Hollowdell Grange Part 8

"I should like to go to bed," said Fred.

"There's an idle-back," said Harry; "I shouldn't I should like to take my clothes off, and lie down under a fountain, and let all the nice cool water trickle and splash all over me. Poof! ain't it hot?"

"I know what I should like to do," said Philip; "I should like to sit right up there on the top of the cedar, and rock--rock, rock--rock, backwards and forwards--looking up at the blue sky, and thinking I was a soft, downy bird."

"Ho! ho! ho!" said Harry. "He'd look like an old c.o.c.k jackdaw when he's moulting. Ha! ha! ha! what an old stupid!"

"I don't care," said Philip; "I know it would be nice; wouldn't it, Fred?"

"Well, but you couldn't sit there; the boughs would break, and you'd come down," said Fred. "But what makes all that thick bunch of hay and rags up there? Why, it's a nest, isn't it?"

"So it is," said Harry; "why, I never saw that before. Let's get up and get it. There's sure to be eggs."

"I shan't," said Phil; "it's too hot."

"What a lazy old chap you are, Phil," said his brother. "It's a tree-sparrow's nest, and we haven't got a single egg. I mean to go."

Saying which Master Harry stripped off his blouse, threw down his cap, and commenced operations.

"Don't go, you'll fall," said Fred; "it's ever so high up, and the boughs won't bear you."

"Pooh!" said Harry, "I can do it;" and running along under the great branches that stretched away, drooping towards the ground, he gave a spring, and caught a bough, turned up his heels, and so made his way, hanging head downwards, to the trunk after the same fashion as he did on the day of the fishing excursion. On reaching the trunk, he scaled up from bough to bough, almost as actively as a monkey, till at last he reached the branch which bore the nest, where he stooped puzzled, for Mrs and Mr Pa.s.ser must have had an eye to safety when they constructed their nest; for unless Master Harry had possessed the activity and lightness of body of the old c.o.c.k jackdaw he was so lately talking about, there was no chance of his getting any of the tree-sparrow's eggs for his collection.

"Well, why don't you throw the nest down?" said Philip, jeeringly.

"'Cos I can't," said Harry. "Why don't you come and sit up here, and look at the blue sky, and then perhaps you could? I'm not going on a thin branch that wouldn't bear a cat."

Whereupon down came Master Harry, all over green, and with the cedar spines sticking through his shirt, in his hair, and down his back, and making him shift and shuffle about in a most uncomfortable manner.

"I say," said Harry, "let's go off to the wood."

"Papa wouldn't like it," said Philip; "and besides, we are going to-morrow."

"Oh! ah! and then perhaps it will rain. Do let's go; we could get the eggs, and Papa would be so pleased."

"I don't think he would," said Fred. "My Papa would not if I went when he told me not."

"But he didn't tell us not," said Harry; "and I know he would like the eggs. I'll go."

"That's right," said Philip, "but I'll go and tell Mamma we are going."

"No, don't," said Harry; "let's tell her when we come back, because she might say you had better not go."

"I shan't go," said Fred, stoutly.

"There's a sneak," said Harry. "Why, we could show you all sorts of things. There's the fox's cave; and the waterfall; and the old hollow tree that holds ten people; and the magpies' nests; and owls, and wood-pigeons, and turtle-doves."

"And snakes," said Philip.

"Yes," said Harry; "and snakes and adders, and the dark tarn where the great eels are. But never mind, you can stop; can't he, Phil? we don't want him. We'll take d.i.c.k, and get some rats as we go along. I say, Fred, you can stay in d.i.c.k's kennel, and we'll put the collar round your neck."

Now Fred wanted to do what was right, and would not blind himself into the belief that "Papa would be so pleased with the eggs;" for he knew his uncle would not like them to go off in the way proposed; but he was not prepared to withstand the temptations held out to him, for they were enough to turn the head of any town lad. To go to a wood was almost enough, but one with such wonders in was too much--nests and birds of such rarity. Fox cavern, waterfall, and a dark tarn, besides catching rats with the dog; he could not stand all that. And then when the sarcastic remarks of his cousin were put into the scale he was completely done for, and, turning quite reckless of the consequences, he let the scale containing duty fly up into the air, and jumped into the other with his cousins, and away they ran to loosen d.i.c.k. But this was easier said than done, for d.i.c.k could see at a glance that there was mischief afoot, and nearly ran mad with delight: he barked, he leaped, he tore at his chain, he tugged so that Harry could not unbuckle his collar; and when at last it was dragged over his head, turning his ears inside out, and making his rough hair stand up in a bigger Brutus than ever, and nearly making him blind, he raced round the yard with his mouth wide open; dashed at the old raven, and knocked him over before he could hop upon the wall, where he got at last, and shook the dust off his feathers with an angry "jark;" while d.i.c.k, withy staring eyes and his tongue hanging out, ran right between Philip's legs, made a feint at Fred, and then leaped right on Harry, who caught hold of his short stumpy tail as he went down and dragged him towards the gate.

"Whoop," and away; over the field right to the far corner, where the cattle drank from the little horse-pond, which was black with podnoddles, wagging and waving their little tails in their hurry to get into deep water. "Whoop," and away along the lane; all idleness and fatigue forgotten, and every nerve strained to reach the wished-for spot, which was only about two miles from the field where the lads played at cricket.

"Last man there to have two kicks," said Harry, just as he was well in front, and starting off at full speed, but pa.s.sed in a moment by d.i.c.k, who raced away, making believe to discover a treasure every two minutes; and sniffing and barking at every rat or rabbit hole they pa.s.sed. Off and away--Harry in front with d.i.c.k, Philip next, and Fred panting in the rear, hot and out of breath with his run, and asking his companions to stop.

"Whup! whup! whup! yaff! yaff!" said d.i.c.k, as they came up to a field containing a flock of sheep, heavy with their long wool; and over the hedge he went headlong amongst them, making the poor timid, stupid creatures run as fast as their legs would carry them, with their heavy fleeces touzling and shaking about till each sheep looked like a magnified thrum mop being shaken to get rid of the water. A fine game did d.i.c.k have of it, for as soon as ever he stopped and gave a farewell bark--as much as to say, "There, I've done"--and began to retrace his steps, the sheep would come to a stand-still, stare after him as though he were some unknown monster, never before seen or heard of, and then begin to follow him up, slowly at first, but afterwards at a canter.

Now, of course d.i.c.k couldn't stand this running away, and all the sheep apparently in chase of him; so he was obliged to turn round and keep making charges at the flock; and, consequently, poor d.i.c.k, in thus being so particular about his honour, would never have got out of the field, for every time he chased the sheep away they followed him up again; and it was all the fault of one great, black-faced, chuckle-headed wether, who was so stupid that he couldn't keep quiet, and of course all the sheep kept following him, for he had a tinkling copper bell attached to his neck, which seemed to be an especial abhorrence to d.i.c.k, from the way he barked at it. But at last the dog heard a summons that he could not disobey, namely, a long whistle from his young masters; so making one last furious charge at the old bell wether, and actually scattering the forces as he got hold of him by the wool. d.i.c.k rushed after his masters, and caught them at last with a lot of wool in his mouth, which was entangled in his teeth, and made him cough and sputter dreadfully.

At last they reached the edge of the wood, into which d.i.c.k dashed with a leap and a bound, running his nose down amongst the dead leaves, and smelling an enemy in every bush, and at last giving chase to a squirrel which ran across the open to a great beech-tree, up which it scampered until it reached the forked boughs, where it sat with its tail curled up, looking tormentingly down upon his pursuer d.i.c.k, who rushed headlong at the tree, scrambled up a couple of feet, and then came down flop upon his back, without the squirrel of course; but he made up for it by running round and round the trunk, barking, baying, and snapping in impotent rage, while little nut-nibbler gave a sort of "skirr," and then ran up the tree, leaped to the next, and the next, and disappeared in his hole far up the trunk of a great elm. Harry now took the lead down the narrow path that led into the wood, parting the tangled branches every now and then to get through, and all the time looking carefully round for nests. They very soon heard the harsh cry of the jay, who was letting all the inhabitants of the woodlands know that enemies were at hand, and away flew the birds. The blackbird was the first to take the alarm from the jay, and away he flew, crying, "Kink, kink, kink," as he started from his nest in a great ivy tod on an old pollard-tree. The lads soon found the nest, and peeped in, but instead of eggs there were four wretched-looking little objects, all eyes and beak, with long, scraggy necks, wide throats, and naked bodies with little downy tufts upon them. All three had a peep, while d.i.c.k snapped his teeth together as though to say he would like to make a meal of one or all of them; but the callow brood was left unmolested for their yellow-billed parents to take care of, while Harry led the way to the fox's cave. This, however, proved rather a disappointment to Fred, who had been picturing to himself a huge stalact.i.te cavern, which they would require torches to explore, while the cave in question proved to be only a hole in the side of a gravelly ravine, big enough to creep in, certainly, but anything but majestic in appearance; while the probabilities were that a fox had never been in it since it was a hole. However, it was called the fox's cave, and that was enough.

The waterfall was certainly better worthy of attention, for a tiny stream trickled over a huge mossy rock, and fell with a musical plash into a little rocky basin full of clear water; and all around it in the damp soil grew mosses and ferns of luxuriant size. It was just such a spot as the old poets used to write about--cool, and shaded from the heat and glare of the sun; but, instead of there being wood-nymphs and satyrs in the little dell, there was nothing but the three young visitors, and plenty of toads and frogs which crawled and hopped away as fast as ever they could.

"Oh, what a pretty place!" said Fred; "do let's stop here. Look, look,"

he exclaimed, "what's that?" as, like a streak of blue light, a bird with rapid flight came down the dell, perched upon a bare twig just long enough for the boys to see his bright colours, and then, seeing himself watched, darted away again.

"That's a kingfisher," said Philip. "He's got a nest here, somewhere, I know. Let's look, for we must have some of the eggs, if we can.

Perhaps the hen-bird is sitting somewhere close by."

The boys then set to work searching the bushes of the little rivulet that flowed from the basin, and no doubt their search would have been in vain, but for the timid hen-bird, who flew out from the hole where, sure enough, she was sitting, and betrayed the place in which her nest had been made.

It was a hole in the overhanging bank, and Harry had little difficulty in thrusting his hand in and drawing out three eggs, which he carefully deposited in his pocket.

They then followed the course of the rivulet for about a quarter of a mile to where it emptied itself into the tarn or little lake of which Harry had spoken. It was indeed a dark tarn, with water looking almost black from its depth, which was said to be enormous, and here some gigantic eels were supposed to dwell, though n.o.body had ever caught, n.o.body had ever seen, and n.o.body ever heard of any being either seen or caught; but still eels of a mighty size were said to be in the tarn, and the reason for their not being caught was supposed to be the depth. As they came up to the lake, d.i.c.k ran on first and dashed into the reeds at the side, splashing and paddling about, and here and there taking to swimming. Just as he entered one great tuft of green reeds, rushes, and withes, there was an extra amount of splashing, and away flew, or rather ran along the surface of the water, a moorhen, with her thin attenuated toes just paddling the surface.

"Hooray," said Harry, calling d.i.c.k off, "here's a nest; moorhen's eggs, boys, moorhen's eggs!" and off he started to reach the nest; but here Master Harry was as badly off as when in the cedar-tree at home, for the moorhen had evidently intended to keep human visitors away, and Harry found that the coveted eggs, if any, were certainly not upon _terra firma_. Every step the lad took showed more plainly how treacherous was the surface round the tarn; for it was entirely composed of bog-moss-- that pretty moss that turns of a creamy white, tinged with pink or salmon colour, when dried--and soon Master Harry could only progress by stepping daintily upon the little bunches of heath that grew amidst it, or upon the occasional tufts of last year's dead reeds and rushes. But, light as the boy was, he soon found this mode of progression would not do, for, making a bound on to what looked a particularly dry spot, in he went up to his knees in the soft bog, and it was only with great difficulty that he scrambled out again to where his brother and Fred stood laughing and cheering him.

"I don't care," said Harry, shaking himself like a dog; "I don't mind being wet, and, now I am wet, I mean to have the eggs."

"No, don't," said Fred, "you'll sink in."

"No, I shan't," said Harry; "I mean to make a corduroy-road, like they do over the swamps in America, that we read about."

"Ah, that will be capital," said Philip; "come on."

And so the lads set to work, and in amongst the trees close by they soon found a large dead branch, and laid it down across the first soft place, and they very soon would have had a firm pathway to the moorhen's nest, but for the simple reason that they were not provided with woodcutter's axes, ropes, etc; the consequence was, that they could find no more wood fit for the purpose, and Harry's corduroy-road was composed only of one cord.

"Oh," said Philip, "don't I wish we had a lot of the f.a.ggots out of the stack-yard."

"Let's fetch some," said Fred, which would have been a capital plan, only the f.a.ggots would have been rather awkward things to carry through the thick underwood; and, besides, they could only have carried one each, and home was now about four miles off, while they would have wanted at least twenty.

"What a jolly bother!" said Philip. "Why don't you go round the other side, Harry, and swim?"

"You go," said Harry: "I'd go, if it wasn't for the eels, and the water being so deep; I wouldn't mind, if it was only eight or nine feet, but they say it's hundreds of feet to the bottom."

But Philip did not feel disposed to go, and Fred could not swim, so, to their great disappointment, they were obliged to leave the moorhen's nest,--with at least a dozen eggs in, so Harry said; but, as he had been very little nearer to the receptacle than his brother and cousin, this statement was rather of a doubtful nature; still, as the others had not been so near, they did not feel themselves justified in contradicting, neither did they wish to, so the party reluctantly left the much-coveted treasure, the two wet members of the party--namely, d.i.c.k and Harry-- leading the way further into the wood.