was to throw them to thechickens. For I would not have given Miss Furness's message if she hadstood behind me.
Oh, yes, it was nice fun for the other girls, and dearly they used toenjoy seeing me humbled, because I always was rather distant, and wouldnot make confidantes of ever so many; and when I went back, there theywere upon the giggle, and Miss Furness not trying to check them one bit,as she would have done upon another occasion--which shows how partialand unjust she could be when she liked. But I soon forgot it all,engrossed as I was with the idea of what was coming that night. As tomy next day's lessons, after sitting before them for an hour, I believethat I knew less about them than when I took out my books; for right upat the top of one of the panes in the buttery window there was a spiderspinning its net, and that set me thinking about poor Achille hanging ina web, and the four old lesson grinders being spiders to devour him.For there was the nasty creepy thing hanging by one of its strings everso far down, and that made me think about the coming night and the ropeladder, till I could, in my overwrought fancy, imagine I saw poorAchille bobbing and swinging about, and ready to go through one of thewindow-panes every moment. Sometimes the very thought of it made myface burn, and my hands turn hot and damp as could be inside, just asthey felt when one had shaken hands with Miss Furness, whose palm, infeel, was for all the world like the tail of a cod-fish.
Sometimes during that evening I felt in misery, and, I believe, allowing to that spider, and thinking of the danger of the feat to performwhich I had lured poor Achille. I would have given anything to havebeen able to beg of him not to attempt it.
"Poor fly," I thought--"poor, beautiful, fluttering, brightly paintedfly; and have I been the means of weaving a net to lure thee todestruction? Oh, wretch that I am!"
And so I went on for some time, just as people do in books when they arevery bad in their emotions; and that is one advantage in reading, onlyemotions are so much more eloquent than they would be, say, in anignorant, unlettered person; and really, be it pleasure or pain, it isas well to be refined and make a grand display; for it is so much moresatisfactory, even if the audience consists of self alone. At times,though, I was so elated that I could feel my eyes flash and sparkle withthe thoughts that rushed through my brain; when, as if reading my heart,Clara would creep close, and nip my arm, and keep on whispering--
"I'll tell--I'll tell."
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.
MEMORY THE SEVENTEENTH--IN DREADFUL DARING.
Bed-time at last, and me there, close shut up in our own room; but notbefore I had run to the end of the passage and tried the end door to seeif it was open; and it was--it was! Clara was, after all said and done,nearly as much excited as poor I; and once she sighed, and said that shecould almost have wished for the poor Signor to have been there, but Idid not tell her I was very glad that he would not be. Then Miss Pattymust want to know what we were whispering about, and declare that shewould tell Miss Furness, for we were making fun of her; and turn huffyand cross, till she got into bed, and then lie staring with wide-openeyes at the window, just because we wanted her to go to sleep.
"Ma's going to send me a cake on Toosday," she said at last, after I hadkissed and told her we were not laughing at her; and I must do her thecredit of saying that she always was a most good-tempered creature, andnever out of humour for long together. "And when my cake comes," shecontinued, after five minutes' thought, "I'll spend fourpence in gingerbeer, if you will each spend the same, and we'll have a supper."
"I do wish you would go to sleep, instead of keeping on bothering,"cried Clara.
"I dare say you do, Miss Consequence," said Patty; "but I shall go tosleep when I like."
And then, if she did not lie awake until nearly twelve, though wepretended to be both fast asleep, and would not answer any of herfoolish, chattering questions, when, as usual, she began to snore; andafter waiting until I felt quite sure that she was asleep, I jumped outof bed, and began to dress myself as quickly and quietly as possible.As soon as I had finished and then lain down once more, Clara got uptoo, and followed my example, even to the lying down again when she hadfinished; for it was too soon to go yet, and we both felt that it wouldbe safer the nearer we were to the middle of the night; and of courseone felt determined to do nothing this time to frustrate one's designs.
We had tried more than once dressing in bed under the clothes, and, ofcourse, lying down; but that really is such terribly hard work, as anyone will find upon testing it, that we both soon gave it up, and waitedtill we felt sure of Patty being sound asleep; and she really was theheaviest sleeper I ever knew. So we both dressed in the dark; and thatis bad enough, I can assure you--dreadfully awkward, for one gets one'sstrings so crossed, and tied wrong, and in knots, and muddled about,till one is horribly uncomfortable, besides being twice as long as atany other time.
At last, I whispered to Clara that it was time to go, but there was noanswer; and on getting off the bed and touching her, she quite started.For she had been asleep, and when I reproached her--
"Well, of course," she said, peevishly; "it's sleeping time, is it not?"
But she roused up directly after, and stood by my side, as I went downupon my knees by the bottom drawer, and tried to pull it out verygently, without making any noise, so as to get at the cord. For the keywas in it all right when I came up, and I thought that I would leave itthere, though I was all in a fidget for fear any one had been in andlooked and seen the cord, while Patty was so curious that I dare notlook to see; though if any one had taken it away, what should I havedone?
"Cree-ea-ea-ea-eak," went the drawer as soon as I pulled it, after thelock had shot back with a loud noise like a small pistol; and at thisdreadful sound I stopped and turned cold all down my back; for I feltsure that the Fraulein would hear it. So there I knelt upon the floor,trembling like a leaf, and not daring to move; for Clara cried "Hush!"very loudly, and I'm sure I did not know what would come next. In fact,I almost expected to see the bedroom door open, and the Frauleinstanding there.
"You should have put some soap upon it," whispered Clara.
"Yes, same as you did upon the basin," I said, viciously, and thatsilenced her; though I believe the mischievous thing was chuckling toherself all the while.
At last, after five minutes had passed, which seemed like as many hours,everything was quite still, so I gave the drawer another pull.
"Craw-aw-aw-aw-awk," it went, louder than before, and as if on purposeto annoy me; but I was so desperate that I gave the thing a horriblesnatch, and pulled it out far enough, when I pushed in my hand and drewout the cord, hardly expecting to find it; but there it was, all right,and holding it tightly, I still knelt there trembling.
"Er-tchisher--er-tchisher," came now, as loudly as possible, from PattySmith's bed; and then we heard the tiresome thing turn on one side.
We waited a little, and then I rose, and stood close to the door,waiting for Clara to join me; when if the stupid thing did not forgetall about my open drawer, which I dare not attempt to close, and wentblundering over it, making such a dreadful noise, that I rushed into bedand covered myself up; and, from the scuffling noise, I knew that shehad done the same, for it was too dark to see.
"Oh, my shins!" said Clara, in a whisper.
Then I could hear her rubbing and laughing, not that I could seeanything to laugh at; while if the Fraulein did not tap at the wallbecause we were so noisy, and with disappointment gnawing me, I knewthat we must not stir for at least another half-hour, when it was quitelate enough as it was.
"Oh, what a comfort it is that Patty is such a sleeper!" I thought tomyself. And there I lay--wait, wait, wait, until I felt that we daredmove, when I again cautiously slipped to the door, and, as I had takenthe precaution of rubbing it well with pomatum, the lock went easy.Clara joined me, and then, drawing the door after us, we glided alongthe passage, hand in hand, listening at every step until we reached theend, where the empty room door was ajar, just as I had left it when wecame up to bed. Then we slipped in so
quietly that we hardly heardourselves, and, pushing-to the door, I tried to secure it, but it wouldnot fasten without making a noise; so, as we were right away from theother rooms, I left it, and went across and tried the window.
The hasp went rather hard, but I soon had it gliding up; and then Istood looking out into the dark night, and listening, till I heard alittle soft cough from below, which I answered; when my heart began tobeat very fast, for I knew that, after all, we were not too late, and hewas there.
But there was no time to lose, and, as fast as I could, I undid thenasty tangley cord, which would keep getting itself in knots, andrustling about upon the floor, like a great, long, coiling snake. But Imanaged at last to have it hanging down, and began fishing about, like Iused at Teddington, with papa, till I got a bite; for, after a bit, Ifelt it
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