IN WHICH ERNEST SAILS THE SPLASH, AND TAKES A BATH.
Difficult as the task was, I had thus far kept cool; but my sentence
fell heavily upon me, and I could not help being angry, for I felt
that I had been treated unfairly and unjustly. Poodles's statement had
been accepted, and mine rejected; his word had been taken, while mine,
which ought at least to have passed for as much as his, was utterly
disregarded.
I turned upon my heel and went to my seat. My movement was sharp and
abrupt, but I did not say anything.
"Stop!" said Mr. Parasyte, who evidently believed that the moment had
come for him to vindicate his authority.
I did not stop.
"Stop, I say!" repeated the principal.
I proceeded to pick up my books and papers, to enable me to comply
literally with my sentence.
"Come here, Thornton."
I took no notice of the order, but continued to pack up my things.
"Do you hear me?" demanded Mr. Parasyte, in a loud and angry tone.
"I do hear you, sir. I have been expelled, and I don't care about
listening to any more speeches."
"If you don't come here, I'll bring you here," added the principal,
with emphasis.
Somewhat to my surprise, but greatly to my satisfaction, the boys made
no demonstration in my favor. They seemed to think I was now in a mood
to fight my own battle, though they were doubtless ready to aid me if
I needed any help. Mr. Parasyte appeared to have begun in a way which
indicated that he intended to maintain his authority, even at the risk
of a personal encounter with me and the boys who had voluntarily
espoused my cause.
Having packed up my books and papers, I took the bundle under my arm,
and deliberately walked out of the school-room. The principal ordered
me to stop; but as he had already sentenced me to expulsion, I could
see no reason why I should yield any further allegiance to the magnate
of the institution. He was very angry, which was certainly an
undignified frame of mind for a gentleman in his position; and I was
smarting under the wrong and injustice done to me. Mr. Parasyte
stopped to procure his hat, which gave me the advantage in point of
time, and I reached the little pier at which my boat was moored before
he overtook me.
I hauled in the painter, and pushed off, hoisting the mainsail as the
boat receded from the wharf. Mr. Parasyte reached the pier while I was
thus engaged.
"Stop, Thornton!" shouted he.
"I would rather not stop any longer," I replied, running up the
foresail.
"Will you come back, or I shall bring you back?" demanded he,
fiercely.
"Neither, if you please."
"If you wish to save trouble, you will come back," said he.
"I'm not particular about saving trouble. If you have any business
with me, I will return."
"I have business with you."
"Will you please to tell me what it is?"
"No, I will not."
"Then you will excuse me if I go home," I added, as I hoisted the jib.
There was only a very light breeze, and the Splash went off very
slowly. I took my seat at the helm, trying to keep as cool as
possible, though my bosom bounded with emotion. I was playing a
strange part, and I was not at home in it. I could not help feeling
that I was riding "a high horse;" but the injustice done me seemed to
warrant it.
"Poodles, call the men," I heard Mr. Parasyte say to his flunky, and
saw him run off to execute the command.
"Once more, Thornton, I ask you to come back," said the principal,
still standing on the pier, from which the Splash had receded not more
than a couple of rods.
"If you have any business with me, sir, I will do so," I replied. "You
have expelled me from the school, and I don't think you have anything
more to do with me."
"I want no words or arguments. It will be better for you to come
back."
"Perhaps it will; but I shall not come."
There was not breeze enough to enable me to make a mile an hour, and I
had some doubts in regard to the result, if Mr. Parasyte persisted. He
did persist, and presently Poodles returned with two men, who were
employed upon the school estate, and whose services were so often
required in the boats that they were good oarsmen. I comprehended the
principal's plan at once. He intended to chase me in the boat, and
bring me back by force. I was rather amused at the idea, and should
have been more so if there had been a fair sailing breeze.
The Splash was the fastest boat on the lake, or, at least, faster than
any with which I had had an opportunity to measure paces. But it made
but little difference how fast she was, as long as there was hardly
wind enough to stiffen the mainsail. Mr. Parasyte ordered the men to
take their places on the thwarts, and ship their oars. I saw that a
little farther out from the shore there was a ripple on the water, and
putting one of my oars out at the stern, I sculled till I caught the
breeze, and the Splash went off at a little livelier pace.
By this time all the boys had gathered on the bank of the lake to see
the fun, and it _was_ fun to them. I knew that their sympathies were
with me, and I only wished for a better breeze, that I might do
justice to myself and to my boat. But the chances for me were
improving as the Splash receded from the shore. Mr. Parasyte had taken
his place in the stern sheets of the row-boat, and was urging forward
the men at the oars, who were now pulling with all their might. I
could not conceal from myself the fact that they were gaining rapidly
upon me. Unless the wind increased, I should certainly be captured;
for the two men with the principal would ask no better sport than to
overhaul and roughly handle an unruly boy.
But the wind continued to increase as I went farther out upon the
lake, and I soon had all that was necessary to enable me to keep a
"respectful distance" between the Splash and the row-boat. By this
time my anger had abated, and I had begun to enjoy the affair. With a
six-knot breeze I could have it all my own way. I could still see the
boys on the shore, watching the chase with the liveliest interest and
satisfaction. They were not silent observers, for an occasional cheer
or shout was borne to my ears over the lake, and I could see the
waving of hats, and the swinging of arms, with which my friends
encouraged me to persevere.
Mr. Parasyte was resolute. He felt, doubtless, that the reputation of
the Parkville Liberal Institute, and his own reputation as a
disciplinarian, were at stake. The tumult in the school-room early in
the afternoon would weaken his power and influence over the boys,
unless its effects were counteracted by a triumph over me. Right or
wrong, he probably felt that he must put me down, or be sacrificed
himself; and he continued to urge his oarsmen forward, intent upon
capturing and subduing me.
While I had the breeze I felt perfectly easy. I had stood out from the
shore with the wind on the beam, and there was nothing to prevent my
running before it directly to the cottage of my uncle. I was disposed
to tantalize my pursuer, and wear out his men. I knew that my silent
guardian would not thank me for leading Mr. Parasyte into his
presence, and I was willing to gratify him in this instance. Besides,
the students on the shore seemed to derive too much enjoyment from the
scene to have the sport cut short. Hauling aft the sheets, I stood
down the lake, close to the wind, until I had brought my pursuer
astern of me. I then brought the Splash up into the wind, and coolly
waited for the row-boat to come up within hailing distance.
Mr. Parasyte, deceived by my position, thought his time had come. He
was much excited, and with renewed zeal pressed his oarsmen to
increase their efforts. When he had approached within a few rods of
me, I put up the helm, and dashed away again towards the pier. Again I
distanced him, and ran as near to the pier as I dared to go, fearful
that I might lose the wind under the lee of a bluff below the school
grounds. The boys hailed me with a cheer, which must have been
anything but soothing to the feelings of Mr. Parasyte. Then, "wing and
wing," I ran off before the wind; and, still unwilling to deprive my
friends of the excitement of witnessing the race, I again stood out
towards the middle of the lake.
The principal could not give up the pursuit without abandoning the
high position he had taken, and subjecting himself to the derision of
the students. He followed me, therefore, and I led him over the same
course he had gone before. On my return I unfortunately ran in a
little too near the shore, and got under the lee of the bluff, which
nearly becalmed me. I realized that I had made a fatal blunder, and I
wished I had disappointed the boys, and continued on my course across
the lake, where the wind favored me. I tried to scull the Splash out
of the still water before Mr. Parasyte came up.
"Pull with all your might, men!" said the principal, excitedly; and
they certainly did so.
Seeing that he was upon me, I attempted to come about, and run off
before the wind; but I had lost my steerage-way. I suppose I was
somewhat "flurried" by the danger of my situation, and did not do as
well as I might have done.
"Pull! Pull!" shouted Mr. Parasyte, nervously, as he steered the
row-boat.
Thus urged, the men did pull better than I had ever known them to do
before. The principal of the Parkville Liberal Institute was no
boatman himself, and his calculations were miserably deficient, or
else his intentions were more vicious than I had given him credit for.
He was angry and excited; and as I looked at him, it seemed to me that
he did not know what he was about. The Splash lay broadside to him.
She was a beautiful craft, built light and graceful, rather than
strong and substantial. On the other hand, the row-boat was a solid,
sharp, ram-nosed craft, setting low in the water; and on it came at
the highest speed to which it could be urged by the powerful muscles
of the strong men at the oars.
"Pull! Pull!" repeated Mr. Parasyte, fiercely, under the madness of
the excitement and the resentment caused by the hard chase I had led
him.
"Down with your helm, or you will smash me!" I shouted, seeing that a
collision was inevitable.
If Mr. Parasyte did not intend to run me down, my warning was too
late. The row-boat came upon me like a whirlwind, striking the Splash
on the beam, below her water-line, and staving in her side as though
she had been a card box. I do not know whether this was a part of the
principal's programme or not; but my boat was most effectually
smashed, and, being heavily ballasted, she went down like a rock. It
was hardly an instant after the shock before I felt her sinking
beneath me. The two men at the oars of the principal's boat, without
any order from Mr. Parasyte,--for he knew not what to do,--backed
water. I could swim like a fish; and as the Splash sank beneath me, I
struck out from the wreck, and was left like a waif floating upon the
glassy surface of the lake.
[Illustration: ERNEST SAILS THE SPLASH AND TAKES A BATH. Page 54.]