E. M. Waterworth

“ Shall we be like the monks who hid in the old water mill, and fish for our dinner? What's the matter? you look quite glum."
"Of course he does," said Kathleen; "he doesn't wish to be left alone. I'll stay with you, Edric."
"Why shouldn't he go, too?" suggested Harold. "It's a regular tub of a boat, rather different from the one we had at Sydney." ”

“ You'll be a big man and a clever one some day, I expect; anyway, no one can call you carrots as they do me. Halloa, Kathleen, what do you want?"
"Let's carry Edric upstairs," said Kathleen; "he can tell us where to find things;" and, before I could say yes or no, they had taken me in their arms, so carefully, so tenderly, that after the first moment I was quite happy.
"There, captain," said Jack, as they pulled the long chair into the middle of the room. "Now we want your orders. This is our castle, but what is a castle without fortifications? ”

“ I wonder—oh, Edric, do you remember the footmarks in the mud?"
"What of them?" said father, sternly. "Do you remember, young gentleman, that you are a prisoner, and have no business at all out of that room; and here you are with a broken ankle talking nonsense about ghosts and footmarks in the mud. Why did you leave the tower when I told you not to do so?"
"For two reasons, uncle. First, I wanted to see Edric. You see we all like Edric, and we felt——" a little pause, and Jack seemed to choke; "we felt sorry about yesterday. ”

“ The last time he tried was on that evening when he heard from old Jane that we had gone to Colchester. When he opened the lid of the chest he found Harold inside quite unconscious and almost suffocated. Of course, he knew the ways of the house; so he carried him to the coachman's room, where he stayed with him till the gong sounded for prayers."
"Then they were his footmarks we saw in the mud," cried Rupert. "What a joke. Don't you tell him I said they were nineteens. What is he like? Is he very cross?" ”

“ Yes, darling, it is a very high tide to-day. If you look down there to the right of that large tree you will see that our road to Craigstown is quite covered up. They may well call this Island Farm; you would have to swim across the little stream whichever way you wanted to go now. Now, Edric, you can help me; tell me what I shall put in this room to make it nice for your cousins. Remember, their parents are thousands of miles away, and we must try to make them happy. Fancy how you would feel if you were in Australia without me. ”

“ Oh, I'll go to Brighton, if uncle likes; but pass the rest of my days in the tower-room, I won't."
A burst of laughter restored Jack's good temper, and then we all went into the dining-room and told mother about everything. I'm a good deal older now than I was then, but I have not yet got out of the way of wanting to rush off to tell mother everything. Happy are the youngsters who have such a mother as I have, and who try all their lives never to do or say anything that they would be afraid or ashamed to tell her. ”

“ I hate noise almost as much as Edric does."
"I had settled all that, dear, before I ever spoke to you about it. There's the tower room—it is big and airy, and right at the top of the house—I thought they should have that for their playroom."
"You'd better call it their den at once," said father, leaning over my shoulder to read the title of my book. "There are about twenty panes of glass in it now. I wonder how many whole ones there will be when the holidays are over. How do you like the idea of the invasion of the savages, my boy?" ”

“ It would be enough to make a mummy's nose bleed to be shut up in that old chest. I wish I had never told him what a splendid place it would be to hide in. It seems I'm always to be at the bottom of the mischief. We shouldn't have gone in that boat if I had not suggested fishing, and Edric would still have had five fingers on each hand if I hadn't fired the gun. Now poor old Harold will get into a scrape for hiding so long, just because I went and showed him how the spring of the chest worked, after I had ferreted it out myself. Halloa, what are you about, Rupert? Don't kill me ”

“ I should think that fellow wears nineteens."
"Hold hard a minute, and let us trace them," said Rupert, leaning over the side. "Talk of footprints in the snow, they are not half as beautiful as footprints in the mud under the river."
He guided the boat skilfully, so that we followed the steps, till they went up the bank on the side nearest Craigstown.
"The old fellow comes from there, then; I wonder where he goes, and where he comes from. It's a queer sort of place to choose for an afternoon walk. Halloa, what's that? Push off quick, Jack, or we shall stick, and on the wrong side, too." ”

“ Uncle Joe, by means of the will, which was hidden in the oak chest, came into possession of a beautiful little estate in Normandy, where we all spent many happy days with our French cousins, for he had married a Frenchwoman. I say we, because, thanks to my cousins' good influence on mind and body, I became as strong as any one could expect, and was able to enjoy school life in a quiet way, though never fit for rough games, and always rather sensitive about the slight hump on my back. ”

“ It is no use doing evil that good may come; good never does come in the end from such work. He should have obeyed me first, and helped me afterwards."
It was a bit of a puzzle to me then; but now that I am older, I know that father was right. As it was, I am afraid that I was not as grieved about Jack's broken ankle as I should have been. For the next few days, at all events, I knew he would be my constant companion, for he would lie on the sofa near me.
Nothing more was said by my parents about our mysterious visitor, though, of course, Jack and I were never tired of talking about him. ”

“ Edric's won't fit any of you but Harold."
"Don't you fret, auntie," said Jack, who had been capering about, and leaving little rivulets of water wherever he went. "We don't think anything of wet clothes, we just run about till they are dry."
"But where's your box?" said father.
"It's the other side of the water," said Rupert, laughing; "I know now what King John felt like when he lost all his luggage in the Wash. We lost half our things in the wash at school, and now we've lost the other half in your Wash. My word, hasn't the tide gone down quick! The old fellow was right after all. ”

“ Rupert was standing in the bows, guiding the boat as they do the gondolas in Venice, and looked tired and anxious.
"I think we ought to go on," he said, quietly. "Edric has never been on the water but once, and I want to get him home. If we get stranded we are bound to stay till the tide comes up and floats us, and then there's a doubt whether we can get this heavy tub home with one oar. I think our best chance is to go down with the stream, till we get into the bay. Perhaps a boat will pass, and take us round to Craigstown." ”

“ The baggage meaning me, Rupert and Kathleen seized me with a rapidity which would have terrified me a month back; and in less time than it takes to write, we had made our retreat in disorder, and the enemy were left in possession.
"Never no more," said Jack, whom we found resting on one of the landings, "will I pass my days in that den. I shan't have nerve enough to face a cricket-ball when I get back to school. To think that the ghost, the mysterious stranger, the rescuer of my beloved brother, should be called Joe, and be on speaking terms with my uncle! ”

“ I was standing by the window at about eight o'clock, wondering whether I dared climb down the ivy and run round to the dining-room to see Edric, when all of a sudden I saw something moving in the bushes. I put my head out without saying a word to the others, who were all busy writing to tell father and mother how naughty we have been; and what do you think I saw? A man, in a white coat and sailor's slouch hat, beginning to climb up the ivy. I waited till he had got half-way up, and then I sneezed; like this." Jack sneezed so naturally that we all laughed. ”

“ I said, cuddling the last remaining book in my arms. "I want to see what becomes of Rupert in the Redskins' camp."
"That's good," said father, laughing heartily. "Your eldest cousin's name is Rupert, and we shall soon be wanting to know what becomes of Edric in Rupert's den."
"When are they coming?" I asked, with a faint trembling at my heart. Mother had taught me to be kind in my thoughts of every one, but I began to be a little afraid of these stranger cousins. ”

“ He had overreached himself, the oar stuck, and he was thrown to the bottom of the boat. There was consternation in every face for a moment. Rupert was the first to recover himself. "Take that stretcher, Jack, and see what you can do to help me. You will pull stronger than Harold. I'll just turn her round and go home."
It was very easy to say, but impossible to do; pull as they would they could only get the boat half round, so that she was more than ever in the power of the stream.
I looked at Kathleen anxiously. She was as white as her frock. ”

“ It was a wonderful old chest, and we have it still in our house. It is made of black oak, is just five feet long, and about two feet wide.
"I know," said Rupert, presently, springing out of the box. "Where's the foot rule?"
"What's the joke now?" said Harold. "Are you going to measure it to see if there's room for the mysterious stranger to hide in?"
"That's it," exclaimed Rupert, disdaining to answer his brother's remark. "That's it. There's a false bottom to it. Look! it measures twenty inches inside and twenty-five outside. Let's break it open; we shall find a treasure, perhaps. ”

“ A few days afterwards Jack was not well—it was merely a passing indisposition, headache and cold; but as there was so much difficulty in keeping him quiet when he was up, mother thought it best to make him stay in bed. My parents were both going to spend the afternoon and evening at a friend's house, and so my cousins were told that they need not keep only to their den; they might have the run of the house, if they would promise to do nothing which they knew was wrong, and not to go outside at all, in case they might be tempted to mischief. ”

“ I shan't be starting for another hour, till the tide is down, but I don't suppose you will see me again before I go. Shall I send a telegram to Bath to say the youngsters can come? Perhaps they will like to look forward to it. And is there anything else you want, to rig up their den?"
We both laughed, and mother said something about believing father would be delighted to see the savages after all.
"Oh! I don't care, as long as you keep them out of my way. I'll bring them a couple of boxes of soldiers; that's sure to keep them quiet for a time."
"Girls don't like soldiers," I remarked. ”

“ Now, although I have told you all that my cousin said without any breaks, you must remember he had a broken ankle, and many times he stopped in great pain in the middle of a sentence. Father noticed this; and as soon as he had heard all that he required, he put his hand on Jack's head and told him to lie quietly till the doctor came.
"You can't think of all the dreadful things I was going to do to you," he said. "You will learn some day that everything we do wrong brings its own punishment. It does not come perhaps directly, as Edric's lost finger and your broken ankle did ”

“ Why, I actually had forgotten to see what became of Rupert among the Redskins. My four cousins were all so busy making the most of their holidays that I didn't seem to have time to breathe. Whatever they did, Edric must at least look on—if he would help, so much the better; so it ended in my seeing very little of my parents. Father still persisted in refusing to let the young savages have meals with him, though I felt sure, from the look he gave them when he happened to peep in our room, that he was getting to like them ”

“ Mother came across the room to me, and said softly, "You see, dear, the London doctor said he quite hoped that you would be able to get about like other children some day, though you would always have a little twist in your back, which would prevent you being as straight and strong as they are. Your father loves you so, that he cannot bear to think you ore different from others ”

“ Rub, rub, rub, scrub, scrub, scrub, Kathleen, and then he will go like a bird."
"Do keep still," said Rupert, presently. "I've tried three times to make a straight line on this piece of wood, and each time you've shaken the table. What do you want? Tell me, and I'll get it; but don't keep bobbing about like a lame duck."
"That oak chest is bothering me," said Jack, coming to an anchor at last, with his bad foot on the chest itself. "What's inside of it."
"How should I know? You heard Edric say it was here when he first came up. I expect it has old clothes in it. Curiosity killed a cat ”

“ I know now it was Robert's. Your new man gave me a sandwich and something out of a little bottle, and I——"
"My new man?" repeated father, with his eyes wide open. "Why, I haven't one in the place that has been here less than five years."
"Oh! perhaps I made a mistake," said Harold, rather wearily; "I didn't know his face, so I thought he must be a stranger. He had a white coat on like a coachman, and——"
"Hurrah!" cried Jack, "my mysterious stranger went to the rescue. Could he talk English, Harold? Was he very furious?" ”

“ I cannot send you back to school because Mr. Barton has gone abroad and there is no one there, so you will have to remain here for the rest of the holidays. You have prepared means of barricading your tower-room; I shall use them on the outside instead of your using them on the inside. You will be locked in there for two days. Your meals will be brought to you, and you will be let out to go to bed; but until Thursday night you are my prisoners; and I expect you to be honourable ones." Father glanced at Rupert as he spoke; but Rupert made no sign.
"Will Edric come, too?" asked Kathleen. ”

“ It's your mother that's unselfish, not I. If it had not been for her, I should never have consented to have your cousins here. I hated the thought of it, and only consented to please her. Wow see the reward we have got, far beyond what I, at least, deserve; my little helpless laddie is going to try to be like other children, and my half-brother is restored to his inheritance. Come and see him, Mary; I'll tell you all about it presently, children."
CHAPTER XII.
The Lost Will
We spent the rest of that day in a state of effervescence. ”