CHAPTER ELEVEN.
IN THE TOILS.
The afternoon of the famous "indignation meeting" in the Fourth Juniorwas the afternoon of the week which Mr Cripps the younger, puttingaside for a season the anxieties and responsibilities of his "public"duties in Maltby, usually devoted to the pursuit of the "gentle craft,"at his worthy father's cottage by Gusset Weir. Loman, who was aware ofthis circumstance, and on whose spirit that restless top joint hadcontinued to prey ever since the evening of the misadventure a week ago,determined to avail himself of the opportunity of returning the unluckyfishing-rod into the hands from which he had received it.
He therefore instructed Stephen to take it up to the lock-house with anote to the effect that having changed his mind in the matter sincespeaking to Cripps, he found he should not require the rod, andtherefore returned it, with many thanks for Mr Cripps's trouble.
Stephen, little suspecting the questionable nature of his errand,undertook the commission, and duly delivered both rod and letter intothe hands of Mr Cripps, who greatly astonished him by swearing veryviolently at the contents of the letter. "Well," said he, when he hadexhausted his vocabulary (not a small one) of expletives--"well, of allthe grinning jackanapeses, this is the coolest go! Do you take me for afool?"
Stephen, to whom this question appeared to be directly applied,disclaimed any idea of the kind, and added, "I don't know what youmean."
"Don't you, my young master? All right! Tell Mr Loman I'll wait uponhim one fine day, see if I don't! Here's me, given up a whole blessedday to serve him, and a pot of money out of my pocket, and here he goes!not a penny for my pains! Chucks the thing back on my 'ands as cool asa coocumber, all because he's changed his mind. I'll let him have a bitof my mind, tell him, Mr Gentleman Schoolboy, see if I don't. I ain'ta-going to be robbed, no! not by all the blessed monkeys that ever wroteon slates! _I'll_ wait upon him, see if I don't!"
Stephen, to whom the whole of this oration, which was garnished withwords that we can hardly set down in print, or degrade ourselves bysuggesting, was about as intelligible as if it had been Hebrew, thoughtit better to make no reply, and sorrowed inwardly to find that such anice man as Mr Cripps should possess so short a temper. But thelandlord of the Cockchafer soon recovered from his temporary annoyance,and even proceeded to apologise to Stephen for the warmth of hislanguage.
"You'll excuse me, young gentleman," said he, "but I'm a plain-spokenman, and I was--there, I won't deny it--I was a bit put out about thishere rod first go off. You'll excuse me--of course I don't mean nooffence to you or Mister Loman neither, who's one of the nicest younggentlemen I ever met. Of course if you'd a' paid seventy bob out ofyour own pocket it would give _you_ a turn; leastways, if you was astruggling, honest working man, like me."
"That's it," snivelled, old Mr Cripps, who had entered during this lastspeech; "that's it, Benny, my boy, honest Partisans, that's what we is,who knows what it are to be in want of a shillin' to buy a clo' or twofor the little childer."
What particular little "childer" Mr Cripps senior and his son werespecially interested in no one knew, for neither of them was blessedwith any. However, it was one of old Mr Cripps's heart-moving phrases,and no one was rude enough to ask questions.
Stephen did not, on the present occasion, feel moved to respond to theold man's lament, and Cripps junior, with more adroitness than filialaffection, hustled the old gentleman out of the door.
"Never mind him," said he to Stephen. "He's a silly old man, and alwayspretends he's starvin'. If you believe me, he's a thousand poundsstowed away somewheres. I on'y wish," added he, with a sigh, "he'd giveme a taste of it, for its 'ard, up-'ill work makin' ends meet,particular when a man's deceived by parties. No matter. I'll pullthrough; you see!"
Stephen once more did not feel called upon to pursue this line ofconversation, and therefore changed the subject.
"Oh, Mr Cripps, how much is that bat?"
"Bat! Bless me if I hadn't nearly forgot all about it. Ain't it abeauty, now?"
"Yes, pretty well," said Stephen, whose friends had one and all abusedthe bat, and who was himself a little disappointed in his expectations.
"Pretty well! I like that. You must be a funny cricketer, younggentleman, to call that bat only pretty well. I suppose you want me totake _that_ back, too?" and here Mr Cripps looked very fierce.
"Oh, no," said Stephen, hurriedly. "I only want to know what I am topay for it."
"Oh, come now, we needn't mind about that. That'll keep, you know. Asif I wanted the money. Ha, ha!"
Even a green boy like Stephen could not fail to wonder why, if MrCripps was as hard up as he had just described himself, he should now beso anxious to represent himself as not in want of money.
"Please, I want to know the price."
"As if I was a-going to name prices to a young gentleman like you!Please yourself about it. I shall not be disappointed if you gives meonly eighteenpence, and if _you_ thinks twelve bob is handsome, well,let it be. _I_ can struggle on somehow."
This was uncomfortable for Stephen, who, too green, fortunately, tocomprehend the drift of Mr Cripps's gentle hints, again asked that hewould name a price.
This time Mr Cripps answered more precisely.
"Well, that there bat is worth a guinea, if you want to know, but I'llsay a sovereign for cash down."
Stephen whistled a long-drawn whistle of dismay.
"A sovereign! I can't pay all that! I thought it would be about sevenshillings!"
"Did you? You may think what you like, but that's my price, and you arelucky to get it at that."
"I shall have to send it back. I can't afford so much," said Stephen,despondingly.
"Not if I know it! I'll have none of your second-hand bats, if I knowit. Come, young gentleman, I may be a poor man, but I'm not a fool, andyou'll find it out if I've any of your nonsense. Do you suppose I'venothing to do but wait on jackanapeses like you and your mates? Noerror! There you are. That'll do, and if you don't like it--well, thegovernor shall know about it!"
Stephen was dreadfully uncomfortable. Though, to his knowledge, he haddone nothing wrong, he felt terribly guilty at the bare notion of theDoctor being informed of his transactions with Mr Cripps, besidesgreatly in awe of the vague threats held out by that gentleman. He didnot venture on further argument, but, bidding a hasty farewell, returnedas fast as he could to Saint Dominic's, wondering whatever Oliver wouldsay, and sorely repenting the day when first he was tempted to think ofthe unlucky bat.
He made a clean breast of it to his brother that evening, who, ofcourse, called him an ass, and everything else complimentary, and wasdeservedly angry. However, Stephen had reason to consider himself luckyto possess an elder brother at the school who had a little moreshrewdness than himself. Oliver was determined the debt should be paidat once, without even waiting to write home, and by borrowing tenshillings from Wraysford, and adding to it the residue of his ownpocket-money, the sovereign was raised and dispatched that very night toMr Cripps; after which Oliver commanded his brother to sit down andwrite a full confession of his folly home, and ask for the money,promising never to make such a fool of himself again. This task thesmall boy, with much shame and trembling at heart, accomplished; and indue time an answer came from his mother which not only relieved his mindbut paid off his debts to Oliver and Wraysford, and once for all closedthe business of the treble-cane splice bat.
It would have been well for Loman if he could have got out of hisdifficulties as easily and as satisfactorily.
Ever since he had gathered from Stephen Mr Cripps's wrath on receivingthe returned rod, he had been haunted by a dread lest the landlord ofthe Cockchafer should march up to Saint Dominic's, and possibly make anexposure of the unhappy business before the Doctor and the whole school.He therefore, after long hesitation and misgiving, determined himselfto call at the Cockchafer, and try in some way to settle matters. Onething reassured him. If Cripps had discovered the crack or the fracture
in the rod, he would have heard of it long before now; and if he hadnot, then the longer the time the less chance was there of the damagebeing laid at his door. So he let three weeks elapse, and then went toMaltby. The Cockchafer was a small, unpretentious tavern, frequentedchiefly by carriers and tradesmen, and, I regret to say, not whollyunknown to some of the boys of Saint Dominic's, who were foolish enoughto persuade themselves that skittles, and billiards, and beer wereluxuries worth the risk incurred by breaking one of the rules of theschool. No boy was permitted to enter any place of refreshment except aconfectioner's in Maltby under the penalty of a severe punishment, whichmight, in a bad case, mean expulsion. Loman, therefore, a monitor and aSixth Form boy, had to take more than ordinary precautions to reach theCockchafer unobserved, which he succeeded in doing, and to hissatisfaction--as well as to his trepidation--found Mr Cripps theyounger at home.
"Ho, he! my young shaver," was that worthy's greeting, "here you are atlast."
This was not encouraging to begin with. It sounded very much as if MrCripps had been looking forward to this visit. However, Loman put asbold a face as he could on to it, and replied, "Hullo, Cripps, how areyou? It's a long time since I saw you; jolly day, isn't it?"
"Jolly!" replied Mr Cripps, looking very gloomy, and drawing a glass ofbeer for the young gentleman before he ordered it. Loman did not likeit at all. There was something about Cripps's manner that made him feelvery uncomfortable.
"Oh, Cripps," he presently began, in as off-hand a manner as he couldassume under the depressing circumstances--"Oh, Cripps, about that rod,by the way. I hope you didn't mind my sending it back. The fact is,"(and here followed a lie which till that moment had not been in thespeaker's mind to tell)--"the fact is, I find I'm to get a present of arod this summer at home, or else of course I would have kept it."
Mr Cripps said nothing, but began polishing up a pewter pot with anapkin.
"I hope you got it back all right," continued Loman, who felt as if hemust say something. "They are such fragile things, you know. I thoughtI'd just leave it in the bag and not touch it, but send it straightback, for fear it should be damaged."
There was a queer smile about Mr Cripps's mouth as he asked, "Then youdidn't have a look at it even?"
"Well, no, I thought I would--I thought I wouldn't run any risk."
Loman was amazed at himself. He had suddenly made up his mind to tellone lie, but here they were following one after another, as if he hadtold nothing but lies all his life! Alas, there was no drawing backeither!
"The fact is," he began again, speaking for the sake of speaking, andnot even knowing what he was going to say--"the fact is--" Here thestreet door opened, and there entered hurriedly a boy whom Loman, to hisconfusion and consternation, recognised as Simon of the Fifth, theauthor of the "Love-Ballad." What could the monitor say for himself toexplain his presence in this prohibited house?
"Hullo, Loman, I say, is that you?" remarked Simon.
"Oh, Simon, how are you?" faltered the wretched Loman; "I've just poppedin to speak to Cripps about a fishing-rod. You'd better not come in;you might get into trouble."
"Oh, never mind. You won't tell of me, and I won't tell of you. Glassof the usual, please, Cripps. I say, Loman, was that the fishing-rodyou were switching about out of your window that afternoon three weeksago?"
Loman turned red and white by turns, and wished the earth would swallowhim! And to think of this fellow, the biggest donkey in SaintDominic's, blurting out the very thing which of all things he hadstriven to keep concealed!
Mr Cripps's mouth worked up into a still more ugly smile.
"I was below in the garden, you know, and could not make out what youwere up to. You nearly had my eye out with that hook. I say, what asmash you gave it when it caught in the ivy. Was it broken right off,or only cracked, eh? Cripps will mend it for you, won't you, Cripps?"
Neither Mr Cripps nor Loman spoke a word. The latter saw thatconcealment was no longer possible; and bitterly he rued the day whenfirst he heard the name of Cripps.
That worthy, seeing the game to have come beautifully into his ownhands, was not slow to take advantage of it. He beckoned Loman into theinner parlour, whither the boy tremblingly followed, leaving Simon tofinish his glass of "the usual" undisturbed.
I need not repeat the painful conversation that ensued between thesharper and the wretched boy. It was no use for the latter to deny orexplain. He was at the mercy of the man, and poor mercy it was.Cripps, with many oaths and threats, explained to Loman that he could,if he chose, have him up before a magistrate for fraud, and that hewould do so for a very little. Loman might choose for himself between acomplete exposure, involving his disgrace for life, or paying the priceof the rod down and 20 besides, and he might consider himself lucky morewas not demanded.
The boy, driven to desperation between terror and shame, implored mercy,and protested with tears in his eyes that he would do anything, if onlyCripps did not expose him.
"You know what it is, then," replied Cripps.
"But how am I to get the 20 pounds? I daren't ask for it at home, andthere's no one here will lend it me. Oh, Cripps, what shall I do?" andthe boy actually caught Mr Cripps's hand in his own as he put thequestion.
"Well, look here," said Mr Cripps, unbending a little, "that 20 poundsI must have, there's no mistake about it; but I don't want to be toohard on you, and I can put you up to raising the wind."
"Oh, can you?" gasped Loman, eager to clutch at the faintest straw ofhope. "I'll do anything."
"Very good; then it's just this: I've just got a straight tip about theDerby that I know for certain no one else has got--that is, that SirPatrick won't win, favourite and all as he is. Now there's a friend ofmine I can introduce you to, who's just wanting to put a twenty on thehorse, if he can find any one to take it. It wouldn't do for me to makethe wager, or he'd smell a rat; but if you put your money _against_ thehorse, you're bound to win, and all safe. What do you say?"
"I don't know anything about betting," groaned Loman. "Are you quitesure I'd win?"
"Certain. If you lose I'll only ask 10 pounds of you, there! that's asgood as giving you 10 pounds myself on the horse, eh?"
"Well," said Loman, "I suppose I must. Where is he?"
"Wait here a minute, and I'll bring him round."
Loman waited, racked by a sense of ignominy and terror. Yet this seemedhis only hope. Could he but get this 20 pounds and pay off Cripps hewould be happy. Oh, how he repented listening to that first temptationto deceive!
In due time Mr Cripps returned with his friend, who was very civil onhearing Loman's desire to bet against Sir Patrick.
"Make it a 50 pounds note while you are about it," said he.
"No, 20 pounds is all I want to go for," replied Loman.
"Twenty then, all serene, sir," said the gentleman, booking the bet."What'll you take to drink?"
"Nothing, thank you," said Loman, hurriedly rising to leave.
"Good-day, sir," said Cripps, holding out his hand.
Loman looked at the hand and then at Mr Cripps's face. There was thesame ugly leer about the latter, into which a spark of anger was infusedas the boy still held back from the proffered hand.
With an inward groan Loman gave the hand a spiritless grasp, and thenhurried back miserable and conscience-stricken to Saint Dominic's.