Chapter 2: A Great Change.
It was just striking six when they again climbed over the wall, anddescended by the tree. They had had a discussion whether theyshould wait until the doors were opened, and walk quietly in, orreturn as they left. They adopted the latter plan, because theythought that, if the matter was reported to Mr. Tulloch, he mightproceed to administer punishment before the admiral arrived to givehis version of the affair.
The door was still ajar. As they opened it, they gave anexclamation of surprise--for there, sitting on a chair in thepassage, was Mr. Purfleet. He smiled unpleasantly.
"So here you are. You have had a pleasant ramble, no doubt; but Idon't quite know what view Mr. Tulloch may take of it."
"It was very good of you to sit up for us, Mr. Purfleet," Bob said,quietly; "but you see, we had left the door open, and could havegot in by ourselves. I hope you will not have caught cold, sittingthere only in a dressing gown."
"You are an impudent young scamp!" Mr. Purfleet said, in a rage."You will laugh with the other side of your mouth, presently. Youand Sankey are nice-looking figures, ain't you, with your faces allcut and swollen?"
"We have been a little in the wars," Bob replied.
"I don't want to hear anything about it," the usher replied. "Youwill have to explain matters to Mr. Tulloch."
"So I suppose, Mr. Purfleet.
"Well, Jim, we'll go and have a good wash. The bell will beringing, in half an hour."
So saying, Bob went into the lavatory, followed by his companions;while the usher returned upstairs. He was certainly disappointed.Quietly as the boys had dressed, the slight noise they had made inclosing the door had woke him. He thought little of it but, just ashe was going off to sleep again, he heard the bolts of the doorbelow withdrawn. He at once got up and walked to the other end ofthe dormitory, and discovered that the four boys were missing.
Chuckling to himself that he should now be able to repay the grudgehe owed to Bob, he put on his dressing gown and went downstairs;and had sat there for three hours, momentarily expecting theirreturn. He had certainly felt chilly, but had borne it patiently;comforted by the joyful expectation of the utter dismay that wouldbe felt, by the culprits, when they saw him. The meeting had notpassed off at all as he had anticipated, and he could only consolehimself by thinking that his turn would come when he made hisreport to Mr. Tulloch.
The four boys did not return to the dormitory but, after they hadwashed, strolled about in the playground. There was quite aferment, in the dormitory, when their absence was perceived, andthe others noticed the four made-up figures in their place. Theoperation of dressing was got through with much greater alacritythan usual and, when they went downstairs and saw the four missingboys in the playground, these were at once surrounded by an excitedthrong. They refused, however, to answer any questions.
"You will hear it all, in good time," Bob said. "We have been out,and we have been caught. That is all I am going to tell you."
At the usual hour the bell rang, and the boys assembled in theschoolroom. The two ushers were in their places. They waited threeor four minutes for Mr. Tulloch to appear; then the door opened,and the manservant entered and, walking up to Mr. Moffat, said aword or two. The latter nodded.
"Lessons will begin at once," he said, in a loud voice. "The firstclass will come up to me."
The boys of this class, who occupied the senior dormitory, at oncebegan their lessons; while Mr. Purfleet took the lower class. Thesecond class, including Bob and his friends, remained in theirplaces. In a quarter of an hour the door opened, and Mr. Tullochentered, accompanied by Admiral Langton. Mr. Tulloch was lookingvery serious, while the admiral looked hot and angry.
"We are going to catch it," Bob whispered, to Jim Sankey. "I knewthe admiral wouldn't be able to get us off."
"I wish all the boys to return to their places, Mr. Moffat. I havesomething to say," Mr. Tulloch said, in a loud voice.
When the boys were all seated, he went on:
"Admiral Langton has been telling me that four of my boys were outand about, soon after three o'clock this morning. The four boys inquestion will stand up.
"I do not say that this is the first time that such a seriousinfraction of the rules of the school has taken place. It hashappened before. It may, for aught I know, have happened manytimes, without my knowledge; but upon the occasions when it hascome to my knowledge, the offenders have been most severelypunished. They must be punished, now.
"Admiral Langton has been telling me that the boys in question havebehaved with very great courage, and have been the means of savinghim from the loss of a large sum of money and plate, and ofcapturing four burglars."
A buzz of surprise passed round the school.
"That this conduct does them great credit I am fully prepared toadmit. Had they been aware that this burglary was about to becommitted, and had they broken out of the house in the middle ofthe night for the purpose of preventing it, I allow that it mighthave been pleaded as an excuse for their offence; but this was notso. It was an accident, that occurred to them when they wereengaged in breaking the rules, and cannot be pleaded as a set-offagainst punishment.
"Admiral Langton has pleaded with me, very strongly, for a pardonfor them; but I regret that I am unable to comply with his request.The admiral, as a sailor, is well aware that discipline must bemaintained; and I am quite sure that, when he was in command of aship, he would not have permitted his judgment to be biased, byanyone. I have put it to him in that way, and he acknowledges thatto be so. The two matters stand distinct. The boys must be punishedfor this gross breach of the rules. They may be thanked, andapplauded, for the courage they have shown, and the valuableservice they have rendered to Admiral Langton.
"I have, however, so far yielded to his entreaties that, while Imust administer a severe caning for the gross breach of the rules,I shall abstain from taking any further steps in the matter; andfrom writing to the boys' parents and guardians, requesting them toremove their sons from the school, at once, as I certainlyotherwise would have done. At the same time, I am willing to hearanything that these boys may have to urge, in explanation ordefence of their conduct. I have already been informed, by AdmiralLangton, that their object, in so breaking out, was to hunt rabbitsup on the Common."
"I wish to say, sir," Bob said, in a steady voice, "that it wasentirely my doing. I made the arrangements, and persuaded theothers to go; and I think it is only right that they should not bepunished as severely as I am."
"We were all in it together, sir," Jim Sankey broke in. "I was justas keen on it as Bob was."
"So was I," Fullarton and Wharton said, together.
"Well, lads," Admiral Langton said, taking a step forward, andaddressing the boys, in general, "as your master says, discipline isdiscipline; this is his ship, and he is on his own quarterdeck--butI wish to tell you all that, in my opinion, you have every reason tobe proud of your schoolfellows. They behaved with the greatest pluckand gallantry and, were I again in command of a ship, I should beglad to have them serving me. I am only sorry that I cannot persuadeMr. Tulloch to see the matter in the same light as I do.
"Goodbye, lads!" and he walked across, and shook hands with thefour boys. "I shall see you again, soon," and the admiral turnedabruptly, and walked out of the schoolroom.
Mr. Tulloch at once proceeded to carry his sentence into effect,and the four boys received as severe a caning as ever they had hadin their lives; and even Bob, case hardened as he was, had as muchas he could do to prevent himself from uttering a sound, while itwas being inflicted. Lessons were then continued, as usual, untileight o'clock, when the boys went in to breakfast. After that wasover, they went into the playground, until nine; and the fourculprits gave the rest a full account of the events of the night.
"I don't mind the thrashing," Bob said, "although Tulloch did layit on hot. It was well worth it, if it had only been to see thatsneak Purfleet's face, when the admiral told the story. I waswatching him, when Tulloch came in; an
d saw how delighted he was,at the tale he was going to tell; and how satisfied he was that heshould get no end of credit, for sitting three hours in hisdressing gown, in order to catch us when we came in. It was anawful sell for him, when he saw that the admiral had come out withthe whole story, and there was nothing, whatever, for him to tell."
When they went into school again, Mr. Tulloch said:
"Boys, I hear that four of your number have behaved with greatgallantry. They have prevented a serious robbery, and arrested themen engaged in it. I shall therefore give you a holiday, for theremainder of the day. The four boys in question will proceed, atonce, to Admiral Langton's, as they will be required to accompanyhim to Kingston, where the prisoners will be brought up before themagistrates."
There was a general cheer from the boys, and then Bob and hiscompanions hurried upstairs to put on their best clothes, and ranoff to the admiral's.
"Well, boys, is it all over?" he asked, as they entered.
"All over, sir," they replied together.
"Well, boys, I think it was a shame; but I suppose discipline mustbe maintained in school, as well as on board a ship; but it vexesme, amazingly, to think that I have been the means of bringing youinto it."
"It is just the other way, sir," Bob said, "and it is very luckyfor us that we came in here, sir, instead of going up to theCommon, as we intended. One of the ushers found out that we hadgone, and sat up until we came back and, if it had not been foryou, we should not only have got a thrashing, but should all havebeen expelled; so it is the luckiest thing possible that we came inhere."
"Well, I am very glad to hear that, boys. It has taken a load offmy mind, for I have been thinking that, if you had not come in tohelp me, you would have got back without being noticed.
"Emma, these are the four lads who did us such good service, lastnight. They caught sight of you, before, but you were hardly in astate to receive them formally."
The young lady laughed, as she came forward and shook hands withthem.
"You need not have mentioned that, papa.
"Well, I am very much obliged to you all; for I have no doubt theymeant to have my watch and jewels, as well as papa's money."
"Now, it is time for us to be off," the admiral said. "My carriageis at the door, and a fly. You two, who have been knocked about,had better come with my daughter and myself. The others can eitherride inside the fly, or one can go on the box of each vehicle, asyou like."
Wharton and Fullarton both said that they should prefer goingoutside; and in a few minutes they were on their way, the threemenservants riding inside the fly. The prisoners had been sent off,two hours before, in a cart; under the charge of the two localconstables.
The case lasted but an hour, the four men being all committed fortrial. The party then returned to Putney, the admiral insistingupon the boys stopping to lunch with him. After the meal was over,he inquired what they were going to do, on leaving school, and whatprofession they intended to adopt.
Bob was the first questioned.
"I am going to be a wine merchant, sir," he said. "I have got nochoice about it. I lost my father and mother, years ago; and myguardian, who is an uncle of mine, is in the wine trade, and hesays I have got to go in, too. I think it is horrid, but there isno good talking to him. He is an awfully crusty old chap. I shouldlike to be a soldier, or a sailor; but of course it is of no usethinking of it. My guardian has been very kind to me, even thoughhe is so crusty, and it wouldn't be right not to do as he tells me;and I don't suppose the wine business is so very bad, when one isaccustomed to it."
"Has your uncle any sons, lad?"
"No, sir, he is an old bachelor; and he says that, some day, I amto have his business."
"Then you can't do better than stick to it, lad," the admiral said."A boy who has before him the prospect of a solid, substantialliving, on shore, is simply a fool if he goes to sea. It is a roughlife, and a hard one; and if you don't get shot, or drowned, youmay get laid on the shelf with the loss of a limb, and a pensionthat won't find you in grog and tobacco.
"It is a pity, for you would have made a good officer, but you willbe vastly better off, in all respects, at home; and I can tell youthere is not one sailor out of five who would not jump at a berthon shore, if he could get the chance."
Sankey's father was a country clergyman and, at present, Jim had noparticular prospect.
"Would you like to go to sea, boy?"
"Yes, sir, I should like it of all things."
"Very well; give me your father's name and address, and I willwrite to him about it."
Fullarton's father was a landed proprietor in Somersetshire, and hewas the eldest son. Wharton was to be a lawyer, and was to begin inhis father's office, in a year or two. Admiral Langton took notesof the addresses of the boys' relatives.
When he had done that, he said to them:
"Now, lads, I know you would rather be off. I remember, when I wasa midshipman, I was always glad enough to escape, when I had todine with the captain."
A week later, a young man came down from a city watchmaker's, withfour handsome gold watches and chains for the boys; with aninscription stating that they had been presented to them by AdmiralLangton, in remembrance of their gallant conduct on the night ofAugust 6th, 1778. They were immensely delighted with the gift; forwatches were, in those days, far more expensive luxuries than atpresent, and their use was comparatively rare. With the watcheswere four short notes from the admiral, inviting them to come up onthe following Saturday afternoon.
They had, by this time, received letters from their families, whohad each received a communication from the admiral, expressing hiswarm commendation of their conduct, and his thanks for the servicesthat the boys had rendered.
Jim Sankey's father wrote saying that the admiral had offered toprocure him a berth as a midshipman, at once; and that he hadwritten, thankfully accepting the offer, as he knew that it waswhat Jim had been most earnestly wishing--though, as he had nointerest, whatever, among naval men, he had hitherto seen no chanceof his being able to obtain such an appointment. This communicationput Jim into a state of the wildest delight, and rendered him anobject of envy to his schoolfellows.
Fullarton's father wrote his son a hearty letter, congratulatinghim on what he had done, and saying that he felt proud of theletter he had received from the admiral.
Wharton's father wrote to him sharply, saying that thief-taking wasa business that had better be left to constables, and that he didnot approve of freaks of that kind.
Mr. Bale wrote an irascible letter to Bob.
"My dear nephew," he began, "I am astonished, and most seriouslydispleased, at contents of communication I have received from aperson signing himself J. Langton, admiral. I gather from it that,instead of pursuing your studies, you are wandering about at night,engaged in pursuits akin to poaching. I say akin, because I am notaware whether the wild animals upon the common are the property ofthe lord of the manor, or whether they are at the mercy ofvagabonds. It appears to me that there can be no proper supervisionexercised by your masters.
"I spoke to you when you were here, six weeks ago, as to yourschool reports which, although fairly satisfactory as to yourabilities, said there was a great want of steadiness in yourgeneral conduct. I am convinced that you are doing no good foryourself, and that the sooner you settle down to a desk, in myoffice, the better. I have therefore written this morning,informing Mr. Tulloch that I shall remove you, at Michaelmas.
"Your sister has been here, with her husband, today. I am sorry tosay that they do not view your wild and lawless conduct in the samelight that I do, and that they are unable to see there is anythingpositively disreputable in your being mixed up in midnightadventures with burglars. I am glad to gather, from AdmiralLangton's letter, that Mr. Tulloch has seen your conduct in theproper light, and has inflicted a well-merited punishment upon you.
"All this is a very bad preparation for your future career as arespectable trader, and I am most annoyed to hear that you
will becalled on to appear as a witness against the men who have beencaptured. I have written to Admiral Langton, acknowledging hisletter, and expressing my surprise that a gentleman in his positionshould give any countenance, whatever, to a lad who has beenengaged in breaking the rules of his school; and in wandering atnight, like a vagabond, through the country."
Bob looked rather serious as he read through the letter for thefirst time but, after going through it again, he burst into a shoutof laughter.
"What is it, Bob?" Tom Fullarton asked.
"Read this letter, Tom. I should like to have seen the admiral'sface, as he read my uncle's letter. But it is too bad. You see, Ihave regularly done for myself. I was to have stopped here till ayear come Christmas, and now I have to leave at Michaelmas. I callit a beastly shame."
It was some consolation to Bob to receive, next morning, a letterfrom his sister, saying she was delighted to hear how he haddistinguished himself in the capture of the burglars.
"Of course, it was very wrong of you to get out at night; butGerald says that boys are always up to tricks of that sort, and soI suppose that it wasn't so bad as it seems to me. Uncle Johnpretends to be in a terrible rage about it, but I don't think he isreally as angry as he makes himself out to be. He blew me up, andsaid that I had always encouraged you--which of course Ihaven't--and when Gerald tried to say a good word for you, heturned upon him, and said something about fellow-feeling making menwondrous kind. Gerald only laughed, and said he was glad my unclehad such a good opinion of him, and that he should have liked tohave been there, to lend a hand in the fight; and then uncle saidsomething disagreeable, and we came away.
"But I feel almost sure that Uncle John is not really so angry ashe seems; and I believe that, if Gerald and I had taken the otherside, and had said that your conduct had been very wicked, he wouldhave defended you. It was stupid of us not to think of it, for youknow uncle always likes to disagree with other people--there isnothing he hates more than their agreeing with him. His bark ismuch worse than his bite, and you must not forget how good and kindhe has been to us all.
"You know how angry he was with my marriage, and he said I hadbetter have drowned myself, than have married a soldier; and I hadbetter have hung myself, than have married an Irishman--speciallywhen he had intended, all along, that I should marry the son of anold friend of his, a most excellent and well-conducted young man,with admirable prospects. But he came round in a month or two, andthe first notice of it was a letter from his lawyer, saying that,in accordance with the instruction of his client, Mr. John Bale, hehad drawn up and now enclosed a post-nuptial settlement, settlingon me the sum of 5000 pounds consols; and that his client wishedhim to say that, had I married the person he had intended for me,that sum would have been doubled.
"The idea, when I never even saw the man! And when I wrote,thanking him, he made no allusion to what he had said before; butwrote that he should be glad, at all times, to see my husband andmyself, whenever we came to town; but that, as I knew, his hourswere regular, and the door always locked at ten o'clock--just as ifGerald was in the habit of coming in, drunk, in the middle of thenight! Fortunately nothing puts Gerald out, and he screamed overit; and we went and stopped a week with uncle, a month afterwards,and he and Gerald got on capitally together, considering. Geraldsaid it was like a bear and a monkey in one cage, but it was reallyvery funny.
"So I have no doubt he will come round, with you. Do try and notvex him more than you can help, Bob. You know how much we all owehim."
This was true. Bob's father had died when he was only three yearsold--he being a lawyer, with a good business, at Plymouth--but hehad made no provision for his early death, and had left his wifeand two children almost penniless. Mr. Bale had at once takencharge of them, and had made his sister an allowance that enabledher to live very comfortably. She had remained in Plymouth, as shehad many friends there.
Her daughter Carrie--who was six years older than Bob--had, fouryears before, married Gerald O'Halloran, who was then a lieutenantin the 58th Regiment, which was in garrison there. He had a smallincome, derived from an estate in Ireland, besides his pay; but theyoung couple would have been obliged to live very economically, hadit not been for the addition of the money settled on her by heruncle.
Her mother had died, a few months after the marriage; and Mr. Balehad at once placed Bob at the school, at Putney; and had announcedhis intention of taking him, in due time, into his business. Theboy always spent one half of his holidays with his uncle, the otherwith his sister. The former had been a trial, both to him and toMr. Bale. They saw but little of each other; for Mr. Bale, who,like most business men of the time, lived over his offices, wentdownstairs directly he had finished his breakfast, and did not comeup again until his work was over when, at five o'clock, he dined.The meal over, he sometimes went out to the houses of friends, orto the halls of one or other of the city companies to which hebelonged.
While Bob was with him, he told off one of the foremen in hisbusiness to go about with the boy. The days, therefore, passedpleasantly, as they generally went on excursions by water up ordown the river or, sometimes, when it was not otherwise required,in a light cart used in the business, to Epping or Hainault Forest.Bob was expected to be back to dinner and, thanks to theforeman--who knew that his employer would not tolerate the smallestunpunctuality--he always succeeded in getting back in time to washand change his clothes for dinner.
The meal was a very solemn one, Mr. Bale asking occasionalquestions, to which Bob returned brief answers. Once or twice theboy ventured upon some lively remark, but the surprise anddispleasure expressed in his uncle's face, at this breach of therespectful silence then generally enforced upon the young, in thepresence of their elders, deterred him from often trying theexperiment.
Mr. Bale was as much bored as was Bob by these meals, and theevenings that sometimes followed them. He would have been glad tohave chatted more freely with his nephew, but he was as ill at easewith him, as he would have been with a young monkey. There wasnothing in common between them, and the few questions he asked werethe result of severe cogitation. He used to glance at the boy fromunder his eyebrows, wonder what he was smiling to himself about,and wish that he understood him better. It did not occur to himthat if he had drawn him out, and encouraged him to chatter as heliked, he should get underneath the surface, and might learnsomething of the nature hidden there. It was in sheer desperation,at finding nothing to say, that he would often seize his hat and goout, when he had quite made up his mind to stay indoors for theevening.
Bob put up, as well as he could, with his meals and the dullevenings, for the sake of the pleasant time he had during the day;but he eagerly counted the hours until the time when he was to takehis place on the coach for Canterbury, where the 58th were nowquartered. He looked forward with absolute dread to the time whenhe would have to enter his uncle's office.
"What is the use of being rich, Carrie," he would say to hissister, "if one lives as uncle does? I would rather work in thefields."
"Yes, Bob; but you see, when you get to be rich you needn't live inthe same way, at all. You could live as some traders do, in thecountry at Hampstead, Dulwich, or Chelsea, and ride in to business;and you can, of course, marry and enjoy life. One needn't live likea hermit, all alone, because one is a trader in the city."
The one consolation Bob had was that his uncle had once said thathe considered it was a great advantage, to any young man going intothe wine trade, to go over to Spain or Portugal for two or threeyears; to learn the whole routine of business there, to study thedifferent growths and know their values, and to form a connectionamong the growers and shippers. Bob had replied gravely that hethought this would certainly be a great advantage, and that hehoped his uncle would send him over there.
"I shall see, when the time comes, Robert. It will, of course,depend much upon the relations between this country and Spain andPortugal; and also upon yourself. I could not, of course, let yougo out there until I was quite assured of
your steadiness ofconduct. So far, although I have nothing to complain of, myself,your schoolmaster's reports are by no means hopeful, on that head.Still, we must hope that you will improve."
It was terrible to Bob to learn that he was to go, fifteen monthssooner than he had expected, to his uncle's; but he was somewhatrelieved when, upon his arrival at the house at Philpot Lane, hisuncle, after a very grave lecture on the enormity of his conduct atschool, said:
"I have been thinking, Robert, that it will be more pleasant, bothfor you and for me, that you should not, at present, take up yourabode here. I am not accustomed to young people. It would worry mehaving you here and, after your companionship with boys of your ownage, you might find it somewhat dull.
"I have therefore arranged with Mr. Medlin, my principal clerk, foryou to board with him. He has, I believe, some boys and girls ofabout your own age. You will, I hope, be able to make yourselfcomfortable there."
"Thank you, uncle," Bob said, suppressing his impulse to give ashout of satisfaction, and looking as grave as possible. "I thinkthat would be a very nice arrangement."
"Mr. Medlin is a very trustworthy person," Mr. Bale went on. "Hehas been with me for upwards of twenty years, and I have thegreatest confidence in him.
"You had better sit down here, and take a book. At five o'clockcome down into the counting house. Mr. Medlin will leave at thathour."
Bob had hitherto avoided the counting house. He had occasionally,on previous visits, slipped down to his friend the foreman; and hadwandered through the great cellars, and watched the men at workbottling, and gazed in surprise at the long tiers of casks stackedup to the roof of the cellar, and the countless bottles stowed awayin the bins. Once or twice he had gone down into the countinghouse, with his uncle; and waited there a few minutes, until theforeman was disengaged. He had noticed Mr. Medlin at work at hishigh desk, in one corner--keeping, as it seemed to him, his eyeupon two young clerks, who sat on high stools at opposite sides ofthe desk, on the other side of the office.
Mr. Medlin had a little rail round the top of his desk, andcurtains on rods that could be drawn round it. He was a man of sixor seven and thirty; with a long face, smooth shaven. He alwaysseemed absorbed in his work and, when spoken to by Mr. Bale,answered in the fewest possible words, in an even, mechanicalvoice. It had seemed to Bob that he had been entirely oblivious tohis presence; and it did not appear to him now, as he sat with abook before him, waiting for the clock on the mantel to strikefive, that existence at Mr. Medlin's promised to be a lively one.Still, as there were boys and girls, it must be more amusing thanit would be at his uncle's and, at any rate, the clerk would not beso formidable a personage to deal with as Mr. Bale.
At one minute to five he went down, so as to open the countinghouse door as the clock struck. As he went in through the outerdoor, his uncle came out from the inner office.
"Ah! There you are, Robert.
"Mr. Medlin, this is my nephew who, as we have arranged, will takeup his residence with you. I am afraid you will find him somewhatheadstrong and troublesome. I have already informed you why it hasbeen necessary to remove him from school. However, I trust thatthere will be no repetition of such follies; and that he will seethe necessity of abandoning schoolboy pranks, and settling down tobusiness."
"Yes, sir," Mr. Medlin replied, seeing that his employer expectedan answer.
Bob had noticed that, although the clerk's eyes were directed uponhim, there appeared to be no expression of interest or curiosity inthem; but that they might as well have been fixed upon a blankwall.
"Your boxes have already been sent round in the cart to Mr.Medlin's, Robert. I don't know that there is anything else to say.Mr. Medlin will, of course, put you in the way of your duties here;but if you have anything to say to me--any questions to ask, or anyremarks, connected with the business, or otherwise, you wish tomake--I shall always be ready to listen to you, if you will comeinto the counting house at half past four."
So saying, Mr. Bale retired into his private room again. Mr. Medlinplaced his papers inside his desk, locked it, took off his coat andhung it on a peg, put on another coat and his hat, and then turnedto Bob.
"Ready?"
"Quite ready."
Mr. Medlin led the way out of the counting house, and Bob followed.Mr. Medlin walked fast, and Bob had to step out to keep up withhim. The clerk appeared scarcely conscious of his presence, untilthey were beyond the more crowded thoroughfare, then he said:
"Two miles, out Hackney way. Not too far!"
"Not at all," Bob replied. "The farther the better."
"No burglars there. Wouldn't pay."
And Bob thought that the shadow of a smile passed across his face.
"We can do without them," Bob said.
"Hate coming here, I suppose?"
"That I do," Bob said, cordially.
Mr. Medlin nodded.
"Not so bad as it looks," he said, and then walked on again, insilence.
Presently there was a break in the houses. They were getting beyondthe confines of business London.
"Do you see this little garden?" Mr. Medlin asked, suddenly, in atone so unlike that in which he had before spoken that Bob quitestarted.
The lad looked at the little patch of ground, with some stuntedshrubs, but could see nothing remarkable in it.
"Yes, I see it, sir," he said.
"That, Bob," Mr. Medlin went on, "--for I suppose you are calledBob--marks the end of all things."
Bob opened his eyes in astonishment, and again examined the littlegarden.
"It marks, Bob, the delimitation between London and country,between slavery and freedom. Here, every morning, I leave myselfbehind; here, every evening, I recover myself--or, at least, aconsiderable portion of myself--at a further mark, half a mile on,I am completely restored.
"I suppose you used to find just the same thing, at the door of theschoolroom?"
"A good deal, sir," Bob said, in a much brighter tone than he hadused, since he said goodbye to the fellows at Tulloch's.
"I am glad you feel like that. I expect you will get like that, asto the city, in time; but mind, lad, you must always find yourselfagain. You stick to that. You make a mark somewhere, leave yourselfbehind in the morning, and pick yourself up again when you comeback. It is a bad thing for those who forget to do that. They mightas well hang themselves--better.
"In there," and he jerked his thumb back over his shoulder, "we areall machines, you know. It isn't us, not a bit of it. There is justthe flesh, the muscle, the bones, and a frozen bit of our brains.The rest of us is left behind. If, as we come out, we forget topick it up, we lose ourselves altogether, before long; and thenthere we are, machines to the end of our lives. You remember that,Bob. Keep it always in mind."
"It is a pity that my uncle didn't get the same advice, forty yearsago, Mr. Medlin."
"It is a pity my employer did not marry. It is a pity my employerlives in that dull house, in that dull lane, all by himself," Mr.Medlin said, angrily.
"But he has not got rid of himself, altogether. He is a good dealfrozen up; but he thaws out, sometimes. What a man he would be, ifhe would but live out somewhere, and pick himself up regularly, asI do, every day!
"This is my second mark, Bob, this tree growing out in the road.Now, you see, we are pretty well in the country.
"Can you run?"
"Yes, I can run pretty well, Mr. Medlin."
"Very well, Bob. You see that tree growing out beyond that gardenwall, about four hundred yards on. It is four hundred and twenty,for I have measured it. Now then, you walk on fifty yards, and thenrun for your life. See if I don't catch you, before you are there."
Bob, wondering as he went along at the astounding change that hadcome over his companion, took fifty long steps; then he heard ashout of "Now!" and went off at the top of his speed. He was stilla hundred yards from the mark, when he heard steps coming rapidlyup behind him; and then the clerk dashed past him, and came infully twenty yards ahead.
"You don't run badly," he said, as Bob stopped, panting. "My Jackgenerally comes to meet me, and I always give him seventy yards,and only beat him by about as much as I do you. He couldn't come,this afternoon. He is busy helping his mother to get thingsstraight. I expect we shall meet him, presently.
"Well, what are you laughing at?"
"I was just thinking how astonished my uncle would be, if he wereto see us."
Mr. Medlin gave a hearty laugh.
"Not so much as you would think, Bob. Five years ago, my employersuddenly asked me, just as we were shutting up one afternoon, if Iwas fond of fishing. I said that I used to be.
"He said, 'I am going down, for a fortnight, into Hampshire. I haveno one to go with--suppose you come with me.'
"I said, 'I will.'
"He said, 'Coach tomorrow morning, eight o'clock, Black HorseYard.'
"I was there. As we went over London Bridge I found myself, asusual; and he found himself. I explained to him that I could nothelp it. He said he didn't want me to help it. We had a gloriousfortnight together, and we have been out every year, since. Henever alludes to it, between times. No more do I. He is stifferthan usual for a bit. So am I. But we both know each other.
"You do not suppose that he would have sent you to me, if he hadn'tknown that I have got another side to me?"
"Well, I should not have thought," Bob said, "from the way hetalked, when he introduced me to you, that he ever had such an ideain his mind."
"He was obliged to talk so," Mr. Medlin said, laughing. "We werejust machines at the time, both of us. But he talked in quite adifferent way when we were down fishing together, three weeks ago.He said then you were rather a pickle, and that he didn't think youwould do yourself any good where you were, so that he was going tobring you up to business.
"'I don't want him to turn out a dull blockhead,' he said, 'and soI propose that you should take charge of him, and teach him to keephimself young. I wish I had done it, myself.'
"And so it was settled.
"There is no better employer in the city than your uncle. There isnot a man or boy about the place who isn't well paid, andcontented. I used to think myself a lucky man, before we went outfishing together for the first time but, six months after that, hegave me a rise that pretty well took my breath away.
"Ah! Here come the young uns."
A couple of minutes later, four young people ran up. There was aboy about Bob's age, a girl a year younger, a boy, and anothergirl, in regular steps. They greeted their father with a joyousshout of welcome.
"So you have got everything done," he said. "I thought you wouldmeet me somewhere here.
"This is Bob Repton, my employer's nephew, and future member of thefirm. Treat him with all respect, and handle him gently. He is adesperate fellow, though he doesn't look it. This is the younggentleman I told you of, who made a night expedition and capturedfour burglars."
After this introduction, Bob was heartily shaken by the hand, allround; and the party proceeded on their way, the two girls holdingtheir father's hand, the boys walking behind, with Bob, who was sosurprised at the unexpected turn affairs had taken that, for atime, he almost lost his usual readiness of speech.