Devon Boys | Page 5

charged down upon us and we all rolled over together into a heap.
We tried again, but the fall had made Bob disagreeable. I don't think he was much hurt, but he pretended to be, and said that Bigley had done it on purpose.
It was of no use for Bigley to protest. Once Bob had made up his mind to a thing he would not give in, so after about half a slide down we stopped short without being driven on again by our companion, and the game was voted a bore.
"'Tisn't as if there were a couple of sailors at the top with a capstan, to haul you up again when you've slid down," said Bob.
"Ah, I wish there were!" cried Bigley, "I get so tired."
"No rope would pull you up; you're too heavy," sneered Bob. "Never mind, Sep, let's do something else. The clatter streams ain't half so slippery as they used to be. I s'pose we may do something else here though it is your father's place?"
"Don't be so disagreeable," I cried.
"Who's disagreeable?" he retorted. "I didn't make the stones stick and old Bigley come down squelch on us, did I?"
"Oh, if you want to quarrel, Bob, we may as well go home," I said.
"There, just hark at him, Big! Quarrel! Just as if I wanted to quarrel. There, I shall go."
"No, no, don't go, Bob," I cried.
"No, no, don't go, Bob," chimed in Big. "It's holidays now, and we can get up a row when we're at school."
The force of this, and its being waste of time now the long-expected holidays had come, made an impression on Bob, who sat down and began sending rounded pieces of slate skimming through the air towards the little stream.
"Didn't I tell you I didn't want to quarrel," he grumbled out. "I ain't so fond of--there, you chaps couldn't do that."
"Ha! Ha! Couldn't we?" I cried, as a stone he threw went plash into the stream, and I jerked a piece of slate so far that it went right over.
This made Bob jump up, and, as there was plenty of ammunition, the old contention was forgotten in the new, Bigley Uggleston joining in and helping us throw stones till we grew tired, when we looked round for something fresh to do.
"Let's climb right to the top of Bogle's Beacon," I said, as my eyes lit upon the highest crags at our side of the ravine.
"Oh, what's the good?" said Bigley. "It'll make us so hot."
"Get out, you great lazy fellow," cried Bob, whose lips had been apart to oppose my plan; but as soon as Bigley took the other side he was all eagerness to go.
"Oh, all right then," said Bigley. "I don't mind. If you're going I shall come too; but wait a minute."
As he spoke he set off at a trot down the slope, and as we two threw ourselves down to watch him, we saw him run on and on till he reached the smuggler's cottage, and go round to the long low slate-roofed shed where his father kept his odds and ends of boat gear, and then he dived in out of sight.
"What's he gone for?" said Bob.
"Dunno," I said lazily as I turned over on my chest and kicked the loose slates with my toes. "Yes, I do."
"No, you don't," said Bob sourly.
"Yes, I do; he's gone to get a bit of rope. Don't you remember when we climbed up last year we didn't get quite to the top, and you said that if we'd had a bit of rope to throw over the big stone, one of us might have held the end while the other climbed up?"
"No, I don't remember, and don't believe I ever said so."
"Why, that you did, Bob. What's the good of contradicting?"
"What's that to you, Sep Duncan?" he retorted. "You arn't everybody. I shall contradict if I like."
"But you did say so."
"I didn't."
"You did. Now, just you wait till old Big comes and see if he don't say so too."
"Yah! He'd say anything. What does he know about it?"
"Well, here he comes," I said.
"Let him come; I don't care."
"And he has got a coil of rope over his shoulder."
"Well, what do I care? Any fool might get a ring of rope over his shoulder."
"Yes, but what for?"
"Oh, I dunno; don't bother!" said Bob surlily.
Meanwhile Bigley Uggleston was coming along at a lumbering trot, and as soon as he was within hearing I shouted to him:
"What are you going to do with that rope?" And now for the first time I noticed that he was carrying a long iron bar balanced in his right hand.
Big did not answer, but came panting on.
"There, I told you so!" cried Bob; "didn't I say so?"
"I don't care if you did," I retorted; and just