I struck up at his hand, but he held on tightly, and there was a curious
smile on his face as he said:
"Nay, you don't, lad; I'm stronger than thou."
"What do you want?" I cried, making a virtue of necessity and standing
firm.
"What do I want, eh?" he said slowly. "Oh, just a word or two wi' thee,
my lad. There, you needn't call thee uncle."
"I was not going to call him," I retorted. "Why should I?"
"Because you're scarred about what I'm going to do to thee."
"No, I'm not," I replied boldly; "because you daren't do anything unless
it's in the dark, when you can attack a man behind his back."
He winced at this and scowled, but turned it off with a laugh.
"'Tack a what?" he said.
"A boy, then," I cried. "I know I'm a boy; but I meant people
generally."
"Nivver you mind that," he said. "You don't understand trade. But
joost you look there. Yow've been saying I did some'at to the dog."
"That I have not," I cried.
"Ay, but you did say it," he repeated fiercely.
"I did not say so," I cried almost as angrily; "but if I had said it, I
don't suppose I should have been far wrong."
"Nay, lad, I did nowt to the dog. I did nowt--I--"
He let his hand fall, and a feeling of relief from some expectation came
over his face. He had been talking to me, but it was in a curious way,
and all the time he talked he seemed to be looking over my shoulder more
than in my face.
But now he drew a long breath and seemed satisfied with the explanation;
and just then I uttered a cry of horror, for there was a loud report,
and the yard seemed to be filled with flying cinders and smoke.
Stevens gave me a grim look and laid his hand on my shoulder.
"Lucky yow weern't theer," he said. "Might have been hurt. Come and
see."
We joined the men who were hurrying in the direction of the smoke that
obscured one end of the yard.
"What is it, Uncle Jack?" I cried, as I ran to his side.
"I don't know yet," he said.
"It was somewhere by the smithies."
"Yes; that's plain enough," said my uncle, and we pressed on in front of
the men, to come upon Pannell, tending down and rubbing his eyes.
"Pannell!" I cried; "you are not hurt?"
"Nay, not much," he said sourly. "Got the cinder and stuff in my eyes,
but they missed me this time."
"What! Was it not an accident?"
"Oh, ay!" he replied, "reg'lar accident. Powder got into my little
forge, and when I started her wi' some hot coal from t'other one she
blew up."
"But you are not hurt?"
"Nay, lad, I weer stooping down, and were half behind the forge, so I
didn't ketch it that time."
The smoke was by this time pretty well cleared away, and we walked into
the smithy to see what mischief had befallen us.
Fortunately no harm had been done to the structure of the building, and
there being no glass in the windows there was of course none to blow
out. The coal ashes and cinders had been scattered far and wide, and
the iron funnel-shaped chimney knocked out of place, while some of the
smiths' tools, and the rods of steel upon which Pannell had been
working, were thrown upon the floor.
The walls, forge, and pieces of iron about told tales for themselves
without the odour of the explosive, for everything had been covered with
a film of a greyish-white, such as gunpowder gives to iron or brickwork
when it is fired.
"Where was the powder?" cried Uncle Jack, after satisfying himself that
Pannell had not the slightest burn even upon his beard.
"In little forge all ready for me when I fired up," growled Pannell
sourly, as he scowled round at the little crowd of men; "but they missed
me that time."
Uncle Jack had a good look round the place, and the workmen stared at us
as if in full expectation of being taken to task as the cause of the
explosion.
I watched their faces cautiously in search of a look of regret, but the
only peculiar expression I could see was on the countenance of Stevens,
who stood softly rolling up his shirt-sleeves closer and closer to his
shoulders, and there was such a curious smile in his eyes that he
inspired me with a thought.
"Oh, if I have been deceived in him!"
That was my thought. For I seemed to see at a glance that he had known
the explosion would take place, and that the talk about the dog was an
excuse to get me away and save me from the consequences.
Just then Uncle Jack turned round to me and laid his hand on my
shoulder.
"Look here," he said quietly, as if he were showing me a curiosity, but
loud enough for all the men to hear--"down in the south of England, my
boy, when a workman is disliked it generally comes to a settlement with
fists, and there is a fair, honest, stand-up fight. Down here in
Arrowfield, Jacob, when another workman does something to offend his
fellows--"
"Traade," shouted a voice.
"To offend his fellow-workmen," repeated Uncle Jack.
"Traade," shouted the voice again, and there was a murmur of assent.
"Well, have it your own way," said Uncle Jack. "To offend the trade,
they try to blind him for life by filling his forge with powder, so that
it may explode in his face. Jacob, my lad, next time I go anywhere, and
hear people talk about what brave strong manly fellows the Englishmen
are, I shall recommend them to come down and stay in Arrowfield for a
month and see what is done."
There was a low murmur among the men; but we did not stop to listen, and
they all returned to their work except Pannell, who went down to the dam
and bathed his eyes, after which he went as coolly as could be back to
his smithy, took a shovel and borrowed some glowing fire from the next
forge, lit up his own, and was soon after hammering his funnel chimney
back in its place, and working up rods of steel as if nothing whatever
had been amiss.
About the middle of the afternoon, though, he came up through the
workshop straight to the office, with his hammer in his hand, and gave a
loud thump at the door.
I opened it and admitted him; for I was in the big office with my
uncles, who were talking about this last trouble.
"Well, my man, what is it?" said Uncle Jack.
Pannell began to lift up his hammer-head slowly and let it fall back
again into his left hand, staring straight before him with his dark
eyes, which were surrounded with the black marks of the gunpowder which
clung still to the skin.
"What do you want, Pannell?" I said, giving him a touch on the arm; but
the hammer rose and fell still by the contraction of his right hand, and
went on tap--tap--falling into his left.
"Why don't you speak?" I said again, quite impatiently.
"I know," he growled. "I want to speak."
"We are listening," said Uncle Dick. "What have you to say?"
"Look here," cried Pannell, giving his hammer a flourish round his head
as if he were about to attack us. "I'm a man--I am."
"And a good big one, Pannell," said Uncle Bob smiling.
"Wish I were twyste as big, mester! Theer!" cried Pannell.
"I wish you were if it would be any comfort to you," said Uncle Bob to
himself.
"I've been a-thinking o' this out while I've been hammering yonder, and
I want to speak."
"Yes," said Uncle Jack. "Go on."
"Look ye here, then," cried Pannell, flourishing his hammer round as if
he were a modern edition or an angry Thor; "does anyone say I telled on
'em? Did I tell on 'em, mesters? Answer me that."
"What! About the outrages?" said Uncle Dick firmly.
"Outrages, mester!"
"Well, the attempts to blow us up."
"Ay!--the trade business. Did I ivver come and say word to anny of
you?"
"Never."
"Or to yow, youngster?"
"Never, Pannell. You always went against us," I said, "when a word from
you would--"
"Theer, that'll do. Tell me this--Did I ivver tell on anny on 'em?"
"No; you have always been true to your party, Pannell--if that is what
you mean."
"And that is what I mean," said the great fellow, throwing his head
about and jerking out his words, each with a menacing flourish of the
hammer or a mock blow, as if they were steel words that he wanted to
strike into shape.
"Nobody accused you of tale-bearing to us," said Uncle Dick.
"Didn't they, mester?" he roared. "What's this, then, and this, and
this?"
He touched the scars upon his head and brow, and the sticking-plaster
left on.
"Don't you call that saying I telled on 'em, wi'out the poother in my
forge this morning?"
"A cowardly brutal thing to have done, my man."
"Ay, so 'twas. I'd done nowt but be civil to young mester here. Say,"
he cried fiercely, "yow telled 'em I forged that trap!" and he turned on
me.
"Oh, Pannell!" I cried, flushing indignantly.
That was all I said, but it was enough.
"Beg pardon, young gentleman!--yow didn't, I can see that. Nay, it was
the altogetherishness o' the whole thing. They set me down--me, a mate
in the union--as hevvin' telled on 'em and gone agen 'em, and being
friends wi' the mesters; and yow see what they've done."
"Indeed we do, Pannell--"
"Howd hard, mester," said the big smith, flourishing about his hammer.
"I hevn't had my spell yet. I want to speak."