Quicksilver Part 71

He was a big black-whiskered man in a velveteen jacket, evidently a gamekeeper, and he spoke to his companion as if he were a dog.

This man hesitated for a moment or two.

"Go on! Fetch 'em back," cried the keeper.

"But it's so wet."

"Wet? Well, do you want me to go? In with you."

The underkeeper jumped off the bank at once into the water, which was about up to his knees; but by this time Bob was working the boat along more quickly, and before the underkeeper had waded out many yards Bob had seated himself, put out the second scull, and, helped by the stream, was able to laugh defiance at his would-be captors.

"Here, I ain't going any further," grumbled the underkeeper. "It will be deep water directly," and he stopped with the current rippling just about his thigh.

"Are you coming back!" cried the keeper, looking round about him and pretending to pick up a big stone.

"No! Come arter us if you want us," cried Bob, while Dexter crouched down watching the man's hand, ready to dodge the missile he expected to see launched at them.

"If you don't come back I'll--"

The man did not finish his speech, but threw himself back as if about to hurl the stone.

"Yah!" cried Bob. "Y'ain't got no stone."

"No, but I've got a boat up yonder."

"Go and fetch it, then," cried Bob derisively.

"You young scoundrels! Landing here and destroying our plantations.

I'll send the police after you, and have you before the magistrates, you poaching young vagabonds!"

"So are you!" cried Bob.

"Hush, don't!" whispered Dexter.

"Who cares for them?" cried Bob. "We weren't doing no harm."

"Here, come out, Digges, and you run across and send the men with a boat that way. I'll go and get ours. We'll soon have 'em!"

The man slowly waded out while the keeper trampled on the fire, stamping all over it, to extinguish the last spark, so that it should not spread, and then they separated, going in different directions.

"Row, Bob; row hard," cried Dexter, who was in agony.

"Well, I am a-rowing, ain't I? We warn't doing no harm."

"Let me have an oar."

"Ketch hold, then," cried Bob; and as soon as Dexter was seated they began to row as if for their lives, watching in turn the side of the river and the reach they were leaving behind in expectation of seeing the pursuers and the party who were to cut them off.

Dexter's horror increased. He pictured himself seized and taken before a magistrate, charged with damaging, burning, and trespa.s.sing. The perspiration began to stand out in beads upon each side of his nose, his hair grew wet, and his cap stuck to his forehead as he toiled away at his oar, trying hard to obey the injunctions of his companion to pull steady--to keep time--not to dip his scull so deep, and the like.

As for Bob, as he rowed he was constantly uttering derisive and defiant remarks; but all the same his grubby face was rather ashy, and he too grew tremendously hot as he worked away at his scull for quite an hour, during which time they had not seen anything more formidable than half a dozen red oxen standing knee-deep in the water, and swinging their tails to and fro to drive away the tormenting flies.

"They hadn't got no boat," said Bob at last. "I know'd it all the time.

Pretended to throw a stone at us when there wasn't one near, only the one we tried to cook with, flee him take hold of it and drop it again!"

"No."

"I did. Burnt his jolly old fingers, and serve him right. We never said nothing to him. He ain't everybody."

"But let's get further away."

"Well, we're getting further away, stream's taking us down. You are a coward."

"You were frightened too."

"No, I wasn't. I laughed at him. I'd ha' give him something if he'd touched me."

"Then why did you run away?"

"'Cause I didn't want no bother. Here, let's find another good place, and catch some more fish."

"It won't be safe to stop yet, Bob."

"Here, don't you talk to me, I know what I'm about. We'll row round that next bend, and I'll show you a game then."

"Hadn't we better go on till we can buy some bread and b.u.t.ter?" said Dexter; and then as he saw some cattle in a field a happy hunger-engendered thought occurred to him,--"And perhaps we can get some milk."

"You're allus thinking of eating and drinking," cried Bob. "All right!

We'll get some, then."

They rowed steadily on, with Dexter rapidly improving in the management of his oar, till a farm-house was sighted near the bank; but it was on the same side as that upon which they had had their adventure.

They were afraid to land there, so rowed on for another quarter of a mile before another building was sighted.

This proved to be a farm, and they rowed up to a place where the cattle came down to drink, and a plank ran out on to a couple of posts, evidently for convenience in landing from a boat, or for dipping water.

"Here, I'll go this time," said Bob, as the boat glided up against the posts. "No games, you know."

"What games!"

"No going off and leaving a fellow!"

"Don't be afraid," said Dexter.

"I ain't," said Bob, with a malicious grin. "Why, if a fellow was to serve me such a trick as that I should half-kill him."

Bob landed, and as Dexter sat there in the swift-streamed Devon river gazing at the rippling water, and the glorious green pastures and quickly sloping hills, everything seemed to him very beautiful, and he could not help wis.h.i.+ng that he had a pleasanter companion and some dinner.