CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
RAMPANT BEEF.
"Here's something the matter!" cried Dexter; and, forgetting everythingin the excitement of the moment, he ran back as hard as he could tear tothe footpath leading to the stile they had crossed, the high untrimmedhedge between the fields concealing what was taking place.
Helen followed quickly, feeling certain the while that the drove ofbullocks in the next meadow were the cause of the trouble and alarm.
Dexter reached the stile far in advance; and when at last Helen attainedto the same post of observation, it was to see Sir James Danby at thefar side standing upon the next stile toward the town, shouting, andfrantically waving his hat and stick, while between her and the stoutbaronet there was the drove of bullocks, and Dexter approaching themfast.
For a few moments Helen could not understand what was the matter, butdirectly after, to her horror, she saw that young Edgar Danby was on theground, with one of the bullocks standing over him, smelling at theprostrate boy, and apparently trying to turn him over with one of itshorns.
"Here! Hi!" shouted Dexter; "bring me your stick."
But Sir James, who had been chased by the leading bullock, wasbreathless, exhausted, and too nervous to attempt his son's rescue. Allhe seemed capable of doing was to shout hoarsely, and this he did morefeebly every moment.
Dexter made a rush at the bullocks, and the greater part of the droveturned tail; but, evidently encouraged by its success, the leader of thelittle herd stood firm, tossed its head on high, shook its horns, anduttered a defiant bellow.
"Here, I can't do anything without a stick," said Dexter, in an ill-usedtone, and he turned and ran toward Sir James, while, still moreencouraged by what must have seemed to its dense brain like a freshtriumph, the bullock placed one of its horns under Edgar Danby andcleverly turned him right over.
"Here, give me your stick!" shouted Dexter, as he ran up to Sir James."You shouldn't be afraid o' them."
"The boy will be killed," cried Sir James, in agony; and he shoutedagain, "Help! help!"
"No, he won't," cried Dexter, snatching the magistrate's heavy ebonystick from his hand. "I'll make 'em run."
Raising the stick in the air, Dexter ran toward where the whole drovewere trotting back, and gathering round their leader, who now began tosing its war-song, throwing up its muzzle so as to straighten itsthroat, and emitting a bellow that was, in spite of its size, but apoor, feeble imitation of the roar of a lion.
As Dexter ran up, the drove stood firm for a few moments; then thenearest to him arched its back, curved its tail, executed a clumsygambol, turned, and fled, the rest taking their cues from this, the mosttimid in the herd, and going off in a lumbering gallop, their heads nowdown, and their tails rigid, excepting a few inches, and the hairy tuftat the end.
But the leader stood fast, and shaking its head, bellowed, lookedthreatening, and lowering one of its long horns, thrust it into theearth, and began to plough up the soft, moist soil.
"Oh, you would, would you?" cried Dexter, who did not feel in theslightest degree alarmed, from ignorance probably more than bravery;and, dashing in, he struck out with the ebony stick so heavy a blow uponthe end of the horn raised in the air that the ebony snapped in two, andthe bullock, uttering a roar of astonishment and pain, swung round, andgalloped after its companions, which were now facing round at the top ofthe field.
"Broke his old stick," said Dexter, as he bent over Edgar. "Here, Isay; get up. They're gone now. You ain't hurt."
Hurt or no, Edgar did not hear him, but lay there with his clothessoiled, and his tall hat trampled on by the drove, and crushed out ofshape.
"I say," said Dexter, shaking him; "why don't you get up?"
Poor Edgar made no reply, for he was perfectly insensible and cadaverousof hue.
"Here! Hi! Come here!" cried Dexter, rising and waving his hands,first to Helen, and then to Sir James. "They won't hurt you. Come on."
The effect of the boy's shout was to make the spot where he now kneltdown by Edgar Danby the centre upon which the spectators sought togather. Helen set off first; Sir James, feeling very nervous, followedher example; and the drove of bullocks, with quivering tails andmoistening nostrils, also began to trot back, while Dexter got one armbeneath the insensible boy, and tried hard to lift him, and carry him tothe stile nearest the town.
But the Union diet had not supplied him with sufficient muscle, andafter getting the boy well on his shoulder, and staggering along a fewpaces, he stopped.
"Oh, I say," he muttered; "ain't he jolly heavy?"
A bellow from the leader of the bullocks made Dexter look round, andtake in the position, which was that the drove were again approaching,and that this combined movement had had the effect of making Helen andSir James both stop some forty yards away.
"Here, come on!" cried Dexter. "I'll see as they don't hurt you." AndHelen obeyed; but Sir James hesitated, till, having somewhat recoveredhis nerve, and moved by shame at seeing a young girl and a boy performwhat was naturally his duty, he came on slowly, and with no littletrepidation, toward where Dexter was waiting with his son.
"That's right!" cried Dexter. "Come along. You come and carry him. Iain't strong enough. I'll soon send them off."
The situation was ludicrous enough, and Sir James was angry withhimself; but all the same there was the nervous trepidation to overcome,and it was a very hard fight.
"Let me try and help you carry him," said Helen quickly.
"No, no; you can't," cried the boy. "Let him. Oh, don't I wish I'd gota stick. Here, ketch hold."
This last was to Sir James, whose face looked mottled as he came up. Heobeyed the boy's command, though: took his son in his arms, and began toretreat with Helen toward the stile.
Meanwhile the bullocks were coming on in their customary stupid way.
"That's right; you go, sir," cried Dexter. "I'll talk to them," and, toHelen's horror, he went down on his hands and knees and ran at thedrove, imitating the barking of a dog, not very naturally, butsufficiently true to life to make the drove turn tail again and gallopoff, their flight being hastened by the flight of Edgar's damaged hat,which Dexter picked up and sent flying after them, and spinning throughthe air like a black firework till it dropped.
"'Tain't no good now," said the boy, laughing to himself; "and never wasmuch good. Only done for a cockshy. I'll take them back, though."
This last was in allusion to the broken stick, which he picked up, anddirectly after found Master Edgar's tasselled cane, armed with which hebeat a retreat toward the group making for the stile, with Helenbeckoning to him to come.
The bullocks made one more clumsy charge down, but the imitation dog gotup by Dexter was enough to check them, and the stile was crossed insafety just as a butcher's man in blue, followed by a big rough dog,came in sight.
Sir James was at first too indignant and too much upset to speak to theman.
"It's of no use, Miss Grayson," he said, "but his master shall certainlybe summoned for this. How dare he place those ferocious bulls in afield through which there is a right of way? O my poor boy! my poorboy! He's dead!--he's dead!"
"He ain't," said Dexter sharply.
"Shall I carry him, sir?" said the butcher's man, forgetful of the factthat he would come off terribly greasy on the helpless boy's blackclothes.
"No, man," cried Sir James. "Go and watch over those ferocious beasts,and see that they do not injure any one else."
"Did they hurt him, sir!" said the man eagerly.
"Hurt him! Look," cried Sir James indignantly.
"He ain't hurt," said Dexter sturdily. "Only frightened. There was achap at our school used to go like that. He's fainting, that's what heis doing. You lay him down, and wait till I come back."
Dexter ran to the river, and, without a moment's hesitation, plunged inhis new cap, and brought it back, streaming and dripping, with as muchwater as he could scoop up.
Too nervous even to oppose the boy
's order, Sir James had lowered hisson to the ground, and, as he lay on the grass, Helen bathed andsplashed his face with the water, till it was gone.
"I'll soon fetch some more," cried Dexter.
But it was not needed, for just then Edgar opened his eyes, lookedwildly round, as if not comprehending where he was, and then exclaimedwith a sob--
"Where's the bull?"
"Hush! hush! my boy; you are safe now; thanks to the bravery of thisgallant lad."
Dexter puckered up his forehead and stared.
"Where's my hat!" cried Edgar piteously.
"Scrunched," said Dexter shortly. "Bullocks trod on it."
"And my silver-topped cane!"
"There it lies on the grass," said Dexter, stooping down and picking itup.
"Oh, look at my jacket and my trousers," cried Edgar. "What a mess I'min!"
"Never mind, my boy; we will soon set that right," said Sir James."There, try and stand up. If you can walk home it will be all thebetter now."
"The brutes!" cried Edgar, with a passionate burst of tears.
"Do you feel hurt anywhere?" said Helen kindly.
"I don't know," said the boy faintly, as he rose and took his father'sarm.
"Can I help you, Sir James?" said Helen.
"No, no, my dear Miss Grayson, we are so near home, and we will go in bythe back way, so as not to call attention. I can never thank yousufficiently for your kindness, nor this brave boy for his gallantry.Good-bye. Edgar is better now. Good-bye."
He shook hands warmly with both.
"Shake hands with Miss Grayson, Eddy," said Sir James, while thebutcher's man sat on the stile and lit his pipe.
Edgar obeyed.
"Now with your gallant preserver," said Sir James.
Edgar, who looked extremely damp and limp, put out a hand unwillingly,and Dexter just touched it, and let his own fall.
"You shall hear from me again, my man," said Sir James, now once morehimself; and he spoke with great dignity. "Good day, Miss Grayson, andthanks."
He went on quickly with his son, while Helen and Dexter took anotherfootpath, leading to a stile which opened upon the road.
As they reached this, Dexter laid his arm upon the top rail, and hisforehead upon his wrist.
"What is the matter, Dexter?" cried Helen, in alarm.
"Nothing: I was only laughing," said the boy, whose shoulders wereshaking with suppressed mirth.
"Laughing?"
"Yes. What a game! They were both afraid of the bullocks, and you'veonly got to go right at 'em, and they're sure to run."
"I think you behaved very bravely, Dexter," said Helen warmly; "and asI've scolded you sometimes, it is only fair that when I can I ought topraise. You were very brave indeed."
"Tchah! that isn't being brave," said the boy, whose face was scarlet."Why, anybody could scare a few bullocks."
"Yes, but anybody would not," said Helen, smiling. "There, let's makehaste home. I was very much frightened too."
"Were you!" said Dexter, with wide open eyes.
"Yes; weren't you?"
"No," said Dexter; "there wasn't anything to be frightened about then.But I'm frightened now."
"Indeed! What, now the danger is past?"
"No, not about that."
"What then, Dexter?"
"Look at my new cap."
He held up his drenched head-covering, all wet, muddy at the bottom, andout of shape.
"'Tain't so bad as his chimney-pot hat, but it's awful, ain't it? Whatwill he say?"
"Papa? Only that you behaved exceedingly well, Dexter. He will be verypleased."
"Think he will?"
"Yes; and you shall have a new cap at once."
"Let's make haste back, then," cried the boy eagerly, "for I'm as hungryas never was. But you're sure he won't be cross?"
"Certain, Dexter. I will answer for that."
"All right. Come along. I was afraid I was in for it again."