"Am I my brother's keeper?"
Genesis chapter 4, verse 9.
"Let's come and see Dubbs before tea," said Walter, on rejoining the
other two. "Henderson told me he was ill in bed, poor fellow."
They went at once to the cottage, detached from the rest of the school
buildings, to which all invalids were removed, and they were allowed to
go to Daubeny's room; but although he was expecting their visit he had
fallen asleep. They noticed a worn and weary expression upon his
countenance, but it was pleasant to look at him; for although he was a
very ordinary-looking boy, with somewhat heavy features, yet whatever
beauty can be infused into any face by honesty of purpose and innocence
of heart, was to be found in his, and you could not speak to Daubeny for
five minutes without being attracted by the sense that you were talking
to one whose character was singularly free from falsehood or vanity, and
singularly unstained by evil thoughts.
"There lies one of the best and worthiest fellows in the school,"
whispered Power, as he raised the candle to look at him.
Low as he had spoken, the sound awoke the sleeper. He opened his eyes
dreamily at first, but with full recognition afterwards, and said, "O,
you fellows, I'm so delighted to set you; when I saw Henderson last, he
told me that you hadn't come back, and that people were beginning to
fear some accident; and I suppose that's the reason why I've been
dreaming so uneasily, and fancying that I saw you tumbling down the
rift, and all kinds of things."
"Well, we were very near it, Dubbs, but, thanks to Walter, we escaped
all right," said Power.
Daubeny looked up inquiringly. "We must tell you all about it
to-morrow," said Power. "How are you feeling?"
"O, I don't know; not very well, but it's no matter; I daresay I shall
be all right soon."
"Hush, you young gentlemen," said the nurse; "this'll never do; you
oughtn't to have awoke Master Daubeny just as he was sleeping so nice."
"Very sorry, nurse; good-night, Dubbs; hope you'll be all right
to-morrow," said they, and then adjourned to Power's study.
The gas was lighted in the pretty little room, and the matron, regarding
them as heroes, had sent them a very tempting tea. They ate it almost
in silence, for they were quite tired out. It seemed an age since they
had started in the morning with Henderson and Daubeny. Directly tea was
finished, Kenrick, exhausted with fatigue and excitement, fell asleep in
his chair, with his head thrown back and his lips parted.
"There, I think that's a sign that we ought to be going to bed," said
Walter, laughing as he pointed at him.
"O no," said Power, "not yet; it's so jolly sitting here; don't wake
him, but come and draw your chair next to mine by the fire and have a
chat."
Walter obeyed the invitation, and for a few minutes they both sat gazing
into the fire, reading faces in the embers, and pursuing their own
thoughts. Each of them was happy in the other's presence; and Walter,
though more than a year Power's junior, and far below him in the school,
was delighted with the sense of fully possessing, in the friendship of
this most promising and gifted boy, a treasure which any one in the
world might well have envied him.
"It's been a strange day, hasn't it, Walter?" said Power at last, laying
his hand on Walter's, and looking at him. "I shall never forget it; you
have thrown a new light on one's time here."
"Have I, Power? How? I didn't know it."
"Why, on the top of Appenfell there, you opened my eyes to the fact that
I've been living here a very selfish life. I know that I get the credit
of being very conceited and exclusive, and all that sort of thing; but
being naturally shy, I thought it better to keep rather aloof from all
but the very few towards whom I felt at all drawn. I see now," he said
sadly, "that at the bottom this was mainly selfishness. Why, Walter,
all the time I've been here, I haven't done as much for any single boy
as you, a new fellow, have done for little Eden this one half-year. But
there's time to do better yet; and by God's help I'll try. I'll give
Eden the run of my study to-morrow; and as there's plenty of room, I'll
look out for some other little chap who requires a refuge for the
destitute."
"Thank you, for Eden's sake," said Walter; "I'm sure you'll soon begin
to like him, if he gets at home with you."
"But that's the worst of it," continued Power; "so few ever do get at
home with me. I suppose my manner's awkward--or something; but I'd give
anything to make fellows friendly in five minutes as you do. How do you
manage it?"
"I really don't know; I never think about my own manner or anything
else. I suppose if one feels the least interest in any fellow, that he
will probably feel some interest in me; and so, somehow, I'm on the best
terms with all I care to know."
"Well, Ken and I had a long talk after you left us, to cross the Devil's
Way; and I hope that the memory of that may make us three friends firm
and fast, tender and true, as long as we live. We were in a horrible
fright about you, and I suppose that, joined to our own danger, gave a
solemn cast to our conversation; but we agreed that if we three, as
friends, were united in the silent resolution to help others, and
especially new fellows and young, as much as ever we can, we might do a
great deal. Tell me, Walter, didn't you find it a very hard thing when
you first came, to keep right among All sorts of temptations?"
"Yes, I did, Power, very hard; and I confess, too, that I sometimes
wondered that not one boy, though there are, as I see now, lots of
thoroughly good and right fellows here, ever said one word, or did one
thing to help me."
"It's all wrong, all wrong," said Power; "but it was you first who made
me see it. Walter, I shall pray to-night that God, Who has kept us
safe, may teach and help us here to live less for ourselves. Who knows
what we might not do for the school?"
They both sat for a short time in thoughtful silence. Boys do not often
talk openly together about prayer or religion, though perhaps they do so
even more than men do in common life. It is right and well that it
should be so; it would be unnatural and certainly harmful were it
otherwise. And these boys would probably never have talked to each
other thus, if a common danger had not broken down completely the
barriers of conventional reserve. Never again from this day did they
allude to this sacred resolution; but they acted up to it, or strove to
do so, not indeed unwaveringly, yet with manful courage, in the strength
of that pure, strong, beautiful unity of heart and purpose which this
day had cemented between them for the rest of their school-life.
"But you seem to aim higher than I do, Power," said Walter; "I certainly
found lots of wickedness going on here, but I never hoped to change
that. All I hoped to do was to save one or two fellows from being
cruelly bullied and spoiled. We can't alter the wrong tone which nearly
all the fellows have on some matters."
"Yet," said Power, "there was once a man, a single man, in a great
corrupted host, who stood between the living and the dead, and the
plague was stayed."
"Then rose up Phinees and prayed, and so the plague ceased," whispered
Walter to himself.
All farther conversation was broken by Kenrick, who at this moment awoke
with a great yawn, and looking at his watch, declared that they ought to
have been in bed long ago.
"Good-night, Ken; I hope we shall sleep as sound as you," said Power.
"Walter here will dream of skeletons and moonlit precipices, I bet,"
said Kenrick.
"Not I, Ken; I'm far too tired. Good-night, both."
Sleepy as they were, _two_ of those boys did not fall asleep that night
till they had poured out with all the passion of full hearts, words of
earnest supplication for the future, of trembling gratitude for the
past. Two of them--for Kenrick, with all the fine points of his
character, was entirely destitute of any sense of religion, and had in
many points the standard of a schoolboy rather than that of a Christian.
When Walter reached his room, the rest were asleep, but not Eden. He
sat up in his bed directly Walter entered, and his eyes were sparkling
with animation and pleasure.
"O Walter," he said, "I couldn't go to sleep for joy; Every one's
praising you to the skies. I am so proud of you, and it is so very good
of you to be friends with me."
"Tush, Arty," said Walter smiling; "one would think I'd done something
great to hear you talk, whereas really it was nothing out of the way. I
meant to have taken you with us, but I thought it would be too far for
you."
"Taken me with you, and Kenrick, and Power!" said Eden, opening his
large eyes; "how kind of you, Walter! but only fancy Power or Kenrick
walking with me!"
"Why not, Arty? Power's going to ask you to-morrow to sit in his study,
and learn your lessons there whenever you like."
"Power ask _me_!"
"You! Why not?"
"Why, he's _such_ a swell."
"Well, then, you must try and be a swell too."
"No, no, Walter; I'm doing ten times as well as I did, but I shall never
be a swell like Power," said the child simply. "And I know it's all
your doing, not his. O, how shall I ever learn to thank and pay you for
all you do for me?"
"By being a good and brave little boy, Arty. Good-night, and God bless
you."
"Good-night, Walter."