[Illustration: "OSWALD ACTUALLY HIT OUT AT THE BIG MAN"]
Oswald was so enraged at this cowardly attack that he actually hit out
at the big man--and he really got one in just above the belt. Then he
shut his eyes, because he felt that now all was indeed up. There was a
shout and a scuffle, and Oswald opened his eyes in astonishment at
finding himself still whole and unimpaired. Our own tramp had artfully
stimulated insensibleness, to get the men off their guard, and then had
suddenly got his arms round a leg each of two of the men, and pulled
them to the ground, helped by Dicky, who saw his game and rushed in at
the same time, exactly like Oswald would have done if he had not had his
eyes shut ready to meet his doom.
The unpleasant boys shouted, and the third man tried to help his
unrespectable friends, now on their backs, involved in a desperate
struggle with our own tramp, who was on top of them, accompanied by
Dicky. It all happened in a minute, and it was all mixed up. The dogs
were growling and barking--Martha had one of the men by the trouser leg
and Pincher had another; the girls were screaming like mad and the
strange boys shouted and laughed (little beasts!), and then suddenly our
Pig-man came round the corner, and two friends of his with him. He had
gone and fetched them to take care of us if anything unpleasant
occurred. It was very thoughtful, and just like him.
"Fetch the police!" cried the Pig-man in noble tones, and H. O. started
running to do it. But the scoundrels struggled from under Dicky and our
tramp, shook off the dogs and some bits of trouser, and fled heavily
down the road.
Our Pig-man said, "Get along home!" to the disagreeable boys, and
"Shoo'd" them as if they were hens, and they went. H. O. ran back when
they began to go up the road, and there we were, all standing breathless
and in tears on the scene of the late desperate engagement. Oswald gives
you his word of honor that his and Dicky's tears were tears of pure
rage. There are such things as tears of pure rage. Any one who knows
will tell you so.
We picked up our own tramp and bathed the lump on his forehead with
lemonade. The water in the zinc bath had been upset in the struggle.
Then he and the Pig-man and his kind friends helped us carry our things
home.
The Pig-man advised us on the way not to try these sort of kind actions
without getting a grown-up to help us. We've been advised this before,
but now I really think we shall never try to be benevolent to the poor
and needy again. At any rate not unless we know them very well first.
We have seen our own tramp often since. The Pig-man gave him a job. He
has got work to do at last. The Pig-man says he is not such a very bad
chap, only he will fall asleep after the least drop of drink. We know
that is his failing. We saw it at once. But it was lucky for us he fell
asleep that day near our benevolent bar.
I will not go into what my father said about it all. There was a good
deal in it about minding your own business--there generally is in most
of the talkings to we get. But he gave our tramp a sovereign, and the
Pig-man says he went to sleep on it for a solid week.