The Flight of Pony Baker | Page 7

his father, "but I think we ought to give him
one more trial; and I advise you to take your books back again this
afternoon, and read so well that he will put you into the fourth reader
to-morrow morning."
Pony understood that his father was just making fun about the fourth
reader, but was in earnest about his going back to school; and he left
the table and threw himself on the lounge, with his face down, and
cried. He said he was sick, and his head ached, and he could not go to
school; his father said that he hoped his headache would wear off in the
course of the afternoon, but if he was worse they would have the doctor
when he came home from school.

Then he took his hat and went out of the front door to go up town, and
Pony screamed out, "Well, I'll run off; that's what I'll do!"
His father did not take any notice of him, and his mother only said,
"Pony, Pony!" while his sisters all stood round frightened at the way
Pony howled and thrashed the lounge with his legs.
But before one o'clock Pony washed his face and brushed his hair, and
took his books and started for school. His mother tried to kiss him, but
he pushed her off, for it seemed to him that she might have made his
father let him stay out of school, if she had tried, and he was not going
to have any of her pretending. He made his face very cold and hard as
he marched out of the house, for he never meant to come back to that
house any more. He meant to go to school that afternoon, but as soon as
school was out he was going to run off.
When the fellows saw him coming back with his books they knew how
it was, but they did not mock him, for he had done everything that he
could, and all that was expected of anybody in such a case. A boy
always came back when he had left school in that way, and nobody
supposed but what he would; the thing was to leave school; after that
you were not to blame, whatever happened.
Before recess it began to be known among them that Pony was going to
run off, because his father had made him come back, and then they did
think he was somebody; and as soon as they got out at recess they all
crowded round him and began to praise him up, and everything, and to
tell him that they would run off, too, if their fathers sent them back; and
so he began to be glad that he was going to do it. They asked him when
he was going to run off, and he told them they would see; and pretty
soon it was understood that he was going to run off the same night.
When school was out a whole crowd of them started with him, and
some of the biggest fellows walked alongside of him, and talked down
over their shoulders to him, and told him what he must do. They said he
must not start till after dark, and he must watch out for the constable till
he got over the corporation line and then nobody could touch him.
They said that they would be waiting round the corner for him as soon

as they had their suppers, and one of them would walk along with him
to the end of the first street and then another would be waiting there to
go with him to the end of the next, and so on till they reached the
corporation line. Very likely his father would have the constable
waiting there to stop him, but Pony ought to start to run across the line
and then the fellows would rush out and trip up the constable and hold
him down till Pony got safe across. He ought to hollo, when he was
across, and that would let them know that he was safe and they would
be ready to let the constable up, and begin to run before he could grab
them.
Everybody thought that was a splendid plan except Archy Hawkins,
that all the fellows called Old Hawkins; his father kept one of the hotels,
and Old Hawkins used to catch frogs for the table; he was the one that
the frogs used to know by sight, and when they saw him they would
croak out: "Here comes Hawkins! Here comes Hawkins! Look out!"
and jump off the bank into the water and then come up among the
green slime, where nobody but Old Hawkins could see them. He was
always joking and getting into scrapes, but still