The Fifth Form at Saint Dominic's Part 16

"If young Bellerby has been flogged," said Bramble, in a most sepulchral undertone, "I've a good mind to fight every one of them!"

"Yes, every one of them," whispered the mult.i.tude.

"They're all as bad as each other!" gasped Bramble.

"_We'll_ let them know," muttered the audience.

"I'll tell you what I've a good mind to--to--ur--ur--I've a good mind to--ugh!"

Again the door opened. This time it was Callonby.

"Where's young Raddleston?--What _are_ you young beggars up to?--is Raddleston here?"

"Yes," mildly answered the voice of Master Raddleston, who a moment ago had nearly broken a blood-vessel in his endeavours to scream in a whisper.

"Come here, then."

The f.a.g meekly obeyed.

"Oh, and Greenfield junior," said Callonby, as he was turning to depart, "Loman wants to know when you are going to get his tea; you're to go at once, he says."

Stephen obeyed, and was very humble in explaining to Loman that he had forgotten (which was the case) the time. The meeting in the Fourth cla.s.s-room lasted most of the afternoon; but as oratory in whispers is tedious, and constant repet.i.tion of the same sentiments, however patriotic, is monotonous, it flagged considerably in spirit towards the end, and degenerated into one of the usual wrangles between Guinea-pigs and Tadpoles, in the midst of which Master Bramble left the chair, and went off in the meekest manner possible to get Wren to help him with his sums for next day.

Stephen meanwhile was engaged in doing a little piece of business for Loman, of which more must be said in a following chapter.

CHAPTER ELEVEN.

IN THE TOILS.

The afternoon of the famous "indignation meeting" in the Fourth Junior was the afternoon of the week which Mr Cripps the younger, putting aside for a season the anxieties and responsibilities of his "public"

duties in Maltby, usually devoted to the pursuit of the "gentle craft,"

at his worthy father's cottage by Gusset Weir. Loman, who was aware of this circ.u.mstance, and on whose spirit that restless top joint had continued to prey ever since the evening of the misadventure a week ago, determined to avail himself of the opportunity of returning the unlucky fishing-rod into the hands from which he had received it.

He therefore instructed Stephen to take it up to the lock-house with a note to the effect that having changed his mind in the matter since speaking to Cripps, he found he should not require the rod, and therefore returned it, with many thanks for Mr Cripps's trouble.

Stephen, little suspecting the questionable nature of his errand, undertook the commission, and duly delivered both rod and letter into the hands of Mr Cripps, who greatly astonished him by swearing very violently at the contents of the letter. "Well," said he, when he had exhausted his vocabulary (not a small one) of expletives--"well, of all the grinning jackanapeses, this is the coolest go! Do you take me for a fool?"

Stephen, to whom this question appeared to be directly applied, disclaimed any idea of the kind, and added, "I don't know what you mean."

"Don't you, my young master? All right! Tell Mr Loman I'll wait upon him one fine day, see if I don't! Here's me, given up a whole blessed day to serve him, and a pot of money out of my pocket, and here he goes!

not a penny for my pains! Chucks the thing back on my 'ands as cool as a cooc.u.mber, all because he's changed his mind. I'll let him have a bit of my mind, tell him, Mr Gentleman Schoolboy, see if I don't. I ain't a-going to be robbed, no! not by all the blessed monkeys that ever wrote on slates! _I'll_ wait upon him, see if I don't!"

Stephen, to whom the whole of this oration, which was garnished with words that we can hardly set down in print, or degrade ourselves by suggesting, was about as intelligible as if it had been Hebrew, thought it better to make no reply, and sorrowed inwardly to find that such a nice man as Mr Cripps should possess so short a temper. But the landlord of the c.o.c.kchafer soon recovered from his temporary annoyance, and even proceeded to apologise to Stephen for the warmth of his language.

"You'll excuse me, young gentleman," said he, "but I'm a plain-spoken man, and I was--there, I won't deny it--I was a bit put out about this here rod first go off. You'll excuse me--of course I don't mean no offence to you or Mister Loman neither, who's one of the nicest young gentlemen I ever met. Of course if you'd a' paid seventy bob out of your own pocket it would give _you_ a turn; leastways, if you was a struggling, honest working man, like me."

"That's it," snivelled, old Mr Cripps, who had entered during this last speech; "that's it, Benny, my boy, honest Partisans, that's what we is, who knows what it are to be in want of a shillin' to buy a clo' or two for the little childer."

What particular little "childer" Mr Cripps senior and his son were specially interested in no one knew, for neither of them was blessed with any. However, it was one of old Mr Cripps's heart-moving phrases, and no one was rude enough to ask questions.

Stephen did not, on the present occasion, feel moved to respond to the old man's lament, and Cripps junior, with more adroitness than filial affection, hustled the old gentleman out of the door.

"Never mind him," said he to Stephen. "He's a silly old man, and always pretends he's starvin'. If you believe me, he's a thousand pounds stowed away somewheres. I on'y wish," added he, with a sigh, "he'd give me a taste of it, for its 'ard, up-'ill work makin' ends meet, particular when a man's deceived by parties. No matter. I'll pull through; you see!"

Stephen once more did not feel called upon to pursue this line of conversation, and therefore changed the subject.

"Oh, Mr Cripps, how much is that bat?"

"Bat! Bless me if I hadn't nearly forgot all about it. Ain't it a beauty, now?"

"Yes, pretty well," said Stephen, whose friends had one and all abused the bat, and who was himself a little disappointed in his expectations.

"Pretty well! I like that. You must be a funny cricketer, young gentleman, to call that bat only pretty well. I suppose you want me to take _that_ back, too?" and here Mr Cripps looked very fierce.

"Oh, no," said Stephen, hurriedly. "I only want to know what I am to pay for it."

"Oh, come now, we needn't mind about that. That'll keep, you know. As if I wanted the money. Ha, ha!"

Even a green boy like Stephen could not fail to wonder why, if Mr Cripps was as hard up as he had just described himself, he should now be so anxious to represent himself as not in want of money.

"Please, I want to know the price."

"As if I was a-going to name prices to a young gentleman like you!

Please yourself about it. I shall not be disappointed if you gives me only eighteenpence, and if _you_ thinks twelve bob is handsome, well, let it be. _I_ can struggle on somehow."

This was uncomfortable for Stephen, who, too green, fortunately, to comprehend the drift of Mr Cripps's gentle hints, again asked that he would name a price.

This time Mr Cripps answered more precisely.

"Well, that there bat is worth a guinea, if you want to know, but I'll say a sovereign for cash down."

Stephen whistled a long-drawn whistle of dismay.

"A sovereign! I can't pay all that! I thought it would be about seven shillings!"

"Did you? You may think what you like, but that's my price, and you are lucky to get it at that."

"I shall have to send it back. I can't afford so much," said Stephen, despondingly.

"Not if I know it! I'll have none of your second-hand bats, if I know it. Come, young gentleman, I may be a poor man, but I'm not a fool, and you'll find it out if I've any of your nonsense. Do you suppose I've nothing to do but wait on jackanapeses like you and your mates? No error! There you are. That'll do, and if you don't like it--well, the governor shall know about it!"

Stephen was dreadfully uncomfortable. Though, to his knowledge, he had done nothing wrong, he felt terribly guilty at the bare notion of the Doctor being informed of his transactions with Mr Cripps, besides greatly in awe of the vague threats held out by that gentleman. He did not venture on further argument, but, bidding a hasty farewell, returned as fast as he could to Saint Dominic's, wondering whatever Oliver would say, and sorely repenting the day when first he was tempted to think of the unlucky bat.

He made a clean breast of it to his brother that evening, who, of course, called him an a.s.s, and everything else complimentary, and was deservedly angry. However, Stephen had reason to consider himself lucky to possess an elder brother at the school who had a little more shrewdness than himself. Oliver was determined the debt should be paid at once, without even waiting to write home, and by borrowing ten shillings from Wraysford, and adding to it the residue of his own pocket-money, the sovereign was raised and dispatched that very night to Mr Cripps; after which Oliver commanded his brother to sit down and write a full confession of his folly home, and ask for the money, promising never to make such a fool of himself again. This task the small boy, with much shame and trembling at heart, accomplished; and in due time an answer came from his mother which not only relieved his mind but paid off his debts to Oliver and Wraysford, and once for all closed the business of the treble-cane splice bat.

It would have been well for Loman if he could have got out of his difficulties as easily and as satisfactorily.