Then we heard Archibald going all over the house looking for us. Father was at business and uncle was at his club. And we were _there_. And so Archibald was all alone. And we might have gone on for hours enjoying the spectacle of his confusion and perplexedness, but Noel happened to sneeze--the least thing gives him cold and he sneezes louder for his age than any one I know--just when Archibald was on the landing underneath.
Then he stood there and said--
"I know where you are. Let me come up."
We cautiously did not reply. Then he said:
"All right. I"ll go and get the step-ladder."
We did not wish this. We had not been told not to make rope-ladders, nor yet about not playing in the loft; but if he fetched the step-ladder Jane would know, and there are some secrets you like to keep to yourself.
So Oswald opened the trap-door and squinted down, and there was that Archibald with his beastly hair cut. Oswald said--
"We"ll let you up if you promise not to tell you"ve been up here."
So he promised, and we let down the rope-ladder. And it will show you the kind of boy he was that the instant he had got up by it he began to find fault with the way it was made.
[Ill.u.s.tration: SO OSWALD OPENED THE TRAP-DOOR AND SQUINTED DOWN, AND THERE WAS THAT ARCHIBALD.]
Then he wanted to play with the ball-c.o.c.k. But Oswald knows it is better not to do this.
"I daresay _you"re_ forbidden," Archibald said, "little kids like you.
But _I_ know all about plumbing."
And Oswald could not prevent his fiddling with the pipes and the ball-c.o.c.k a little. Then we went down. All chance of further banditry was at an end. Next day was Sunday. The leak was noticed then. It was slow, but steady, and the plumber was sent for on Monday morning.
Oswald does not know whether it was Archibald who made the leak, but he does know about what came after.
I think our displeasing cousin found that piece of poetry that Noel was beginning about him, and read it, because he is a sneak. Instead of having it out with Noel he sucked up to him and gave him a six-penny fountain-pen which Noel liked, although it is really no good for him to try to write poetry with anything but a pencil, because he always sucks whatever he writes with, and ink is poisonous, I believe.
Then in the afternoon he and Noel got quite thick, and went off together. And afterwards Noel seemed very peac.o.c.ky about something, but he would not say what, and Archibald was grinning in a way Oswald would have liked to pound his head for.
Then, quite suddenly, the peaceable quietness of that happy Blackheath home was brought to a close by screams. Servants ran about with brooms and pails, and the water was coming through the ceiling of uncle"s room like mad, and Noel turned white and looked at our unattractive cousin and said: "Send him away."
Alice put her arm round Noel and said: "Do go, Archibald."
But he wouldn"t.
So then Noel said he wished he had never been born, and whatever would Father say.
"Why, what is it, Noel?" Alice asked that. "Just tell us, we"ll all stand by you. What"s he been doing?"
"You won"t let him do anything to me if I tell?"
"Tell tale t.i.t," said Archibald.
"He got me to go up into the loft and he said it was a secret, and would I promise not to tell, and I won"t tell; only I"ve done it, and now the water"s coming in."
"You"ve done it? You young a.s.s, I was only kidding you!" said our detestable cousin. And he laughed.
"I don"t understand," said Oswald. "What did you tell Noel?"
"He can"t tell you because he promised--and I won"t--unless you vow by the honour of the house you talk so much about that you"ll never tell I had anything to do with it."
That will show you what he was. We had never mentioned the honour of the house except once quite at the beginning, before we knew how discapable he was of understanding anything, and how far we were from wanting to call him Archie.
We had to promise, for Noel was getting greener and more gurgly every minute, and at any moment Father or uncle might burst in foaming for an explanation, and none of us would have one except Noel, and him in this state of all-anyhow.
So d.i.c.ky said--
"We promise, you beast, you!" And we all said the same.
Then Archibald said, drawling his words and feeling for the moustache that wasn"t there, and I hope he"ll be quite old before he gets one--
"It"s just what comes of trying to amuse silly little kids. I told the foolish little animal about people having arteries cut, and your having to cut the whole thing to stop the bleeding. And he said, "Was that what the plumber would do to the leaky pipe?" And how pleased your governor would be to find it mended. And then he went and did it."
"You told me to," said Noel, turning greener and greener.
"Go along with Alice," said Oswald. "We"ll stand by you. And Noel, old chap, you must keep your word and not sneak about that sneaking hound."
Alice took him away, and we were left with the horrid Archibald.
"Now," said Oswald, "I won"t break my word, no more will the rest of us.
But we won"t speak another word to you as long as we live."
"Oh, Oswald," said Dora, "what about the sun going down?"
"Let it jolly well go," said d.i.c.ky in furiousness. "Oswald didn"t say we"d go on being angry for ever, but I"m with Oswald all the way. I won"t talk to cads--no, not even before grown-ups. They can jolly well think what they like."
After this no one spoke to Archibald.
Oswald rushed for a plumber, and such was his fiery eloquence he really caught one and brought him home. Then he and d.i.c.ky waited for Father when he came in, and they got him into the study, and Oswald said what they had all agreed on. It was this:
"Father, we are all most awfully sorry, but one of us has cut the pipe in the loft, and if you make us tell you any more it will not be honourable, and we are very sorry. Please, please don"t ask who it was did it."
Father bit his moustache and looked worried, and d.i.c.ky went on--
"Oswald has got a plumber and he is doing it now."
Then Father said, "How on earth did you get into the loft?"
And then of course the treasured secret of the rope-ladder had to be revealed. We had never been told not to make rope-ladders and go into the loft, but we did not try to soften the anger of our Father by saying this. It would not have been any good either. We just had to stick it.
And the punishment of our crime was most awful. It was that we weren"t to go to Mrs. Leslie"s party. And Archibald was to go, because when Father asked him if he was in it with the rest of us, he said "No." I cannot think of any really gentle, manly, and proper words to say what I think about my unnatural cousin.
We kept our word about not speaking to him, and I think Father thought we were jealous because he was going to that conjuring, magic lantern party and we were not. Noel was the most unhappy, because he knew we were all being punished for what he had done. He was very affectionate and tried to write pieces of poetry to us all, but he was so unhappy he couldn"t even write, and he went into the kitchen and sat on Jane"s knee and said his head ached.
Next day it was the day of the party and we were plunged in gloom.
Archibald got out his Etons and put his clean shirt ready, and a pair of flashy silk socks with red spots, and then he went into the bath-room.
Noel and Jane were whispering on the stairs. Jane came up and Noel went down, Jane knocked at the bath-room door and said--