William Tell Told Again | Page 9

sez. That's what I sez.
"And they're artful, too, mind yer," he continued. "Why, only this
morning, I sez to myself, 'Friesshardt,' I sez, 'you just wait till twelve
o'clock,' I sez, ''cos that's when they leave the council-house, and then
they'll have to cross the meadow. And then we'll see what we shall see,'
I sez. Like that, I sez. Bitter-like, yer know. 'We'll see,' I sez, 'what we
shall see.' So I waited, and at twelve o'clock out they came, dozens of
them, and began to cross the meadow. 'And now,' sez I to myself, 'look
out for larks.' But what happened? Why, when they came to the pole,
the priest stood in front of it, and the sacristan rang the bell, and they
all fell down on their knees. But they were saying their prayers, not
doing obeisance to the hat. That's what they were doing. Artful--that's
what they are!"
And Friesshardt kicked the foot of the pole viciously with his iron boot.
"It's my belief," said Leuthold (Leuthold is the thin soldier you see in
the picture)--"it's my firm belief that they are laughing at us. There!
Listen to that!"
A voice made itself heard from behind a rock not far off.
"Where did you get that hat?" said the voice.
"There!" grumbled Leuthold; "they're always at it. Last time it was,
'Who's your hatter?' Why, we're the laughing-stock of the place. We're

like two rogues in a pillory. 'Tis rank disgrace for one who wears a
sword to stand as sentry o'er an empty hat. To make obeisance to a hat!
I' faith, such a command is downright foolery!"
"Well," said Friesshardt, "and why not bow before an empty hat? Thou
hast oft bow'd before an empty skull. Ha, ha! I was always one for a
joke, yer know."
"Here come some people," said Leuthold. "At last! And they're only the
rabble, after all. You don't catch any of the better sort of people coming
here."
A crowd was beginning to collect on the edge of the meadow. Its
numbers swelled every minute, until quite a hundred of the commoner
sort must have been gathered together. They stood pointing at the pole
and talking among themselves, but nobody made any movement to
cross the meadow.
At last somebody shouted "Yah!"
The soldiers took no notice.
Somebody else cried "Booh!"'
"Pass along there, pass along!" said the soldiers.
Cries of "Where did you get that hat?" began to come from the body of
the crowd. When the Swiss invented a catch-phrase they did not drop it
in a hurry.
"Where--did--you--get--that--HAT?" they shouted.
Friesshardt and Leuthold stood like two statues in armour, paying no
attention to the remarks of the rabble. This annoyed the rabble. They
began to be more personal.
"You in the second-hand lobster-tin," shouted one--he meant
Friesshardt, whose suit of armour, though no longer new, hardly
deserved this description--"who's your hatter?"

"Can't yer see," shouted a friend, when Friesshardt made no reply, "the
pore thing ain't alive? 'E's stuffed!"
Roars of laughter greeted this sally. Friesshardt, in spite of the fact that
he enjoyed a joke, turned pink.
"'E's blushing!" shrieked a voice.
Friesshardt turned purple.
Then things got still more exciting.
"'Ere," said a rough voice in the crowd impatiently, "wot's the good of
_torkin'_ to 'em? Gimme that 'ere egg, missus!"
And in another instant an egg flew across the meadow, and burst over
Leuthold's shoulder. The crowd howled with delight. This was
something like fun, thought they, and the next moment eggs, cabbages,
cats, and missiles of every sort darkened the air. The two soldiers raved
and shouted, but did not dare to leave their post. At last, just as the
storm was at its height, it ceased, as if by magic. Everyone in the crowd
turned round, and, as he turned, jumped into the air and waved his hat.
[Illustration: PLATE III]
A deafening cheer went up.
"Hurrah!" cried the mob; "here comes good old Tell! Now there's going
to be a jolly row!"


CHAPTER VIII
Tell came striding along, Walter by his side, and his cross-bow over his
shoulder. He knew nothing about the hat having been placed on the
pole, and he was surprised to see such a large crowd gathered in the

meadow. He bowed to the crowd in his polite way, and the crowd gave
three cheers and one more, and he bowed again.
"Hullo!" said Walter suddenly; "look at that hat up there, father. On the
pole."
"What is the hat to us?" said Tell; and he began to walk across the
meadow with an air of great dignity, and Walter walked by his side,
trying to look just like him.
"Here! hi!" shouted the soldiers. "Stop! You haven't bowed down to the
cap."
[Illustration: PLATE