"Oh, I know!" said Tom, but his father stopped him.
"If you say that to me again I shall not let you go to your uncle"s. If you know so well, you ought to practise what you know, and give less anxiety to your mother and me."
At last the day came. His father saw him off at the station; and, after a journey of two hours, Tom arrived at the Felford station, and found his uncle"s wagon had come to meet him, and Allan was in it. The boys had much to say to each other; for they had not met for some months, and were always good friends, Allan being only eight months younger than Tom. Allan had much to tell of their plans for enjoyment while Tom was at Felford, and among other pleasant things, there was to be a village cricket match, in which Allan was to play.
"And you, too, Tom," he said, for he never doubted his cousin"s powers.
"It won"t be a very grand match, you see, but it will be capital fun, and the boys play"--
"Oh, I know!" said Tom.
"All right: that will be capital," said Allan; and Tom, who had never held a bat in his life, found himself engaged to play in the match.
"But I shall find it quite easy," he thought. "I"ve seen it played, and the boys at school seem to find it simple enough."
His uncle was out riding when Tom reached Felford, having had business to attend to, so the boys at once went out into the garden and inspected the scene of the future cricket match.
Tom looked at it a moment, then visions of Lords came before him, and he said decidedly, "It wants rolling dreadfully!"
"Father said it was too dry to roll," said Allan, in rather a melancholy tone. "You see, if"--
"Oh, I know!" interrupted Tom; "but we might try to roll it ourselves, don"t you know. That would be fun, and it would surprise him. Is there a roller anywhere?"
"Yes, the small garden-roller; but Father said"--
"Oh, I know!" said Tom impatiently. "Let us fetch it."
Allan said no more. It was clear that Tom did not intend to listen to anything he had to say.
"Do you know how to use the roller?" asked Allan.
"I should hope so! Any one must know that," said Tom; and away they went to fetch it.
Now, there is a right way and a wrong way to do everything, and a garden-roller should be _pulled_ and not _pushed_, but this Tom did not understand; therefore, he set to work with Allan to push the roller through the garden towards the field, while Twinkle, the fox-terrier, followed at their heels.
A garden-roller is an awkward thing to manage if you don"t understand it. The iron handle is heavily weighted, and if pressed down and then released it springs up with great force, owing to the weight with which it is balanced.
Tom knew nothing of this; and Allan had never been allowed to touch the roller, so he was as ignorant as Tom. They had paused to draw breath, when Twinkle"s bark of delight made Allan exclaim, "There"s Father!"
At that moment Tom took his arms off the iron handle on which they had been resting, and the handle sprang up. There was a cry from Allan, and Tom saw to his horror that one end of the iron bar had struck the boy just above the eye. It was a painful blow, and the bruise began at once to discolor and swell, so that by the time his father came up poor Allan was a piteous object.
It was a most unfortunate beginning to Tom"s visit. Of course his uncle was angry, for the garden-roller was quite useless for the purpose of rolling the field, and the ground was so hard and dry that no rolling, even with the heaviest horse-roller, would have done any good. Allan was very sorry for Tom, and took more than a fair share of the blame, saying he ought to have been more careful; but he was rather distressed when he found that he had a black eye, and that it could not be well before the cricket match, when the boys would be sure to chaff him.
This exploit of Tom"s and his uncle"s anger made the boy more careful; and all went well until the day before the cricket match, when Tom and Allan went out for a private practice in the field.
"You aren"t standing right. Your leg"s before the wicket," said Allan, as Tom stood ready, bat in hand, to receive the ball.
"Oh, I know! but it"s only for practice," said Tom quickly. "Send me the ball."
Allan bowled, Tom hit, the ball spun straight up in the air and came down almost at Tom"s feet.
"Hullo!" said Allan, pointing to the stumps; "how did you do that?"
Tom looked round and found he had knocked over the stumps. This slight mistake having been set right, Tom was ready to start again. This time, as the ball spun off his bat, there was a crash, and Allan exclaimed in horror, "Oh, Father"s precious orchids!" for the ball had gone through the gla.s.s of the small greenhouse, and had overturned and injured several cherished plants.
Poor Tom thought he had had enough of cricket for that day, and went in to make his confession to his uncle. Allan"s piteous face did more towards softening his father than Tom"s regrets, and he said very little about the matter, though possibly he felt the more.
The next day the cricket match came off. Tom very soon found that in playing it was necessary to have done something more than look on. He knew little or nothing of the rules of the game, and brought disgrace on himself, and on his cousin for having introduced so bad a player into the village eleven. Had there been any one to take his place he would have been turned out in spite of anything Allan could say, but as it was they were obliged to put up with him.
When Tom went in, his first action was to put himself out, amid the hootings of fury and amus.e.m.e.nt of the rest of the party. Even Allan was getting cross with him.
When the other side went in again, Tom made more effort to follow the game and catch the ball; but he knew nothing of cricket, and was wearing his ordinary walking-boots. The gra.s.s was dry and slippery, and Tom was clumsy. He was chasing the ball, and thought he should really succeed in catching it this time, when his foot slipped and he fell heavily on the gra.s.s. He had broken his leg!
The boys who had laughed before were now full of sympathy. He was at once taken into the house and the doctor sent for. What poor Tom suffered for the rest of that day and all the night, only those who have broken a leg can tell, and added to his pain was the feeling that he had shown all Allan"s friends what a boastful fellow he was.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Pride Goes Before A Fall.]
THE SWALLOWS" SONG.
"Tweet! tweet! tweet!" the swallows say, "It is time we flew away Far across the pathless sea, For it winter soon will be!
Then will fall the rustling leaves, And our nests beneath the eaves Will be very damp and chill, While the fogs our playgrounds fill."
"Tweet! tweet! tweet!" the swallows say, "It is time we flew away!"
"Tweet! tweet! tweet!" the swallows cry, As they circle far on high, Gathering thickly overhead Now that summer days have fled.
"See!" they say, "the flow"rets fair Now are drooping ev"rywhere, And no more the scented breeze Roves amid the leafy trees!"
"Tweet! tweet! tweet!" the swallows say, "It is time we flew away!"
"Tweet! tweet! tweet!" Alas! we hear All you utter, swallows dear!
And, if it indeed must be, Take your flight across the sea But do not your friends forget, They who lose you with regret, And to us all swiftly wing When appear the flowers of Spring!
"Tweet! tweet! tweet!" the swallows say, "We will come again in May!"
E. Oxenford.
HIS FIRST KNIFE AND FORK.
Stevie could hardly believe his eyes. But it was true, quite true, all the same for that, and he opened his blue eyes wider and wider till mother laughed and kissed them, and lifted him up into his high chair, saying, "Yes, Stevie, they are yours, your very own, and grandpa sent them to you because he remembered your birthday." Such a beautiful, sweet-smelling leather case it was, lined with purple velvet, and inside it a silver fork with a pretty "S" on the handle, and a knife that would really _cut_. His first knife and fork! Oh, how Stevie had longed for them! And now that they had come, his very own, he felt quite a man, almost like father.
"Stevie must learn to handle them nicely, ready to show grandpa when he comes. Not that way, pet! Let the back of the blade look up to the ceiling, like little birdies after they drink, and keep the sharp edge down to the plate, and then little fingers won"t be cut."
"All alone by myself, mother? all alone by myself?" cried Stevie eagerly; but mother stood beside him till the pie was cut up, and the pretty knife and fork had been laid aside to be washed and put back in their velvet case.
Stevie learned to handle his knife and fork quite nicely in a few days, but he found it rather hard that he was never allowed to have them to play with. He used them at the table and that was all. The day grandpa came Stevie was all excitement to show him how well he could use his beautiful present. Mother had gone to the station to meet him, and it seemed that the long morning of waiting would never be over. But twelve o"clock came at last, and nurse gave Stevie a biscuit and an apple, and sent him out in the garden so that he should not disturb baby"s nap. He ran away down to the fountain and began to play dinner. Then he thought of his dear knife and fork. He knew just where they were, but he had been told never to touch them. He did want them so much, and they _were_ his own. The apple would seem just like a real dinner if he only had them. Stevie ran into the dining-room and mounted the chair by the sideboard. For a moment he stopped; for it seemed as if some one said, "Don"t touch, Stevie!" quite loud in his ear, but only the clock went "Tick, tack, tick, tack!" There was only the little voice of conscience _inside_ Stevie to say "Don"t touch;" and he wouldn"t listen to that, so he ran away with the pretty case in his hand.
Stevie played dinner, and old gray p.u.s.s.y sat on the fountain basin and looked at him. She played grandpa, at least Stevie said so; but somehow the apple didn"t taste so sweet as at first, and he cut his thumb a little, and thought he would put the knife and fork back. Back in their case he did put them, clip went the little silver fastening, p.u.s.s.y arched her back and swelled her tail, for the dog belonging to the baker had just come through the gate with his master. There was a rush and a tussle, and the baker ran to Stevie; but something had gone splash! into the fountain, and Stevie ran away crying. How everybody did _hunt_ for that knife and fork, while Stevie sat very pale and quiet, holding one fat thumb hidden by his hand.