CHAPTER FOUR.
NIC WILL NOT SHAKE HANDS.
History repeats itself, though the repetitions are not always recorded.
A horrible feeling of remorse and despair came over the man. His angerhad evaporated, and putting his hands to the sides of his mouth, heyelled out:
"Ahoy, there! Help--help!"
Again it was a mere whisper in the booming roar.
"Oh, poor dear lad!" he muttered to himself. "Bother the zammon! Wishthere waren't none. Hoi, Master Nic! Strike out! Zwim, lad, zwim!Oh, wheer be ye? I've drowned un. Oh, a mercy me! What have I done?--Hah! there a be."
There was a plunge, a splash, and a rush against the eddying water, withthe man showing a better knowledge of the pool, from many a day'swading, than Nic had possessed. Pete Burge knew where the shallowshelves of polished stones lay out of sight, and he waded and struggledon to where the water was bearing Nic round in turn. Then, afterwading, the man plunged into deep water, swam strongly, and seized hisvictim as a huge dog would, with his teeth, swung himself round, and letthe fierce current bear him along as he fought his way into the shallow,regained his footing, and the next minute was back by the ledge. Herehe rose to his feet, and rolled and thrust Nic ashore, climbed out afterhim, and knelt in turn by his side.
"Bean't dead, be he?" said the man to himself. "Not in the water longenough. Worst o' these here noblemen and gentlemen--got no stuff in'em."
Pete Burge talked to himself, but he was busy the while. He acted likea man who had gained experience in connection with flooded rivers,torrents, and occasional trips in fishing-boats at sea; and according toold notions, supposing his victim not to be already dead, he did thebest he could to smother out the tiny spark of life that might still beglowing.
His fine old-fashioned notion of a man being drowned was that it wasbecause he was full of water. The proper thing, then, according to hislights, must be to empty it out, and the sooner the better. Thesea-going custom was to lay a man face downward across a barrel, and toroll the barrel gently to and fro.
"And I aren't got no barrel," muttered Pete.
To make up for it he rolled Nic from side to side, and then, as histreatment produced no effect, he seized him by the ankles, stood up, andraised the poor fellow till he was upside down, and shook him violentlyagain and again.
Wonderful to relate, that did no good, his patient looking obstinatelylifeless; so he laid him in the position he should have tried at first--extended upon his back; and, apostrophising him all the time as a poor,weakly, helpless creature, punched and rubbed and worked him about,muttering the while.
"Oh, poor lad! poor dear lad!" he went on. "I had no spite again' him.I didn't want to drownd him. It weer only tit for tat; he chucked mein, and I chucked him in, and it's all on account o' they zammon.--Theregoes another. Always a-temptin' a man to come and catch 'em--lyin' inthe pools as if askin' of ye.--Oh, I say, do open your eyes, lad, andspeak! They'll zay I murdered ye, and if I don't get aboard ship andzail away to foreign abroad, they'll hang me, and the crows'll come andpick out my eyes.--I zay.--I zay lad, don't ye be a vool. It was on'y adrop o' watter ye zwallowed. Do ye come to, and I'll never meddle withthe zammon again.--I zay, ye aren't dead now. Don't ye be a vool. Itaren't worth dying for, lad. Coom, coom, coom, open your eyes and zitup like a man. You're a gentleman, and ought to know better. I aren'tno scholard, and I didn't do zo.--Oh, look at him! I shall be hangedfor it, and put on the gibbet, and all for a bit o' vish.--Zay, lookhere, if you don't come to I'll pitch you back again, and they'll thinkyou tumbled in, and never know no better. It's voolish of ye, lad.Don't give up till ye're ninety-nine or a hundred. It's time enough todie then. Don't die now, with the sun shining and the fish running upthe valls, and ye might be so happy and well."
And all the while Pete kept on thumping and rubbing and banging hispatient about in the most vigorous way.
"It's spite, that's what it is," growled the man. "You hit me i' th'mouth and tried to drownd me, and because you couldn't you're trying toget me hanged; and you shan't, for if you don't come-to soon, sure asyou're alive I'll pitch you back to be carried out to zea.--Nay, nay, Iwouldn't, lad. Ye'd coom back and harnt me. I never meant to do morethan duck you, and Hooray!"
For Nic's nature had at last risen against the treatment he wasreceiving. It was more than any one could stand; so, in the midst of afurious bout of rubbing, the poor fellow suddenly yawned and opened hiseyes, to stare blankly up at the bright sun-rays streaming down throughthe overhanging boughs of the gnarled oaks. He dropped his lids again,but another vigorous rubbing made him open them once more; and as hestared now at his rough doctor his lips moved to utter the word "Don't!"but it was not heard, and after one or two more appeals he caught theman's wrists and tried to struggle up into a sitting position, Petehelping him, and then, as he knelt there, grinning in his face.
Nic sat staring at him and beginning to think more clearly, so that in afew minutes he had fully grasped the position and recalled all that hadtaken place.
It was evident that there was to be a truce between them, for PeteBurge's rough countenance was quite smiling and triumphant, while onNic's own part the back of his neck ached severely, and he felt as if hecould not have injured a fly.
At last Nic rose, shook himself after the fashion of a dog to get rid ofsome of the water which soaked his clothes, and looked round about himfor his cap, feeling that he would be more dignified and look ratherless like a drowned rat if he put it on.
Pete came close to him, placed his lips nearly to his ear, and shouted,"Cap?"
Nic nodded.
"Gone down the river to try and catch mine for me," said the man, with agood-humoured grin, which made Nic frown at the insolent familiaritywith which it was said.
"You'll have to buy me another one, Master Nic," continued the man, "andget the smith to make me a noo steel hook. I'll let you off paying forthe pole; I can cut a fresh one somewheres up yonder."
"On our grounds?" cried Nic indignantly, speaking as loudly as he could.
"Well, there's plenty, aren't there, master? And you've lost mine,"shouted back the man, grinning again.
"You scoundrel!" cried Nic, who was warming up again. "I shall have youup before the Justices for this."
"For what?" said the man insolently.
"For throwing me into the pool."
"Zo shall I, then," shouted the man. "It was only tit for tat. Youzent me in first."
"Yes; and I caught you first hooking our salmon, sir."
"Tchah! much my zammon as your own, master. Vish comes out of the zeafor everybody as likes to catch them."
"Not on my father's estate," cried Nic. "You've been warned timesenough."
"Ay, I've heerd a lot o' talk, master; but me and my mates mean to havea vish or two whenever we wants 'em. You'll never miss 'em."
"Look here, Pete Burge," cried Nic; "I don't want to be too hard uponyou, because I suppose you fished me out of the pool after throwing mein."
"Well, you've no call to grumble, master," said the man, grinninggood-humouredly. "You did just the zame."
"And," continued Nic, shouting himself hoarse, so as to be heard, andpaying no heed to the man's words, "if you faithfully promise me thatyou'll never come and poach on my father's part of the river again, I'lllook over all this, and not have you before the Justices."
"How are you going to get me avore the Justice, Master Nic?" said theman, with a merry laugh.
"Send the constable, sir."
"Tchah! he'd never vind me; and, if he did, he dursen't tackle me.There's a dozen o' my mates would break his head if he tried."
"Never mind about that," cried Nic. "You promise me. My father warnedyou only yesterday."
"So he did," said the man, showing his teeth. "In a regular wax hewas."
"And I will not have him annoyed," cried Nic. "So now then, youpromise?"
"Nay, I shan't promise."
"Then I go straight
to the constable, and if I do you'll be summoned andpunished, and perhaps sent out of the country."
"What vor?--pulling you out when you was drownding?"
"For stealing our salmon and beating our two keepers."
"Then I'd better have left you in yonder," said the man, laughing.
"You mean I had better have left you in yonder, and rid the country ofan idle, poaching scoundrel," cried Nic indignantly. "But there, yousaved my life, and I want to give you a chance. Look here, Pete Burge,you had better go to sea."
"Yes, when I like to try for some vish. Don't ketch me going for azailor."
"Will you give me your word that you will leave the fish alone?"
"Nay; but I'll shake hands with you, master. You zaved my life, and Izaved yourn, so we're square over that business."
"You insolent dog!" cried Nic. "Then I'll go straight to the Justice."
"Nay; you go and put on zome dry clothes. It don't hurt me, but you'llketch cold, my lad. Look here, you want me to zay I won't take no morezammon."
"Yes."
"Then I won't zay it. There's about twenty of us means to have as manyfish out o' the river as we like, and if anybody, keepers or what not,comes and interveres with us we'll pitch 'em in the river; and they mayget out themzelves, for I'm not going in after they. Understand that,master?"
"Yes, sir, I do."
"Then don't you set any one to meddle with us, or there may be mischiefdone, for my mates aren't such vools as me. Going to give me a noosteel hook?"
"No, you scoundrel!"
"Going to zhake hands?"
"No, sir."
"Just as you like, young master. I wanted to be vriends and you won't,so we'll be t'other. On'y mind, if there's mischief comes of it, youmade it. Now then, I'm going to walk about in the sun to get dry, andthen zee about getting myself a noo cap and a hook."
"To try for our salmon again?"
The fellow gave him a queer look, nodded, and climbed up the side of theravine, followed by Nic.
At the top the man turned and stared at him for a few moments, with apeculiar look in his eyes; and the trees between them and the falls shutoff much of the deep, booming noise.
"Well," said Nic sharply, "have you repented?"
"Nothing to repent on," said the man stolidly. "On'y wanted to zay thishere: If you zees lights some night among the trees and down by thewatter, it means vishing."
"I know that," said Nic sternly.
"And there'll be a lot there--rough uns; so don't you come and meddle,my lad, for I shouldn't like to zee you hurt."
The next minute the man had disappeared among the trees, leaving Nic tostand staring after him, thinking of what would be the result if thesalmon-poachers met their match.