The Oak Chest.
The mysterious visitor was forgotten, my hand had healed, and Jack's
ankle was in a fair way to recovery, when a letter arrived from Mr.
Barton to say that, owing to his wife's death, he felt he could not
return to Bath. He had taken a house at Brighton, but the necessary
business of moving would make it impossible for him to receive his
pupils at the time fixed. He hoped, therefore, that my father would
not object to keeping the boys a fortnight longer.
With what a shout the letter was welcomed! I glanced anxiously at
father; he did not look half as displeased as I thought he would.
"Can you make yourselves happy till the beginning of September?" he
asked.
"Just give us the chance, uncle. We will let you see what we can do.
But what about Kathleen? We can't let her go before us?" Rupert
looked at me with a mysterious sign.
"No, please father, don't send her away yet. I want her
particularly."
"Mischief again?" said father, just catching my knowing look across
at Kathleen. "I should have thought you had enough of getting into
trouble by this time."
"It isn't mischief, father," I cried. "It's good, it's a beautiful
secret, it's----" then I broke down and burst into tears.
It was only then, I think, that my parents realized that I had not
done such a thing lately.
"Why, laddie," said father, soothing me gently, "I haven't seen any
tears since the invasion of the Goths and Vandals. Here, young
Alaric, carry him off, and bring back the smiles. Of course,
Kathleen shall stay as long as you do, but I warn you"--and here
father's face became very grave--"you have risked my son's life once,
you had better not do it twice."
Harold was going to make some reply; but Rupert put his hand hastily
over his mouth, and swung him out of the room before he and Kathleen
came to lift me.
Whether it was that his foot was much better, or that Jack was
delighted at the thought of spending a fortnight more than he
expected at the Island Farm, I do not know; but he seemed that day to
be possessed of twice his usual spirits. Of course, he was not
allowed to put his foot to the ground; but it was cased in plaster of
Paris, and he managed to hop with the help of a stick if he really
wished to move.
"Now, commodore," said I, at last--for we had pretended he had been
wounded in battle--"I wish you would keep still, you give me the
fidgets; I know you'll damage that foot again; and you do look so
queer hopping about like a wounded stork. I might as well try to get
about--I believe I should do it as well."
"So you will, old fellow, only not just yet. Rub, rub, rub, scrub,
scrub, scrub, Kathleen, and then he will go like a bird."
"Do keep still," said Rupert, presently. "I've tried three times to
make a straight line on this piece of wood, and each time you've
shaken the table. What do you want? Tell me, and I'll get it; but
don't keep bobbing about like a lame duck."
"That oak chest is bothering me," said Jack, coming to an anchor at
last, with his bad foot on the chest itself. "What's inside of it."
"How should I know? You heard Edric say it was here when he first
came up. I expect it has old clothes in it. Curiosity killed a cat;
and when you know that a cat has nine lives, you can see what a
deadly poison curiosity must be. It's a glorious bench to carpenter
on; and it makes a good place to lie on, if you are fearfully tired
and don't mind pretending you are on a stone bench."
"And it would be a splendid place to----"
"To what?" we all asked, looking up at Jack.
"Never you mind; I know what I know, and I'm not going to tell
anybody."
But, unfortunately, he did tell somebody, and that was Harold, who
was the very last person who should have been told.
A few days afterwards Jack was not well--it was merely a passing
indisposition, headache and cold; but as there was so much difficulty
in keeping him quiet when he was up, mother thought it best to make
him stay in bed. My parents were both going to spend the afternoon
and evening at a friend's house, and so my cousins were told that
they need not keep only to their den; they might have the run of the
house, if they would promise to do nothing which they knew was wrong,
and not to go outside at all, in case they might be tempted to
mischief.
"We promise," said Rupert, gravely, and father knew he could trust
him.
They carried me into Jack's room directly we were left alone, and
there a certain mysterious operation went on, which had occupied us
for half an hour twice a day during the last few weeks. A little
reading, a good deal of talking, and then Jack said his head was
worse; so we all retreated into the dining-room, and wondered what we
should play at.
"I know," said Kathleen. "We have permission to go anywhere; let's
have a game of hide-and-seek. I believe you'd take half an hour to
find me, there are so many ins and outs, and ups and downs."
Of course, I could not join in that game, so I begged them to carry
me back into Jack's room, where I lay reading, sometimes aloud,
sometimes to myself, till, to my great delight, I saw him fall asleep.
From time to time I could hear a merry peal of laughter in the
distance, or the quiet footsteps of someone running past the door in
search of a hiding-place. The sounds pleased me, and then I began to
wonder whether I should ever be able to join in such a game. Four
weeks ago I should have laughed at the bare idea of such a thing; but
now, things had changed. My cousins had brought fresh vigour to my
mind; and if all were true that they told me, there seemed a hope
that they might be the means of bringing new strength to my body.
I lay building castles in the air after a fashion quite new to me. I
had got as far as walking to church with mother on my arm when I was
a young man, when suddenly the door was pushed gently open, and
Rupert whispered, "Have you seen Harold?"
"No; he has not been here."
"I told you he must have gone outside," said Kathleen, peeping over
his shoulder.
"Not he," replied Rupert. "Don't you remember we all three promised
we would not go out of the house? He must be somewhere inside? let's
hunt again."
Half an hour passed, and then my cousins came back. I signalled to
them that Jack was still asleep, and they could take me out of the
room.
"We can't find him anywhere," said Rupert, as they carried me
downstairs.
"Don't be anxious," I replied. "He must have gone outside; he will
come back when he finds you do not go after him. Or shall you go
into the garden to look for him?"
Rupert looked at me in amazement.
"Didn't I tell you we all promised not to go out?" he said. "I don't
believe Harold is outside; if he is, I'll never speak to him again."
Of course, we laughed at the hasty speech which had ended in a
promise that the speaker would certainly never keep. But by-and-by,
as the light began to fade, and Harold made no appearance, we grew
anxious about him.
"Supper will bring him; he will be tired and hungry by that time," we
said; but we had finished our supper when the door was pushed open,
and Jack entered in dressing-gown and slippers.
"Jane says you have been playing hide-and-seek, and have lost Harold.
Have you looked in the oak chest for him?"
"The oak chest?" we all repeated, with a terrified gasp. "If he has
been shut in there for a couple of hours he will be dead!"
[Illustration: Chapter IX headpiece]