Cashel Byrons Profession | Page 5

door of Moncrief House was at the left-hand corner of the front,
and was surmounted by a tall porch, the top of which was flat and
could be used as a balcony. A wall, of the same height as the porch,
connected the house front with the boundary wall, and formed part of
the enclosure of a fruit garden which lay at the side of the house
between the lawn and the playground. When the two boys had crept
along the parapet to a point directly above the porch they stopped, and
each lowered a pair of boots to the balcony by means of fishing-lines.
When the boots were safely landed, their owners let the lines drop and
reentered the house by another skylight. A minute elapsed. Then they
reappeared on the top of the porch, having come out through the
window to which it served as a balcony. Here they put on their boots,
and stepped on to the wall of the fruit garden. As they crawled along it,
the hindmost boy whispered.

"I say, Cashy."
"Shut up, will you," replied the other under his breath. "What's wrong?"
"I should like to have one more go at old mother Moncrief's pear-tree;
that's all."
"There are no pears on it this season, you fool."
"I know. This is the last time we shall go this road, Cashy. Usen't it to
be a lark? Eh?"
"If you don't shut up, it won't be the last time; for you'll be caught. Now
for it."
Cashel had reached the outer wall, and he finished his sentence by
dropping from it to the common. Gully held his breath for some
moments after the noise made by his companion's striking the ground.
Then he demanded in a whisper whether all was right.
"Yes," returned Cashel, impatiently. "Drop as soft as you can."
Gully obeyed; and was so careful lest his descent should shake the
earth and awake the doctor, that his feet shrank from the concussion.
He alighted in a sitting posture, and remained there, looking up at
Cashel with a stunned expression.
"Crikey!" he ejaculated, presently. "That was a buster."
"Get up, I tell you," said Cashel. "I never saw such a jolly ass as you
are. Here, up with you! Have you got your wind back?"
"I should think so. Bet you twopence I'll be first at the cross roads. I say,
let's pull the bell at the front gate and give an awful yell before we start.
They'll never catch us."
"Yes," said Cashel, ironically; "I fancy I see myself doing it, or you
either. Now then. One, two, three, and away."

They ran off together, and reached the cross roads about eight minutes
later; Gully completely out of breath, and Cashel nearly so. Here,
according to their plan, Gully was to take the north road and run to
Scotland, where he felt sure that his uncle's gamekeeper would hide
him. Cashel was to go to sea; where, he argued, he could, if his affairs
became desperate, turn pirate, and achieve eminence in that profession
by adding a chivalrous humanity to the ruder virtues for which it is
already famous.
Cashel waited until Gully had recovered from his race. Then he said.
"Now, old fellow, we've got to separate."
Gully, thus confronted with the lonely realities of his scheme, did not
like the prospect. After a moment's reflection he exclaimed:
"Damme, old chap, but I'll come with you. Scotland may go and be
hanged."
But Cashel, being the stronger of the two, was as anxious to get rid of
Gully as Gully was to cling to him. "No," he said; "I'm going to rough
it; and you wouldn't be able for that. You're not strong enough for a sea
life. Why, man, those sailor fellows are as hard as nails; and even they
can hardly stand it."
"Well, then, do you come with me," urged Gully. "My uncle's
gamekeeper won't mind. He's a jolly good sort; and we shall have no
end of shooting."
"That's all very well for you, Gully; but I don't know your uncle; and
I'm not going to put myself under a compliment to his gamekeeper.
Besides, we should run too much risk of being caught if we went
through the country together. Of course I should be only too glad if we
could stick to one another, but it wouldn't do; I feel certain we should
be nabbed. Good-bye."
"But wait a minute," pleaded Gully. "Suppose they do try to catch us;
we shall have a better chance against them if there are two of us."

"Stuff!" said Cashel. "That's all boyish nonsense. There will be at least
six policemen sent after us; and even if I did my very best, I could
barely lick two if they came on