IN WHICH ERNEST STRIKES A HEAVY BLOW, AND WINS ANOTHER VICTORY.
I was astonished at my own prowess, as I stood, with heaving breast,
gazing at the prostrate form of the vanquished tyrant. I was a stout
young fellow, heavy enough and strong enough for a boy of fifteen; but
I did not regard myself as a match for a full-grown man. I suppose the
fury and impetuosity of the onslaught I made had given me the victory
before Mr. Parasyte was able to bring all his power to bear upon me.
I was satisfied with what I had done, and did not care to do any more.
I wished to leave; but the principal had locked the door, and put the
key into his pocket. I glanced at the window, hoping to find a means
of egress in that direction, though it was at least ten feet above the
ground. But ten feet are nothing to a boy of spirit; and I was moving
towards the window, intending to take the leap, when Mr. Parasyte
sprang to his feet, and confronted me again. If ever a man wore the
expression of a demon, the principal of the Parkville Liberal
Institute did at that moment; and it was patent to me that, unless I
could effect my escape, my trials and troubles had but just commenced.
I was more disposed to use strategy than force; for, in spite of the
victory I had won, I was fearful that the tyrant "carried too many
guns" for me. The malignity of his aspect was accompanied by an
expression of pain, as though he had been injured by his fall. This
was in my favor, if I was to be again compelled to break a lance with
him.
"You villain!" gasped Mr. Parasyte, with one hand upon his side. "How
dare you resist?"
"I have no fancy for being cut to pieces with a cowhide," I replied,
as coolly as I could, which, however, was not saying much.
"Your uncle wished me to reduce you to subjection, and to flog you
till you came to your senses."
"I am not very grateful to my uncle for his request; and I have to
say, that I will not be tamely flogged either by you or by him."
"What do you mean to do?" demanded he, apparently astonished to find
me so resolute.
"I mean to resist as long as I am flogged," I replied, twisting the
cowhide I still held in my hand.
Saying this, I jumped upon the window-seat, and unfastened the sash.
"Stop!" said he, moving towards me.
"I know what you mean now; and if you come near me, I will hit you
over the head with the butt-end of this cowhide," I replied, raising
the sash.
"I intend to reduce you to subjection at any hazard," he added.
Without making reply, I attempted to get out of the window in such a
way that I could drop to the ground, or "hang off" with my hands. In
doing this, I laid myself open to the assault of the enemy, who was
prompt in perceiving his advantage, and in availing himself of it.
Seizing me by the collar with both hands, he dragged me back into the
office, and hurled me heavily upon the floor, at the same time
wrenching the cowhide from my grasp. I sprang to my feet with the
celerity of a wounded tiger; but the principal began to beat me with a
zeal corresponding to his malignity.
A heavy round ruler on the desk, which had before attracted my
attention, was available as a weapon, and in the fury of my passion I
grasped it. Without thought or consideration except in my own defence,
I sprang upon the tyrant again, and dealt him several heavy blows with
the implement, until one was planted in such a place on his head that
it knocked him insensible upon the floor. Panting like a hunted deer
from the rage which filled my soul, and from the violence of my
exertions, I gazed upon the work I had done. Mr. Parasyte lay
motionless upon the floor. I took the key from his vest pocket, and
unlocked the door.
In the hall I found several persons, including Mrs. Parasyte, and Mr.
Hardy, one of the assistant teachers. They had been sitting in the
parlor opposite the office, and had heard the noise of the desperate
struggle between the principal and myself.
"What have you done!" exclaimed Mrs. Parasyte, greatly alarmed when
she saw her husband lying senseless upon the floor.
"This is bad business," added Mr. Hardy, as he hastened to the
assistance of the principal.
"Is he dead?" asked the wife, in tremulous tones.
"No--O, no! But he has had a heavy blow on the temple," replied the
teacher.
I assisted Mrs. Parasyte and Mr. Hardy in carrying my foe to his
chamber. I was alarmed myself. I feared that I had done more than I
intended to do. I went for the doctor at the lady's request; but
before my return Mr. Parasyte had come to his senses, and complained
of a severe sickness at his stomach. The physician carefully examined
him, and declared that his patient was not seriously injured. I need
not say that I was greatly relieved by this opinion. I left the room,
intending to depart from the house, though it was now nearly eleven
o'clock at night. Mr. Hardy followed me out into the hall, and wished
to know where I was going.
"Home," I replied.
"I'm afraid you have got into difficulty, Thornton," added he.
"I can't help it if I have. I didn't mean to hurt him so badly; but it
was his own fault."
"How did it happen?"
I told him how it happened; but Mr. Hardy expressed no opinion on the
merits of the case. He knew, as well as I did, that Mr. Parasyte had
been wrong from the beginning; but being in a subordinate position, it
was not proper for him to condemn his principal.
"The boys are in a riotous condition, and it is fortunate they do not
know of this affair. I hope you do not intend to inform them--at least
not to-night," he added.
"No, sir, I do not. I have tried from the first to keep the peace.
Poodles confessed to Mr. Parasyte that he had lied about the affair on
the pier, but he refused to believe him. I am sorry there has been any
trouble; but I couldn't help it."
Mr. Hardy was really troubled; but he could not say anything, and he
did not. He was a poor man, trying to earn the means to study a
profession by teaching, and a word or a look of sympathy to a rebel
like me would have cost him his situation. He was a just and a fair
man, and as such was loved and respected by all the students. Many of
the boys had often wished that he might be the principal of the
academy, instead of Mr. Parasyte, who had established and who still
owned the institution.
There was nothing more to be said or done, and I left the academy for
home. I was sincerely sorry for what had happened. Even a quarrel in
which I had been the victor had no pleasant reflections for me. I
would have submitted to any punishment except the flogging, and borne
the injustice of it without a complaint; but I had been required to
confess that of which I was not guilty, and I could not do that. I
hated a lie of any kind, and I could not tell one to save myself from
the consequences of the tyrant's rage and injustice.
I considered all the events of the day as I walked home, and came to
the conclusion that I was not to blame for the mischief that had been
done. If I had been haughty and disobedient, it was because I had been
treated badly. I certainly did not deserve flogging, and it would have
been impossible for me to submit to it. If I had been guilty, I could
have borne even that.
My uncle had counselled Mr. Parasyte to reduce me to subjection; and
much I marvelled that he had found words to say so much. It was an
evidence of interest in me which he had never before manifested. It
was plain that, in the settlement of the difficulty, I must count upon
the opposition of my uncle, who had already espoused the principal's
side of the quarrel. But I did not make any rash resolves, preferring
to act as my sense of right and justice should dictate when the time
for action came.
As I approached the cottage by the lake, I saw a light in my uncle's
library. My guardian sat up late at night, and rose early in the
morning. He did not sleep well, and he always looked pale and haggard.
He was a misanthrope in the worst sense of the word. He seemed to have
no friends, and to care for no one in the world--not even for himself.
Certainly he had no regard for me.
Of his past history I knew nothing; but I had already concluded that
he had been subjected to some terrible disappointment or injustice. He
appeared to suffer all the time; and if he would have permitted it,
how gladly would I have assuaged his woe by my sympathy! He was cold
and forbidding, and would not permit me to speak a word to him. I had
once tried to make him tell me something about my father and mother;
but, with an expression of angry impatience upon his face, he had
turned and fled in disgust from me.
I longed to know who and what my mother was; but my questions brought
no answer. One day, when my uncle was away, I had crept into his
library, and tried vainly to obtain some information from his books
and papers. He caught me in the room, and drove me out with a curse
upon his lips. After that a spring lock was put upon the door, the key
of which he carried in his pocket.
On the present occasion I had nothing to expect from my uncle; but I
wished to see him, and tell him my story. I knew that he could talk;
for, during the preceding year, a man of thirty, elegantly dressed,
came to the cottage one afternoon, and walked with my uncle into the
grove by the lake. They had business together, and it was not of a
pleasant nature; for, prompted by curiosity, I rowed my skiff up to
the shore, to learn what I might of the stranger's purpose. I could
not understand a word that was said; but my uncle talked rapidly and
fiercely, and a violent altercation ensued, which I feared would end
in blows. The stranger did not come back to the cottage, and the
supper which Betsey had prepared for the guest was not needed.
Learning from this that my uncle had a tongue, I asked him who the
stranger was. The answer was only a savage frown. He had no tongue for
me. Neither old Jerry nor his wife was any better informed than I was,
for both assured me they did not know the stranger. Satisfied,
therefore, that my uncle could talk, I was determined to see him
before I went to bed, though it was nearly midnight. Perhaps, also, I
was disposed to adopt this course, because my guardian had given such
bad advice to Mr. Parasyte. I was not insensible to the indulgence
with which I had ever been treated; and seeing that my silent uncle
wished to avoid me, I had generally favored him in doing so. It was
different now. He had given an order or a permission to have me
brutally punished, and I was determined to make him "face the music."
I entered the house, and passing through my uncle's chamber, stood at
the door of the library, which was fastened by the spring lock.