The Island School — page 248: what you’re looking at

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

t atl ett a eoredee ble uae of ene in hae badne told. ie boys to amuse themselves ‘antil. fe | store somewhere, and that while it lasted he would | supper-time in the OEE Ie he retired with the a allow me to live if I did not make up my mind to | blacksmith. | | : | oon ai "grant his request. . Should I epson obdurate, it was Ree Cae Pit : a ue his intention then to eat me.” A (toe PERS. Me? ae ‘< Still no more laughing, although many Neale a diffi- culty i in controlling themselves. Mr. Farrell concluded CHAPTER CXII. a) fl: his narrative with much dramatic actionthatreminded | , cy : oe - the lookers-on of a show at a fair. . THE MAN-TRAP.—THE RESULT OF SETTING IT, 4 “ For twenty-four hours more I endured my herd s _ dot, and then it occurred to me that I might act with _ diplomacy, or indeed subterfuge. There comes a time when the boldest general has to adopt expedients that revolt against his hi eee principles”—this brought out a general smile—“and, much against my will, I and with hammers — . Paiccsived the monster. I professed to agree with his ‘#4 and the kitchen fire and sundry _ ions and offered to lead him to the castle, where. eon Bates ut), \ strips of iron Jim and Martin — mt a he ‘would be ‘introduced to my daughter, and in due : time—meaning, of course, no time—the marriage eight o’clock. By that time | A; ; _ ceremony Henle be performed. He set me free, and a huge steel-fall was ready. I waited until we came to the castle path, which I | The idea in Martin’s head was to set it just omtsidleal f 4 : recognised, and then [turned on the monster, knocked | the gates and cover it with some light earth. ee HERE was no 5 Bowie mie the castle, but some-_ ) thing that would | serve was routed out, iM ) were busy until half - past him down, and fied for my life.” was also to be chained to an iron ring that was ay a He intimated by a wave of his hand that the rest | fixed in the wall by the parapet of the bridge. i uh h they: knew, and waited for some congratulations. “For you see, Gordon,” he said, ‘as the: chap 1s. th _ Nobody seemed to be particularly pleased he had not | cracked, and has got Miss Eveline in his head, and is — = eaten, and none were offered him. : also anxious to see her father again, it’s odds on Hs. 1 “Boys,” he said, “ after all I have done for you, hae prowling round here in the night-time. He will. Ae how I have stood by you in your time of trouble, [didnot | likewise have another shy, Benoa at trying to climb- i, expect seen a heartless reception of the story of my | over the gate.” a Mw _ sufferings.’ . “There is a lot of sense in what you say, per. by i. Having thus roronebed them, he stalked into the | replied Jim, “and, with you, I think he will come castle, and left them to discuss what they had heard. | again, and dat aballey choose the night-time.” _ It was impossible to disbelieve him altogether, but Morse came in as they were finishing the job auc "there were some things i in the narrative they could not | sat upon the kitchen-table, watching them as hie swallow, particularly that portion dealimg with his | tested its action. 1 a | defiance of the wild man and holding out so long “Tt is strong enough to hold him, I hope?” he al KS against ‘his demands. Nor could they credit that he “Tt will hold an ox if he gets into it,” said Martin. © had knocked the monster down. Perhaps Morse’s | “I can tell you who itis before you nabhim.” ~ uae | estimate of the story was very near the truth. ‘|. “Can you?” : | ae ia i _ “He has told us some truth and some lies,” he said, “Yes; but I. won’t. rl write it down on a piece sit 4 Bat we may be certain that he has beenin the power | of paper, and you, Jim, can put it in your pocket ¥ the wild man, who floured his head so freely. He | But promise me you won’t look at it.” ; i . aid not refer to that proceeding, which, in my belief, “ All right,” assented Jim. | MEN: a ae a has. a very comical side to it. We may also feel | Morse wrote something on a strip of paperand Ji im cy assured that the wild man is a very dangerous reality.” | put it into his pocket. Then they went out to set the I Me pi “We must hunt him out,” said Jim. trap. mony; “Or catch him in a trap,” said Martin. “Ithink | It was heavy—more than three stone in weight— E or -I could in a few hours knock up something that | and it was looked at with a vast amount of curiosity ill do the trick.” . by the boys as they passed through the hall. “a ce A happy thought, Martin,” said Jim. “Go to It had teeth on the saw principle, but not so sharp. _ ork to-morrow.” They would hold a man fast enough without cutting . think I will start on fie job,” replied Martin. | the skin. | I can have a pe amine: it will - nuh by thetime | And the action of it was that when sprung it was te hed.” ).\. | also locked, and no man not up to the trick of it could | at Jim, w ho st oes volt untes es f his aid, | set himself free. NRO hot in 14 is ‘. * ; ith A) Wise Ne a Li hi! wey ve hl hy Nh \ 1G? ear ' ie } hy A a e ) r i