第44章
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  Itwaseveningwhenthehousekeepersummonedhimtothesick-

  room。Arthurwaslyingonthesofabytheopenwindow,throughwhichtheraysofthewesternsunstolegently,lightinguphiswhitefaceandgoldenhair。TomrememberedaGermanpictureofanangelwhichheknew;oftenhadhethoughthowtransparentandgoldenandspirit-likeitwas;andheshuddered,tothinkhowlikeitArthurlooked,andfeltashockasifhisbloodhadallstoppedshort,asherealizedhowneartheotherworldhisfriendmusthavebeentolooklikethat。Nevertillthatmomenthadhefelthowhislittlechumhadtwinedhimselfroundhisheart-strings,andashestolegentlyacrosstheroomandkneltdown,andputhisarmroundArthur’sheadonthepillow,feltashamedandhalf-angryathisownredandbrownface,andtheboundingsenseofhealthandpowerwhichfilledeveryfibreofhisbody,andmadeeverymovementofmerelivingajoytohim。

  Heneedn’thavetroubledhimself:itwasthisverystrengthandpowersodifferentfromhisownwhichdrewArthursotohim。

  Arthurlaidhisthin,whitehand,onwhichtheblueveinsstoodoutsoplainly,onTom’sgreatbrownfist,andsmiledathim;

  andthenlookedoutofthewindowagain,asifhecouldn’tbeartoloseamomentofthesunset,intothetopsofthegreatfeatheryelms,roundwhichtherookswerecirclingandclanging,returninginflocksfromtheirevening’sforagingparties。Theelmsrustled,thesparrowsintheivyjustoutsidethewindowchirpedandflutteredabout,quarrelling,andmakingitupagain;therooks,youngandold,talkedinchorus,andthemerryshoutsoftheboysandthesweetclickofthecricket-batscameupcheerilyfrombelow。

  “DearGeorge,“saidTom,“Iamsogladtobeletuptoseeyouatlast。I’vetriedhardtocomesooften,buttheywouldn’tletmebefore。“

  “Oh,Iknow,Tom;Maryhastoldmeeverydayaboutyou,andhowshewasobligedtomaketheDoctorspeaktoyoutokeepyouaway。I’mverygladyoudidn’tgetup,foryoumighthavecaughtit;andyoucouldn’tstandbeingill,withallthematchesgoingon。Andyou’reintheeleven,too,Ihear。I’msoglad。“

  “Yes;ain’titjolly?“saidTomproudly。“I’mninthtoo。I

  madefortyatthelastpie-match,andcaughtthreefellowsout。

  SoIwasputinaboveJonesandTucker。Tucker’ssosavage,forhewasheadofthetwenty-two。“

  “Well,Ithinkyououghttobehigheryet,“saidArthur,whowasasjealousfortherenownofTomingamesasTomwasforhisasascholar。

  “Nevermind。Idon’tcareaboutcricketoranythingnowyou’regettingwell,Geordie;andIshouldn’thavehurt,Iknow,ifthey’dhaveletmecomeup。Nothinghurtsme。Butyou’llgetaboutnowdirectly,won’tyou?Youwon’tbelievehowcleanI’vekeptthestudy。Allyourthingsarejustasyouleftthem;andIfeedtheoldmagpiejustwhenyouused,thoughIhavetocomeinfrombig-sideforhim,theoldrip。Hewon’tlookpleasedallIcando,andstickshisheadfirstononesideandthenontheother,andblinksatmebeforehe’llbegintoeat,tillI’mhalfinclinedtoboxhisears。AndwheneverEastcomesin,youshouldseehimhopofftothewindow,dotandgoone,thoughHarrywouldn’ttouchafeatherofhimnow。“

  Arthurlaughed。“OldGraveyhasagoodmemory;hecan’tforgetthesiegesofpoorMartin’sdeninoldtimes。“Hepausedamoment,andthenwenton:“Youcan’tthinkhowoftenI’vebeenthinkingofoldMartinsinceI’vebeenill。Isupposeone’smindgetsrestless,andlikestowanderofftostrange,unknownplaces。Iwonderwhatqueernewpetstheoldboyhasgot。Howhemustberevellinginthethousandnewbirds,beasts,andfishes!“

  Tomfeltapangofjealousy,butkickeditoutinamoment。

  “FancyhimonaSouthSeaisland,withtheCherokees,orPatagonians,orsomesuchwildniggers!“Tom’sethnologyandgeographywerefaulty,butsufficientforhisneeds。“They’llmaketheoldMadmancockmedicine-man,andtattoohimallover。

  Perhapshe’scuttingaboutnowallblue,andhasasquawandawigwam。He’llimprovetheirboomerangs,andbeabletothrowthemtoo,withouthavingoldThomassentafterhimbytheDoctortotakethemaway。“

  Arthurlaughedattheremembranceoftheboomerangstory,butthenlookedgraveagain,andsaid,“He’llconvertalltheisland,Iknow。“

  “Yes,ifhedon’tblowitupfirst。“

  “Doyouremember,Tom,howyouandEastusedtolaughathimandchaffhim,becausehesaidhewassuretherooksallhadcalling-overorprayers,orsomethingofthesort,whenthelocking-upbellrang?Well,Ideclare,“saidArthur,lookingupseriouslyintoTom’slaughingeyes,“Idothinkhewasright。

  SinceI’vebeenlyinghere,I’vewatchedthemeverynight;and,doyouknow,theyreallydocomeandperch,allofthem,justaboutlocking-uptime;andthenfirstthere’saregularchorusofcaws;andthentheystopabit,andoneoldfellow,orperhapstwoorthreeindifferenttrees,cawsolos;andthenofftheyallgoagain,flutteringaboutandcawinganyhowtilltheyroost。“

  “Iwonderiftheoldblackiesdotalk,“saidTom,lookingupatthem。“HowtheymustabusemeandEast,andprayfortheDoctorforstoppingtheslinging!“

  “There!look,look!“criedArthur;“don’tyouseetheoldfellowwithoutatailcomingup?Martinusedtocallhimthe’clerk。’

  Hecan’tsteerhimself。Youneversawsuchfunasheisinahighwind,whenhecan’tsteerhimselfhome,andgetscarriedrightpastthetrees,andhastobearupagainandagainbeforehecanperch。“

  Thelocking-upbellbegantotoll,andthetwoboysweresilent,andlistenedtoit。ThesoundsooncarriedTomofftotheriverandthewoods,andhebegantogooverinhismindthemanyoccasionsonwhichhehadheardthattollcomingfaintlydownthebreeze,andhadtopackhisrodinahurryandmakearunforit,togetinbeforethegateswereshut。HewasrousedwithastartfromhismemoriesbyArthur’svoice,gentleandweakfromhislateillness。

  “Tom,willyoubeangryifItalktoyouveryseriously?“

  “No,dearoldboy,notI。Butain’tyoufaint,Arthur,orill?

  WhatcanIgetyou?Don’tsayanythingtohurtyourselfnow——

  youareveryweak;letmecomeupagain。“

  “No,no;Ishan’thurtmyself。I’dsoonerspeaktoyounow,ifyoudon’tmind。I’veaskedMarytotelltheDoctorthatyouarewithme,soyouneedn’tgodowntocalling-over;andImayn’thaveanotherchance,forIshallmostlikelyhavetogohomeforchangeofairtogetwell,andmayn’tcomebackthishalf。“

  “Oh,doyouthinkyoumustgoawaybeforetheendofthehalf?

  I’msosorry。It’smorethanfiveweeksyettotheholidays,andallthefifth-formexaminationandhalfthecricket-matchestocomeyet。AndwhatshallIdoallthattimealoneinourstudy?

  Why,Arthur,itwillbemorethantwelveweeksbeforeIseeyouagain。Oh,hangit,Ican’tstandthat!Besideswho’stokeepmeuptoworkingattheexaminationbooks?Ishallcomeoutbottomoftheform,assureaseggsiseggs。“

  Tomwasrattlingon,halfinjoke,halfinearnest,forhewantedtogetArthuroutofhisseriousvein,thinkingitwoulddohimharm;butArthurbrokein,-

  “Oh,please,Tom,stop,oryou’lldriveallIhadtosayoutofmyhead。AndI’malreadyhorriblyafraidI’mgoingtomakeyouangry。“

  “Don’tgammon,youngun,“rejoinedTomtheuseoftheoldname,deartohimfromoldrecollections,madeArthurstartandsmileandfeelquitehappy;“youknowyouain’tafraid,andyou’venevermademeangrysincethefirstmonthwechummedtogether。

  NowI’mgoingtobequitesoberforaquarterofanhour,whichismorethanIamonceinayear;somakethemostofit;heaveahead,andpitchintomerightandleft。“

  “DearTom,Iain’tgoingtopitchintoyou,“saidArthurpiteously;“anditseemssocockyinmetobeadvisingyou,who’vebeenmybackboneeversinceI’vebeenatRugby,andhavemadetheschoolaparadisetome。Ah,IseeIshallneverdoit,unlessIgoheadoverheelsatonce,asyousaidwhenyoutaughtmetoswim。Tom,Iwantyoutogiveupusingvulgus-

  booksandcribs。“

  Arthursankbackontohispillowwithasigh,asiftheefforthadbeengreat;buttheworstwasnowover,andhelookedstraightatTom,whowasevidentlytakenaback。Heleanthiselbowsonhisknees,andstuckhishandsintohishair,whistledaverseof“BillyTaylor,“andthenwasquitesilentforanotherminute。Notashadecrossedhisface,buthewasclearlypuzzled。Atlasthelookedup,andcaughtArthur’sanxiouslook,tookhishand,andsaidsimply,-

  “Why,youngun?“

  “Becauseyou’rethehonestestboyinRugby,andthatain’thonest。“

  “Idon’tseethat。“

  “WhatwereyousenttoRugbyfor?“

  “Well,Idon’tknowexactly——nobodyevertoldme。IsupposebecauseallboysaresenttoapublicschoolinEngland。“

  “Butwhatdoyouthinkyourself?Whatdoyouwanttodohere,andtocarryaway?“

  Tomthoughtaminute。“IwanttobeA1atcricketandfootball,andalltheothergames,andtomakemyhandskeepmyheadagainstanyfellow,loutorgentleman。IwanttogetintothesixthbeforeIleave,andtopleasetheDoctor;andIwanttocarryawayjustasmuchLatinandGreekaswilltakemethroughOxfordrespectably。There,now,youngun;Ineverthoughtofitbefore,butthat’sprettymuchaboutmyfigure。Ain’titallonthesquare?Whathaveyougottosaytothat?“

  “Why,thatyouareprettysuretodoallthatyouwant,then。“

  “Well,Ihopeso。Butyou’veforgotonething——whatIwanttoleavebehindme。Iwanttoleavebehindme,“saidTom,speakingslow,andlookingmuchmoved,“thenameofafellowwhoneverbulliedalittleboy,orturnedhisbackonabigone。“

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