"We're all right there. Work away, Shock, and let's finish loading up,
and then we'll have our breakfast. Nice sort o' looking party you are,
to take anywhere to feed," he grumbled, as he glanced at Shock, whose
appearance was certainly not much in his favour.
It was much easier work loading with empty baskets, and besides there
was not a full load, so that it was not very long before Ike had them
all piled up to his satisfaction and the ropes undone and thrown over
and over and laced in and out and hooked and tied and strained to the
sides of the cart.
"That's the way we does it, squire," cried Ike; "haul away, Shock, my
lad. You've worked well. Old Bonyparty's had the best of it; this is
his rest and feeding time. You might leave him there hours; but as soon
as it's time to go home, away he starts, and there's no stopping him.
"That's about it," he said, as he fastened off a rope. "That'll do. We
sha'n't want no more for this lot. Now don't you two leave the cart.
I'm going up to Mr Blackton, our salesman, you know, just to see if
he's anything to say, and then we'll go and have our braxfass. Don't
you chaps leave the cart."
"I sha'n't go," I said, and I glanced at Shock, who climbed up to the
top of the baskets, and lay down flat on his face, so as to be away from
me as it seemed, but I could see him watching me out of one eye from
time to time.
"I wonder whether he will ever be different," I thought to myself, as I
watched the selling of a huge load of beautifully white bunches of
turnips, as regular and clean as could be, when all at once I felt a
blow in my back, and looking sharply round, there were several of the
ragged boys who haunted the market grinning at me.
There was no handy place for me to post myself again so as to stop the
throwing, and I had to content myself with looking at them angrily; but
that did no good, for they separated, getting behind baskets and stacks
of baskets, like so many sharpshooters, and from thence laid siege to
me, firing shots with bits of market refuse, and anything they could
find.
I generally managed to dodge the missiles, but the boys were clever
enough to hit me several times, and with my blood boiling, and fingers
tingling to pull their ears or punch their dirty heads, I had to stand
fast and bear it all.
Barelegged, barefooted, and as active as cats, I felt sure that if I
chased one he would dodge in and out and escape me, and as to throwing
back at them, I was not going to stoop to do that.
"Dirty young vagabonds!" I said to myself, and I looked at them
contemptuously with as much effect as if I had directed my severe looks
at a market basket; and then I went and leaned against the end of the
cart, determined to take no notice of them, and wishing that Ike would
come back.
The young rascals only grew more impudent though, and came nearer, two
in particular, and one of them, quite a little fellow with a big head
and two small dark shiny eyes, over which his shock head of hair kept
falling, ran right in, making charges at me, and striking at me with a
muddy little fist, while his companion made pokes with a stick.
This was getting beyond bearing, for I was not a wild beast in a cage
unable to get away; but still I determined not to be led into any
disgraceful struggle with the dirty little blackguards.
I was not afraid of them, for I was too angry for that, and nothing
would have given me greater satisfaction than to have come to blows.
But that would not do, I knew.
I glanced round and saw that there were plenty of people about, but they
were all too busy with their own affairs to take much notice of me, so
that if I wanted to free myself from the pack of young ruffians I must
act for myself.
The attack went on, and I should have fared worse, only that it soon
became evident that ammunition was running short; and failing this, the
boys began to throw words, while the two most daring kept making rushes
at me and then shrank back ready to throw themselves down if I should
strike at them.
All at once I thought of Ike's great cart-whip, and in the full
confidence that I could make it crack as loudly and as well as its
master I determined to give it a good whish or two in the air.
It was stuck high up in one of the staples in the front of the cart,
and, determined to climb up and reach it down, I turned and raised one
foot to a spoke of the great wheel, when the two foremost boys uttered a
yell and made a furious onslaught upon me.
They were too late, for in an instant I had seen the object of their
advance. There was no doubt about it. They were keeping my attention
from what was going on upon the other side, where one of their
companions had been stealing along under cover of some baskets, and was
just in the act of untying one of the coils of nearly new rope, which
had not been required and hung from the ladder.
The young thief had that moment finished, and slipped his arm through,
catching sight of me at the same time, and darting off.
I did not stop to think. In one flash I realised that I had been left
in charge of the cart, and had been so poor a sentry that I had allowed
the enemy to get possession of something that I ought to have protected,
and thinking of what Ike would say, and later on of Old Brownsmith, I
ran off after the thief.