Part 8 (1/2)
So little did our hero relish this cruel affair that he would scarcely speak to Moses, when the latter expected high applause for his handywork.
But the Jew-boy, nothing daunted, ran to the farmer, whom he found cobbling up an old plough in the yard, to save expense of paying a wheelwright.
”Oh dear! Oh dear!” whined Moses, with the greatest appearance of heart-touched concern, ”a terrible accident has happened-one of the sheep-the fattest and finest of the whole flock-has just sprung over the hedge above Allty Craig, and broke its beautiful neck.” Morris threw down the axe he was using, and looked nearly as sorry, angry, and despondent as he felt. ”Nothing but misfortunes!” cried he at last, ”nothing but misfortunes for me, wretched man that I am!” his thoughts dwelling at that moment on the fine pig that he lately lost. ”First a fine pig, and now my finest sheep. Verily, this must be the end of the world, such judgments could not come without reason!”
”Hadn't we better cut his throat to save his life,” inquired Moses in the most compa.s.sionate and tender tone that he could a.s.sume, forgetting the slight anomaly which his suggestion presented; ”and then, sir, hadn't we better skin him too?” continued the young slip of Judaism. ”If he isn't bled directly, and nothing said about the accident, the women will vote him to be buried in the same grave with the hog, considering his beautiful mutton as no better than so much carrion. You know the women are so shamefully dainty in such matters.”
This wily speech won the entire approbation of Morris Greeg, and patting Moses's shoulder, he thanked Providence that he had so faithful a servant; adding in the same breath, ”be sure you don't cut the skin.”
This gave Twm and Moses full employment for the rest of the evening, while Morris entered the house, and delivered the startling intelligence to his household that he had determined to give them all a treat, and that for this purpose he had ordered one of the finest sheep to be slaughtered, that they might have fresh mutton.
It was just as the first dinner from this promised feast was finished, on the day following, that Hukin Heer, that tall lanky cottager, whose dog had been killed by Moses, under the imputation of madness, called on Morris and Sheeny; and in a self-sufficient mysterious manner, informed them that he had a long story to tell them. As he cast a furious look at Moses, that worthy felt an inward conviction that his long story boded him no good; so taking up his hat in a hurried manner, he prepared to depart. Hukin Heer, however, told Morris, that as his tidings concerned the whole household, and that he was a man who scorned to criminate any one behind his back, he particularly wished that Moses and Twm should be present, to hear all that he had to urge against them. Moses treated his insinuations with a bold look of defiance as his insignificant features could possibly a.s.sume, yet trembling with dread that some important discoveries to his disadvantage were to be made.
Twm's only amus.e.m.e.nt at that moment consisted in watching the terrified expression upon the countenance of the young Israelite, and in mentally commenting upon the probable consequences of Heer's information. Now all the family were seated round; Hukin occupying a chair that commanded the pa.s.sage, in case the culprits aimed to escape, and Sheeny with her female brood, bursting with curiosity to hear what diableries Hukin had to unfold.
It turned out that this unlucky cottager, on the destruction of whose cur, by the relentless hand of Moses, fled in the utmost alarm at the supposed damages done by him, according to the insinuations of Twm, under the influence of canine madness. This, Hukin knew to be a fabrication, and suspecting the rest to be so, indulged in bitter feelings of resentment against the insignificant Jew whelp, as he called him, who on false pretences had destroyed his poor dog. Brooding over his wrongs, he at times revenged himself, in the early dark winter evenings, by tearing the hedges of Morris Greeg, by which amiable pastime he repaired the deficiency of his own fuel, and gave endless labour to those parish apprentices to repair them.
One eventful evening he caught up the clue which furnished him with the means of revenge. He was returning home, after despoiling the hedges, when he heard the sound of footsteps; at once he concealed himself and his load of f.a.ggots, and like a stealthy spy, awaited the results. While in this position, by the imperfect light of a dull moon, he caught a full view of Twm and Moses. Abandoning his load of wood, he dogged their steps till they were housed in the hovel of Mike the mat-man. He then saw the inmates enjoying the lingering remains of the pig, gloating over it, and making sundry comments which might, to say the least, be considered suspicious. For several nights Heer followed them, and saw the same scene enacted; he had at last gathered a full and connected narrative of the whole affair, and it was an intense satisfaction to have these sweet means of revenge in his possession.
On the day previous to the present, in the full glow of triumphant malice, he called on Mike, and informed him that his midnight feastings were discovered. Poor Mike trembled with apprehension of the evil consequences that might accrue to him; and in the hope of propitiating the angry spirit of his revengeful neighbour, confessed all he knew, which was everything, about the matter. It seemed as if the spirit of vengeance had yielded a favourable ear to Hukin's desires; for on this same evening, as he lurked in the wood adjoining Allty Craig, and only separated from it by the hedge, it was his lot to witness the last enormity of Moses, in driving the sheep, on which they had been feeding, over the dreadful precipice.
All these particulars, with the exception of his own part in despoiling the hedges, he narrated before the present a.s.sembled party, with the most enlarged minuteness, while the different members of the family were agitated with various feelings as they listened to his exaggerated account of the affair.
Vain would be the attempt to seek words that could do adequate justice in describing the effects of this discovery on the countenance of the economic Morris, and that amiable provider of short commons, his wife.
If one groaned forth her unutterable grief, the other ground his teeth; and in the vehemence of his wrath could not help thinking that the penal statutes required amendment-that it was an infamous interference on the part of the law to call the sacrifice of a parish apprentice or two, in the way of just resentment, by the hideous name of murder; while to his thinking, it was much less criminal than clandestinely killing a pig or a sheep, that would fetch so much more money. Almost delirious with his troubles, he paced the house to and fro, at the frantic rate of five miles to the hour, muttering to himself a complete summary of the evils that had befallen him.
”Pig not mad-tickled by the sand in his ear-all eaten by the boys and the mat-man-curse their stomachs!-sheep driven over the precipice-worth ten s.h.i.+llings-Oh!-villainy unheard of-the world was innocent till now-all former villainy child's play to this-the latter day is coming fast-signs like these are not given for nothing! The prophets have said”-
”What's become of all the fine lard, you cut-throat villains?” whined Sheeny, in the most touching accents, thinking of the _tesian vroy_, or short cake, that was lost to her forever; while the younger la.s.ses looked bewildered at the prophetic pa.s.sage alluded, and wondering where it was to be found. As n.o.body answered her interesting inquiry, Sheeny continued to bite her nails and drum the devil's tattoo with the heel of the wooden shoe; while Hukin Heer grinned like a demon at the mischief which he had made.
Both Morris and Sheeny were at length roused from their stupor by the inquiry of Hukin,-”Well, what be you going to do with them? I have a couple of hairy halters in my pockets here, that I brought for the purpose; we had better tie their hands behind them, and send them at once in a cart to jail, where they will be hanged, drawn, and quarted, as a warning to all rogues who take away the lives of innocent dogs,”-”and pigs!” roared Griffith; ”and sheep!” shrieked Sheeny, as a climax to the whole.
Twm and Moses were on the alert, and in less time than it takes us to narrate the fact, Moses threw a three-legged stool at the informer, and that with such force that it fractured the elbow-bone of his right arm.
In an instant Hukin recovered himself, and was about to rush on the young Jew. But Twm Shon Catty was ready, his ”soul was in arms and eager for the fray.” As Hukin advanced, Twm launched a heavy oaken stool at his head, which laid his lank carca.s.s on the floor, bathed in blood. The scene was almost taking a tragic turn when Sheeny changed its spirit by attacking Moses with a birch broom, while one of the younger was p.r.i.c.king him in the breech with a toasting-fork, till he blared like a beaten calf. In the confusion of the fray, Shaan attacked her father with a dirty flummery ladle, that whitened and disfigured his black beard and whiskers, as if a barber had commenced his operations, while the good man stood open-mouthed marvelling whether these were not additional signs of approaching doom.
Aware that these ladle-bastings were intended for himself, Twm caught Shaan behind, and holding her elbows fast to her sides, gave her a twist round, and inflicting a tremendous kiss on her fat blubbery lips; then pouting with pa.s.sion, he loosened his hold, and springing over the prostrate carca.s.s of Hukin Heer, retreated through the doorway in good order. Moses followed, but with considerable confusion; dodging his head, and rubbing his seat of honour in his retreat, as the visions of birch-brooms and toasting-forks haunted him long after he was far beyond their reach, whilst seating himself was made a painful operation, and he mentally thought he had undergone the same punishment as he had seen somewhere in an old print, where his satanic majesty was impaling an old witch in that portion of her body, _for the convenience of which_, _chairs were originally invented_.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE flight of the Israelite and Mike. Mirth changed to grief. Killing by kindness, and saving by neglect. A bright vision, and a supernatural seance. The end of the miserly household.
On Twm's rus.h.i.+ng out of the house, he sought his bed in the hay-loft, and laying himself down, laughed incessantly, at the thought of the scene just pa.s.sed; at the same time wondering what had become of his luckless fellow in mischief, whom he momentarily expected to follow him. Moses, however, was so confused by his head-drubbings from the broom of Sheeny, and tail-piercing from the fork of little Gwenny, that failing to see Twm in his retreat, he ran straight forward, without knowing whither. But the very legs of Moses without the guidance of his head, seemed to have a predilection for the favourite road which led to the house of feasting; as in this instance they bore him without pause, till housed in the hovel of Mike, the mat-man.
Poor Mike, he found busied in packing up, and loading his pony with a cargo of mats, and preparing for immediate departure, fearing that day-light would send somebody to take cognizance of the share which he had taken in devouring Morris Greeg's swine-flesh. Moses related all that had pa.s.sed, and entreated that he might become his companion in his present excursion; a.s.suring him that he had as sweet a voice for crying mats as he could meet with in a month's march.
Mike a.s.sented, and told him to fortify his stomach with what his hut afforded, against the dangers of the midnight air, a hint which was seldom thrown away upon him. The good-natured wife of the mat-man earnestly requested her husband to divide the head of the pig (the only part left!) between himself and Moses. That youth seconded the motion; observing it was dangerous to leave any portion of it behind, as, though dead, it might tell tales, and be claimed by some of the Greeg family; feelingly remarking, ”if you have any more pork, rather than you should get into a sc.r.a.pe, I'll risk it, and take it all myself.-I am not so selfish as to begrudge to carry it.”
Mike winked at his wife, intimating that he _knew_ his customer. Next morning our hero called at the mat-man's house, with the laudable desire of putting him on his guard, intending to communicate the adventures and disclosures of the preceding day. But he was doomed to disappointment.
Mike had ”cleared out” three hours before, escorted by the Israelite, whilst the wife had been left behind to ”take care of the things,” and to be the link that should join them to more auspicious times. This breach of good-fellows.h.i.+p on the part of Moses, in leaving him so abruptly, piqued and fretted him not a little. With a commendable spirit that disdained to act the paltry part of a run-away, he entered the house of Morris Greeg at the usual breakfast hour, and took his meal in silence.