CHAPTER TWELVE.
THE PATIENT'S FRIENDS.
Mr Marston declared that he had not the most remote idea of havinggiven any of his men offence, and then looked very serious about thequestion of bringing over the constables from the town to investigatethe matter.
"It may have been an accident, Mr Winthorpe," he said; "and if so, Ishould be sorry to get any poor fellow into trouble."
"Yes, but it may not have been an accident," said the doctor.
This was in the evening, the doctor having ridden over again to see howhis patient was getting on.
"Heaven forbid, sir," said Marston warmly, "that I should suspect anyman of such a cowardly cruel deed! Impossible, sir! I cannot recallhaving done any man wrong since I have been here. My lads like me."
"How do you know that?" said the squire dryly. "Men somehow are not_very_ fond of the master who is over them, and makes them fairly earntheir wages."
"Well, sir, I don't know how to prove it," said Marston, who was lyingon a dimity-covered couch, "but--"
"Hallo!" cried the squire, leaping up and going to the window, as a loudand excited buzzing arose, mingled with the trampling of feet, whichsounded plainly in the clear cold spring evening.
"Anything wrong?" said the doctor.
"Why, here's a crowd of a hundred fellows armed with sticks!" cried thesquire. "I believe they've got the rascal who fired the shot."
"No!" said the doctor.
"Father! Mr Marston!" cried Dick, rushing up stairs and into thevisitor's bed-room; "here are all the drain-men--hundreds of them--MrMarston's men."
"Not hundreds, young fellow," said Marston smiling, "only one, if theyare all here. What do they want? Have they caught anyone?"
"No, sir. They want to see you. I told them you were too bad; but theysay they will see you."
"I'll go and speak to them and see what they want," said the squire."Is it anything about paying their wages?"
"Oh dear, no!" said Marston. "They have been paid as usual. Shall I godown to them, doctor?"
"If you do I'll throw up your case," cried the doctor fiercely. "Blessmy soul, no! Do you think I want you in a state of high fever. Stopwhere you are, sir. Stop where you are."
"I'll go," said the squire, "before they pull the house down."
For the men were getting clamorous, and shouting loudly for Mr Marston.
The squire descended, and Dick with him, to find the front garden of theold farm-house full of great swarthy black-bearded fellows, everyonearmed with a cudgel or a pick-axe handle, some having only the parts ofbroken shovels.
"Well, my lads, what is it?" said the squire, facing them.
A tremendous yell broke out, every man seeming to speak at once, andnothing could be understood.
"Hullo, Hickathrift! You're there, are you?" said the squire. "What dothey want?"
"Well, you see, squire," began the wheelwright; but his voice wasdrowned by another furious yell.
"Don't all speak at once!" cried Dick, who had planted himself upon arough block of stone that had been dug out of the ruins and placed inthe front of the house.
There was something so droll to the great band of workmen in a merestripling shouting to them in so commanding a way, that they all burstinto a hearty laugh.
"Here, let Hicky speak!" cried Dick.
"Yes!--Ay!--Ah!--Let big Hickathrift speak!" was shouted out.
"Keep quiet, then," said the wheelwright, "or how can I! You see,squire," he continued, "the lads came along by my place, and they saidsome one had put it about that one of them had fired a shot at the youngengyneer, and they're all popped about it, and want to see Mr Marstonand tell him it isn't true."
"You can't see Mr Marston, my lads," said the squire.
Here there was a fierce yell.
"The doctor says it would do him harm," continued the squire, "and youdon't want to do that."
"Nay, nay, we wean't do that," shouted one of the men.
"But I may tell you that Mr Marston says that he does not believethere's a man among you who would do him any harm."
"Hooray!" shouted one of the men, and this was followed by a roar. "Wewouldn't hurt the ganger, and we're going to pay out him as did."
There was a tremendous yell at this, and the men nourished their weaponsin a way that looked serious for the culprit if he should be discovered.
"Ay, but yow've got to find out first who it was," said Hickathrift.
"Yes, and we're going to find out too," cried one rough-looking fellowstanding forward. "How do we know as it warn't you?"
"Me!" cried Hickathrift, staring blankly.
"Ay, yow," roared the great rough-looking fellow, a man not far short ofthe wheelwright's size. "We've heered all on you a going on and peckingabout the dree-ern being made. We know yow all hates our being here, sohow do we know it warn't yow?"
The man's fierce address was received with an angry outburst by the men,who had come out on purpose to inflict punishment upon some one, and intheir excitement, one object failing, they were ready to snatch atanother.
It was perhaps an insensate trick; but there was so much of the frankmanly British boy in Dick Winthorpe that he forgot everything in thefact that big Hickathrift, the man he had known from a child--the greatbluff fellow who had carried him in his arms and hundreds of times madehim welcome in that wonderland, his workshop, where he was always readyto leave off lucrative work to fashion him eel-spear or leaping-pole, orto satisfy any other whim that was on the surface--that this old friendwas being menaced by a great savage of a stranger nearly as big ashimself, and backed by a roaring excited crowd who seemed ready for anyoutrage.
Dick did not hesitate a moment, but with eyes flashing, teeth clenched,and fists doubled, he leaped down from the stone, rushed into the midstof the crowd, closing round the wheelwright, and darting between thegreat fellow and the man who had raised a pick-handle to strike, seizedhold of the stout piece of ash and tried to drag it away.
"You great coward!" he roared--"a hundred to one!"
It was as if the whole gang had been turned to stone, theirself-constituted leader being the most rigid of the crowd, and he staredat Dick Winthorpe as a giant might stare at the pigmy who tried tosnatch his weapon away.
But the silence and inert state lasted only a few seconds, before theblack-bearded fellow's angry face began to pucker up, his eyes halfclosed, and, bending down, he burst into a hearty roar of laughter.
"See this, lads!" he cried. "See this! Don't hurt me, mester! Say,lads, I never felt so scared in my life."
The leader's laugh was contagious, and the crowd took it up in chorus;but the more they laughed, the more angry grew Dick. He could not seethe ridiculous side of the matter; for, small as was his body incomparison with that of the man he had assailed, his spirit had swollenout as big as that of anyone present.
"I don't care," he cried; "I'll say it again--You're a set of greatcowards; and as for you," he cried to the fellow whose weapon he hadtried to wrest away, "you're the biggest of the lot."
"Well done, young un--so he is!" cried the nearest man. "Hooray foryoung ganger!"
The men were ready to fight or cheer, and as ready to change their moodas crowds always are. They answered the call with a stentorian roar;and if Dick Winthorpe had imitated Richard the Second just then, andcalled upon the crowd to accept him as their leader, they would havefollowed him to the attempt of any mad prank he could have designed.
"Thank ye, Mester Dick!" said Hickathrift, placing his great hand uponthe lad's shoulder, as the squire forced his way to their side. "Ialways knowed we was mates; but we're bigger mates now than ever we wasbefore."
"Ay, and so 'm _I_," said the big drain delver. "Shake hands, young un.You're English, you are. So 'm I. He's English, lads; that's what heis!" he roared as he seized Dick's hand and pumped it up and down. "So'm I."
"Hooray!" shouted the crowd; and, seeing how the mood of all waschanged, the squire refrained fro
m speaking till the cheering was dyingout, when, making signs to the men to hear him, he was about to utter afew words of a peacemaking character, but there was another burst ofcheering, which was taken up again and again, the men waving their capsand flourishing their cudgels, and pressing nearer to the house.
For the moment Dick was puzzled, but he realised what it all meantdirectly, for, looking in the same direction as the men, it was to seethat the young engineer had disregarded the doctor's orders, and wasstanding at the open window, with his face very pale and his arm in asling.
He waved his uninjured arm to command silence, and this being obtained,his voice rang out firm and clear.
"My lads," he cried, "I know why you've come, and I thank you; but thesepeople here are my very good friends, and as for the squire's son andthe wheelwright there, they saved my life last night."
"Hooray!" roared the leader of the gang frantically; and as hiscompanions cheered, he caught hold of Hickathrift's hand, and shook itas earnestly as if they were sworn brothers.
"As to my wound," continued the engineer, "I believe it was an accident;so now I ask you to go back home quietly, and good-night!"
"Well said, sir; good-night to you!" roared the leader as the window wasclosed. "Good-night to everybody! Come on, lads! Good-night, youngun! We're good mates, eh?"
"Yes," said Dick, shortly.
"Then shake hands again. We don't bear no malice, do us? See, lads.We're mates. I wean't laugh at you. You're a good un, that's what youare, and you'll grow into a man."
The great fellow gave Dick's hand another shake that was very vigorous,but by no means pleasant; and then, after three roaring cheers, thewhole party went off, striking up a chorus that went rolling over thefen and kept on dying out and rising again as the great sturdy fellowstramped away.
"I'm not an inhospitable man, doctor," said the squire, as the formershook hands to go, after giving orders for his patient to be kept quiet,and assuring the squire that the young fellow would be none the worsefor the adventures of the night--"I'm not an inhospitable man, but onehas to think twice before asking a hundred such to have a mug of ale. Ishould have liked to do it, and it was on my lips, but the barrel wouldhave said no, I'm sure. Good-night!"
"Now, sir," said the squire as soon as he was alone with his son, "whathave you got to say for yourself?"
"Say, father!" replied Dick, staring.
"Yes, sir. Don't you think you did about as mad and absurd a thing asthe man who put his head into the lion's jaws?"
"I--I didn't know, father," replied Dick, who, after the exultationcaused by the cheering, felt quite crestfallen.
"No, of course you did not, but it was a very reckless thing to do,and--er--don't--well, I hope you will never have cause to do it again."
Dick went away, feeling as if his comb had been cut, and of course hedid not hear his father's words that night when he went to bed.
"Really, mother, I don't know whether I felt proud of the boy or vexedwhen he faced that great human ox."
"I do," said Mrs Winthorpe smiling, but with the tears in hereyes--"proud."
"Yes, I think I did," said the squire. "Good-night!"
"Don't you think some one ought to sit up with Mr Marston?"
"No: he is sleeping like a top; and after our bad time with himyesternight, I mean to have some sleep."
Five minutes after, the squire's nose proclaimed that it was the hour ofrest, and Dick heard it as he stole from his bed-room, to see how thewounded man was; and this act he repeated at about hourly intervals allthrough the night, for he could not sleep soundly, his mind was so busywith trouble about the injury to their visitor's arm, and the wonderwhich kept working in his brain. Who was it fired that shot?
The doctor was right; the wounded man's arm soon began to mend; butnaturally there was a period when he was unable to attend to his duties,and that period was a pleasant one for Dick Winthorpe, inasmuch as itwas the commencement of a long friendship.
John Marston was for going back to his lodgings near the outfall or_gowt_ as it was termed; but the squire and Mrs Winthorpe would nothear of it, and to the boys' great delight, he stayed.
He was an invalid, but the right kind of invalid to make a pleasantcompanion, for he loved the open air, and was never happier than when hewas out with the boys and Dave or John Warren, somewhere in the fen.
"It's all gammon to call him ill, and for the doctor to keep coming,"said Tom Tallington.
"Oh, he is ill!" said Dick; "but you see he's only ill in one arm."
Dick had only to propose a run out, and John Marston immediately seemedto forget that he was a man, became a boy for the time being, andentered into the spirit of their pursuits.
One day it was pike-fishing, with Dave to punt them about here and thereamong the pools. At another time ordinary tackle would be rigged up,and Dave would take them to some dark hole where fish were known toswarm, and for hours the decoy-man would sit and watch patiently whilethe three companions pulled up the various denizens of the mere.
One bright April morning Dave was seen coming out of the mist, lookinggigantic as he stood up in his boat; and his visit was hailed withdelight, for the trio had been wondering how they should pass that day.
"Morning, Dave!" said Marston as the fen-man landed slowly from hisboat, and handed Dick a basket of fresh ducks' eggs.
"Morn', mester! Tak them up to the missus, Mester Dick. They be allnoo-laid uns. Straange thick haar this morn," he continued, wiping thecondensed mist from his eyelashes. "Re'glar sea-haar." [sea-fog--mistfrom the German Ocean.]
"Take those eggs up to mother, Tom," said Dick imperatively.
"Sha'n't. I know! You want to be off without me."
"Hallo, young fellow!" said the squire cheerily. "What have you gotthere--eggs?"
"Yes, mester, fresh uns for the missus."
"I'm going in, and I'll take them," said the squire, thus disposing ofthe difficulty about a messenger. "There's a canister of powder foryou, Dave, when you want some more."
"Thanky kindly, mester. I'll come and get it when I'm up at house."
The squire nodded and went on, but turned back to ask when Mr Marstonwas going over to the works, and upon hearing that it was in theafternoon, he said he would accompany him.
"And how's your lame arm, mester?" said Dave as soon as the squire hadgone.
"Getting better fast, Dave, my man."
"And with two holes in it, mester?"
"Yes, with two holes in it."
"But are they both getting better?"
"Why, you've been told a dozen times over that they are!" cried Dick.
"Nay, Mester Dick, I know'd as one hole was getting reight, but MesterMarston here nivver said as both weer. I'm straange and glad. Heeredaught yet 'bout him as did it?"
"No, my man, and don't want to."
"Hark at that, Mester Dick! Why, if any one had shot at me, and hot meas they did him, I'd have found him out somehow afore now. Mebbe Ishall find this out mysen."
"Why, you're not trying, Dave."
"Not trying, lad! Nay, but I am, and I shall find him yet some day.Look here, boys. If you want to find out anything like that, youmustn't go splashing about among the reeds, or tug-slugging through thebog-holes, or he hears you coming, and goos and hides. You must sitdown among the bushes, and wait and wait quiet, like a man does when hewants to get the ducks, and by-and-by him as did it comes along. DessayI shall catch him one of these days, and if I do, and I've got my polewith me, I'll throost him under water and half-drownd him."
"Never mind about all that, Dave. What are you going to do to-day?"cried Dick.
"Me, lad! Oh, nowt! I've brote a few eggs for the missus, and I shalltak' that can o' powder back wi' me, and then set down and go on makkinsoom new coy-nets."
"That's his gammon, Mr Marston," cried Dick.
"Nay, nay, mester, it's solemn truth."
"'Tisn't; it's gammon. Isn't it, Tom?"
"Ev
ery bit of it. He's come on purpose to ask us to go out with him."
"Nay, nay, nay, lads," said Dave in an ill-used tone. "I did think o'asking if Mester Marston here would like to try for some eels up in thelong shallows by Popley Watter, for they be theer as thick as herrin',bubblin' up and slithering in the mud."
"Let's go, then, Mr Marston. Eel-spearing," cried Dick.
"But I could not use an eel-spear," said the young engineer, smiling.
"But Tom and I could do the spearing, and you could put the eels in thebasket."
"When you caught them," said Marston, laughing.
"Oh, we should be sure to catch some! Shouldn't we, Dave?"
"Ay, theer's plenty of 'em, mester."
"Let's go, then," cried Dick excitedly; "and if we get a whole lot,we'll take them over to your men, Mr Marston. Come on!"
"Nay, but yow weant," said Dave, with a dry chuckle.
"Why not?"
"Mester Hickathrift has got the stong-gad to mend. One of the tines isoff, and it wants a noo ash pole."
"Here, stop a moment," said Marston, laughingly interrupting a groan ofdisgust uttered by the boys; "what, pray, is a stong-gad?"
"Ha--ha--ha!" laughed Tom. "Don't know what a stong-gad is!"
"Hold your tongue, stupid!" cried Dick indignantly, taking the part ofhis father's guest. "You don't know everything. What's a dumpyleveller? There, you don't know, and Mr Marston does."
"But what is a stong-gad?" said Marston.
"Eel-spear," said Dick. "How long would it take Hicky to mend it?"
"'Bout two hours--mebbe only one. I could mak' a new pole while heforged the tine."
"Come along, then. Hicky will leave anything to do it for me."
"Nay, he's gone to market," said Dave.
"Yes; I saw him pass our house," said Tom.
"What a shame!" cried Dick. "Here, I say, what's that basket for in thepunt?" he added eagerly.
"Why, he's got a net, too, and some poles," cried Tom. "Yah! he meantto do something."
"Why, of course he did," cried Dick, running down to the boat. "Now,then, Dave, what's it to be?"
"Oh, nowt, Mester Dick! I thought to put a net in, and a pole or two,and ask if you'd care to go and get a few fish, but Mester Marston's toofine a gentleman to care for ought o' the sort."
"Oh, no, I'm not!" said Marston. "I should enjoy it, boys, above allthings."
"There, Dave, now then! What is it--a drag-net?"
"Nay, Mester Dick, on'y a bit of a new."
"But where are you going?"
"I thowt o' the strip 'tween Long Patch and Bootherboomp's Roostens."
"Here, stop a moment," cried the engineer. "I've heard that namebefore. Who was Mr Bootherboomp?"
"Hi--hi--hi! hecker--hecker--hecker. Heigh!"
That does not express the sounds uttered by Dave, for they were morelike an accident in a wooden clock, when the wheels run down and finishwith a jerk which breaks the cogs. But that was Dave's way of laughing,and it ended with a horrible distortion of his features.
"I say: don't, Dave. What an old nut-cracker you are! You laugh likethe old watchman's rattle in the garret. Be quiet, Tom!"
"But Mr Bootherboomp!" roared Tom, bursting into a second fit oflaughter.
"It's butterbump, Mr Marston. It's what they call those tall brownbirds something like herons. What do you call them in London?" saidDick.
"Oh, bitterns!"
"Yes, that's it. Come on!"
"Nay," said Dave; "I don't think you gentlemen would care for such poorsport. On'y a few fish'."
"You never mind about that! Jump in, Mr Marston. Who's going topole?"
"Nay, I'll pole," said Dave. "If yow mean to go we may as well gettheer i' good time; but I don't think it's worth the trouble."
"Get out! It's rare good fun, Mr Marston; sometimes we get lots offish."
"I'm all expectation," said Marston as Dave smiled the tight smile,which made his mouth look like a healed-up cut; and, taking the pole,began to send the punt over the clear dark water. "Shall we find any ofthose curious fish my men caught in the river the other day?"
"What curious fish were they?" asked Dick.
"Well, to me they seemed as if so many young eels had grown ashamed ofbeing so long and thin, and they had been feeding themselves up andsqueezing themselves short, so as to look as like tench as possible."
"Oh, I know what you mean!" cried Tom. "Eel-pouts! they're just abouthalf-way between eels and tench."
"Nay, yow wean't catch them here," said Dave oracularly. "They lives inmuddy watter in rivers. Our watter here's clean and clear."
It was a bright pleasant journey over the mere, in and out of the lanesof water to pool after pool, till Dave suddenly halted at a canal-likespot, where the water ran in between two great beds of tender-growingreeds, which waved and undulated in the soft breeze. Here he thrustdown his pole and steadied the punt, while he shook out his light netwith its even meshes, securing one end to a pole and then letting theleaden sinkers carry it to the bottom before thrusting the punt over tothe other side of the natural canal, to which he made fast the secondend of the net in a similar way, so that the water was sealed with alight fence of network, whose lower edge was close to the black ooze ofthe bottom, held there by the leaden sinkers of the foot line, the topline being kept to the surface by a series of tightly-bound littlebundles of dry rushes.
"Theer," said Dave as soon as he had done, his proceedings having beencarefully watched; "that un do!"
"Will the fish go into that net?" said Marston.
"Nay, not unless we mak 'em, mester," said Dave, smiling. "Will they,Mester Dick?"
"Not they," cried Dick. "Wait a minute, Mr Marston; you'll see."
Dave took his pole and, leaving the net behind, coasted along by theshore of the little island formed by the canal or strait, which ran in,zigzagging about like a vein in a piece of marble; and after about aquarter of an hour's hard work he forced the punt round to the otherside of the island, and abreast of a similar opening to that which theyhad left, in fact the other end of the natural canal or lane, here abouttwelve or fourteen feet broad.
"Oh, I see!" said the engineer. "You mean to go in here, and drive thefish to the net at the other end."
"That's the way, Mr Marston," said Tom Tallington. "Wait a bit, andyou'll see such a haul."
"Perhaps of an empty net, Mr Marston," said Dick with a grin. "Perhapsthere are none here."
"You set astarn, mester," said Dave. "I'll put her along, and you tak'one side, Mester Dick; and you t'other, young Tom Tallington."
The boys had already taken up two long light poles that lay in the boat,and standing up as Dave sent the boat along slowly and making a greatdeal of disturbance with his pole, they beat and splashed and stabbedthe water on both sides of the boat, so as to scare any fish which mighthappen to be there, and send them flying along the lane toward the net.
This was a comparatively easy task, for the coming of the boat wassufficient as a rule to startle the timid fish, which in turn scaredthose in front, the beating with the poles at either side sendingforward any which might be disposed to slip back.
There was more labour than excitement in the task; but the course alongthe lane of water was not entirely uneventful, for a moor-hen wasstartled from her nest in a half-liquid patch of bog, above which rosequite a tuft of coarse herbage; and farther on, just as Dick thrust inhis pole to give it a good wriggle and splash, there was a tremendousswirl, and a huge pike literally shot out of the water, describing anarc, and after rising fully four feet from the surface droppedhead-first among the tangled water-weeds and reedy growth, through whichit could be seen to wriggle and force its way farther and farther, thewaving reeds and bubbling water between showing the direction in whichit had gone.
"Hooray, Dave! a forty-pounder!" cried Dick. "Push the punt in and wecan easily catch him."
"Not you," said Dave stolidly; "he'll get through that
faster than wecould."
"But, look, look! I can see where he is."
"Nay, he'll go all through theer and get deeper and deeper, and it'smore wattery farther on. He'll go right through theer, and come out theother side."
"But he was such a big one, Dave--wasn't he, Mr Marston?--quite fortypounds!"
"Nay, not half, lad," said Dave stolidly, as he thrust the boat on."Beat away. We'll come and set a bait for him some day. That's the wayto catch him."
Dick uttered an angry ejaculation as he looked back towards where hecould still see the water plants waving; and in his vexation he raisedhis pole, and went on with the splashing so vigorously, and, as legalfolks say, with so much _malice prepense_, that he sent the water flyingover Dave as he stood up in the bows of the punt.
Tom chuckled and followed suit, sending another shower over thepuntsman. Then Dick began again, the amber water flying and sparklingin the sunshine; but Dave took no notice till the splashing became toopronounced, when he stopped short, gave his head a shake, and turnedslowly round.
"Want to turn back and give up?" he said slowly.
Dick knew the man too well to continue, and in penitent tones exclaimed:
"No, no, go on, Dave, we won't splash any more."
"Because if there's any more of it--"
"I won't splash any more, Dave," cried Dick, laughing, "It was Tom."
"Oh, what a shame!"
"So you did splash. Didn't he, Mr Marston?"
"I don't want to hear no more about it, Mester Dick. I know," growledDave. "I only says, Is it to be fishing or games?"
"Fishing, Dave. It's all right; go on, Tom; splash away gently."
"Because if--"
"No, no, go on, Dave. There, we won't send any more over you."
Dave uttered a grunt, and forced the boat along once more, while Marstonsat in the stern an amused spectator of the boys' antics.
Everything now went on orderly enough, till they had proceeded a longway on, in and out, for a quarter of a mile, when at a word from Davethe splashing and stabbing of the water grew more vigorous, the puntbeing now pretty close to the net, the irregular row of bundles ofrushes showing plainly.
And now Dave executed a fresh evolution, changing the position of thepunt, for instead of its approaching end on, he turned it abreast, sothat it pretty well touched the reedy sides of the canal, and with thepoles now being plied on one side, the boat was made to approach moreslowly.
"Now, mester, you'd better stand up," said Dave.
"Yes, Mr Marston, stand up," cried Dick. "Look!"
Marston rose to his feet, and as he looked toward the entrance where thenet was spread there was a wave-like swell upon the surface, which mighthave been caused by the movement of the boat or by fish.
There was no doubt about its being caused by fish, for all at once,close by the row of rush bundles, there was a splash. Then, as theyapproached, another and another.
"They're feeling the net," cried Dick excitedly.
"Ay, keep it oop, lads, or they'll come back," cried Dave, making thewater swirl with his pole, which he worked about vigorously.
Even as he spoke there came another splash, and this time the sunflashed upon the glittering sides of the fish which darted out and fellover the other side of the top line of the net.
"There goes one," shouted Tom.
"Ay, and theer goes another," said Dave with a chuckle as he forced theboat along slowly.
And now, as Marston watched, he saw that the irregular line of rushbundles which stretched across the mouth of the canal was changing itsshape, and he needed no telling that the regular semicircular form itassumed was caused by the pressure of a shoal of fish seeking to escapeinto the open mere, but of course checked by the fragile wall of net.
"There must be a lot, Tom," cried Dick excitedly. "Look, Mr Marston!There goes another. Oh, Dave, we shall lose them all!"
This was consequent upon another good-sized fish flying out of thewater, falling heavily upon one of the rush floats, and then dartingaway.
"Nay, we sha'n't lose 'em all," said Dave coolly. "Some on 'em's safeto go. Now, then, splash away. Reach over your end, young TomTallington, or some on 'em 'll go round that way."
Tom changed his place a little, to stand now on what had been the frontof their advance, and thrusting in his pole he splashed and beat thenarrow space between him and the dense boggy side, where the sphagnumcame down into the water.
Dick followed suit at the other end, and Dave swept his pole sidewise asif he were mowing weeds below the surface.
"Oh!" cried Dick, as he overbalanced himself, and nearly went in fromthe stern. He would have gone headlong had not Mr Marston made abound, and caught him as he vainly strove to recover his balance.
The effort was well timed, and saved him, but of course the consequencesof jumping about in a boat are well-known. The punt gave such a lurchthat Dave almost went out, while, as for Tom, he was literally jerked upas from a spring-board, and, dropping his pole, he seemed to be taking avoluntary dive, describing a semicircle, and going down head-first, notinto the narrow slit between him and the boggy shore, but right into thesemi-fluid mass of sphagnum, water, and ooze, where he disappeared tohis knees.
Tom's dive sent the boat, as he impelled it with his feet, a couple ofyards away; and for a moment or two those who were in it seemed halfparalysed, till a roar of laughter from Dick, who did not realise thedanger, roused Dave to action.
For the dense mass, while fluid enough to allow Tom to dive in, was notsufficiently loose to let him rise; and there he stuck, head downwards,and with his legs kicking furiously.
"Now if we was to leave him," said Dave sententiously, "he wouldn'tnever be no more trouble to his father; but I suppose we must pull himout."
"Pull him out, man? Quick, use your pole!"
"Ay, I'm going to, mester," said Dave coolly. "Theer we are," hecontinued, as he sent the end of the punt back to where poor Tom's legswent on performing a series of kicks which were sometimes like thosemade by a swimming frog, and at others as if he were trying to walkupside down along an imaginary flight of aerial stairs.
The time seemed long, but probably it was not half a minute from thetime Tom dived into the bog till the young engineer seized him by thelegs and dragged him into the boat, to sit upon the bottom, gasping,spitting, and rubbing the ooze from his eyes. But it was a good twominutes before he was sufficiently recovered to look round angrily, andin a highly-pitched quavering voice exclaimed:
"Look here: who was it did that?"
"Nobody," roared Dick. "Oh, I say, Tom, what a game! Are your feetwet?"
Tom turned upon him savagely, but everyone in the boat was laughing, andhis countenance relaxed, and he rose up and leaned over the side of theboat to wash his face, which a splash or two relieved from the pieces ofbog and dead vegetation which adhered.
"I don't mind," he said. "Only you wouldn't have found it a game ifyou'd been there."
"Let's get back quickly," said Mr Marston, "or the boy will catchcold."
"Oh, it won't hurt me!" cried Tom. "Let's catch the fish first. Theynever get cold."
"Yes: let's haul the net out first," said Dick. "Tom won't mind aducking."
"Ay, we're going to hev out the net," said Dave. "Splash away, my lad.That'll keep away the cold."
Poor Tom's feet had not been wet, but as he stood up with the watertrickling from him, a couple of streams soon made their way down thelegs of his trousers into his boots. This was, however, soon forgottenin the excitement of the hauling.
For, after a fresh amount of splashing, though Dave declared the fishhad all come back, the punt was run pretty close up to one side, thelines and pole taken on board, and the punt thrust toward the otherside.
Before they reached it the bobbing of the rush floats and thesemicircular shape of the top line showed plainly enough that there werea good many fish there; and when Dave had secured the lines at the otherend, removed the pole
s, and by ingenious manipulation drawn on thebottom line so as to raise the cord, it was not long before the netbegan to assume the shape of a huge bag, and one that was pretty heavy.
Every now and then a swirl in the water and a splash showed where somelarge fish was trying to escape, while sometimes one did leap out andget away. Then the surface would be necked with silvery arrows asswarms of small-fry appeared flashing into sight and disappearing, theselittle bits of excitement growing less frequent as the small fish foundtheir way over the top of the net, or discovered that the meshes werewide enough to allow them to pass through.
"How is it, Dave, that all the little fish like to keep to the top ofthe water, and the big ones out of sight down at the bottom?" said Dick.
Dave chuckled, or rather made a noise something like a bray.
"S'pose you was a fish, young mester, wouldn't you, if you was a littleone, keep nigh the top if you found going down to the bottom among thebig uns meant being swallowed up?"
"Oh, of course!" cried Dick. "I forgot that they eat one another.Look, Mr Marston, that was a pike."
He pointed excitedly to a large fish which rose to the surface, justshowing its dark olive-green back as it curved over and disappearedagain, making the water eddy.
"They do not seem to have all gone, Dave," said Mr Marston.
"Nay, theer's a few on 'em left, mester," replied Dave. "Now, my lads,all together. That's the way."
The lines were drawn, and the weight of the great bag of meshes provedthat after all a good fair haul had been made, the net being drawn closeto the boat and the bag seeming to shrink in size till there was a massof struggling, splashing fish alongside, apparently enough to far morethan fill a bushel basket.
"What are you going to do?" asked Mr Marston, who was as excited now asthe boys, while Dave worked away stolidly, as if it was all one of themost commonplace matters for him.
"Haul the net into the boat," cried Tom.
"Nay, my net would break," said Dave. "There's a lot of owd rushes androots, and rotten weeds in it."
"I don't believe there are, Dave," said Dick. "It's all solid fish."
"Nay, lad, but net'll break. Let's hev out some of the big uns first."
"Look! there's a fine one," cried Dick, making a dash at a large fishwhich rose out of the writhing mass, but it glided through his hands.
"Howd hard!" said Dave. "You lads go th'other side o' the punt or weshall capsize. Let me and the London gentleman get them in."
"Oh!" groaned Tom.
"No, I've only one hand to work with," said Marston, who saw thereasonableness of the old fen-man's remark, for the side of the boat hadgone down very low once or twice, and the effect of dragging a portionof the laden net on board might have been sufficient to admit the water."I'll give way, and act as ballast."
"No, no!" cried Dick. "You help, Mr Marston."
But the young engineer remained steadfast to his proposal, and seatedhimself on the other side.
"Better let me lade out a few o' the big uns, Mester Dick," said Dave,"while you lads hold on."
The boys hardly approved of the proposal, but they gave way; and eachtaking a good grip of the wet net, they separated toward the head andstern, while Dave stayed in the middle, and taking off his jacket,rolled up his sleeves close to the shoulder, and then plunging his armsin among the swarm of fish he brought out a good-sized pike of six orseven pounds.
This was thrown into the basket, to flap furiously and nearly leap out,renewing its efforts as another of its kind was thrown in to keep itcompany.
"Is there a very big one, Dave?" cried Dick.
"Nay; nought very big," was the reply. "Draw her up, my lads. That'sreight."
As Dave spoke he kept on plunging his hands into the splashing andstruggling mass of fish, and sometimes brought out one, sometimesmissed. But he kept on vigorously till, feeling satisfied that the netwould bear the rest, he drew the loaded line well over into the boat,and, giving the boys a hint to tighten the line, he plunged in his armsonce more, got well hold, and the next minute, by a dexterous lift,raised the bag, so that its contents came pouring over the edge of thepunt in a silvery, glittering cataract of fish, leaping, gliding, andflapping all over the bottom about his feet.
Then a few fish, which were hanging by their gills, their heads beingthrust through the meshes, were shaken out, the net bundled up togetherand thrown into the fore part of the boat, and the little party cametogether to gloat over their capture.
"Theer, lads," said Dave, coolly resuming his jacket, "you can pitch 'emall into the baskets, all the sizable ones, and put all the little onesback into the watter. I'll throost the punt back, so as young TomTallington can get some dry clothes."
These latter were the last things in Tom's mind, for just then, as Daveresumed the pole, and began sending the boat quickly through the water,the boy was trying to grasp an eel, which had found the meshes one sizetoo small for his well-fed body, and was now in regular serpentinefashion trying to discover a retreat into which he could plunge, and soescape the inevitable frying-pan or pot.
Irrespective of the fact that a large eel can bite sharply, it is, aseveryone knows, one of the most awkward things to hold, for the moment agood grip of its slimy body is made, the result seems to be that ithelps the elongated fish to go forward or slip back. And this Tom foundas he grasped the eel again and again, only for it to make a fewmuscular contortions and escape.
Then Dick tried, with no better effect, the pursuit lasting till theactive fish made its way in among the meshes of the net, when itscapture became easy, and it was swept into the great basket, to set thepike flapping and leaping once more.
Then the sorting commenced, all the small fish being thrown back toincrease in size, while the rest of the slimy captives went into thebasket.
There was no larger pike than the one first taken out of the net byDave, but plenty of small ones, all extremely dark in colour, as ifaffected by living in the amber-tinted water, and nearly all these werethrown back, in company with dozens of silvery roach and orange-finned,brightly gilded rudd, all thicker and broader than their relatives theroach.
Many scores of fish were thrown overboard, some to turn up and float fora few minutes before they recovered their breath, as Tom called it, butfor the most part they dived down at once, uninjured by what they hadgone through, while their largeness fortunate friends were tossed intothe basket--gilded side-striped perch, with now and then a fat-looking,small-eyed, small-scaled tench, brightly brazen at the sides, andlooking as if cast in a soft kind of bronze. Then there were a coupleof large-scaled brilliantly golden carp; but the majority of the fishwere good-sized, broad, dingy-looking bream, whose slimy emanations madethe bottom of the punt literally ask for a cleansing when the basket wasnearly filled.
By that time the party were well on their way to the Toft, and as theyneared the shore, it was to find the squire waiting to speak to theengineer, while John Warren was close behind with his dog, ready to joinDave, in whose company he went off after the latter had been up to thehouse and had a good feast of bread and cheese and ale.
That evening the squire and Mr Marston went over to the works to seehow matters were progressing, to find all satisfactory, and the nightpassed quietly enough; but at breakfast the next morning, when some ofthe best of the tench appeared fried in butter, a messenger came over tosee the engineer on his way to the town for the doctor, to announce thatHez Bargle, the big delver, who had been leader of the party who cameover so fiercely about the attack upon Mr Marston, had been found thatmorning lying in the rough hovel where he slept alone, nearly dead.
The man was sharply examined by the engineer, a fresh messenger in theshape of Hickathrift being found to carry on the demand for the doctor.But there was very little to learn. Bargle had not come up to his work,and the foreman of the next gang went to see why his fellow-ganger hadnot joined him, and found him lying on the floor of the peat-built hutquite insensible, with the marks of savage blow
s about the head, as ifhe had been suddenly attacked and beaten with a club, for there was nosign of any struggle.
Mr Marston went over at once with the squire, Dick obtaining permissionto accompany them; and upon their arrival it was to find all the work ata stand-still, the men being grouped about with their sleeves rolled-up,and smoking, and staring silently at the rough peat hovel where theirfellow-worker lay.
The engineer entered the shelter--it did not deserve the title ofcottage--and the squire and Dick followed, to find the man nearlyinsensible, and quite unable to give any account of how the affair hadhappened.
The men were questioned, but knew nothing beyond the fact that they hadparted from him as usual to go to their own quarters, Bargle being theonly one who lodged alone. There had been no quarrel as far as MrMarston could make out, everyone he spoke to declaring that the work hadgone on the previous day in the smoothest way possible; and at lastthere seemed to be nothing to do but wait until the great, rough fellowcould give an account of the case for himself.
The doctor came at last, and formed his opinion.
"He is such a great, strong fellow that unless he was attacked by two orthree together, I should say someone came upon him as he lay asleep andstunned him with a blow on the head."
"The result of some quarrel or offence given to one of the men underhim, I'm afraid," said the engineer with a look of intense vexation inhis eyes. "These men are very brutal sometimes to their fellows,especially when they are placed in authority. Will he be long before heis better?"
"No," replied the doctor. "The blows would have killed an ordinary man,but he has a skull like an ox. He'll be at work again in a fortnight ifhe'll behave sensibly, and carry out my instructions."
A couple of days later Bargle was sitting up smoking, when the engineerentered the reed-thatched hut, in company with Dick.
"Hallo, youngster!" growled the great fellow, with a smile slowlyspreading over his rugged face, and growing into a grin, which accordedill with his bandaged head; "shak' hands!"
Dick obeyed heartily enough, the great fellow retaining the lad's handin his, and slowly pumping it up and down.
"We're mates, that's what we two are," he growled. "You ar'n't half abad un, you ar'n't. Ah, mester, how are you? Arm better?"
"Mending fast, my lad; and how are you?"
"Tidy, mester, tidy! Going to handle a spade again to-morrow."
"Nonsense, man! you're too weak yet."
"Weak! Who says so? I don't, and the doctor had better not."
"Never mind that. I want you to tell me how all this happened."
"He ar'n't half a bad un, mester," said the injured man, ignoring theremark, as he held on to the boy's hand. "We're mates, that's what weare. See him stand up again me that day? It were fine."
"Yes; but you must tell me how this occurred. I want to take some stepsabout it."
"Hey! and you needn't take no steps again it, mester. I shall lay holdon him some day, and when I do--Hah!"
He stretched out a huge fist in a menacing way that promised ill to hisassailant.
"But do you know who it was?" said the engineer.
"It warn't him," growled Bargle, smiling at Dick. "He wouldn't come andhit a man when he's asleep. Would you, mate?"
"I wouldn't be such a coward," cried Dick.
"Theer! Hear that, mester! I knowed he wouldn't. He'd hev come up tome and hit me a doubler right in the chest fair and square, and said,`now, then, come on!'"
"Then someone did strike you when you were asleep, Bargle, eh?"
"Dunno, mester; I s'pose so. Looks like it, don't it?"
"Yes, my man, very much so. Then you were woke out of your sleep by ablow, eh?"
"Weer I? I don't know."
"Tell me who have you had a quarrel with lately?"
"Quarrel?"
"Well, row, then."
"Wi' him," said the big fellow, pointing at Dick.
"Oh, but he would not have come to you in the night!"
"Who said he would, mester?" growled Bargle menacingly. "Not he. He'dcome up square and give a man a doubler in the chest and--"
"Yes, yes," said the engineer impatiently; "but I want to know who itwas made this attack upon you--this cowardly attack. You say it waswhile you slept."
"Yes, I s'pose so; but don't you trouble about that, mester. I'm bigenough to fight my bit. I shall drop on to him one of these days, andwhen I do--why, he'll find it okkard."
Mr Marston questioned and cross-questioned the man, but there was nomore to be got from him. He s'posed some un come in at that theer doorand give it him; but he was so much taken up with Dick's visit that hecould hardly think of self, and when they came away Mr Marston hadlearned comparatively nothing, the big fellow shouting after Dick:
"I've got a tush for you, lad, when I get down to the dreern again--oneI digged out, and you shall hev it."
Dick said, "Thank you," for the promised "tush," and walked away.
"I don't like it," said Mr Marston. "Someone shooting at me; someonestriking down this man. I'm afraid it's due to ill-will towards me,Dick. But," he added, laughing, "I will not suspect you, as Bargle letsyou off."
Dick o' the Fens: A Tale of the Great East Swamp Page 12