Nic Revel Part 3

"For what?" said the man insolently.

"For throwing me into the pool."

"Zo shall I, then," shouted the man. "It was only t.i.t for tat. You zent me in first."

"Yes; and I caught you first hooking our salmon, sir."

"Tchah! much my zammon as your own, master. Vish comes out of the zea for everybody as likes to catch them."

"Not on my father's estate," cried Nic. "You've been warned times enough."

"Ay, I've heerd a lot o' talk, master; but me and my mates mean to have a vish or two whenever we wants 'em. You'll never miss 'em."

"Look here, Pete Burge," cried Nic; "I don't want to be too hard upon you, because I suppose you fished me out of the pool after throwing me in."

"Well, you've no call to grumble, master," said the man, grinning good-humouredly. "You did just the zame."

"And," continued Nic, shouting himself hoa.r.s.e, so as to be heard, and paying no heed to the man's words, "if you faithfully promise me that you'll never come and poach on my father's part of the river again, I'll look over all this, and not have you before the Justices."

"How are you going to get me avore the Justice, Master Nic?" said the man, with a merry laugh.

"Send the constable, sir."

"Tchah! he'd never vind me; and, if he did, he dursen't tackle me.

There's a dozen o' my mates would break his head if he tried."

"Never mind about that," cried Nic. "You promise me. My father warned you only yesterday."

"So he did," said the man, showing his teeth. "In a regular wax he was."

"And I will not have him annoyed," cried Nic. "So now then, you promise?"

"Nay, I shan't promise."

"Then I go straight to the constable, and if I do you'll be summoned and punished, and perhaps sent out of the country."

"What vor?--pulling you out when you was drownding?"

"For stealing our salmon and beating our two keepers."

"Then I'd better have left you in yonder," said the man, laughing.

"You mean I had better have left you in yonder, and rid the country of an idle, poaching scoundrel," cried Nic indignantly. "But there, you saved my life, and I want to give you a chance. Look here, Pete Burge, you had better go to sea."

"Yes, when I like to try for some vish. Don't ketch me going for a zailor."

"Will you give me your word that you will leave the fish alone?"

"Nay; but I'll shake hands with you, master. You zaved my life, and I zaved yourn, so we're square over that business."

"You insolent dog!" cried Nic. "Then I'll go straight to the Justice."

"Nay; you go and put on zome dry clothes. It don't hurt me, but you'll ketch cold, my lad. Look here, you want me to zay I won't take no more zammon."

"Yes."

"Then I won't zay it. There's about twenty of us means to have as many fish out o' the river as we like, and if anybody, keepers or what not, comes and interveres with us we'll pitch 'em in the river; and they may get out themzelves, for I'm not going in after they. Understand that, master?"

"Yes, sir, I do."

"Then don't you set any one to meddle with us, or there may be mischief done, for my mates aren't such vools as me. Going to give me a noo steel hook?"

"No, you scoundrel!"

"Going to zhake hands?"

"No, sir."

"Just as you like, young master. I wanted to be vriends and you won't, so we'll be t'other. On'y mind, if there's mischief comes of it, you made it. Now then, I'm going to walk about in the sun to get dry, and then zee about getting myself a noo cap and a hook."

"To try for our salmon again?"

The fellow gave him a queer look, nodded, and climbed up the side of the ravine, followed by Nic.

At the top the man turned and stared at him for a few moments, with a peculiar look in his eyes; and the trees between them and the falls shut off much of the deep, booming noise.

"Well," said Nic sharply, "have you repented?"

"Nothing to repent on," said the man stolidly. "On'y wanted to zay this here: If you zees lights some night among the trees and down by the watter, it means vishing."

"I know that," said Nic sternly.

"And there'll be a lot there--rough uns; so don't you come and meddle, my lad, for I shouldn't like to zee you hurt."

The next minute the man had disappeared among the trees, leaving Nic to stand staring after him, thinking of what would be the result if the salmon-poachers met their match.

CHAPTER FIVE.

THE CAPTAIN CANNOT LET IT REST.

"Hullo, Nic, my boy; been overboard?"

The young man started, for he had been thinking a good deal on his way back to the house. His anger had cooled down as much as his body from the evaporation going on. For, after all, he thought he could not find much fault with Pete Burge. It would seem only natural to such a rough fellow to serve his a.s.sailant as he had himself been served.

"And he did save my life afterwards, instead of letting me drown,"

thought Nic, who decided not to try to get Pete punished.