Even Brinkman and Clapperton could not take it out of them more than this white frost and nipping air. However, the bell began to toll six; and the thought of their companions in discomfort spurred them on to energy. They crawled across the Green to Wakefield"s.
Four ghostly figures were visible in the feeble dawn, hovering under the wall.
"Got the grub?"
It was the cheery voice of Wally Wheatfield, at sound of which the pilgrims took comfort, and were glad they had turned out after all.
The first thing was to get clear of Fellsgarth, which was easily accomplished, as no one was about. Even had they been observed, beyond the general wonder of seeing nine juniors taking a morning walk at 6 a.m., there was nothing to interfere with their liberty. As soon as they got into Shargle Woods a brief council of war was held.
"It"s a jolly stiff climb," said Wally.
"I"ve got a compa.s.s," said Ashby, as if that disposed of the difficulty.
Ashby had an ulster, which just then seemed to some of his comrades a still more enviable possession.
"How many miles?" asked Lickford.
"Miles? Who ever reckoned mountains by miles? It"s three hours to the top."
"That"ll be nine o"clock," wisely observed Cash.
"Who knows the way up?" Percy asked.
"Way up? Can"t you see it?" said Wally. "When you get to the bottom, you go straight up."
"All very well for you. I can"t walk up a perpendicular cliff. I dare say I could come straight down if I tried," submitted Percy.
"Oh, there are lots of paths. It"s as easy as pot," said Wally.
"Suppose we have a bit of grub now. It"ll be less to carry, you know."
Whereupon an attack was made on the provisions, with the result that considerably less was left to carry up.
The meal ended, a start was made in earnest, and the party trailed down the valley towards the lake at an easy jog-trot, and came to the conclusion that ascending a pike was ridiculously simple work.
By the time they reached the lake, and began to strike up the winding lane that led round to the rearward slopes of the great mountain, an hour had pa.s.sed.
"Nearly half-way there," said Fisher minor, hoping some one would corroborate the statement.
"Oh, we don"t count that bit we"ve come anything," said Wally. "We"re just starting up now."
"Oh," said Fisher, again hoping to be confirmed. "Then it"s only two hours" climb?"
"That"s all you know about it. Wisdom used to say he could do it in three hours from the lake-side. But he was a wonner to go. Come along; wire in, you chaps."
"Where did Wisdom get killed?" asked Percy, by way of a little genial conversation.
"I heard over the other side, down the cliffs above the lake. He got caught in a mist and lost his way."
"How do you know this is the right way up?" asked Cottle.
"Because it"s as plain as the nose on your face," retorted the guide.
It was a long dreary pull up the lower slope, over the wet gra.s.s and through the bracken, and Fisher minor before he accomplished the first stage was heartily sick of Hawk"s Pike. One or two of his companions, to tell the truth, were not quite as enamoured of the expedition as they tried to appear, but they kept their emotions to themselves. Wally was the only member of the party who was uniformly cheerful, and no one, not even Percy, exactly liked to incur his contempt by appearing to enjoy the clamber less than he.
"Come on, you chaps," cried the leader as he staggered to the top of the slope. "Keep it up. What a crow it will be for us, when we get to the top!"
"I suppose," gasped Fisher minor, as he threw himself on the gra.s.s, "we"re half-way now?"
"Getting on," said Wally. "I dare say on the top of that next ridge we shall be able to see the top."
"What, isn"t that the top?" said poor Fisher, craning his head up towards the beetling crag above them.
"Top? No, that"s the k.n.o.b half-way down we see from the school window.
The stiff part begins after that."
Really Wally, if he had tried to be heartless, could not have succeeded better. Had he but expressed some hint at regret that the distance was so long, or vouchsafed the least semblance of a growl at the labour involved, they would have loved him. As it was, they durst do nothing but hate him, and accept his information joyously.
"That"s nothing," said Lickford. "I feel quite fresh; don"t you, you chaps?"
"Rather!" they chimed in plaintively.
"Better get on," said Wally, after a few minutes more. How they loathed Wally then!
The new slope was worse than the first; for the gra.s.s was more boggy, and big stones here and there jarred their tender feet. Besides, it grieved them to see Wally zigzagging steadily on ahead, utterly regardless of their distress behind. Yet no one exactly liked to stop.
Had any one had the courage to do so, they would have gone down like a row of ninepins.
Let no one charge these boys with chicken-heartedness. On the contrary, they worked up that slope like heroes; all the more so that they were ready to drop, and durst not for very shame. There is no hero like the coward who compels himself to be brave. Many a man in history has become famous for an exploit that cost him far less than this climb cost the Fellsgarth juniors. Therefore let this record at least award the the credit they deserve.--It was some satisfaction, when the k.n.o.b was reached, and they looked up at the black towering crags above, to see that even Wally seemed staggered for a moment.
"We may as well have a rest and some grub before we tackle that lot,"
said he. "What do you say?"
The motion was carried unanimously.
"It"s eleven o"clock," said Cash. "We"ve been five hours already."
"Thank goodness we"ve broken the back of it," said Fisher minor.
"I don"t know so much about that," said Percy.
"We shan"t get up that as easily as we"ve done so far, I fancy."
"Rather not," said Wally, cheerfully, with his mouth full of sandwich.
"I believe it"s not so bad after we get past those rocks though, on to the top."
"What," cried Fisher, "isn"t _that_ the top then?"
"Bless you, no. We have to go down a bit when we get there, and cross a bog, and then the real pike begins."
The information was received with dead silence, and the party sat grimly munching their lunch with upturned eyes.