And the boys choked down their sobs, and did "yeat" in a way that made their worthy host and hostess smile with pleasure, as well as to see the faces that a few minutes before looked so worn, pale, and wretched, brightening up under the treatment their complaint was receiving.

All at once Philip came to a stand-still, and said, "I wonder where Harry is?"

"What! was he out with thee?" said the farmer and his wife.

"Yes," said Philip, "and he had got d.i.c.k with him."

"Ah!" said the farmer, "I don't know d.i.c.k. Who's he?"

"Why, our rough dog," said Philip; "the ratter."

"Oh, ah, ha!" said the farmer; "so he had d.i.c.k with him, had he?"

"Yes," said Philip, mournfully, and with another great sob creeping up his throat.

"Theer, theer," said Mr Benson, "doan't do that, bairn. He's safe enough if he's got that dog wi' him; he'd be sewer to find the way out o' the wood."

This seemed to act as a kind of comfort to Philip, who resumed his meal, but only to find out a new trouble directly after. "Where's my snake?"

he exclaimed, jumping up, and looking at the end of the rough stick he had brought in with him. But n.o.body knew, so n.o.body replied to his question; the snake was gone, for it had not been even remembered all through the time of their bewilderment, and now that it was brought to mind there was not even a trace of the whipcord.

"Now, my dears," said Mrs Benson, seeing that the lads had finished their meal,--"now, my dears, I have had clean sheets put on the best bed, so, if I was you, I should go and have a good rest."

But Mrs Benson's motherly ideas were put to the rout by the sound of wheels and directly after a horse was pulled up at the gate. Some one rapped at the door, and, upon its being opened, in rushed d.i.c.k, closely followed by Mr Inglis, Harry, and Mr Benson's lad, Tom, who had not gone far upon the road before he met the above party in search of the lost ones. They had been making inquiries all down the road at every cottage they pa.s.sed, and it was during one of these stoppages that Tom recognised Mr Inglis's voice, and brought him on to the farm.

The first act of d.i.c.k on entering the room was to leap upon Philip and Fred, and bark as loudly as he could--scampering round the place, and at last misbehaving so much that he had to be turned out, to stay outside the door, howling, till his master was ready to start again.

Harry, who looked a perfect scarecrow, grinned with delight upon seeing his lost companions found, while Mr Inglis warmly thanked the farmer and his wife for their hospitality, and then, refraining from uttering any words of blame, hurried the lads into the four-wheeled chaise, so as to hasten home to quiet the alarm of Mrs Inglis, who was, of course, in a state of great anxiety.

"Good-byes" were said, and promises made to go and see Mrs Benson again, and then off trotted the horse, and round spun the wheels; while d.i.c.k every now and then gave a short bark, evidently of pleasure at being allowed to ride. As for Philip and Fred, they were both soon fast asleep, with their heads nodding and rolling about enough to shake them off.

At last the Grange was reached, Mrs Inglis's fears set at rest, and, half-asleep, all three boys were soon up in their bedrooms, and the next morning, when the eight o'clock bell rang, more soundly asleep than ever, so that they had to be shaken and shouted at to make them get up, which they did at last, yawning fearfully, and feeling so stiff, sore, and aching, that they could scarcely move.

CHAPTER EIGHT.

A SHORT SCOLDING.

Soon after breakfast on the morning after the wander in Beechy Wood, Mr Inglis sent for his sons and Fred to come to the library, into which room they all walked, after having almost a scuffle outside the door to decide who should be the first to enter, the scuffle resulting in Fred being made the advance-guard, and pushed in before his cousins; Harry, being the most active, securing to himself the last place. The boys were in a dreadful fidget: they had done wrong, and they knew it well, and therefore felt prepared to receive a terrible scolding; but the antic.i.p.ation proved worse than the punishment itself, for Mr Inglis looked up smiling when they entered, and seeing Harry's scheming to get last, called him at once to the front, and said--

"Now, boys, you see that if you had behaved rightly yesterday all that trouble and inconvenience would have been spared to us all. I cannot say that you acted in direct disobedience to what you were told, for you had no commands; but you all well knew that you had no right to go to Beechy Wood, which is of course proved by your hiding your intentions from Mamma. But, there, I am not going to scold, for you have all been well punished; but, my boys, I want you to promise me one thing, and that is, that full confidence shall always exist between us. I want my boys to grow up men of honour--Englishmen whose word and every action can be looked upon as the very essence of truth and openness. I want you to love, and not to fear me; and, there now, that's all over, we must not make Fred miserable, so we will dine early, and start this afternoon for a couple of hours' fishing; so bustle about, boys, and get all the baits and tackle ready."

But they could not bustle just then, for--

But, there, I won't say anything about it, for the library door was shut, and of course I could only be supposed to know what took place from seeing some eyes looking rather red, and hearing noses blown rather loudly, besides knowing that all three boys wanted dry pocket handkerchiefs, when at last they did come out of the library, Mr Inglis shaking hands with them as he closed the door.

As they stood upon the mat outside, "I say," said Harry, with a great gulp something like a sob, "I say, ain't he a jolly father?"

CHAPTER NINE.

WHICH IS RATHER FISHY.

That very same afternoon, Dusty Bob was in the mill, looking dustier than ever, and trying, as he sat upon a sack of corn that had come to be ground, to spell out the contents of the county paper; but he did not get on very fast, for the white or papery part had, through ill-usage, turned very black, and the black or printed part, by means of the fine flour dust, turned very white. Joining to this the fact that Bob was, as he expressed it, "no skollard," it may easily be judged that he did not arrive at very correct ideas respecting the news of the day, or rather of the day a month ago; for Dusty Bob did not indulge in the luxury of new news, but bought it fifth, sixth, or seventh hand, not disdaining sometimes the piece which had come from the grocer's shop wrapping up the pound of salt. The mill was not quite so noisy this afternoon as upon the last occasion when we were all here together, for the flood had gone down, and there was no rush and hurried turmoil from the portion of the river pa.s.sing down by the waste-water, while the mill wheels turned slowly and steadily round as a sheet of crystal clearness flowed upon them from the great dam.

"Ah, aw, yaw--yaw, aw," said Bob, bursting out into such a yawn that his not very handsome face looked as if it had been cut in two. "Aw, yaw, aw, aw, heigho--ha, ha--hum."

"Knock, knock; rap, rap, rap."

"Hah! more corn; more corn; more corn. Tain't no use to bring't, a bit; for we have more noo than we've got watter for; and then yow'll come grummle, grummle, grummle, because 'tisn't doone; sow yow'd betther tak't somewheres else."

"Knock, knock; rap, rap, rap," came the summons at the gate again; and this time, instead of muttering and "grumbling" to himself, Dusty Bob got up and went to see who was there.

"Sarvant, sir," said Bob, as he saw who it was, and then burst out into a grin; for behind Squire Inglis stood his visitors of a few days before, and Bob was luxuriating in the recollection of how he had restored the lost basket of fish.

"Well, Bob," said Mr Inglis, entering the mill, followed by the three boys, each armed with a fishing-rod and basket, big enough apparently to hold a great many more fish than they would catch that afternoon; "Well, Bob," said Mr Inglis, "how are you off for fish?"

"Heaps on 'em, sir, down below in the pool; but I'm 'feard they weant feed, for it's rather a bad time. Thou'd best fish off the right bank just over the stream from number one wheel. There be plenty o' fishing, for this mornin', only, when the mill was stopped for half-an-hour, the great fat chub lay a-top of the water as long as your arm ammost; but I'm most 'feard that the roach weant look at a bait."

Bob then led the way through the mill, and the fishing-party soon stood on the long, narrow, tree-o'ershadowed strip of land that separated the mill tail from the waste-water; and here, where the stream ran swiftly and deeply, did the party prepare to secure some of the finny treasures.

Rods were quickly put together; lines securely fixed; and best new gut hooks added. Then the depth was plumbed; the floats adjusted and shotted to the correct "c.o.c.k;" and then hooks baited, and ground-bait of bran and clay and rice thrown upon the mill ap.r.o.n, to dissolve slowly and spread all over the pool. Lastly, lines are thrown in, and silence proclaimed, so that the first nibbles might be duly attended to.

In every place where there are fish one is sure to hear of a mighty jack that lies out in some particular part, and is occasionally seen in the early morning, or basking in the mid-day sun, looking almost as big as a man,--in fact, so big that n.o.body could catch him, one that ever so many fishermen had had hold of, but which always broke away and escaped; and somehow or other, although this mighty fellow must have swallowed and got stuck in his mouth and gills enough hooks, and trailing away from him enough line, to stock a small shop, yet, leave alone being caught, he never even dies, and floats wrong way up on the top of the water.

Well, this was the case here: Bob had seen a pike so big that no mortal rod and line could ever bear it; he could tell of somewhere about ten or a dozen fishermen who had once had hold of him, so that Mr Jack must have thought no more of the sharpest barbed hooks than he would of so many quill toothpicks.

"Lord, sir," said Bob, "whoy doan't thee trowl for the big jack? I see him this morning ligging a-top of the waiter like a big log o' wood."

"Indeed, Bob; well, I'll try for a few chub first, and then, if unsuccessful, see what I can do in the pike way."

So Mr Inglis fished very patiently and quietly for some time, and tried two or three different kinds of bait to tempt the chubby fellows; but they would not be tempted, until at last a small gudgeon was placed on the hook, one which Fred had caught, being the first fish taken that afternoon, for Bob had turned out a very respectable prophet, and the boys were having very poor sport indeed.

And now Mr Inglis tried in all the most likely spots for a chub with his live-bait, and at last one took it, was struck, and then darted away swift as an arrow from a bow--right, left, straight ahead, through the smooth water, and off again where the stream ran swiftest; but it was of no avail; the line that he had run out was wound up, and the fine fellow drawn insh.o.r.e so closely that Harry could put the landing-net under him, and then, with a tremendous burst of impotent flapping and splashing, a great chub about two pounds and a half weight was laid upon the gra.s.s, with his broad scales glistening in the sun.

"That's a napper," said Bob.

"Oh--oh--oh--oh!" burst in chorus from the boys--a shout of pleasure nearly turned into a groan, for Philip, in lifting the fish to put him in the basket, felt it give a great spring, which so startled him that he dropped it, so there it lay close to the edge of the wood embankment, and a single flap of his tail would have borne him away; but time enough was not allowed, for Harry pounced upon him like a cat after a mouse, and, in spite of his slimy jacket, he was soon safely shut down in one of the baskets.

The boys kept on with indifferent success--only securing a few small roach and gudgeon; and Mr Inglis, too, seemed as though he would have no further good fortune, for the chub appeared to have turned sulky because their big companion was taken away, and would not even smell the gudgeon. At last, however, Mr Inglis made a cast, and the little bait-fish fell lightly just beneath a bush close under the bank; when there was a rush through the water, and a swirling that took everybody's attention, and then, as Mr Inglis swiftly drew out the line from off his reel, away it glided through the rings of the rod, yard after yard-- yard after yard--swifter and swifter--as though the fish that had taken the gudgeon meant to run the line all out; and sure enough it did the whole fifty yards; and Mr Inglis was reaching out his rod as far as he could stretch his hand, so as to avoid checking the fish, if possible, and so losing it, when the line suddenly grew slack. There all eyes were strained towards the spot where the large tell-tale cork-float slowly rose to the surface, and its white top could be seen stationary right on the far side of the mill-pool. What little slack line there was, Mr Inglis now wound in, and telling Harry to be ready with the landing-net, he waited patiently for a few minutes to give the fish time to gorge his prey, though, from the way in which the float had run to the surface, he was afraid that the fish had left his bait. At last, Mr Inglis gathered the line up in his hand, and gave a sharp twist of his wrist, and all eyes were bent upon the spot to witness the struggle; but alas! there was no resistance. The great float glided easily over the water, and then Mr Inglis began to wind in, for it was evident that the pike had merely taken the bait because he could not bear to see it pa.s.s him--not because he was hungry--and then, after playing with it, let it go again.

"Never mind, boys," said the Squire, "better success next time."

The words, however, were hardly out of his mouth, when there was a tremendous swirl and rush again in the water; and away with a bob--bob-- bob--went the float, then under water, and out of sight once more.

There was another pause of five minutes, and then again Mr Inglis drew in what slack line there was very carefully, waited another minute, when, the float again rose to the surface, but only to move off in another direction, for it was evident that the pike had this time well taken the bait.

And now followed moments of interest, as the Squire struck the fish, and then gave him line, for with one flick of his great tail he went across the pool in a fresh direction, luckily making a great deal of slack line as he did so. The battle now began in real earnest, for every time the pike felt the line tightened away he darted, first in one direction, and then in another, while once he came close in to where his tormentor was standing, so that a great deal of the running line was wound in; but, the moment after, he started off with a swifter rush than ever right across the pool, making the line sing and the winch spin furiously, as the thin cord ran through the rings as it was reeled off. Mr Inglis had to slightly check the line so as to r.e.t.a.r.d his progress, or else most probably the cord would have been snapped; but no sooner did the fish find that he was held than he made a leap of fully a yard right out of the water, displaying to the lookers-on his great gold and green sides, and looking, in the momentary glance that was afforded, almost a yard long.