Now look ee here, young un, said the Arab, I dont know nothink about the Vest End squares, an whats more I dont want to, but I do know a lot about the East End streets, an if youll come with me, Ill
Thank ee, no, interrupted Billy, with unlooked-for decision, Ive got business to look arter at the West End.
Yell, cooriously enough, returned the Arab, Ive got business at the East End. By the vay, you dont appen to ave any brownsany coppersabout youeh?
Of course I has. You dont suppose a man goes cruisin about Lunon without any shot in the locker, do you?
To be sure not, responded the street boy; I might ave knowd that a man like you wouldnt, anyhow. Now, it so appens that Im wery much in want o change. You couldnt give me browns for a sixpence, could you?
The Arab said this so earnestlyat the same time producing a sixpence, or something that looked like one, from his pocketsthat the provincial boys rising suspicions were quite disarmed.
Let me see, he said, plunging his hand into his trousers pocketone, two, threeno, Ive only got fourpence, but
He was cut short by the Arab making a sudden grasp at the coins, which sent most of them spinning on the pavement.
Like lightning little Billy sprang forward and planted his right fist on the point of the Arabs nose with such vigour that the blow caused him to stagger backwards. Before he could recover Billy followed him up with a left-hander on the forehead and a right-hander on the chest, which last sent him over on his back. So sudden was the onset that the passers-by scarcely understood what was occurring before it was all over. A grave policeman stepped forward at the moment. The Arab rose, glided into a whirl of wheels and horses legs, and disappeared, while Billy stood still with doubled fists glaring defiance.
Now then, my boy, whats all this about? said the man in blue, placing a large hand gently on the small shoulder.
Hes bin and knocked my coppers about, said our little hero indignantly, as he looked up, but the stern yet kindly smile on the policemans face restored him, and he condescended on a fuller explanation as he proceeded to pick up his pence.
Having been cautioned about the danger of entering into conversation with strangers in Londonespecially with street boysBilly was directed to a Pimlico omnibus, and deposited not far from his destination. Inquiring his way thereafter of several policemenwho were, as he afterwards related to admiring friends, as thick in London as bloaters in Yarmouthhe found himself in front of the Dotropy residence.
Yes, my little man, said the footman who opened the door of the West End mansion, Miss Ruth is at ome, and as been expecting you. Come this way.
That footman lost ground in Billys estimation because of using the word little. If he had said my boy, it would have been all right; my man would have been gratifying; but my little man was repulsive. A smart servant girl who chanced to see him on his way to the library also caused him much pain by whispering to her fellow something about a sweet innocent-faced darling, and he put on a savage frown, as he was ushered into the room, by way of counteracting the sweet innocence. A glass opposite suddenly revealed to its owner the smooth rosy-brown visage, screwed up in a compound expression. That expression changed so swiftly to sheer surprise that a burst of involuntary laughter was the result. A deep flush, and silence, followed, as the urchin looked with some confusion round the room to see if he had been observed or overheard, and a sense of relief came as he found that he was alone. No one had seen or heard him except some of the Dotropy ancestors who had come over with the Conqueror, and who gazed sternly from the walls. For, you see, being a family of note, the dining-room could not hold all the ancestors, so that some of them had to be accommodated in the library.
That glance round had a powerful effect on the mind of the fisher-boy, so powerful indeed that all thought of self vanished, for he found himself for the first time in a room the like of which he had never seen, or heard, or dreamed of.
He knew, of course, that there were libraries in Yarmouth, and was aware that they had something to do with books, but he had never seen a collection on a large scale, and, up to that time, had no particular curiosity about books.
Indeed, if truth must be told, Billy hated books, because the only point in regard to which he and his mother had ever differed was a book! A tattered, ragged, much-soiled book it was, with big letters at the beginning, simple arrangements of letters in the middle, and maddening compounds of them towards the end. Earnestly, patiently, lovingly, yet perseveringly, had Mrs Bright tried to drill the contents of that book into Billys unwilling brain, but with little success, for, albeit a willing and obliging child, there was a limit to his powers of comprehension, and a tendency in his young mind to hold in contempt what he did not understand.
One day a somewhat pedantic visitor told Billy that he would never be a great man if he did not try to understand the book in questionto thoroughly digest it.
You hear what the gentleman says, Billy, you dirty little gurnet, said David Bright on that occasion, youve got to di-gest it, my lad, to di-gest it.
Yes, father, said Billy, with a finger in his mouth and his eyes on the visitor.
The boys mind was inquisitive and ingenious. He pestered his father, after the visitor had gone, for an explanation as to what he meant by digesting the book.
Why, sonny, returned David, knitting his brows very hard, for the question was somewhat of a puzzler, he means that youve got to stow away in your brain the knowledge thats in the book, an work away at itdi-gest it, dee seesame as you stow grub into yer stummick an digest that.
Billy pondered this a long time till a happy thought occurred to him.
Ill digest it, said he, slapping his thigh one day when he was left alone in the house. Well all di-gest it together!
He jumped up, took the lid off a pot of pea-soup that was boiling on the fire, and dropped the hated book into it.
Whats this i the soup, Nell? said David that day at dinner, as he fished a mass of curious substance out of the pot. Many a queer thing have I fished up i the trawl from the bottom o the North Sea, but neer afore did I make such a haul as this in a pot o pea-soup. What ist?
Why, David, replied the wife, examining the substance with a puzzled expression, I do believe its the primer!
They both turned their eyes inquiringly on the boy, who sat gravely watching them.
All right, father, he said, I put im in. Were a-goin to di-gest it, you know.
Dirty boy! exclaimed his mother, flinging the remains of the boiled book under the grate. Youve ruined the soup.
Never a bit, Nell, said the skipper, who was in no wise particular as to his food, clean paper an print cant do no damage to the soup. An after all, I dont see why a man shouldnt take in knowledge as well through the stummick as through the brain. It dont matter a rokers tail whether you ship cargo through the main-hatch or through the fore-hatch, so long as it gits inside somehow. Come, lets have a bowl of it. I never was good at letters myself, an Ill be bound to say that Billy and I will di-gest the book better this way than the right way.
Thus was the finishing touch put to Billy Brights education at that time, and we have described the incident in order that the reader may fully understand the condition of the boys mind as he stood gazing round the library of the West End mansion.
Books! exclaimed Billy, afterwards, when questioned by a Yarmouth friend, I should just think there was books. Oh! its o no manner o use tryin to tell ee about it. There was books from the floor to the ceilin all round the roombooks in red covers, an blue covers, an green, an yellow, an pink, an whiteall the colours in the rainbow, and all of em more or less kivered wi goldwyI dont know what their insides was worth, but sartin sure am I that they couldnt come up to their outsides. Mints of money must ave bin spent in kiverin of em. An there was ladders to git at ema short un to git at the books below, an a long un to go aloft for em in the top rows. What people finds to write about beats me to understand; but who ever buys and reads it all beats me wuss.
While new and puzzling thoughts were thus chasing each other through the fisher-boys brain Ruth Dotropy entered.
What! Billy Bright, she exclaimed in a tone of great satisfaction, hurrying forward and holding out her hand. Im so glad they have sent you. I would have asked them to send you, when I wrote, but thought you were at sea.
Yes, Miss, but Ive got back again, said Billy, grasping the offered hand timidly, fearing to soil it.
For the same reason he sat down carefully on the edge of a chair, when Ruth said heartily, Come, sit down and lets have a talk together, for, you see, he had become so accustomed to fishy clothes and tarred hands that he had a tendency to forget that he was now clean and in a split-new rig.
Ruths manner and reception put the poor boy at once at his ease. For some time she plied him with questions about the fisher-folk of Yarmouth and Gorleston, in whom she had taken great interest during a summer spent at the former town,at which time she had made the acquaintance of little Billy. Then she began to talk of the sea and the fishery, and the smacks with their crews. Of course the boy was in his element on these subjects, and not only answered his fair questioner fully, but volunteered a number of anecdotes, and a vast amount of interesting information about fishing, which quite charmed Ruth, inducing her to encourage him to go on.
Oh! yes, Miss, he said, its quite true what youve bin told. Theres hundreds and hundreds of smacks a-fishin out there on the North Sea all the year round, summer an winter. In course I cant say whether theres a popilation, as you calls it, of over twelve thousand, always afloat, never havin counted em myself, but I know there must be a-many thousand men an boys there.
Billy was right. There is really a population of over 12,000 men and boys afloat all the year round on the North Sea, engaged in the arduous work of daily supplying the London and other markets with fresh fish.
And what port do they run for when a storm comes on? asked Ruth.
What port, Miss? why, they dont run for no port at all, cos why? theres no port near enough to run for.
Do you mean to say, that they remain at sea during all the stormseven the worst?
Thats just what we does, Miss. Blow high, blow low, its all the same; we must weather it the best way we can. An you should see how it blows in winter! Thats the time we catches it wust. Its so cold too! Ive not bin out in winter yet myself, but father says its cold enough to freeze the nose off your face, an it blows ard enough amost to blow you inside out. You wouldnt like to face that sort o thingwould you, Miss?
With a light laugh Ruth admitted that she disliked the idea of such North Sea experiences.
Oh! youve no idea, Miss, how it do blow sometimes, continued Billy, who was a naturally communicative boy, and felt that he had got hold of a sympathetic ear. Have you ever heard of the gale that blew so ard that they had to station two men an a boy to hold on to the captains hair for fear it should be blowed right off his ead?
Yes, answered Ruth, with a silvery laugh. Ive heard of that gale.
Have you, Miss? said Billy with a slightly surprised look. Thats queer, now. I thought nobody knowd o that gale cept us o the North Sea, an, praps, some o the people o Yarmouth an Gorleston.
I rather think that I must have read of it somewhere, said Ruth. Billy glanced reproachfully at the surrounding books, under the impression that it must have been one of these which had taken the wind out of his sails.
Well, Miss, he continued, I dont mean for to say I ever was in a gale that obliged us to be careful of the skippers hair, but I do say that fathers seed somethink like it, for many a time our smack has bin blowed over on her beam-endsthat means laid amost flat, Miss, with er sails on the sea. One night fathers smack was sailin along close-hauled when a heavy sea struck er abaft the channels, and filled the bag o the mainsl. She was just risin to clear herself when another sea follared, filled the mainsl again, an sent er on er beam-ends. The sea was makin a clean breach over er from stem to stern, an cleared the deck o the boat an gear an everythink. Down went all hands below an shut the companion, to prevent er being swamped. Meanwhile the weight o water bust the mainsl, so that the vessel partly righted, an let the hands come on deck agin. Then, after the gale had eased a bit, two or three o their comrades bore down on em and towed em round, so as the wind got under er an lifted er a bit, but the ballast had bin shot from the bilge into the side, so they couldnt right her altogether, but had to tow er into port that wayover two hundred milesthe snow an hail blowin, too, like one oclock!
Really, they must have had a terrible time of it, returned Ruth, though I dont know exactly how dreadful one oclock may be. But tell me, Billy, do the fishermen like the worsted mitts and helmets and comforters that were sent to them from this house last year?
Oh! dont they, just! Ive heard them blessin the ladies as sent em, many a time. You see, Miss, the oil-skins chafe our wrists most awful when were workin of the gear
What is the gear, Billy?
The nets, Miss, an all the tackle as belongs to em. An then the salt water makes the sores wussit used to be quite awful, but the cuffs keeps us all right. An the books an tracts, too, Missthe hands are wery fond o them, an
We will talk about the books and tracts another time, said Ruth, interrupting, but just now we must proceed to business. Of course you understand that I must have some object in view in sending for a fisher-boy from Yarmouth.
Well, Miss, it did occur to me that I wasnt axed to come here for nuffin.
Just so, my boy. Now I want your help, so I will explain. We are to have what is called a drawing-room meeting here in a few days, in behalf of the Mission to Deep-Sea Fishermen, and one of your fisher captains is to be present to give an account of the work carried on among the men of the fleet by the mission vessels. So I want you to be there as one of the boys
Not to speak to em, Miss, I hope? said Billy, with a look of affected modesty.