Eric, or Little by Little | Page 8

the next boy took him up. Then he began to construe;--a frightful
confusion of nominatives without verbs, accusatives translated as
ablatives, and adverbs turned into prepositions, ensued, and after a
hopeless flounder, during which Mr Gordon left him entirely to himself,
Barker came to a full stop; his catastrophe was so ludicrous, that Eric
could not help joining in the general titter. Barker scowled.
"As usual, Barker," said the master, with a curl of the lip. "Hold out
your hand!"
Barker did so, looking sullen defiance, and the cane immediately

descended on his open palm. Six similar cuts followed, during which
the form looked on, not without terror; and Barker, squeezing his hands
tight together, went back to his seat.
"Williams, translate the piece in which Barker has just failed."
Eric did as he was bid, and got through it pretty well. He had now quite
recovered his ordinary bearing, and spoke out clearly and without
nervousness. He afterwards won several places by answering questions,
and at the end of the lesson was marked about half-way up the form.
The boys' numbers were then taken down in the weekly register, and
they went back to their seats.
On his desk Eric found a torn bit of paper, on which was clumsily
scrawled, "I'll teach you to grin when I'm turned, you young brute."
The paper seemed to fascinate his eyes. He stared at it fixedly, and
augured ominously of Barker's intentions, since that worthy obviously
alluded to his having smiled in form, and chose to interpret it as an
intentional provocation. He felt that he was in for it, and that Barker
meant to pick a quarrel with him. This puzzled and annoyed him, and
he felt very sad to have found an enemy already.
While he was looking at the paper the great school-clock struck twelve;
and the captain of the form getting up, threw open the folding doors of
the schoolroom.
"You may go," said Mr Gordon; and leaving his seat, disappeared by a
door at the farther end of the room.
Instantly there was a rush for caps, and the boys poured out in a
confused and noisy stream, while at the same moment the other
schoolrooms disgorged their inmates. Eric naturally went out among
the last; but just as he was going to take his cap, Barker seized it, and
flung it with a whoop to the end of the passage, where it was trampled
on by a number of the boys as they ran out.
Eric, gulping down his fury with a great effort, turned to his opponent,

and said coolly, "Is that what you always do to new fellows?"
"Yes, you bumptious young owl, it is, and that too;" and a tolerably
smart slap on the face followed--leaving a red mark on a cheek already
aflame with anger and indignation,--"should you like a little more?"
He was hurt and offended, but was too proud to cry. "What's that for?"
he said, with flashing eyes.
"For your conceit in laughing at me when I was caned."
Eric stamped. "I did nothing of the kind, and you know it as well as I
do."
"What? I'm a liar, am I? Oh, we shall take this kind of thing out of you,
you young cub; take that;" and a heavier blow followed.
"You brutal cowardly bully," shouted Eric; and in another moment he
would have sprung upon him. It was lucky for him that he did not, for
Barker was three years older than he, and very powerful. Such an attack
would have been most unfortunate for him in every way. But at this
instant some boys hearing the quarrel ran up, and Russell among them.
"Hallo, Barker," said one; "what's up?"
"Why, I'm teaching this new fry to be less bumptious, that's all."
"Shame!" said Russell, as he saw the mark on Eric's cheek; "what a
fellow you are, Barker. Why couldn't you let him alone for the first day
at any rate?"
"What's that to you? I'll kick you too if you say much."
"Cave! cave!" whispered half a dozen voices, and instantly the knot of
boys dispersed in every direction, as Mr Gordon was seen approaching.
He had caught a glimpse of the scene without understanding it, and
seeing the new boy's red and angry face, he only said, as he passed by,
"What, Williams! fighting already? Take care."

This was the cruellest cut of all. "So," thought Eric, "a nice beginning!
it seems both boys and masters are against me," and very disconsolately
he walked to pick up his cap.
The boys were all dispersed on the playground at different games, and
as he went home he was stopped perpetually, and had to answer the
usual questions, "What's your name? Are you a boarder or a