The Island School — page 158: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

CHARLEY DRINKS A DRAUGHT. and Jim, which seemed to be highly satisfactory on both sides. Meanwhile, Mr. Farrell had been busy. In the secrecy of his room, with the door locked, he was engaged in distilling belladonna from the deadly night- shade plant. He reckoned that an ounce of the extract would suffice to terminate the existence of Charley, but to make sure he would prepare double the quantity. It would take some three hours to do SO. Twice during the afternoon he was interrupted, once by Mrs. Farrell and once by Eveline. When they knocked at the door he had to let them in, and they were naturally curious to learn what he was doing. | “ Giving myself some mental relaxation by studying chemistry,” sufficed for Mrs. Farrell, but not for Hveline. She could see by the constrained manner of her father that he had something more than mere relaxa- tion on his mind. But she affected to accept his answer as satisfactory, and only waited long enough to note the particular bottle into which he put the liquid as it was distilled. The boys through the day had worked well, and by nightfall Charley’s residence was well on the way towards completion. The frame was fixed and the roof on. Also some -of the wall-work was fixed. They made it strong with wooden buttresses out- side, so that internal pressure would have to be very great to force a way through. Karly on the following morning they were up again, and by the afternoon the building was completed. The ceremony of introducing Charley to his new home was rather imposing. Eveline made a garland of flowers, which was placed round his neck, and with the school band in front of him, and the rest of the boys in marching order in the rear, he was paraded up and down three times in front of the house ere he was taken to his residence. Charley showed by various well-known little tricks that he was highly pleased by the arrangement. When the time came to lock him in, he thrust his snout through a small opening in the wall, left to give him light and air, and snorted his thanks for all the trouble taken on his account. Morse and Jim drew aside to exchange a whisper concerning a little trip the former was about to take back to the cavern beneath the castle. His object was to render the cave an untenable place for Chorker, and drive him to the open air. They were aware of Changeling’s little game, and bent on supplementing it with sundry devices of their own. Chorker may therefore be considered to have prospectively a very trying time of it. 13h But for him, as Changeling said, Mr. Farrell would never have attempted to leave the island, and the launch would still be available for a trip to Gibraltar. “We may consider ourselves fairly shut in here,” said Jim. “Until we can send letters home, they cannot forward assistance.” “That will be some time in coming,’ suggestea Morse. “ Assuredly. Our Home Government will not inter- fere before communicating with the Spanish authori- ties, and months will elapse ere we shall get an addi- tional hand to help us.” ** And we may want one.” “We may. For although the island seems to be clear of enemies at the present, they will return by-and- by. The Spaniard on revenge intent never rests until he is successful. I wonder why they pitched into Groby ?” “For the lack of something better they gave him a taste of their quality. By the way, I wonder how he is getting on ?” ‘Romeo tells me that he seems to be better in some ways, but he has given up talking, and lies all the time with his eyes fixed as if he were thinking.” “ He is in a bad way altogether.” They parted, and Morse hastened in the direction of | the castle, and Jim went off to a quiet nook fora bathe. The ceremony of intreducing Charley to his new home was observed by Mr. Farrell from the window of his room. It brought a bitter smile to his face. “They have more love for that brute than they ever had for me,” he muttered, “‘and perhaps they think that he is the noblercreature. Hemay be, but forall that he has to die.” CHAPTER LXVIII. CHARLEY DRINKS A DRAUGHT. iy IM that night, prior to re- It tiring, went into the class- room and removed the bars, which had been replaced. Almost at the same minute Romeo, out- side, placed a _ ladder against the wall and crept —————— softly up. “What time Massa Morse come back, you tink ?” he asked, in a whisper. “Tt is quite uncertain,” replied Jim; “ but if you hear him making for his dormitory in the night, don't get it into your head that the ghosts are abroad.” Romeo grinned, and the whites of his eyes as he rolled them were plainly visible in the gloom. “Dem ghostesses,” he said, “make a poor job ob (@{@) aa i @ 300 €55 (€( 0) aa