"Now I'll race you, Mr Wagram."
"You'll do nothing of the sort. When I consented to take charge of
you--a weighty responsibility in itself--I did so on condition that it
was at your own risk. In short, the average railway company couldn't
have contracted itself out of its liabilities more completely."
They were skimming along at the rate of about ten miles an hour, and
that on an ideal road, smooth, dustless, and shaded by overhanging
woods. Yvonne was trying how far she could ride with both hands off the
handlebars, and performing various reckless feats, to the no small
anxiety of her escort.
"Slow down here," said the latter. "This pace isn't safe; too many
rabbits."
"Too many rabbits?" echoed the girl. Then she gave forth a peal of
laughter.
"Yes; it's a screaming joke, isn't it? But it may surprise you to hear
that I've known of more than one bad spill caused by a fool of a rabbit
dodging under the wheel, especially at night."
"Really? You're not stuffing me?"
"Well, can't you see for yourself how easily the thing might happen?
They're crossing the road in gangs in both directions, and a rabbit is
sometimes as great a fool as a human being in crossing a road, in that
it is liable to change its mind and run back again. Result in either
case, a bad spill for the bicyclist. You needn't go far for an
instance. Saunders, the chemist's assistant in Bassingham, was nearly
killed that way. He was coasting down Swanton Hill in the moonlight,
and a rabbit ran under his wheel. He was chucked off, and got
concussion of the brain."
"Fancy being killed by a rabbit!"
"Yes. Sounds funny, doesn't it? Here's Pritchett's."
They had emerged from the woods into an open road, beside which stood a
large farmhouse. The farmer was somewhere about the place; he couldn't
be very far off, they were informed. His wife was away, but might be
back any minute. Should Mr Pritchett be sent for?
"No, no," said Wagram; "just find a boy to show me where he is. I'll go
to him. Yvonne, you'd better wait here for me; a rest will do you no
harm."
"All safe. Don't be longer than you can help."
But Yvonne could not sit still for long, being of a restless
temperament. She was soon outside again, and, promptly tiring of the
ducks and fowls, she wandered down the shady road they had just come
along.
Not far along this she came to a five-barred gate, opening into a broad
green lane with high hedges, leading into the wood at right angles to
the main road. In these hedges several whitish objects caught her
glance.
"Honeysuckles," she said to herself. "Beauties, too, if only I can
reach them."
In a moment she had opened the gate and was in the lane. But the
coveted blossoms grew high, badly needing the aid of a hooked stick.
She looked around for something approximating to one and found it. Then
followed a good deal of scrambling, and at last, hot and flushed and a
little scratched, Yvonne made her way back to the gate, trying to reduce
into portable size and shape the redundant stems of the fragrant
creeper. Being thus intent she did not look up until she had reached
the gate, and then with a slight start, for she discovered that she was
no longer alone.
Standing on the other side of the gate, but facing her, with both elbows
lounged over the top bar, was a pasty-faced, loosely-hung youth, clad in
a bicycle suit of cheap build and loud design. This precious product
nodded to her with a familiar grin but made no attempt to move.
"Will you make way for me, please? I wish to pass," she said crisply.
This time the fellow winked.
"Not until you've paid toll, dear," he said, with nauseous significance.
It was well for him that Yvonne's hands held nothing more formidable
than a couple of bunches of honeysuckle. Had they held a whip or a
switch it is possible that the pasty face of this cowardly cur might
have been wealed in such wise as to last him for quite an indefinite
time.
"Will you stand away from that gate, please? I repeat that I want to
pass," she said in even more staccato tone than before. Her blue eyes
had grown steely, and there was a red flush in the centre of each cheek.
She glanced furtively on the ground; if even she could find a stone for
a weapon of defence; but the lane was soft and grassy, and stones there
were none. But all the fellow did was to drop his elbows farther down
over the top bar, so as to hold the gate more effectually.
"Not until you've paid toll, dear," he repeated. "Come, now, don't be
disagreeable. It's the rule of the road to take toll of a pretty girl
when you let her through a gate. You're only a kid, too, and I won't
give it away. Ooh--hah--hah!"
It would be impossible to convey an idea of the combined terror and
anguish conveyed in the above shout. Equally impossible would it be, we
fear, to convey the attitude struck, in sudden and swift transition, by
him who uttered it. He bounded back from the gate like an india-rubber
ball thrown against it, and with like velocity, for a tough and supple
ground-ash stick had descended upon that part of his person which his
forward lounge over the gate had left peculiarly suggestive of the
purpose; and with lightning-like swiftness again the stick came down,
conveying to the recipient some such sensation as that of being cut in
half by a red-hot bar. One appalled glimpse of Wagram's face, blazing
with white wrath above him, and the terrified bounder, ducking just in
time to avoid being seized by the collar, turned and fled down the road,
quite regardless, in his blind panic, of abandoning his bicycle, which
leaned against the hedge a few yards from the gate.
But for himself no more disastrous plan could he have conceived. Wagram
had no intention of letting him down so easily, and sprang in pursuit,
with the result that in about a moment he was flogging his victim along
the road at the best pace that either could by any possibility put
forward. At last the fellow lay down, and howled for mercy.
Giving him one final, pitiless, cutting "swish" as he rolled over,
Wagram ceased.
"You crawling cur," he said, still white with anger, and rather
breathless with his exertion, "I won't even give you the privilege of
apologising. That is one reserved for some slight semblance of a man;
but for a thing like you--Faugh!"
The thought seemed to sting him to such a degree of renewed ferocity
that his face changed again. Fearing a renewal of the chastisement the
cringing one fairly whimpered.
"You've nearly killed me," he groaned. "I didn't mean any harm, sir; it
was only a bit of fun."
"Fun!" Wagram turned away. He could not trust himself until he had put
a dozen yards between them. Then he turned again.
"Get your bicycle, and take yourself off," he said--"if you _can_ still
sit on it, that is." Then he returned to Yvonne.
"I am not pleased with you," he said. "You should not have gone
wandering off on your own account like that. And I'm responsible for
you to your father. What'll he say? The only bright side to it is that
I was in time to thrash that unutterable young brute within an inch of
his life. No, though; I didn't give him half enough," with a vicious
swish of the ground-ash through the air.
"Don't be angry with me, Mr Wagram," she answered, and the sweet,
fearless blue eyes were wet as she slipped her hand pleadingly through
his arm; "I'm so sorry."
There was no resisting this, and he thawed at once.
"Well, we'll think no more about it, dear. There, now, don't cry."
"No, I won't." She dashed away her tears with a smile. She thought so
much of Wagram that a displeased word from him was more to this happy,
sunny-hearted, spirited child than the occasion seemed to warrant. Then
a shout behind caused them both to turn.
They had strolled about a hundred yards from the gate, and now they saw
that the fellow had regained his bicycle. He was standing in the middle
of the road ready to mount, but at a safe distance.
"I'll have the law of you for this," he shouted, "you great, bullying
coward. I'd like to see you hit a man your own size. I'll have a
thousand pounds out of you for this job. You've committed a savage
assault on me, and you shall pay for it, by God! I know who you are, my
fine fellow, and you'll hear more about this; no blooming fear!"
"Oh, you haven't had enough?" called out Wagram. "All right. My bike's
just close by; I'll get it and come after you, then you shall have some
more," holding up the ground-ash. "Go on; I'll soon catch you up."
This was a new aspect of the affair. The fellow seemed cowed, for he
forthwith mounted his machine with some alacrity, and made off at a pace
which must have caused him agonies in the light of the raw state to
which his seating properties had just been reduced.
This is how the situation had come about. When Wagram returned to the
house with the farmer he found that Yvonne, tired of waiting, had
strolled off down the road, intending to pick wild flowers, or otherwise
amuse herself. Without a thought of anything untoward he had followed
her. The gate at which the affair began stood back from the road, and
was concealed by the jutting of the hedge from anyone approaching. But
the girl's indignant voice, clear as a bell, fell upon his ear, and
simultaneously he had caught sight of the objectionable cad's nether
extremities, as their owner, leaned over the gate. The idea suggested,
to open his knife, and in a couple of quick, noiseless slashes to cut
one of the fine, serviceable ground-ash plants growing on the bank, was
the work of a moment. It was the work of another moment to step
noiselessly behind the fellow just as he was delivering himself of his
second insult. The rest we know.
"Well, child, we shall have a lovely ride back," he said. "I believe
Mrs Pritchett has got some rather good strawberries and cream for you
before we start, to say nothing of some very inviting-looking home-made
bread and butter. She has come in, you know."
They had reached the farmhouse by now, and the farmer and his wife were
waiting for them in the porch.
"Come in miss, do," said the latter. "I know you'll like this." And
she beamed proudly, with a look at the spotless white tablecloth, and
the set-out of blushing strawberries and snowy cream, and the thin,
tempting slices of brown bread and butter. "I've made you a nice cup of
tea, too, Mr Wagram, sir. I don't know that you'll take a fancy to such
things," added the good dame ruefully.
"I'll take an immense fancy to a glass or two of your husband's
excellent home-brewed, Mrs Pritchett. Why, you're forgetting how I've
enjoyed it before to-day."
"Why, of course I am, sir," was the reply, immensely pleased; and in a
trice the farmer returned with a foam-capped jug and a glass.
"What's this?" said Wagram, with reference to the latter. "Why,
certainly you're going to keep me company, Pritchett."
"Well, sir, I shall be proud," was the answer, and the omission was
promptly rectified.
"Here are your healths," said Wagram, raising his glass. "I didn't see
you yesterday, Mrs Pritchett. Weren't you able to get over? Of course,
I don't mean necessarily for the service," he added quickly; "but you
ought to know by this time that all our friends are heartily welcome,
irrespective of their creed."
"Well, sir, you see it was this way," began the good woman with some
slight embarrassment.
"That's all right," interrupted Wagram genially. "Well, you'll know it
next time, I'm sure."
"That I shall, sir."
After a little more pleasant conversation they shook hands heartily with
the worthy couple and took their leave.
Just before the dressing-bell rang Haldane burst in upon Wagram in a
wholly unwonted state of excitement.
"What's this my little girl has been telling me, Wagram?" he said. "I
must go and kill the scoundrel at once. I'll borrow the Squire's
biggest hunting-crop."
"You can't, Haldane, if only that we haven't the remotest idea who the
said scoundrel is. It's probably some miserable counter-jumper doing a
bike round. But, sit tight; he's got enough to last him for many a long
day."
"Did you cut him to ribbons? Did you?"
"I cut his small-clothes to ribbons. By George, he'll have to launch
out in a new biking suit. No; great as the offence was, even I think he
got something like adequate compensation for it," added Wagram grimly,
as he called to mind the fellow's insults--and their object.
And with this assurance Haldane had perforce to remain satisfied.