by F. W. Farrar
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.
TO THE RESCUE.
Alas! how easily things go wrong!
And there follows a mist and a weeping rain, And life is _never_ the same again!
George Macdonald, _Phantastes_.
Eden felt an immeasurable delight when Walter was allowed to come backto the dormitory, and now he thought himself happy in a perfect securityfrom further torment.
But the two tyrants had other views. Harpour, at once passionate anddogged, was not likely to forget that he had been thwarted and defied;and if he had been so inclined, Jones would have not allowed him to doso, but kept egging him on to show his contempt for the younger andweaker boys who had tried to check his bullying propensities. On thelast occasion when he had ordered Eden to go to Dan's, Eden had takenWalter's advice, and firmly refused to go. Harpour did not think itsafe to compel him, but he threw out some significant threats, whichfilled the little boy with vague alarm and weighed heavily on hisspirits. He did not tell any one of these threats, hoping that theywould end in nothing, and, in case of any emergency, trusting implicitlyon Walter for a generous and efficient protection.
But the threats did _not_ end in nothing.
One night, after the others had fallen asleep, Eden, feeling quite freefrom all anxiety, was sleeping more soundly and sweetly than he had donefor a fortnight, when a blaze of light, flashing suddenly upon his eyes,made him start up in his bed. Harpour and Jones were taking thisopportunity to fulfil their threat of frightening him. At the foot ofhis bed stood a figure in white, with a hideous, deformed head, blotchedwith scarlet; bending over him was another white figure, with anenormous black face, holding over its head a shining hand.
In an instant the boy fell back, pale as death, uttering a shriek soshrill and terrible, so full of wildness and horror, that every otherboy in the dormitory sprang up, alarmed and wide awake.
Walter and Henderson leaped out of bed immediately; and to Walter, whowas unprepared, the start of surprise at what he saw was so sudden, thatfor a moment he stood absolutely paralysed and bewildered, because theshock on the nerves had preceded the recognition, though by aninfinitesimally short time. But Henderson, who knew how Jones andHarpour had been going on, and what their threats had been, instantly,and before the abrupt and unusual spectacle had power to unnerve him,saw the true state of the case, and, springing out upon the figure whichstood at the end of Eden's bed, tore the mask away, stripped off thesheet, and displayed Jones's face before he had time to hide it,administering, as he did so, a hearty blow on Jones's chest, which madethat hero stagger several paces back.
Although Walter saw almost at once the trick that was being played withmasks, sheets, and phosphorus, yet the sudden shock upon his nerves notbeing _absolutely co-instantaneous_ with the discovery, produced on himthe effect of utter dizziness and horror. Henderson's prompt andvigorous onslaught aroused him to a sense of the position, and with afierce expression of disgust and anger, he bounded upon Harpour, who,being thus suddenly attacked, dropped upon the floor the dark lanternwhich he held, and hastily retreated, flinging the sheet over Walter'shead.
Walter had barely disentangled himself from the folds of the sheet, whenan exclamation from Henderson attracted the notice of all the boys inthe room, and brought them flocking round Eden's bed. Henderson hadpicked up the dark lantern, and was kneeling with it over theunconscious boy, whose face was so ashy white, and who, after severalsharp screams, had sunk into so deep a swoon, that Henderson, unused tosuch sights, naturally exclaimed--
"Good God! you've killed him."
"Killed him?" repeated the others, standing aghast.
"Pooh! he's only fainted, you little fools," said Jones, who hurried upto look in Eden's face. "Here, we'll soon bring him too; Harpour, justget us some water."
"You shan't touch him, you shan't come near him," said Walter furiously;"stand back, you hateful bullies. Henderson and I will attend to him;and, depend upon it, you shall give account for this soon. What! you_will_ come?" he continued, shaking Jones's arm violently, and thenflinging him back as easily as though he had been a child; "if eitheryou or Harpour come near the bed I'll fetch Robertson instantly. Edenwould go off again in a swoon, if he saw such brutes as you when herecovered."
In such a mood Walter was not to be resisted. The two plotters, pickingup their masks, retired somewhat crestfallen, and sat down on theirbeds, while the rest, with the utmost tenderness, adopted every meansthey knew to recall Eden's fluttered and agitated senses.
But his swoon was deeper than they could manage, and, growing tooviolently alarmed to trust themselves any longer, Henderson and Walkerproposed to carry him to the sickroom, and put him at once under thecare of Dr Keith. It was in vain that Jones and Harpour entreated,threatened, implored them to delay a little longer, lest by taking Edento the sickroom, their doings should be discovered. Wholly disregardingall they said, the two boys uplifted their still fainting friend, andwhen Harpour attempted to interfere between them and the door, Cradockand Franklin, now _thoroughly_ sickened by their proceedings, pulled himaside and let them pass.
Dr Keith instantly administered to Eden a restorative, and afterreceiving from Walter a hurried explanation of the circumstances, gentlytold the boys that they would be only in the way there, that Eden wasevidently in a critical position, and that they had better return atonce to their dormitories.
Walter and Henderson, when they returned, were assailed by the otherswith eager inquiries, to which they could only give gloomy and uncertainanswers. They would not vouchsafe to take the slightest notice of Jonesor Harpour, but met all their remarks with resolute silence. But beforehe went to sleep, Walter said, "I may as well let you fellows know thatI intend to report you to Somers to-morrow."
"Then you'll be a damned sneak," observed Harpour.
"It is not sneaking to prevent brutal bullying like yours, by givingothers the chance of stopping it, and preventing little chaps like poorEden, whom you've nearly frightened to death, from being so shamefullytreated. Anyhow, sneaking, or not, I'll do it."
"If you do tell Somers, look out for yourself--that's all."
"I'm not afraid," was the brief retort.
Harpour knew that he meant what he said, and, being now desperate, hegot up half an hour earlier next morning to try and extort from him, bymain force, a promise to hold his tongue about the affair of the nightbefore. If he had at all understood Walter's character, he might havesaved himself this very superfluous trouble.
Walter was awakened by a shake from Harpour, who, with Jones, wasstanding by his head. He saw what was coming, for Harpour, who had apair of braces tightly knotted in his hand, briefly opened theproceedings by saying, "Are you going to sneak about me, or not?"
"To sneak--no; to tell the head of the school--yes."
"Then, by Jove, you shall have something worth telling; I'll take myrevenge out of you beforehand. I shall be sent away--think of that."
"So much the better. One bully the less."
"Oh, that's your tune? Take that." The buckle of the brace descendedsharply on Walter's back, drawing blood; the next instant he had wrestedit out of Harpour's hand, and returned the blow.
The scuffle had awakened the rest. Walter jumped out of bed, and washurrying on his trousers and slippers, when Harpour knocked him down.
"Fair play, Harpour," said Henderson and Franklin, angrily seizingHarpour's arms; "you're surely not going to fight him, Walter?"
"Yes; see fair play, you fellows; Cradock, you will, won't you? Fairplay is all I want. Flip, you see that Jones tries no mean dodge. Now,Harpour, are you ready? Then take that."
Walter hit him a steady blow in the face, and the fight between theseunequally-matched combatants--a boy not fifteen against a much strongerboy of seventeen--began. The result could not be dubious. Walterfought with indomitable pluck; it was splendid to see the sturdinesswith which he bore up under the blows of Harpour's strong fist, which hecould only return at
intervals. He was tremendously punished, whileHarpour was barely touched, except by one well-directed blow whichflashed the fire out of his eyes. At last he dealt Walter a heavy blowfull on the forehead; the boy reeled, caught hold of the wash-hand standto stay his fall and dragged it after him on the floor with a thunderingcrash, dashing the jug and basin all to shivers.
The smash brought in Mr Robertson, whose rooms were nearest to Number10. He opened his eyes in amazement as he came in. On one of the bedslay the two masks and dark lantern which had been used to frighten Eden;on the floor, supported by Franklin and Henderson, sat poor Walter, hisnose streaming with blood, and his face horribly bruised and disfigured;Harpour sheepishly surveyed his handiwork; and Jones, on the firstalarm, had rushed back to bed, covered himself with blankets, and lay toall appearance fast asleep.
"Evson! what's all this?" asked the master in astonishment.
Walter, sick and giddy, was in no condition to answer; but the positionof affairs was tolerably obvious.
"Is this _your_ doing?" asked Mr Robertson of Harpour, very sternly,pointing to Walter.
"He hit me first."
"Liar," said Henderson, glaring up at him.
"Hush, sir; no such language in my presence," said Mr Robertson."Cradock, do you mean to say that a big fellow like you could stand by,and see Harpour thus cruelly misuse a boy not nearly his size."
"It was a fight, sir."
"Fight!" said Mr Robertson; "look at those two boys, and don't talknonsense to me."
"I oughtn't to have let them fight, I know," said Cradock; "and I wish,sir, you'd put Harpour and Jones into another room, they're alwaysbullying Eden, and it was for him that Evson fought."
"Harpour," said Mr Robertson, "you are absolutely despicable; a vilerfigure than you present at this moment could not be conceived. I shallmove you to another dormitory, where some monitor can restrain yourbrutality; and, meanwhile, I confine you to gates for a month, and youwill bring me up one hundred lines every day till further notice."
He was leaving the room, but catching sight of Walter, he returned, andsaid kindly, "Evson, my poor boy, I'm afraid you're sadly hurt; I'mtruly sorry for you; you seem to have been behaving in a very noble way,and I honour you. Henderson, I think you'd better go with him to DrKeith," he continued; for Walter, though he heard what was said, was toomuch hurt and shaken to speak a word.
"Come, Walter," said Henderson, gently helping him to rise; "I hopeyou're not very much hurt, old fellow. That brute Harpour won't troubleyou again, anyhow; nor his parasite Jones. Lean on my arm. Franklin,you come and give Walter your arm, too."
They helped him to the sickroom, for he could barely trail his legsafter him. Dr Keith laid him down quietly on a sofa, put some arnicato the bruises on his face, and told him to lie still and go quietly tosleep. "He is not very much hurt," he said, in answer to the inquiriesof the boys; "but the fall he has had is quite sufficiently serious inits consequences to render absolute rest necessary to him for some days.You may come and see him sometimes."
"And now, you fellow, Harpour," said Henderson, re-entering thedormitory; "as you've knocked up Evson, and half killed Eden, _I'll_tell Somers. Do you hear? and I hope he'll thrash you till you can'tstand."
"He daren't; Robertson's punished me already."
"He dare, and will; you won't get off so lightly as all that."
"You're a set of sneaks; and I'll be even with you yet," growledHarpour, too much cowed to resent Henderson's defiance.
Henderson laughed scornfully; and Cradock said, "And _I'll_ tell thewhole school what bullies you've been, Harpour and Jones."
"And _I_," said Franklin; "I don't envy you two."
"The school doesn't consist altogether of such softs as your lot,luckily," answered Harpour.
"Softs or not, we've put a spoke in _your_ wheel for the present,"answered Franklin. "I congratulate you on the rich black eye which oneof the softs, half your size, has given you."
"They're not worth snarling with, Franklin," said Henderson; "we shallbe rid of him and Jones from Number 10 henceforth; that's one blessing."