Glyn Severn's Schooldays Part 38

"Not so bad as you are, Singhy. I do try to throw it all aside. You don't."

"Ah, it's very well for you to talk. You haven't lost something that's worth n.o.body knows how much."

"Well, but never mind; you can afford it. See what a jolly old Croesus you are going to be when you grow up!"

"Bah! How do I know that I am going to be rich?"

"Don't be a humbug. Why, father has been looking after your revenues for years, and I heard him say once that money was acc.u.mulating tremendously during your minority. After all, what's a belt with some bright stones in it? You could have a dozen more made if you wanted them. But you don't! Who wants to look pretty like some great girl?

The greatest thing in life is to be a man. Father says so, and you know he's always right."

"Yes," said Singh thoughtfully; "he's always right; but did he say that?"

"Well, not quite," said Glyn, laughing; and Singh looked at him suspiciously. "What he said was that the grandest thing in life was to be a boy."

"Ah," cried Singh argumentatively, "but that is very different. A man can do what he likes, but a boy can't."

"Oh, but a boy's a young man, or is going to be. I mean to be always glad that I am a boy, for father says that when I grow up to be a man I shall be often wishing that I was young again. Now, don't let's go on worrying about this and the old belt. You never wore it, and if it hadn't been lost I don't believe you ever would have used it. You see, after living in England you'll have learned that great English people never dress up except on some grand day when Parliament's going to be opened or somebody's going to be crowned; and then n.o.blemen, I suppose, put on robes and wear their coronets. You'd never have wanted the belt."

"Well, I don't know about that," said Singh. "Of course I shall always dress like an Englishman; but I suppose sometimes, by-and-by, I shall have to dress up to show myself to my people."

"Oh yes, just once in a way, and when you are going to meet the other chiefs; but I'll bet sixpence you will soon be glad enough to take the things off again."

"But I say," cried Singh, "look here. What about soldiers and officers?

They dress up pretty grandly."

"Well, yes," said Glyn laughingly; "we are obliged to make them look nice, or they wouldn't care about going shooting people and cutting off heads. Now, promise me you won't worry any more about the belt."

"Well, I will try," cried Singh, "and I shouldn't have bothered about it so much now, only every fellow in the school looks at me as if he were thinking about it all the time."

"Don't believe it," said Glyn. "You fancy he does. There now, let it go. Here, come and have a turn at something."

"What?"

"I don't know. Let's go across the field there and get under the elms.

There are a whole lot of the fellows there. They have got some game on.

There's Slegge yonder."

"Oh, I don't want to go where Slegge is."

"But you should want to go where Slegge is. I know he's a nasty, disagreeable fellow; but you needn't notice that. If he's civil--well, that will be right enough. If he isn't, treat him with good-humoured contempt. You aren't afraid of him, are you?"

"I! Afraid of him!" cried Singh indignantly, and he emitted quite a puff of angry breath.--"What did you do that for?" he continued angrily, for, as if by accident, Glyn, with a quick gesture, had knocked off his cap, and then stooping quickly s.n.a.t.c.hed it from off the gra.s.s and put it carefully on again. "You did that on purpose," cried Singh angrily.

"Oh, it's all right. It was the stopper came off, and I put it on again."

"Bah!" cried Singh with a snort; but he walked quietly on, gradually calming down as his companion half-guided him towards the group of boys who were idling about under the elm-trees, pretty close to where the new piece of fence marked the place where the elephant went through.

Yielding to Glyn, Singh would have walked quietly up with him and been ready enough under his friend's guidance to embark on any sport or game that was going on; but as Glyn afterwards said when he was laughing it over, "old Slegge" made the pepper-stopper shoot out at once, for, after evidently seeing who were approaching, he slowly edged himself round till his back was to the companions, and began talking aloud, measuring the time by means of his ears till he came to the conclusion that Singh was near enough to catch everything he said, and even Glyn winced as he heard the lad say:

"Oh, by the way, you fellows, I suppose you have done it for a lark, and you mean to put it back in my box; but I have missed my turban, the one with the big pearl in it that fastens the plume of feathers."

The boys were silent, staring at the speaker, for they did not catch the point of the remark; and Slegge continued:

"You see, I set great store by that turban. It was an old one of my father's, and of course it was very valuable. You see, in Bungly Horror a turban like that--some fellows call them puggamarees, but that's only because they are ignorant beggars--but as I was saying, turbans like that come down from father to son. I don't know how old this one was, and n.o.body notices that they are old, because they always go so regularly to the wash; and you know the more muslin's washed the whiter it gets, while as for the holes, of course, they are the beauty of it, because it gets to look more and more like splendid old lace."

Slegge's remarks remained problematical for a few moments, and then the meaning came with a flash to Burton, who had suddenly caught sight of Singh and Glyn.

He burst into a merry guffaw at once, and thus set off the rest, while Slegge waited till they had done before going on with the by no means poor imitation of Singh's manner of speaking and a rather peculiar utterance of the consonant _r_.

"I don't know what you fellows are laughing at," he said, with a look of supreme innocency; "but I suppose you don't know any better. It's your ignorance of the value of family relics like that; and because you never see me bouncing about the schoolyard with my turban on, you think I haven't got one in my box--I mean, had one; so now no more nonsense.

Whoever took it for a lark had better put it back before I get my monkey up--Indian monkey, I mean--for if I do there's going to be head-punching, and no mistake."

"Come on, Singh," said Glyn quietly, as he slipped his arm through his companion's and tried to lead him away. "Don't take any notice of the malicious brute."

But Singh's feet seemed to be shod with something magnetic which made them cling to the ground, and he stood fast.

"Come on, I say," cried Glyn. "No nonsense! Do you hear?"

Singh turned upon him quickly with an angry flash in his eyes, and he was about to burst out with some fierce retort; but in those brief moments it seemed to him that it was not Glyn's but the Colonel's masterful eyes that were gazing down into his, as, truth to tell, they had more than once looked down upon his father in some special crisis when in the cause of right the brave English officer had with a few words mastered the untutored Indian chief, and maintained his position as adviser as well as friend.

The next minute Singh was walking quietly away by his companion's side; but his arm kept giving a sharp jerk as Slegge went on speaking more and more loudly, uttering words so that the friends might hear.

"I don't care," said Slegge; "you fellows can do what you like, but I am not going to believe it. It's all a got-up thing. I don't believe there ever was any precious belt, or, if there was, it was only a green gla.s.s sham. Emeralds set in gold, indeed! Whoever heard of a fellow coming to school with a thing like that in his box? Bah! Yah! It isn't likely that even a n.i.g.g.e.r would do it." And as the companions pa.s.sed out of earshot, Slegge continued, "It doesn't matter to me; my time's nearly up at school, thank goodness! and I shall finish with the next half. But I do pity you poor beggars who have got to stay. I don't know what the place is coming to. It seems to me that old Bewley's head's getting soft, unless he's getting so hard-up that he's glad to take anybody's money to keep the old mathematical musical-box going, or else he wouldn't have taken a n.i.g.g.e.r to be put in the same rank with English gentlemen."

"Here, you had better mind," said Burney.

"Why?" snapped out Slegge.

"Because you will have old Glyn hear you."

"Pooh! What do I care for Glyn?"

"Ever so much," said Burney. "I don't suppose you want another licking."

"Look here, Burney, none of your cheek, please, or else somebody else will get a licking. None of that. You were always a sneak, and trying to curry favour with the Indian n.i.g.g.e.r."

"Curry, eh?" said Burney with a half-laugh. "Well, suppose I did. I like Indian curry."

"Do you. But you won't like my curry," snorted out Slegge, "for I'll give you such a curry-combing down as will make you sore for a week, my fine fellow.--Look here, boys, all of you; I am not ashamed to own I was licked that day, for I was weak and ill, and in one of the first rounds I nearly put my elbow out of joint. Something was put out of joint, but it snapped back."

"He means his nose," whispered little Burton. "It has been ever since Severn came. I never heard it snap back; did you?"

"I saw him blow it several times," said the companion to whom he spoke, "and I saw his pocket-hanky after, and, oh my!"

"What are you two boys plotting there?" snarled Slegge. "My ears are sharper than you think, and if you don't want yours pulled you had better drop it."

Little Burton dropped upon his knees, crouching down all of a heap and seeming to subside into the worn brown earth as he laid his forehead upon the ground, while Slegge seized the opportunity and rushed at him as if he were a football, delivering a heavy kick that sent the poor little fellow over.

"Serve you right!" cried Slegge, as the boy uttered a sharp cry of pain.