Bevis: The Story of a Boy

by Richard Jefferies

"Mind, no slashing faces. Knock swords together."

  "Knock swords together," said Bevis. "Make rattling and shout."

  "Shout," said Mark, bellowing his loudest.

  "How shall we know when we're killed?" said Cecil.

  "Well, you _are_ a stupe," said Val. "Really you are." They alllaughed at Cecil.

  "But I don't know," said Ted Pompey. "You just think, how shall we knowwho's beat? Cecil's not so silly."

  "No more he is," said Mark. "Bevis, how is it to be managed?"

  "Those who run away are beaten," said Charlie. "You'll see Ted run fastenough." Away he scampered himself to escape punishment.

  "Of course," said Bevis. "One way will be if people run away. O! Iknow, if the camp is taken."

  "Or if the captain is taken prisoner," said Phil; "and tied up with acord."

  "Yes," continued Bevis. "If the captain is taken prisoner, and if theeagles are captured--"

  "Eagles," said Ted Pompey.

  "Standards," said Phil. "That's right: are we to have proper eagles,Caesar Bevis?"

  "Yes," said Bevis. "Three brass rings round sticks will do. Two eagleseach, don't you see, Ted, like flags, only eagles, that's proper."

  "Who keeps the ground wins the victory," said Cecil.

  "Right," said Ted. "I shall soon tie up Bevis--we must bring cords."

  "You must catch him first," said Mark.

  "Captains must be guarded," said Val. "Strong guards round them andawful fighting there," licking his lips at the thought of it.

  "Captain Caesar Bevis," said Tim, who had not spoken before, but hadlistened very carefully. "Is there to be any punching?"

  "Hum!" Bevis hesitated, and looked at Ted.

  "I think so," said Ted, who had long arms and hard fists.

  "If there's punching," cried Charlie from the oak, into which he hadclimbed for safety; "if there's punching, only the big blokes can play."

  "No punching," said Mark eagerly, not that he feared, being stout andsturdy, but seizing at anything to neutralise Ted's big soldiers.

  "No punching," shouted a dozen at once; "only pushing."

  "Very well," said Bevis, "no punching, and no tripping--pushing andwrestling quite fair."

  "Wrestling," said Ted directly. "That will do."

  "Stupid," said Mark to Bevis; then louder, "Only nice wrestling, no`scrumpshing.'"

  "No `scrumpshing,'" shouted everybody.

  Ted stamped his foot, but it was of no use. Everybody was for fair andpleasant fighting.

  "Never mind," said Ted. "We'll shove you out of the field."

  "Yah! yah!" said Charlie, making faces at him.

  "If anybody does what's agreed shan't be done," said Mark, still anxiousto stop Ted's design; "that will lose the battle, even if it's won."

  "It ought to be all fair," said Val, who was very big, butstraightforward.

  "If anything's done unfair, that counts against whoever does it," saidCecil.

  "No sneaking business," shouted everybody. "No sneaking and hittingbehind."

  "Certainly not," said Bevis. "All quite fair."

  "Somebody must watch Ted, then," said Charlie from the oak.

  Ted picked up a piece of dead stick and threw it at him. He dodged itlike a squirrel.

  "If you say such things," said Bevis, very angry, "you shan't fight. Doyou hear?"

  "Yes," said Charlie, penitent. "I won't any more. But it's true," hewhispered to Fred under him.

  "Everything's ready now, isn't it?" said Ted.

  "Yes, I think so," said Bevis.

  "You haven't fixed the day," said Val.

  "No, more I have."

  "Let's have it to-day," said Fred.

  They caught it up and clamoured to have the battle at once.

  "The swords are not ready," said Mark.

  "Are the eagles ready?" asked Phil.

  "Two are," said Mark.

  "The other two shall be made this afternoon," said Bevis. "Phil, willyou go in to Latten for the blue ribbon for us; here's three shillings."

  "Yes," said Phil, "I'll get both at once--blue and red, and bring youthe blue."

  "To-morrow, then," said Fred. "Let's fight to-morrow."

  But they found that three of them were going out to-morrow. So, aftersome more discussion, the battle was fixed for the day after, and it wasto begin in the evening, as some of them could not come before. Thecamps were to be made as soon after six o'clock as possible, and, thisagreed to, the council broke up, though it was understood that ifanything else occurred to any one, or the captains wished to make anyalterations, they were to send despatches by special messengers to eachother. The swords and eagles for Ted's party were to be fetched theevening before, and smuggled out of window when it was dark, that no onemight see them.

  "Hurrah!"

  So they parted, and the oak was left in silence, with the grass alltrampled under it. The cattle fed down towards the water, and theswallows wound in and out around them.

  Volume One, Chapter XV.

  THE WAR BEGINS.

  As they were walking home Mark reproached Bevis with his folly inletting Ted, who was so tall himself, choose almost all the bigsoldiers.

  "It's no use to hit you, or pinch you, or frown at you, or anything,"grumbled Mark; "you don't take any more notice than a tree. Now Pompeywill beat us hollow."

  "If you say any more," said Bevis, "I will hit you; and it is you whoare the donk. I did not want the big ones. I like lightning-quickpeople, and I've got Cecil, who is as quick as anything--"

  "What's the use of dreaming like a tree when you ought to have your eyesopen; and if you're like that in the battle--"

  "I tell you the knights were not the biggest; they very often foughthuge people and monsters. And don't you remember how Ulysses served thegiant with one eye?"

  "I should like to bore a hole through Ted like that," said Mark. "He'sa brute, and Phil's as cunning as ever he can be, and you've been andlost the battle."

  "I tell you I've got Cecil, who is as quick as lightning, and all thesharp ones, and if you say any more I won't speak to you again, and I'llhave some one else for lieutenant."

  Mark nodded his head, and growled to himself, but he did not dare gofarther. They worked all the afternoon in the bench-room, cutting offthe swords to the same length, and fastening on the cross-pieces. Theydid not talk, Mark was sulky, and Bevis on his dignity. In the eveningPhil came with the ribbons.

  Next morning, while they were making two more eagles for Pompey, ValCrassus came to say he thought they ought to have telescopes, asofficers had field-glasses; but Bevis said they were not invented in thetime of their war. The day was very warm, still, and cloudless, and,after they had fixed the three brass rings on each long rod forstandards, Bevis brought the old grey book of ballads out of the parlourinto the orchard. Though he had used it so often he could not find hisfavourite place quickly, because the pages were not only frayed but somewere broader than others, and would not run through the fingers, butadhered together.

  When he had found "Kyng Estmere," he and Mark lay down on the grassunder the shadow of a damson-tree, and chanted the verses, reading themfirst, and then singing them. Presently they came to where:--

  "Kyng Estmere threwe the harpe asyde, And swith he drew his brand; And Estmere he, and Adler yonge, Right stiffe in stour can stand.

  "And ay their swords soe sore can byte, Through help of gramarye, That soone they have slayne the Kempery men, Or forst them forth to flee."

  These they repeated twenty times, for their minds were full of battle;and Bevis said after they had done the war they would study gramarye ormagic. Just afterwards Cecil came to ask if they ought not to havebugles, as the Romans had trumpets, and Bevis had a bugle somewhere.Bevis thought it was proper, but it was of no use, for nobody could blowthe bugle but the old Bailiff, and he could only get one long note fromit, so dreadful that you had to put your hands to your ears if you stoodnear. Cecil also sai
d that in his garden at home there was a bay-tree,and ought they not to have wreaths for the victors? Bevis said that wascapital, and Cecil went home with orders from Caesar to get his sistersto make some wreaths of bay for their triumph when they had won thebattle.

  Soon after sunset that evening