Dick o' the Fens Part 58

"Nonsense! Don't make a noise; let's watch. The snake's a yard long, and the pike only a foot. I say, can't the snake swim!"

It could unmistakably, and as easily as if it were quite at home, gliding along over the surface and sending the water rippling away in rings, while the little pike followed its movements a few inches from the top so quietly that the movements of its fins could hardly be made out.

"Now he'll have him!" said Tom, as the snake reached the far side of the pool, raised its head, darted out its tongue, and then turned and swam back toward the middle, glistening in the sun and seeming to enjoy its bath.

But Tom was wrong; the pike followed closely, evidently watching its strange visitor, but making no effort to seize it, and at last, quite out of patience, the lads made a dash forward.

The result was a swirl in the water, and the fish had gone to some lurking-place among the water plants, while the snake made a dive, and they traced its course right to the bottom, where it lay perfectly still.

They sat down to wait till it came up, but after a time, during which Tom had lamented sorely that he had not killed the snake, which seemed comfortable enough in its prolonged dive, they both grew tired, and returned to where Solomon stood making good use of his time and browsing upon everything which seemed to him good to eat.

"Here, let's go and see how they're getting on with the drain," said d.i.c.k.

"But we're always going to see how they're getting on with the drain,"

grumbled Tom.

"Never mind! Mr Marston may have had something else dug up."

"I don't want to see any more old boats; and as for that other thing-- Ugh!"

"Never mind! Come along! Perhaps they've found something else."

"Don't believe it. Are you going to ride?"

"No; you can ride," said d.i.c.k. "I'll walk."

The heat of the day seemed to make the boys silent as they walked and rode in turn, gazing longingly the while over the spreading pools glistening in the suns.h.i.+ne, with the dragon-flies glancing here and there upon their gauzy wings which rustled and thrilled as they darted and turned in their wonderful flight, chasing their unfortunate winged prey. Every now and then a beautiful swallow-tail b.u.t.terfly, plentiful once in these regions, flitted by, inviting pursuit where pursuit was impossible; while from the waving beds of giant gra.s.s which rose from the water and now began to show their empurpled heads, came the chattering of the reed-birds, as if in answer to the chirping of the crickets in the crisp dark heath.

"Look at the bulrushes, Tom!" said d.i.c.k lazily. And he nodded in the direction of a patch of the tall, brown, poker-like flowers and leaves of the reed-mace.

"Oh, yes, look at them!" said Tom sourly. "What a shame it is that we weren't born with wings! Everything grows where you can't get at it.

If there's a good nest, it's surrounded by water."

"Like an island," a.s.sented d.i.c.k.

"The best b.u.t.terflies are where you can't get them without you go in a boat."

"You can't catch b.u.t.terflies out of a boat," said d.i.c.k contemptuously.

"You could, if you poled it along fast enough. Here, you jump on now.

What a hot back old Solomon has got!"

"I daresay he thinks you've got horribly hot legs," said d.i.c.k, laughing.

"Here, come along quick!"

"What for?"

"Can't you see!" cried d.i.c.k, starting off in the direction of where the men were at work; "there's something the matter."

Certainly something did seem to be wrong, for the men were hurrying along the black embankment of the great drain in the direction of the sea; and as the boys reached the spot where the digging had been going on, the explanation was plain.

The last time they were there, the men were at work in the bottom of the oozy dike, where a little water lay, soaked out of the sides; but now, right away to the flood-gates, there was a glistening lane of water, the open ditch resembling a long ca.n.a.l in which a barge could have been sailed.

"There isn't anything the matter," said Tom. "They've let the water in to try how it goes."

But when at last they reached the sea end, it was to find Mr Marston very busy with his men closing the great gates to keep out the tide, which had risen high and threatened to flood a good deal of low-lying ground. For probably by carelessness the sluice-gate down by the sea had been left open, and the tide had come up and drowned the works.

The two lads stood looking on for some time, until the gates were closed, and then, as the men sauntered away to their lodgings, Mr Marston joined them.

"What did you fill the dike for, Mr Marston?" said d.i.c.k.

"Yes: wasn't it to try how it would go?"

"No," said the young engineer. "I did not want it filled. The gates were left open."

"And what are you going to do now?"

"Wait till the tide's down, so that we can open them and let the water run off."

"You can't do anything till then?"

"We could begin digging farther on," said Mr Marston; "but as the tide will soon be going down I shall wait. It is a great nuisance, but I suppose I must have some accidents."

The lads stayed with him all the afternoon, waiting till the tide had turned, and getting a good insight at last into how the drain would act.

It was very simple, for as soon as the tide was low enough the water ran rapidly from the drain; and that evening the gates were closed tightly to keep out the next rise, the great dike being quite empty.

The engineer walked back with the boys, for there was no riding. They had left Solomon tethered where he could get a good feed of gra.s.s and tender shoots; but upon reaching the spot when they were ready to return there was the tethering line gnawed completely through, and the donkey was out of sight.

"Not taken away?" said Mr Marston.

"No: he has gone home," said d.i.c.k. "That rope wasn't thick enough to hold him. I thought he would get away."

"Then why not have asked me for a thicker rope, d.i.c.k?"

"What's the good! If I had tied him there with a thicker rope, he'd have bitten through the bridle. He wanted to go back home, and when he does, he will go somehow."

"He seems a wonderful beast," said Mr Marston, smiling.

"I don't know about being wonderful. He's a rum one, and as cunning as a fox. Why, he'll unfasten any gate to get into a field, and he'll get out too. He unhooks the doors and lifts the gates off the hinges, and one day he was shut up in the big barn, and what do you think he did?"

"I know," said Tom; "jumped out of the window."

"Yes, that he did," said d.i.c.k. "He climbed up the straw till he got to the window, and then squeezed himself through."

That evening, after tea, the squire was seated in the orchard where the stone table had been built up under the big gnarled apple-tree, and the engineer was talking to him earnestly as d.i.c.k came up from going part of the way home with his companion.

"Shall I go away, father?" asked the lad, as he saw how serious his father looked.