Chapter 7. I Make A Friend

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_ 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 the poor boy."

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

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

"All right, master! I'll go."

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

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

I knew I was safe, but my forehead hurt me just as if it had been scratched 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, but people kept talking, and the water splashed so about my face and trickled back with a musical noise into the river, I thought, but really into a basin.

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

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

Then, as I turned my eyes from the geraniums in the window and they rested on the grey hair and florid face of Old Brownsmith, who was busily bathing my forehead with a sponge and water, the scene in the yard 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 it hurt you?"

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

He smiled, and patted my shoulder.

"Never mind that," he said good-humouredly. "All people who keep horses and carts, and blundering obstinate fellows for servants, have accidents to contend against. There!--never mind, I say, so long as you have no bones 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 were swimming."

I looked up at him sharply, for it seemed so strange for him to say that just 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 the matter but a little bark off your forehead, and I'm afraid you'll have a black eye. A bit of sticking-plaster will set you right after all, and we 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 he coming?"

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

"That will do," said Old Brownsmith.

"Shall I see 'bout loading up again?"

"Oh, no!" said Old Brownsmith sarcastically. "Let the baskets lie where they 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 atop o' young Grant here. I'm werry sorry; and a man can't say fairer than that."

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

Ike looked hard at me and went away.

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

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

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

I lay quite still, and as I did so Old Brownsmith seemed to swell up like the genii who came out of the sealed jar the fisherman caught instead of fish. Then he grew cloudy and filled the room, and then there was the creaking of baskets, and I saw things clearly again. Old Brownsmith was gone, and the soft evening air came through the open window by the pots of geraniums.

My eyes were half-closed and I saw things rather dimly, particularly one pot on the window-sill, which, instead of being red and regular pot-shaped, seemed to be rounder and light-coloured, and to have a couple of eyes, and grinning white teeth. There were no leaves above it nor scarlet blossoms, but a straw hat upside-down, with fuzzy hair standing up out of it; and the eyes kept on staring at me till it seemed to be Shock! Then it grew dark and I must have fallen asleep, wondering what 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 that the old gentleman came softly back and dabbed my head gently with a towel, and that the towel was stained with blood.

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

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

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

"Drink that, my boy," said the doctor. "That's the way!--capital! isn't it?"

I shuddered and looked up at him reproachfully, for the stuff he had given me to drink tasted like a mixture of soap and smelling-salts; and I 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 as a well nor so wide as a church-door, as somebody once said. You don't know who it was?"

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

"Bravo, young market-gardener!" he cried, laughing. "Oh! you're not very bad. Now, then, what are you going to do--lie still here and be nursed by Mr Brownsmith's maid, or get up and bear it like a man--try the fresh air?"

"I'm going to get up, sir," I said quickly; and throwing my legs off the sofa I stood up; but I had to stretch out my arms, for the room-walls seemed to run by me, the floor to rise up, and I should have fallen if the 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 a bit wrenched," he muttered as he felt me firmly but gently, giving me a good deal of pain, which I tried hard to bear without showing it, though the twitching of my face betrayed me. "You had better lie still a little 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 it growing dusk. The window was still open; and through it I could hear the creaking of baskets as they were moved, and Old Brownsmith's voice in loud altercation with Ike.

"Well, there," said the latter, "'tain't no use for me to keep on saying I 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 stand here."

"Oh! all right! I'm a rich man, master--lots o' money, and land, and stock, and implements. Make me pay! I've saved a fortin on the eighteen shillings a week. Here, what should I want to hurt the boy for, 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 him faithful 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 the sawing noise made by the rope being dragged through basket-handles and under hooks in the cart, I felt so much better that I got up and went out 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, so as to secure the baskets, and dragging it tight to fasten off here and there.

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

"Hah!" he ejaculated, letting himself down in a lumbering way from the wheel, and then rubbing his right hand up and down his trouser-leg to get 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-purpose to 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 a boy like you. It war an accident, lad, and that's honest. So now what's it to be--shake hands or leave it alone?"

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

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

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

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

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

"That's the sort as I like," he said in a good-humoured growl. "Put that down on the slate. That's being a trump, that is; and we two's shipmates 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 as long 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-use the 'orses?"

"No, Ike," said Old Brownsmith shortly.

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

I felt sorry for Ike, and my sympathies were against Old Brownsmith, who seemed to be treating him rather hardly, especially when he said shortly:

"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, and Old 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 a candle 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 he turned off the conversation to something else, and soon after he showed me my bedroom--a neat clean chamber at the back, and as I opened the window to look out at the moon I found that there was a vine growing up a thick trellis right up to and round it, the leaves regularly framing it in.

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

As I lay there I could look out on the moon shining among the vine leaves, and it seemed to me that I ought to get out and draw down the blind; but while I was still thinking about it I suppose I must have dropped asleep, for the next thing that seemed to occur was that I was looking at the window, and it was morning, and as I lay trying to think where I was I saw something move gently just outside.

At first I thought it was fancy, and that the soft morning light had deceived 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 come among the young shoots of the plum-trees above the wall, and, sure enough, directly after there was that boy's head with his eyes above the sill, staring right in upon me as I lay in bed. _

Read next: Chapter 8. Shock's Breakfast

Read previous: Chapter 6. I Decide And Go To Work

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