"I am glad you feel like that," I said.
"Why?" he cried sharply.
"Because it makes me feel that I was not such a terrible coward after
all."
"But you were," he said, giving me a curious look. "Oh, yes: about as
big a coward as ever I see."
I did not understand why I was so very great a coward, but he did not
explain, and I trudged on by him.
"I say, what would you have done if I hadn't come?"
"I don't know," I said. "I suppose they would have let me go at last.
They got all my money."
"They did?"
"Yes," I said dolefully; "and then there's the rope. What will Mr
Brownsmith say?"
"Nothin' at all," said Ike.
"But he will," I cried again.
"No he won't, because we'll buy a new one 'fore we goes back."
"I thought of that," I said, "but I've no money now."
"Oh, all right! I have," he said. "We may think ourselves well out of
a bad mess, my lad; and I don't know as we oughtn't to go to the police,
but we haven't no time for that. There'll be another load o' strawb'ys
ready by the time we get back, and I shall have to come up again
to-night. Strawb'ys sold well to-day. No: we've no time for the
police."
"They deserve to be taken up," I said.
"Ay, they do, my boy; but folks don't get all they deserve."
"Or I should be punished for letting that boy steal the rope."
"Hang the rope!" he said crustily. "I mean, hang the boy or his father,
and that's what some of 'em'll come to," he cried grimly, "if they don't
mind. They're a bad lot down that court. Lor' a mussy me! I'd sooner
live in one of our sheds on some straw, with a sack for a pillow, than
be shut up along o' these folk in them courts."
"But they wouldn't have hurt me, Ike?" I said.
"I dunno, my lad. P'r'aps they would, p'r'aps they wouldn't. They
might have kept you and made a bad un of yer. Frightened you into it
like."
I shook my head.
"Ah! you don't know, my lad. How much did they get?"
"Two shillings and ninepence halfpenny," I said dolefully.
"And a nearly new rope. Ah, it's a bad morning's work for your first
journey."
"It is, Ike," I said; "but I didn't know any better. How did you know
where I was?"
"How did I know? Why, Shock saw you and followed you, and come back and
fetched me, when I was staring at the cart and wondering what had gone
of you two."
"Where is he now?" I asked.
"What, Shock? Oh, I don't know. He's a queer chap. P'r'aps they've
got him instead of you."