The Kings Sons | Page 4

go, neither of them hearing a shout, nor
seeing the little monk come panting up, to stand gazing ruefully after
them and wiping the great drops of perspiration off his face and head.
"Oh, dear!" he said; "it's a fine thing to be young and strong, and--"
He paused for a few moments to look down at his plump proportions.
"--And light," he added sadly. "I can't run as they do."
He stood perfectly still as he spoke, watching the deep crease in the
valley, whose bottom was hidden by clumps of willow and beds of
reeds with their dark purply waving blooms.

"I suppose I must go after them," he sighed. "What can they want down
there?"
The little monk sighed again and then started off to follow the boys,
trying hard to walk slowly and steadily; but it was all in vain. The
hill-side sloped very steeply to the broad bed of willows and reeds far
below, making the way very bad for so heavy and inactive a man.
Worse still: walking over the short grass in the hot sun had made the
bottoms of the monk's sandals as slippery as glass, and so it was that
before he had gone far down the slope he began to talk to himself, at
first slowly--then quickly--then in a loud excited way--and lastly he
uttered a shout and a cry for help.
"Here," he said, at first, "I want to go down slowly. It's too hot to walk
fast. Steady! Why, I am going faster!"
Then there was a minute's pause, and the monk cried excitedly:
"I don't want to run." Then: "Oh, dear me, however am I to stop
myself?" And directly after: "Oh, do stop me, somebody, or I shall be
broken all to bits." And lastly: "Here, help, help, help!"
Then there was a loud crashing sound, some water flew up, the monk
uttered a final "Oh!" and lay perfectly still, listening, for all at once a
familiar voice cried:
"Oh, come here, quick! A sheep has gone plosh into the pool."
Boys were as much boys then as they are now, for directly after these
words were uttered Alfred--the Little then--came hurrying as fast as the
water would let him wade--splash, splash, splash!--from where he and
his brothers had been busily making a dam across the little stream to
turn the rushing water aside into another channel so as to leave the
unfortunate trout helpless and ready for capture, and as soon as he
caught sight of his teacher lying perfectly still he burst into a fit of
hearty laughter.
"Come and look! Come and look!" he shouted.

His brothers wanted no further telling, but came splashing up out of the
stream to the open shallow muddy bed where the reeds grew, and as
soon as they saw the monk's condition they began to indulge in a
bare-legged triumphal war-dance, shrieking with laughter the while.
"Bad boys; bad, thoughtless, wicked boys!" grunted Father Swythe; but
he lay perfectly still with arms and legs spread apart as far as they
would go.
"Why don't you stand up and walk out?" cried Fred, at last, taking
compassion on his tutor's awkward plight.
"Because I'm so heavy, boy: I should sink."
"Oh, no. It isn't deep there. I've often waded about there to look for
moorhens' nests."
"Yes, my boy; but you're young and light. I'm very heavy."
"Yes," cried one of the others, in high delight; "there's an arrow depth
of water where you are, and quite a bow length of thick mud under
that."
"Oh, dear!" groaned the monk; "don't laugh at me, my boys. Can't you
help me out?"
"Yes, I'll get you out," cried Alfred, and he waded towards his
unfortunate tutor, trampling the reeds down with his bare feet, but
sinking in up to his knees at every step.
"Mind you don't get into a hole, Fred!" cried Bald.
"Mind the big luces!" shouted Bert. "There's a monster lives among
those reeds."
"Oh, they all swam away when Father Swythe fell in," cried Red. "You
have got to mind your toes. The big eels are down amongst the mud."
The monk groaned at this, and raised his dripping hands above the

water, to grasp with each a handful of reeds.
"The eels will go deeper into the mud," said Alfred sturdily. "Now then,
catch hold of my hands, and I'll pull you out."
The monk raised one hand very cautiously, and Alfred seized it tightly
and began to back, pulling with all his might; but he pulled in vain, for
he did not move his tutor an inch.
"Here, I know," cried Alfred. "You two come and join hands and pull."
"I'm afraid I'm too heavy," said Father Swythe.
"I shan't help," said Bald maliciously. "Let him