The Cock-House at Fellsgarth Part 59

"One of the bunches is damaged. You must take it and get your friends to help you eat it. Good-bye."

On the whole, therefore, the spread provided for Mr Rollitt was a respectable one, and not likely to do discredit to his entertainers.

He was installed in the place of honour in the fender, Wally occupying the seat in the pa.s.sage, the others ranging themselves on either side of the board. They watched their guest's eye somewhat anxiously, to detect in it any signs of predilection for any particular dish. But he, poor man, was too bewildered by the novel experience he was undergoing to betray any symptoms of appet.i.te.

"What'll you have?" said Percy, presently.

"Well, if you've got a bit of bread and cheese and a drop of something, I don't mind, thank you kindly."

This was rather a damper; but Wally was equal to the emergency.

"Have an Abernethy--that's what Rollitt's been living on. You'll like it. We keep a stock in our shop."

"Only a penny each," said Ramshaw, explanatorily.

"Better have some jam with it," said Cottle.

"Like some tea?" inquired D'Arcy, who had charge of the pot, beginning to fill up a mug the size of the slop-basin with the matron's "extra special."

"The cake's not so bad--there's several lumps not a bit stale," said Ashby.

"If you like cocoa-nut," said Fisher minor, "my brother's lent us one, and I'll cut you a chunk."

"And there's some grapes for you, when you're ready," said Percy, proudly; "a present from a lady."

The awkward thing was that, in their eagerness to see their guest eat, none of the juniors took anything. They continued to pile up the good man's plate till he didn't know where to begin, and fairly bewildered him by each commending the excellence of his own particular delicacy "Thank'ee, young gents. I ain't much of a eater when I'm away from home; no more ain't my Alf. But I'll take a snack, anyhow."

Whereupon, to their delight, he commenced an onslaught on the viands before him, every morsel he ate being followed by eighteen admiring eyes into his mouth. He made short work of the Abernethys and cake, tossed off the tea as if it were a thimbleful, jerked down the hunk of cocoa- nut, gulped the grapes, and generally gave the spectators an admirable and comprehensive performance.

They were charmed. So much so, that out of sheer pleasure they began to eat too. The meal, if brief, was a merry one. Mr Rollitt took a special fancy to the Abernethys--a choice which of course put the shop- directors in an ecstasy. They only reproached themselves that they had not provided twelve instead of six.

At length, partly because there was nothing left but lukewarm water and the toughest crusts of the cake, and partly because the guest's appet.i.te was beginning to flag, the solid portion of the meal came to an end, and the social began.

After sundry nudgings and whisperings and signals among the juniors, Wally filled up his cup with warm water and rose to his feet.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said, "I--you know--that is--shut up, young Cash, unless you want to do it--instead of me--it's this way, you see, you chaps: I sort of think we ought to drink the health of Rollitt's governor. He's a good old sort, and we're backing up old Rollitt. It wasn't a very grand spread. There'd have been some sardines if you'd come last week; but that greedy pig D'Arcy--"

"Go on; it was _you_ finished them, three in two gulps," protested the outraged D'Arcy.

"Look here, young D'Arcy," said Wally, seriously, "am I making this speech, or are you. If you don't shut up, I'll jolly well make you.--We hope you've liked it, and don't mind our drinking your health, you know.

It'll be jolly when old Rollitt turns up. We'd ask you again to- morrow, you know, only the grub's run short. Therefore, I have much pleasure in proposing your health."

The toast was drunk with acclamation, the party joining in "For he's a jolly good fellow," much to the alarm of the occupants of the neighbouring studies, who flocked out in the pa.s.sage to see what the noise was about.

Wally a.s.sured them there was no grub left, so they needn't hang about; but a good many of them remained all the same, to hear Mr Rollitt's speech.

"Thank'ee kindly, young masters," began he, with his usual formula; "I ain't no schollard like my Alf is. He could talk to you straight. I'm sorry he ain't here, gents. He's bound to be somewheres, and I'm sure it's no offence meant, his going away. I likes your style, and I hopes that young fly-by-night who says my Alf's a thief will tell him so to his face. My Alf'll settle him proper. Them as pays for my Alf's schooling--which it's two kind ladies, masters, as my missus was kinder foster-sister to--means to make a gent of my Alf. But, bless you, he'd sooner be along of me in the building trade. Not that my Alf ain't a schollard, and can't behave himself. He do behave beautiful to his mother, does Alf, and ain't nothink of a fine gent at home. So there, I tell you straight, and no offence meant, young masters. I like your style, I do. Don't you take on about my Alf bein' a-missing. He's bound to be somewheres. I know'd him do it afore, when things went contrairy. But he wasn't fur off, and come back. On'y don't let 'im cop hold of that there jumper as says he's a thief, or there'll be a row in the 'ouse. Why, my Alf's that straight he wouldn't rob a dog of his bone, not if he was starving. That's flat. So here's to you, young gents; and if you happen to be pa.s.sing near Crackstoke way, me and my missus'll be proud to see yer. Here's luck!"

The speech was rapturously applauded, not only by the party present, but by the knot of fellows in the pa.s.sage, who were taking advantage of the necessarily open door to join in the proceedings as outsiders.

Wally, however, resented the intrusion, and as soon as the speech of the evening was ended, ordered one of the tables to be cleared, and placing his chair upon it, made room for the door to be closed on the intruders, much to their disappointment.

After the favourable reception of his speech, Mr Rollitt became very much more at home, and produced a pipe from his pocket, which he proceeded in the most natural way to light. His hosts gazed in a somewhat awe-struck way at the proceeding, but Wally gave the right cue.

"That's right, Mr Rollitt; make yourself at home."

"So I are. You see, in my days, schooling worn't what it is. Now this here school must be a topper."

"It's not bad," said Percy. "You see there was a jolly row on this term between the Cla.s.sics and our lot, and they had to be taken down a bit."

"_Did_ they?" retorted Wally, very indignant; "how many pegs did _you_ come down? Who had to get our chaps to come and give them a leg-up every other day?"

"Who swindled at Elections and got licked on the hands, eh!"

"Who got their football bagged, and couldn't get it back?"

"Who got kicked out of the front row at the Rendlesham match?"

"'Armony, gents, 'armony," said Mr Rollitt, waving his pipe encouragingly.

The rebuke was opportune. It wasn't fair to the guest to squabble before him.

"We've stashed all that," said Percy, presently; "they got civil to us, so we got civil to them, and we're all in the shop together. And we're all backing up old Rollitt, ain't we, you chaps, and we're going down in a lump for the clubs; and we all sh.e.l.led out for this do; so it's all right now. See?"

Mr Rollitt thought he did, and nodded amiably.

"You see, it's not much larks unless we're all in it. We went up Hawk's Pike, you know."

"No," said Mr Rollitt. "How did that happen?"

"Well, it was this way, you see," began Percy, taking up, as was his wont, the narrative at a remote period. "After those Cla.s.sic cads--k-i- d-s, you know, had--(Shut up, Wally, I said k-i-d-s; can't you spell?) had caved in."

"Who caved in!" expostulated the Cla.s.sics.

"Well, after Stratton's, you know, when we started the shop--I say, you'll have to come and see the shop--well--it was before that, though; it was when the row began about Corder not being stuck in--that was before that, you know--Brinkman screwed his foot, so there was a man short for the team, so Clapperton--that's our prefect, you know; he's all right now, but he--hullo, I say, he's gone asleep!"

Sure enough Mr Rollitt, weary with his long journey, with the excitement of the day, and with the excellence of the tea, had dozed off comfortably, on his chair in the fender, with his pipe in his mouth.

Percy felt it unnecessary to pursue his lucid narrative, and the nine hosts sat watching their man as his head nodded forward, and the urgent necessity for a snore presently rendered the position of the pipe no longer tenable.

It was a triumph! No man could have gone off like that unless he had felt thoroughly comfortable. The railway rug was again produced and laid over his knees, and his feet were gently lifted on the ha.s.sock, and a pillow was neatly inserted at the back of the chair; and all looked so snug, and the hospitable juniors were so pleased with the result, that they had the vanity to let the door stand open, so that all who pa.s.sed by might see how comfortable they could make a guest when they liked.

To heighten the effect, they decided to do their preparation on the spot, and so not only impress the sleeper when he awoke, but advertise themselves to the outside world as boys who by no means neglected the serious side of school life for its lighter functions.

It must be owned that next day when the work thus accomplished was subjected to the microscopic test of the master's eyes, it was not any better--some said it was even worse--than usual. That had nothing to do with the present.

Wally, who put his chair out again in the pa.s.sage, had most of his time occupied in making pantomimic appeals for silence from pa.s.sers-by, to whom he pointed out the figure of the sleeping Mr Rollitt as a justification. The others, debarred from speech (for it was considered that even a whisper might awaken the sleeper, although the violent process of tucking him up just now had failed to do so), were reduced to communication with one another in writing, which took up so much time and paper that very little of either was left for lessons.

At last, after half an hour's suspense, the clang of the house-bell for call-over broke the spell. Mr Rollitt grunted and yawned and opened his eyes, looked about for his pipe, inspected the rug on his knees, took his feet off the ha.s.sock, and finally realised where he was.