CHAPTER FIVE.
"He's a two and a half pounder, he is," said Jem Roff as, after a bit ofa struggle, he got tight hold of the writhing monster. "My word," hecontinued, holding it down, "he's a strong un! Here, you just slip yourhand into my jacket pocket and get out my knife. Open it, will you?"
I followed out his instructions, and handed him the opened knife, whenwith one clever cut he divided the eel's backbone, and its writhingsalmost ceased.
"There," continued Jem, taking hold of the line, "let's get you off.What a tangle! why, it's reg'lar twissen all about your ankles. I mustbreak it. Why, it's tough as--look ye here," he continued, tugging atthe plaited silk, "it's strong enough to hold a whale. I shall have tocut it. Bob Hopley won't mind."
_Snick_, and the line was divided, the eel thrown down, and Jem began tountwine the line from about Mercer's legs, as the poor fellow, lookingterribly white and scared, now sat up on the grass, looking dolefullyfrom one to the other.
"My heye! you do look like a drownded rat, master," said Jem, chuckling."Lucky I come, warn't it?"
I looked angrily at the man, for he seemed horribly unfeeling, and then,turning to Mercer,--
"How are you now?" I said.
"Very wet," he replied feebly.
"Raw, haw!" laughed Jem. "There, get up, you're clear now. Couldn'tswim a bit like that."
"No," said Mercer, getting up shivering, and shaking the water from hishair.
"Worse disasters at sea, lads. Here, come on along o' me. Let's putthe rods back again;" and, taking the one he had dragged ashore withMercer, he whipped the line round the other and pulled it ashore, swungthe lines round both, and trotted with them to the boat-house, where helaid them on the pegs, and then came back to where we stood, so utterlyupset that neither of us had spoken a word.
"Now then," cried Jem, taking hold of the scrap of line to which the eelwas attached and twisting it round his finger. "This all you caught?"
"No," I said helplessly; "there's an eel in that handkerchief hanging onthe tree."
Jem dropped the big eel again and trotted to the tree.
"Big as t'other?" he said. "Raw, haw! Here's the hankerchy, butthere's no eel. Look ye here, he's worked a hole through and gone. Youdidn't kill him first?"
"It must be down there," I said.
"Down here!" said Jem contemptuously; "he's found his way back to thewater again. Eels goos through the grass like snakes. Ketch anythingelse?"
"Two carp," I said. "Here they are."
"Ah, that's better, and all alive, oh! I'll carry 'em. Come along."
He thrust a twig of willow through the gills of the fish, and led theway through the woods, and across some fields to a cottage, where awoman came to the door.
"Here, missus," he said, "pitch some more wood on the fire. Youngsquire here stepped into the pond."
"Oh, a mercy me!" cried the woman. "Pore dear, he do look bad."
"Not he. All right again direckly. You let him warm himself, and I'llrun up to the schoolhouse and fetch him some dry clothes."
"No," cried Mercer, rousing himself now. "We'll both run up, and get inwithout any one seeing us, and go and change our things."
"Ay, that'll be best," said Jem; "and, if I was you, I'd start at once.Run all the way, and it'll warm you up."
"Yes. Thank you for coming and helping us," said Mercer, who had nowquite found his tongue.
"Oh, that's all right," said the man jocularly. "That's a fine eel, butdon't fish for 'em that way again. Going in after 'em ain't the bestway; you see they're quicker, and more used to the water than you are."
Mercer shuddered.
"Come along, Burr," he said feebly.
"Wait a minute. Here's your eel and the carp. Where's that there rushbasket, missus?"
"Oh, we don't want the fish," said Mercer, with a shiver. "Come along,Burr."
He hurried out of the cottage, and into a lane. "Keep listening," hesaid. "If you hear any one, we'll go across the fields."
"There's some one coming now," I said.
"Oh dear! it's old Rebble. He hasn't seen us. This way."
He stooped down, and ran to a gate, crept through, and then, leading theway, he walked fast along by the side of a hedge till we had crossed onefield, and then began to trot, seeming to get stronger every minute,while I followed, with my wet trousers clinging to my legs, and thewater going "suck suck" in my boots.
We crossed two or three fields, and then Mercer drew up, panting, andwith the natural colour coming back into his face.
"We'll walk now," he said, "and go right round, and slip in through thegarden. Perhaps we can get in and up to our room without being seen."
"Yes, do," I said, looking dolefully at my wet legs, and my jacket allcovered with green from the penstock. "Feel better now?"
"Yes, I'm getting all right. I say, didn't I seem like a horridcoward?"
"I don't think so," I said. "It was enough to frighten anybody."
Mercer was silent for a few minutes. Then he began again.
"I never felt like that before. I was going to swim, but the eel hadgone about my legs, and as soon as I felt the line round them, and thathorrid great thing twining it all over me, I tried hard to kick it off;but you haven't got much strength in the water, and then, as I felt thatI couldn't get my legs clear, I came over all queer, and so horriblyfrightened that I couldn't do anything. It was just like having a dreamin the night, after eating too much cake."
"It was very horrible," I said, with a shiver at the recollection,though I was beginning to feel warm.
"Yes, wasn't it? I say, don't go and think me a coward, there's a goodchap."
"I was not going to think you a coward," I said. "It isn't likely."
"But I must have seemed like one, because I can swim ever so far, butwhen I found myself like that, all the strength went out of me.--I say!"
"Yes?" I said, for he remained silent, and trudged on, looking hard atthe ground.
"I did like you for paying at Polly Hopley's, and I said I'd do anythingfor you, but I can't tell you what I feel now, for your helping me."
"Don't wish you to tell me," I replied. "Come along. I want to get onsome dry things."
"But--"
"Hold your tongue," I said. "There's some one coming."
He looked sharply in the indicated direction, and a shout saluted us.
"It's some of the boys," he whispered. "Come on." He led the way to ahedge, forced his way through, and I followed, and once more he led mealong at a trot, with the great house right before us among the trees,and then, striking off to the right, he went through field after field,and then through a gate, and along by the side of a deep ditch, to stopshort all at once, as a man started out of the hollow, and tried to hidea small gun.
"Why, Magglin," cried Mercer, "you're after rabbits."
"Nay, nay; rats. They comes after the taters. Been fishing?"
"Come on," whispered Mercer, and he ran along by the hedge, turning oncemore to the left, and at last pulling up in a clump of fir-trees, on thenorth side of the big house.
"Now then," he said, "I daresay the Doctor hasn't come back, and theladies are sure to be with him. We'll creep in by the front door andget up-stairs. Keep close to me."
He paused for a few minutes to get breath, and then started off, throughthe shrubbery, across the lawn, and in at the front door.
The hall was empty, and he sprang up the well-carpeted staircase,reached the first floor, ran lightly along a passage, and through abaize door, which separated the Doctor's part of the house from theboys' dormitories.
"All right!" he whispered, as he held the baize door for me to passthrough; "nobody saw us, and the boys will not be up here."
He led the way down a long passage to another staircase, ran up, and Irecognised the floor where our bed room was, when, just as we weremaking a rush for it, a door opened, and the big fat boy Dicksee cameout, stared, and then burst into a roar of
laughter.
"Oh, here's a game!" he shouted. "Old Senna's been diving afterpodnoddles, and giving the new chap lessons."
Mercer rushed at him so savagely that Dicksee stepped back, and the nextminute we had reached our room, rushed in, and banged the door.
"Oh, isn't he a beast?" cried my companion, panting, and looking allaglow now. "He'll go and tell the boys, but we mustn't say where we'vebeen."
Half an hour after, we went down, dressed in our other suits, feelingvery little the worse for our adventure, and just as we reached the bigschoolroom, the big clock up in the turret chimed.
"Why, we're in good time for tea after all," said Mercer. "They alwayshave it late on holidays. Quarter of an hour to wait. Let's go andwalk down to the boys' gardens."
He led the way out and across the playground to a gate in the hedge,through which we passed, to come plump on the Doctor, three ladies, andMr Rebble, who carried a creel by the strap, and had a rod over hisshoulder.
"So you've had no sport, Mr Rebble?" the Doctor was saying.
"No, sir, none. The wind was in the wrong quarter again."
"Aha!" said the Doctor, as he caught sight of us; "our new young friend,Burr junior. My dears, this is our new student. Burr junior, my wifeand daughters."
We both took off our caps.
"Friends already, eh?" said the Doctor. "History repeats itself, themodern based upon the classic. Quite a young Pylades and Orestes.Well, Burr, have you made acquaintance with all your schoolfellows?"
I turned scarlet, and was at a loss as to what to say. But there was nooccasion for me to feel troubled--the Doctor did not want an answer. Henodded pleasantly, the ladies bowed and passed on with him, while Mercerhurried me away.
"What a game!" he said; "and you've only made friends with one. I say,poor old Reb's been fishing all day again for roach, and never caughtone. He never does. I wish he'd had the ducking instead of me."
"Nonsense!" I said. "You don't."
"Oh, but I just do," he said. "I say, let's go round and see cook."
"What for?"
"To ask her to dry our clothes for us. This way." He ran off, and Ifollowed him, to pass through a gate into a paved yard, across which wasa sloping-roofed building, at the side of the long schoolroom.
Mercer tapped at a door, and a sharp voice shouted,--
"Come in!"
"Mustn't. Forbidden," said Mercer to me, and he knocked again.
"Don't want any!" shouted the same voice, and a big, sour-looking,dark-faced woman came to the door.
"Oh, it's you, is it, Master Mercer? What do you want?"
"I say, Cookie, this is the new boy."
"Nice pair of you, I'll be bound," she said roughly.
"We've been out, and had an accident, and tumbled into a pond."
"Serve you both right. Wonder you weren't both drowned," she saidsharply.
"Don't tell anybody," continued Mercer, in no wise alarmed. "We nearlywere, only Jem Roff at Dawson's farm came and pulled us out."
"Oh, my dear bairns," cried the woman, with her face and voice changing,"what would your poor mammas have said?"
"It's all right, though," said Mercer, "only our things are soaked. Dohave 'em down and dried for us by the morning."
"Why, of course I will, my dears."
"And, Cookie, we haven't had any dinner, and it's only bread and butterand milk and water."
"Yes; coming," cried the woman, as a door was heard to open, and a voiceto call.
"Go along," she said. "They're calling for the bread and butter. Youlook under your pillows when you go to bed."
"It's all right," said Mercer. "Come along. She came from our town,and knows our people. My father set her brother-in-law's leg once,after he'd tumbled off a hay stack. Isn't she a gruff one when shelikes! This way. Let's get in our places now."
We went in to tea, which was only tea for Mr Rebble, who had a smallblack pot to himself, and a tiny jug of cream; but the bread and butterand milk and water were delicious, and I had made so good a meal that Ihad forgotten all about our visit to the cook till we had been in bedsome time. I was just dozing off to sleep, when I was roused up byMercer's hand laid across my mouth.
"Don't speak," he whispered; "the others are asleep. Boiled beefsandwiches in a paper bag, and two jam puffs."
"What?" I whispered. "Where?"
"Here--in my fist. They were tucked under my pillow. Now, then, pitchin."
I sat up in bed, and Mercer sat up in his. It was so dark that we couldhardly see each other, but the darkness was no hindrance to our eating,and the next minute there was a sound which may be best expressed asruminating, varied by the faint rustle made by a hand gliding into apaper bag, followed after a long interval by a faint sigh, and--
"Good-night."
"Good-night."
"Think we shall catch cold?"
"I hope not."
"If we do, I've got some capital stuff in a bottle to cure colds, andI'll give you some."
"Thank you," I said, and there was a pause.
"Are you asleep?" I said after a time, during which I had lain thinkingabout our experience of the day.
"No."
"What are you thinking about?"
"I was wondering whether Mr and Mrs Jem Roff ate all that eel."
Mercer did not say any more just then, and I seemed to glide back intothe cottage, where Mrs Roff was frying eel in a pan over the fire, andjust as they had asked me to supper, and I was taking my place, a bigbell began to ring, and Mercer shouted,--
"Now, Burr junior, time to get up."
I started and looked round, to see that the sunshine was flooding theroom, and that the occupants of the other beds were sitting up grindingtheir knuckles into their eyes, and yawning as if in chorus.
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