The Young Buglers | Page 2

of their own age, when a barge was seen ahead at some
short distance from the shore. She was apparently floating down with
the stream, and the fact that a horse was proceeding along the
towing-path a little way ahead was not noticed, as the rope was slack
and was trailing under water. The boys, therefore, as they were rowing
against stream, steered their boat to pass inside of her. Just as they
came abreast of the horse a man on the barge suddenly shouted to the
rider of the horse to go on. He did so, the rope tightened, rose from the
water just under the bow of the boat, and in another minute the boys
were struggling in the water. All were good swimmers, and would have
cared little for the ducking had it occurred accidentally, but the roars of
laughter of the bargeman, and the chaff with which he assailed them as
they scrambled up the bank, showed clearly enough that they had been
upset maliciously. The boys were furious, and one or two proposed that
they should report the case, but Tom Scudamore pointed out that the
bargeman would of course declare that it was a pure accident, and that
the boys were themselves in fault in not looking out whether the barge
was being towed, before going inside her, and so nothing would come
of reporting.
The boat was dragged ashore and emptied, and in a few minutes they
were rowing back towards the town. The distance was but short, and
they did not repass the barge before they reached their boat-house. The
brothers had exchanged a few words in a low voice on the way, and
instead of following the example of the others, and starting at a run for
the house where they boarded to change their clothes, they walked

down by the river and saw that the barge had moored up against the
bank, at a short distance below the bridge. They watched for a time,
and saw the bargeman fasten up the hatch of the little cabin and go
ashore.
That night two boys lowered themselves with a rope from the window
of one of the dames-houses, and walked rapidly down to the river.
There were a few flickering oil lamps burning, and the one or two old
watchmen were soundly asleep in their boxes. They did not meet a soul
moving upon their way to the object of the expedition, the barge that
had run them down. Very quietly they slipped on board, satisfied
themselves by listening at the half-open hatch to the snoring within that
their enemy was there, then loosened the moorings so that they could
be thrown off at a moment's notice.
"Now, Peter," the elder brother said, "open our lantern. The night is
quite still. You hold your hand behind it, so that the light will not fall
on our faces, and I will look whether he is only wrapped up in a blanket
or has a regular bed; we must not risk setting the place on fire. Get the
crackers ready."
A dark lantern was now taken out from under Tom's jacket, and was
found to be still alight, an important matter, for striking a light with
flint and steel was in those days a long and tedious business, and then
opening it Tom threw the light into the cabin. It was a tiny place, and
upon a bench, wrapped up in a blanket, the bargeman was lying. As the
light fell on his eyes, he moved, and a moment afterwards started up
with an oath, and demanded who was there.
No answer came in words, but half a dozen lighted crackers were
thrown into the cabin, when they began to explode with a tremendous
uproar. In an instant the hatch was shut down and fastened outside. The
rope was cast off, and in another minute she was floating down stream
with the crackers still exploding inside her, but with their noise almost
deadened by the tremendous outcry of shouts and howls, and by a
continued and furious banging at the hatch.
"There is no fear of his being choked, Tom, I hope?"

"No, I expect he's all right," Tom said, "it will be pretty stifling for a bit
no doubt, but there's a chimney hole and the smoke will find its way
out presently. The barge will drift down to the weir before it brings up,
there is not enough stream out for there to be any risk of her upsetting,
else we daren't have turned her adrift."
The next day the whole town was talking of the affair, and in the
afternoon the bargeman went up to the head-master and accused one of
the boys of an attempt to murder him.
Greatly surprised, the Provost