Part 38 (2/2)
”I shall give it to Captain Ranson's keeper,” cried Tom; and Pete took a step forward
”Fetch hi his hands, and a fray seemed imminent, when Tom unclasped the hands he had clenched, rushed away a few yards, and Saood hiding as he mentally termed it, for his cousin seemed to hirasped the reason To about in thethe dead furze, and where for a few , as the fire began to get hold
”Here, Salanced at his bright Oxford shoes and well-cut trousers, and stood fast, while a an to spread over Pete Warboys'
face, as the dog cowered shi+vering behind his
Pete thrust both hands down into his pockets, but did not stir to help, and To out the fire in one place, had to dash to another; this being repeated again and again in the exciting moments
Then he mastered it, and a faint smoke and some blackened furze was all that was left of what, if left to itself, would have been a great common fire
”All out?” said Sa ”Why, what a fuss about nothing”
”Fuss!” cried Tom excitedly; ”why, if it had been left five reen on't burn”
”Oh, won't it?” cried Pete ”It just will Here, you give o and say I see yer set the furze alight o'
purpose”
”Go and say so then,” cried Toave one more look at the blackened furze, and then turned to his cousin
”Look here,” he said; ”you bear witness that this fire is quite out”
”Oh, yes; it's out,” said Sam
”And that Pete Warboys showed us a box of matches”
”Yes, but what of that?”
”Why this,” said Toain, it will be because this fellow has set it alight”
Pete's features contracted, and without another word he slouched away into the wood and disappeared, followed by his dog
”I say, you hit hih ”Think he would have done it?”
”I'm afraid so”
”Well, a bit of a bonfire wouldn't have done hast ”Why, hundreds of acres of fir-trees ht have been burnt Uncle said there was a small patch burned one year, and there is so much turpentine in the trees, that they roared away like a furnace, and if they had not stood alone, the mischief would have been terrible”
”Then you think that chap had set the furze alight before we came”