The Island House Part 6

Certainly their conversation had given him something to think of, but the chief thing now that he had to do was to purchase provisions, and have them conveyed to the house. Should he find much damage done at the village?

That question was soon answered, for, on arriving there, he found that the flood had pa.s.sed it almost entirely by. Most of the houses were on fairly high ground, and the river being near, much of the water had flowed thither. Yet some of the cottages in the lower part had suffered, and Alfy heard much of them, and of a farmhouse and its buildings, which had also been flooded. He heard, too, of the difficulties which had been experienced in saving some of the animals.

He knew that farmhouse well. He and his sisters had played there with the children who lived under its pleasant roof. The flood had come so suddenly, and the house wherein Alfy lived was in such a retired spot, that no one seemed to have thought of it and its inmates. He therefore found himself listened to with eagerness and some surprise when he told of their condition.

"And how am I to send you these goods, then?" asked Mr. Daw, the tradesman of whom Alfy had been ordering a supply of grocery. "I could send them by cart, but I have not a boat."

"Do you know where I could borrow one?" asked Alfy anxiously.

Well, Mr. Daw was not sure. There were a few boats on the river, but how was one to be brought from thence to the flood near the house?

Nevertheless, he thought of a few persons to whom Alfy could apply, and the boy left him, after arranging that he would return later to point out the spot where the goods were to be taken.

Alfy bought a few more goods, a joint of meat among them, at some other shops, directing them to be taken to Mr. Daw, who had promised to send all together. The boy had then a troublesome task; it was to find a boat or some means of conveying the provisions to the Island House. He had not time to talk much to any of the acquaintances and friends he met, though they were greatly interested in the condition of affairs at his home, and various were the directions he received as to the best means of getting a boat.

The river was a small one. It was stony in parts, so that there was not much boating. Still there were one or two kept at points along its course, and Alfy found himself, at length, asking a jolly-looking old gentleman, to whom he had been directed, but whom he did not know at all, if he would lend his boat, and telling him why it was wanted.

"Eh! what! house all surrounded by water? Quite an island, eh? That's what we used to learn at school--Island House, eh?"

"Yes, that is what we call it," laughed Alfy, somewhat rea.s.sured by the jolly old gentleman's cheerfulness and geniality.

"Of course I'll lend the boat," said the old gentleman. "That's what we've got to do, help one another--and mind you think of that, my boy; but the question is, how can you get it up to the house?"

"I heard that the flood was running into the river," replied Alfy, "so I thought I could row up that way."

"What! you row up against the flood!" exclaimed the jolly old gentleman; "you can't do it."

"I can try," said Alfy.

"Well, I might try and help you, but I am not much of a rower, and my son--it is he, really, who uses the boat--he is away from home. I question if I could pull my own weight. Most mysterious thing this flood. Where does it come from? How did it happen?"

So Alfy told what he had heard beside the hedge.

"Eh! what! eh! this is getting serious! One of the banks of Tarnwick reservoir burst! One man saying it is because of another's carelessness! This must be seen to. What sort of men were they?

Should you know them again?"

And the jolly old gentleman who was now looking very serious, drew from Alfy all he knew about the men he had heard talking by the hedge.

"I must see to this quickly," said the old gentleman. "Send a policeman after them. Take the boat, my lad, and keep her as long as she is of any use to you. Good-bye, and good luck." And away he went.

Knowing that speed was very necessary, Alfy decided to try and row up the boat at once. At first, he thought he would seek help from some friends in the village. Then he determined not to do so. The village was some little distance from the jolly old gentleman's house, and some time, he thought, would be wasted in going to and fro. So he jumped in the boat, and cast off.

This was a case, however, of "more haste, less speed." If he had obtained a.s.sistance he would have made much better progress. The stream was against him, and he found it hard work pulling against it.

But nothing seemed to daunt this boy's pluck.

"Put your back into it," he remembered an old boatman said, when last summer's holiday he and his sisters were rowing on a tidal river at a seaside resort, and now indeed he strove hard to put his back into his rowing.

He was certainly making progress. To escape the force of the current as far as possible he was creeping along by the sh.o.r.e. He was thinking whether he would row as near as he could to the village, and then jump out and tell Mr. Daw he had secured a boat, or whether he should row on to where he had left the tub and bath.

"I want to have as little distance to row the laden boat as I can," he said; "and I cannot take anyone to the house unless they will stay there, as we shall want the boat. What fun we will have to-morrow rowing about, and going for milk and things! I will point out the spot to Mr. Daw's man where they can be brought."

He was just considering which course he should pursue when suddenly his boat was stopped, and he heard some words which almost sent his heart jumping to his mouth.

"I say, youngster, what was it you heard me and my mate say this morning?"

CHAPTER V.

WITH TIED WRISTS.

Alfy turned. Yes, one of the men he had heard talking beside the hedge, that morning, was leaning from the bank, and had stopped the boat.

He looked lowering and threatening.

"You don't budge an inch," growled he, "till you've told me what you have been to Squire Watkins's for."

"To borrow this boat."

"Something else as well," said the man. "What did you hear me and my mate saying this morning, and what have you told about it?"

"What right have you to ask me?" replied Alfy st.u.r.dily.

"I'll soon show you the right," exclaimed the man gruffly, at the same time raising his hand. "Now, then, out with it!"

"Out with what?" said Alfy doggedly.

Bang! Alfy felt a heavy blow on his head, which made the fire flash from his eyes, and nearly knocked him overboard; but, tingling with pain and indignation, he swept round the oar he held in his right hand, and struck the man sharply on the shoulder.

His a.s.sailant seized the oar, and a smart struggle ensued, in which the man's superior strength and position enabled him to be victorious. He wrested the oars from Alfy, and then, after cuffing him soundly, and calling him an "insolent young warmint," tied him tightly to the skiff with the boat-rope--which is commonly called the painter.

Alfy, smarting with the injustice of the attack, managed to administer a few wholesome kicks to his a.s.sailant during the struggle. Then a long, low whistle sounded, and the man hurried away, leaving the boy bound and aching in the boat.

The day was now fast wearing on, and the sun was beginning to sink in the heavens. As Alfy lay back in the boat his mind was racked with anxiety about the provisions, and his promises to take back food to the Island House. His sisters and Mansy might starve if he could not get the provisions to them. Then he shouted aloud to attract attention.

No answer came. His voice seemed borne back upon him as from an empty void. Again and again he called until he grew weary with shouting, and sickened with suspense and anxiety and disappointment. He seemed as far from his kind here as if he were alone in the deserts of Arabia.

Then he bethought him once more of self-help. "I wonder if I could free myself," he said. "I have got over several difficulties lately, perhaps I can get over this one also." He struggled upwards to a sitting position, and looked at his bonds. His wrists and ankles were tied pretty firmly, and one end of the rope was of course fastened to the boat.

"I suppose that rascal tied me up like this to give himself time to escape," said Alfy thoughtfully, as he looked down at the rope. "He thinks I know a lot about him, and will tell what I know, and he wants to get a good start. I wonder if I could undo these knots with my teeth? They crack nuts, why not untie knots? I will try."

[Ill.u.s.tration: "'I WONDER IF I COULD UNDO THESE KNOTS WITH MY TEETH? I WILL TRY.'"]

Happily his teeth were strong and sharp--teeth which many an older person would have envied. He was plucky and persevering also, and he set to work with a will to gnaw, or unfasten, or "worry" open the tough knots which bound him.

It was a stiff job, and a tiring one too. But he kept on pluckily, and would not give up. The sun sank lower in the heavens, and the beautiful summer afternoon wore on. "Oh! how they will wonder what has become of me at home!" he sighed. "I must be quick," and he redoubled his efforts.