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11 - Studies in the Art of Rat-Catching by Henry C. Barkley · Studies in the Art of Rat-Catching

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Speaker 1: Chapter ten of Studies in the Art of Rat Catching
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Speaker 1: by H. C. Barkley. This LibriVox recording is in the
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Speaker 1: public domain recording by Clive Catterall. Studies in the Art
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Speaker 1: of rat Catching by H. C. Barkley, Chapter ten. At
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Speaker 1: eight o'clock, having fed my dogs and ferrets and left
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Speaker 1: my boy Jack chatting in the harness room with the
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Speaker 1: Rector's old coachman, I found myself in a snug arm chair,
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Speaker 1: pipe in mouth, my feet on the fender, and the
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Speaker 1: Rector sitting opposite me in his study, he also enjoying
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Speaker 1: an after dinner pipe. And after a chat over the
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Speaker 1: events of the day and of the storm of the
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Speaker 1: previous night, the Rector began the history of the poor
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Speaker 1: lame boy at the cottage. Thus, I dare say you
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Speaker 1: remember that about eight years ago the Irish question was
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Speaker 1: giving the authorities much trouble and anxiety, owing to the
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Speaker 1: active ti turn it had then taken. Hideous murders were
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Speaker 1: of daily occurrence in that unfortunate country. Dynamite was being
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Speaker 1: used in London to destroy our public buildings, and many
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Speaker 1: of our statesmen were being tracked by paid assassins. Strict
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Speaker 1: orders had been issued by the authorities to watch all
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Speaker 1: our ports to prevent the landing from America of arms
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Speaker 1: and infernal machines, and both the police and customs officers
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Speaker 1: were on the alert. And yet in spite of all bloodthirsty,
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Speaker 1: cowardly dynamitis and assassins succeeded in sneaking into the country,
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Speaker 1: and every now and then perpetrated some hateful outrage. Well
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Speaker 1: it was during this time that one November morning a
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Speaker 1: queer looking yacht like vessel appeared in the offing and
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Speaker 1: for two days kept standing about. During the daytime it
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Speaker 1: was well out in the offing, but once or twice
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Speaker 1: at night it was noticed by the coast guard and
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Speaker 1: sailors to have come close in to land, and altogether
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Speaker 1: its movements were so mysterious that our suspicions were fully aroused,
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Speaker 1: and the officer of the coast Guard telegraphed to the
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Speaker 1: captain of the gunboat stationed at Brockmouth to put him
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Speaker 1: on the alert. For some days after this, nothing was
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Speaker 1: seen of the yacht, and our suspicions were lulled, and
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Speaker 1: life in our quiet little village had settled down to
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Speaker 1: its usual routine when early one stormy morning, the strange
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Speaker 1: vessel was again seen close off the land, and a
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Speaker 1: boat manned by six men put off for the little harbor,
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Speaker 1: and just as it rounded the point and got into
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Speaker 1: smooth water, a dog cart that we all recognized as
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Speaker 1: one let out for hire in a town ten miles
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Speaker 1: in land, drove down to the beach. Beside the driver
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Speaker 1: sat a tall, thin, dark man, but the few people
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Speaker 1: on the beach had only time to observe this, and
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Speaker 1: that he had the dress and appearance of a gentleman,
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Speaker 1: when he sprang from the cart and hurried to where
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Speaker 1: the boat lay, And without hesitating a moment or speaking
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Speaker 1: to any one, he waded out through the low surf
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Speaker 1: to the boat, which at once left the harbor and
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Speaker 1: made its best way to the yacht, which, as soon
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Speaker 1: as all were on board, hoisted all sail, and was
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Speaker 1: soon out of sight, driven along by a storm that
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Speaker 1: became in the course of the day as fierce a
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Speaker 1: one as that of last night. There was much talk
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Speaker 1: on the beach among the fishermen and in the village
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Speaker 1: among us all as to what the yacht could be
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Speaker 1: and who the stranger was, And we gathered from the
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Speaker 1: driver of the dog cart, who had put up his
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Speaker 1: horse at the inn to rest that he had been
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Speaker 1: called by the porter at the railway station to drive
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Speaker 1: the gentleman over, but that he had not heard his
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Speaker 1: name or what business brought him here. The driver, who
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Speaker 1: was a sharp old fellow, said the gentleman had chatted
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Speaker 1: with him as he came along, but kept pressing him
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Speaker 1: to drive faster and faster, and gave him five shillings
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Speaker 1: above his fare to use his bests. And he added,
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Speaker 1: I don't know who he is or what his business
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Speaker 1: may be, but I know one thing. He is an irishman.
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Speaker 1: I can tell it by his tongue and by his
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Speaker 1: queer looking blue eyes and dark hair. Four and twenty
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Speaker 1: hours passed, and during that time many people, I among
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Speaker 1: the number, did not go to bed, for the storm
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Speaker 1: which had sprung up with the departing yacht, had blown
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Speaker 1: itself into half a hurricane, and there were fishing boats out,
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Speaker 1: which made us all anxious. As we did last night,
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Speaker 1: or rather this morning, I went round to a few
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Speaker 1: of the fishermen's houses where there were anxious wives and
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Speaker 1: mothers waiting for the absent, and chatted with and cheered them.
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Speaker 1: And I was leaving the two cottages that I dare
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Speaker 1: say you noticed close under the rock, towards the point
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Speaker 1: when the first streaks of morning began to appear in
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Speaker 1: the east. I love to see the daybreak at any time,
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Speaker 1: but I especially liked to watch it over a stormy sea,
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Speaker 1: and therefore, sheltering myself a little behind a boulder, I
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Speaker 1: stood gazing for a while, when presently, like a thing
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Speaker 1: of life, came plunging and driving from the very gates
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Speaker 1: of the morning, the same yacht that had so puzzled us.
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Speaker 1: On and on it came close, hauled to the wind,
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Speaker 1: straight for the narrow, rock bound jaws of the cove,
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Speaker 1: and I saw at a glance that if it kept
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Speaker 1: its course, it must strike on a group of rocks
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Speaker 1: half a mile out to sea, and parson as I am,
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Speaker 1: I knew should she strike them, no human aid could
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Speaker 1: save the lives of those on board. I hardly know
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Speaker 1: what I did, except that I took off my coat
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Speaker 1: and waved it frantically, and mounted the highest pinnacle on
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Speaker 1: the rocky point to make myself seen by the fated crew.
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Speaker 1: But though at last I could actually distinguish two men
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Speaker 1: at the wheel holding the vessel close to the wind,
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Speaker 1: Yet they took no notice, and came on and on,
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Speaker 1: leaping waves, mountain high one minute and lost to sight
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Speaker 1: the next in the trough of the seas. Scores of
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Speaker 1: fishermen soon joined me, and even their wives followed and
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Speaker 1: crouched near behind the rocks. And so fully was the
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Speaker 1: ship's danger, realized that from time to time a deep groan,
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Speaker 1: half of despair, half prayer went up from all There
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Speaker 1: was but one hope. Could the yacht be kept close
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Speaker 1: enough to the wind to lead those steering her to
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Speaker 1: believe they could make the entrance of the harbor, or
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Speaker 1: would she be carried far enough to windward to make
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Speaker 1: this impossible? And so forced those in charge to alter
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Speaker 1: her course to avoid the stiff cliffs beyond ah. No,
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Speaker 1: we saw as we watched that she was too good
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Speaker 1: a vessel to fall off to leeward, and those handling
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Speaker 1: her two good sailors to allow her to do so,
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Speaker 1: for she flew over the waves like a beautiful bird
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Speaker 1: for the entrance of the harbor, and the sunken rocks
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Speaker 1: were in her direct line. Suddenly, as we watched, with
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Speaker 1: every sense strained to the utmost in our eyes, riveted
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Speaker 1: on the doomed ship. We heard away out to sea
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Speaker 1: the boom of a big gun, and then another, and
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Speaker 1: presently we saw, emerging from the fast, diminishing darkness, a low,
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Speaker 1: long steamer. At first we thought it was a ship
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Speaker 1: also in deep distress, making signals, but the old sailors
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Speaker 1: soon saw this was not so, and declared it was
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Speaker 1: a gunboat, firing at the yacht in the hope of
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Speaker 1: driving her on to the rock bound coast, and also
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Speaker 1: to attract the attention of the coast guard, so that
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Speaker 1: should she reach the harbor, those on board might be
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Speaker 1: prevented from escaping the hands of justice. It was a
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Speaker 1: cruel service for British sailors to be employed on, however
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Speaker 1: necessary and hard to witness man hunting man to his
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Speaker 1: death when the wind and waves already held open the
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Speaker 1: portals of eternity before him, and little short of a
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Speaker 1: miracle could avert his doom. A few minutes, a few
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Speaker 1: hundred yards, and the yacht is on the rocks. Gallantly
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Speaker 1: she glides along the side of that green wave and
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Speaker 1: dashes the foam from her crest ere she plunges deep
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Speaker 1: into the sea. A monster wave rolls fast upon her,
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Speaker 1: as if to swallow her quivering form, high high, she
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Speaker 1: rises till half her length is in the air over
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Speaker 1: the crest of the wave, and then down she sinks.
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Speaker 1: Then the crash comes, Waves dash over her, her masts fall,
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Speaker 1: her boats are wrenched from her sides, and the next
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Speaker 1: minute we see her a tangled mass of wreck and cordage,
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Speaker 1: firmly embedded on the pitiless rocks. Don't suppose our fishermen
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Speaker 1: had been quietly watching this and doing nothing to help.
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Speaker 1: From the first preparations had been made, our friend Jack
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Speaker 1: and a score of other active young men had shoved
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Speaker 1: off the only boat on the beach that had the
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Speaker 1: faintest hope of living in a storm like this, and
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Speaker 1: had been waiting in it close to the harbor mouth
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Speaker 1: some minutes before the yacht struck. But so small was
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Speaker 1: the chance of that frail boat living in such a
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Speaker 1: sea that many of the more experienced of the sailors
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Speaker 1: made signals to prevent the men starting off to meet
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Speaker 1: what they thought was certain death. Others thought it might
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Speaker 1: be done, and waved contrary signals. And it was then
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Speaker 1: that one saw what sort of women our sailors wives are.
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Speaker 1: For though many standing there with us had nearer and
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Speaker 1: dear ones in that boat, and were suffering tortures of anxiety.
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Speaker 1: Not a word was spoken, but all was left for
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Speaker 1: the men to do as they thought. Right as the
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Speaker 1: yacht struck, a deep wailing shout went up from all
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Speaker 1: on land, and those in the boat knew what had happened.
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Speaker 1: The next moment we saw the boat plunge into the
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Speaker 1: green waves of the harbor mouth. For a moment it
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Speaker 1: seemed to stagger and quail, and then, impelled by those
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Speaker 1: hands and muscles of iron, it was driven forward through
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Speaker 1: the blinding spray into the angry sea beyond. Shall I
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Speaker 1: ever forget how we watched that boat, now mounted high
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Speaker 1: on the top of a way, now for moments lost
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Speaker 1: to sight, the men all straining at their oars to
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Speaker 1: the utmost, and always creeping forward yard by yard. All
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Speaker 1: this time we on the point could see, with increasing fears,
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Speaker 1: that the hope of the yacht holding together till reached
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Speaker 1: by the rescuers was but a faint one. Each monster
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Speaker 1: wave that rolled in lifted it from the rocks and
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Speaker 1: left it to fall back with an irresistible force midst
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Speaker 1: spray and foam that constantly wholly hid it from our sight,
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Speaker 1: and even before the boats started, portions of the wreck
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Speaker 1: were being tossed about on the sea, making its passage
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Speaker 1: even more precarious. At one time a group of human
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Speaker 1: beings was seen on the deck, clinging to some cordage,
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Speaker 1: but when the next wave passed, most of them had disappeared,
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Speaker 1: and we knew they had perished before our eyes. It
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Speaker 1: was difficult to distinguish objects midst the turmoil, but it
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Speaker 1: soon was whispered among us that some one or more
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Speaker 1: persons were crouching behind the bulwarks, probably lashed there for safety,
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Speaker 1: and from an occasional flutter of a red scarf or garment,
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Speaker 1: we feared there was an unfortunate woman among them. And once,
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Speaker 1: as the waves receded from the deck, we distinctly saw
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Speaker 1: a man rise up from the group and look for
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Speaker 1: a moment towards the approaching boat, and then sink again
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Speaker 1: beside his companions, just as an incoming wave swept high
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Speaker 1: over the poor shelter. The stout bulwark afforded if the
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Speaker 1: yacht could only hold together a few minutes longer, but no.
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Speaker 1: Once more it rises from its bed like some agonized
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Speaker 1: dying monster, and then as it falls back. It parts
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Speaker 1: in too, and half of it is a drifting mass
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Speaker 1: of planks and timber washing forward as if to meet
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Speaker 1: the boat and destroy it. A portion yet remained fixed
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Speaker 1: on the rock. And now and then we could still
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Speaker 1: see the group crouching behind the bulwark. On and on
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Speaker 1: fought the boat, now a little out of the direct
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Speaker 1: line to avoid the wreckage, till it was close behind
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Speaker 1: the wreck, and partially sheltered by the rampart. It formed
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Speaker 1: against the sea. But at that moment all that remained
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Speaker 1: of it was again lifted high in the air and
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Speaker 1: dashed forward, And when the waves had passed by, there
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Speaker 1: was only the frail boat with its brave crew to
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Speaker 1: be seen. On the surface. We see it pause for
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Speaker 1: a moment, and then all oars dip together, and the
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Speaker 1: boat dashes forward. Some one leans over the boughs, and
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Speaker 1: there is a moment's struggle, but the mist and foam
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Speaker 1: prevent our distinguishing clearly what is going on. After a
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Speaker 1: while they evidently find there is nothing further that can
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Speaker 1: be done. The boat is put before the waves and
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Speaker 1: comes dashing back towards land. All on the point hurried
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Speaker 1: down to the entrance of the harbor, and many of
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Speaker 1: the men, with coils of rope in their hands, stood
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Speaker 1: ready to give assistance. As each wave rolled under the boat,
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Speaker 1: it flew through the water and then sank back again,
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Speaker 1: hidden from our sight, but nearer and nearer it came on,
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Speaker 1: till at last, on the crest of a wave, it
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Speaker 1: darted sharp round the point and lay tossing in comparatively
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Speaker 1: calm water Steadily. Its crew rowed it up the little harbor,
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Speaker 1: and as it approached the beach, scores of ready hands
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Speaker 1: seized it and ran it high up on to dry land,
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Speaker 1: and a cheer rang out above the roar of the
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Speaker 1: wind to welcome those snatched from the jaws of death,
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Speaker 1: but this was not responded to by the men in
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Speaker 1: the boat. They all looked stern and anxious. And then
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Speaker 1: we saw that Jack, who was crouched in the boughs,
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Speaker 1: was supporting in his arms the slight form of a
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Speaker 1: fair young girl, with long, soft tangled hair falling around
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Speaker 1: her and forming a frame to the most beautiful, saint
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Speaker 1: like face my eyes have ever seen. Her lips were
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Speaker 1: parted in a smile, and her eyes looked down on
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Speaker 1: a small boy about two years old, who was bound
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Speaker 1: in her arms by a red scarf. At first I
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Speaker 1: thought she was fainting or falling asleep. But the next moment,
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Speaker 1: merciful heavens, I saw that the back of her sweet
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Speaker 1: young head was battered in and bleeding, and that she
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Speaker 1: was already beyond the storms of life and the cruel
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Speaker 1: raging of the destroying elements. Hard horny hands of rough
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Speaker 1: women tenderly and deftly unwound the scarf from off the child,
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Speaker 1: and Jack's wife, Mary, pressing him to her bosom, hastened
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Speaker 1: with him to her cottage, while the fair dead form
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Speaker 1: was carried to a fisherman's house close by, and a
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Speaker 1: few days later was laid in its quiet grave in
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Speaker 1: the old churchyard, within sound of the ruthless sea that
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Speaker 1: had so cruelly beaten the young life out of it.
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Speaker 1: You may easily find the grave, for the fishermen, out
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Speaker 1: of their deep pity, had a plain cross put over it,
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Speaker 1: with just the words Jack's mother and the date of
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Speaker 1: her death carved upon it to this day, and I
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Speaker 1: fancy for the only name she will be known by
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Speaker 1: is Jack's mother. For all connected with that ill fated
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Speaker 1: yacht remains a mystery, not a living creature escaped, except
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Speaker 1: that frail little child. Many bodies were recovered during the
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Speaker 1: next few days, and among them the remains of the
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Speaker 1: man who had arrived the previous day in the dog cart.
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Speaker 1: But neither on any of the bodies, nor among the
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Speaker 1: wreckage that came ashore, was anything found to lead to
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Speaker 1: the identification of the yacht or its owners. And though
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Speaker 1: the account of the disaster appeared in all the papers
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Speaker 1: and was the talk of the county, yet no living
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Speaker 1: soul has ever come forward to claim connection with the
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Speaker 1: child with any of those drowned. It was thought at
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Speaker 1: the time that the owner of the yacht was one
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Speaker 1: of those desperate ruffians of Irish extraction that have from
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Speaker 1: time to time arrived here from America, and that when
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Speaker 1: he so hastily joined the vessel, he was in fear
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Speaker 1: of detection and was about to sail for a Mintmerica. Anyhow,
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Speaker 1: the yacht was sighted by the gunboats sent to look
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Speaker 1: after it, and chased and driven through the storm back
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Speaker 1: to our little harbor, it being doubtless the intention of
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Speaker 1: the fugitive to attempt his escape by land if he
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Speaker 1: could at once reach the shore. How miserably it ended,
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Speaker 1: you know, but you don't quite know all, for I
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Speaker 1: have not told you that on reaching the cottage, Jack's
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Speaker 1: wife found the little one breathed. I have told you
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Speaker 1: of the storm, and I have told you of the wreck,
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Speaker 1: but words would fail to tell of all the love
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Speaker 1: and care and attention that was bestowed for weeks, aye
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Speaker 1: for years up to this day on the little one.
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Speaker 1: Only the recording Angel can note such things, and only
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Speaker 1: the God of Love can reward them. Not that either
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Speaker 1: Jack or his wife think of rewards, either from earth
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Speaker 1: or in heaven, for their love is wholly unselfish and
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Speaker 1: all satisfying. And were only the boy well and strong,
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Speaker 1: I am sure that in all these realms there could
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Speaker 1: not be found a more perfectly happy trio than Jack
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Speaker 1: the Fisherman, Little Jack and his adopted mother. Unfortunately, it
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Speaker 1: was discovered that in some way the child's back had
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Speaker 1: been injured in the storm. For months, he lay between
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Speaker 1: life and death. At last to recover, partially only in
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Speaker 1: health and without the use of his poor legs. Many
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Speaker 1: friends have come forward with help, and great London doctors
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Speaker 1: have seen and attended the boy till lately they gave
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Speaker 1: little hope. But thank God there has been during the
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Speaker 1: past year a slow but steady improvement, and they now
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Speaker 1: think in time the boy may grow strong in health,
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Speaker 1: but there is no hope of his ever walking without
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Speaker 1: his crutches. Fortunately, nature has bestowed many gifts on the
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Speaker 1: poor child that compensate him somewhat for his loss. First
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Speaker 1: an intensely loving, unselfish nature, and secondly a perfect voice
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Speaker 1: and passionate love of music. Already he is carried each
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Speaker 1: Sunday to church by his father, and his voice in
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Speaker 1: the choir is celebrated for many miles around, and has
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Speaker 1: so impressed the organist at the cathedral at Marshford that
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Speaker 1: he either comes himself or sends one of his pupils
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Speaker 1: to give the boy a lesson once a week. And
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Speaker 1: there is not a better violinist within the bounds of
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Speaker 1: the county than our little Jack. His father is so
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Speaker 1: proud of the boy's gifts that I have known him
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Speaker 1: when win bound in a harbor down the coast twenty
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Speaker 1: miles away, walk over the whole distance on a Sunday
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Speaker 1: morning and back at night, rather than miscarrying the little
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Speaker 1: fellow to church and hearing him sing there. But it
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Speaker 1: is eleven o'clock, and we were up all last night.
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Speaker 1: What no grog. Well, good night. Come and see me
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Speaker 1: when you can, and come and watch the sea with
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Speaker 1: me in another storm, and we will see if I
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Speaker 1: can't rake up another story of the doings of the
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Speaker 1: rough heroes of our neighborhood who go down to the
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Speaker 1: sea in ships. Good night, good night, And so one
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Speaker 1: of the pleasantest evenings I had spent for a long
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Speaker 1: while was over. Oh dear, oh dear, what a muddle,
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Speaker 1: what a hodgepodge I have made of this pen work.
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Speaker 1: I sat down thinking it would be quite easy to
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Speaker 1: write a book on rat catching for the use of schools,
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Speaker 1: and have drifted off the line here, toppled into a
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Speaker 1: story there, and been as wild and erratic in my
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Speaker 1: goings on as ever Pepper would be with a dozen
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Speaker 1: rats loose together in a thick hedge. Well, I can't
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Speaker 1: help it. I am not much good at books, and
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Speaker 1: it ain't of much consequence, for during the last few
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Speaker 1: days I have heard from half a dozen head masters
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Speaker 1: of schools that they find the art of rat catching
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Speaker 1: is so distasteful to their scholars, and so much above
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Speaker 1: their intellect, and so fatiguing an exercise to the youthful mind,
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Speaker 1: that he feel obliged to abandon the study of it
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Speaker 1: and replace it once more by those easier and pleasanter
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Speaker 1: subjects Latin and Greek. Well, I am sorry for it,
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Speaker 1: very sorry. I had hoped to have opened up a
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Speaker 1: great career to many young gentlemen that have failed, and
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Speaker 1: I can only console myself with thinking that one can't
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Speaker 1: make silk purses out of you know what mind. In
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Speaker 1: this quotation, I am not thinking of myself and my failure.
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Speaker 1: End of Chapter ten, end of Studies in the Art
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Speaker 1: of Rat Catching by H. C. Barclay, recording by Clive
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Speaker 1: Catterel