TOPPIN'S DIVE
If Mr. Anderson, the junior English master, had not happened to meet
some friends as he was on his way to the swimming-bath with the boys,
this chapter would not have been written. But they were old friends, and
very unexpected, who were only visiting Elmridge for an hour or two. So
he acted as I suppose nine out of ten young men would have acted in the
same circumstances.
"Look here, boys," he said, running after the nearest group. "Can I
trust you to go on quietly to the baths by yourselves? I shall follow
you very shortly. You can all have your dip, and dress, and by that time
I shall be with you. You won't get into mischief, and play pranks, will
you? Promise!"
The four boys he addressed promised readily.
"Right! Green, you're one of the seniors; I put you in charge. See that
all goes on just as if I were there. No one stay in the water more than
twelve minutes."
"Very well, sir!"
And Mr. Anderson departed with light heart and clear conscience.
It was only a couple of days since the term began, and the very
chilling reception accorded to the day-scholars had made friendly
advances between the two factions next to impossible. A distant
toleration was just now the recognized attitude.
But there were two people who were "not playing the game". One was Jack
Brady, who persisted in walking first with one party and then the other,
and refused point-blank to be distant towards anyone. The other was the
youngest scholar of Brincliffe, one Hugill Trevelyan, commonly known as
"Toppin". He was only seven, and did not understand the meaning of a
civil war. Toppin had been sent to school with his elder brother Escombe
because his parents were abroad.
The March Hare (Massimiliano Graglia, to give him once for all his right
name), who was two years Toppin's senior, and therefore better able to
quarrel to order without knowing the reason why, had a great affection
for him, and, when possible, would take charge of him. Toppin being a
very independent young man, however, this was not often possible. More
frequently he would patronize the March Hare, and explain to him English
words or ways that were puzzling.
It chanced that this afternoon three day-boys, Bacon, Armitage, and
Simmons, were in advance of the rest of the school, who were sauntering
behind in clusters of threes and fours. Hughes was not with Simmons,
being forbidden by his doctor to indulge in swimming at present. Bacon
looked back just as Mr. Anderson was turning in the opposite direction
with his friends.
"Hullo, what sport!" he exclaimed. "Andy's given us the slip!"
"Be joyful! Let's race for the best boxes!" said Armitage. "We shall be
in the water long before the other slow-coaches have reached the baths.
One, two, three--off!"
Now Toppin was one of the group behind, and being naturally fleet of
foot, a race was a thing he could not resist. So he took to his heels
and pursued them.
Jack Brady and the March Hare were walking with Toppin, and if it had
been practicable, the Hare would have accompanied him in the race, but
if there was one thing of which the March Hare was incapable, it was
running. Jack, who had found this out, checked him from making the
attempt.
"Let Toppin go, Harey, and you stay with me," he said. There was a look
of satisfaction on his face. It was fine to see even the smallest
boarder chevying three day-boys!
Toppin ran his fastest, and panted into the baths only a yard behind
Simmons.
"Why, if here isn't the kid! What the dickens has brought you after us,
young un?"
"I saw you--racing," panted Toppin, "and I wanted to see--if I
couldn't--catch you. And I did!"
His thick red hair was tumbled by the wind, and the odd little tuft
which had won him his nickname stuck up very prominently. The small pink
face was aglow with triumph, as he stood gasping for breath, and looking
up at the three older boys, his hands planted in his pockets and his
feet apart.
"You're a boarder," said Armitage, with a touch of contempt.
"I should think I am! Rather!" was Toppin's proud reply.
"Well, you'd better trot back to your friends, and bathe with them.
We're not going to wait for anyone."
"Nor aren't I," said Toppin carelessly.
"Come on!" shouted Simmons from a box. "Don't waste time!"
Preparation for a bath is not a long process with a boy. Garments were
dragged off and tossed about, and in a minute they were ready, and
dancing round the edge of the clear green water.
Avoiding the steps as a matter of course, Toppin was swinging his arms
preparatory to jumping into the shallow end, when, seeing Simmons
skipping along the plank that led to the diving-board, in the part where
the water was marked "5 ft.", he paused to watch. Simmons raised his
hands above his head, curved his body, and dived.
"Oo!" cried Toppin admiringly.
Presently a head appeared, rolling round and blowing. Simmons was
swimming towards Toppin. Bacon was now preparing to take a header.
"I say, Lucy, you're not a tall chap. No more aren't I. Why can't I swim
and dive?"
"It isn't size that's needed, it's talent," observed Simmons, treading
water, as he winked at the little fellow.
"Rot!" said Toppin decidedly. There was a loud splash. Bacon had
vanished.
"Up he comes again!" cried Toppin, clapping his hands in an ecstasy.
"Oh, I'm going to dive to-day. You can see how easy it is. Let me have a
shot before the others come, case I fail."
"Better wait a year or two, Top," said Simmons, deliberately turning a
somersault.
"I'm bovvered if I do!" cried Toppin, scampering round to the
diving-board. He was in a state of great excitement. "I'm going to dive,
and turn head over heels, and stamp in the water, just like you."
"Oh, let the nipper see what he can do!" said Armitage, laughing. He was
standing on the diving-board. "There's nothing like beginning early. Can
you swim, kiddie?"
"Not--not far," said Toppin cautiously. "I can swim with my arms all
right, only I sometimes put one foot on the ground."
"If you don't swim, you'll sink, you know," explained Armitage. "This is
deep water."
"Not so very; only five feet," rejoined Toppin. "I'm not funky. Of
course I know _how_ to swim. I've watched frogs awfully closely."
"Well, then, up with your hands--same as you saw the other two."
Toppin lifted them high, the tips of his fingers met in the approved
style, and he took a long breath. Then, gradually, his hands fell back
to his sides, and the breath ended in a sigh. Armitage pushed the child
impatiently aside.
"Get away, you silly little coward! I'm not going to waste my time
standing over you. Go back to the shallow end, and dance at the ropes.
We'll come over and duck you."
Toppin was quivering, but his face flushed crimson, and, thrusting
himself forward once more, he laid a hand pleadingly on Armitage's
wrist. At the same moment a clatter on the stone stairs told of the
approach of section number two.
"Give us one more chance, Armie, please! I promise not to funk it again.
Listen, they're just coming!"
"You'll not do it," said Armitage.
"Won't I, though! Look here! count three, and then give me a tiny push."
As Jack and the March Hare entered the saloon they heard Armitage say,
"Very well. One, two, three; now go!"
There was a faint, quickly-checked cry, and then a little splash. Toppin
was under the water.
The same instant the March Hare--hat, boots, and all--had leapt in, and
was fighting his way towards the deep end.
Jack's first impulse was to tear off his coat and follow the Hare's
example; but when he saw a little red head appear and immediately be
captured, and when he realized that Bacon, Simmons, and Armitage were
all swimming to the rescue, he refrained.
Although the March Hare was the first to lay hold of Toppin's crest, the
next minute he was himself in need of rescue. The Hare had only advanced
to the swimming stage when both hands and feet are absolutely necessary,
and the pause to seize his friend had sufficed, when combined with the
weight of his garments, to sink him; so Toppin dived for the second
time, in company with the March Hare.
"Quick!" yelled Jack, "or there'll be two drowned! Shall I come?"
[Illustration]
But the pair had risen again, and were clutched and violently wrenched
apart by Armitage and Bacon. For the March Hare's grip of the red locks
was very tight.
Bacon found Toppin fairly easy to land, but the Hare, in full walking
costume, was quite another matter, and Simmons's help was required.
Besides, Toppin kept quiet when commanded to, while the March Hare
fought and struggled, and had to have his head thumped severely.
Fortunately the steps were not far off, and Jack awaited them there.
He was frightened when he saw that Toppin's familiar little pink face
had changed to an ivory-white, and that his eyes were shut. Was he
senseless, or worse? Jack grasped the small, dripping body in his arms,
and staggered to where the bell hung that summoned the attendant. He
pealed it loudly, and sank down beneath it to wait. Other boys had
arrived during the incident, and were now pressing round, questioning
and jabbering. Jack had nothing to say to them. He was hard at work
chafing the motionless form, and his brain was in a whirl. What if
Toppin never moved or spoke again!
Suddenly the eyelids lifted: Toppin looked straight into Jack's face.
"May I move now?" he asked innocently. Oh, what a relief it was to hear
his voice!
"You young fraud!" exclaimed Jack; but his own voice shook, and he was
glad to surrender his charge into the hands of the attendant, a man
trained for his position. The March Hare, who was shivering beside him,
sobbed with joy when he saw one small leg draw itself up, and an arm
move a few inches, at their owner's will.
"Top-peen! Top-peen!" he cried. "You are not died!"
Toppin stared at his friend over a tea-spoon. He was sipping hot
spirits-and-water, and wondering what it was. But Jack turned upon the
March Hare.
"We shall be standing you head downwards in a minute, Hare. You're next
door to drowning yourself. Get up, and come with me!"
The Hare protested feebly, with chattering teeth. But the attendant
thrust a spoonful of Toppin's drink between them, and counselled Jack to
take him to his wife. That good woman stripped the Hare in a twinkling,
wrapped him in a blanket, and set him before her kitchen fire to watch
his garments dry. Jack meanwhile returned to the saloon, to find Toppin
clothed once more, and curled up on the matting, near the heating
apparatus, munching a biscuit.
"How do you feel now, Top?" he asked, stooping to see his face.
"Pretty bobbish, thanks, Brady," was the answer, and it told that Toppin
was himself again.
"You'll have to look sharp if you want a dip, Brady," called Green.
"Andy'll be round in a minute, I expect."
"Thanks! I'm not bathing to-day," was the response.
Just then Escombe Trevelyan, who was swimming lazily about, landed at
the steps close by, and beckoned Jack to come nearer.
"I want to hear the truth of this affair, Brady," he began in a
confidential undertone. "Did you see it happen?"
"Which part? I saw the March Hare leap in with his hat on his head and
his towel on his arm. He did look properly mad, I can tell you!"
"I mean before that, when Toppin went under."
"They say he actually took a dive from the board, don't they?"
"Yes, but I want to get hold of someone who saw it. I can't understand
his being such an absolute little fool, and I can't worry the kid
himself about it just at present."
So saying, Escombe swam off once more.
Armitage was the next to approach Jack. He looked rather pale, but began
by talking rapidly about a paper-chase that was being planned. Jack knew
well enough that this was not what he wanted to talk about, but he
walked away from the bath with him, still pleasantly discussing starts
and times, till they found themselves alone on the stone stairs. Then
Armitage came to a stand-still, and his tone changed.
"Brady, I want to speak to you; I want to explain, you know, about
Toppin."
"Oh, I saw you push!" remarked Jack bluntly.
"I'm not going to deny it, but do you know that he begged me to? You
came in too late to hear that."
"If I hand you a pistol and ask you to shoot me, will you do it?"
"Don't be a fool, Brady. There was no danger. I shouldn't have let him
drown."
"He precious nearly did."
"That was the March Hare's fault. I shouldn't have let him sink again."
"Then you think you were right to push him in, Armitage? I don't. Shall
we ask Anderson's opinion?"
"No, Jack, I beg and implore you to keep it dark. Of course I should
never do it again. But Simmons and Bacon have sworn not to bring me into
the affair. Toppin knows it was his own fault, and is a bit ashamed of
it. There's only the March Hare besides yourself. I thought perhaps you
might persuade him--"
A shadow darkened the open entrance. There was a stamping on the
door-mat, and then Mr. Anderson appeared on the stairs. Jack advanced to
meet him.
"Finished your bath, Brady?"
"Yes, sir. I mean, I haven't had one. All the rest have. I wanted to
tell you there's been a little--a little commotion, sir."
"What on earth do you mean? Not an accident?"
"No, sir; only it might have been. Toppin--little Trevelyan, that
is--got into the deep end, and the March Hare--you know the boy I mean,
sir--he thought he was drowning, and jumped in after him with his things
on, and so they had to haul them both out. Toppin's as right as a trivet
again, and as warm as a toast. And the Hare isn't hurt either, but he
has to sit in a blanket and wait for his clothes to dry."
Mr. Anderson looked very agitated, and his voice betrayed his feelings.
"Why couldn't you behave as if I was with you? Really, it is absurd to
think that all you elder lads can't manage to keep an eye on the juniors
for twenty minutes. Where are these two boys? Take me to them directly!
What do you suppose Mr. West will say? He'll certainly be extremely
angry with you all. I shouldn't be surprised if he stops your coming
here."
"We wondered whether you would feel obliged to tell him, sir," said Jack
thoughtfully. "Of course, if you must, you must; but it doesn't seem as
if there was much to be gained by it, does there? The March Hare and
Toppin have learnt their lesson pretty thoroughly."
Mr. Anderson frowned and bit his finger, and the toe of his boot
tap-tapped on the ground. It was evident he was undecided. Presently he
looked at Jack.
"You mean that, provided I find these two lads absolutely none the worse
for their ducking, you beg me, as a great favour, not to carry a report
to Mr. West?"
"Yes, sir," Jack responded briskly.
"Well, I won't promise, but I'll think it over."
Mr. Anderson's thought ended in a decision which he announced to the
boys when they were gathered together.
"For once, and once only, I have consented to spare you all from certain
punishment by not reporting to Mr. West this accident, which you ought
to have prevented. But you must never ask or expect to be shielded by me
again. Now we will go for a brisk walk as usual, and call for Graglia
and Trevelyan minor on the way back. I dare say they will be ready for
us by that time."
Now, none of the boys, except those immediately concerned in the
accident, had realized that they were in any danger of punishment; but
when the matter was set before them in this light, their gratitude to
Mr. Anderson was profound.
"Oh, thank you!"
"Thank you, sir, very much!"
"It sha'n't happen again, sir!"
"Thank you awfully, sir!"
Pleasure and surprise were equally mingled in the boys' expressions. But
Jack caught a murmur from Cadbury, very soft and low,
"It's six for us, and half a dozen for yourself, eh, Andy?"