The Island School — page 278: what you’re looking at

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

THE WILD MAN COMES TO THE CASTLE. “Dangerous! Good gracious!” * He isa wild man—mad. Already he has attempted to take the lives of two persons. We set a steel trap for him, and, although it was strong enough to hold a bullock, he smashed it up.” ‘‘T can hardly believe he is really vicious,” simpered Hlegantine. ‘ Nobody could be more gentle than he was with me !” “No doubt,” said Morse, sharply; “but he is changeable. At any moment he may turn about and attempt to kill you. He carriesa club, I believe ?” ** He has a walking-stick, or what appears to me to be one of extra thickness. Oh, dear!” she sighed, “how untrustworthy all men are! Then you think I had better not go near him any more ?” : “Tf you value your life.” “It is disappointing,” she sighed again; “but I suppose you know the nature of the man, or you would not speak of him as you do.” Shaking her head and sighing like a maiden all for- lorn, she returned to the castle, leaving Morse to reflect upon the follies of age as exhibited by an ancient single woman. But it was a matter that was not likely to trouble him long, and his mind resumed its work of conceiving things that could be done with chemical compounds, It was the one great theme of Morse’s thoughts. He so far respected Miss Elegantine’s love secret as to confine himself to mentioning it to Jim. Strange to say, they did not make a humorous theme of it, but discussed it seriously. The Wild Man still alive! That was a serious thing, for, however tender he may have been to Miss Ele- gantine Dibble, he had hitherto shown himself the very reverse to such members of the other sex as he had come in contact with. : There was a possibility that his experience of the trap had acted as deterrent to violence by scaring him; but it would never do to trust to that. So more of the boys were armed, and none allowed to go out without at least one attendant carrying a loaded rifle. “Shoot him on sight,” was the order given. not give him the chance of doing mischief.” The work of getting stores was hastened, and several tons of potatoes were eventually housed, with a quantity of carrots, turnips, and huge onions. The quantity of grapes that was brought in would have stocked a small warehouse, and as the drying had been done in previous seasons, the boys were well up to the work. Long rods were fixed across the ramparts and loaded with grapes, and the weather holding fine, the sun, though losing its power, was rapidly drying them. They were afterwards stored away in boxes to be used as required, : Finally the hunting in the woods was carried on by 6 Do = —s ae SS ane — ign ws ae SS ar =a \\ = Ls aN. ne \ a 253 strong parties led by Morse or Jim; sometimes Martin went with them. In the end they got in a good store of pig-meat, which, having been salted, Sleery, the carpenter, rigged up a smoke-house in the courtyard, and turned the whole lot into the primest bacon. Thus a whole fortnight passed away, and they began to hope that the last of their enemies had been on the island. The only trouble that was well to the fore was the mysterious individual whom they had dubbed the Wild Man. And all that concerned him was on the eve of being cleared up. SS CHAPTER CXXVILI. THE WILD MAN COMES TO THE CASTLE. — A NIGHT SCENE.—THE LAST OF A MYSTERIOUS FOE. \HE trio of niggers slept in a room over the kitchen. It had a window looking out on the back of the castle, near the place where Jim and his friends took up a position to fire on the smugglers. It was a big room, but warm, and it was the custom of the sleepers to leave the window open at night, although the chilly days were onthem. It was the heat of the kitchen that made it close. Macbeth had his bed immediately under the win- dow. He selected this position, for, like all negroes, he had a horror of sleeping in the moonlight. When there was a moon, its light streamed through the window. And no doubt they have good reason for regarding the practice with aversion, for the moon will distort the face of a sleeper, and leave it so for good and all. It would have been better to put up a blind, but the window was so high, and the framework being of stone, it was a job. they put off from day to day, until it was never done at all. A night or two after the stores had been got in trom the farm and fruit ground, Romeo lay abed thinking. It was not often he indulged himself that way, but now and then, as on this occasion, the fit came over him. What he had in his mind is of no moment to us. He went on thinking for half an hour, and then his thoughts were interrupted by a sound outside the window. ( Gf @ ) aa G 300 <S:com