CHAPTER X.
--"THAT CAD SAWYER."
"I do not like thee, Doctor Fell, The reason why I cannot tell."
OLD RHYME.
And grandmother of course kept her promise. That evening she read italoud.
"They were Ryeburn boys--Ryeburn boys to their very heart's core--Jackand his younger brother Carlo, as somehow he had got to be called in thenursery, before he could say his own name plainly."
"That's uncle Charlton, who died when he was only about fifteen,"whispered Sylvia to Ralph and Molly; "you see grandmother's written itout like a regular story--not saying 'your uncle this' or 'your unclethat,' every minute. Isn't it nice?"
Grandmother stopped to see what all the whispering was about.
"We beg your pardon, grandmother, we'll be quite quiet now," said thethree apologetically.
"They had been at school at Ryeburn since they were quite little fellows,and they thought that nowhere in the world was there a place to becompared with it. Holidays at home were very delightful, no doubt, butschool-days were delightful too. But for the sayings of good-byes to thedear people left at home--father and mother, big sister and little one,I think Jack and Carlo started for their return journey to school at theend of the midsummer holidays _very_ nearly as cheerfully as they had setoff for home eight weeks previously, when these same delightful holidayshad begun. Jack had not very many more half-years to look forward to: hewas to be a soldier, and before long must leave Ryeburn in preparationfor what was before him, for he was fifteen past. Carlo was only thirteenand small of his age. He _had_ known what it was to be homesick, even atRyeburn, more than three years ago, when he had first come there. Butwith a big brother--above all a big brother like Jack, great strongfellow that he was, with the kindest of hearts for anything small orweak--little Carlo's preliminary troubles were soon over. And now atthirteen he was very nearly, in his way, as great a man at Ryeburn asJack himself. Jack was by no means the cleverest boy at the school, farfrom it, but he did his book work fairly well, and above all honestly. Hewas honesty itself in everything, scorned crooked ways, or whatever heconsidered meanness, with the exaggerated scorn of a very young anduntried character, and, like most boys of his age, was inclined, once hetook up a prejudice, to carry it to all lengths.
"There was but one cloud over their return to school this special autumnthat I am telling you of, and that was the absence of a favouritemaster--one of the younger ones--who, an unexpected piece of good luckhaving fallen to his share, had left Ryeburn the end of the last half.
"'I wonder what sort of a fellow we shall have instead of Wyngate,' saidJack to Carlo, as the train slackened for Ryeburn station.
"'We shan't have any one as nice, that's certain,' said Carlo,lugubriously. 'There couldn't be any one as nice, could there?'
"But their lamentations over Mr. Wyngate were forgotten when they foundthemselves in the midst of their companions, most of whom had alreadyarrived. There were such a lot of things to tell and to ask; theunfortunate 'new boys' to glance at with somewhat supercilious curiosity,and the usual legendary caution as to 'chumming' with them, till itshould be proved what manner of persons they were; the adventures of theholidays to retail to one's special cronies; the anticipated triumphs incricket and football and paper-chases of the forthcoming 'half' todiscuss. Jack and Carlo soon found themselves each the centre of hisparticular set, too busy and absorbed in the present to give much thoughtto the past. Only later that evening, when prayers were over andsupper-time at hand, did the subject of their former teacher and hissuccessor come up again.
"A pale, thin, rather starved-looking young man came into the schoolroomdesiring them to put away their books, which they were arranging for nextmorning. His manner was short but ill-assured, and he spoke with aslightly peculiar accent. None of the boys seemed in any hurry to obeyhim.
"'Cod-faced idiot!' muttered one.
"'French frog!' said another.
"'Is that the new junior?' said Jack, looking up from the pile of booksbefore him.
"'Yes; did you ever see such a specimen?' replied a tall boy beside him,who had arrived the day before. 'And what a fellow to come after Wyngatetoo.'
"'He can't help his looks,' said Jack quietly; 'perhaps he's better thanthey are.'
"'Hallo, here's old Berkeley going to stick up for that nice specimenSawyer!' called out the boy, caring little apparently whether Mr. Sawyer,who had only just left the room, was still within ear-shot or not.
"Jack took it in good part.
"'I'm not 'sticking up' for him, nor 'not sticking up' for him,' hesaid. 'All I say is, wait a bit till you see what sort of a fellow heis himself, whatever his looks are.'
"'And most assuredly they're _not_ in his favour,' replied the tall boy.
"From this Jack could not honestly dissent; Mr. Sawyer's looks were not,in a sense, in his favour. It was not so much that he was downrightugly--perhaps that would have mattered less--but he was _poor_ looking.He had no presence, no self-assertion, and his very anxiety to conciliategave his manner a nervous indecision, in which the boys saw nothing butcause for ridicule. He did not understand his pupils, and still less didthey understand him. But all the same he was a capital teacher, patientand painstaking to the last degree, clear-headed himself, and with agreat power, when he forgot his nervousness in the interest of hissubject, of making it clear to the apprehensions of those about him. Inclass it was impossible for the well-disposed of his pupils not torespect him, and in time he might have fought his way to more, butfor one unfortunate circumstance--the unreasonable and unreasoningprejudice against him throughout the whole school.
"Now our boys--Jack and Carlo--Jack, followed by Carlo, perhaps I shouldsay, for whatever Jack said Carlo thought right, wherever Jack led Carlocame after--to do them justice, I must say, did not at once give in tothis unreasonable prejudice. Jack stuck to his resolution to judge Sawyerby what he found him to be on further acquaintance, not to fly into adislike at first sight. And for some time nothing occurred to shakeJack's opinion that not improbably the new master was better than hislooks. But Sawyer was shy and reserved; he liked Jack, and was in hisheart grateful to him for his respectful and friendly behaviour, and forthe good example he thereby set to his companions, only, unfortunately,the junior master was no hand at expressing his appreciation of suchconduct. Unfortunately too, Jack's lessons were not his strong point, andMr. Sawyer, for all his nervousness, was so rigorously, so scrupulouslyhonest that he found it impossible to pass by without comment some ormuch of Jack's unsatisfactory work. And Jack, though so honest himself,was human, and _boy_-human, and it was not in boy-human nature to remainperfectly unaffected by the remarks called forth by the new master'sfrequent fault-finding.
"'It's just that you're too civil to him by half,' his companions wouldsay. 'He's a mean sneak, and thinks he can bully you without yourresenting it. _Wyngate_ would never have turned back those verses.'
"Or it would be insinuated how partial Sawyer was to little Castlefield,'just because he's found out that Castle's father's so rich'--the truthbeing that little Castlefield, a delicate and precocious boy, was thecleverest pupil in the school, his tasks always faultlessly prepared, andhis power of taking in what he was taught wonderfully great, though,fortunately for himself, his extreme good humour and merry nature made itimpossible for his companions to dislike him or set him down as a prig.
"Jack laughed and pretended--believed indeed--that he did not care.
"'I don't want him to say my verses are good if they're not good,' hemaintained stoutly. But all the same he did feel, and very acutely too,the mortification to which more than once Mr. Sawyer's uncompromisingcensure exposed him, little imagining that the fault-finding was far morepainful to the teacher than to himself, that the short, unsympathisingmanner in which it was done was actually the result of the young man'stender-hearted reluctance to cause pain to another, and that other thevery boy to whom of all in the school he felt himself most attracted.
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"And from this want of understanding his master's real feelings towardshim arose the first cloud of prejudice to dim Jack's reasonable judgment.
"Now at Ryeburn, as was in those days the case at all schools of oldstanding, there were legends, so established and respected that no oneever dreamed of calling them into question; there were certain customstolerated, not to say approved of, which yet, regarded impartially, fromthe outside as it were, were open to objection. Among these, of whichthere were several, were one or two specially concerning the youngerboys, which came under the junior master's direction, and of them all,none was more universally practised than the feat of what was called'jumping the bar.' The 'bar,'--short in reality for 'barrier,'--was arailing of five or six feet high, placed so as to prevent any of thejunior boys, who were late in the morning, from getting round by ashort cut to the chapel, where prayers were read, the proper entrancetaking them round the whole building, a matter of at least two minutes'quick walking. Day after day the bar was 'jumped,' day after day the factwas ignored; on no boy's conscience, however sensitive, would theknowledge of his having made his way into chapel by this forbidden routehave left any mark. But alas, when Mr. Sawyer came things struck him in adifferent light.
"I cannot go into the question of how far he was wrong and how far right.He meant well, of that there is no doubt, but as to his judiciousness inthe matter, that is another affair altogether. He had never been at agreat English school before; he was conscientious to the last degree, butinexperienced. And I, being only an old woman, and never having been atschool at all, do not feel myself able to give an opinion upon this ormany other matters of which I, like poor Mr. Sawyer, have no experience.I can only, children, 'tell the tale as 'twas told to me,' and not eventhat, for the telling to me was by an actor in the little drama, and Icannot feel, therefore, that in this case the 'tale will gain by thetelling,' but very decidedly the other way.
"To return, however, to the bar-jumping--of all the boys who made apractice of it, no one did so more regularly than Carlo, 'Berkeleyminor.' He was not a lazy boy in the morning; many and many a time hewould have been quite soon enough in the chapel had he gone round theproper way; but it became almost a habit with him to take the nominallyforbidden short cut--so much a habit that Mr. Wyngate, who was perfectlyaware of it, said to him jokingly one day, that he would take it as apersonal favour, if, _for once_, Carlo would gratify him by coming tochapel by the regular entrance. As for being _blamed_ for hisbar-jumping, such an idea never entered Carlo's head; he would almost assoon have expected to be blamed for eating his breakfast, and, naturallyenough, when Mr. Sawyer's reign began, it never occurred to him to alterhis conduct. For some time things went on as usual, Mr. Sawyer eithernever happening to see Carlo's daily piece of gymnastics, or notunderstanding that it was prohibited. But something occurred at last,some joke on the subject, or some little remark from one of the othermasters, which suddenly drew the new 'junior's' attention to the fact.And two or three mornings afterwards, coming upon Carlo in the very actof bar-jumping, Mr. Sawyer ventured mildly, but in reality firmly, toremonstrate.
"'Berkeley,' he said, in his nervous, jerky fashion, 'that is not the_proper_ way from your schoolroom to chapel, is it?'
"Carlo took this remark as a good joke, after the manner of Mr. Wyngate'son the same subject.
"'No, sir,' he replied mischievously, 'I don't suppose it is.'
"'Then,' said Mr. Sawyer, stammering a very little, as he sometimes didwhen more nervous than usual, 'then will you oblige me for the future bycoming the proper way?'
"He turned away before Carlo had time to reply, if indeed he had ananswer ready, which is doubtful, for he could not make up his mind if Mr.Sawyer was in earnest or not. But by the next morning all remembrance ofthe junior master's remonstrance had faded from Carlo's thoughtlessbrain. Again he went bar-jumping to chapel, and this time no Mr. Sawyerintercepted him. But two mornings later, just as he had successfullyaccomplished his jump, he perceived in front of him the thin,uncertain-looking figure of the junior master.
"'Berkeley,' he said gravely, 'have you forgotten what I said to you twoor three days ago?'
"Carlo stared. The fact of the matter was that he _had_ forgotten, but ashis remembering would have made no difference, considering that he hadnever had the slightest intention of taking any notice of Mr. Sawyer'sprohibition, his instinctive honesty forbade his giving his want ofmemory as an excuse.
"'No,' he replied, 'at least I don't know if I did or not. But I havealways come this way--lots of us do--and no one ever says anything.'
"'But _I_ say something now,' said Mr. Sawyer, more decidedly than he hadever been known to speak, 'and that is to forbid your coming this way.And I expect to be obeyed.'
"Carlo made no reply. This time there was no mistaking Mr. Sawyer'smeaning. It was mortifying to have to give in to the 'mean little sneak,'as Carlo mentally called the new master; still, as next morning hehappened to be in particularly good time he went round the proper way.The day after, however, he was late, decidedly late for once, and,throwing to the winds all consideration for Mr. Sawyer or his orders,Carlo jumped the bar and made his appearance in time for prayers. He hadnot known that he was observed, but coming out of chapel Mr. Sawyercalled him aside.
"'Berkeley,' he said, 'you have disobeyed me again. If this happens oncemore I shall be obliged to report you.'
"Carlo stared at him in blank amazement.
"'Report me?' he said. Such a threat had never been held out to eitherhim or Jack through all their Ryeburn career. They looked upon it as nextworst to being expelled. For reporting in Ryeburn parlance meant a formalcomplaint to the head-master, when a boy had been convicted of aggravateddisobedience to the juniors. And its results were very severe; itentirely prevented a boy's in any way distinguishing himself during thehalf-year: however hard a 'reported' boy might work, he could gain noprize that term. So no wonder that poor Carlo repeated in amazement,
"'_Report_ me?'
"'Yes,' said Sawyer. 'I don't want to do it, but if you continue todisobey me, I must,' and he turned away.
"Off went Carlo to his cronies with his tale of wrongs. The generalindignation was extreme.
"'I'd like to see him dare to do such a thing,' said one.
"'I'd risk it, Berkeley, if I were you,' said another. 'Anything ratherthan give in to such a cowardly sneak.'
"In the midst of the discussion up came Jack, to whom, with plenty offorcible language, his brother's woes were related. Jack's first impulsewas to discredit the sincerity of Mr. Sawyer's intention.
"He'd never _dare_ do such a thing as report you for nothing worse thanbar-jumping,' he exclaimed.
"But Carlo shook his head.
"'He's mean enough for anything,' he replied. 'I believe he'll do it fastenough if ever he catches me bar-jumping again.'
"'Well, you'll have to give it up then,' said Jack. 'It's no use hurtingyourself to spite him,' and as Carlo made no reply, the elder brotherwent away, satisfied that his, it must be confessed, not very exaltedline of argument, had had the desired effect.
"But Carlo's silence did _not_ mean either consent or assent. When Jackhad left them the younger boys talked the whole affair over again intheir own fashion and according to their own lights--the result beingthat the following morning, with the aggravation of a whoop and a cry,Carlo defiantly jumped the bar on his way to chapel for prayers.
"When Jack came to hear of it, as he speedily did, he was at first veryangry, then genuinely distressed.
"'You will only get what you deserve if he does report you,' he said toCarlo in his vexation, and when Carlo replied that he didn't see that heneed give up what he had always done 'for a cad like that,' Jack retortedthat if he thought Sawyer a cad he should have acted accordingly, and nottrusted to _his_ good feeling or good nature. But in his heart of heartsJack did not believe the threat would be carried out, and, unknown toCarlo, he did for his brother what he would never have done for himself.As soon as morning
school was over he went to Mr. Sawyer to beg him toreconsider his intention, explaining to the best of his ability theextenuating circumstances of the case--the tacit indulgence so longaccorded to the boys, Carlo's innocence, in the first place, of anyintentional disobedience.
"Mr. Sawyer heard him patiently; whether his arguments would have had anyeffect, Jack, at that time at least, had not the satisfaction of knowing,for when he left off speaking Mr. Sawyer replied quietly,
"'I am very sorry to seem severe to your brother, Berkeley, but what Ihave done I believed to be my duty. I have _already_ reported him.'
"Jack turned on his heel and left the room without speaking. Only as hecrossed the threshold one word of unutterable contempt fell from betweenhis teeth. '_Cad_,' he muttered, careless whether Sawyer heard him ornot.
"And from that moment Jack's championship of the obnoxious master wasover; and throughout the school he was never spoken of among the boys,big and little, but as 'that cad Sawyer.'
"Though, after all, the 'reporting' turned out less terrible than wasexpected. How it was managed I cannot exactly say, but Carlo was letoff with a reprimand, and new and rigorous orders were issued against'bar-jumping' under any excuse whatever.
"I think it probable that the 'authorities' privately pointed out toMr. Sawyer that there might be such a thing as over-much zeal in thedischarge of his duties, and if so I have no doubt he took it ingood part. For it was not zeal which actuated him--it was simpleconscientiousness, misdirected perhaps by his inexperience. He could notendure hurting any one or anything, and probably his very knowledge ofhis weakness made him afraid of himself. Be that as it may, no oneconcerned rejoiced more heartily than he at Carlo's acquittal.
"But it was too late--the mischief was done. Day by day the exaggeratedprejudice and suspicion with which he was regarded became more apparent.Yet he did not resent it--he worked on, hoping that in time it might beovercome, for he yearned to be liked and trusted, and his motives forwishing to do well at Ryeburn were very strong ones.
"And gradually, as time went on, things improved a little. Now and thenthe better-disposed of the boys felt ashamed of the tacit disrespect withwhich one so enduring and inoffensive was treated; and among thesebetter-disposed I need hardly say was our Jack.
"It was the end of October. But a few days were wanting to theanniversary so dear to schoolboy hearts--that of Gunpowder Plot. Thisyear the fifth of November celebration was to be of more than ordinarymagnificence, for it was the last at which several of the elder boys,among them Jack, could hope to be present. Fireworks committees wereformed and treasurers appointed, and nothing else was spoken of but thesums collected and promised, and the apportionment thereof in Catherinewheels, Chinese dragons, and so on. Jack was one of the treasurers. Hehad been very successful so far, but the sum total on which he and hiscompanions had set their hearts was still unattained. The elder boys helda committee meeting one day to consider ways and means, and the names ofall the subscribers were read out.
"'We _should_ manage two pounds more; we'd do then,' said one boy.
"'Are you sure everybody's been asked?' said another, running his eyedown the lists. 'Bless me, Sawyer's not in,' he added, looking upinquiringly.
"'No one would ask him,' said the first boy, shrugging his shoulders.
"A sudden thought struck Jack.
"'I'll tell you what, _I'll_ do it,' he said, 'and, between ourselves, Ishouldn't much wonder if he comes down handsomely. He's been very civilof late--I rather think he'd be glad of an opportunity to do somethingobliging to make up for that mean trick of his about Carlo, and what'smore,' he added mysteriously, 'I happen to know he's by no means short offunds just now.'
"They teased him to say more, but not another word on the subject couldbe got out of Jack. What he knew was this--that very morning when theletters came, he had happened to be standing beside Mr. Sawyer, who, withan eager face, opened one that was handed to him. He was nervous asusual, more nervous than usual probably, and perhaps his hands wereshaking, for as he drew his letter hastily out of the envelope, somethingfluttered to the ground at Jack's feet.
"It was a cheque for twenty pounds, and conspicuous on the lowest linewas the signature of a well-known publishing firm. Instinctively Jackstooped to pick it up and handed it to its owner--it had been impossiblefor him not to see what he did, but he had thought no more about it,beyond a passing wonder in his own mind, as to 'what on earth Sawyer gotto write about,' and had forgotten all about it till the meeting of thefireworks committee recalled it to his memory.
"But it was with a feeling of pleasant expectancy, not unmixed with someconsciousness of his own magnanimity in 'giving old Sawyer a chanceagain,' that Jack made his way to the junior master's quarters, the listof subscribers in his hand.
"He made a pleasant picture, as, in answer to the 'come in' whichfollowed his knock at the door, he opened it and stood on the thresholdof Mr. Sawyer's room--his bright, honest, blue-eyed, fair-haired 'Englishboy' face smiling in through the doorway. With almost painful eagernessthe junior master bade him welcome; he liked Jack so much, and would sohave rejoiced could the attraction have been mutual. And this was thefirst time that Jack had voluntarily sought Mr. Sawyer in his ownquarters since the bar-jumping affair. Mr. Sawyer's spirits rose at thesight of him, and hope again entered his heart--hope that after all, hisposition at Ryeburn, which he was beginning to fear it was nonsense toattempt to retain, in face of the evident dislike to him, might yet alterfor the better.
"'I have not a good way with them--that must be it,' he had said tohimself sadly that very morning. 'I never knew what it was to be a boymyself, and therefore I suppose I don't understand boys. But if theycould but see into my heart and read there how earnestly I wish to do mybest by them, surely we could get on better together.'
"'Well, Berkeley--glad to see you--what can I do for you?' said Sawyer,with a little nervous attempt at off-hand friendliness of manner, initself infinitely touching to any one with eyes to take in the wholesituation and judge it and him accordingly. But those eyes are not oursin early life, more especially in _boy_-life. We must have our powersof mental vision quickened and cleared by the magic dew of sadexperience--experience which alone can give sympathy worth having, ere wecan understand the queer bits of pathos we constantly stumble upon inlife, ere we can begin to judge our fellows with the large-heartedcharity that alone can illumine the glass through which for so long wesee so _very_ 'darkly.'
"'I have come to ask you for a subscription for the fifth of Novemberfireworks, Mr. Sawyer,' said Jack, plunging, as was his habit, right intothe middle of things, with no beating about the bush. 'We've asked allthe other masters, and every one in the school has subscribed, and I wasto tell you, sir, from the committee that they'll be very much obliged bya subscription--and--and I really think they'll all be particularlypleased if you can give us something handsome.'
"The message was civil, but hardly perhaps, coming from pupils to amaster, 'of the most respectful,' as French people say. But poor Sawyerunderstood it--in some respects his perceptions were almost abnormallysharp; he read between the lines of Jack's rough-and-ready, boy-likemanner, and understood perfectly that here was a chance for him--achance in a thousand, of gaining some degree of the popularity he hadhitherto so unfortunately failed to obtain. And to the bottom of hisheart he felt grateful to Berkeley--but alas!
"He grew crimson with vexation.
"'I am dreadfully sorry, Berkeley,' he said, 'dreadfully sorry thatI cannot respond as I would like to your request. At this momentunfortunately, I am very peculiarly out of pocket. Stay,'--with amomentary gleam of hope, 'will you let me see the subscription list.How--how much do you think would please the boys?'
"'A guinea wouldn't be--would please them very much, and of course twowould be still better,' said Jack drily. Already he had in his own mindpronounced a final verdict upon Mr. Sawyer, already he had begun to tellhimself what a fool he had been for having anything more to do with him,but yet, with th
e British instinct of giving an accused man a fairchance, he waited till all hope was over.
"'A guinea, two guineas?' repeated Mr. Sawyer sadly. 'It is perfectlyimpossible;' and he shook his head regretfully but decidedly.'Half-a-crown, or five shillings perhaps, if you would take it,' headded hesitatingly, but stopped short on catching sight of the hard,contemptuous expression that overspread Jack's face, but a moment agoso sunny.
"No thank you, sir,' he replied. 'I should be very sorry to take _any_subscription from you, knowing what I do, and so would all my companions.You're a master, sir, and I'm a boy, but I can tell you I wish you _were_a boy that I might speak out. I couldn't help seeing what came to you bypost this morning--you know I couldn't--and yet on the face of that youtell me you're too hard-up to do what I came to ask like a gentleman--andwhat would have been for your good in the end too. I'm not going to tellwhat came to my knowledge by accident; you needn't be afraid of that, butI'd be uncommonly sorry to take _anything_ from you for our fireworks.'
"And again Jack turned on his heel, and in hot wrath left theunder-master, muttering again between his set teeth as he did so the oneword 'cad.'
"'Jack,' Mr. Sawyer called after him, but either he did not call loudenough or Jack would not take any notice of his summons, for he did notreturn. What a pity! Had he done so, Mr. Sawyer, who understood him toowell to feel the indignation a more superficial person would have doneat his passionate outburst, had it in his heart to take the hasty,impulsive, generous-spirited lad into his confidence and what might nothave been the result? What a different future for the poor under-master,had he then and there and for ever won from the boy the respect andsympathy he so well deserved!
"Jack returned to his companions gloomy but taciturn. He gave them tounderstand that his mission had failed, and that henceforth he would havenothing to say to Sawyer that he could help, and that was all. He enteredinto no particulars, but there are occasions on which silence says morethan words, and from this time no voice was ever raised in the juniormaster's defence--throughout the school he was never referred to exceptas 'the cad,' or 'that cad Sawyer.'
"And alone in his own room, Mr. Sawyer, sorrowful but unresentful still,was making up his mind that his efforts had been all in vain. 'I mustgive it up,' he said. 'And both for myself and the boys the sooner thebetter, before there is any overt disrespect which would _have_ to benoticed. It is no use fighting on, I have not the knack of it. The boyswill never like me, and I may do harm where I would wish to do good. Imust try something else.'
"Two or three weeks later--a month perhaps--the boys were one daysurprised by the appearance of a strange face at what had been Mr.Sawyer's desk. And on inquiry the new comer proved to be a young curateaccidentally in the neighbourhood, who had undertaken to fill for a fewweeks the under-master's vacant place. The occurrence made somesensation--it was unusual for any change of the kind to take place duringa term. 'Was Sawyer ill?' one or two of the boys asked, as there camebefore them the recollection of the young man's pale and careworn face,and they recalled with some compunction the Pariah-like life that forsome time past had been his.
"No, he was not ill, they were informed, but he had requested thehead-master to supply his place and let him leave, for private reasons,as soon as possible.
"What were the private reasons? The head-master and his colleagues hadtried in vain to arrive at them. Not one syllable of complaint had fallenfrom the junior master's lips. He had simply repeated that, though sorryto cause any inconvenience, it was of importance to him to leave at once.
"'At least,' he said to himself, 'I shall say nothing to get any of theminto trouble after I am gone.'
"And he had begged, too, that no public intimation of his resignationshould be given.
"But one or two of the boys had known it before it actually occurred--andamong them the Berkeley brothers. Late one cold evening, for winter hadset in very early that year, Mr. Sawyer had stopped them on their wayacross the courtyard to their own rooms.
"'Berkeley,' he had said, 'I am leaving early to-morrow morning. I shouldlike to say good-bye and shake hands with you before I go. I have nottaken a good way with you boys, somehow, and--and the prejudice againstme has been very strong. But some day--when you are older perhaps, youmay come to think it possible you have misunderstood me. Be that as itmay, there is not and never has been any but good feeling towards you onmy part.'
"He held out his hand, but a spirit of evil had taken possession ofJack--a spirit of hard, unforgiving prejudice.
"'Good-bye, Mr. Sawyer,' he said, but he stalked on without taking anynotice of the out-stretched hand, and Carlo, echoing the cold 'Good-bye,Mr. Sawyer,' followed his example.
"But little Carlo's heart was very tender. He slept ill that night andearly, very early the next morning he was up and on the watch. There wassnow on the ground, snow, though December had scarcely set in, and it wasvery cold.
"Carlo shivered as he hung about the door leading to Mr. Sawyer's room,and he wondered why the fly which always came for passengers by the earlyLondon train had not yet made its appearance, little imagining that notby the comfortable express, but third class in a slow 'parliamentary' Mr.Sawyer's journey was to be accomplished. And, when at last the thinfigure of the under-master emerged from the doorway, it went to the boy'sheart to see that he himself was carrying the small black bag which heldhis possessions.
"'I have come to wish you good-bye again, sir,' said Carlo, 'and I amsorry I didn't shake hands last night. And--and--I believe Jack wouldhave come too, if he'd thought of it.'
"Mr. Sawyer's eyes glistened as he shook the small hand held out to him.
"'Thank you, my boy,' he said earnestly, how much I thank you you willnever know.'
"'And is that all your luggage?' asked Carlo, half out of curiosity, halfby way of breaking the melancholy of the parting, which somehow gave hima choky feeling about the throat.
"'Oh no,' said Mr. Sawyer, entering into the boy's shrinking fromanything like a scene, 'oh no, I sent on my box by the carrier lastSaturday. It would have been _rather_ too big to carry.' He spoke in hisusual commonplace tone, more cheerful, less nervous perhaps than itswont. Then once more, with a second hearty shake of the hand,
"'Good-bye again, my boy, and God bless you." And Carlo, his eyes dim inspite of his intense determination to be above such weakness, stoodwatching the dark figure, conspicuous against the white-sheeted groundand steel-blue early morning winter sky.
"'I wonder if we've been right about him,' he said to himself. 'I'm gladI came, any way.'
"And there came a day when others beside little Carlo himself were glad,oh so glad, that he had 'come' that snowy morning to bid the solitarytraveller Godspeed."
'GOOD-BYE AGAIN, MY BOY, AND GOD BLESS YOU!']
Grandmother Dear: A Book for Boys and Girls Page 10
