Mr Hasnip, whom he now publicly presented to us, was an Oxford
gentleman, who would take our weak points in hand, strengthen them, and
help him, the Doctor, to maintain the high position his establishment
had held for so many years.
Of course we all looked very hard at the new usher, who was a pale,
yellowish-looking man, with eyes hidden by smoked glasses, which enabled
him to see without being seen, and he now smiled at us as if he were
going to bite, and was nicknamed Parsnip by Mercer on the instant.
"He'll be a teaser," whispered Mercer. "Going to strengthen our weak
parts, is he? Wish he could strengthen mine in the way I want. I
suppose we shall be turned over to him. Can't be worse than old Reb."
Mercer was right; we two were the first boys turned over to the new
usher, and this was fortunate for us, for he knew nothing about our
personal appearance; and the swellings that did come on, and which would
have been noticed directly by Mr Rebble, passed unheeded by him.
I was very glad when tea-time came, for my head was so confused that Mr
Hasnip was quite right in telling me I was a very stupid boy, for I was
that afternoon--very.
But the meal-time did come, and as soon as tea was over, instead of
going into the play-field with the others, I sat down alone, sore,
aching, and disconsolate, to try and master some of the things Mr
Hasnip had said I was behindhand in.
I had just taken up my book, with my head feeling more hazy than ever,
and the shouts of the boys floating in at the open window, when Mercer
came in hurriedly.
"Here, put that book away," he said quickly.
"What for? I don't want to come out."
"But you must. I've been and put away my specimens, and that settled
it. Come along."
"But why must I come out? I don't want to play, and the other fellows
will only laugh at us."
"No, they will not. They're not going to see us. Come along.
Revenge!"
I got up and took my cap unwillingly, but, as we got out in the soft
evening air, I began to think that perhaps I could keep him back if he
were going to do anything wrong, so I walked on by his side with more
alacrity.
"Going for a walk?" I said, as I found that he avoided the play-field.
"No. You wait and you'll see."
"Well, you needn't be so disagreeable with me," I said gruffly.
"I'm not, only I ache and burn, and I'm full of it. Come on."
To my surprise, he led me down to the lodge cottage, where the big,
soldierly-looking fellow was enjoying his evening pipe in his
neatly-kept little garden.
"Evening, young gents," he said, saluting us. "When do you two begin
your drill?"
"I don't know, Lomax. When the new master's done thumping Latin and
Euclid into us."
"Humph! Well, gentlemen, I hear that the Romans were very fine
soldiers, and Euclid's all about angles and squares, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"Well, they're right enough in infantry formation--squares are, and the
angles in fortification, which is a thing I don't know much about,
having been in the cavalry; but when you are ready, so am I, and I'll
set you up and make men of you as your fa--" he glanced at me and pulled
himself up short--"as your people shall be proud of."
"That's right, Lom, and I'll bring you some prime tobacco soon as I can.
I say, you can fight, can't you?"
"Well," he said, smiling and drawing himself up, "they used to say I
could once upon a time. There's my old sword hanging up over the
chimney-piece, and if it could speak--"
"Yes, yes, I know, and you've been wounded," cried Mercer hastily; "but
I don't mean with swords and pistols, I mean with your fists."
"Oh, I see. Boxing."
"Yes," cried Mercer eagerly.
And I was still so dull and confused by the knocking about I had
received, that I had not a glimmer of what he was aiming at.
"Yes; boxing. I want you to teach us."
"Yes, I was a dabster at it when I was in the ---th. We had no end of
it, and we lads used to have a regular subscription round to buy new
gloves. Oh yes, I gave lessons to the officers regularly. Long time
since I've had the gloves on, but I could handle my fists as well as
ever, I daresay."
"Then you'll teach us?"
"Teach you? No, no, my lads. Infantry drill; clubs and dumb-bells;
singlestick and foil; riding with a military seat; but--use of the
gloves! Oh dear no! What do you think the Doctor would say?"
"But he won't know, Lom, and we'll pay you, honour bright."
"I know you would, Master Mercer; and if this young gent, whose father
was in the cavalry--"
"Yes, at Chilly--" began Mercer.
"Wallah, sir," said Lomax severely. "If he says he'll pay me, of course
he would. But no, sir, no. Besides, we've got no gloves, and
boxing-gloves--two pairs--cost money."
"Of course. I know they would, but we'd buy them, or you should for us,
and then we could come here now and then, and you could teach us in your
room, and nobody would know."
"No, sir, no," said the sergeant, shaking his head.
"I say, Lom, look at us both," said Mercer. "See anything?"
"Well, yes, I do, plain, my lads. You two don't want any teaching.
You've got swelled lips, and mousy eyes rising, and your noses are a bit
puffy. You have both been fighting."
"Yes, Lom, and see how we've been knocked about."
"Well, boys who will fight must take what they get and not grumble."
"But we didn't want to fight. They made us."
"Why, I thought you two were such friends and mates already. Bah! lads,
you shouldn't fight without there's good reason."
"But we didn't fight," cried Mercer angrily.
"Why, just look at you both! your faces say it as plain as your lips."
"But I mean not together. Eely Burr and big Dicksee came and thrashed
us. They would not leave us alone."
"Oh, come: that's bullying," said Lomax, shaking his head, "and it isn't
a fair match; they're a good two years older than you, and used to
fighting, and you ain't."
"No," said Mercer excitedly; "and it's cruel and cowardly. I'm not a
bit afraid of him, and Burr junior wasn't of his man, and we did the
best we could, but they knocked us about just as they liked, and hit us
where they pleased, and we couldn't hurt them a bit."
"No, you wouldn't be able of course," said the old sergeant
thoughtfully, taking our arms and feeling our muscles. "Well, it was
very plucky of you both to stand up and face 'em, that's all I can say.
Is that why you want to learn to use your fists?"
"Yes, and as soon as we can both box well, we want to give them both
such lickings!" cried Mercer eagerly.
The old sergeant began to laugh in a quiet way, and wiped the tears out
of his eyes.
"Then you want to learn on the sly, and astonish 'em some day?"
"Yes, yes," I said eagerly, for I was as excited as my companion, whose
idea of revenge, now it was explained, seemed to me to be glorious.
"Well, it is tempting," said the sergeant thoughtfully.
"And you'll teach us?"
"And his father fought at Chillianwallah! Yes, it is tempting. You
ought to be able to take your own part if big cowards tackle you."
"Yes, Lom. Then do teach us."
"No. What would the Doctor say?"
"He never should know. We'd never tell, either of us, would we, Burr?"
"Never!" I cried.
"I believe you, boys, that I do," said the old man; "and it was never
forbidden. Never even mentioned," he continued thoughtfully. "I should
like to oblige an old soldier's son."
"And I mean to be an army surgeon," said Mercer.
"And you couldn't do better, my lad."
"Then you'll teach us?" cried Mercer, and I hung upon his answer, with
the spirit of retaliation strong within me now.
"Do you know what it means, my lads? Deal of knocking about."
"We don't care how much, do we, Burr?"
"No," I cried excitedly. "You may knock me down hundreds of times, if
you'll teach me how to knock you down."
"But the gloves will cost about a pound."
"A pound!" said Mercer in dismay. Then a happy thought struck him.
"We shall have to give up buying Magglin's gun for the present," he
whispered to me. Then aloud--
"All right Lom. If we bring you the money, will you buy the gloves?"
"Yes, my lads, I will; and good ones."
"And you will teach us?"
"I'll teach you," said the sergeant, "for the sake of helping to make a
strong man of the son of a brave officer, who died for his country.
There!"
"Hooray!" cried Mercer; "and how much will you charge for the lessons,
Lom? because you must make it a little more, as we shall have to go tick
for a bit, because of paying so much for the gloves."
"How much?" said the sergeant thoughtfully. "Let me see. First and
foremost, your words of honour that you'll never tell a soul I taught
you how to fight, for it might lead to unpleasantness."
"On my honour, I'll never tell!" cried Mercer.
"And on my honour I never will!" I said excitedly.
"Right, then, so far," said Lomax. "Now about those gloves. If I
recollect right, they're eight-and-six a pair, and two pairs are
seventeen shillings."
"And the carriage," said Mercer.
"Stop a bit. I think, being an old soldier, and teaching, the makers'll
take something off for me. I know they'll send 'em down carriage paid,
and Jem Roff'll get 'em for me from the cross when the waggon goes in.
Got your money?"
"I've got half a sovereign," said Mercer.
"I've got seven shillings," I said.
"Hand over then," said the sergeant, and we lightened our purses
tremendously.
"That's right," said Lomax. "Now about the pay for the lessons. I want
that in advance."
"Oh!" we both ejaculated in dismay.
"We can't pay now, Lom," said Mercer, "but we will."
"Yes, you can."
"But how?"
"Give me your fists, both of you, in a hearty soldier's grip, my lads.
That's my pay in advance, and if in less than six months you two don't
give those two bullies a big dressing down, why, I'm a Dutchman."
"Oh, Lom!"
"Oh, thank you!" I cried.
"Thank you, my lads, and God bless you both. Fighting's generally bad,
but it's good sometimes. There, be off, both of you, and I'll write a
letter for those gloves to-night."
We left him with our hearts beating high.
"I don't mind my face swelling a bit now," said Mercer.
"I should like to begin learning to-morrow," I said, and then we were
both silent for a few minutes, till Mercer turned round with a queer
laugh on his swollen face.
"I say," he cried, with a chuckle, "I wonder whether old Dicksee will
cry cock-a-doodle-doo next time when we've done."
"Let's wait and see," said I; and that night I dreamed that I was a
wind-mill, and that every time my sails, which were just the same as
arms, went round, they came down bang on Dicksee's head, and made him
yell.
I woke up after that dream, to find it was broad daylight, and crept out
of bed to look at my face in the glass, and shrank away aghast, for my
lip was more swollen, and there was a nasty dark look under my eye.