Brownsmith's Boy: A Romance in a Garden

by George Manville Fenn

  CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT.

  LOST!

  Purple heath, golden gorse, and tufts of broom. Tall pines withbranches like steps to tempt you to climb. Regular precipices afterclimbing above the sand-pit, from which you could jump into the softsand, and then slide and roll down to the bottom. Once I jumped upon alittle promontory high above the slope, and it gave way, and I slid downon about a ton of matted root and earth and sand.

  Then we climbed to the sand-martins' nests, and slipped down or rolleddown, and climbed again, and along ledges, and thrust in our arms, butnesting was over for the year, and the swift little birds made theirnurseries beyond our reach, for we did not find the bottom of one singlehole.

  Shock was full of fun, and shouted and threw sand at Juno, who barked,and made believe to bite him, and rolled over and over with him downsome slope, to be half buried in the sand at the bottom.

  We soon forgot all about Ike, but we once smelt a whiff of tobacco,which seemed to be mingled with the sweet scent of the pines in the hotsunshine.

  There were butterflies, too, red admirals, that came flitting into thesandy bottom, and settled on the face of the sandy cliff, but alwayssailed away before we got near. Then we went out on to the wildheathery waste to the south, and chased lizards in the dry short growth.Then Shock uttered an excited cry and drew back Juno, who was sniffing,and struck two or three rapid blows at something, ending by stooping andraising a little writhing serpent by the tail.

  "Nedder," he said, and he crushed it beneath his heel.

  There were grasshoppers, too, by the thousand, and furze, andstone-chats flitting from bush to bush, while sometimes a dove wingedits way overheard, or uttered its deep coo from the pine-wood at thefoot of the hill.

  Delicious blue sky overhead; a view all about that seemed to fade into adelicious bluey pink; and the sweet warm odour of the earth rising to bebreathed and drunk in and enjoyed; the place seemed to me a veryparadise, and the dog appeared to enjoy it as much as I.

  Shock rarely spoke to me, but he did not turn his back. The boy was asexcited as the dog, going down on all-fours to push his way amongst theheath and broom, and scratch some hole bigger where it was evident thata rabbit had made his home. Then he was after a butterfly; thenstalking a bird, as if he expected to catch it without the proverbialsalt for its tail; and I'm afraid I was just as wild.

  I don't know that I need say _afraid_, for our amusement was innocentenough, and you must remember that we were two boys, who resembled Juno,the dog, in this respect that we were let loose for a time, and enjoyingthe freedom of a scamper over the hills.

  We had gone some distance through the pines, when, as we turned back andcame to where they suddenly ended, and the earth down the slope seemedto be covered with pine needles, and was all heather and short finefurze, I sat down suddenly on the soft fir leaves, taking off my cap forthe sweet fresh breeze to blow through my hair. Shock flung himselfdown on his chest, and the dog couched between us with her eyessparkling, her mouth open, and her tongue out and curled up at the end,as she panted with fatigue and excitement.

  "I say," cried Shock all at once, with his face flushed, and his eyesfull of excitement, "don't let's go back--let's stop and live here.I'll find a cave in the sand."

  "And what are we to live on?" I said.

  "Rabbits, and birds, and snails, and fish--there's a big pond downthere. Let's stop. There'll be nuts and blackberries, and whorts, andpig-nuts, and mushrooms. There's plenty to eat. Let's stop."

  He looked up at me eagerly.

  "I can make traps for birds, and ketch rabbits, and--look, there shegoes."

  He started to his feet, for there was a bound and a rustle just belowus, as a rabbit suddenly found it was in danger, and darted away to findout a place of refuge lower down the hill.

  "Hey, dog! on, dog!" cried Shock, clapping his hands; and Juno took upthe scent directly, running quickly in and out amongst, the furze andheath, while Shock and I followed for about a quarter of a mile, when,panting and hot, we came upon Juno carrying a fine rabbit in her mouth,for this time she had overtaken it before one of the burrows wasreached.

  "Good dog!" cried Shock. "Dinner;" and, taking the rabbit by the hindlegs, the dog wagged her tail as if asking whether she had not done thatwell, and followed us as we went back to where we had seen the holes inthe sandy cliff.

  We avoided the cut near which we knew that Ike would be having his nap,and, making our way to the bottom of the cliff, we selected one of thebiggest of the holes, stooped and went in, and found that it widened outto some ten or a dozen feet, and then ran back, thirty or forty.

  It seemed to be partly natural, partly to have been scooped out by hand,while it certainly seemed just the place for us.

  "We'll stop here," cried Shock. "You go and get a lot of wood from upa-top, where there's lots lying, while I skins the rabbud."

  "What are you going to do?" I said.

  "Make a fire and cook him for dinner."

  I was in no wise unwilling, for it seemed very good fun, and going out Iclimbed up through a narrow gully and into the fir-wood, where I soonfound a good armful of wood, carried it to the edge of the cliff, justover the mouth of the hole, and went back and got another and another.

  When I climbed down again I found Shock busy finishing his task, and asI entered Juno was making a meal of the skin peppered with sand.

  Shock came out after sticking his knife in the cliff wall for a peg onwhich to hang the rabbit, and we soon put the wood inside the hole,where, Shock being provided with matches, we soon had a fire burning,and from the way in which it drew into the cave it seemed as if theremust be a hole somewhere, and this I found in the shape of a crack inthe roof, through which the smoke rose.

  The novelty of the idea kept me from minding the smoke, and I enteredinto the fun of keeping up the fire, feeding it with bits of wood, whileShock skewered the rabbit on a neatly cut stick, and placed it where thefire was clear of smoke, so that it soon began to hiss and assume apleasanter colour than the bluish-red that a skinned rabbit generallywears.

  The fire burned freely, and Shock lay down on his chest and kicked hisheels about after the fashion practised when he was on the top of themarket cart.

  His face was a study, as he watched the progress of his cookery; whileJuno took the other side of the fire, couched, and watched the hissingsputtering rabbit too, as if calculating how much she would get for hershare.

  I looked at them for a few minutes, and then, finding the smoke rathertoo much for me, not being such an enthusiast about cooking as Shock, Ibegan to explore the sand-cave, to find it ended about a dozen paces infrom the fire, and that there was nothing more to see, while the placewas very smoky and very hot.

  "Here, come and watch the rabbud while I go and get some more wood,"shouted Shock to me.

  "No, thank you," I said. "You may watch the cooking. I'll get somewood."

  I hung my jacket on a stone that stuck out of the wall and went out forthe wood, glad to be away from the heat and smoke, and after climbing upamong the firs I collected and brought back a good faggot, with whichthe fire was fed till Shock declared the rabbit done.

  "Are you ready?" he said.

  "Ready!" I replied, as I looked at the half-raw, half-burned delicacy."No: I don't want any, Shock. You may have it."

  "You don't want none?" he said, staring at me with astonishment.

  "No: I've got some sandwiches in my pocket, and I shall eat them by andby."

  "Oh, all right!" he said; and, taking his pocket-knife, he cut off therabbit's head and held it out to the dog.

  "There's your bit," he said. "Be off."

  Juno took the hot delicacy rather timorously; but she seemed to give thedonor a grateful look, and then trotted out into the sunshine, and laydown to crunch the bones.

  The fire was nearly out, the fir-wood burning fiercely and quickly away;but though it was a nuisance to me it seemed to find favour with Shock,who set to work, like the young s
avage he was, tearing off and devouringthe rabbit, throwing the bones together, ready for the dog when sheshould come back. I felt half disgusted, and yet hungry, so, going towhere I had hung my jacket, I thought I would get out the sandwichesMrs Solomon had cut for me; but as I turned round and looked at Shock Ifelt that I should enjoy them better if I waited till he had done.

  So I leaned against the rough side of the sand-cave, watching him tearaway at the bones, holding a piece in one hand, the remains of therabbit in the other.

  I remember it all so well--him sitting there with just a faint blue curlof smoke rising from the embers, and beyond him, seen as it were in arugged frame formed by the low entrance of the hole, was the lovelypicture of hill and vale, stretching far as the eye could reach, and allbright in the sunshine, and with the bare sky beyond.

  I was just thinking what a rough-looking object Shock seemed as he satthere just in the entrance to the hole, and wishing that, now he had agood situation and was decently clothed, he would become like otherboys, when I saw Juno come slowly towards Shock, wagging her tail andshowing her teeth as if asking for more bones, but she suddenly whiskedround and darted away, as, with a noise like a dull clap of thunder,something seemed to shut out the scene from the mouth of the hole, Ifelt a puff of heat and smoke in my face, and all was darkness.

  I stood there as if petrified for a minute, I should think, quite unableto make out what was the matter, and panting for breath.

  Then the thought came like a flash, that a quantity of sand had fallen,and blocked up the mouth of the cave.

  For a moment or two I felt as if I should fall. Then the instinct ofself-preservation moved me to act, and with my hands stretched outbefore me I went quietly towards the entrance.

  "Shock! Shock!" I cried, but there was no reply, and it sounded as ifmy voice was squeezed up in a narrowed space; then I seemed to hear arustling noise as I stepped forward, I was kicked violently in the shinsand fell forward with my hands plunging into a mass of soft sand, and tomy horror I found that I was lying upon my companion, who was halfburied.

  The perspiration stood out all over me as I leaped to my feet; and thenwent down again to find that Shock was kicking frantically, and amoment's investigation told me that he could not extricate himself.

  Seizing one of his legs, which as I grasped by the ankle and clasped itto my side, kept giving spasmodic jerks, I dragged with all my might,and found I could not move him; but as I dragged again he seemed to givea tremendous throb, and I went backwards, followed, it seemed to me inthe darkness, by a quantity of soft sand; but Shock was free, for Icould feel him by me lying on his face, and as I turned him over heuttered a groan.

  And now a horrible sensation of fear came over me as I thoroughlyrealised that I was buried alive in that sand-cave. I felt that myclimbing about on the top of the cliff had loosened or cracked thecompressed sand. Shock and I had jumped about over it when we threwdown the wood we had gathered, and that seemed to be the explanation ofthe mishap.

  But I had no time to think of this now, for the thought that perhapsShock was killed, suffocated, came over me with terrible force, and Ibent over him, feeling his face, his heart, and hands.

  His heart was beating fast, and his hands were warm, but though I spoketo him over and over again, in the darkness, there was no answer, andwith a cry of despair I threw myself on my knees, when all at once heshouted:

  "Hullo!"

  "Shock," I cried, "I'm here."

  "What yer do that for?" he cried fiercely.

  "I didn't do anything."

  "Yes, yer did," he cried. "Yer threw a lump o' sand on my head. I'mhalf blind, and my ears is full. Just wait till I gets hold on yer,I'll pay yer for it."

  Then he began panting, and spitting, and muttering about his eyes, andat last--"Here, where are yer?"

  "I'm here, close by you," I said. "Don't you understand? The sand hasfallen and shut us in."

  There was silence for a few minutes--a terrible painful silence to me,as I felt that I was face to face with death. Then Shock seemed to havegrasped the situation, for he said coolly enough:

  "Like the rabbuds. Well, we shall have to get out."

  "Yes, but how?" I cried.

  "Same's they do. Scratch yer way, and make a hole. I don't mind, doyou?"

  "Mind!" I said, "it's horrible."

  "Is it?" he replied quietly. "Why?"

  "Don't you see--"

  "No," he said sharply, "not werry well. I can a little."

  "But I mean, don't you understand?" I cried in an awe-stricken chokingvoice, "that if we don't get out soon, we shall die."

  "What, like when you kills a rabbud or a bird?"

  "Yes."

  "Get out!" he cried in contemptuous tones. "I hadn't finished myrabbud, and my eyes is half full of sand still."

  "Never mind the rabbit," I said angrily, "let's try and dig our wayout."

  "Let Ikey do it," he said, "he's got the shovels."

  "But will he find out where we are," I cried, for I must own to beingterribly unnerved, and ready to marvel at Shock's coolness.

  "Why, of course he will," said Shock. "I say, don't you be frightened.You don't mind the dark, do you?"

  "I don't mind the dark," I replied, "but it's horrible to be shut inhere."

  "Why, it's only sand," he said, "only sand, mate."

  "But it nearly smothered you," I cried. "It would have smothered you ifI hadn't pulled you out."

  "Yes, but that was because it fell atop of my head and held me down,else it wouldn't. I thought it was your games."

  I had never heard Shock talk like this before. Our mutual distressseemed to have made us friends, and I felt ready to shake hands with himand hold on by his arm.

  "I say," he cried, his voice sounding, like mine, more and moresubdued--at least so it seemed to me--"I say, I weren't looking; itdidn't go down on the dog too--did it?"

  "No, Shock, I saw her run away."

  There was a few moments' silence and then he said:

  "Well, I am glad of that. I likes dorgs, and we was reg'lar goodfriends."

  "Hark!" I said; "is that Ike digging?"

  "No," he said; "it was some more sand tumbled down, I think."

  I knew he was right, for there was a dull thud, and then another; butwhether inside or outside I could not tell. It made me tremble though;for I wondered whether I should be able to struggle out if part of theroof came down upon my head.

  All at once Shock began to whistle--not a tune, but something of animitation of a blackbird; and as I was envying him his coolness indanger I heard a scratching noise and saw a line of light. Then therewas another scratch and a series of little sparkles. Another scratch,and a blue flame as the brimstone on the end caught fire; and then, asthe splint of wood burned up, I could see in the midst of a ring oflight the face of Shock, looking very intent as he bent over the burningmatch, and held to it the wick of a little end of a common tallowcandle.

  "I allus carries a bit o' candle out of the lanthorns," he said, showinghis teeth; and then he held up the light, and I could see that theopening to the cave was completely closed up, just as if the roof hadall come down, and the cave we were in was not half the size it was atfirst, a slope of sand encroaching on the floor. I felt chilled, for Ifelt that it would be impossible to tunnel through that sand.

  "Now, then," said Shock coolly, "that there's the way--ain't it? Well,we don't want no light to see to do that; so you put it out 'case wewants it agen, and put it in yer pocket. I'll go down on my knees andhave first scratch, and when I'm tired you shall try, and we'll soon getthrough it. We won't wait for Ike."

  I longed to keep the candle burning, but what Shock said seemed to beright; so I put it out, and as I did so I saw the boy begin to scratchaway as hard as he could at the sand in the direction of the entrance,and then in the dark I could hear him panting away like some wildanimal.

  "I say," he cried at last.

  "Yes," I said.


  "It don't seem no good. More you pulls it away, more it comes down.It's like dry water, and runs all through your hands."

  "Let me have a try," I said.

  "All right. You go where I did, and keep straight on."

  Keep straight on! It was, as he said, like grasping at water; and themore I tore at it, in the hope of making a tunnel through, the more itcame pouring down, till in utter despair I gave it up and told Shock itwas no good.

  "Never mind," he said. "It's dry and warm. I've been in worse placesthan this is, where you couldn't keep the rain out. Let's sit down andtalk. I say I wish I'd got the rest o' my rabbud."

  I didn't answer, for, hot, weary, and despairing at our position, I waslying down on the sand with my hands covering my face.

  I don't know how long a time passed, for I felt confused and strange;but I was aroused by Shock, who exclaimed suddenly:

  "Here, I want to get out of this. Let's have another try at scratchinga hole."

  I heard him move, and then he struck a light again so as to see where tobegin.

  "Must know, you see," he said. "If I get scratching at the wrong side,it would take so long to get out."

  In spite of my trouble I could not help feeling amused, there seemed tobe something so droll in the idea of Shock burrowing his way right intothe hill and expecting to get out; but the next moment I was listeningto him and watching the tiny spark at the end of the burned match dieout.

  Rustle, rustle, rustle, he went on, and every now and then there was aloud panting such as some wild animal would make. Then I uttered a cryof fear, for I felt a quantity of sand strike me and I bounded aside,for it seemed that the top was coming down.

  "What's matter?" cried Shock, stopping short.

  "Nothing," I said as I realised the cause of my fright. "Some of thesand hit me."

  "What! some as I chucked behind me?"

  "Yes."

  The scratching and tearing went on again, and I felt the sand scatteredover me several times, but the fear did not attack me again.

  All at once there was a soft rushing noise, and Shock uttered a yellwhich seemed to make my heart leap.

  "Shock!" I cried, "Shock!" but there was no answer, only a scufflingnoise. "Shock! where are you?"

  The scuffling noise continued, and their there was a loud panting, a cryof "Oh!" and my companion staggered by me.

  "Shock!" I cried.

  "Oh! I say," he groaned, "I've got it all in my eyes agen. A lot comedown and buried me. I sha'n't do it no more."

  He uttered a series of strange gasps and cries, shaking himself,spitting, and stamping on the ground.

  "I swallowed lots o' sand, I think, and it come down on my back horrid.You try now."

  I hesitated, but felt that I must not be cowardly if I wished for us toescape; and so I asked him to light a match again.

  He did so, and by its feeble light I saw where to work, and also that,the place seemed to be filling up with the sand, and that we had nothalf so much room as we had at first.

  Then out went the light, and with a desperate haste I went down on myhands and knees and began to tear at and throw the sand behind me,filling up our prison more and more, but doing nothing towards ourextrication, for as fast as I drew the sand away from the tunnel morecame; and at last, just as I began to think that I was making a littleprogress, I heard a rustling, dribbling sound, some hard bits ofadhesive sand fell upon my head, and I instinctively started back, asthere was a rush that came over my knees, and I knew that if I hadremained where I was, tunnelling, I should have been buried.

  "What, did you get it?" cried Shock, laughing.

  I was so startled that I did not answer.

  "Oh! he's buried!" cried Shock in a wild tone; and he threw himself byme, and began to tear at the sand. "Mars Grant, Mars Grant," he criedexcitedly. "Don't leave me here alone."

  "I'm not there, Shock," I said. "I jumped back."

  "Then what did yer go and pretend as you was buried in the sand for?"cried the boy savagely.

  I did not reply, and I heard him go as far from me as he could,muttering and growling to himself, and in spite of my position I couldnot help thinking of what a curious and different side I was seeing ofShock's character. I had always found him so quiet and reserved, andyet it was evident that he could talk and think like the best of us, andsomehow it seemed as if in spite of the way in which he turned away hehad a sort of liking for me.

  This idea influenced me so that I felt a kind of pity for my companionin misfortune. That was a good deal in the direction of liking him inreturn. I felt sorry that I had frightened him, and at last after agood deal of thinking I said to him:

  "Shock!"

  "Hullo!"

  "I'm sorry I made you think I was buried."

  "Are yer?"

  "Yes. Will you shake hands?"

  "What for?"

  This staggered me, and I could make no reply, and so we remained silentfor some time.

  "Here, let's see," said Shock all at once. "Where's that there candle?"

  "Here it is," I said, and as he struck a light I held the scrap oflittle more than an inch long to the flame, and it burned up so that wecould examine our position, and we soon found that our prison wasreduced to about half its size.

  "It's of no use to try and dig our way out, Shock," I said despairingly,as I extinguished the candle. "We shall only bring down more sand andcover ourselves in."

  "Like Old Brownsmith's toolips," said Shock, laughing. "I say, shouldwe come up?"

  "Don't talk like that," I said angrily. "Don't you understand that weare buried alive."

  "Course I do," he said. "Well, what on it?"

  "What of it?" I said in agony, as the perspiration stood upon my brow.

  "Yes, what on it? They'll dig us out like we do the taters out of aclamp. What's the good o' being in a wax. I wish I'd some morerabbud."

  I drew in a long breath, and sat down as far from the sealed-up openingas I could get, and listened to the rustling trickling noise made by thesand every now and then, as more and more seemed to be coming in, and Iknew most thoroughly now that our only course was to wait till Ikemissed us, and came and dug us out.

  "And that can't be long," I thought, for we must have been in here twoor three hours.

  All at once I heard a peculiar soft beating noise, and my heart leaped,for it sounded like the quick strokes of a spade at regular intervals.

  "Hear that, Shock?" I cried.

  "Hear what?" he said, and the noise ceased.

  "Somebody digging," I cried joyfully.

  "No. It was me--my feet," he said, and the sound began again, as Irealised that he must be lying in his old attitude, kicking his legs upand down.

  If I had any doubt of it I was convinced the next moment, for he burstout:

  "I've been to Paris, and I've been to Do-ho-ver, I've been a travelling all the world o-ho-ver. Over and over, and over, and o-ho-ver, So drink up yer licker and turn the bowl o-ho-ver."

  "Don't, don't, don't, Shock," I cried passionately. "I can't bear it;"and I again covered my face with my hands, and crouched lower and lower,listening to the trickling of the sand that seemed to be flowing in likewater to take up all the space we had left.

  Suddenly I started, for a hand touched me.

  "Is that you, Shock?"

  "Yes. Mind my coming and sitting along o' you? I ain't so werry dirtynow."

  "Mind? no," I said: "it will be company."

  "Yes," he said. "It's werry dark and werry quiet like, ain't it?"

  "Yes, very."

  "Ain't Ike a long time?"

  "Yes," I said despairingly, for I began to wonder whether we should befound.

  "I'd ha' came shovelling arter him 'fore now. I say, ain't you tired?"

  "Tired!" I said. "No, I never thought of feeling tired shut up in thishorrible place. Let's try if we can't get out by the way the smokewent."

  "I've been trying," said Shock; "but it's t
oo high up. You can't reachit."

  "Not if you stood on my shoulders?"

  "No," he said. "I looked when you had hold of the candle, and if youdid try you'd only pull the sand down atop of your head."

  I knew it, and heaved a deep sigh.

  Then there was a long silence, and I was roused out of thoughts abouthow we had enjoyed ourselves that morning, and how little we hadimagined that we should have such a termination to our holiday, by aheavy breathing.

  I listened, and there it was quite loud as if some animal were near.

  "Do you hear that, Shock?" I whispered.

  There was no answer.

  "Shock!" I said, "do you hear that noise?"

  No answer, and I understood now that in spite of our perilous positionhe had fallen fast asleep.