George Manville Fenn

“ The fire was nearly out, the fir-wood burning fiercely and quickly away; but though it was a nuisance to me it seemed to find favour with Shock, who set to work, like the young savage he was, tearing off and devouring the rabbit, throwing the bones together, ready for the dog when she should come back. I felt half disgusted, and yet hungry, so, going to where I had hung my jacket, I thought I would get out the sandwiches Mrs Solomon had cut for me; but as I turned round and looked at Shock I felt that I should enjoy them better if I waited till he had done. ”

“ At the first the marauding party thought it was some trick of a companion; directly after they scattered and ran, under the impression that Old Brownsmith and all his men were in pursuit.
As for me, I felt red-hot with excitement, and found myself after a dash through some gooseberry bushes, whose pricking only seemed to give me fresh energy, running along a path after one boy at whom I kept cutting with my hazel stick.
At every stroke there was a howl from the boy, who kept on shouting as he ran:
“Oh! please, sir—oh! sir—don’t, sir—oh! pray, sir!” ”

“ I said.
“I hope you will not, my boy, for there’s something in gardening and watching the growth of trees and plants that’s good for a lad’s nature; and if I was a schoolmaster I’d let every boy have a garden, and make him keep it neat. It would be as good a lesson as any he could teach.”
“I like gardening more and more, sir,” I said.
“That’s right, my boy. I hope you do, but you’ve a deal to learn yet. Gardening’s like learning to play the fiddle; there’s always something more to get hold of than you know. ”

“ Everywhere the garden was a scene of abundance: great asparagus beds, trim and well-kept rows of peas laden with pods, scarlet-runners running at a tremendous rate up sticks; and lower down, quite an orchard of big pyramid pear and apple trees.
“Like it?” said Mr Solomon, watching me narrowly.
“I can’t tell you how much, sir!” I cried excitedly. “I never thought to see such a garden as this.” ”

“ My ejaculation made Mr Solomon look completely changed, for, as I glanced back at him, I could see that there was a twinkle in his eyes and a little dent or two about the corners of his lips, but as he saw me looking wonderingly at him he became cold and stern of aspect again.
“Well,” he said shortly, “will that do?”
“Do, sir!” I cried excitedly; “is this your garden?”
“Master’s,” he said, shortly.
“Your master’s garden?”
“And your master’s, too,” he said. “Well, will it do?”
“Do!” I cried; “it’s lovely. I never saw such a beautiful garden in my life. What a lawn! what paths! what flowers!” ”

“ I said despairingly, as I extinguished the candle. “We shall only bring down more sand and cover ourselves in.”
“Like Old Brownsmith’s toolips,” said Shock, laughing. “I say, should we come up?”
“Don’t talk like that,” I said angrily. “Don’t you understand that we are buried alive.”
“Course I do,” he said. “Well, what on it?”
“What of it?” I said in agony, as the perspiration stood upon my brow.
“Yes, what on it? They’ll dig us out like we do the taters out of a clamp. What’s the good o’ being in a wax. I wish I’d some more rabbud.” ”

“ I paid not the slightest heed, but my heart beat fast and I could feel the perspiration standing all over my face.
“I don’t care; he’s a pauper. I wonder what Old Browny will feed him on.”
“Skilly,” said Courtenay; and the boys laughed again. All at once I felt a push with a foot, and if I had not suddenly stiffened my arms I should have gone down and broken some of the geraniums, but they escaped, and I leaped to my feet and faced them angrily.
“Here, what’s your name?” said Courtenay haughtily.
I swallowed my annoyance, and answered:
“Grant.”
“What a name for a boy!” said Courtenay. ”

“ That was a wonderful place, that garden, and I used to gaze over the high wall with its bristle of young shoots of plum-trees growing over the coping, and see the chaffinches building in the spring-time among the green leaves and milky-white blossoms of the pear-trees; or, perhaps, it would be in a handy fork of an apple-tree, with the crimson and pink blossoms all around. ”

“ We’ve never had any children; but if we had, Grant, I don’t think they would be like that.”
“They make me miserable when they are at home,” said Mrs Solomon, speaking almost for the first time.
“Don’t see why they should,” said Mr Solomon, with his voice sounding as if his tongue were a little mixed up with his supper. “Why, they don’t come here.”
“They might be made such different boys if properly trained.”
“They’ll come right by and by, but for the present, Grant, you steer clear of them. They’re just like a couple of young slugs, or so much blight in the garden now.” ”

“ Flowers! There seemed to me enough to last London for a month; and I was going, after a look round, to tell Ike that I was afraid we should have to take our load back, when I felt a heavy thump on the back of my head, which knocked off my cap.
Nothing annoyed me more as a boy than for my cap to be knocked off. Shock knew that, and it had been one of his favourite tricks, so that I knew, as I thought, whence this piece of annoyance had come, and, picking up the small hard cabbage that had been thrown, I determined to avenge myself by sending it back with a good aim. ”

“ I stood still for a minute, thinking that I could not be very wrong if I went down the garden, to see if I could find Mr Brownsmith, and my heart began to beat fast at the idea of penetrating what was to me a land of mystery, of which, just then, I held the silver pass-key in the shape of that sixpence.
“I’ll go,” I said. “He can’t be very cross;” and, plucking up courage, but with the feeling upon me that I was trespassing, I went past the cart, and had gone half-way by the wagon, when there was a creaking, rattling noise of baskets, and something made a bound. ”

“ You hurt me,” cried Philip out of the darkness.
“Hurt yer? I should think I do hurt you. Traps always does hurt, my fine fellow. Who are you? What’s your name?”
“Bring him here,” cried Sir Francis; and as Ike half carried, half dragged Philip out from among the trees on to the broad green walk, Sir Francis cried fiercely:
“Now, then! What’s the meaning of all this!”
I heard Philip give a gasp as I opened my lips to speak, but before I could say a word Courtenay cried out quickly:
“Phil and I heard them stealing the pears, and we came down to stop them—didn’t we, Phil?” ”

“ Go on with your supper.”
“I hope, sir, you don’t think I was going to eat that peach,” I said, for the thought of the affair made my supper seem to choke me.
“If I thought you were the sort of boy who couldn’t be trusted, my lad, you wouldn’t be here,” said Mr Solomon quietly. “Bit more fat, mother.”
I brightened up, and he saw it.
“Why, of course not, my lad. Didn’t I trust you, and send you in among my choice grapes, and ripe figs, and things. There, say no more about it. Gardeners don’t grow fruit to satisfy their mouths, but their eyes, and their minds, my lad. Eat away. ”

“ Why, even a man who makes a better cabbage or potato grow than we have had before is one who has been of great service to his fellow-creatures. So work away; you may do something yet.”
“Yes,” I cried, “I’ll work away and as hard as I can; but I begin to wish now that you had some glass.”
“So do I,” said the old gentleman.
“There!” I said, coming down the ladder, “I think that will heal up now, like the poor swineherd’s leg. It’s as smooth as smooth.” ”

“ I was up the ladder in a fine young apple-tree, whose branch had been broken and was hanging by a few fibres, and as soon as I had fixed myself pretty safely I began to cut, while when I glanced down to see if Old Brownsmith was taking any notice I saw that he was smiling.
“Won’t do—won’t do, Grant,” he said. “Cutting off a branch of a tree that has been broken is like practising amputation on a man. ”

“ The fact did not occur to me that I was a mere boy and he a muscular man, for I’m afraid I had plenty of conceit, and, drawing in a long breath, I lifted the ladder straight up easily enough, took a couple of steps in the right direction, and then felt to my horror that the strength of my arms was as nothing as soon as the balance ceased to be preserved, for in spite of my efforts the top of the ladder began to go over slowly, then faster and faster, then there was a sharp whishing crash as the bough of a pear-tree was literally cut off and a bump and a sharp crack. ”

“ I had not gone far before I saw old Brownsmith busy as usual amongst his cats; and as he rose from stooping to tie up a plant he caught sight of me, and immediately turned down the path where I was.
He held out his great rough hand, took mine, and shook it up and down gently for quite a minute, just as if it had been the handle of a pump.
“Seen my new pansies?” he said.
I shook my head.
“No, of course you haven’t,” he said. “Well, how are you?”
I said I was pretty well, and hoped he was. “Middling,” he replied. “Want more sun. Can’t get my pears to market without more sun.” ”

“ He did not reply, only smiled in a half-pitying way, took an old broomstick that he used for a poker, and scraping the ashes of the fire aside rolled the clay pig-pudding into the middle of the fire, and then covered it over with the burning ashes, and piled on some bits of wood and dry cabbage-stumps, making up a good fire, which he set himself to watch.
It was a wet day, and there was nothing particular to do in the garden; so I stood looking at Shock’s cookery for a time, and then grew tired and was coming away when for a wonder he spoke. ”

“ Perhaps, when no one was looking, he would start up, look round, go down again on all-fours, and canter up to a pear-tree, raise himself up, and begin scratching the bark like one of the cats sharpening its claws; or perhaps trot to an apple-tree, climb up with wonderful activity, creep out along a horizontal branch, and pretend to fall, but save himself by catching with and hanging by one hand. ”

“ Then we grew tired, and as soon as we ceased talking a curious sensation of fear came over us. I say us, for more than once I knew that Shock felt it, by his whispering to me in an awe-stricken tone:
“I never know’d as being in the dark was like this before. It’s darker like, much darker, you know than being in one of the lofts under the straw.” ”

“ The whole place packed with laden cart, wagon, and light van. Noise, confusion, and shouting, pleasant smells and evil smells—flowers and crushed cabbage; here it was peas and mint, there it was strawberries; then a whole wagon announced through the sides of its piled-up baskets that the load was cauliflowers.
For a time I could do nothing but gape and stare around at the bustling crowd and the number of men busily carrying great baskets on the top of porters’ knots. ”

“ All boys wishes they was men, and when they’re men they look back on that happiest time of their lives when they was boys and wishes it could come over again.”
“Do they, Ike?” I said.
“I never knew a man who didn’t,” said Ike, making the cups dance on the table by giving it a thump with his fist. “Why, Master Grant, I was kicked about and hit when I was a boy more’n ever a boy was before, but all that time seems bright and sunshiny to me.”
“But do you think Shock’s happy?” I said; “he’s a boy, and has no one to care about him.” ”

“ The boy quailed before his stern look, and uttered a nasty sniggering laugh.
“I can get in any of the houses when I like, and I can take the fruit when I like, and I’ll let papa know about your beggars of friends meddling with the peaches.”
“There, you be off,” said the gardener. “I’ll tell Sir Francis too, as sure as my name’s Brownsmith.”
“Ha—ha—ha! There’s a name!” cried the boy jeeringly. “Brownsmith. What a name for a cabbage-builder, who pretends to be a gardener, and is only an old woman about the place! Roberts’s gardener is worth a hundred Sol Brownsmiths. ”