paul, in his usual brisk tone. + +"As sound as a top. It is all the same to me, when I have my head on a +comfortable pillow. It takes a good deal to keep me awake," answered +Digby, in the same tone. "I sleep fast, and get it over the sooner. I +hate to be long about what can be well done quickly." + +"So do I," answered Newland. "Slow coaches are apt to break down as +often as fast ones." + +Another bell now rang loudly, and the boys all hurried away downstairs +to the schoolroom. Digby accompanied Paul. He felt several fellows +push against his back, to throw him downstairs, but he was on his guard; +and one of them, to the fellow's surprise, he lifted up on his +shoulders, and, without difficulty, carried him down to the next +landing-place, where he bumped him pretty hard against the wall. +Another, not seeing what had occurred, tried the same trick. Digby, +putting his hands suddenly behind his back, seized him, and had carried +him down, holding the boy's arms tight, and was beginning to bump him, +when he felt his own ears pulled, and a voice exclaiming-- + +"Vat you do dat for? Is dat de way you new boy is going to behave +here?" + +Digby guessed that it was Monsieur Guillaume, the French master, who was +thus addressing him. + +"He tried to push me downstairs, sir; and I wish to show him that two +can play at most games of that sort," answered Digby, quietly. + +"Ah, I do not tink you say de truth, you," exclaimed the French master, +angrily. "He is a good boy; my _protege_; speak French well. Put him +down, I say. Tommy Bray, come here; you not hurt, my poor boy?" + +Digby put Tommy Bray on his feet, who accompanied Monsieur Guillaume +into the schoolroom, where Paul and Digby followed. + +"The Frenchman has given you a fair specimen of himself. He is the most +uncertain, fickle little fellow I ever met. He bullies all the little +fellows except his favourites, or _proteges_, as he calls them, and +makes up to the older ones, who are big enough to thrash him, if they +like. He spites those who don't learn French, because he is not paid +for them. He is always trying, therefore, to get new pupils. However, +I do not believe that he is really bad tempered when he has his own way. +He has been soured by loss of property; and having to live out of la +belle France. And do you know, Heathcote, I really do believe that an +usher at a school like this, when no one is exactly master, and the big +boys have it much their own way, has a good deal to put up with." + +"I should think so," observed Digby, as they entered the schoolroom. + +They went to their desks. Mr Yates read prayers, and though everybody +was cold and hungry, lessons began. + +Mr Tugman had not yet had time to examine Digby, so he sat at his desk +reading the Swiss Family of Robinson, which he confessedly preferred to +lessons. Each master had a class up before him; there were some crying; +a good deal of caning on the fingers--a particularly disagreeable +punishment, in cold weather especially--and a considerable amount of +blundering and hesitation. A few quick runs round the playground would +have saved a great deal of suffering and discontent; but Mr Sanford +never went out in the morning, and it never occurred to him that the +blood in his pupils' veins would circulate more freely with a little +brisk exercise, and give vivacity to their intellects. + +Breakfast was at last announced by the constant sounding bell. It +varied little from tea, except that those who liked bread-and-milk might +have it. It was served out in large basins. + +Digby, however, preferred the tea. He kept his eye sharply on his mug, +to see that it was not tampered with. He observed Tommy Bray take a +pinch of salt, and then ask for a cup of tea, though he had a basin of +bread-and-milk before him. + +"Tommy Bray," cried Digby, in an undertone, "you had better not. Susan, +bring me that mug of tea, please. He does not want it." + +Susan, remembering John Pratt's half sovereign, brought Digby the tea +intact; and Tommy was disappointed of his trick. + +Several other boys, however, commenced their jokes on the new comer as +soon as their spirits had revived a little, by their appetites being +satisfied; but none of those in his room attempted anything of the sort; +and it soon became whispered about that the new boy was a plucky little +cock, and that his arm had a great lump of muscle in it, as big almost +as Scarborough's, which he was so fond of exhibiting. + +After breakfast, the boys went into the playground. It was cold enough +to make everybody wish to run about as much as they could. Hoops were +the order of the day; and Farnham came up and asked Digby if he had got +a hoop. + +"No; I never trundled one in my life, but I will try," he answered. "I +did not know that gentlemen used them. I have only seen the boys in the +streets at Osberton play with them." + +Farnham thought that he was supercilious in his remark. "Oh, then, I +suppose you would not condescend to trundle a hoop?" he exclaimed, +turning away. + +"But I would though, gladly," cried Digby; "if you can lend me one, and +just show me the knack of the thing, I shall like it very much." + +Farnham was satisfied, and brought him a good strong hoop which he had +wished to offer him. His first attempts were not very successful; but +he saw how Farnham pressed the stick against the hoop rather than beat +it, and kept his eye on it and not on his stick, watching every +deviation from the direct line, so he was soon able to drive it along at +a fair rate, with tolerable satisfaction to himself. + +Soon after returning into school, Mr Tugman called him up to undergo +the threatened examination. It was not very severe, and he managed to +get through it pretty well. He had a vague suspicion, indeed, that the +usher himself was not an over-ripe scholar. He found afterwards that +his suspicions were correct, and that poor Mr Tugman had to get up +every night the lessons he had to hear his head class the following day. +No wonder that his temper was not over-sweet, and that he was awfully +afraid of the big boys, lest they should find out how much more they +knew than he did. He was placed in Paul Newland's class, but as it was +Saturday he did not go up with it; so that, with Paul's assistance, he +was able to prepare his lessons for Monday. He determined to do his +best, and set to work to get them up thoroughly. + +Boys in a private school have an advantage over those at a public one. +If they wish to study during school hours they can do so, under the eye +of the masters, without any fear of interruption. In a public one, +excellent as the system of most of the great ones is, the boys, working +in their own studies with one or two companions only, are liable to the +practical jokes and tricks of various sorts of the idly disposed, who +may have resolved to prevent them altogether from getting up their +lessons, and, of course, then it is very difficult work to do so. +School was over at half-past twelve, and then for a short time they all +rushed into the playground. + +Spiller was on the watch for Digby at the door. "I am glad to find you, +Heathcote," he said, in a soft, quiet voice. "You remember what I told +you about your play-box last night. If you come with me I will show you +where to put it, and what to do with the things you have got." + +"Shall I call him spongy to his face, and so show him that I know his +character?" thought Digby. "No; I don't like to do that, it's scarcely +right.--Thank you, Spiller," he said aloud, "I am not certain that I +shall unpack my things to-day. I have nothing that won't keep, I +believe; and I want to become better acquainted with fellows before I +cut up my cake." + +This was a poser for Spiller, who had never before received such an +answer. He looked very hard at Digby, to try and find out whether he +knew anything about his character; but Digby had said simply what he had +intended to do, and Spiller was completely puzzled. Still he was +determined to try again. "Most fellows like to open their boxes at +once, to give away some of the good things they have got, to prove their +generosity," he observed. "A fellow can't expect to have friends unless +he does something to win them, you know. I only tell you this as a +hint, just that you may know how to act." + +"I don't fancy buying friends in that way," answered Digby, laughing; "I +should not trust much to a fellow who said he was my friend for a piece +of cake or a spoonful of jam. If anybody else offered him a bigger +piece, or more jam, he would very quickly leave me. I like fellows not +for what they have got, but for what they are; and I want to be liked +for the same reason myself." + +"Oh, I see that you are a radical," said Spiller, sneeringly; "those are +regular chartists' sentiments; but they won't go down with me, let me +tell you." + +Digby burst out into a regular fit of laughter. + +"Well, I never should have supposed that it could be considered radical +to like a fellow with a number of good qualities who was poor, in +preference to a bad fellow who happened to be rich. I must repeat it, +that I hope to find friends among the boys here, whom I shall like for +their good qualities." + +"As you please," remarked Spiller; "of course I can't force you to do as +I recommend; but if, on thinking the matter over, you change your mind, +come to me and I will help you. Those are my principles; I'm not +ashamed of them, let me tell you." + +What Spiller meant by his principles, Digby could not tell. Perhaps he +might have explained more clearly, but he saw Paul Newland approaching, +and he knew that he must abandon his designs for the present on Digby's +strong box. + +Digby told Paul how he had managed Spiller. + +"Capital," exclaimed Paul. "I wish that we could get rid of all the +disagreeable fellows in the school as easily as you have, for the +present, of Spiller; but I want to tell you to be on your guard against +that big bully, Scarborough. The fellows were talking about you just +now, and mentioning the plucky way in which you behaved last night; +instead of saying, as I am sure he ought, that you acted very rightly, +he sneered and vowed that he would very soon take the pride out of you." + +"Let him try, if he wishes," answered Digby, not particularly alarmed, +for he never had been imbued with any especial dread of big fellows; his +fearlessness, however, in reality, arose from his want of experience of +the evil they had the power of inflicting; "if he knocks my nose off, he +certainly will prevent me from feeling proud of my face, but otherwise, +I don't see how he can very well alter my character." + +Paul thought Digby a perfect hero, and wished for the time when he would +be big enough to be cock of the school. While they were speaking, +Scarborough lounged by with his hand on the shoulder of another fellow, +very much of his own character. There is a great similarity in the look +of all bullies, not so much in figure as in expression of countenance; +some are big, burly fellows, like Scarborough, others are tall and thin. +Of course, they all have more or less physical strength; some are dark +and some are fair, but they one and all have an inexpressible +resemblance to each other. Scarborough passed close to Digby, and as he +did so he put out his foot, and tried to trip him up; but Digby observed +the action, and, guessing the intention, jumped off the ground, and +escaped even being touched. He felt inclined to make some remark, but +he restrained his temper, and left the bully without any excuse for +picking a quarrel with him. Scarborough strolled to the end of the +playground, and when he came back, he stopped, and looking hard at +Digby, said-- + +"I suppose you are the new fellow who is going to do such mighty things +in the school--well, I want you to understand that I shall not allow you +to play any of your tricks with me; remember that." + +Digby looked at the bully very steadily; he felt that he ought to answer +him, if he could do so, quietly, so he said-- + +"I don't know of any tricks which I wish to play; but if you will just +tell me what you don't like of what I have done, or have been said to +have done, I will do my best not to offend you." + +"It's very well for you to talk in that way," said the bully, disarmed +for the moment; for even he could not venture to thrash a fellow without +some pretext; "just remember to keep up to it, or you'll find yourself +in the wrong box with me, my lad, that's all." + +With this ambiguous threat, the bully moved on. + +"Well done again," exclaimed little Paul, who had been trembling with +alarm all the time for the result of the meeting; "he won't let you off +without many another attack; but manage him as you have already done, +and I do not think that he will annoy you much." + +The moment the dinner-bell rang, there was another general rush into the +dining-room. This was that the first comers might secure the best +pieces of bread and mugs of beer, arranged up and down the tables. +Digby found only half a mugful of beer and a very small piece of bread +remaining to his share; but he was not at all put out, and made no +remark, resolving another day to be earlier in the field. + +Grangewood School had existed for a number of years, and things were +carried on there very much in the old-fashioned style in most respects. +Mr Sanford was a very good scholar and a gentleman, but he had no +talent for the economical arrangements of a school. It is a favourite +saying with some people, that boys are better fed than taught. He had +resolved that, as far as he had the power, they should be well taught; +but it did not occur to him, that it was incumbent on him to see that +they were well fed and well looked after. + +Mrs Pike was, fortunately for him, a conscientious person; but her +notions were somewhat antiquated. She wished to attend to his +interests, and she was not aware that they and those of the boys were +identical; that is to say, that if the boys were thoroughly looked +after, well fed as well as well taught, brought up as Christians and +gentlemen, the school would flourish; and that if the boys were badly +and coarsely fed and treated, and neglected, the school would go +down-hill. + +Digby was very hungry; the novelty of his position did not spoil his +appetite. He turned his head in the direction of the table at which +Mrs Pike, supported by Mr Yates, usually sat to superintend the +serving out of provender, to see what was coming. Some huge dishes +piled up with large white balls were brought in, and plates, containing +half of one of the balls, were in succession thumped down before each of +the boys. Digby turned over the mass with his fork to discover the +contents, but finding nothing but a mass of dough and a strong smell of +beer, he put it down; and when one of the maid-servants came by, held +out his plate, and quietly said, that he would rather have meat before +pudding. The maid-servant, who was not Susan, or she might have +whispered a bit of good advice, seized his plate, and going up with it +to Mrs Pike, said in a loud voice, so that all might hear:-- + +"The new boy, Master Digby Heathcote, marm, says that he likes meat +before pudding." + +Mrs Pike cast a withering glance at Digby; such a piece of +insubordination had not been met with for a long time to her authority. + +"We here give pudding before meat, young gentleman, if it suits us," she +exclaimed, in a dictatorial tone; "if you do not choose to eat such +excellent pudding as this is, you can have no meat. Take it back to +him, Jane." + +Again the plate was placed before him. + +"You had better eat it," whispered Paul Newland. "It is very good yeast +dumpling, and you will like it when you are accustomed to it." + +"With all my heart," answered Digby, laughing. "I did not want to make +such a fuss about the matter. I like duff very well, only I really +thought that they had forgotten to put the meat on my plate." + +"Don't touch the stuff, Heathcote, take my advice," exclaimed Spiller, +in a low tone, across the table. "You have got plenty of good things in +your box to feed on, I dare say. All new fellows have; and there is +nothing like holding out against injustice." + +"Thank you," said Digby, pretty well guessing Spiller's drift. "I had +rather not lose my dinner. Very good stuff, though; capital duff; a +little sugar and wine would make it perfect." + +He ate it all up. + +"Here, Jane," he exclaimed, holding out his plate; "say that I find it +very good, and should like some more." + +Jane, who was pretty well up to the tricks young gentlemen were capable +of playing, looked suspiciously at his pockets, and then under the +table, to ascertain whether he really had eaten up the dumpling; but +even she was assured by his ingenuous countenance, and so she went up to +the head table, and said that Master Digby Heathcote liked the yeast +dumpling and wanted some more. + +Mrs Pike looked, also, very suspiciously at Digby. + +"I'll give him some," said Mr Yates, who was assisting in serving out +the provisions. + +Mrs Pike, with feminine tact, would have given a small piece, not to +disgust him; but he, whether with malice or from thoughtlessness, put +very nearly a whole one on the plate. Some brown sugar, however, was +added by Susan on its way to Digby; and when he got it, he liked the +taste so much, that although not aware that Mrs Pike's sharp eyes were +on him, he sat manfully to work; and yeast dumpling being of a very +compressible nature, he demolished the whole mass in a very short time. + +It did occur to Mrs Pike's economical mind that it was fortunate the +new boy liked pudding, or he would be very expensive to feed. + +Digby felt rather thirsty, so he drank up his beer. That was rather +sour; but he was not easily put out, and he felt already very much as if +he had dined. When a huge dish of salt beef, with carrots and turnips, +did come, he could do but little justice to it; but he was grateful to +Mrs Pike's delicate attention, when, in a tone of which he did not +discover the sarcasm, she pressed him to take a second helping. + +He begged to have some more beer, though; but was told that one cupful +was the allowance, and so had to quench his thirst with water. + +"We have pudding first only twice in the week," observed Paul. "I have +got accustomed to it, and rather like the variety, though I thought it +odd at first. One day we have yeast, and another suet-dumpling. Then +two days we generally have pease-soup, or some fellows do call it +pease-porridge. It is rather thick, to be sure, and on those days we +have porter instead of beer. I seldom after it have an appetite, even +for Irish-stew or toad-in-the-hole. On Wednesdays, Mrs Pike lets a +cake-man come just before dinner with gingerbread and lollipops; and +many fellows would rather spend their money on his grub than in any +other way; and they are not so hungry on that day, and don't care so +much what they have. We call that scrap-and-pudding day, because we +have hashes first and rice-dumplings afterwards. Mrs Pike, on that +day, always talks about the immense sum she spends on currants and other +groceries for the school." + +However, enough about eating; Paul and Digby were philosophers in their +way, and had no wish to make grievances out of trifles. + +Mr Sanford himself would have been horrified had he known the light in +which the domestic arrangements of his establishment were regarded; and +it told among the elder boys with very injurious effect to his +interests. Some of the best left; and their parents, knowing him to be +a gentleman--cruelly, certainly--did not explain the real cause, and so +he let things go on as before. The worst remained; those whose friends +knew that they were not likely to get on well anywhere, and perhaps +would not believe their statements. They, of course, leavened the rest. +The younger ones, by degrees, took up their notions and habits; and a +first-rate school had not only diminished in size, but had deteriorated +sadly in quality, by the time Digby went to it. + +He, of course, did not find this out. The state in which he found +things he supposed to be inseparable from schools in general, and he was +disposed to make the best of them. However, he had resolved not to give +in to the bad ways of others, when he once saw that they were bad. But +he had yet to learn how insensibly a person may be drawn into the bad +habits, and a bad style of thinking and speaking, and may adopt the +erroneous notions of people among whom he lives. Digby was in a much +more perilous position than he was aware of. He was of a dauntless +disposition; he had always been accustomed to rely a good deal upon +himself, and he was anxious to do his duty. More than that was wanted +to preserve him. He had at home a pious mother and sisters, who never +failed to offer up their prayers for his safety. Surely those prayers +were not uttered in vain. It would have been doing, also, great +injustice to the Squire of Bloxholme to say that he forgot his son, +though those who knew him best might have supposed that his prayers +might have been of a somewhat inarticulate nature. Still, certainly, +there was fervency and sincerity in whatever ejaculations he uttered. + +The subject is too serious to be touched on lightly. Only thus much may +be said, that if more parents prayed for their children, and more +children for their parents, the sacred ties of that relationship would +not, as now is too often the case, be loosened or rudely torn asunder; +and there would be more good parents and good children than are to be +found. + +Dinner was over; the boys rushed into the playground; neither the yeast +dumplings nor the salt beef stuck in their throats. Most of them were +hallooing, shoving against each other, trying to trip up those nearest +them, slapping each other's backs, and, indeed, playing every +conceivable trick of the sort. + +Digby was soon overtaken by Scarborough. + +"Well, jackanapes, how are you?" said the latter. + +Digby ran on without taking any notice of the address. + +"Did you hear me speak to you?" exclaimed the bully, catching Digby by +the collar of his jacket. + +"I heard some one speak to somebody, but I could not possibly tell that +you meant to say anything to me. There are big monkeys as well as +little ones. You might have been wishing to say something to a fellow +of your own size." + +Digby had shaken himself clear of the bully, whose face was livid with +anger, and stood facing him. + +Scarcely were the words out of Digby's mouth, than he received several +tremendous boxes on the ears. He felt a choking sensation in the +throat; he had never before been struck unjustly. All the pugnacity in +his disposition rose at once into his well-rounded knuckles, and +springing forward before the bully had a conception of what he was about +to do, he had planted two such heavy blows in his two eyes, that they +flashed fire in such a way, that he could scarcely see what had become +of his small opponent, while he himself absolutely reeled back with +pain. When he did open his eyes, there stood Digby, his feet firmly +planted on the ground, his fists clenched, his teeth firmly set, +undaunted and ready to do battle, yet well knowing that he must +inevitably get the worst in an encounter with so big an antagonist. He +had not provoked the quarrel; he had justice on his side, and he was +encouraged by the shouts of a number of boys, and cries of "Bravo, +little cock!" "Well done, new boy!" "Give it the bully!" "Stand to +your colours!" Digby felt like a martyr to a great cause. If +Scarborough had been angry when merely spoken to, he now became furious +at being thus unexpectedly bearded by so small an antagonist. If the +new boy escaped without a severe punishment, he might become a most +troublesome opponent in the school. He rushed at him, uttering terrific +threats of vengeance, intending to seize him by the collar and to throw +him down, and to bite his ears and kick him at the same time, _more +tyranni_. Digby leaped nimbly aside, and hit his right arm a blow which +made it tingle from the shoulder to the tips of the fingers. This, +however, only put off the chastisement which was sure to be inflicted, +where his antagonist was so vastly superior in strength. + +It is not necessary to repeat the abusive epithets and oaths which flew +from Scarborough's mouth. Hitting Digby a terrific blow with his left +hand, which knocked off his cap, and kicking at his legs, he brought him +to the ground, when seizing him by the hair, he began to knock him about +most unmercifully on the head and shoulders. + +"Shame! shame!" cried many of the boys together; "a new fellow, and down +on the ground. Shame, bully! shame!" + +"Why don't some of you come and help me?" cried Digby, in the interval +of the blows, and trying to get on his legs. + +"I will," cried little Paul Newland, who had only just come into the +playground, and had run up to see what was happening; "who'll follow me? +Farnham, you will, I'm sure." + +"That I will," cried Farnham, all the generous emotions in his heart +rising up; "he stood up bravely for us younger fellows. He is a gallant +little cock. To the rescue! to the rescue!" + +Farnham was a good-sized fellow, though young. A number of other boys, +inspired by his address, joined him; and, without further concert, they +made a bold dash at Scarborough, who little thought that they would +really attack him. Some clung to his legs, others seized his arms, and +clung round his neck and pulled him backwards, so that Digby had time to +jump to his feet, and to shake himself to ascertain that no bones were +broken. + +"Thank you, thank you," he exclaimed: "I am not much the worse for the +way that big coward behaved; but take care, he will be hurting some of +you; I don't mind if he was to set on me again; I dare say I can stand +his knocking about as well as anybody." + +The boys who had so gallantly come to Digby's rescue had not thought of +that, and Scarborough, struggling desperately to free himself, had +thrown some of them off, and was in his fury striking, right and left, +blows heavy enough to have maimed any of them for life; but at the same +time he had his eye on Digby, on whom he was evidently longing to wreak +his vengeance. + +By this time most of the boys, big and little, were drawn round the +scene of the contest. Scarborough had his friends, who urged him to +annihilate his small opponents, but did not think it necessary +themselves to interfere. Bad as were many of them, Digby's gallantry +had been remarked by one of the elder boys in the first class, who, +though not so big or so old as Scarborough, was a person not to be +trifled with. His figure was light, active, well-knit, and his +countenance had a mild expression, at the same time that it possessed +signs of peculiar firmness and decision. + +Scarborough had freed himself from all those who surrounded him, except +from Farnham and Newland, who were in vain trying to prevent him from +once more seizing Digby, when Henry Bouverie, the boy spoken of, stepped +up, and placing himself between Scarborough and Digby, exclaimed:-- + +"You shall not touch him; while I remain at this place, I will not, if I +can help it, allow so thoroughly un-English and cowardly acts to be +committed. That young fellow only came yesterday, and you must needs +run foul of him and half kill him with your brutality to-day. Whatever +others may think, I know that the sooner you leave the school the better +it will be for all of us." + +Scarborough was still advancing. Bouverie lifted up his fists. + +"You shall light me and thrash me before you again touch that young +fellow," he exclaimed, in a voice which made the bully draw back. +"Remember, Heathcote, if he strikes you, you are to come and tell me; +and any of you fellows who came to Heathcote's help are to do the same." + +The bully stood irresolute. Should he at once fly at Bouverie and +attack him. He was certainly stronger; he might thrash him; and if so, +he should not only keep him in check, but be able to tyrannise over all +the other boys as much as he liked; but then he looked at Bouverie, and +observed the calm, firm attitude he had assumed. The reverse would be +the case if he failed. His prestige, already having suffered a severe +blow from Digby, would be for ever gone. + +When Bouverie had first spoken, Farnham and Newland had let him go, and +though he struck at them as they did so, they escaped without much +injury. Some of the bigger boys, who did not like Bouverie, shouted +out:-- + +"Knock him over; down with the radical!" + +But still louder rose a shout of approbation from Farnham, Newland, and +the boys with more generous feelings who had sided with them, in which +Digby heartily joined. + +"Bravo, Bouverie, gallant fellow! we'll stick by you." + +"Thanks to all those who so express themselves," said Bouverie; +"recollect, however, it is only by being kindly affectioned one to +another, and by supporting each other in everything that is right, that +you can hope to resist tyranny and oppression. Mark me, also, +Scarborough; I have no wish to set the fellows on against you, but I +detest bullying, and if you continue the system you have been pursuing, +I shall do my very utmost to help the younger fellows, and to oppose +you. No more shouting, pray. I'm for a game at Prisoners' Base. Here, +Farnham, you lead one side, I'll take the other. Any fellows who will +oppose bullying may join; no others, remember." + +Digby was surprised at the rapid and systematic way in which the +arrangements were made. Farnham was evidently pleased at being chosen +by a big fellow like Bouverie to play against him. Of the mysteries of +the game he himself knew nothing; still he longed to join in it in spite +of his sores and aching bones. Bouverie at last looked towards him and +invited him to join. + +"All right; I thought he would," said Paul Newland, who was standing +near. + +"But I have never played at it before," said Digby. + +"Oh, never mind that! I'll show you what to do; and I am certain you +can run fast, and will play well," urged Paul. + +"Yes, he'll play," he added, turning to Bouverie. "You know, +Heathcote," he continued, "you must be up to everything and ready for +everything--in the way of games, I mean. When you know the ways of the +school, the younger fellows will look to you as a leader. They want +one, and I know that you will make a good one." + +These remarks naturally could not fail to fire Digby's ambition. He +forgot all about his bruises, and ran eagerly to the spot marked out for +the game. Paul explained it to him. The base was at the bottom of the +playground from one side to the other. This was divided in two. The +prison was at a pump which stood in the middle of the ground--a great +luxury in hot weather, but a terror to the little boys in cold, for they +were sometimes placed under it and unmercifully soused. + +"Now, you see," said Paul, "one fellow starts out on one side, then +another on the opposite, who tries to touch him. If he succeeds, the +first goes to prison; but if the first gets in, the second may be +touched by a third, and himself have to go to prison, and so on. The +next aim is to get those on our own side out of prison. This is done by +running to them and touching them, but in so doing, a fellow is liable +to be touched by one of the opposite side, and have to go himself to +prison. If, however, he rescues a prisoner, he may not be touched on +his return to the base. To my mind, it is the best running game there +is." + +Digby thought so likewise, and entered with great zest into the game. +He soon understood it as clearly as if he had played it all his life. +Once Bouverie himself was touched, and had to go to prison. Nearly all +their side were out chasing, or being chased. Digby rushed back to the +base, and then, quick as lightning, started out again, and though +pursued by a fast runner, he succeeded in rescuing his leader in gallant +style. + +"Well done, new boy! well done, small one! well done, Heathcote!" was +shouted by several on his side, and Digby felt very proud of his +success. Whenever one of his party was taken prisoner, he was the first +to dash out to his rescue; and if he saw one pursued, he was instantly +in chase of the pursuer. From this time he entered warmly into all the +games which were played, and was soon invariably chosen to take an +active part in all those which did not require practice. Some required, +however, both practice and instruction, and for those he always found +ready instructors in Farnham and Paul Newland. He practised away, +however, so zealously, that he very soon played, even in games of skill, +almost as well as those who were teaching him. He not only listened to +what they told him, but he attentively watched them and all the best +players, and saw how they did things, and their various tricks and +devices. He did not forget also to observe, occasionally, the bad +players, that he might see how it was they managed so soon to be put +out. Cricket, of course, had not yet come in; in that capital game, +likewise, he was anxious to become a proficient. He had been initiated +at Mr Nugent's in single wicket, so he could bat and bowl pretty well, +but he knew very little of the game at large. + +From the style of his previous education, he found himself also in +lessons somewhat behind many boys younger than himself, though he knew a +great deal more than they did of other things, and of affairs in +general. + +However, he had no reason to complain after his measure had been taken +by his schoolfellows of the position he occupied in their estimation. +Whether this was for his ultimate advantage remained to be seen; one +thing was certain, it demanded of him a considerable amount of temper, +judgment, discretion; and not only good resolutions, but strength to +keep them. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTEEN. + +THE PLAY-BOX AND ITS CONTENTS--A SCHOOL SUPPER--DIGBY LEARNS FRENCH, AND +WISHES THAT HE DID NOT--DIGBY RISES IN HIS SCHOOLFELLOWS' ESTIMATION. + +Digby's first half-holiday had been full of stirring events. As the +evening drew on, his hunger reminded him of the contents of his +play-box. He had not entirely lost his taste for jam and honey since +the days when he had made free with Mrs Carter's preserve pots; and it +was with some anticipation of pleasure that he proposed to Paul Newland +to examine his treasures. + +Paul was a thorough schoolboy, so he willingly agreed; but suggested +that it would be wise to keep the jam till after tea, when they might +have bread to eat with it. "I have two bottles, and we will pour our +tea into them," observed Newland. "Cold tea is very nice, you know; and +we will stow away as much bread as we can in our pockets. I have some +gingerbread and a bottle of ginger-beer remaining; and we shall have a +good supply for a feast." + +"But I dare say that I have plenty of things more, for I did not see +what was put up; only I know that the housekeeper was told to fill my +box as full as it could be," answered Digby. "And do you know, I should +like to ask some other fellows to join us. Farnham, certainly, and all +those who came to my help when that bully attacked me; or, if you like, +all who were playing with us just now. I can easily get some more pots +of jam, if I want them, I dare say." + +"Capital, capital!" exclaimed Paul. "But I don't think it will do to +have as many fellows as you propose. I'll just ask those I think you +would really like; but would it not be wiser to see what you have got +first. I have known boxes broken open, and when the owners have gone to +them, they have found only lumps of paper instead of cake, and empty jam +and honey pots." + +Digby's heart sank somewhat on hearing this; and with no little +trepidation and doubt he accompanied Paul to the play-room. + +It was a good-sized place, and had been originally used as a schoolroom; +a passage led to it from one end of the present schoolroom. A fire was +always lighted there on half-holidays in the winter, so that it was a +very favourite resort in the evenings, especially in bad weather. It +was not the thing to read there, nor were running games allowed. An +exception was made in favour of high-cock-o'-lorum and leap-frog, which +might be played at the end furthest from the fireplace. There were +tables, and benches, and a few strong wooden chairs and stools; and +shelves all round on which the boys might keep their boxes, and other +treasures, boats, or little theatres, or museums, or anything they were +making. + +Digby found his box standing by itself, on a spare shelf. The lock +looked all right; he produced the key, and opened it--nothing had been +touched. + +"All right, then," exclaimed Paul. "We ought to get Farnham and two or +three other fellows to stand by as guards, or we shall have Scarborough +pouncing down on us like a hawk, or Spiller insinuating himself like an +eel, and carrying off the spoil, as they will call it. I have seen +those two fellows, before now, half clear out the box of a fellow who +had just come from home before he has been able to give anything to his +friends. There they both come; I thought so. Shut it again, and hide +the key in your pocket." + +"I say, though, don't you think we might ask Bouverie to come to the +feast?" exclaimed Digby, as Paul was running off. "Is he above that +sort of thing?" + +Paul stopped, and considered. + +"He likes jam and cake, I dare say; but I don't think he would take +yours, lest it should be said he helped you for the sake of what you +have got," he answered. "I'll ask him in your name, though; there can +be no harm in doing that." + +When Newland was gone, Digby sat down near his box. Scarborough stood +at one end of the room, eyeing him, and considering whether or not it +would be worth while to indulge himself in the satisfaction of attacking +him, and compelling him to give up some of the contents of his box. + +Spiller, meantime, also, was playing with a ball, while he reflected how +he might most easily obtain the object of his wishes, and get hold of +the eatables he doubted not the new boy had brought. Still, as he felt +sure that Newland must have warned Digby against him, he knew that he +must exert the utmost circumspection and caution. Once more he glided +up to Digby, and sat down near him, taking out his knife, and shaping a +piece of soft pine into a boat. + +"You are not fond of this sort of thing?--it is too sedentary for you, I +have no doubt," he observed. "It suits me, as I am not fond of games. +I shall be glad to make you a little vessel some day. Perhaps you have +got some tools, now, in your box. I could do it much better with them +than with a knife." + +Digby very nearly laughed in Spiller's face. As to tools, he had never +even possessed a hammer; and besides, his eyes having been opened to his +companion's character, the object of his remarks were perfectly evident, +and he had resolved not to be humbugged by him. However, he said, +"Thank you;" for Digby never forgot to be polite even when he lost his +temper, which was not often. "But, to tell you the truth, I do not care +much about models and little things. I like sailing in a real vessel, +or pulling in a real boat, or swimming, or riding; and, therefore, any +such thing would be thrown away on me. Still, if you do anything for me +when I ask you, I shall be very glad to repay you with a piece of cake, +or some jam, or anything I may have which suits your fancy." + +This was plain speaking; but Spiller was in no way offended. His wages +had been settled, and now he had to consider how he might most +conveniently win them. Still his mouth watered for the sweet things; +and he wished that he could get paid beforehand. + +Digby felt inclined to go to his box, to cut a piece of cake, and to +throw it to him, as people sometimes do a penny to an importunate +beggar, whom, in their hearts, they believe to be an impostor; but he +restrained himself. + +Just then, Paul Newland, Farnham, and three or four more boys, of whom, +though they were younger than himself, Spiller had an especial dread, +made their appearance at the door of the play-room. He knew that his +chance of getting anything just then out of Digby was gone, so he +sneaked away to a distance, where he sat down to watch their +proceedings. + +"I have arranged everything," said Newland. "I first gave your message +to Bouverie. He is much obliged, but cannot join our party. Then I got +Farnham and the other fellows to keep guard while you open your box: and +Bouverie told me that if anybody interferes with you, one of us is to +run and let him know, and that he will come to your assistance." + +"He is a right capital fellow, then," exclaimed Digby. "It is all the +better that there should be a few bullies and blackguards, that the good +qualities of others may be the better discovered." + +Paul answered that he thought Digby's philosophy was very good in +theory; but that practically, he would rather dispense both with bullies +and blackguards, as he was constantly a sufferer from them. + +At length, all arrangements being made, Digby's box of treasures was +opened, and found to contain even more good things than even he or any +of his friends had anticipated. Everybody at Bloxholme who could think +of what boys liked best, had made some suggestion which had been +adopted, and the wonder was, that so much had been stowed away in so +small a space. Every crevice had been filled with little and big pots +of jam, and marmalade, and honey, a tongue, a Dutch cheese, +chocolate-paste, anchovies, a pie without gravy, and a fine plum-cake +were only some of the eatables,--then there was a hammer and nails, and +gimlets, and screws, and a hasp-knife, and a writing-case, and a number +of other useful things; enough, as Paul declared, to enable him to set +up house by himself, if he wished. + +They had only time to put back about two-thirds of the things, which +were all they could get into the box, the rest having to be distributed +between Newland's and Farnham's boxes, before the bell rang for tea. + +One of the party, William Ranger, Digby heard him called, was easily +persuaded to stay away from tea, to watch that no burglary was attempted +during their absence. + +Tea was quickly over; the bottles were filled, and the bread-and-butter +stowed away in their pockets, and then, more hungry than ever, they +hurried back to the play-room. + +Ranger told them that he had placed himself on a bench, pretending to be +fast asleep, and that scarcely had they gone, than Spiller glided into +the room, and went up to the well-filled box. He had begun to work away +at the lock, when up he had jumped and sung out-- + +"You had better not." + +Without making any answer to this, Spiller had sneaked away again. In +another minute, who should come in but the bully Scarborough, with a +hammer in his hand. He walked straight up to the box, and finding that +it was locked, was about to strike it with all his might, when Ranger, +though trembling for the consequences to his bones, again cried-- + +"You had better not." + +The words acted like magic, even on the notorious bully, and he betook +himself out of the room as fast as he could, having also, probably, lost +his share of the provisions in the tea-room. + +The supper-party were now able to assemble in peace and tolerable quiet; +and a very merry party they were. The supper service was not exactly +uniform, for each person had brought his own plate; some were of wood, +and others of earthenware, or iron, or tin, while cups differed as much +as did knives, and forks, and spoons. The pie, and the tongue, and the +cheese, and the cake, and the jams, were all pronounced excellent, and +though all the party eat as much as they wanted, helped out with their +own bread-and-butter, it was agreed that there was enough for two or +three more feasts, helped out a little, perhaps, with some of the +contents of the cake-man's basket. The beverages were, however, of a +nature almost too simple for dishes so highly flavoured; the strongest +was ginger-beer, the others were lemonade, cold tea, milk-and-water, and +water alone. It were well if none of them had ever indulged in anything +stronger. + +It would be absurd to say that the way in which Digby dispersed the +eatables in his box did not contribute to make him popular; at the same +time, they would not have done so unless his own personal qualities had +been calculated to win the regard of his schoolfellows. Ever cheerful, +honest and upright, and bold and fearless, he quickly gained the kindly +feeling of all the better boys in the school. With the others, he +almost instinctively avoided associating. One of his greatest +annoyances was Tommy Bray, who seemed never to lose an opportunity of +trying to put him out of temper. + +Digby, as he had promised, wrote very frequently to Kate. He had not +altogether a satisfactory account to give of the school; still, he was +happy--very jolly, he described himself--and there were plenty of +fellows he liked, more or less, and he was learning a number of new +games, and he was getting on very fairly with his lessons. Kate wrote +even oftener to him, and told him all she was doing. Among other +things, she said that she was learning French, and it would be so nice +to be able to talk with him, and that she had persuaded papa to let him +learn if he wished it, and so that he must, and she had enclosed the +necessary written permission. + +Digby had seldom differed with Kate in any of her propositions, so, in a +fatal moment for his peace, he took up the order, and was at once placed +in Monsieur Guillaume's junior class. + +The French master was highly pleased, and complimented him much on the +wisdom of his resolution. All went very well at first; he managed to +get through the rudiments about as well as the ordinary run of boys, but +his advance after this was very slow, as Newland used to tell him, it +was all goose-step with him. Somehow or other he could not manage to +twist his thoroughly English mouth, so as properly to pronounce the +French words. In vain the master made him repeat them over and over +again. He knew the meaning of a good number of phrases and words, but +when he came to express himself, Monsieur Guillaume vowed that he could +not understand a word he said. + +"That is because he speaks in one way, and I speak in another, I +suppose," observed Digby. "But I don't see why my way is not the best; +it is the English way, and I should be ashamed of myself if I did not +consider everything English better than anything French." + +There was a twinkle in Digby's eyes as he said this which showed that he +was not altogether very serious. + +"You remind me, Heathcote, of a story my father tells," observed +Newland. "An old shipmate of his, a Master in the Navy, was taken +prisoner by the French early in the war, and had to remain at Verdun for +several years. At last he was liberated, and was very soon again +afloat. It was necessary, on the occasion of some expedition being +dispatched, to send an officer who could speak French. The Captain +knowing that the worthy Master had been many years in France, sent for +him to take the command of it, explaining the reason why he had done so. + +"`I speak French, do you say, sir?' he exclaimed. `No, sir; I am +thankful to say that I never learned a word more of their lingo than I +could possibly help. I, a true-born, patriotic Englishman! I should +have felt that I was disgracing myself if I had.'" + +"I am not so bad as that," said Digby. "I should like to learn if I +could; but I have no aptitude for languages, I suppose." + +Monsieur Guillaume had, however, resolved that his boys should not only +learn, but speak French; and all his pupils were ordered to speak French +at certain hours, either in the playground or anywhere else, except when +they were up saying their lessons. To compel the boys to talk, several +marks were distributed to those who spoke best; and they were to give +them to whatever boys they found speaking English. Those who had them +at the end of the day had a task of several lines of French poetry to +learn by heart, an occupation Digby especially hated. Still the decree +had gone forth, and Digby was continually having an odious piece of +wood, with "French Mark" burnt on it, slipped quietly into his hands. +Nine times out of ten, Tommy Bray was the person to give it him. How +Tommy so often became possessed of it seemed a mystery, for he spoke +French with more ease than most of the rest, and was not likely to have +been caught, thoughtlessly, talking English. + +Paul at length found that he would go up to a fellow he knew had got the +mark, and address him in English, when, of course, it was given to him. +He would then not try to pass it till the evening, when he would +continually hover about Digby till he found him tripping. At last +Digby, in desperation, would get hold of one of the marks early in the +day, and keeping it in his pocket, give, as he said, free play to his +native tongue. Of course, the system did not increase his affection for +French, or for Monsieur Guillaume, or Tommy Bray, in particular; yet, +after all, it was a less annoyance than many to which he and some of the +best boys were subjected by the masters. + +Mr Sanford's illness increased, till he was unable to appear at all in +the schoolroom; and yet, as he still retained his post as head-master, +points were supposed to be referred to him which never were so referred; +and various grievances which sprung up remained, day after day, +unredressed. + +Mr Yates became more pompous and dictatorial than ever, and not only +took to caning, but assumed the power of flogging, which even Mr +Sanford had long disused. + +Mr Tugman, too, bullied more than ever; he pulled and boxed the boys' +ears, and hit them over the shoulders and knuckles with a cane, which he +always kept by his side. + +Monsieur Guillaume imitated his example; and Mr Moore, the second +master, was the only one who continued to treat the boys in the quiet, +gentlemanly way he had always done. + +One of the punishments Mr Yates had invented was to lock up a culprit +in a dark room for several hours together, without food. This was +especially hated; and some of the boys declared that they would sooner +leave than submit to it. As it proved, it was calculated to produce +very bad effects in the school. These punishments, and the unusual +harshness of the masters, instead of introducing more order and +regularity into the school, had a very different effect, and never had +it been so disorganised and in so unsatisfactory a condition. + +This state of things had begun to grow up before Digby's arrival. He, +of course, did not, at first, discover it, and was not of a disposition +to trouble himself much about the politics either of the school or of +the nation at large. In a few months he found himself holding not only +a good position in the school, but looked upon as a leader in many +games, and in all expeditions and amusements. + +Spring was advancing, and, as the days were long, the boys were allowed, +according to an established custom, to go out after dinner, on +half-holidays, and to make excursions to a distance. They were obliged, +however, to say where they were going, and to report themselves on their +return, when they were expected to give an account of their proceedings. +In the summer, when cricket had come in, the privilege was seldom taken +advantage of, as most of the boys spent their time in the cricket-field. +Several, however, even then, who did not care about cricket, would get +away from it; some to fish, others, who had a fancy for the study of +natural history, to collect insects and other creatures; and some, +unhappily, and the number was increasing, to assemble in spots where +they were not likely to be observed; then they brought from the nearest +public-house pipes, and tobacco, and beer, and often spirits, and they +would spend the whole afternoon smoking, and drinking, and talking, as +they called it, like men. Often, miserable, ignorant fools, they talked +on subjects which no gentleman, no Christian man, worthy of the name, +would even touch on. + +Digby knew of these assemblings, and of the orgies which took place at +them, but had resisted all the invitations he received to join them. Of +course, he scarcely saw the evil in its true light, likely to result +from them; health injured; habits of intemperance gained; the mind +contaminated and debased with vicious ideas; and time, which ought to be +spent either in health and strength-gaining exercise, or in study and +preparation for the real business of life, squandered. + +Bouverie, whose good opinion Digby had gained, spoke to him on the +subject. + +"I tall you this, Heathcote," he said, "when I was a little chap, I knew +of a good number of big fellows who carried on much as these are doing. +They thought themselves very fine fellows, and so did I. Had I not had +a friend, who warned me to keep free from them, I might have done the +same. There were about a dozen of them; the youngest was only two or +three years older than I was. They all grew up; some went into the +navy, others the army, and others abroad, in different capacities. Out +of the whole number, four only are now alive; and of those four, one was +dismissed from the navy, and another from the army, for drunkenness, and +conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman; a third is a confirmed +invalid, with a broken constitution; and one only, whom I meet +occasionally, has given up his bad practices; and he never fails to say, +that he hopes I do not imitate the bad example he set me, as I may be +sure that the momentary satisfaction, I may fancy I should obtain, would +make but a poor amends for all the suffering and wretchedness of mind +and body I should be sure to reap in the end, and which he had gone +through. It never occurred to me that a little smoking and drinking, +and merely loose conversation, could do a fellow much harm. One might, +I thought, easily give up the first, and, of course, with grave people +and with ladies, one wouldn't talk loosely. But from what my friend +told me, and from what I found out myself, I now know the consequences +are sure to be bad. With regard to drinking, I tell you how it is. +Beer, spirits, and wine are stimulants, and excite the lining of the +stomach into which they are poured. Nothing so quickly acquires a bad +habit as the stomach, because it has not got reason to guide it, and is, +besides, full of sensitive organs. When once it is stimulated--that is, +excited--it wants to be excited again; and so one says, I must give it a +little more drink. If it has been excited by brandy, or rum, or gin, it +generally longs for the same thing. It acts on the mind, remember, much +more powerfully than the mind acts on it. If it gave pain at once, +people would not drink; but it excites in a pleasant way, and the +excitement goes on increasing till the brain is confused, and a person +does not know what he is about. When the excitement goes off, while the +nerves are returning to nearly their former state, then comes the pain. +These nerves, understand, run all the way from the coats of the stomach +up into the brain. They do not return quite to their former state, at +all events, for a long time, and so have a longing for more excitement; +and thus if a person can get spirits, or wine, or beer, he pours some +down his throat to gratify them. The more these sensitive nerves are +excited, the more stimulating liquid they desire; and thus, acting +through the brain, the more they make their owner wish for. So he goes +on increasing the frequency of the times in which he gratifies them, and +the quantity of liquor he pours down, because that which at first +gratified them will do so no longer. This goes on till a man becomes +what is called a confirmed drunkard. The younger a person is, the more +sensitive are all his organs, and therefore the more likely he is to +establish an irritable state of stomach, if he stimulates it in any way. +Now, these fellows don't actually get drunk, but their stomachs will +not long be content with the quantity of liquor they pour into them; and +so they will go on increasing till they not only get drunk, but become +miserable drunkards, on whom no one will depend, and who will very soon +sink into early graves, loathed and despised by those who once cared +most for them. There, Heathcote, I have told you something I know about +the subject, not in a very learned way, but it is the truth. I might +tell you a great deal more. Smoking, I own, is not nearly so bad; but +common tobacco irritates the lining or coats of the stomach, and makes +it wish for drink; and so I object to it. And I'll tell you what, also, +bad conversation, such as those fellows indulge in, irritates and +excites the mind, and so acting on the body, excites all the lower and +grosser passions, and keeps out pure and ennobling thoughts. You must +understand, Digby, that the mind cannot stand still. I am afraid that +it has a tendency to becoming debased; and it requires all a person's +resolution, energy, ay, and prayers too, my boy, to soar upwards to the +condition it is capable of enjoying. The only safe course is to keep +out all bad thoughts, or even light thoughts, and to resist every bad +propensity from the very first, and to keep away from all temptations, +from all examples, from everything, indeed, which may encourage them. I +can tell you that so pernicious, so terrible are the results of the +habits in which those fellows indulge, that I would far rather see my +younger brother in his grave than know that he had become their +companion, and was running the risk of being contaminated by them. +There, Heathcote, I will not talk any more about the matter now. +Perhaps I have said even more now than you can understand. Trust me, +however, that it is the advice I would give my youngest brother, or any +boy in whom I might feel a deep interest." + +These remarks, whether entirely understood or not at the time, did make +a deep impression on Digby's mind; and he thanked Bouverie for speaking +so unreservedly to him. "But how did the other fellows, of whom you +were speaking, die?" asked Digby. "Perhaps they had reformed, or would +have reformed, had they lived." + +"What they might have done no mortal can venture to say," answered +Bouverie, gravely. "They had not reformed, but, on the contrary, had +become worse and worse, and one and all of them died miserably. The +deaths of some were laid to the climates to which they went; but had +their constitutions not been completely weakened, they might easily have +withstood the attacks of the climate. Two died from excessive drinking, +another was killed in a drunken brawl, and a fourth broke his neck when +unconscious of what he was about, while two more died miserably, +horribly. I need not tell you now; but they had their own vicious +propensities alone to blame." + +"I believe all you have told me, and how I wish that you would speak to +others in the way you have done to me," exclaimed Digby. "What shall we +do when you go, Bouverie?" As he spoke, the tears came into his eyes. + +"Remember what I have said to you; and let the right-thinking boys keep +as much as possible to themselves," answered Bouverie (he was going at +the end of the half). "I will let you know where I am, and you must +write to me and let me know how things go on, and I will write to you, +and give you my advice. I shall depend a good deal upon you, remember. +Already many fellows look to you as a leader; you must do your best to +keep that position, not only by your daring and activity, but by your +moral conduct, by your steadiness and general good behaviour. As a +proof of it, Farnham and others have been arranging a game of +`Follow-my-leader' for to-morrow, across the country somewhere; and, +after discussing a number of fellows to act as leader, some much older +than you are, they unanimously fixed on you." + +Digby could not be but pleased at this, especially from the importance +Bouverie attached to the circumstance. That very evening, Farnham, +Newland, Ranger, and several other fellows came up to him. + +"Heathcote, the weather is still cool, and we have all been talking of a +grand Follow-my-leader run;" began Newland. + +"Sibley, who was one of our best leaders, is lame, and can't run, and +Cooper won't, and the fellows say that Hume, and Freeland, and Rolls, +and Elmore don't give sport enough, and funk to go over difficult +places, and can't jump half the brooks about us, and so it was agreed +that the chances are you would make a better leader than any of them." + +"That's not exactly it, Newland," interposed Farnham; "you know that +when some one asked you to lead, you said, that from the way Heathcote +had followed the last time we had a run, and from the capital manner in +which he plays all the games he learns, that you were certain that he +would prove about the best and most plucky leader we have had in our +time. Then, Heathcote, say you will accept the office, and settle the +matter." + +"I can't make a speech, but I will undertake to do my best; and all I +ask is, that if I tumble into a ditch and can't get out by myself, +somebody will help me," answered Digby. "How many will join, do you +think?" + +"Twenty, at least," said Farnham. "Good sport is expected; because they +all say a plucky fellow like you is certain to lead into new and +difficult places." + +"As I said before, I'll do my best, and just think over to-night the +line of country I will take," said Digby. "I know it pretty well by +this time, but I will consult you two fellows about it when I have +formed a plan, and see if you approve of it." + +So it was settled. + +"We'll just take care, though," he added, "lest that little sneak, Tommy +Bray, does not manage to slip his vile French mark into my hand the last +thing. The only safe plan will be to hold my tongue altogether; then he +can't say I am talking English or bad French." + +The rest undertook to keep a watch over Tommy, and to draw him away +should he be found near Digby. + +The precaution was not useless, for he was very soon afterwards seen +hovering about, his little sharp eyes twinkling with malice, as if he +had made sure of his victim. The rest, however, sung out "Johnny +Jackass, Johnny Jackass,"--a name which had lately been bestowed on him, +while others "he-hawed--he-hawed" in concert, and in a way which +prevented him from fixing on any of the party with whom, from their +being in the French class, he could leave the mark. Besides, had he +given it to one of them, he would have been prevented handing it to +Digby, which it was his object to do. First one addressed him--not in +very good French, certainly,--then another; and the others pretended to +be talking English a little way off; but by the time he got up to them +they were either making dumb show, or chattering away in what was +considered French. Then he would suddenly turn back to Digby, but would +find him poring over a book, and as dumb as an adder. Thus the evening +slipped away; and after the bell rang for prayers, the mark could not be +passed. It was known that Bray did not really get any imposition for +having the mark, and thus all escaped. + +Digby, very naturally, could scarcely sleep at first going to bed for +thinking of what he would do the next day. He resolved, at all events, +that he would show he was worthy of the honour done him. Each boy was +furnished with a strong ash leaping-pole, about ten feet long, and this +added very much to the excitement and interest of the sport, because by +their means wide and deep streams could easily be crossed, walls scaled, +and difficult hedges got through. At last Digby recollected having +taken a walk over a wildish part of the country, three or four weeks +before this; and on thinking over the impediments to a direct course +across it, he resolved that that should be the line he would follow. +This done, he fell asleep. + + + +CHAPTER FOURTEEN. + +A GRAND GAME OF "FOLLOW MY LEADER"--DIGBY LEADER--FARMER GROWLER PROVES +FAR BETTER THAN HE LOOKS--ARRIVAL OF JULIAN LANGLEY--A CONSPIRACY +HATCHED. + +The next morning broke with the promise of a very fine day, and as the +sun rose, the weather improved. Digby was early on foot, and set to +work at once on his lessons, that he might run no chance of being turned +back, and having to keep in to do any task which might be set him, and +which he fancied Monsieur Guillaume or Mr Tugman would be too happy to +impose. Both tried hard to find him tripping, but entirely failed. +School was over. Dinner was rapidly got through, and Digby and his +followers hurried out to prepare for their adventures. They all had on +their cricketing dresses of white flannel, with dark blue jackets over +them--light blue ribbons were on their hats, and short streamers of the +same colour at the upper end of their poles. Altogether they looked +very neat and fit for work. As they were dressed in flannel, and all +their clothes would wash, they did not dread the consequences of a +tumble into a muddy ditch or a deep stream. Digby was distinguished as +leader by having a red and white ribbon added to the blue streamer at +the end of his pole. They all assembled in the playground ready for the +start. Scarborough looked at them with an envious eye, and would have +liked to have spoiled their sport--so would Spiller, for no one had +asked him to join; but the appearance of Bouverie, who had come to see +the start, prevented them from indulging in their bad feelings. + +"All ready," shouted Digby. "Well, then, away we go." + +A gate in the side wall of the playground led into some fields. Out of +this they all filed, Digby leading and flourishing his pole above his +head. From the moment his followers got outside the gate they were +bound to do exactly as he did. Now he planted his pole in the ground +and leaped as far as it would carry him--now he took a hop, skip, and a +jump--now an eccentric turn on one side or the other--now he bolted +through a hedge, and ran at full speed along a road till a practicable +gap appeared in another hedge with a field on the right: into this he +leaped, and made his way towards a high mound whence a fine view could +be obtained of all the country round. A broad ditch intervened--that +everybody knew. There was a plank bridge some way down, and it was a +question whether he was going to make for it, but he had no such +intention. He reached its sedgy margin, and planting his pole firmly in +the centre, he sprang forward and cleared it with a couple of feet to +spare on the other side. One after the other followed. Some, the +bigger boys especially, leaped as far as he did. Paul Newland cleared +it, and a very good leap he made for a boy of his size. One little +fellow, however, John Nott, who always wanted to do things, but seldom +found his nerves in a proper condition when it came to the point, +planted his pole, began the leap, but trembled when half way over, and +before his feet had touched the bank down he slipped, and into the soft +mud he went. William Ranger, who had purposely brought up the rear that +he might help any who got into scrapes, though he said that he did so to +whip up stragglers, saw what had happened, and leaping across somewhat +out of his turn, hauled up the mud-bespattered little fellow to the +green turf. + +"There, roll yourself on the turf, Notty, and then, on your legs once +more, follow the rest." He exclaimed when he had performed this act of +kindnesss, "Tally ho! tally ho!" + +Away all the party went once more, till they all stood on the high +mound, flourishing their poles and enjoying the balmy coolness of the +early spring air, scented with numberless flowers of summer. Snowdrops +and daffodils had disappeared, but primroses, cowslips, and violets +covered the grassy fields and meadows in rich profusion. Wood anemones +were carpeting with their delicate and white pink blossoms the +leaf-covered ground in every wood and sheltered copse; and the delicate +blossoms of the stellaria were shining forth, amid herbage of every +description on all the banks and hedges, like stars in the dark sky. +The glossy blossoms of the celandine, too, in every damper spot +enamelled the turf; and the bright yellow flowers of the large water +ranunculus garnished the sides of the streams and rivulets which flowed +below them. Sweetly, too, and cheerfully the birds sang on every bush +and tree-top with many varied notes. The cuckoo sent forth his +unmistakeable sounds, also, from many a neighbouring hedge, always +calling loudly, and yet seeming to be so far off,--while high above +their heads was heard the joyous note of the skylark, as he rose upwards +into the blue sky, as if never intending to return again to earth. +Varied, likewise, was the landscape. There were hills and downs in the +distance--wide fields, sloping here and there, in which the corn was +just springing up--rich green meadows, on which the cattle was enjoying +the most luxurious of repasts. There were woods, too, and hazel copses +on the hill-sides; and sparkling streams and ponds which looked as if +they must be full of fish, and wide ditches full of tall sedges and +flowering rushes, and many other water-plants, some few of which were +already coming into bloom. Here and there might be seen small villages +or hamlets, farmhouses, and neat cottages with rustic porches, over +which the honeysuckle or clematis had been taught to climb; pretty +little gardens--every inch of them cultivated--though the habitations +only of the poorest labourers. The boys stood some time looking at it, +and almost unconsciously drinking in its beauties. Digby had a feeling +that he loved such a scene dearly--perhaps he scarcely knew why it was. +He had no inclination for some minutes to dart down again into the +valley to proceed on the course he had marked out. No one seemed to +wish to hurry him either. He looked and looked--gazing round on every +side. + +"Yes, this is England, dear old England," he cried. "Old England for +ever. Wherever we go, boys, never let us forget Old England, or what +she is like." + +"No; nor that we are Englishmen," added Ranger. + +"Old England against the world in arms! Old England for ever!" shouted +Digby. + +And that shout was repeated loudly, enthusiastically by all those true +English boys, as they stood on that hill-top; and never were those +words, thus spoken in season, forgotten, nor did the sound of that +hearty shout ever die away altogether on the ears of those who repeated +and heard it. Had there been thousands and thousands of other English +boys within hearing, they, too, would have repeated it with equal +good-will. Oh, may English boys never forget those lines of our +immortal poet:-- + + "Come the three corners of the world in arms, + And we shall shock them: nought shall make us rue + If England to itself do rest but true." + + _King John_. + +"After all, I am sure there is no place like the country, and no country +like England," cried Digby, waving his pole. "But away we go once more, +boys, with just another jolly shout for the land we all love--Hurra! +hurra! hurra!" + +All repeated the words, and down the hill dashed Digby, followed closely +by his companions, and in another moment he was forcing his way up a +steep bank, and through a hedge which few would have thought of +attempting. He got through it, though, and the rest followed more +easily. Probably the farmer who owned the field would rather they had +taken a longer way round; but certainly it did not occur to any of them +that they were doing any harm; hedges are so evidently made to be got +through, somehow or other, by boys, if not by cows. On they went, along +the edge of the field--for wheat was coming up in it, and Digby knew +that they might do harm by trampling over that. There was, of course, a +gate by which they might have got out of the field, but Digby scorned +gates, and it was not in the direction he was taking. There was another +bank, though, with a still thicker hedge on the top of it than that they +had previously passed through. Up the bank dashed Digby; but, even with +the aid of his pole, he could scarcely find footing; to get over the +hedge seemed impossible. Strenuous were the efforts he made, though, +and numerous the times he and his followers had to jump down the bank +again. Foiled he was determined not to be. Casting his eyes on either +side, they fell on a young beech tree, one of whose glossy branches +hung, he fancied, within reach of the top of the bank. Along the bottom +of the bank he ran; he climbed up it once more, but though he sprung as +high as he could, he could not reach the branch; in an instant his pole +was planted firmly against the branch; up it he swarmed, and sat perched +in the tree. The pole was now hauled up, and the end placed on the +opposite side of the hedge; down it he went, and found himself on the +side of a wide piece of moorland, yellow with the bloom of the fern, or +furze. The shouts of his followers showed him how much they appreciated +the feat. A broad trench was still to be crossed, full of water. + +"Not very deep, though," he thought to himself. "Never mind; here +goes." + +Down the bank he slid, and, feeling with his pole, attempted to cross; +but the water would, he found, even then, be up to his mouth, and +perhaps deeper still further on. The weather was not yet warm enough to +make a swim pleasant; so he had to scramble along by the side of the +bank. At last, he came to the end of the water, and then he managed to +get up the perpendicular side of a gravel bank, and, hurrying on, +reached a high gravel mound. + +Paul Newland had closely followed him; he made up by resolution and +sagacity for what he wanted in strength. + +The two stood together watching the rest getting over. Some very nearly +tumbled into the pool; and they had to shout to warn them of their +danger. Farnham soon came up to the mound; but they did not begin to +move till Ranger shouted out that all were safely over. Then Digby once +more set off among the heather, and furze, and scattered pine-trees. +The unevenness of the ground afforded an abundant variety in the run. +Sometimes they came to deep gravel-pits, down which Digby plunged, +skirting along the pools which filled their bottoms, and then climbing +up their crumbling banks on the opposite side. The piece of common was +soon passed; and then a copse-wood, filled with brakes and briars, had +to be passed through. Dauntlessly, in spite of thorns and the +numberless scratches they inflicted, Digby led the way. Shrieks and +shouts of laughter burst from the boys as they rushed on, thrusting the +boughs aside, and often letting them spring back in the face of those +who followed. All was taken in good part; they were in too good spirits +to lose their tempers. Once more they were in a cultivated field; it +was in a sheltered position, and the wheat was much advanced. + +"Look out, Heathcote; old Growler's farm is not far off, and I shouldn't +be surprised but what the field belongs to him," shouted Farnham. + +Digby was keeping along the extreme border of the field, where no wheat +was growing, so he knew that they could do no harm; and he had no +intention of cutting across it. On he went, therefore, till he saw +under the hedge a leafy arch over a drain, and he thought that he could +pass through it. + +"The sooner we are out of old Growler's property, perhaps, the better," +he shouted; "follow me." + +As he spoke, trailing his pole, he darted through the hole. It was a +somewhat difficult feat; and he did not exactly know where he should +find himself when he was through. He popped up his head, and found a +heavy hand clapped on his shoulder. + +"Hillo, young one; what have you been after?" said the man who had +captured him, with a gruff voice. "Why, how many on you are there?" he +added, as he watched one boy after the other emerge from the hole. +"When will there be an end of you? You seems for all the world like +young ferrets. Pretty mischief you've been doing, I doubt not, in my +field of young corn. Oh, you think you're going on, do you? Stop, +stop, my young masters. I'm going to give you a sound good hiding, +every one on you, or else you clubs together, and pays for the damage +you have done my field." + +"We have done no damage whatever," answered Digby. "We went in at a +gap, we kept along the edge on the grass, and we came out at this hole, +as you have seen." + +"I don't believe thee, young 'un," growled the farmer, angrily. "Don't +you tell me that you didn't go straight across the young corn. I know +what boys is made of, I should think." + +"I say that I would not tell you a falsehood to save myself from a dozen +such thrashings as you would venture to give me," exclaimed Digby, +looking up boldly in his face. "Strike away, if you like; but, +remember, you do it at your peril. I have told you the truth." + +The stout old farmer held him at arm's-length, and gazed at him +attentively. + +"I do believe if I ever seed an honest English face thee has got it, and +I believes every word thee says," exclaimed the farmer, in quite a +different tone to that in which he had before spoken. "There, now, I +only wanted to frighten thee all a bit; for I thought thee had been +doing a careless thing, and been trampling down my corn; but I sees I +was mistaken--so just come all on you to my farm, it's just close at +hand here, and there's a glass of home-made beer and some bread and +cheese, or a cup of sweet milk and some cake, I'll warrant my missus has +got, for each of you." + +"We are playing follow-my-leader, Mr Growler; so if he goes we all must +go, remember," cried one of the boys. + +"That's just what I wants, young 'un," answered the farmer, +good-naturedly. "So come along, master--you'll not repent it." + +So once more seizing Digby by the shoulder he hauled him off, without +any vehement opposition, towards a comfortable looking farmhouse, a few +fields away from where they then were. The farmer was better than his +word, and bread and cheese and cake, and honey and preserves, and fresh +milk and cider, and beer and gooseberry wine, all, as the farmer's wife +assured them, made by herself at home, were placed in abundance before +them. They did justice to the provisions, but to their credit they +drank very slightly of the fermented liquors. The farmer and his wife +pressed them to partake of everything set before them. Really it was, +as the good dame observed, a pleasant sight to see the twenty boys, all +in health and spirits, their cheeks glowing with the exercise they had +been taking, sitting round the large well-scrubbed oak table in the +farmhouse kitchen, and the huge cheeses and equally large loaves of pure +home-made bread, not sickly white, but with an honest brown tinge, +showing that all the best part of the flour was there, and no admixture +of alum or bone-dust. Then how the beer frothed, and smelt of honest +malt and hops. The profusion of honest food was pleasant, and still +pleasanter the hearty good-will with which it was given. The dame +wanted to do some rashers of bacon and to poach them some eggs, but they +all declined her kindness, assuring her that if they eat more they could +never get through the work they had before them. + +"Remember, my boys, I shall be main glad to see any of you whenever you +comes this way, and can give me a look in," said Farmer Growler, as they +rose to continue their run, and Digby was offering to shake hands with +him. + +The farmer took his hand and wrung it heartily. + +"I wasn't inclined to think over well of the youngsters of Grangewood +there; but since I have seen you, I tell you frankly, I likes some on +you very much. Good-bye, good-bye." + +"We might have said the same of our new friend," observed Digby, as they +got beyond hearing. "After having known that honest, good-natured +fellow, rough as his outside seemed, I shall be inclined to think better +of some of the farmers I know, whom I've always fancied to be rather +sulky, bearish fellows. We won't forget to pay him a visit another day, +and it will be pleasant if we can think of something to carry to him or +his wife. But we must make up for lost time, and go ahead faster than +before, or we shall not get back till dark." + +Away they all went; their meal--for neither was it luncheon, dinner, nor +tea--in no way impeded their progress. On they ran faster than ever; +nothing stopped them. At last they came out near a village. Right +through it they went, much to the astonishment of the inhabitants, who +hurried out of their cottages, to see the young gentlemen running like +mad down the street. A meadow was on one side. Over a paling and a +widish ditch Digby jumped, and along the meadow he ran, knowing full +well that a broadish stream was to be found at the bottom of it. By +this time a number of spectators had collected. + +"It must be done," thought Digby; "follow who can." + +He planted his pole in the middle of the stream and cleared it with a +bound--shouts from the villagers showing their admiration of the feat. + +Most of the rest went over in good style. Poor little Notty very nearly +tumbled in, but generous Ranger went over first and stood by to catch +him; and on they all went once more in line, and were soon out of sight +of the village and its vociferous inhabitants, as Newland called them. +Other streams were in their course. They came to some swampy ground, +and Digby very nearly let them into a quagmire, where they would all +have stuck, when he espied some stones to his left, and landed on a +causeway which led across it. That stream-leaping was a fine exercise +for the nerves and strength, and agility too, and required no little +practice. A hill now appeared before them. They breasted it boldly, as +some of them did years afterwards other hills when crowned with fierce +enemies, showering down bullets and round-shot on their heads. The +parish church, with a lofty and beautiful tower, stood there. It had +been all along Digby's aim to reach it. The view from the summit he +knew was beautiful--no more extensive prospect was to be found in all +the country round. The tower was undergoing repair, so the door was +open. In went Digby, and up the steps he ran--round and round and round +he went, as he ascended the well-worn circular stair--the voices of his +followers sounding in various tones behind him. Near the top was a +window--from it hung a stout rope, which his quick eye saw was well +secured. He reached the top, where there was a platform large enough, +for the tower was square, to contain all the party. Soon they all +assembled there. If the view from the hill was sufficient to inspirit +them, this was still more calculated to do so. It did, and such a cheer +was raised as perhaps had not been heard from the old tower top for many +a year. There is good hope for England when her boys can cheer right +lustily and honestly, as did Digby Heathcote and his friends. For some +time they stood there drinking in unconsciously the beauty of the scene, +not troubling themselves with details however, and imbibing, too, +greater love than ever for their native land. Suddenly Digby +recollected that he ought to be moving. + +"On, on," he shouted, and down the steps he dashed--not altogether, +though. He stopped at the belfry and sprang to the window, from which +hung the rope he had observed. Heaving down his pole, he grasped the +rope, and, to the surprise and almost horror of his companions, he threw +his legs over and down he glided; not very rapidly, though, but quietly, +as if it was a matter of every-day occurrence, looking up and trying +out, "Let those only follow who are certain they can do it. I forgive +those who cannot." + +Farnham, Ranger, Newland, and others looked over, and doubted whether or +not they would follow. They had a regard for their necks--it would not +be pleasant to break them, and yet Digby performed the feat so easily, +and it would be a disgrace if no one attempted it. Ranger did not +hesitate long--he only waited till Digby reached the ground in safety, +to grasp the rope and to follow him down. The rest shouted when they +saw him gliding down. He was, as he deserved to be, a general +favourite. Soon he was seen standing alongside Digby. Farnham and then +Newland came, and three more; but the remainder could not bring +themselves to make the venture. Indeed, Digby and Ranger entreated them +not to do so; for though they stood underneath to catch any who might +fall, they all felt that the risk was great. Digby, more especially, +had scarcely reached the ground than he regretted having tempted others +to follow his example. + +"If any of them should be killed, or seriously hurt themselves, how +dreadful it would be. I should never forgive myself," he observed to +Ranger. + +All were at length assembled at the foot of the tower; and Digby having +flourished his pole, once more started off as leader of the party, on +their return towards home. He had arranged a different route to that by +which they had come, away to the right; a portion of it being over a +high chalky ridge. They had a steep hill-side to climb, but well and +actively they did it; and, at the top, they were rewarded by the fresh +health-inspiring breeze they met in their faces. For a mile or more +Digby kept the summit of the ridge--a smooth, green surface, which +appeared to afford but little variety to the leader's movements; but +here Digby equally showed his talent for his office, never for a minute +together was he in the same attitude. Now his pole was poised on high +as an Indian dart, or javelin; now it was held as a lance; now he was +flourishing it round his head; now he made a sudden leap forward with +it; now he hopped; now he skipped; now he went round and round, +spinning, but yet advancing. All these, and a variety of other +eccentric movements were seen from the valley below, and created the +greatest astonishment, and, in some instances, consternation, for the +figures of the boys, seen against the evening sky, as they followed one +after the other, in regular succession, appeared magnified to a +considerable degree; and many wondered what extraordinary beings they +could be. They were very much amused, some days afterwards, on hearing +of the strange sights the people had seen on the ridge on that very +evening, and how they passed by. The remainder of the leaps they took, +the streams they crossed, and the duckings some of them got, need not +further be described. They got back in time for tea, which on +Saturdays, in summer, was always later than at other times. + +Digby got very much complimented for the way in which he had led. + +"It's the best run we have ever had, old fellow," exclaimed Ranger and +others. "Yes, indeed it was; and the plucky way in which you got down +from the top of Whitcombe Church tower was very fine. It's not +surprising some of us funked to follow. We must have another run like +it next week, and we must get you to be leader again. Remember, you +think over what course you will take, so as to give us plenty of sport." + +Digby, naturally gratified at all these compliments, promised that he +would prepare for another run on the following Saturday. + +The authorities, however, it appeared, had taken a different view of the +sport to that which those had who had engaged in it. The descent from +the top of Whitcombe tower was looked upon with unmitigated horror; and +it was proposed to take steps for the prevention of any such dangerous +adventures in future. Little, however, was poor Mr Sanford aware of +how much worse proceedings were taking place much nearer home, and of +the far greater dangers to which many of the boys were exposed during +those long spring evenings, when they were allowed to wander forth +beyond the supervision of their masters. + +The Monday after this noted run, Digby was passing through the hall, +when the front-door bell rang, and Susan went to open it, just as she +had done the day of his arrival. He likewise stopped at the end of the +passage to see who was coming. A fly was at the door, and in front of +it stood Rubbins, the fat butler at Milford Priory, who was at that +moment helping out of it no less a person than Julian Langley. + +Julian was looking very sheepish and downcast, and very much inclined to +cry; but the moment he saw Digby, who could not help coming forward, his +countenance brightened up. + +"Ah, Digby, this is pleasant, to have a friend to meet one, and to tell +one all about the school," he exclaimed. "I did not know I was coming +to your school. Now I don't mind. What sort of a place is it? Many +fast fellows, eh? Any fun to be had? Tell me all about it; come, +quick. You look jolly enough, let me tell you. Why, you are nearly as +big as I am." So Julian ran on, much in his old style. + +Although Digby knew perfectly well what he had been, and how much +mischief he had led him into, yet he could not help looking upon him as +an old friend and companion, and as such he received him, feeling really +very glad to see him. They had not much time to talk then, for Rubbins +having got all his luggage and things out of the fly, and shaken hands +with him in a somewhat familiar and patronising manner, delivered him +over formally to Susan, to be carried before Mr Sanford. + +"Won't you wish to see master, sir?" asked Susan, who did not understand +exactly who Mr Rubbins was. + +"Oh, no; no, thank you," answered that gentleman, with a slight sneer in +the tone of his voice. "The young one knows well enough how to take +care of himself, I guess." + +Susan, from these words, at once understood who Mr Rubbins was, and +formed a tolerably correct opinion of the character of the young +gentleman, which she did not fail to express to Mrs Pike. + +Digby had to leave Julian, who was now taken before Mr Sanford; but he +promised to wait for him at the end of the passage. + +Mr Sanford was not altogether satisfied with his new pupil. Julian +spoke in an off-hand way of his former career, and the education he had +received; and then forthwith mentioned his friendship with Digby +Heathcote. + +"He will show me all about the school, sir, and put me up to its ways. +All I want is to know them, and I dare say that I shall get on very well +with the other fellows," said Julian, with consummate assurance. "Digby +and I, you see, sir, are like brothers almost--we have been so much +together, and think so exactly alike." + +Now Mr Sanford, from what he had heard of Digby, had formed a +favourable opinion of him; and therefore, taking Julian at his word, he +was bound to form the same of him. He knew enough, however, of the +world to be aware that the very worst way of judging of persons is to +take them at their own estimate; and so Julian did not find himself +quite so highly esteemed as he might have wished. Mr Sanford, however, +rang the bell, and desired that Master Heathcote might be sent to him. + +Digby very quickly made his appearance; and Mr Sanford was at once +inclined to doubt Julian's assertion that they were acquainted, till +Digby explained that they had just before met. + +"Very well, Heathcote, introduce him to the other boys; and I hope I +shall hear a good account of him from the masters," said Mr Sanford. +"But remember, by the by, that you do not run the risk of breaking your +own neck, and that of your companions, by slipping down from the top of +church towers. I must take measures to prevent such a proceeding in +future; and have begged Mrs Pike and Mr Yates to see to it. Now go, +and be good boys." + +Away ran Digby and Julian. The boys were in the playground, so Digby at +once took his old friend there to introduce him. He was resolved to +give him the chance of a good start; so he took him up only to the best +fellows, intending to warn him of the characters of the others. This +ought to have been a very great advantage to Julian. + +Farnham, Ranger, Newland, received him, for Digby's sake, very kindly +and cordially; and even Bouverie showed that he wished to be civil to +him, and did not address him in the bantering way in which big fellows +are apt to speak to those younger than themselves. + +Julian, however, took it into his head that all this was owing to his +own merits, and was not proportionably grateful to Digby. Although +warned by Digby, from the first, of the characters of Spiller, Johnny +Bray, Scarborough, and others, he at once showed that he had a hankering +to become acquainted with them. Spiller, consequent, very soon got +round him, and became the possessor of various articles in his box, as +well as of some slices of his cake, and a pot or two of jam. +Scarborough was not long in falling foul of him. + +Digby was about to rush to his rescue, and calling on Ranger and Farnham +to assist; when what was his surprise to hear Julian say-- + +"Please don't hit me, Scarborough, and I will give you a pot of jam and +some marmalade, and will send home for some more, if you want it." + +"Well, hand out the grub, young one, and I will let you off this time," +answered the bully. "Remember, though, I won't stand any nonsense. +You've promised to get me what I want, and I intend to keep you up to +your word." + +Julian sneaked off to his play-box, to get the eatables; and Digby +turned away with disgust. + +"The idea of buying off a thrashing from a big bully," he exclaimed, +stamping with his feet in very vexation. "It is a thoroughly +un-English, cowardly proceeding. Besides, it will only make the bully +attack him more readily when he wants anything out of him. As he looks +upon him as my friend, he wants to revenge himself on him, as he dares +not attack me again while Bouverie remains." + +Boys at school very soon find their own level. Julian rapidly sunk to +his. He would have had a better chance of retaining the friendship of +Farnham, Ranger, and the good set, had he been sent to sleep in their +room; but, unfortunately, there was no vacant bed there, and he, +consequently, was put into a room with Spiller, and some of the worst +fellows. All the advantage, therefore, which he gained in the day, from +associating with Digby and his friends, was undone in the evening by the +loose conversation of his bedroom companions. + +"I wanted to have had a jolly feast, such as you had, Digby, the fellows +tell me, and which, it seems, gained you so many first-rate friends," +said Julian, one day soon after his arrival, in a melancholy tone. "But +do you know, what with that brute, Scarborough, and that sneaky chap, +Spiller, and a host of others, I haven't got a single thing left. I +don't think you benefited much by me, either." + +"Oh, never mind that; but I did not suppose my feasts gave me friends," +answered Digby. "Perhaps it might have been so; but then, when I think +of it, Bouverie would accept nothing, and some of the best fellows took +very little, and indeed, generally put in their own share of grub." + +"Ah, still they knew that you were a fellow who was always likely to +have plenty of good things," argued Julian. "I must see about getting +some more things from the Priory; it won't do to be looking down in the +world." + +Poor, miserable Julian had evidently no notion of any other bond of +union between people; it should not be called friendship, though he so +called it, but interest, what one may get from the other. He was to be +pitied certainly; but not for a moment exonerated. He had been +miserably instructed at the first, there was no doubt about that; but +then he had gone to Mr Nugent's, where he had every opportunity of +learning what was right. The truth, the right was set clearly before +him, but he deliberately refused to accept it. The laws of God and man, +his duties in life, were clearly explained to him; he had a good example +set him; he was kept as much as possible out of temptation to do wrong; +still, as has been seen, he contrived to do it. Now he came where he +had evidently the choice between good companions and bad, and he +deliberately chose the bad. + +So it will be with all those whose eyes may fall on these pages. If +they abandon the straight and narrow, and perhaps difficult, path of +right, and enter into the broad, and seemingly easy, course of evil, +they do so with their eyes open, in spite of warnings, in spite of the +whisperings of conscience, in spite of thousands of examples of the +destructive results of the life they are pursuing; and they will in the +end be unable to offer the slightest excuse for themselves; they will +have to acknowledge they brought down all their misery and wretchedness +on their own heads, that their punishment was just. + +The next Saturday came, and when lessons were over, Mr Yates ascended +the head-master's desk, and informed the school that leave to go out was +stopped, in consequence of certain proceedings which had come to Mr +Sanford's knowledge; but more than that he did not consider it just then +necessary to explain. + +This announcement, though received in silence, created the greatest +vexation, and anger, and indignation among all the boys. Some thought +the prohibition arose from one cause, some from another. Digby and his +friends, who had played the game of Follow-my-leader on the previous +Saturday, thought that it was owing to something they had done on that +occasion. Some farmer, less good-natured than Mr Growler, might have +complained about them; perhaps it was owing to their exploit in the +church tower; others thought that it was owing to something which had +occurred in the village; others, owing to a fight which had taken place +between one of their boys and a country lad; and perhaps Scarborough, +and Spiller, and their set might have suspected that their half-holiday +practices were known, and that all the school was being punished on that +account. One thing was clear, on comparing notes, that a very +considerable number of misdemeanours were committed every Saturday; and +that, altogether, they were not punished without cause. Those, however, +as is usually the case, who were the most guilty, were the most furious. + +Scarborough declared loudly that he would pot stand it; that, in spite +of all the masters, he for one would go out as usual; so said a number +of other fellows of his stamp. + +Digby, and Farnham, and Newland did not like it; they thought themselves +very unjustly treated; and of course that made them indignant. They +talked of doing all sorts of things: they would scale the walls; they +would take their usual expedition, with leave or without leave. + +"I'll tell you what I'll do," exclaimed Farnham, who was always rather +vehement when he fancied himself unjustly treated, "I'll write home, and +beg to be taken away altogether, unless we have our proper liberty. +After dinner, I'll go straight up to Mr Sanford, and ask him why we are +all kept in because some other fellows have done what is wrong; and then +I'll undertake to guarantee that if he will allow them to go out, they +will all behave as he could wish in every way. If he still refuses, +then I will frankly tell him that I will write home, and complain, and +that others are determined to do the same." + +Farnham's proposal was very much applauded by nearly all the moderate +party, a few only advocating a quiet run through the country for an hour +or so, just to show that they would maintain their rights. + +The dinner-bell rang. They all went in; and no one ate a worse dinner +in consequence of the perturbed state of their minds. They still, +however, continued, in low voices, talking the matter over; and the +masters and Mrs Pike saw that something was evidently wrong. The +weather, however, summarily settled the matter for them. The sky had +been for some time clouding over, and before they had left the +dinner-table, the rain began to descend in torrents, so that it was +impossible for any one of them to make any complaint of not being +allowed to go out on that day. Harder and harder came down the rain, +till it was evident that it was going to be a settled pouring afternoon. +Although, in one respect, this was an advantage, as it enabled the +better disposed to calm their spirits, and to think quietly over what +they had proposed to do, yet it, at the same time, allowed the rest to +brood over their fancied wrongs, and to concoct a variety of schemes of +vengeance. + +Julian Langley was one of the most indignant, and most ready to join any +of the plans of the extreme party. He had come to a school where he +understood there was plenty of liberty and gentlemanly treatment, and he +found, he said, neither one nor the other. He had read of some fellows +at a large school getting up a grand rebellion, barring out the masters, +and standing a siege of several days, till their terms were complied +with. The idea was caught up by others. It was grand in the extreme, +if not novel. Scarborough and some of the bigger fellows were delighted +with it. Julian undertook to win over Heathcote and his set. + +"They must not be left out, certainly," observed Scarborough. "They are +plucky fellows, and would be powerful allies; but I suspect that you +will have some difficulty in managing them." + +"Let me alone for that," answered Julian, with a self-satisfied tone. +"I know how to touch up my old friend, Digby Heathcote, in the right +place. He is well primed already, and only wants the spark to set him +off." + +There was certainly far less noise and disturbance that Saturday +afternoon than there had been for a long time. On the Sunday, also, and +the following days, the masters observed that the boys behaved even +better than usual. An event which proved to be of considerable +importance occurred on Monday. Bouverie, who had been counselling +patience and submission, was suddenly summoned home to attend the sick +bed of his father: he had time only to pack up and be off. He sent, +however, for Farnham, and urged him not to do anything rashly, though he +could not enlighten him as to the reason of the prohibition so much +complained of. Strange to say, Digby was more pleased with Julian for +two or three days than he had been since he came to the school--he was +constantly with him, submitting to his opinion, and speaking so very +sensibly on many matters. + +"I'll tell you what it is, Digby," said Julian at last, "if all the +fellows will sink their quarrels and disputes and unite heart and hand, +we shall carry the day and gain our rights. For my own part, I do not +care much about the matter; I am not going to be here long, so I argue +for the sake of others more than for myself. Just, therefore, come and +hear what Knowles and that clever fellow, Blake, has got to say. Depend +on it they will show you that they are in the right." + +In a fatal moment Digby consented to join a conference of those who +called themselves the leaders of the school, to decide what should be +done in case they were still denied the liberty they demanded. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTEEN. + +A REBELLION PROPOSED--PLANS FOR CARRYING ON THE WAR--THE WEAKEST FIND +THAT THEY HAVE TO PAY THE PIPER--COMMENCEMENT OF HOSTILITIES--BARRING +OUT. + +The Saturday arrived which the boys at Grangewood expected would prove +so big with events. It was a fine warm day--a great contrast to the +previous Saturday. There appeared not the slightest reason why they +should be kept in. As the school hours drew to a close everybody was on +the tiptoe of expectation. At last half-past twelve came, and Mr Yates +ascended the head-master's desk. "Boys," he said, in his usual +disagreeable tone, "you were informed last week that you were not to go +out beyond the playground. The same prohibition at present exists." + +No sooner were the words uttered than a low groan was heard from one end +of the schoolroom to the other. It rose higher and higher, till it +burst into something which sounded very like a loud roar of anger. + +"Mr Tugman, bring me up here some of the boys who are making that +hideous noise," shouted Mr Yates. "Monsieur Guillaume, can you catch +some of them? Mr Moore, is no one making a noise near you?" + +Whenever one of the masters approached, the boys were found crying, with +their handkerchiefs to their eyes, and saying, "Oh dear! oh dear! we +mustn't go out; we mustn't go out." + +This continued till the dinner-bell rang; for Mr Yates would not +dismiss them, as was usual when school was over. + +"You may go into dinner, boys," he sang out at last, fancying that he +had gained the day. + +Dinner passed over very quietly, however, and everybody eat even more +than usual. Slices of bread and meat were also stowed away in the +pockets of those who were sitting at a distance from Mrs Pike or any of +the masters. Their intention was to lay in all the provisions of which +they could possibly possess themselves. Digby had had a hamper of cake +and tongues, and cheese and preserves, for which he was indebted to +representations made by John Pratt to Mrs Carter, backed up by a +petition from Kate. So numberless were the contents, and so liberal was +the supply, that it seemed almost inexhaustible--sufficient, Digby and +some of his friends considered, to last the whole school for many days. +They were not well practised in commissariat arrangements or they would +not have thought so. Other fellows, as it happened, also had hampers, +which usually arrived about the middle of the half, to prevent their +spirits sinking till the return of the holidays. All these things were +collected in the play-room, as were the slices of bread and meat carried +off from the dining-room. When, however, Scarborough and some of the +heads of the rebellion came to examine the amount of provisions +collected, they pronounced them totally inadequate for the purpose of +enabling them to hold out till their grievances were redressed. + +"Where, too, is the liquor?--where is the water? Is there any tea and +sugar?" they asked. "We should die of thirst." They declared that it +was absolutely necessary that a party should be told off to procure the +necessary stores. + +It then became a question as to who should go. Scarborough and Spiller +had no fancy to run any risk for the good of others, nor indeed had +Julian Langley, or Tommy Bray--indeed, a very sharp look-out was kept on +all Master Tommy's movements lest he should sneak off and betray them. +Water, it was suggested, might easily be collected in the water-jugs and +basins, which could be brought down from the rooms, and an order was +accordingly issued that the water in all the rooms should be preserved +with the greatest economy. Then fuel was to be found for the fire, and +kettles to boil the water, and saucepans to boil potatoes and to make +stews, for they had no wish to undergo more hardships than they could +help. With regard to the important point of procuring provisions, it +was proposed that lots should be drawn, and that ten fellows, on whom +they fell, should go out at night to obtain the supplies. Tea and sugar +was loudly demanded by some: ale and ginger-beer and soda-water by +others. + +Scarborough and two or three of his intimates, managed the drawing of +the lots: they fell in a very extraordinary manner on Digby, Farnham, +Ranger, Newland, and others of the most steady boys, at the same time +the most spirited and likely to carry out what they might undertake. + +"It is, indeed, fortunate we fellows are altogether, because we can +thoroughly trust each other," remarked Digby, unsuspicious of any trick. + +If Farnham did think unfair play had been used, he did not deign to say +so. He had consented to draw lots, and as some one would have had to +go, he was ready to run the risk. + +The next thing to be done was to collect the funds to purchase the +stores. Scarborough, and some of the other big fellows, went round and +insisted on all those they could coerce emptying their pockets and their +purses and contributing the greater part of their wealth to the common +store. If a fellow had five shillings, he was told he must give four; +if he had half-a-crown, he had to give up two shillings. Digby, Ranger, +and their party contributed nearly ten shillings each. When, however, +inquiries were made as to what Scarborough and some of the other big +fellows were going to give, it was found that he had only a few +shillings in his purse; he said that he could only put in +eighteen-pence. He wanted the rest to buy tobacco, he asserted; which +was very likely. Spiller, turning his pockets inside out, with a +melancholy countenance, said he positively had nothing; but that he was +not ashamed, as he was certain the advantage his wits would afford his +companions would make ample amends for his want of tin. He, however, +was certain that his friend, Julian Langley, who had so lately come from +home, and had, as yet, no opportunity of spending his money, would be +flush of cash. + +"A fine idea!" exclaimed Scarborough, very much in the voice with which +a Knight Templar of old would have addressed an unfortunate Jew whom he +had got into his power. "Come, Langley, my man, we look to you for +supplying the sinews of war; what have you got?" + +Julian hummed and hawed not a little, and hesitated; but had at last to +confess that he had got four pounds. + +"Then three pounds is the least sum you can hand out," said Scarborough. +"We might justly ask for ten shillings more, but we won't for the +present; we shall know to whom to apply if more is wanted." + +Julian had most reluctantly to draw forth the amount from his purse, and +heartily he wished that no rebellion had been proposed. He had to learn +the truth of a proverb, which runs to the effect, that in cases such as +the present, "Whoever may dance, the weak and the silly ones have +invariably to pay the piper." + +"But when are we to begin the rebellion? when are we to commence barring +out?" asked Digby, rising from his seat. "I thought that we were to set +to work at once." + +"We admire your zeal and courage, Heathcote," answered Scarborough, who +had invariably spoken very politely to him since the lesson he had +received. + +It need scarcely be said that the bully looked forward to taking his +revenge before long, now that Bouverie had gone. + +"Your zeal and courage is great," he repeated; "but discretion is also +of importance. We have now got a half-holiday, and to-morrow is Sunday, +when we shall have to do no lessons; therefore it would be folly to shut +ourselves up during that time. The provisions you are to procure cannot +be got in before this evening. The difficulty will be to get them in; +but we must manage it thus. You must all bring as much as you can; some +must be packed in hampers, and directed to different fellows, as if it +had come from home. Then the tradesmen must bring others in parcels; +and I know a fellow who will, for a bribe, pretend to be a cake-man, and +will bring in all sorts of things in his baskets." + +Digby's feelings, as did those of his friends, revolted somewhat from +these proposals; but they had entered into the undertaking, and they +thought that they were in honour bound to go on with it. + +"But how are we to get out without being seen?" he asked. + +"I have thought about that, too," answered Scarborough, with a +condescending smile. "We are to get up a grand game of hoops--that +makes as much noise and confusion as anything. Football would, be +better, if it had been the right time of the year, and we had grass to +play on; now it might create suspicion. We must get the side gate open, +and as we all press about it, so as to stop up the view of it from the +house, you fellows are to slip out. The rest is easy. Hudson, and +Jones, and Ware will supply you with what we want; they will do anything +for money. Here, we have made out lists of what we want, and the +different ways in which the things are to be sent in. It must all be +collected in this room by to-night; if things come to-morrow, suspicion +may be created. You understand the plan, now, all of you? By the bye, +all the play-boxes, which have locks and keys, must be emptied, to hold +the things, and the keys must be delivered over to our committee, which, +you will understand, is called `The Committee of Safety.' It is for the +good of the cause--we must sacrifice everything to that. No one exactly +would like a dictator, nor do I; so I hope all will agree that we have +acted for the best." + +Digby and Farnham were not quite satisfied when they found that this +committee of safety consisted of Scarborough, Spiller, and three other +fellows, called Ton, Smee, and Capron, their constant associates, and +very nearly as great bullies and bad characters as Scarborough. +However, it was too late to recede. + +The foraging party were now provided with their lists, and with certain +sums to pay for the things they were to get. Whether all the money +collected was given to them they could not tell. Each of them, however, +wisely made a note of what he received. + +This was a piece of worldly wisdom my readers will do well to imitate +through life--be exact in all money transactions. Put down at once all +sums received and paid away, with the date of the transaction, and the +name of the person to whom the sum was paid, or from whom received. It +may give a little trouble at the time, but will save a great deal in the +end. + +The afternoon was drawing on; they all hurried out into the playground, +having got hold of every hoop to be found. They divided into two +parties, and were to charge each other from one end of the ground to the +other. The foragers had hoops, also, but they were to throw down +theirs, and to make their escape at the signal agreed on. + +Digby's heart beat eagerly. Go he would, but still he would very much +rather not have gone. He did not fear punishment, but he had hitherto +been looked upon as a well-behaved boy, and he did not wish to lose that +character. + +The two parties drew up on either end of the ground. + +"Charge!" shouted Scarborough. Away they went, rattling along, till +they met in the middle. Many hoops were overthrown; the rest of the +boys, with loud shouts, rushed on to the end, wheeling their hoops +round, to prepare for another charge. Those whose hoops had been +knocked down assembled on one side, close to the side wicket. Spiller +was there, and so were all the foraging party. Spiller had some tools +in his hands. The next encounter of the hoops took place exactly in a +line with that spot; and though several other boys went up to it, their +numbers did not appear to have increased. All that afternoon the game +of hoops went on, the boys knocking away with their sticks and shouting +at the top of their voices; till poor Mr Sanford's shattered nerves +were almost completely unstrung. + +At length, the voice of a man, who said he was a cake-man, was heard +outside; and Spiller was dispatched, with a humble request to Mrs Pike +for the key of the wicket, to allow him to enter. + +In an incautious moment, influenced by the idea of saving her +bread-and-butter, Mrs Pike gave up the key. + +"I'll soon be back with it, marm," said Spiller, in his blandest tone. + +The cake-man's basket was soon emptied; but it appeared that he had +another one outside, and the contents of that disappeared with equal +rapidity. Pockets, and pocket-handkerchiefs, and hats, were quickly +filled, and the things carried off to the play-room. + +The foraging party had been out, and came in, one by one, in the rear of +the cake-man, heavily laden. The expected hampers also arrived. They +always put Mrs Pike in good humour. A very large one was for +Scarborough, who never had had one before. They were eagerly pounced on +by him and the boys, and carried off into the play-room. + +The masters congratulated themselves altogether on the good behaviour of +the boys. + +Tommy Bray, however, managed to elude the vigilance of those watching +him, and got off to Monsieur Guillaume's room, to give him a hint of +what was to occur; but the French master had gone to London for three +days, and Tommy dared not tell anybody else, lest his name, as the +informer, should afterwards transpire. + +Night came, and all went to their rooms. Never, however, had Digby been +more unhappy and less satisfied with himself since he came to the +school. He prayed, but he felt that his prayers were hollow. He was +not doing his duty to the best of his power. Probably several of his +friends felt as he did, but they did not speak of their feelings to each +other. + +Sunday came; they went, as usual, to church. Poor Mr Sanford was too +ill to go. + +"And we are preparing a terrible annoyance for him to-morrow," thought +Digby. + +They walked out afterwards, in close order, with Mr Yates at their +head, and Mr Tugman, who brought up the rear, watching that no one +wandered on either side. They went again to church in the afternoon; +and all the rest of the time was occupied in talking over their plans +for the following day. They were to get up an hour before anybody was +likely to be astir in the house, and assemble, with their jugs and +basins of water, in the play-room. All the schoolroom shutters were to +be brought into the play-room, as well as all valuables from the desks. +All the books were to be collected, either to serve as missiles, or to +be burned; that was not quite settled. Meantime, a party were to pay a +visit to the coal-cellar and wood-yard, and to bring in a supply of +coals. There were other minor arrangements, into which it is not +necessary to enter. + +On Sunday night, the boys went quietly to bed. At half-past four, one +or two awoke, and they roused up the rest. All were soon on foot. + +"I say, Newland, don't you feel as if you were going into a battle?" +said Digby. + +"Just as I can fancy soldiers feel," answered Paul. + +"One satisfaction is that the row must soon begin," said Digby. "I hate +having to wait for anything of the sort." + +They spoke in whispers. They were ordered to take their pillows with +them to serve as shields, if necessary, and to carry their shoes in +their pockets. They all very quickly slipped downstairs. Digby and +Newland, with four others, found themselves again told off to go and +fetch coals and wood, an expedition of some considerable hazard. +However, they none of them flinched, though, as Digby said, he felt very +much as if he was committing larceny. Each carried a pillowcase, into +which it was intended to put the coals or the faggots. It was broad +daylight. They had several passages to traverse, and what was worse, +some of the servants' rooms to pass near. On they went however. + +"It must be done, though," whispered Digby to Newland. + +They were afraid of the noise they must make in turning the keys, +withdrawing the bolts, and lifting the latches. The last door was +reached; they succeeded in opening it, and into the coal-yard they +hurried. It did not take them long to put as much coal into their +pillow-cases as they could carry. Those directed to carry faggots had +more bulky loads, but not so heavy. They forgot to close the door as +they returned laden with their booty. + +As they went along the passage they heard Susan calling to one of her +fellow-servants, "Jane, Jane, don't you hear footsteps?--is anybody +ill?" + +"I hope it isn't robbers," answered Jane. "Oh, dear! oh, dear!" + +"Oh, nonsense; I'll just throw on my gown and go and see." + +Now though these were not very terrible words, and uttered only by poor +weak women, whom boys are apt to despise sometimes, they put the band of +heroes in a great fright. + +On they hurried as fast as their legs could carry them, expecting every +moment to see Mr Tugman, or, perhaps, Mr Yates himself, descending the +staircase to bar their progress. + +"There is some one, surely," cried Newland. "I'll not run, though. +I'll go and face him, whoever he is." + +"I will go with you," exclaimed Digby. + +It was, however, only Ranger, who had come out to reconnoitre, and to +help them along, if they required aid. They told him that the alarm was +already given; so they all ran on as fast as they could into the +play-room. They took the precaution of locking the schoolroom door, and +of piling up some forms and desks against it, so that they might have +time to make further arrangements while that was being forced. + +The play-room presented a very unusual appearance when Digby looked +round it. It was full of boys. The windows were barred, and shutters +were nailed up against them. On one side of the fireplace was a heap of +coals--on another, a pile of faggots and potatoes. Near, stood several +hampers full of provisions; jugs and basins of water stood on the +shelves, while all the boxes were full of eatables. Indeed, it was +evident that it would take a long time to starve the garrison into +submission. The first thing to be done was effectually to bar the door. +There were bolts and locks, and they might easily be broken open. +Spiller, who was the engineer in this department, had provided several +bars, and these he screwed on across the door, so that it would have +been necessary almost to knock the wall down before it could be opened. + +Digby had naturally a military eye; he was looking round for weak +points. + +"They may be getting down the chimney," he observed. + +"Oh, then, we will light a fire and smoke them out," answered +Scarborough. + +A fire was accordingly lighted. + +"I suppose we are all here; but let us call the names over, and see if +there are any skulkers," said Scarborough. + +This was done. Tommy Bray was the only boy missing. + +"He'll have the pleasure of breakfasting with Mrs Pike, the young +jackanapes, betraying all our secrets, and having no lessons to do. He +does not think of the woeful thrashing he will get." + +They heard the getting-up bell ring as usual, and then they waited, and +waited, expecting some one to come to the door. No one came, however. +The prayer bell rang as usual, and then, to their surprise, the +breakfast-bell. This was very astonishing. They had good reason to +know that it was the breakfast-bell for they were all getting very +hungry. There was a general shout for breakfast. They soon had boiling +water, and tea was made, and they had plenty of sugar; but some of the +heroes complained much that they had no milk. + +"Would you have wished to have had a cow shut up here, and hay to feed +her?" asked Newland, laughing. + +They all made a very hearty and luxurious breakfast--their early rising, +and the excitement they had gone through, gave them appetites. Besides, +they had an unusual variety of all sorts of nice things. Digby's basket +was in great requisition; and Scarborough, and Spiller, and others, who +seemed to think everything common property, nearly half emptied it. + +"At such times as these we don't stand on ceremony, my good fellow. A +little more of that capital marmalade, if you please," said Scarborough. + +Poor Digby could not very well refuse; at the same time he did not see +exactly why the bully should eat up his marmalade. + +The breakfast set was composed of very heterogeneous materials; plates +were decidedly scarce, and the tea was drunk out of tin cups, and mugs, +and pannikins, while some of the little fellows had to content +themselves with ink-glasses, which gave rather a strong flavour to their +beverage. The weather itself was warm, and the fire, and the number of +boys shut up in the room, increased the heat till the closeness became +very unpleasant; but they were afraid of opening the windows to let in +any air, lest some of the masters might find their way in also at the +same spot. The only light they had was through a few round holes in the +upper part of the shutters. + +When breakfast was over they began to consider what they should do. It +was much too hot to play any active games. Some of the younger fellows +proposed high-cockolorum and leap-frog; but they made so much dust and +noise that it was not very pleasant work even to themselves, and the +bigger fellows ordered them to desist, and sent a shower of books at +their heads to enforce the order. Hop-scotch met with a like fate. A +few tried marbles, but there was scarcely light for the purpose, and +ring-taw was quickly abandoned. Others endeavoured to read amusing +books to pass the time, but the dim light which fell on the page +scarcely enabled them to distinguish the letters; and, besides, they +found all sorts of tricks played them by those who had no literary turn, +and always objected to see one of their companions take up a book. +Digby persevered with the "Swiss Family Robinson," which he had not had +time to look into since the evening of his arrival, and finished it in +spite of the heat and the variety of interruptions he underwent. When +Digby read a work of fiction he read heartily, with his whole mind in +the book, and nothing made him so savage as to be interrupted, and +called back into the commonplace work of every-day life. A considerable +number of fellows put their heads on their pillows in corners, and on +benches, and went to sleep. + +Thus the morning passed away. How different was all this calm and quiet +to the fierce onslaught they had expected. They had fancied that the +masters would have been thundering at the door with battering-rams, or +climbing up at the windows and endeavouring to force their way in. Some +even fancied that they would have appeared with muskets and pistols, and +fired in upon them, or, if not, hurled stones in on their heads. Then +they had vividly pictured the way in which they would have sheltered +themselves with their pillows, and hurled back their lexicons, and +grammars, and graduses, and delectuses, and other books, at the heads of +their assailants. All that would have been very fine, and exciting, and +delightful. Who would have cared for the bruises and blows they would +have received? Black eyes, and even broken limbs, would have been +things to have gloried in in so noble a cause. But this quiet, this +perfect ignoring their very existence, was very trying. Not even a +message sent to them; not a request to know what they wanted, or to beg +them to return to their duty, was perplexing in the extreme. Some +proposed that somebody should go out and reconnoitre; but who was to go +was the question. + +"It is very easy to say go," observed Paul Newland; "but who is to go, I +should like to know. Will Scarborough, then? He ought to go, I am +sure. We have too long been made catspaws of in this matter; and though +I do not counsel giving in, I say that some of the big fellows should +bear the risk and expense, which they have hitherto not done." + +Paul had by some means or other discovered how things had been managed, +and was resolved to speak out plainly. Scarborough looked daggers at +him, and would have knocked him down had he dared. + +"I have one thing to say," observed the bully; "I recommend you fellows +not to quarrel among yourselves. For my own part, I wish to be at peace +with all the world, and am now going to have a pipe. Who will join me?" + +Several big fellows, as well as Spiller and Julian Langley, said they +would, and soon the room was filled with tobacco smoke, which not a +little increased its unpleasantness. + +"Swipes, swipes!" sung out Scarborough in a short time, and from some +secret recess bottles of ale and porter were produced, the contents +rapidly disappearing down their throats. Then they sang, and insisted +on all the other fellows coming round and singing in turn. Probably +they would have made them drink also, but that they wished to preserve +the liquor for themselves. + +There were about a dozen fellows thus occupied; at of them, with the +exception of Julian Langley and Spiller, great, big, hulking lads, and +the two latter were forward in vice and knowledge of what is bad in the +world. Dinner-hour came. As if to mock them, the dinner-bell rang as +usual. Those who were not smoking and drinking began to get very +hungry, and to cry out for food. They only, however, got abuse from +Scarborough, who had now thrown off all disguise, and assumed the +dictatorship. + +"If anybody touches anything, I'll knock him down," he cried out, with a +fierce voice. "Wait till your elders think it is time to dine. Do you +fancy that we are to keep, in the free and independent republic we have +established, the vulgar dinner-hour of school-time. We'll dine by and +by, and you shall have some rashers of bacon to toast, and some herrings +to fry, for your amusement." + +How indignant did Digby feel at hearing these words. Was it for this he +had made such sacrifices?--lost a good name; acted a part he knew to be +wrong? He had to learn that such is invariably the fate of those who +join a bad cause, or consent to unite themselves with unprincipled men, +even in a cause which they fancy may be right. Still he did not wish to +raise a rebellion in the camp, and he determined to bear his hunger till +it pleased the dictator to allow him to appease it. + +The bells went on ringing with the greatest regularity. The dinner-hour +had long passed; now the bell rang to summon them into school. Tea-time +came. Digby and many other fellows had been asleep. They jumped up; +they were ravenous. They insisted on having food. + +Scarborough and his companions were still smoking and boozing on. He +growled out, "That they must wait his pleasure." + +"I for one will not," cried Digby, grown desperate. "Who wishes to join +me? Here is my hamper. I have a right to the contents of that, at all +events." + +The bully became furious at finding his authority thus openly defied; +and rising from his seat, made an attempt to punish the bold rebel; but +the beer he had imbibed had considerably affected his brain, and before +he could reach him, down he came on his nose. + +Julian, and Spiller, and the rest of his companions, seemed to think it +a very good joke, and laughed heartily. But Digby and others turned him +round, unloosed his neckerchief, and threw water in his face, in the +hopes of reviving him. + +"Oh, let him alone," cried out Spiller. "He'll come to by and by, never +fear." + +Digby, however, did fear very much that he would not, for he was almost +black in the face, and looked very horrid. + +"If he should die now, how dreadful it would be," observed Newland, in a +low voice, full of awe. + +They chafed his hands, and continued bathing his temples, keeping his +head up, till he gave signs of returning animation. + +"Oh, I think he will recover now," exclaimed Digby, joyfully. So they +put a pillow under his head, and watched him at a distance, till the +natural colour came back to his face. Had he been alone with his +half-tipsy friends, he would, too probably, have died. Not till he was +apparently out of danger did the fuelling of hunger return; and then +they got out their hampers and boxes, and set to work with right good +will. They had plenty of good things; and it never occurred to them +that it would be necessary to go upon short allowance, if they were to +hold out for any length of time. + +In the evening, there was a great cry out for tea; and though the +beer-drinkers at first opposed the motion, the majority carried it. The +fire was lighted, and large quantities of liquid--some said it was only +sugar and water--was swallowed; and bread, and ham, and tongue, and jam +and other preserves, were consumed. + +Night came at last. Most of the fellows were very sleepy; but it was +agreed that it would be necessary to keep guard, or they might be taken +by surprise. Digby found that he was one of those selected, if not for +a post of danger and honour, of great discomfort, and that he and three +others were to sit up half the night to keep watch, while the rest +slept. He suggested that they should be divided into proper watches; +but a big fellow, Gray, who called himself Scarborough's lieutenant, +replied that he would not allow their arrangements to be interfered +with. + +"If I ever again join a rebellion at school, I shall deserve to be +whipped for my folly, even more than for my disobedience," thought +Digby. + +At last, all the fellows lay down. Digby and his companions walked +about, and whistled, and sung, and tried to keep themselves awake by +every means in their power; but it was very hard work. They had a few +candles, but could only venture to burn one at a time; so that the light +looked very dim and melancholy in the dense air of the large room. + +"What donkeys we all are," thought Digby, as he looked at the forms of +his schoolfellows scattered about over the floor, many of them snoring, +others talking in their sleep, and others tumbling about, evidently not +enjoying quiet slumbers. At last, he lay down, but it was some time, +even then, in consequence of the excitement he had undergone, and the +hot and close atmosphere, ere he could go to sleep. Never, also, during +his previous life, had his slumbers been so disturbed and uncomfortable. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTEEN. + +A SIEGE WITHOUT BESIEGERS--HEROISM OF GARRISON--GENERAL PIKE AND THE +ARMY OF OBSERVATION--GARRISON YIELDS AT DISCRETION--A NEW SCHOOLMASTER, +AND GREAT IMPROVEMENTS IN THE SCHOOL. + +The morning at last came. Digby sat up and rubbed his eyes. At first +he thought that he was in the smugglers' cave; then on board the lugger, +hurrying to her destruction; then in the sea-worn cavern into which he +had been at last cast. At last he remembered where he was. All he had +gone through on the above-mentioned occasion was trying enough, but he +had not himself to blame. His present rather ridiculous discomfort he +had been at least instrumental in bringing on himself. He tried to go +to sleep again, for he had no pleasant thoughts to keep him awake; so he +dozed on till the the usual loud-sounding bell rang to call the boys up. +That awoke him effectually, though some of the boys seemed to have a +satisfaction in continuing to lie down in spite of the bell. Then the +first school-bell rang, and the breakfast-bell, and the second +school-bell--indeed, the day passed exactly as the previous one had +done. No one came near them that they were aware of, nor were they able +to hold the slightest communication with anybody without. Scarborough +drank more beer than he had done the day before, and was more tyrannical +than ever. He and his friends smoked and drank all day, and, they said, +made themselves perfectly happy; but it was dreadfully dull work for all +the rest. Oh, how they wished that matters could be brought to a +satisfactory conclusion. They were not allowed to have dinner till +late, as before. They managed to do pretty well at it, but at tea-time +bread began to run short. They had laid in a smaller supply of that +than of anything else. The night passed in thorough discomfort, but +with no interruption from without. The next morning they were obliged +to breakfast on biscuits and sweetcakes; they had potatoes, but they +could not manage to cook enough of them properly; and at dinner they +were very badly off for some plain article of food to eat with their +pies and ham, and similar rich dishes. At tea they were still worse +off; for though jam, and honey, and cheese, and tongue are all very good +things with bread, they do not make a good mixture without some of the +staff of life. + +Still the more heroic declared that it would be a disgrace to yield for +such a trifle; indeed, it was difficult to say to whom they should +yield; for unless they had opened the door and sneaked out, there was no +other course for them to pursue than to stay where they were. So they +had another night to spend on the bare boards, without changing their +clothes, or washing their hands and faces. They had to breakfast on +ham, jam and honey, or bits of pie. Fortunate were those who found some +scraps of plum-cake. Even Scarborough's tobacco was running short, and +the beer was nearly expended. This would have been fortunate in most +respects; but the prospect of having to go without it made him more +savage than ever. + +"Never fear, old fellow," said Julian, touching him on the shoulder; "I +am up to a thing or two--look here!" + +He showed him a couple of bottles of gin. + +"There's comfort for you." + +The wretched fellow's eyes glistened. What was the comfort offered? To +steep his senses in forgetfulness; to make himself like a brute. He did +not think of that, though. The gin bottles were soon concealed, and +Scarborough was again in better spirits. There was not much dispute +about the time of dinner that day, as there was very little to eat. +Those who could get them, had to chew the hard tops, and the roots of +tongues, and the knuckles of hams, and the rind of cheese, and to finish +off with honey and marmalade; but even those who generally liked sweet +things the best had very little fancy for them now. The water, too, had +become very mawkish and vapid, and there was scarcely any tea left; what +remained was used up that evening. Still no one proposed giving in. +The bigger fellows dared not; the little ones did not know what to do; +and the more daring still lived on in hopes of an assault being made on +their stronghold, when they might have some excuse for yielding with +honour, but to be starved into submission was most derogatory to their +dignity. That night was the most unpleasant of any. Many of the +fellows were very sick; bad air, no exercise, and a mixture of salt ham +and sweet jam tended to disturb the economy of their insides. Several +of the little fellows began to cry bitterly, and got books sent at their +heads in consequence by Scarborough, whenever he woke up and heard them. +The next morning the last drop of water in the jugs and basins was +expended, the potatoes were all baked or boiled, and every scrap of ham, +or tongue, or cheeseparing was consumed. Hunger not only stared them in +the face, but was actually attacking their stomachs. Few before knew +what very uncomfortable sensations it caused--how it could pinch; how +sick and how low-spirited it could make them feel. Even Digby, Ranger, +and Newland began to think that means must be taken to put an end to +that state of things. Had they known who was the general commanding the +forces opposed to them, they would not have held out so long. Not poor +Mr Sanford; he was very ill, and knew nothing about the matter. Not +Mr Yates; he had left the school, so had Monsieur Guillaume. The +general was no other than Mrs Pike, and her whole army was represented +by Susan, who was furnished with the garden steps, by means of which she +was enabled to inspect at her convenience the proceedings of the heroic +garrison. General Pike's spy and informant of the resources of the +enemy was little Tommy Bray, who, as his reward, had as many muffins and +cakes for breakfast and tea as he could eat, and a large supply of +pudding for dinner. Through him General Pike knew the exact amount of +the money collected and the provisions purchased with it; and with this +data to go on, she sat down and calculated the exact time these +provisions were likely to last. She thus knew perfectly well that by +Thursday morning the garrison must yield at discretion, and she had +arranged her plans accordingly. Susan, on returning from her daily +reconnaissance, assured her that the garrison were not suffering from +fever, or from any dangerous ailment, but only that they generally +looked very stupid and dull, and that she was very certain that by the +afternoon they would be too happy to yield to any terms she might choose +to dictate. + +"They have no fire, marm; and they don't seem to have a morsel of +anything to eat for breakfast," said Susan. + +Mrs Pike was not very hard-hearted, but she knew that a little +starvation would do none of them much harm. + +"We will wait till about an hour before dinner-time, and then we will go +and see what they have got to say for themselves," she observed, rubbing +her nose, which was a habit of hers when she was meditating on any +subject. "By that hour Dr Graham will be here, and it is as well that +he should receive the young gentlemen's submission." + +Long and serious consultations were now held within the garrison. With +the exception of Scarborough and his immediate companions, or his +council, as he called them, all were unanimous that if terms were +offered they must yield to them. Paul Newland, especially, was very +strenuous on this point. "We have been great donkeys, of that there +cannot be the slightest doubt; but we shall be still greater if we keep +ourselves shut up here a moment longer than we can help," he observed. +"We have spent our money, we have made ourselves thoroughly +uncomfortable, we have lost many a jolly good game of play, and we have +obtained for ourselves a no very enviable character in the eyes of our +masters, while we shall all of us go home with black marks against our +names." + +"But we have been fighting for a great principle. We must remember that +our honours were concerned," answered Digby. + +"Fighting! We haven't fought at all," returned Newland. "A great +principle! I have been thinking over that point also. Our great +principle should be obedience; that is one of the things we were sent to +school to learn. I forget when I found it out, but I now clearly +remember it, and in adhering to that, depend on it our honours were +involved much more than in insisting on going out when, for some very +good reason probably, Mr Sanford thought fit to keep us in. All I can +say is, that I wish he was well, and could have us up and flog us all +round, and so settle the matter off-hand. I certainly don't like the +thoughts of yielding to old Yates." + +A few acknowledged the justice of these opinions. It was not to be +expected that many should do so. The last sentiment was reciprocated by +all. + +"The sooner, then, we make preparations for opening the door the +better," observed Farnham. + +They possessed themselves of Spiller's tools. That worthy, with Julian +Langley, Scarborough, and a few others, were sitting up in a corner, +puffing away slowly at their clay pipes, and sipping away at something +which they did not wish the rest to see. They were too stupified to +observe what was being done. The bars across the doors were removed; +their strength had never even been tried. Then Farnham took down a +shutter, and in desperation threw open the windows to let some fresh air +in. Oh, how delicious and sweet it was, compared to the poisonous +atmosphere they had been so long breathing. + +"I, for one, vote that we all march out in order, and walk up and down +in the playground till some one comes to know what we want," exclaimed +Digby, as if a bright idea had struck him. "Or, I will tell you what, I +don't mind going with a flag of truce straight up to Mr Sanford, to +tell him our grievances, and to ask what terms he will give us." + +"Capital! grand! spirited!" shouted most of the fellows--at least they +moaned out, for they were not in a condition to shout. + +Not a moment was allowed him to recede from his offer. The largest and +the least dirty white pocket-handkerchief they could find was +immediately fastened on to the end of a broomstick. There was a little +water remaining, in which Digby's hands and face were washed. His hair +was combed with the only pocket comb to be found in the army, and his +clothes were brushed with the broom above spoken of, and his +shirt-collar smoothed down as much as was practicable. Independently of +his spirit and discretion, he certainly looked fatter and less pale than +any of the rest, and was therefore the fittest envoy that could have +been selected to give the enemy a favourable opinion of the garrison. +They were, of course, not aware that Susan knew perfectly well all about +them. + +Digby was all ready, with his flag in his hand. He only waited for the +door to be opened. + +"Come," exclaimed Ranger, "Heathcote may go on ahead as a herald, but I +do feel that it will be a crying shame and disgrace if we let him go +alone. We ought all to fall in, and march out into the playground to +support him if necessary. As for those boozing fellows up there in the +corner, they have deceived and cheated us, that is very evident. We are +not bound to them; they may follow if they like." + +Perhaps Ranger was not quite right in this, though Scarborough and his +set certainly did not deserve that terms should be kept with them. + +The thoughts of fresh air and exercise, and the hope of bringing their +present uncomfortable condition to a termination, made the great mass, +without a moment's further consideration, yield to the proposal; and, +falling in together, the moment the door was opened and Digby had gone +forth, they hurried out after him. + +No one was in the schoolroom, but it looked as if it had been swept, the +desks scraped and polished, and everything put in good order. + +Out into the playground they marched, following Digby so closely that he +appeared to be at their head. Ranger, Farnham, Newland, and his other +chief friends kept directly behind him. + +They had just reached the playground, and were facing the glass door +opening from the house into it, when the door was opened, and a tall, +very gentlemanly, youngish-looking man appeared at it, with Mr Moore, +their favourite master, standing behind him. The stranger advanced +towards them,-- + +"I am glad to meet you here, young gentlemen," he said, in a very +harmonious voice. "I understand that you have for some days past shut +yourselves up in your play-room, in consequence, it is supposed, of your +being dissatisfied with some arrangements which were made regarding you. +My name is Dr Graham. I am now the master of this school, Mr Sanford +having yielded his authority, with the sanction of your parents, into my +hands. I shall at all times willingly listen to any complaints you have +to make. Let me know the grievance which caused you to shut yourselves +up as _you_ have lately done." + +Digby, in a manly and straightforward way, told him exactly why they had +thus acted. + +"It was done at my request," said Dr Graham. "I found, on inquiry, +that most reprehensible practices took place on these occasions, and as +I have a number of pupils of my own who will soon become the companions +of some of you, I wished to stop all liberty till I could arrange how to +deal with the culprits. My object, understand, is to have a school of +happy, Christian, gentlemanly boys. There is no reason why all should +not be very happy and contented; and I am resolved not to allow those of +whom I have hopes of becoming so to suffer for those of whom I can have +but very slight or no hope at all. Mr Moore, are these all the boys?" + +"No, Sir, there are several absent, who, I fear, must be justly placed +in the last category," answered Mr Moore. + +"Where are they, then?" asked Dr Graham, looking at Digby. + +"In the play-room, Sir," he answered, feeling as if he was acting a +treacherous part towards them; but truly he could have said only what he +did. + +"We will go there at once, and see the state of affairs," said the +Doctor. It is possible he might have guessed, though, from Susan's +information. "Follow me, young gentlemen." + +Guided by Mr Moore, he went direct to the play-room. + +What was the consternation of the wretched tipplers when, looking up, +they found themselves deserted by their companions, and saw a stranger, +with one of their masters, at the door. Scarborough tried to get up, +after gazing round at them in a stupid, idiotic way, but fell forward on +his face; while the rest sat still, stupidly glaring up at him and Mr +Moore. At last, when they attempted to rise, they fell down as +Scarborough had done. + +"I shall have little difficulty in settling how to deal with those +miserable fellows," said the Doctor, pointing scornfully at them. "They +are, I conclude, from what Mrs Pike tells me, the heads and instigators +of this most sagaciously conducted and commendable rebellion. Happily, +_I_ am not bound to keep any boy with whose character I am not +satisfied. Mr Moore, I must request you to take down the names of +those I see in that corner of the room. I wish also to know those of +the young gentlemen who met me openly in the playground, and especially +of their leader, with the flag of truce. I accept it as a sign that +they are sorry for what has occurred, and grant a full amnesty to all +those who have followed it." + +The boys, on hearing these words, spoken in a thoroughly kind, frank +manner, gave vent to their feelings in a loud hearty shout. The +expressions touched all their better feelings. + +"Long live Dr Graham!" cried Digby. + +"May he long be our master, and we be his obedient attentive pupils!" +added Newland, who had the happy knack of giving the right turn to a +sentiment. + +The cry was taken up by the rest of the boys, and the Doctor turned +round and said, smiling, "Thank you; I am well satisfied. I feel sure +that we shall always be good friends. Now go up into your rooms and get +ready for dinner." + +The basins and jugs were carried upstairs, hands and faces were washed, +and clothes changed, and when the dinner-bell rang, they went down into +the dining-room, where Mrs Pike received them with a smile as if +nothing had happened, and all declared that they never had had so good a +dinner at the school--certainly, never had they been more hungry. And +thus the mighty rebellion was concluded. Dr Graham had not promised +that they should go out on a Saturday, so that they had gained nothing +whatever by their movement. + +Only Mr Moore and Mrs Pike superintended at dinner. The other three +masters, they found, had gone. + +"Before we separate," said Mrs Pike, standing up when she had served +out the last helping of pudding, "I have a few words to say to you. I +am very sorry that you spent three days so unpleasantly as you must have +done this week, because Mr Sanford had intended granting you, in +consequence of his illness, half-holidays every day, and but slight +tasks in the morning, till the arrival of Dr Graham, who has for some +time arranged to take charge of the school. He had charged me to do my +best to find you amusement. On Monday I had ordered carriages to take +you to a pic-nic in Fairley Wood; Tuesday, a famous conjuror was to have +come; and on Wednesday you were to have had a grand tea in the garden +here, and fireworks afterwards. However, perhaps you thought yourselves +better employed. All I can say is, that I am sorry for what has +occurred, but intend to forget all about it; though, as those who win +may laugh, I might be allowed, if I chose, to make fun of you." + +"Sold again--admirably sold!" exclaimed Farnham to Digby, as they walked +into the playground. They were not much inclined to play, though, for +never had they felt more weary and sleepy. Though the fresh air revived +them, they heartily wished for bed-time. + +It was soon whispered about that Doctor Graham had resolved on expelling +Scarborough and all his set. Everybody acknowledged the justice of this +decision, and rejoiced at it. The only one of the party who was allowed +to remain was Julian Langley, in consequence of his having only so +lately come to the school. + +"Dr Graham," repeated Digby, after he and his companions had been +discussing the merits of their new master, "why, that is the very name +of the master of the school to which Arthur Haviland was going. I +wonder where he comes from. All I can say is, that he seems a +first-rate man, and sensible and kind, and so Arthur said his master +was." + +Two days after this, Dr Graham announced that the pupils from his +former school were about to arrive. In the evening, four carriages full +of them drew up at the door. Digby looked eagerly out, and there, sure +enough, in the very first was Arthur Haviland. How delighted were the +two friends to see each other. The surprise was mutual, for neither of +them were certain that they were to meet. The Doctor, knowing how +certain any change of this sort was to unsettle boys' minds, had not +told them till the last moment the arrangements which had been made. +The two sets of schoolboys became acquainted with each other with great +rapidity. The Doctor had won the hearts of nearly all his new pupils by +his clemency and urbanity, while what was still more satisfactory, all +his old ones spoke in the warmest terms of him. + +A new system was at once inaugurated. A first master, a very +gentlemanly man and a good scholar, took the place of the little-loved +Mr Yates; Mr Moore kept his post as second master; the third, who took +the place of the ill-conditioned Mr Tugman, was a very nice, +quiet-looking lad, with whom at first the boys thought they could do +anything; but they very soon found that beneath that calm countenance +there dwelt a most determined spirit; that he had lately left a +first-rate public school, where he had been praeposter of his house, and +that he was thoroughly up to all the ways and dodges of boys. He had +been for a short time at one of the Universities, which his want of +means had compelled him to leave, and thus he had become an usher for +the sake of saving money to take him there again. He worked hard +himself, and he was determined that those under him should work hard +also. The writing-master was also a gentleman, for Dr Graham felt the +importance of having a good example set, even in minute points, to those +whom he wished to see turn out gentlemen in every respect. He had +explained to Mrs Pike his wish that all the provisioning and household +arrangements should be established on the most liberal footing. I want +the boys to have as much and as pleasant food as they would have at +home, so that they may have no cause to regret coming here, because they +are no longer to have the nice things to which they have been +accustomed. Teacups and saucers, and spoons, and plates, and knives, +were introduced at breakfast and tea, so that the boys might spread +their own bread with butter, or honey, or marmalade. At dinner, too, +the usual arrangements of a gentleman's dining table were introduced-- +plated spoons and forks, and glass tumblers--and there were fruit tarts +and puddings, and vegetables; indeed, an abundance of such things as +were in season. + +"These may appear trifles, Mrs Pike," observed the Doctor, when that +thrifty housewife ventured to expostulate with him; "but they have a +considerable effect on boys. I doubt whether they will very much +increase your weekly bills, and I am certain that they will assist to +give the lads gentlemanly tastes, and assist me very considerably in +managing them. It is, believe me, much easier to govern a school of +gentlemanly boys than one full of those of an opposite character. My +great wish is, to be able to place perfect confidence in their words. +They will then require much less supervision and much less constraint. +I explain this, because I think that you will aid in establishing those +principles." + +"That I will, sir," answered Mrs Pike, who was a very sensible woman, +and saw at once the superiority of the Doctor's system over that which +had hitherto prevailed. + +In a short time a marked difference was observed in the school, and the +boys were generally infinitely happier and more contented. At the same +time there were still grumblers and dissatisfied ones. + +"It is all very well--a new broom sweeps clean," said they. "Wait a +little; we shall soon get back into our old ways." + +They discovered, however, that the new broom went on sweeping cleaner +and cleaner, till only the bad had excuse for grumbling, because they +found it difficult to indulge in their malpractices. Of course there +were bad ones, even though Scarborough and his set had been expelled. +Some of those the Doctor brought with him were bad, and some of those +who were already in the school were so, and they very soon found each +other out. + +Julian Langley had plenty of companions, but still he tried very hard to +win back Digby's friendship. Had Arthur Haviland not been there he +might have succeeded; but Arthur had gained a perfect insight into +Julian's character, and considered him a very dangerous companion for +Digby. Julian very soon discovered now much Arthur disliked him, and +determined to have his revenge. + +From the time of Dr Graham's arrival the whole system of the school was +completely changed. There was a much stricter supervision, at the same +time that there was much more real liberty. Bullying--that is to say, +glaring tyranny and cruelty--was almost entirely put a stop to; only the +would-be bullies and the very bad ones any longer could in any way +complain. The Saturday excursions were once more allowed; but the boys +were especially charged not to trespass, or to do any damage; and they +had to pass their words that they would adhere strictly to the rules +laid down. A monitorial system was established. Six boys of different +ages were selected, for their general good conduct, discretion, temper, +and acknowledged high principles, to act as monitors. They had a number +of privileges as a recompense for the onerous duties with which they +were entrusted, and which they were never known to neglect. When any +distant excursion was made, one of the monitors was obliged to accompany +the party, and to give a full account of all their proceedings. One of +the other boys was also frequently called on to do the same. On all +half-holidays they might obtain leave to go out where they liked, +provided every two hours they came back and reported themselves, so that +no one could go to any great distance; nor could, as before, an +ill-conditioned fellow like Scarborough spend his time in smoking and +drinking without being found out. Digby liked the change excessively; +he was constantly with Arthur Haviland, and benefited much by his +companionship; for, in truth, a high-principled boy has great power in +influencing his friends and associates for good. Julian sneered, but +sneered in vain, and at last ceased to try and tempt Digby to join him +in his malpractices. Still Digby found it very difficult to keep +altogether aloof from his former associate; there had been no cause of +quarrel between them, nothing that he could well allege to separate +them; and even the occasional remarks which Julian let fall, and the +knowledge of the mode in which he spent his time, did harm, and might +have had a serious effect on him, as it had undoubtedly on some of his +other schoolfellows. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. + +CONCLUSION. + +In a well-ordered school there is naturally less scope for adventure +than in an ill-conducted one--such as Grangewood had become during poor +Mr Sanford's illness. + +Dr Graham was strict and regular, but the boys were far happier than +they had ever been before. He encouraged games of every description, +and all sorts of athletic exercises. He had gymnastic poles erected; a +large swimming-place made, into which a stream of clear water, hitherto +of little use, was conducted. He had also some boats built, and +launched on a large lake in the neighbourhood, which became the constant +resort of the boys during the half-holidays in summer. He did not allow +them to boat, however, till they had learned to swim well, not only +without their clothes, but in them. They were instructed also by an old +sailor, who lived near Grangewood, not only in rowing, but in sailing a +boat. Here Digby, from the knowledge he had gained from Toby Tubb, +found himself superior to nearly all the other fellows. + +He soon gained as much popularity among the boys who had come with Dr +Graham as among his former companions. This might have been a dangerous +circumstance, had it not been for the good counsels of Arthur Haviland, +who, whenever he could do so judiciously, entreated him not to assume on +the popularity he was gaining. + +"If you do, my dear Digby," said Arthur, "I shall almost wish that such +a fellow as you describe Scarborough to be was here to bully you a +little every now and then. I am certain a long course of prosperity is +injurious to every one, unless he is reminded on how slight a tenure he +holds it, and learns both to appreciate and be grateful for it." + +Hard as this lesson was to learn, Digby acknowledged its importance, and +did his best not to let pride get the better of him. Julian Langley, +not intentionally, perhaps, was continually trying to counteract the +good advice which Arthur gave him. Finding that he himself was sinking +down in the estimation of his schoolfellows, he thought that he might +help himself up again by clinging closer than he had for some time done +to Digby. He had found that it did not answer to attempt to lead him +directly to do what was wrong; so in order to regain his confidence, he +set to work to flatter him in every way he could think of. He was +continually saying, "My dear Digby, you know a popular fellow like you +can do anything. I wonder you read so hard; you have talents enough to +help you without that. Besides, what does an English country gentleman +want with reading?" + +Digby was not altogether insensible to flattery; and though he did not +trust Julian, he did not exert himself to shake him off so completely as +it would have been wise for him to have done. + +Dr Graham was not influenced by any narrow-minded, foolish prejudices, +and he took care that so strict a supervision should be exercised over +the boys from one end of the twenty-four hours to the other, that no +glaring malpractices could exist long undetected. Altogether, when the +end of the half came, and Digby went home once more for his holidays, he +gave so favourable a report of the school, that, supported in it as he +was by Arthur Haviland, Mr and Mrs Heathcote resolved to send Gusty +back with him. He had now, he felt, a very important responsibility +thrown upon him, and he resolved to fulfil it to the utmost of his +power. + +Except for the sake of being with his parents and sisters, he could not +help confessing that he liked school as much as home, and in high +spirits, with little Gusty under his charge, he returned to Grangewood. +They had not been there long before Julian Langley made a dead set at +Gusty, as if he wished to establish himself as his protector and +counsellor. At first Digby scarcely perceived this; then, when he at +length saw Julian frequently doing something or other for Gusty, he +thought it was very kind in him to take so much pains about the little +fellow. It did not occur to him, indeed, that Julian was doing his +brother any harm, till one day Gusty made use of some expressions and +uttered some sentiments which he felt sure must have been learned from +Julian. Happily, his eyes were at once opened, and he felt that, if he +would save his brother from the contaminating influence of his own +former companion, he must withdraw him at once from his society. He +knew enough of human nature to be aware that if he at once denounced +Julian as a dangerous character, Gusty would, as the moth is to the +candle, very likely be attracted towards him, and he would probably have +answered--"Why may I not talk to him? He is a friend of yours, I +thought, and you don't seem to fancy that he can do you harm." + +In his difficulty he went to Arthur Haviland, who undertook to speak to +Gusty, and to warn him against Julian. + +Arthur did so at once. He was one of those people who feel that if a +thing is to be done, the sooner it is done the better. + +Gusty cried at first, and seemed very unhappy, but at last acknowledged +that Julian had invited him to join some expedition or other, but that +he had not promised, because he thought that it was not quite right, but +that he feared he should, notwithstanding this, have ultimately done so. + +"I will not ask you what it is," said Arthur; "but promise me that you +will not be tempted to have anything to do with the matter." + +Gusty easily promised this, and Arthur was thankful that he had not +delayed speaking. + +Gusty slept in his brother's room. Two nights after this, another boy +in the same room was seen to leave it with his shoes in his hands. +Digby was awake, but said nothing. He saw Gusty lift up his head. The +other boy as he passed him whispered, "little Sneak," and went on. + +Gusty answered, "I am not; you had better stay." But his advice was +unheeded. + +Digby could not conceive what was going to happen, but felt very glad +that Gusty had refused to join the expedition, or meeting, or whatever +it was which was taking place. He tried to keep awake to speak to +Hanson, the boy who had gone out, to ascertain what he had been doing, +and he was sorry that he had not attempted to stop him by dissuading him +from doing what he had proposed. At last, however, he fell asleep, and +as he did not awake till the bell rang, he had not time, after he was +dressed, to speak to Hanson. The second bell rang, and the boys hurried +into school. + +After prayers Dr Graham stood up in his desk, looking very grave. + +"I had wished," he said, "to abolish flogging in the school; but while +any of the boys are guilty not only of ungentlemanly but dishonest +conduct, I must retain the custom, as I fear that it is the only +punishment which they are likely to dread. I regret to say that seven +boys, of different ages, were guilty, last night, of going out of the +house, and of robbing the orchard of a neighbour. He saw them, counted +their numbers, traced them back here. He believes that he will be able +to identify some of them. Instead of severely punishing them on the +spot, as they deserved, he came here this morning and told me of the +circumstance, that I may deal with them as I judge right. Those who +were engaged in this notable exploit come forward and let me know what +you have to say for yourselves." + +The Doctor ceased. There was a pause, then a slight shuffling of feet, +and six boys left their desks, and slowly, and with evident reluctance, +walked up to the Doctor. + +"I understood that there were seven. I hope the seventh will soon make +his appearance." + +The seventh, however, did not come up. The Doctor then asked the six +who pleaded guilty what induced them to commit the crime. + +One said, because he liked apples; another replied, because he had been +asked by others; but four of them confessed that they did it simply +because they liked the excitement and danger of the exploit. + +"I believe that you have all told me the truth," answered the Doctor. +"One I shall flog, to teach him that he must not allow his appetite to +tempt him to commit a crime; the next, that he must not consent to do +what is wrong because another asks him; and the other four, because they +evidently require to have it impressed on their minds that taking that +which does not belong to them is a crime both in the sight of God and +man. After breakfast, you six come into my room. And now I wish the +seventh culprit to come forward. I have given him time to consider what +he will do." + +No one moved. + +"Julian Langley, why do you not come forward?" said the Doctor, in a +stern voice. + +"Sir, I know nothing about it," answered Julian, in a sharp, quick +voice. + +"Whose shoe is this?" asked the Doctor. "Come here, sir, and tell me." + +Julian was now compelled to come forward. He walked with an unabashed +air up to the Doctor's desk, casting a look either of triumph or scorn +at the boys who had confessed their crime. + +"If that is my shoe, somebody may have dropped it, wherever it was +found," he observed, coolly. + +"Did anybody carry away this knife, with your name engraved on it?" +asked the Doctor; "and how was it that you had only one shoe by your +bedside this morning, the fellow of this one, covered with mud of the +same colour?" + +"Really, sir, those are difficult questions to answer just at present," +replied Julian; "all I can say is, that I cannot account for the +circumstances you speak of." + +"I would fain not believe you guilty of a direct falsehood, and I must, +therefore, conclude that the seventh thief who stole Mr Ladgrove's +apples is yet to be found," said the Doctor, gravely. "But mark me, +Julian Langley, I especially charge these six boys, if they have any +respect for truth and honesty, and I also charge the rest of the school, +not to speak to you, not to hold any communication with you, for at +least a month to come, if they know you to be guilty of the crime which +you now deny. I fix a month, because I hope during that time, if you +are guilty, and are so punished, you will repent of the crime of +stealing, as also of that of falsehood. Now, sir, go back to your +seat." + +The six boys who were to be flogged sat by themselves, and did not +approach, or even look at, Julian Langley. Digby greatly feared that +Julian was guilty. He watched them anxiously. Hanson was one of them. +How grateful he felt that Gusty was not, and he resolved to watch over +him with greater care than he had before done. + +After breakfast, the boys went to the Doctor's room to be flogged. They +came back into school looking very unhappy, as boys are apt to do who +have been thus castigated. The play hours came round, not one of them +went near Julian. He approached one of them after the other, but they +all, even little Hanson, walked away from him. Others besides Digby +were watching what would take place. + +At length Arthur Haviland, Digby, Ranger, Newland and others called a +council, and agreed to inquire into the matter. Although the guilty +boys considered themselves in honour bound not to confess to any of the +masters, yet when questioned directly by their own companions, they at +once owned that Julian Langley had not only been with them, but was +actually the very instigator of the expedition. The consequence was, +that Julian was sent strictly to Coventry by the whole school. + +During that whole month not a boy spoke to him. Every one knew him to +be guilty. He tried to get them to speak to him, and constantly spoke +to fellows, but no one would answer him. The Doctor considered that he +was sufficiently punished, and those who had been flogged said that they +would a hundred times rather be flogged and get it over, than undergo +the punishment he had endured. He did not, however, appear to feel the +disgrace, or the complete loss of his character. As soon as the month +was over, he spoke to every one, and tried to enter into conversation +with all who would talk to him. The Doctor, of course, knew all that +had occurred, and though he hoped that Julian would have been +sufficiently punished, he kept a very watchful eye over him. + +At last the holidays again came round, and the Squire asked his boys if +they would like to invite Julian Langley to spend some of the time with +them. + +"Oh, no, no," answered Digby, "on no account. I am sure Kate does not +like him; nor do I as I used to do, and he is not a good companion for +Gusty." + +Digby was quite surprised how rapidly the holidays came round and round. +Home was very pleasant, but so was school, and it was difficult to say +at which the time passed the quickest. It had been intended that Digby +should be sent to Eton, but Squire Heathcote was so pleased with Dr +Graham's system, and the progress his boys made in every way, that he +resolved to let them remain on at Grangewood. + +"People say that boys ought to be sent to public schools to get their +pride knocked out of them, to be taught manners, and to make +acquaintances who are likely to be useful to them in their future life," +observed the Squire. "Now, I may honestly boast that my boys have no +pride to be knocked out of them, their manners are good, and I hope that +they will make their own way without having to depend on others." + +So Digby and Gusty remained on at Grangewood, Dr Graham did his utmost +to merit the confidence placed in him. He devoted all his time and +thoughts not only to the mental instruction of his boys, but to making +them religious, and happy, and healthy, and true gentlemen, in the +fullest sense of the word. Julian Langley did not long remain at the +school. After the occurrence before described he had lost all +influence, as well as respect, in the school. Still he contrived to +lead some of the other boys into mischief, and was, at length, guilty of +acts which induced the Doctor finally to expel him. Digby continued +steadily and honestly to do his duty. He became very popular with the +masters as well as with his companions--even Mrs Pike acknowledged that +she little thought when he first came that he would turn out so well. +He was one of the chief leaders at all games and sports, and few +surpassed him in any of their athletic exercises, at the same time that +no one read harder, or made better progress than he did. At length he +rose to be the head of the school; and then, after a year spent partly +with Mr Nugent, and partly travelling with Arthur Haviland abroad, he +went to Cambridge, where Arthur already was. Here, though one of the +most active boating and cricketing men, he read steadily and +perseveringly, and finally, very much to his own surprise, when he took +his degree, came out as a wrangler, though not so high up in the list as +his friend Arthur Haviland had been the year before. [Note: a wrangler +is a person at Cambridge University who has passed their finals in +Mathematics with First Class Honours.] During the long vacation, just +before his last term, he was reading with Mr Nugent, when, one evening, +a knock was heard at the door, and the maid-servant came in to say that +a person wished to see the Rector. Mr Nugent went out, and there he +saw a stout, but pale-faced, ragged, altogether disreputable-looking +young man. + +"What is it you want with me?" asked Mr Nugent, looking hard at him. + +"What, don't even you know me?" asked the stranger, in a hoarse tone. + +Again the Rector scanned his features. "No, indeed I do not," he +answered. "I think that you must be labouring under some mistake or +other." + +"Indeed I am not," answered the stranger. "I know you, Mr Nugent, +perfectly, and you once knew me. If I was to tell you my name you might +be astonished, perhaps, for I was once a pupil of yours. My name is +Julian Langley." + +"Julian Langley!" exclaimed Mr Nugent, starting up. "Are you brought +to this miserable condition? But would not your father--would not your +friends assist you?" + +"My father has discarded me, and I have no friends--no one who cares for +me," answered Julian, bitterly. "I am suffering from hunger and thirst, +and am but half clothed, as you see. I must die if I am not relieved. +Will you help me?" + +"I will. Come in; you shall have food at once," answered Mr Nugent. +"You will find an old friend here who will afford you, I know, his +sincerest sympathy, my nephew, Digby Heathcote." + +"He will afford me his supercilious pity and contempt," muttered Julian. + +"No, no, no," said Mr Nugent, kindly; "come in." + +"Beggars must not be choosers," answered Julian, gruffly, following Mr +Nugent into the study. + +Digby, till Mr Nugent mentioned his name, did not recognise Julian. +The moment he did, he sprang up, and putting out his hand pressed it +warmly; but Julian, turning away his head, received the greeting with +coldness and indifference. + +"And how is it that you come to us in such a plight?" asked Mr Nugent, +after supper had been placed on the table, and Julian had done ample +justice to it. "I inquire, pray understand, not for simple curiosity, +but that I may the better be able to help you." + +"Thank you," answered Julian, filling a tumbler half full of brandy from +a spirit-case which stood on the table, and tossing off the contents. +"Oh, I have gone through all sorts of wonderful adventures. I have been +out in Spain, fighting for the Constitutionalists against Don Carlos, +but I got more kicks than half-pence there; and then I was shipwrecked; +and, finally, I have been leading a somewhat vagabond life about +England. I turned actor for a time, but the characters given me were +not very exalted, and I quarrelled with the manager, who was a brute, +and left the company. Not a very lucid account of myself; but, at all +events, here I am without a farthing in my purse, or rather, without +even a purse to put a farthing in if I had one." And with a look of +despair he turned his pockets inside out, and leant back in his chair. + +Both Mr Nugent and Digby were silent. They felt sure that his own +misconduct had brought him to his present condition, and yet they were +unwilling to hint to him that such was the case. In the meantime he +once more leaned forward, and again helped himself largely from the +spirit-case. Mr Nugent and Digby looked at each other. They had no +difficulty in guessing the cause of his present condition. Some +conversation ensued with the unhappy young man, but they could scarcely +hope that they were eliciting the truth from him. There was no bed for +him in the house. He said that he infinitely preferred sleeping at the +inn. Against his better judgment, perhaps, as he was leaving the house, +Mr Nugent kindly put a five-pound note into his hand. The next day he +did not appear, and Digby set off into the town to look for him. He was +told that he was at the inn, in his room. He found him with a spirit +bottle by his side, sitting on the floor, and perfectly unconscious. +Digby, begging the people of the house, who were but too well accustomed +to such events, to put him to bed, left the place, feeling that he could +then do nothing for him. The next day, when Digby went back to the inn, +the landlord said that he had left it altogether, because he had refused +to supply him with more liquor. Digby, determining to make another +attempt to rescue him from destruction, on inquiry, found that he had +gone on to a neighbouring town. There he followed him, and there he +found him in the same condition as before, having spent the whole of Mr +Nugent's liberal gift. Digby waited till he had recovered his senses, +spoke to him earnestly and kindly, entreating him to abandon his evil +courses. At last Julian said that he had one aunt who would, he knew, +could he reach her house, try and reconcile him to his father, and that +he had resolved firmly to reform. Digby instantly offered him ten +pounds, urging him to set off without delay to his relative's house. + +Thus the former friends, who had started together in life with such +equal advantages, parted. + +Digby in vain waited to hear from Julian. He never reached his +relative's house. Nearly a year after that, Digby heard of his death in +a hospital, of _delirium tremens_, a most horrible complaint, brought on +by excessive drinking. + +A couple of years after Arthur Haviland left College, the papers +announced his marriage with Katharine, third daughter of Digby +Heathcote, Esq, of Bloxholme, etc. + +"I am truly thankful that my dear, dear little sister Kate has married +so excellent a fellow," wrote Digby to an old friend, when speaking of +the event. "What a contrast to that wretched being, Julian Langley, +whom my father and his had once intended for her. I have known Arthur +for a number of years. He is, and he always was as a boy, a thoroughly +high-principled, honourable fellow, a sincere, pious Christian, and as +kind-hearted, sensible, and judicious as any person I have ever met. I +am convinced of the truth of the saying that `the boy is the father of +the man.' I have had many proofs of it in my experience, and I should +always strongly recommend my friends to reflect what their friends were +as boys before they introduce them to their families, and especially to +their sisters, whose jealous guardians they should ever endeavour to +prove." + +No one laboured harder to prepare the triumphal arches to welcome Miss +Kate, as he called her, on her first visit to Bloxholme after the event +mentioned above, than did John Pratt, and curious were the presents he +had prepared for her, most of which might have suited her early tastes, +but certainly not her present ones. Among other things were two young +kittens, a litter of ferrets, four pigeons, a flitch of bacon--this was +given, as he said, in advance--a puppy, and a nest of young owlets. He +continues as active as ever, and the constant attendant on Digby in all +rural sports whenever the young heir pays a visit to his home. + +Toby Tubb, though grown somewhat fatter, still follows his calling on +the river; and Digby, whenever he goes to Osberton in the summer, seldom +fails to take a pull or a sail in his boat. + +Though the companions of his boyhood are scattered far and wide over the +face of the globe, he keeps up a frequent correspondence with many of +them, and he has the satisfaction of finding that his honest, +courageous, straightforward character has secured that sincere +friendship and respect which neither distance nor time lessens or +alters. + +May all the readers of Digby Heathcote's early life endeavour to deserve +and maintain the same character; and if his example induces any to +imitate it who might otherwise have taken a different course, the author +will be truly glad that he committed this history to paper. + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Digby Heathcote, by W.H.G. 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