Part 23 (1/2)

The boys now saw that the stones were thrown from behind a hedge on the right, and three more came directly, one of which hit Philip a smart blow in the back and made him wince again. Just then three big lads made their appearance, and began to pick up more stones.

”Let's run,” said Fred, ”or we shall be hurt.”

”Yes, come along,” said Philip, rubbing his back and twisting with pain.

”No, I shan't run,” said Harry; ”the cowards have half killed poor d.i.c.k, or I'd set him at them. I know who they are,--there's Bill Jenkins, and the two Stapleses. Don't I wish I was bigger, I'd give it them;” and Harry ground his teeth together, and clenched his fists tightly.

”Yah; yah-ha; go home!” shouted the a.s.sailants. But Harry wouldn't budge an inch, but stooped down and began to tie his pocket handkerchief round the dog's bleeding head.

”Yah-ah! yah-ah-ah-ah; go home wi' yer!” shouted the lads again, running up, evidently meaning to chevy the Grange boys away; and this seemed an easy task, for the new-comers were all bigger and stronger.

”Yah-ah-ah-ah; go home!” they shouted again; and then one, who seemed to be the leader, said to his comrades,--”Let's pitch the dog in, come on.”

”You'd better not touch him, Bill Jenkins,” said Harry, turning very white, either with fear or rage. ”We did not interfere with you, so leave us alone.”

”Yah-ah-ah-ah; go home with yer!” shouted the boys again, for this seemed to be a kind of battle-cry with which they warmed themselves to attack the inoffensive party. Philip half-screwed himself behind Harry, while Fred, who felt dreadfully alarmed, stood behind Philip.

”Let us go home quietly, please,” said Fred, ”and I'll give you a s.h.i.+lling.”

”Give us the s.h.i.+lling, then,” said the boy called Jenkins, who, upon its being produced, s.n.a.t.c.hed it away from Fred, put it in his pocket, and then laid hold of the dog's hind leg and dragged it towards the river.

”You let him go now, come,” whimpered Harry.

”Wow--wow--wow--wow--wow--wow,” said the boys, mocking Harry's whimper, and in another moment poor d.i.c.k would have been plunged in, when Harry, pus.h.i.+ng back one of the Stapleses, who tried to stop him, planted such a well-directed blow in Bill Jenkins's ear that he dropped the dog in a moment, and shook his head as though something was buzzing inside it, as no doubt there was, for the blow was a smart one, Master Harry having had boxing gloves on more than once at school.

But this was the signal for a combined attack from the enemy upon Harry, who struck out manfully, but was getting terribly knocked about, when Philip dashed into the fray, and relieved his brother of one a.s.sailant.

But two were too many for Harry, and seeing Fred doing nothing, he shouted to him for help.

Poor Fred! He felt terribly alarmed, and would gladly have run away; but he saw Philip punching away at his adversary like a Trojan, while Harry, with the blood streaming down his face, was being beaten back step by step towards the river by his two formidable opponents. This was too much for Fred, who threw off his cap and jacket and then crept cautiously up to try and aid his cousin, who was getting rapidly worsted. Now Fred afterwards confessed that he felt dreadfully alarmed, and Bill Jenkins evidently saw this, and tried to frighten him away; but he went the wrong way to work, for as Fred came timidly up, Bill swung round one of his long arms, and gave the new-comer a back-handed smack in his mouth that made the blood spurt out in a moment, and then, by a clever thrust of his leg, tripped him up so that he lay sprawling on the gra.s.s. But this blow, instead of frightening the town-bred lad, knocked all the fear out of him; for, to Bill Jenkins's great astonishment, he leapt up as though made of springs, and dashed at him like a fury.

From that moment, Harry had only one enemy to deal with, for Bill Jenkins began to find that he was getting such a thras.h.i.+ng as he never before had in his life. Fred's fists battered him about the face like a shower of blows, and in the scuffles that ensued the big lad was more than once completely knocked off his feet. He had very soon had enough of it, and began to show it; but Fred had not, for he warmed with the fray, and, in spite of the other's cries for quarter, hammered and battered away at him with greater fury than ever, till at last they closed together, wrestled backwards, forwards, this way, that way, and at last, seizing his opportunity, Fred gave a regular spring off the ground, and drove his enemy backwards, but, as it happened, not on to the ground, but dash, splash into the river, where they both sank, but came up again directly, Bill Jenkins roaring for help, and Fred holding on to him like a tiger.

This put an end to the fight, for the fall into the river and conquest of their leader made the two Stapleses take to their heels, so that Harry and Philip were at liberty to help Fred, which they did, by dragging Bill Jenkins half-drowned from the river, for Fred, in his anger, had kept him under water more than once; and then all three kicked him rather unmercifully to bring him well to again; and it must be said, in mitigation of this rather barbarous proceeding, that the blood of the conquerors was a little up, and they were in that state in which we hear of soldiers being when they sack and burn towns.

But Bill Jenkins was thoroughly thrashed--thoroughly--for he lay on the gra.s.s and blubbered like a great cowardly calf as he was. He did not say, ”Yah-ah-ah-ha,” now, but ”boo-hoo-hoo-hooed” dreadfully; and at last came out--

”We shouldn't ha' touched you if that genelman hadn't given us a s.h.i.+lling each to pay you at out.”

”What gentleman?” said Harry.

”Why, him as lives at the little house yonder, the little fat man, Muster Jones, hoo--hoo--ooh--ooh,” said Bill, who with his swelled eyes and wet hair now looked a beauty, not that the conquerors had anything to boast of in that respect. ”Now, then,” said Fred, viciously; ”you give me my s.h.i.+lling back, or I'll give you another ducking.”

”Boo--hoo,” said Bill, refunding the cash very reluctantly, and ducking his head as though to avoid a blow.

”Ah! you deserve it, you great coward,” said Harry. ”Now get up, and be off home; and don't you meddle with us again.”

And so these young c.o.c.ks crowed, for the day was regularly their own; while Bill Jenkins sneaked off, with his feathers draggling down about his sides, and with bitterness in his heart, for he knew that another thras.h.i.+ng was in waiting for him at home, for getting his clothes wet, and his face bruised.

And now that the victors had the field entirely to themselves, and the excitement was over, they began to find that they were all very stiff and sore; and upon looking at one another, they found that the victory had been dearly bought Fred had, after all, been the greatest hero, and, as a matter of course, he had come in for the greatest amount of damage: his clothes were soaked with water; his s.h.i.+rt stained with blood; his collar torn off; but; as to personal damage, he had escaped with a cut mouth and bleeding knuckles, for he had found that Bill Jenkins possessed a terribly thick head. Harry's clothes were terribly dragged about, and his knuckles were in nearly as bad a state as Fred's, while his face was in such a condition that Philip said he might pa.s.s for somebody else. Poor boy, he was sadly ”punished,” as sporting people call it, while more matter-of-fact folks would say, ”knocked about:” the general appearance of his face was such that it might have been supposed that he had been the combatant who was immersed in the water, and that, having stayed in too long, his face had swelled and grown puffy. Philip had a nasty cut on the ear, and had had his nose flattened, but it had regained its proper position, though not without deluging him with blood. Altogether, the boys unmistakeably bore the appearances of having been in a sharp engagement; and, as the sailors say, they ”hove to” for the purpose of repairing damages.

The first proceeding was to wring all the water out of Fred's clothes, and then, when he had put on his dry jacket and cap,--which he had flung off on commencing the conflict,--he did not look so very, very bad.