Brownsmith's Boy: A Romance in a Garden

  CHAPTER SEVEN.

  I MAKE A FRIEND.

  I began to understand and see and hear again an angry voice was saying:

  "You clumsy scoundrel! I believe you did it on purpose to injure thepoor boy."

  "Not I," growled another voice. "I aren't no spite agen him. Now if ithad been young Shock--"

  "Don't stand arguing," cried the first voice, which seemed to be comingfrom somewhere out of a mist. "Run up the road and ask the doctor tocome down directly."

  "All right, master! I'll go."

  "Poor lad! poor boy!" the other voice in the mist seemed to say. "Nicebeginning for him!--nice beginning! Tut--tut--tut!"

  It sounded very indistinct and dreamy. Somehow it seemed to havesomething to do with my first attempt to swim, and I thought I was beingpulled out of the water, which kept splashing about and making my faceand hair wet.

  I knew I was safe, but my forehead hurt me just as if it had beenscratched by the thorns on one of the hedges close to the water-side.My head ached too, and I was drowsy. I wanted to go to sleep, butpeople kept talking, and the water splashed so about my face andtrickled back with a musical noise into the river, I thought, but reallyinto a basin.

  For all at once I was wide awake again, looking at the geraniums in thewindow, as I lay on my back upon the sofa.

  I did not understand it for a few minutes; for though my eyes were wideopen, the aching and giddiness in my head troubled me so, that though Iwanted to speak I did not know what to say.

  Then, as I turned my eyes from the geraniums in the window and theyrested on the grey hair and florid face of Old Brownsmith, who wasbusily bathing my forehead with a sponge and water, the scene in theyard came back like a flash, and I caught the hand that held the sponge.

  "Has it hurt the baskets of flowers?" I cried excitedly.

  "Never mind the baskets of flowers," said Old Brownsmith warmly; "has ithurt you?"

  "I don't know; not much," I said quickly. "But won't it be a great dealof trouble and expense?"

  He smiled, and patted my shoulder.

  "Never mind that," he said good-humouredly. "All people who keep horsesand carts, and blundering obstinate fellows for servants, have accidentsto contend against. There!--never mind, I say, so long as you have nobones broken; and I don't think you have. Here, stretch out your arms."

  I did so.

  "That's right," he said. "Now, kick out your legs as if you wereswimming."

  I looked up at him sharply, for it seemed so strange for him to say thatjust after I had been thinking of being nearly drowned. I kicked out,though, as he told me.

  "No bones broken there," he said; and he proceeded then to feel my ribs.

  "Capital!" he said after a few moments. "Why, there's nothing thematter but a little bark off your forehead, and I'm afraid you'll have ablack eye. A bit of sticking-plaster will set you right after all, andwe sha'n't want the doctor."

  "Doctor! Oh! no," I said. "My head aches a bit, and that place smarts,but it will soon be better."

  "To be sure it will," he said, nodding pleasantly.--"Well, is hecoming?"

  This was to Ike, who came up to the open door. "He's out," said Ikegruffly. "Won't be home for two hours, and he'll come on when he getshome."

  "That will do," said Old Brownsmith.

  "Shall I see 'bout loading up again?"

  "Oh, no!" said Old Brownsmith sarcastically. "Let the baskets lie wherethey are. It doesn't matter about sending to market to sell the things.You never want any wages!"

  "What's the good o' talking to a man like that, master?" growled Ike."You know you don't mean it, no more'n I meant to send the sieves atopo' young Grant here. I'm werry sorry; and a man can't say fairer thanthat."

  "Go and load up then," said Old Brownsmith. "We must risk the damagedgoods."

  Ike looked hard at me and went away.

  "Had you said anything to offend him, my lad?" said the old man as soonas we were alone.

  "Oh! no, sir," I cried; "we were capital friends, and he was telling methe best way to load."

  "A capital teacher!" cried the old gentleman sarcastically. "No; Idon't think he did it intentionally. If I did I'd send him about hisbusiness this very night. There!--lie down and go to sleep; it willtake off the giddiness."

  I lay quite still, and as I did so Old Brownsmith seemed to swell uplike the genii who came out of the sealed jar the fisherman caughtinstead of fish. Then he grew cloudy and filled the room, and thenthere was the creaking of baskets, and I saw things clearly again. OldBrownsmith was gone, and the soft evening air came through the openwindow by the pots of geraniums.

  My eyes were half-closed and I saw things rather dimly, particularly onepot on the window-sill, which, instead of being red and regularpot-shaped, seemed to be rounder and light-coloured, and to have acouple of eyes, and grinning white teeth. There were no leaves above itnor scarlet blossoms, but a straw hat upside-down, with fuzzy hairstanding up out of it; and the eyes kept on staring at me till it seemedto be Shock! Then it grew dark and I must have fallen asleep, wonderingwhat that boy could have to do with my accident.

  Perhaps I came to again--I don't know; for it may have been a dream thatthe old gentleman came softly back and dabbed my head gently with atowel, and that the towel was stained with blood.

  Of course it was a dream that I was out in the East with my father, whowas not hurt in the skirmish, but it was I who received the wound, whichbled a good deal; and somehow I seemed to have been hurt in theshoulder, which ached and felt strained and wrenched. But all becameblank again and I lay some time asleep.

  When I opened my eyes again I found that I was being hurt a good deal bythe doctor, who was seeing to my injuries. Old Brownsmith and Ike wereboth in the room, and I could see Shock peeping round the big _arborvitae_ outside the window to see what was going on.

  The doctor was holding a glass to my lips, while Old Brownsmith raisedme up.

  "Drink that, my boy," said the doctor. "That's the way!--capital! isn'tit?"

  I shuddered and looked up at him reproachfully, for the stuff he hadgiven me to drink tasted like a mixture of soap and smelling-salts; andI said so.

  "Good description of the volatile alkali, my lad," he said, laughing."There!--you'll soon be all right. I've strapped up your wound."

  "My wound, sir!" I said, wonderingly.

  "To be sure; didn't you know that you had a cut upon your forehead?"

  I shook my head, but stopped, for it made the room seem to turn round.

  "You need not mind," he continued, taking my hand. "It isn't so deep asa well nor so wide as a church-door, as somebody once said. You don'tknow who it was?"

  "Shakespeare, sir," I said, rather drowsily.

  "Bravo, young market-gardener!" he cried, laughing. "Oh! you're notvery bad. Now, then, what are you going to do--lie still here and benursed by Mr Brownsmith's maid, or get up and bear it like a man--trythe fresh air?"

  "I'm going to get up, sir," I said quickly; and throwing my legs off thesofa I stood up; but I had to stretch out my arms, for the room-wallsseemed to run by me, the floor to rise up, and I should have fallen ifthe doctor had not taken my arm, giving me such pain that I cried out,and the giddiness passed off, but only came back with more intensity.

  He pressed me back gently and laid me upon the sofa.

  "Where did I hurt you, my boy?" he said.

  "My shoulder," I replied faintly.

  "Ah! another injury!" he exclaimed. "I did not know of this. Tendon abit wrenched," he muttered as he felt me firmly but gently, giving me agood deal of pain, which I tried hard to bear without showing it, thoughthe twitching of my face betrayed me. "You had better lie still alittle while, my man. You'll soon be better."

  I obeyed his orders very willingly and lay still in a good deal of pain;but I must soon have dropped off asleep for a while, waking to find itgrowing dusk. The window was still open; and through it I could hearthe creaking of baskets as they
were moved, and Old Brownsmith's voicein loud altercation with Ike.

  "Well, there," said the latter, "'tain't no use for me to keep on sayingI didn't, master, if you says I did."

  "Not a bit, Ike; and I'll make you pay for the damage as sure as I standhere."

  "Oh! all right! I'm a rich man, master--lots o' money, and land, andstock, and implements. Make me pay! I've saved a fortin on theeighteen shillings a week. Here, what should I want to hurt the boyfor, master? Come, tell me that."

  "Afraid he'd find out some of your tricks, I suppose."

  "That's it: go it, master! Hark at that, now, after sarving himfaithful all these years!"

  "Get on with your work and don't talk," cried Old Brownsmith sharply."Catch that rope. Mind you don't miss that handle."

  "I sha'n't miss no handles," growled Ike; and as I lay listening to thesawing noise made by the rope being dragged through basket-handles andunder hooks in the cart, I felt so much better that I got up and wentout into the yard, to find that the cart had been carefully reloaded.Ike was standing on one of the wheels passing a cart-rope in and out, soas to secure the baskets, and dragging it tight to fasten off here andthere.

  He caught sight of me coming out of the house, feeling dull andlow-spirited, for this did not seem a very pleasant beginning of my newcareer.

  "Hah!" he ejaculated, letting himself down in a lumbering way from thewheel, and then rubbing his right hand up and down his trouser-leg toget it clean; "hah! now we'll have it out!"

  He came right up to me, spreading out his open hand.

  "Here, young un!" he cried; "the master says I did that thar a-purposeto hurt you, out of jealous feeling like. What do you say?"

  "It was an accident," I cried, eagerly.

  "Hear that, master," cried Ike; "and that's a fact; so here's my hand,and here's my heart. Why, I'd be ashamed o' mysen to hurt a bit of aboy like you. It war an accident, lad, and that's honest. So nowwhat's it to be--shake hands or leave it alone?"

  "Shake hands," I said, lifting mine with difficulty. "I don't think youcould have done such a cowardly thing."

  I looked round sharply at Mr Brownsmith, for I felt as if I had saidsomething that would offend him, since I was taking sides against him.

  "Be careful, please," I added quickly; "my arm's very bad, and you'llhurt me."

  "Careful!" cried Ike; "I'll shake it as easy as if it was a young shooto' sea-kale, boy. There, hear him, master! Hear what this here boysays!"

  He shook hands with me, I dare say thinking he was treating me verygently, but he hurt me very much. The grip of his hard brown hand alonewas bad enough, but I bore it all as well as I could, and tried to smilein the rough fellow's face.

  "That's the sort as I like," he said in a good-humoured growl. "Putthat down on the slate. That's being a trump, that is; and we two'sshipmates after this here."

  Old Brownsmith did not speak, and Ike went on:

  "I say, master, what a bad un you do think me! I'd ha' hated myself aslong as I lived, and never forgive myself, if I'd done such a thing.Look ye here--my monkey's up now, master--did yer ever know me ill-usethe 'orses?"

  "No, Ike," said Old Brownsmith shortly.

  "Never once. There's the white, and I give it a crack now and then; butask either Capen or Starlit, and see if ever they've got anything agenme. And here's a man as never ill-used a 'orse, and on'y kicked youngShock now and then when he'd been extry owdacious, and you say as Itried to upset the load on young un here. Why, master, I'm ashamed onyer. I wouldn't even ha' done it to you."

  I felt sorry for Ike, and my sympathies were against Old Brownsmith, whoseemed to be treating him rather hardly, especially when he saidshortly:

  "Did you fasten off that hind rope?"

  "Yes, master, I did fasten off that hind rope," growled Ike.

  "Then, now you're out o' breath with talking, go and get your sleep.Don't start later than twelve."

  Ike uttered a low grunt, and went off with his hands in his pockets, andOld Brownsmith came and laid his hand upon my shoulder.

  "Pretty well bed-time, Grant, my boy. Let's go in."

  I followed him in, feeling rather low-spirited, but when he had lit acandle he turned to me with a grim smile.

  "Ike didn't like what I said to him, but it won't do him any harm."

  I looked at him, wondering how he could treat it all so coolly, but heturned off the conversation to something else, and soon after he showedme my bedroom--a neat clean chamber at the back, and as I opened thewindow to look out at the moon I found that there was a vine growing upa thick trellis right up to and round it, the leaves regularly framingit in.

  There was a comfortable-looking bed, and my box just at the foot, and Iwas so weary and low-spirited that I was not long before I was lyingdown on my left side, for I could not lie on my right on account of myshoulder being bad.

  As I lay there I could look out on the moon shining among the vineleaves, and it seemed to me that I ought to get out and draw down theblind; but while I was still thinking about it I suppose I must havedropped asleep, for the next thing that seemed to occur was that I waslooking at the window, and it was morning, and as I lay trying to thinkwhere I was I saw something move gently just outside.

  At first I thought it was fancy, and that the soft morning light haddeceived me, or that one of the vine leaves had been moved by the wind;but no, there was something moving just as Shock's head used to comeamong the young shoots of the plum-trees above the wall, and, sureenough, directly after there was that boy's head with his eyes above thesill, staring right in upon me as I lay in bed.