by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER II.
A COLD SWIM.
IT is winter. Christmas is close at hand, and promises to be a bitterlycold one. The ice has formed smooth and black across the Serpentine, anda number of people are walking along by its banks, looking forward tosome grand skating if the frost does but hold two days longer. The skyis blue, and the sun shining brightly; the wind is fresh and keen; it isjust the day when people well-clad, well-fed, and in strong health, feeltheir blood dancing more freely than usual through their veins, andexperience an unusual exhilaration of spirits. Merry laughter oftenrises from the groups on the bank, and the air rings with the sharpsound made by pieces of ice sent skimming by mischievous boys over theglassy surface, to the disgust of skaters, who foresee future falls asthe result of these fragments should a slight thaw freeze them to thesurface.
Among those walking by the edge of the ice were Frank Norris and FredBarkley; with them was a bright-faced girl of some fourteen years old.Alice Hardy was cousin to both the young fellows, and was a ward oftheir uncle, Captain Bayley, an old and very wealthy retired officer ofthe East India Company's Service. His fortune had not been acquired inIndia, but had descended to him from his father, of whom he had been theyoungest son. His elder brothers had died off one by one, all unmarriedor childless, and soon after he obtained his commission he was recalledhome to take his place as the next heir to his father's estates; then hehad married.
Soon after he succeeded to the property his wife died, leaving him alittle girl, who was called Ella after her. Captain Bayley was hot andpassionate. His daughter grew up fiery and proud. Her father waspassionately fond of her; but just when she reached the age of twenty,and had taken her place as one of the leading belles of Worcestershire,she disappeared suddenly from the circle of her acquaintances. What hadhappened no one ever knew. That there had been some terrible quarrel wascertain. It was understood that Captain Bayley wished no questions to beasked. Her disappearance was a nine days' wonder in Worcestershire. Somesaid she had turned Roman Catholic and gone into a convent; others thatshe must have eloped, although with whom no one could guess. But at lastthe subject died out, until two years later Captain Bayley and hishousehold appeared in mourning, and it was briefly announced that hisdaughter was dead.
Captain Bayley went about as before, peppery, kind-hearted, perhaps alittle harder and more cynical than before, but a very popular personagein Worcestershire. Those who knew him best thought him the most altered,and said that although he appeared to bear the blow lightly he feltdeeply at heart the death of his daughter. His nearest heirs now werehis two nephews, Frank Norris and Barkley, sons of his married sisters.Alice Hardy bore no relation to him. For some years speculation hadbeen rife as to which of his two nephews he would select as his heir.
Two years before this story begins Alice Hardy's father and mother hadboth died of typhoid fever, leaving Captain Bayley as guardian to theirdaughter. Somewhat to the surprise of his friends, the old officer notonly accepted the trust, but had Alice installed at his house, there tobe educated by a governess instead of being sent to school. But althoughin a short time she came to be regarded as the daughter of the house, noone thought that Captain Bayley would make her his heiress, as she hadinherited a considerable fortune from her father; and the two lads atWestminster were still regarded as rivals for the heirship.
Captain Bayley had never been on good terms with either of hisbrothers-in-law; both had been merchants in the city, and the oldofficer considered that his sisters had made mesalliances in marryingthem. Frank's father and mother had died within a few months of eachother, when he was about twelve years old; Captain Bayley's house hadsince been his home. Fred was often invited to stay with his uncle downin Worcestershire, and his London house in Eaton Square was always opento him. Frank had never counted on the probability of his uncle leavinghim any money. Certainly he never for a moment built castles in the airfounded upon the chance of the inheritance. His father had been aneasy-going and somewhat careless man, and would sometimes laugh with theboy in speaking of his future and predicting what he would do if he werecome into old Bayley's estates. None of the Captain's intimatescould--had they been asked--have declared a preference for the chancesof either lad. Fred was certainly the cleverest. He had gone intocollege head of his year, and would have been Captain, had not one ofthose of the year before him, who had got into College under age,elected to stay a year longer at school, and therefore by right becameCaptain, while Fred had to be content with the honours of head monitor.Frank, on the other hand, had failed to get into College at all, and hadremained a town boy.
Although it could not be said of Fred that in any open way he laidhimself out to gain his uncle's favour, he was yet decidedly moreattentive than was Frank, and would give up any other engagement hemight have if Captain Bayley invited him to stay the Saturday and Sundayin Eaton Square, while Frank went carelessly his own way. And whilethere was nothing in the smallest degree servile in Fred's manner--forthis indeed Captain Bayley would have instantly noticed andresented--there was just that slight deference which a young fellowshould exhibit in conversation with an elder, while Frank, on the otherhand, carelessly expressed his own opinion and ideas, which oftendiffered very widely from those of the old officer.
Captain Bayley's own manner evinced no shade of partiality for onenephew over the other; and although Alice had a sort of faint suspicionthat Frank, who was certainly her own favourite, was also that of heruncle, she could have given no reason for her belief.
In person the cousins were remarkably dissimilar. Frank was two inchesthe tallest, and had a still greater advantage in width. It was clearthat he would grow into a big man, but his figure was at present looseand unformed; he had dark brown hair, with a slight wave, and wouldhardly have been called good-looking, were it not for his open, fearlessexpression and merry smile.
Fred's figure, although less strongly built, was far more formed, and itwas probable that years would effect but little change in it. There wasa sinew and wire in his frame which would have told an athlete of greatlatent strength in the slight figure. His hair was light, his featuresclear and sharply cut, and the face a decidedly intellectual one. Hismanner was somewhat cold and restrained, but pleasant and courteous tomen older than himself; both young fellows carried themselves well, witha certain ease of bearing, and that nameless air of command whichdistinguish most young men who have passed through the upper forms of agreat public school.
Both lads had their circle of friends and admirers at school, butFrank's was by far the largest. He was indeed universally popular, whichwas far from being the case with his cousin. Upon the other hand, whileFrank seemed to be a sort of common property of the School, it wassomehow esteemed by those in Barkley's set a special distinction to beadmitted to his friendship.
But the party of three young people have been left long enough walkingby the edge of the Serpentine. Presently they saw a knot of peoplegathered ahead; the number increased as others ran up.
"What's up, I wonder?" Frank said. "Look out there on the ice, Alice.You see that hole; there is something moving--there's a dog's head, Ideclare. Poor brute! it has run out after a stick, I suppose, and theice has given under it."
"Poor little thing!" Alice exclaimed pitifully, "can't it get out? Doyou think it will be drowned, Frank? Can nothing be done for it?"
"The best thing you can do, Alice," Fred replied, as Frank stood lookingat the dog, who tried several times, but in vain, to scramble out, theice each time breaking with its weight, "will be to turn and walk away;there is no use standing here harrowing your feelings by watching thatpoor little brute drown."
"Can nothing be done, Frank?" Alice again asked, paying no heed toFred's suggestion.
"That is just what I am thinking," Frank replied. "You stop here, Alice,with Fred. I will go on and see what they are doing."
"Can't I go with you, Frank?"
"You had better stop here," Frank replied; "the crowd is getting thickthere, and they are a r
oughish lot. Besides, you will not be able to seeover their heads, and can do no good; so just do as I bid you."
The girl remained obediently with her cousin Fred, while Frank went offat a run towards the group.
"Frank orders you about just as if you were his fag," Fred said, with asmile which had in it something of a sneer.
"I don't mind," the girl said staunchly, "it's Frank's way, and I likeit;--at any rate one always knows what Frank means, and he always meanswell."
"That is as much as to say, Alice, that you don't always understand whatI mean, and that I don't always mean well," Fred Barkley said in a quiettone, but with a little flush of anger in his usually somewhat palecheeks.
"No, I don't know that I mean that," Alice said carelessly; "but I donot always understand what you mean, though I always understand what yousay."
"I should have thought that was the same thing," Fred replied.
"Should you?" Alice rejoined. "Well I shouldn't, that's all."
As Frank Norris approached the group he began to unbutton his collar andwaistcoat.
"It will be a beastly cold swim," he grumbled to himself, "but I can'tsee the poor little brute drowned, and drowned he certainly will be ifno one goes in for him. It's no distance to swim, and I should think onecould wade to within twenty yards of him; but it certainly will behorribly cold." And he gave a shiver of anticipation as he looked at thesmooth frozen surface.
With some little difficulty Frank pushed his way through to the centreof the group by the water's side. A little girl, poorly dressed, wasstanding crying bitterly; a cripple boy in a box upon wheels was tryingto pacify her, while another who had taken off his coat and waistcoat,and laid them in the lap of the cripple, was unlacing his boots.
"Are you going in, young un?" Frank said, as he joined them.
"Yes, sir; I am going in for Flossy. She belongs to this little girl,who is one of our neighbours."
"Can you swim well?" Frank asked, "for the water will be bitterly cold."
"Yes," the boy answered confidently, "I goes regularly for a swim aboveVauxhall Bridge in the summer, and keeps on until the water gets toocold. I can do that fast enough. I suppose the ice will break rightenough," and he looked up inquiringly at Frank.
"Yes, it will break with your weight easily enough; you will have toraise yourself a little so as to break it before you. You will have toput some weight on, for it is nearly half an inch thick; I expect thereis a thin place where the dog has fallen in--a spring underneath, mostlikely, so a mere skin has formed.
"Look here, young un, I was going in if you hadn't. I shall get my bootsready to kick off now, so don't you be frightened if you get numbed withthe cold, or a touch of cramp; just sing out and I will be with you in aminute."
The cripple looked with pleasure up into Frank's face.
"It is very good of you, sir, for you don't know the dog as Evan does.Ah! I know your face, sir," he broke off, "I saw you in the fight downby our place at Westminster, when Evan ran up and fetched some more ofyour chaps--and just in time they were too."
"Oh! was it your brother who brought that news?" Frank said quickly;"then I owe him one, and if I go in to fetch him out we shall be onlyquits."
Evan had by this time entered the water, breaking the ice before him ashe went.
"My eye, ain't it cold!" he said, half-turning round, "seems to nipone's legs up regular. All right, Flossy," he shouted to the dog, as hecontinued his way out, in answer to a pitiful whine of the strugglinganimal.
THE RESCUE FROM THE SERPENTINE.]
For the first few paces Evan's progress was easy enough; but when he gotso deep that he could no longer break the ice with his foot hisdifficulties began, and it was only by flinging himself down upon itthat he was able to break it. A few yards further on the water was upto his chin. He was now breaking the ice by trying to climb upon it.Frank was watching him closely, and noticed that he no longer proceededabout his work deliberately, but with a hurried and jerky action, as ifhe felt his strength failing him. Frank pulled off his coat andwaistcoat, and handed them to the cripple, kicked off his boots, andstood in readiness to plunge in.
The crowd had at first cheered the lad as he made his way from theshore; some still uttered shouts of encouragement, others saw that hewas getting exhausted, and called to him to return. Suddenly the boyseemed to lose his power altogether, held on to the edge of the ice, andcast a despairing look towards the shore. Then gradually his headdisappeared under the water; but Frank was already half-way towards him.A few strides had taken him through the shallow water, and he swam withvigorous strokes through the floating fragments to the end of the lineof broken water; then he too disappeared for a moment. A dead silencereigned through the crowd; but when two heads appeared above the watertogether, a ringing cheer broke out. Carrying his senseless companion,Frank swam back to shore.
"Take off his wet clothes," he said, as he handed his burden to some ofthe men. "Wrap him up in my coat and his own, and then run with him upto the Humane Society's House, they will bring him round in no time; itis cold, not drowning."
Then he looked again across the water. The little dog was swimmingfeebly now, its nose scarcely above the surface. It had given aplaintive cry of despair as it saw those who had approached so near turnback, for there were but some five yards between the spot where theboy's strength had failed and the circle which it had broken in itsefforts to climb out.
"I can't be colder than I am," Frank said to himself, "so here goes."
Accordingly he again dashed into the water and swam to the end of thenarrow passage; a few vigorous strokes broke the intervening barrier ofice. He seized the little dog, put it on the ice, and with a push sentit sliding towards the shore, and then turned and swam back again.
It was only just where the dog had fallen in that the ice was too weakto bear its weight, and, after lying for two or three minutes utterlyexhausted, it scrambled to its feet and made its way to the bank, whereit was soon wrapped in the apron of its delighted mistress.
Frank, on reaching the shore, was scarcely able to stand, so benumbedwere his legs by the cold. His cousins had made their way through thecrowd to the spot.
"O Frank," Alice exclaimed, "what a mad thing for you to do. Oh! I am sopleased you did it--but oh, you do look cold! What will you do?"
"I am all right, Alice," Frank said, as cheerfully as his chatteringteeth would allow him to speak. "You go home with Fred; I shall get ahot bath and have my clothes dried at the receiving-house, and shall beas right as a trivet in half an hour. There, good-bye!"
Frank walked stiffly at first, but was presently able to break into arun, which he kept up until he reached the establishment of the RoyalHumane Society. His first question, as he entered, was for the boy.
"He will do, sir," the attendant answered, "we popped him at once intoa hot bath we had ready, and he has opened his eyes, and is able tospeak; we have just got him into bed between warm blankets, and now it'syour turn."
In another minute Frank was in the bath from which the boy had just beentaken, for there was no time to prepare another. For the first minute ortwo he felt an intense pain as the blood flowed back into his chilledlimbs, then a delightful sensation of warmth and comfort stole over him;a glass of hot brandy and water completed his cure, and a few minuteslater he felt that he was fast going off to sleep in the warm blanketsbetween which he was laid.
Before the crowd whom the incident on the Serpentine had gathered brokeup, one or two of those present went among the rest and collected asubscription for the lad who had gone in after the dog. Nearly twopounds were collected in silver and coppers, and handed over to thecripple to give to his brother. Fred Barkley dropped in five shillings,and Alice Hardy the same sum. Then after walking to the receiving-house,and hearing that Frank and the lad had both recovered from the effectsof the cold, and would probably be all right after a few hours' sleep,they returned home, Alice in a high state of excitement over theadventure which she had witnessed, Fred s
ilent and gloomy.
He accompanied Alice to Eaton Square, and was present when she relatedto her uncle the story of the lad going in to rescue the dog, and ofFrank going in to rescue the boy, and of his afterwards returning to setfree the dog. Upon the way home he had appeared to Alice to take thematter exceedingly quietly, but he now, somewhat to her surprise,appeared almost as enthusiastic as herself, and spoke in terms of highadmiration of Frank's conduct. Captain Bayley, as was usually the casewith him, took a view of the matter entirely opposed to that of thespeakers.
"Stuff and nonsense!" he said. "You call that a gallant action? I callit a foolish boy's trick. What right has Frank to risk getting rheumaticfever, and being laid up as a cripple for life, merely to save a dog?"
"But he went in to save a boy, uncle," Alice said indignantly.
"Pooh, pooh!" the old officer exclaimed, "the boy would never have gonein if he hadn't encouraged him. That makes the case all the worse. Franknot only risking catching rheumatism himself, but he risked the life ofthat boy by encouraging him to do such a foolish action. It was ahair-brained business altogether, sir; and I am glad you had the wisdom,Fred, to keep out of it. The idea of two lives being risked to save thatof a wretched cur is too absurd; if you had offered the girl who ownedit five shillings to buy another it would have been more sensible."
"I don't believe you mean what you say a bit, Uncle Harry," Aliceexclaimed indignantly. "I believe if you had been there, and had heardthat poor little dog's cries as we did, you would have gone in yourself.I am sure I would if I had been a man."
"I always observe, my dear," Captain Bayley said sarcastically, "thatwomen would do wonderful things if they had only been born men. Natureappears to be always making mistakes by putting the dauntless and heroicspirits into female bodies, and _vice versa_."
"I don't like you when you talk like that, Uncle Harry--that is, Ishouldn't like you if I thought you meant it; but you only talk so outof contradiction. If I had said I thought Frank was very foolish forhaving gone into the water, you would have taken the opposite sidedirectly."
"You are an impudent puss, Miss Alice," her uncle retorted, "and I shallhave to tell Miss Lancaster that unless she can keep you in better orderI shall have to send you to school. You appear to have been born withoutthe bump of veneration."
"I would venerate you ever so much, Uncle Harry," the girl replied,laughing, "if you would always be good and reasonable; but I cannotvenerate you when you are contrary and disagreeable, and say things youdon't mean."
As Fred Barkley walked home, he wondered again and again to himselfwhether Captain Bayley had meant what he said, and whether this act ofFrank's would raise him in his opinion or the contrary; but he flatteredhimself that, at any rate, no harm had been done, for his own advocacyof his cousin could not but have placed him in the most favourablelight.
Fred Barkley was shrewd, but his power of reading character was, as yet,by no means perfect, and his uncle's changing moods baffled the power ofanalysis. He would not have been pleased had he known that at that verymoment the old officer was walking up and down his library, muttering tohimself, "I would give a good deal if there were a glass window at thatboy Fred's heart, that I could see what it is really made of. His headis strong enough; nature has given him a fair share of brains, but,unless I am greatly mistaken, there is a very grievous deficiency in hisallowance of heart.
"I don't believe the boy ever spoke spontaneously from the time helearned to talk, but that every word he says is weighed before it passesthrough his lips, and its effect calculated; whereas Frank never thinksat all, but just blurts out the words which come to hand. It is curioushow much more Alice takes to him than to Fred, for he bullies her andorders her about as if she were one of his fags, while Fred is ascourteous and polite to her as if she were a young Countess. I supposeit is instinct, for children's opinions about people are seldom farwrong. I thought when I brought Alice here that she would help me tosettle the problem."
Frank and Evan Holl woke at about the same time, after sleeping for somehours; their clothes had been dried for them, and they at once began todress.
"How do you feel now, young un?" was Frank's first inquiry as they satup in their beds.
"I dunno how I feels," Evan replied. "I hardly knows where I am, or howI got here, though I do seem to remember something about this 'ere placetoo. Oh yes!" he exclaimed suddenly, "I was trying to fetch out poorlittle Flossy, and the ice would not break, and I got colder and colder,and then I don't seem to remember any more except somehow that I washere with people standing round me, and I swallowed something hot andwent off to sleep. Ah yes! you were the gentleman as said you would comein after me if I sang out."
"And I did come in," Frank said smilingly, "and only just in time I was,for you did not sing out, but went right down without a word. It waslucky you did not get under the ice."
"And Flossy," the boy said suddenly, "did she go down too?"
"No," Frank answered, "I went in again and got her out, after I hadbrought you back to shore."
"Well, you are a brick!" the boy said, "a regular downright un, and nomistake. I wonder how Harry got back; it would be a job for him to wheelhisself all the way back to Westminster."
"Oh, I expect he got some one to help him," Frank said; "and the littlegirl would be able to help shove him along."
"Yes, she would," Evan replied, "she can shove him by herself along apavement, and I expect that he and she atween them would be able to getalong. Lor! how them things of yours have shrunk, to be sure."
"They have, a bit," Frank said, looking down at his trousers, which werehalf-way up to his knees; "but it don't matter much, it's getting darknow, and I can take a cab when I get out of the Park. Your clothes don'tseem to have suffered so much, they seem plenty large enough for younow."
"Yes," Evan said, with a satisfied air, "and a good job too; motheralways will have my clothes so big, cos of my growing. She always seemsto think one will grow sudden into a man afore one's things wear out."
Frank and the lad walked together as far as Albert Gate; here theyseparated, Frank taking a cab home, while Evan, whistling a popular airin a high key, took his way to Westminster. On arriving home he wasgreeted with enthusiasm by Harry, but Mrs. Holl was not inclined to viewhis adventure favourably.
"It's all very well to care for dogs, Evan, and I ain't a-saying asCarrie Hill's dog ain't a nice little critter; but when it comes togetting into the freezing water arter it, I don't hold to it no way.Then you might have gone and got drowned--and you would have got drownedtoo, Harry tells me, if that young gent hadn't been and gone after you;and then this blessed minute I should have been breaking my heart aboutyou, and you down underneath the ice in the bottom of the Serpentine.There ain't no reason in it, my boy. Harry here thinks different aboutit, and will have it that I ought to be proud of yer; but he ain't amother, and so can't understand a mother's feelings--and your clothespretty nigh spoilt too, I'll be bound."
"Well, mother, if they are," Harry said cheerfully, "Evan can buy somemore. Here, Evan; here are thirty-eight shillings and ninepencehalfpenny, and it's all your own."
"Crikey!" Evan gasped, looking in astonishment at the pile of money inHarry's lap. "Why, where did all that 'ere money come from?"
"That was collected in the crowd, Evan, after you were carried away, andthey gave it to me to give to you. I did not quite like your takingmoney for doing such a thing, but of course as it was given for you Ihad nothing to say to it."
Evan burst into a wild dance expressive of delight. He had none of hisbrother's scruples in respect to the money.
"My eye!" he exclaimed at last, "thirty-eight bob and some coppers to dojust as I likes with. I am a rich man, I am; I shall have to get some'igh collars and come the swell. I suppose it won't run to a carriageand pair, mother, or to a welvet gownd for you,--that would besplendatious. Just fancy, mother, a gownd all over welvet, and just thesame colour as the sodgers' coats. My eye! won't that be grand?"
> "And a nice sight I should look in it," Mrs. Holl said, laughing at thethought of herself in scarlet robes. "When dad comes home we will talkover with him what's the best way of laying out this money. It's yoursto do as you likes with, but I ain't a-going to have it fooled away, sodon't you make any mistake about that."