"What"s this? What"s this? What"s all this, young gentlemen? Let that poor lad alone! Shame on you both!"
The two culprits ceased their blows and started up panic-stricken. But only for a moment. The ready and reckless falsehood sprang to Alfred"s lips.
"Why, sir, you see, we were walking along and saw your carriage standing here and saw that boy stealing the fruit and nuts from it. And we ordered him to stop and he wouldn"t, and we pitched into him and beat him. Didn"t we, Ben"
"Yes, we beat him," said Ben evasively.
"Humph! And he stole the very articles that he was put here to guard!
Sad! sad! but the fault was mine! He is but a child! a poor child, and was most likely hungry. I should not have left the fruit right under his keen young nose to tempt him! Boys, you did very wrong to beat him so!
You, who are pampered so much, know little of the severe privations and great temptations of the poor. And we cannot expect children to resist their natural appet.i.tes," said the gentleman gently, as he stooped to examine the condition of the fallen boy.
Ishmael was half stunned, exhausted, and bleeding; but his confused senses had gathered the meaning of the false accusation made against him. And, through the blood bursting from his mouth, he gurgled forth the words:
"I didn"t, sir! The Lord above, he knows I didn"t!"
"He did! he did! Didn"t he, Ben?" cried Master Alfred.
Ben was silent.
"And we beat him! Didn"t we, Ben?" questioned the young villain, who well understood his weak younger brother.
"Yes," replied Ben, who was always willing to oblige his elder brother if he could do so without telling an out and out falsehood; "we did beat him."
The gentleman raised the battered boy to his feet, took a look at him and murmured to himself:
"Well! if this lad is a thief and a liar, there is no truth in phrenology or physiognomy either."
Then, speaking aloud, he said:
"My boy! I am very sorry for what has just happened! You were placed here to guard my property. You betrayed your trust! You, yourself, stole it! And you have told a falsehood to conceal your theft. No! do not attempt to deny it! Here are two young gentlemen of position who are witnesses against you!"
Ishmael attempted to gurgle some denial, but his voice was drowned in the blood that still filled his mouth.
"My poor boy," continued the gentleman--"for I see you are poor, if you had simply eaten the fruit and nuts, that would have been wrong certainly, being a breach of trust; but it would have been almost excusable, for you might have been hungry and been tempted by the smell of the fruit and by the opportunity of tasting it. And if you had confessed it frankly, I should as frankly have forgiven you. But I am sorry to say that you have attempted to conceal your fault by falsehood.
And do you know what that falsehood has done? It has converted the act, that I should have construed as mere trespa.s.s, into a theft!"
Ishmael stooped down and bathed his b.l.o.o.d.y face in the stream and then wiped it clean with his coa.r.s.e pocket handkerchief. And then he raised his head with a childish dignity most wonderful to see, and said:
"Listen to me, sir, if you please. I did not take the fruit or the nuts, or anything that was yours. It is true, sir, as you said, that I am poor. And I was hungry, very hungry indeed, because I have had nothing to eat since six o"clock this morning. And the oranges and figs did smell nice, and I did want them very much. But I did not touch them, sir! I could better bear hunger than I could bear shame! And I should have suffered shame if I had taken your things! Yes, even though you might have never found out the loss of them. Because--I should have known myself to be a thief, and I could not have borne that, sir! I did not take your property, sir, I hope you will believe me."
"He did! he did! he did! didn"t he now, Ben?" cried Alfred.
Ben was silent.
"And we beat him for it, didn"t we, Ben?"
"Yes," said Ben.
"There now you see, my boy! I would be glad to believe you; but here are two witnesses against you! two young gentlemen of rank, who would not stoop to falsehood!" said the gentleman sadly.
"Sir," replied Ishmael calmly, "be pleased to listen to me, while I tell you what really happened. When you left me in charge of this horse I led him to this stream and gave him water, and I was rubbing him down with a handful of fresh dock-leaves when these two young gentlemen came up. And the elder one proposed to help himself to the contents of the hamper.
But the younger one would not agree to the plan. And I, for my part, told him to let the things alone. But he wouldn"t mind me. I insisted, but he laughed at me and helped himself to the oranges, figs, walnuts, and raisins. I told him to put them back directly; but he wouldn"t. And then I struck him and collared him, sir; for I thought it was my duty to fight for the property that had been left in my care. But he was bigger than I was, and his brother came to help him, and they were too many for me, and between them they threw me down. And then you came up. And that is the whole truth, sir."
"It isn"t! it isn"t! He stole the things, and now he wants to lay it on us! that is the worst of all! But we can prove that he did it, because we are two witnesses against one!" said Master Alfred excitedly.
"Yes; that is the worst of all, my boy; it was bad to take the things, but you were tempted by hunger; it was worse to deny the act, but you were tempted by fear; it is the worst of all to try to lay your fault upon the shoulders of others. I fear I shall be obliged to punish you,"
said the gentleman.
"Sir, punish me for the loss of the fruit if you please; but believe me; for I speak the truth," said Ishmael firmly.
At that moment he felt a little soft hand steal into his own, and heard a gentle voice whisper in his ear:
"I believe you, poor boy, if they don"t."
He turned, and saw at his side the little orphan girl in deep mourning.
She was a stately little lady, with black eyes and black ringlets, and with the air of a little princess.
"Come, Claudia! Come away, my love," said the lady, who had just arrived at the spot.
"No, aunt, if you please; I am going to stand by this poor boy here! He has got no friend! He is telling the truth, and n.o.body will believe him!" said the little girl, tossing her head, and shaking back her black ringlets haughtily.
It was easy to see that this little lady had had her own royal will, ever since she was one day old, and cried for a light until it was brought.
"Claudia, Claudia, you are very naughty to disobey your aunt," said the gentleman gravely.
The little lady lifted her jetty eyebrows in simple surprise.
""Naughty," uncle! How can you say such things to me? Mamma never did; and papa never does! Pray do not say such things again to me, uncle! I have not been used to hear them."
The gentleman shrugged his shoulders, and turned to Ishmael, saying:
"I am more grieved than angry, my boy, to see you stand convicted of theft and falsehood."
"I was never guilty of either in my life, sir," said Ishmael.
"He was! he was! He stole the things, and then told stories about it, and tried to lay it on us! But we can prove it was himself! We are two witnesses against one! two genteel witnesses against one low one! We are gentleman"s sons; and who is he? He"s a thief! He stole the things, didn"t he, Ben?" questioned Master Alfred.
Ben turned away.
"And we thrashed him well for it, didn"t we, Ben?"
"Yes," said Ben.
"So you see, sir, it is true! there are two witnesses against you; do not therefore make your case quite hopeless by a persistence in falsehood," said the gentleman, speaking sternly for the first time.
Ishmael dropped his head, and the Burghe boys laughed.
Little Claudia"s eyes blazed.