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He had certainly not anticipated anything of this sort, and gave vehement utterance to his surprise. In reply to Mr. H.'s enquiries about the house, however, he gave him a brief account of the life and death of Captain Bywater, and supplemented the biography by a narration of the singular experiences of Jim Summers and his wife.
Tom controlled himself better than might have been expected, but he and Gerald Yorke flung passionate retorts one to the other. "It is not fair to cast in a fellow's teeth the shortcomings of his relations," continued Bywater. "What with our uncles and cousins, and mothers and grandmothers, there's sure to be one among them that goes off the square.
"I don't know anything, Bywater." "You shuffling little turncoat! I don't know that there's any fire in that kitchen chimney of the old dean's, but I am morally certain that there is, because clouds of black smoke are coming out of it. And you know just as well who it was that played the trick to my surplice.
"Ay, that was it. It must have laid there some time. A good three months, I know." Bywater nodded his head. He returned the bottle to his pocket, and went to the vestry for his surplice. Then he slid into college under the severe eyes of the Reverend Mr. Pye, which were bent upon him from the chanting-desk, and ascended, his stall just in time to take his part in the Venite, exultemus Domino.
But, after all, was the Oxford which contained Pater, Pattison, and Bywater, which had nurtured Matthew Arnold and Swinburne Swinburne with his wonderful knowledge of the intricacies and subtleties of the French tongue and the French literature merely "solide and positif," as Taine declares?
My brother went off just the same, sir, and so did my mother." Bywater pushed his honest, red face, forward; but it did not look quite so impudent as usual. "Jenkins," said he, plunging headlong into the fear, "DID THAT FALL DO IT?" "Fall, sir! What fall?" "That fall down from the organ loft. Because that was my fault. I had the most to do with locking up the cloisters, that night."
Pye wondered where his eyes could have been, not to have noticed the boy's absence when they had all been gathered round the entrance, waiting for the judges. Had Mr. Pye's attention not been fully engrossed with his book, As the service had gone on, he might have seen the boy opposite to him; for there sat Bywater, before the bench of king's scholars, and right in front of Mr. Pye. Mr.
"What was it Ketch said, about Jenkins seeing a glowworm?" "Oh!" shrieked Bywater, holding his sides, "that was the best of all! I had taken a lucifer out of my pocket, playing with it, while they went round to the south gate, and it suddenly struck fire. I threw it over to the burial-ground: and that soft Jenkins took it for a glowworm." "It's a stunning go!" emphatically concluded Mr. Tod Yorke.
"Oh, bless you, sir, no! Never think that. Master Bywater" lowering his voice till it was as grave as Bywater's "that fall did me good good, sir, instead of harm." "How do you make out that?" asked Bywater, drawing his breath a little easier. "Because, sir, in the few days' quiet that I had in bed, my thoughts seemed in an unaccountable manner to be drawn to thinking of heaven.
Honour bright." "Stop a bit, Hurst," hastily interposed Bywater. "There's no knowing what he may think 'very bad. Give generals, not particulars. Here the fellow comes, I do believe!" "It was only a trick we were going to play old Ketch," whispered Hurst. "Come out quickly; better that he should not hear us, or it may spoil sport for another time. Gently, boys!"
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