Brownsmith's Boy Part 12

"I'm a man of my word, my boy," he replied drily.

"Oh! thank you, sir!" I cried. "I shall always be grateful to you for this, and--"

"Gently, gently," he said, interrupting me. "Never promise too much.

Acts are better than words, my boy. There!--good-bye! See you soon, I suppose?"

I would have gone with him then, but he told me to take things coolly and get what I wanted packed up.

"Why, Grant, my boy," he said, laughing, "you'll have to look over the loading of some of my carts when I'm not there; and if you do them in that hurried fashion how will it be done?"

I felt the rebuke and hung my head.

"There!--I'm not finding fault," he said kindly; "I only want you to be business-like, for I have to teach you to be a business man."

He then went away and left me to settle up matters with Mrs Beeton, who began to cry when I told her I was going, and where.

"It seems too dreadful," she sobbed, "and you so nicely brought up.

What am I to say to your friends when they come?"

"Tell them where I am," I said, smiling.

"Ah, my dear! you may laugh," she cried; "but it's a very dreadful life you are going to, and I expect I shall see you back before the week's out."

My clothes did not fill the small school-box, but I had a good many odds, and ends and books that weighed up and made it too heavy to carry, as I had intended; so I had to go over to the garden, meaning to ask for help.

I fully expected to meet Shock about the sheds or in one of the carts or wagons, but the first person I set eyes on was Old Brownsmith himself--I say _Old_ Brownsmith, for everybody called him so.

He was wearing a long blue serge ap.r.o.n, as he came towards me with his open knife in his teeth and a quant.i.ty of Russia matting in his hands, tearing and cutting it into narrow lengths.

"Well, young fellow?" he said as coolly as if no conversation had pa.s.sed between us.

"I've come, sir, for good," I said sharply.

"I hope you have," he replied drily; "but is that all of you? Where's your tooth-brush and comb, and clean stockings?"

"I wanted to bring my box, sir," I said, "but it was too heavy. Would any of the men come and fetch it?"

"Ask 'em," he said abruptly, and he turned away. This seemed cold and strange; but I knew him to be rather curious and eccentric in his ways, so I walked to one of the cart-sheds and looked about for a man to help me.

I thought I saw some one enter the shed; but when I got inside no one was there, as far as I could see--only piles of great baskets reaching from floor to ceiling.

Disappointed, I was coming away, when in the gloom at the other end there seemed to be something that was not basket; and taking a few steps forward I made out that it was the boy Shock standing close up against the baskets, with his face away from me.

I stood thinking what I should do. I was to be in the same garden with this lad, who was always sneering at me; and I felt that if I let him have the upper hand he would make my life very much more miserable than it had been lately.

My mind was made up in a moment, and with a decision for which I had not given myself credit I went right in and stood behind him.

"Shock!" I cried; but the boy only gave himself a twitch as if a spasm had run through him, and did not move.

"Do you hear, sir?" I said sharply. "Come here; I want you to help carry my box."

Still he did not move, and I felt that if I did not master him he would me.

"Do you hear what I say, sir?" I cried in my most angry tones; "come with me and fetch my box."

He leaped round so quickly that he made me start, and stood glaring at me as if about to strike.

"You must come and fetch my box," I said, feeling all the while a good deal of dread of the rough, fierce-looking boy.

I was between him and the wide door; and he stooped and looked first one side of me and then the other, as if about to dart by. But, growing bolder, I took a step forward and laid my hand upon his shoulder.

Up flew his arms as if about to strike mine away, but he caught my eye and understood it wrongly. He must have thought I was gazing resolutely at him, but I really was not. To my great satisfaction, though, he stepped forward, drooping his arms and hanging his head, walking beside me out into the open yard, where we came suddenly upon Old Brownsmith, who looked at me sharply, nodded his head, and then went on.

I led the way, and Shock half-followed, half-walked beside me, and we had just reached the gate when Old Brownsmith shouted:

"Take the barrow."

Shock trotted back like a dog; and as I watched him, thinking what a curious half-savage lad he was, and how much bigger and stronger than I was, he came back with the light basket barrow, trundling it along.

We went in silence as far as my old home, where Mrs Beeton held up her hands as she saw my companion, and drew back, holding the door open for us to get the corded box which stood in the floor-clothed hall.

Shock put down the barrow; and then his mischief-loving disposition got the better of his sulkiness, and stooping down he astonished me and made Mrs Beeton shriek by taking a leap up the two steps, like a dog, and going on all-fours to the box.

"Pray, pray, take him away, Master Dennison!" the poor woman cried in real alarm; "and do, pray, mind yourself--the boy's mad!"

"Oh, no; he won't hurt you," I said, taking one end of the box. But Shock growled, shook it free, lifted it from the floor, and before I could stop him, b.u.mped it down the steps on to the barrow with a bang, laid it fairly across, and then seizing the handles went off at a trot.

"I can't stop," I said quickly; "I must go and look after him."

"Yes, but pray take care, my dear. He bites. He bit a boy once very badly, and he isn't safe."

Not very pleasant news, but I could not stay to hear more, and, running after the barrow, I caught up to it and laid my hand upon one side of the box as if to keep it steady.

I did not speak for a minute, and Shock subsided into a walk; then, turning to him and looking in his morose, ill-used face:

"I've never thanked you yet for getting me out of the river."

The box gave a b.u.mp and a bound, for the handles of the barrow were raised very high and Shock began to run.

At the end of a minute I stopped him, and as soon as we were going on steadily I made the same remark.

But up went the barrow and box again and off we trotted. When, after stopping him for the second time, I made an attempt to get into conversation and to thank him, Shock banged down the legs of the barrow, looking as stolid and heavy as if he were perfectly deaf, threw open the gate, and ran the barrow up to the house-door.

"Oh! here's your baggage, then!" said Old Brownsmith. "Bring it in, Shock; set it on end there in the pa.s.sage. We'll take it up after tea.

Come along."

Shock lifted in the box before I could help him; and then seizing the barrow-handles, with his back to me, he let out a kick like a mule and caught me in the calf, nearly sending me down.