But the two tyrants had other views. Harpour, at once pa.s.sionate and dogged, was not likely to forget that he had been thwarted and defied; and if he had been so inclined, Jones would have not allowed him to do so, but kept egging him on to show his contempt for the younger and weaker boys who had tried to check his bullying propensities. On the last occasion when he had ordered Eden to go to Dan"s, Eden had taken Walter"s advice, and firmly refused to go. Harpour did not think it safe to compel him, but he threw out some significant threats, which filled the little boy with vague alarm and weighed heavily on his spirits. He did not tell any one of these threats, hoping that they would end in nothing, and, in case of any emergency, trusting implicitly on Walter for a generous and efficient protection.
But the threats did _not_ end in nothing.
One night, after the others had fallen asleep, Eden, feeling quite free from all anxiety, was sleeping more soundly and sweetly than he had done for a fortnight, when a blaze of light, flashing suddenly upon his eyes, made him start up in his bed. Harpour and Jones were taking this opportunity to fulfil their threat of frightening him. At the foot of his bed stood a figure in white, with a hideous, deformed head, blotched with scarlet; bending over him was another white figure, with an enormous black face, holding over its head a shining hand.
In an instant the boy fell back, pale as death, uttering a shriek so shrill and terrible, so full of wildness and horror, that every other boy in the dormitory sprang up, alarmed and wide awake.
Walter and Henderson leaped out of bed immediately; and to Walter, who was unprepared, the start of surprise at what he saw was so sudden, that for a moment he stood absolutely paralysed and bewildered, because the shock on the nerves had preceded the recognition, though by an infinitesimally short time. But Henderson, who knew how Jones and Harpour had been going on, and what their threats had been, instantly, and before the abrupt and unusual spectacle had power to unnerve him, saw the true state of the case, and, springing out upon the figure which stood at the end of Eden"s bed, tore the mask away, stripped off the sheet, and displayed Jones"s face before he had time to hide it, administering, as he did so, a hearty blow on Jones"s chest, which made that hero stagger several paces back.
Although Walter saw almost at once the trick that was being played with masks, sheets, and phosphorus, yet the sudden shock upon his nerves not being _absolutely co-instantaneous_ with the discovery, produced on him the effect of utter dizziness and horror. Henderson"s prompt and vigorous onslaught aroused him to a sense of the position, and with a fierce expression of disgust and anger, he bounded upon Harpour, who, being thus suddenly attacked, dropped upon the floor the dark lantern which he held, and hastily retreated, flinging the sheet over Walter"s head.
Walter had barely disentangled himself from the folds of the sheet, when an exclamation from Henderson attracted the notice of all the boys in the room, and brought them flocking round Eden"s bed. Henderson had picked up the dark lantern, and was kneeling with it over the unconscious boy, whose face was so ashy white, and who, after several sharp screams, had sunk into so deep a swoon, that Henderson, unused to such sights, naturally exclaimed--
"Good G.o.d! you"ve killed him."
"Killed him?" repeated the others, standing aghast.
"Pooh! he"s only fainted, you little fools," said Jones, who hurried up to look in Eden"s face. "Here, we"ll soon bring him too; Harpour, just get us some water."
"You shan"t touch him, you shan"t come near him," said Walter furiously; "stand back, you hateful bullies. Henderson and I will attend to him; and, depend upon it, you shall give account for this soon. What! you _will_ come?" he continued, shaking Jones"s arm violently, and then flinging him back as easily as though he had been a child; "if either you or Harpour come near the bed I"ll fetch Robertson instantly. Eden would go off again in a swoon, if he saw such brutes as you when he recovered."
In such a mood Walter was not to be resisted. The two plotters, picking up their masks, retired somewhat crestfallen, and sat down on their beds, while the rest, with the utmost tenderness, adopted every means they knew to recall Eden"s fluttered and agitated senses.
But his swoon was deeper than they could manage, and, growing too violently alarmed to trust themselves any longer, Henderson and Walker proposed to carry him to the sickroom, and put him at once under the care of Dr Keith. It was in vain that Jones and Harpour entreated, threatened, implored them to delay a little longer, lest by taking Eden to the sickroom, their doings should be discovered. Wholly disregarding all they said, the two boys uplifted their still fainting friend, and when Harpour attempted to interfere between them and the door, Cradock and Franklin, now _thoroughly_ sickened by their proceedings, pulled him aside and let them pa.s.s.
Dr Keith instantly administered to Eden a restorative, and after receiving from Walter a hurried explanation of the circ.u.mstances, gently told the boys that they would be only in the way there, that Eden was evidently in a critical position, and that they had better return at once to their dormitories.
Walter and Henderson, when they returned, were a.s.sailed by the others with eager inquiries, to which they could only give gloomy and uncertain answers. They would not vouchsafe to take the slightest notice of Jones or Harpour, but met all their remarks with resolute silence. But before he went to sleep, Walter said, "I may as well let you fellows know that I intend to report you to Somers to-morrow."
"Then you"ll be a d.a.m.ned sneak," observed Harpour.
"It is not sneaking to prevent brutal bullying like yours, by giving others the chance of stopping it, and preventing little chaps like poor Eden, whom you"ve nearly frightened to death, from being so shamefully treated. Anyhow, sneaking, or not, I"ll do it."
"If you do tell Somers, look out for yourself--that"s all."
"I"m not afraid," was the brief retort.
Harpour knew that he meant what he said, and, being now desperate, he got up half an hour earlier next morning to try and extort from him, by main force, a promise to hold his tongue about the affair of the night before. If he had at all understood Walter"s character, he might have saved himself this very superfluous trouble.
Walter was awakened by a shake from Harpour, who, with Jones, was standing by his head. He saw what was coming, for Harpour, who had a pair of braces tightly knotted in his hand, briefly opened the proceedings by saying, "Are you going to sneak about me, or not?"
"To sneak--no; to tell the head of the school--yes."
"Then, by Jove, you shall have something worth telling; I"ll take my revenge out of you beforehand. I shall be sent away--think of that."
"So much the better. One bully the less."
"Oh, that"s your tune? Take that." The buckle of the brace descended sharply on Walter"s back, drawing blood; the next instant he had wrested it out of Harpour"s hand, and returned the blow.
The scuffle had awakened the rest. Walter jumped out of bed, and was hurrying on his trousers and slippers, when Harpour knocked him down.
"Fair play, Harpour," said Henderson and Franklin, angrily seizing Harpour"s arms; "you"re surely not going to fight him, Walter?"
"Yes; see fair play, you fellows; Cradock, you will, won"t you? Fair play is all I want. Flip, you see that Jones tries no mean dodge. Now, Harpour, are you ready? Then take that."
Walter hit him a steady blow in the face, and the fight between these unequally-matched combatants--a boy not fifteen against a much stronger boy of seventeen--began. The result could not be dubious. Walter fought with indomitable pluck; it was splendid to see the st.u.r.diness with which he bore up under the blows of Harpour"s strong fist, which he could only return at intervals. He was tremendously punished, while Harpour was barely touched, except by one well-directed blow which flashed the fire out of his eyes. At last he dealt Walter a heavy blow full on the forehead; the boy reeled, caught hold of the wash-hand stand to stay his fall and dragged it after him on the floor with a thundering crash, dashing the jug and basin all to shivers.
The smash brought in Mr Robertson, whose rooms were nearest to Number 10. He opened his eyes in amazement as he came in. On one of the beds lay the two masks and dark lantern which had been used to frighten Eden; on the floor, supported by Franklin and Henderson, sat poor Walter, his nose streaming with blood, and his face horribly bruised and disfigured; Harpour sheepishly surveyed his handiwork; and Jones, on the first alarm, had rushed back to bed, covered himself with blankets, and lay to all appearance fast asleep.
"Evson! what"s all this?" asked the master in astonishment.
Walter, sick and giddy, was in no condition to answer; but the position of affairs was tolerably obvious.
"Is this _your_ doing?" asked Mr Robertson of Harpour, very sternly, pointing to Walter.
"He hit me first."
"Liar," said Henderson, glaring up at him.
"Hush, sir; no such language in my presence," said Mr Robertson.
"Cradock, do you mean to say that a big fellow like you could stand by, and see Harpour thus cruelly misuse a boy not nearly his size."
"It was a fight, sir."
"Fight!" said Mr Robertson; "look at those two boys, and don"t talk nonsense to me."
"I oughtn"t to have let them fight, I know," said Cradock; "and I wish, sir, you"d put Harpour and Jones into another room, they"re always bullying Eden, and it was for him that Evson fought."
"Harpour," said Mr Robertson, "you are absolutely despicable; a viler figure than you present at this moment could not be conceived. I shall move you to another dormitory, where some monitor can restrain your brutality; and, meanwhile, I confine you to gates for a month, and you will bring me up one hundred lines every day till further notice."
He was leaving the room, but catching sight of Walter, he returned, and said kindly, "Evson, my poor boy, I"m afraid you"re sadly hurt; I"m truly sorry for you; you seem to have been behaving in a very n.o.ble way, and I honour you. Henderson, I think you"d better go with him to Dr Keith," he continued; for Walter, though he heard what was said, was too much hurt and shaken to speak a word.
"Come, Walter," said Henderson, gently helping him to rise; "I hope you"re not very much hurt, old fellow. That brute Harpour won"t trouble you again, anyhow; nor his parasite Jones. Lean on my arm. Franklin, you come and give Walter your arm, too."
They helped him to the sickroom, for he could barely trail his legs after him. Dr Keith laid him down quietly on a sofa, put some arnica to the bruises on his face, and told him to lie still and go quietly to sleep. "He is not very much hurt," he said, in answer to the inquiries of the boys; "but the fall he has had is quite sufficiently serious in its consequences to render absolute rest necessary to him for some days.
You may come and see him sometimes."
"And now, you fellow, Harpour," said Henderson, re-entering the dormitory; "as you"ve knocked up Evson, and half killed Eden, _I"ll_ tell Somers. Do you hear? and I hope he"ll thrash you till you can"t stand."
"He daren"t; Robertson"s punished me already."
"He dare, and will; you won"t get off so lightly as all that."
"You"re a set of sneaks; and I"ll be even with you yet," growled Harpour, too much cowed to resent Henderson"s defiance.
Henderson laughed scornfully; and Cradock said, "And _I"ll_ tell the whole school what bullies you"ve been, Harpour and Jones."
"And _I_," said Franklin; "I don"t envy you two."