The Settlers at Home Part 12

"Oh! Oliver, where is he? What have you done?" cried Mildred, as her brother arrived at the wall.

Oliver was very hot, and his lips quivered as he answered,--

"I don't know what I have done. I could not help it. He wanted me not to come to you when you screamed. He wanted to catch the chest instead.

I tripped him up--off into the water. He can swim. But there is the tub--give me hold of the rope--quick! I will send it out into the stream. He may meet it."

Down went all the gathered apples into the water, within the wall, and off went the tub outside. Oliver fastened the line round a heavy stone in the wall.

"I wish I had never screamed!" exclaimed Mildred.

"I am sure I wish so too. You _must_ leave off screaming so, Mildred.

I am sure I thought you were in the water, in the middle of all that splash, or I should not have been in such a hurry. If Roger should be drowned, it will be all your doing, for screaming so."

Mildred did not scream now; but she cried very bitterly. It was soon seen, however, that Roger was safe. He was swimming in the still water on the opposite side, and presently landed beside the pony and cow. He left off wringing the wet out of his hair and clothes, to shake both his fists at Oliver in a threatening way.

"Oh, look at him! He will kill you!" cried Mildred. "I never will scream again."

"Never mind, as long as he is safe," said Oliver. "I don't care for his shaking his fists. It was my business to save you, before caring about him, or all the chests in the Levels. Never mind now, dear. You wont scream again without occasion, I know. What made you do so? You can't think what a shriek it was. It went through my head."

"Part of the wall fell; and the whole of it shakes so, I am sure it will all be down presently. I wish we were at home. But what shall we ever do about Roger? He will kill you, if you go near him: and he can't stay there."

"Leave Roger to me," said Oliver, feeling secretly some of his sister's fear of the consequences of what had just pa.s.sed. He stepped on the wall, and was convinced that it was shaking,--almost rocking. He declared that it was quite unsafe, and that he must look to the remaining walls before they slept another night in the building.

Mildred must get upon the raft immediately. What was that heap of blue cloth?

Mildred explained, and the cloth was declared too valuable to be left behind. Two pairs of hands availed to pull up the end which stuck under water, and then the children found themselves in possession of a whole piece of home-spun.

"May we use it? We did not make it, or buy it," said Mildred.

"I thought of that too," replied her brother. "We will see about that.

It is our business to save it, at any rate; so help me with it. How heavy it is with the water!"

They pulled a dozen apples, and rowed away home with their prize.

Ailwin said, as she met them on the stairs, that she was glad enough to see them home again; and more especially without Roger.

"Roger must be fetched, however," said Oliver, "and the sooner the better."

"Oh not yet!" pleaded Mildred. "He is so angry!"

"That is the very thing," said Oliver. "I want to show him that I tripped him over, not in anger, but because I could not help it. He will never believe but that it was malice, from beginning to end, if I do not go for him directly."

"But he will thrash you. You know he can. He is ever so much stronger than you; and he is in such a pa.s.sion, I do not know what he may not do."

"What can I do?" said Oliver. "I can't leave him there, standing dripping wet, with the cow and the pony."

"Would it be of any use if I were to go with you, and say it was all my fault?" asked Mildred, trembling.

"No, no; you must not go."

"I would go, if there was no water between, and if Mildred would take care of the baby," said Ailwin.

"Oh do,--do go! You are so strong!" said both the children.

"Why, you see, I can't abide going on the water, any way, and never could: and most of all without so much as a boat."

"But I will row you as carefully," said Oliver, "as safely as in any boat. You see how often we have crossed, and how easy it is. You cannot think what care I will take of you, if you will go."

"Then there's the coming back," objected Ailwin. "If I am on board the same raft with Roger, we shall all go to the bottom, that's certain!"

"How often have I been to the bottom? And yet I have been on the raft with Roger, ever since it was made."

"Well, and think how near Mildred was going to the bottom, only just now. I declare I thought we had seen the last of her."

"Roger had nothing to do with that, you know very well. But I will tell you how we can manage. You can carry your pail over, and,--(never mind its being so early)--you can be milking the cow while I bring Roger over here; and I can come back for you. That will do,--wont it? Come,-- fetch your pail. Depend upon it that is the best plan."

Mildred remembered, with great fear, that by this plan Roger would be left with her and George while Oliver went to fetch Ailwin home: but she did not say a word, feeling that she who had caused the mischief ought not to object to Oliver's plan for getting out of the sc.r.a.pe. She need not have feared that Oliver would neglect her feelings. Just before he put off with Ailwin and her milk-pail, he said to his sister--

"I shall try to set Roger down somewhere, so that he cannot plague you and George; but you had better bolt yourself into the room up-stairs when you see us coming; and on no account open the door again till I bid you."

Mildred promised, and then sat down with George asleep on her lap, to watch the event. She saw Ailwin make some odd gestures as she stood on the raft, balancing herself as if she thought the boards would gape under her feet. Oliver paddled diligently, looking behind him oftener and oftener, as he drew near the landing-place, as if to learn what Roger meant to do when they came within his reach.

The moment the boys were within arm's length of each other, Roger sprang furiously upon Oliver, and would have thrown him down in an instant, if Oliver had not expected this, and been upon his guard. Oliver managed to jump ash.o.r.e; and there the boys fought fiercely. There could be no doubt from the beginning which would be beaten,--Roger was so much the taller and stronger of the two, and so much the less peaceable in all his habits than Oliver: but yet Oliver made good fight for some time, before he was knocked down completely. Roger was just about to give his fallen enemy a kick in the stomach, when Ailwin seized him, and said she was not going to see her young master killed before her face, by boy or devil, whichever Roger might be. She tripped him up; and before Oliver had risen, Roger lay sprawling, with Ailwin kneeling upon him to keep him down. Roger shouted out that they were two to one,--cowards, to fight him two to one!

"I am as sorry for that as you can be," said Oliver, das.h.i.+ng away the blood which streamed from his nose. "I wish I were as old and as tall as you: but I am not. And this is no fighting for play, when it would not signify if I was beaten every day for a week. Here are Mildred and the baby; I have to take care of them till we know what has become of my father and mother: and if you try to prevent me, I will get Ailwin, or anybody or thing I can, to help me, sooner than they shall be hurt. If father and mother ever come back to take care of Mildred, I will fight you every day till I beat you, and let n.o.body interfere: but till then, I will go to Mildred as often as she calls, if you drown for it, as I showed you this morning."

Roger answered only by fresh kicks and struggles. Ailwin said aloud that she saw nothing for it but leaving him on this spit of land, to starve on the dunghill. There would be no taking him over to the house in this temper. Roger vowed he would drown all the little pigs, and hough the cow. He had done such a thing before; and he would do it again; so that they should not have a drop more milk for George.

"That will never do," said Oliver. "Ailwin, do you think we could get him over to the Red-hill? He would have plenty to eat there, and might do as he pleased, and be out of our way and the cow's. I could carry him his dog."

Ailwin asked Oliver to bring her the cord from off the raft, and they two could tie up the boy from doing mischief. Oliver brought the cord, but he could not bear to think of using it so.

"Come, now, Roger," said he, "you picked this quarrel; and you may get out of it in a moment. We don't want to quarrel at such a time as this.

Never mind what has happened. Only say you wont meddle between me and the others while the flood lasts; and you shall help me to row home, and I will thank you. After all, we can fight it out some other day, if you like."

More kicks from Roger. No other answer. So Oliver and Ailwin tied his arms and legs with the cord; and then Ailwin proceeded to milk the cow, and Oliver, after was.h.i.+ng his face, to give the pony some more hay, and see how the little pigs went on. The animals were all drooping, and especially the cow. Oliver wished to have given the pigs some of her milk, as the poor sow seemed weak and ill; but the cow gave so very little milk this afternoon, that there was none to spare. Her legs trembled as she stood to be milked; and she lay down again, as soon as Ailwin had done.

"The poor thing ain't long for this world," said Ailwin. "Depend upon it that boy has bewitched her. I don't believe she trembles in that way when he is on the other side of the water."

"You will see that in the morning," said Oliver. "Shall we take him on the raft now? I don't like to carry him tied so, for fear he should throw himself about, and roll over into the water. He would certainly be drowned."

"Leave that to him, Oliver: and take my word for it, that boy was never made to be drowned."

"You thought the same about Stephen, you know; and he is drowned, I am afraid."

"Neither you nor I know that. I will believe it when I see it," said Ailwin with a wise look.

It was now Roger's mood to lie like one dead. He did not move a muscle when he was lifted, and laid on the raft. Ailwin was so delighted to see the boy she was so afraid of thus humbled, that she could hot help giving his face a splash and rub with the muddy water of the stream as he lay.

"Ailwin, for shame!" cried Oliver. "I will fight you next, if you do so. You know you durst not, if his hands were free."