SHORT STORY.

Bruce Herald, Volume XXXXI, Issue 29, 14 April 1905, Page 7

SHORT STORY.

The fiddler. THE talk was of wrestling, particularly of the prowess of Dan Gerry. The men sat over their cider, in the dear light of the summer evening ; and overhead in weather-stained blue and gold swung the sign- of 'The Three Pilohards '—the little thatohed inn being affeotionately known as 'TheDrea.' It was old Roskruge who pronounced the orowning eulogium on Gerry. 'Take 'en", altogether, for good Cornish wrastling, for grip an' for trip, there isn't a man in the county that's the equal o' Dan.' '' But Hookaday, the farrier, qualified the panegyrio.: 'Onless 'tis Jan TregoOze ; but he's hardly to be reckoned, for his wrastling days be awver. He's a ohanged sawl now, an' hath j'ined the Particulars. ' 'For the. matter o' that,' answered Roskruge gravely, • I don't hold with 'en. _. v ? Tis a good soript'ral sort o' sport, for 'tis -"•'■ written that the angel wrastled wi 1 fore•^s father Jaoob ; an' if 'tis fitty for an angel o' heaven, 'tis fitty for Jan .Tregooze.' Hockaday differed as he filled his pipe. • Jan's about right ; he says 'tis better to bring a sinner to his knees than to putt 'en* on his back.' Up the street there was a soamper of gathering children, and on the wind Game the keen notes of a fiddle. ' I've seen some brave wrastling in my days,' observed Roskruge, growing reminiscential over his seoond pint. ' There was Carwidden, that travelled about to fairs, a famous chap, sure 'nough ! I've seed en' take a mazed bullock By the horns' an' drive 'en tail fore.' Hockaday, looking up the street,. oried suddenly, ' Bless my sawl I here comes old Fiddler Treenl 1 ; . >; It was a. queer figure that came limping towards the little group at the inn— a shrunken old fellow, with a ruddy, puckered face and straggling wisps of white hair. At his back he carried a leathern bag, from which protruded the neck of a fiddle. His loose coat reaohed his heels, and the original colour of it would have been a matter for antiquarian research. Lifting his battered wide-awake, he saluted the company with a courtesy that was two generations out of date. : , 'Waarm weather, fiddler,' observed Roskruge oivilly. •Waarm. 'tis,' said the old man, mopping his bald head. ' I sim the miles be getting longer, an' the hills be getting steeper.' Whereupon Hockaday pushed the cider across the table ; and when the fiddler's face was buried in the hospitable jug the men glanced at each other, and Roskruge tapped.his forehead significantly. ' Where be bound ?' ask^d Hookaday. 'Porthalla Revel b Friday,' answered the fiddler. 'But,; law -1% 'tie i~ a revel no more. There's a Qlub: walking now, an'- a school. trate, an' a tay '—this last word was spoken with 'intense scorn : ' 'tis terrible"" tame. Bless 'cc ! I can mind, . backalong, when Porthalla Revel was a sight to beiiold : e-oaravans, an' booths, an' roundygoes,. an standings by the dizzen, two or dree score couples dancing to wance, iss, an' oceans o' drink, an' a hatful o' money for the fiddler. 'Tis getting a poor sort o' world!' ■ : - ;;--. '■-. 'Iss, iss, times be altered,' said Roskruge sympathetically. 'Altered, sure 'nough !' replied the old man. 'The old ways be dying out, an'the old folks, an' the old toons. ■ What be I but a sort b' ancient bygone? 1 [\ 'When you corned along, fiddler,' said Jordan, one of the younger men, giving a trend to the conversation, 'us was talking 'bout wrastling.'-" v . i • An' very purty. talk, too,' observed the fiddler. - ; ./■-._.* ...':.... 1 • Us reokoned that Dan Gerry wid be the ohampion o' these parts.' ' Iss, iss I he's a spry feller, an' there's strength in 'en,' replied Fiddler Treen; ' but I've-seed a man Bo3min-way that's I more to my fancy.' The men, with sudden interest, leaned forward as Hockaday asked, ' What's the~ name of 'en ?' 'Simon Widgery — he's a. thatoher by trade ; a spare-built man, wiry, with limbs like iron, an' as suppleas a conger. Gerry 'd find his mate that ohap, if he didn't find his maister.' Roskruge, thumping the table, cried excitedly, 'If us could bring they two together 'twid be a brave match !' Hockaday. with some emotion, answered "Twid!' After the fiddler had rested a bit he resumed his journey, and when he had limped away Roskruge said sadly, 'Poor old sawl, trapesing about from place to place ! 'Tis time he settled down to Christian ways.' ' Iss, a queer old man,' replied Hockaday ; ' an' always a bit touohed. . Us found Jen starving wanoe on Gerran Moor, an' there was some talk o' putting 'en under restraint for a mazed wanderer : but 'twid be like caging a saybird.' ' I've heard tell,' : said Jordan in a low voice, ' that Fiddler Treen hath the power o' evil.' 'Iss, 'tis true,' answered Roskruge solemnly. 'Do 'cc mind Squire Nick Vivian ? He was a wild fellow ; an' wance as he was driving home from Porthalla market, mad wi' drink, the fiddler stood in the hedge to let 'en pass, an' he lashed at the old man with his whip, for no mortal raison but out o' pure devilment. 'Twas a nasty cut, an' some of us wid have the fiddler take the law o' the squire, an' usd pay the charges. But the old fellow wid hear no talk o' law ; he wiped the blid from his face, an' he looked deadly patient. Then he took his fiddle, an 1 he played a little sawft toon, ' There, my dears,' says he ; • that's for Squire Nick's burying.' An', sure enough, before the year was out squire was in the ohurchyard.' ' 'Tis said, too,' added the dismal Jordan in a mysterious whisper, ' that he knaws the evil took the nine maidens danced . to— the very toon that was played by Old Iniquity hisself.' 'Rubbish!' cried Hockaday, with an impatient laugh. 'I warn't hearken to such foolisimess.' " -'..... But Roskruge shook his head in rebuke. •'Tis no fulishness, Joe Hockaday, for there they^stand to this day, the nine o' 'em, changed to granite stone for their wickedness.' In the course of the next few days the rumour inevitably reached Dan Gerry of this Bodmin man who was more than a match for him, and the soul of Gerry burned within him. He loudly proclaimed his willingness to meet the thatoher at any place or time; and the ohallenge was noised about the country-side. But Bodmin was far, and the whereabouts of Widgery were only vaguely known, so it is probable that the invitation would never have reached him if Roskruge had not hit upon the* expedient of entrusting its delivery to Fiddler Treen.. It was some months later, at a sheepshearing at Tregairy, that Treen encountered the thatcb.gr. There was much company at the farm, and the services of the fiddler had been retained for a orown and a night's lodging. At the great supper Treen found himself seated opposite Widgery, and fulfilled his embassy with considerable tact. Catching the man's eye, he raised his glass in salutation, and said politely, 'Here's joy to 'eel You'nj a brave wrastler, Simon Widgervj 911' fqlkg have heard of 'cc beyond.

the moors. I tell 'cc, thatoher, that the fame of 'cc hath gone forth !' The thatoher was a good-natured, modest man, and impervious to the old fellow's flattery. ' Did 'cc iwer hear tell o 1 Dan Gerry o 1 Porthillian?' asked the fiddler. j 1 Oaan't say I have,' said Widgory. . j ' He's reokonedthe champion wrastler of Cornwall,' continued the fiddler. j But Widgery went on with his supper unooncernedly. | •He wid dearly like to meet thee in a matoh,' proceeded the old man:. * and there's some say he'd maister 'ee.' The thatoher's interest was centred on his plate, and he made no reply. - Then, raising his. voice, the fiddler said, with an important air, ' Simon Widgery, 'tis a challenge— take it or lave it. I bring 'cc word from Dan Gerry that he'd be proud to wrastle with 'ee.' 'I bide in my awn parts, an- I mind my awn business,' answered Widgery. ' Then there's wisdom in 'cc,' said Treen significantly, ' for Gerry'd surely maister 'cc. Iss, there's raze wisdom in 'cc.' The taunt rankled in Widgery. There were many men present, to say nothing of the farm-maidens, and he resented this imputation of sagaoity. During the re-mainder-of the meal he plied the fiddlef with questions ,as to the geography or Porthillian, and the means of getting there : and when the huge junket bowl was brought in, crowned with cream and nutmeg, Fiddler Treen oried triumphantly, • Then 'tis a match !' Widgery quietly answered, ' 'Tis.' . Oae -wild night the waggon of the Porthillian carrier made its adventurous way ! across the moor. There was a gale from j the south-west— a gale, half-wind, halfj water. There were brimming pools in the ! hollows of the tarpaulin, and at every lurch the waggon was fringed with a ' cataract, f ■,-"-■-••'. | . There was a certain hilarity about the ' driver that was inconsistent with his saturated condition. He whistled occasionally; and wasted gusts of song upon the hurricane ; and in lulls of the tempest he would turn and fling jocularities into the recesses- of; the vehicle, frim whioh came bursts of responsive laughter. The waggon pulled up at the 'Three Pilohards,' and Tregowefch, the landlord, came eagerly forth with a stable lantern. 'I've brought 'en I' shouted the carrier, ! shaking himself like a wet dog ; and a' tall figure, snrouded in a mackintosh, leapt j from the waggon and ran into the lighted inn. ''—. ■ -••■•:. I ' You'm weloome, Simon Widgery,' cried Tregoweth, bringing the stranger forward to the fire ; and Roskruge, Hockaday, and the others, who" had been keenly waiting Kis arrival, rose and greeted the. man heartily. | 'Here's Dan Gerry!' cried Roskruge as ' the Porthillian .champion came forward ; and the rivals shook hands oivilly. ..Widgery -was- the slighter, and looked .almost slim in his long mackintosh. j ' Who's to be maister ?' asked Hookaday , of Peter Roskruge when the Bodmin was stripped of his waterproof . | The old ; man looked oritioally from one i to another, and said slowly, 'Iss, that's j the question.— who's to prevail ? They'm a purty "pair — 'tis betwixt and between. 'Tis perhrps with wan, and perryventure with toother. .Wan thing's oertain ; 'twill be a brave match.' The oontest could not immediately take place, for' Gerry had gone a-fishing and been bitten in the hand by a conger. The hurt was. trifling, and was fast healing ; for. in his wisdom he , had consulted Bathsheba Munday of Treleven, who had touched the. wound and repeated her infallible formula, 'Conger, conger, harm the man no longer.' Opinions differed as to the nature of Mrs Munday 's benison; some held that the virtue lay in the words, others in the -woman. It is recorded that a St Budoo body had vainly used the words of the charm and the wound had festered. The week's delay gave the promoters time to complete their arrangements for the matches, for there were to be other contests at the meeting, the Gerry- Widgery match being' the crowning event. Money was gathered from all quarters, for the scheme provided a generous prize for the victor and a substantial solace for the ; vanquished; There was some talk of a tent from Plymouth; but this was abandoned on the score of expense, and they fell back on the old expedient of a • fuzzy ring'— a rude arena of hurdles and fagots of dried furze piled high enough to intercept the gaze of all outside the enolosure. The day came, and there was a great gathering. The ring of furze had been pitched in a level upland meadow, windswept and open ; northward the country rose to the blue moors, and to the south it dipped in undulations to the sea. Hundreds of men paid tribute at the narrow entrance, and orowded^into the arena — miners mostly, with a sprinkling of fishermen and mechanics, and here and there a farmer of a veterinary surgeon. It wasrumoured that old Parson Edwards would dearly have liked to be present, but decorum forbade ; so he aided the fund with a surreptitious guinea. Roskruge was umpire, and sat solemnly at a table, with the list of competitors before him. Stuck high upon a -polebehind him was the champion's trophy, the. symbol of supremacy, a hat rosetted and beribboned — its supplement being seven sovereigns in a leathern purse. On the opposite side of the arena Tregoweth dispensed cakes and drink ; and near him, playing interminable jigs and countrydanoes, was Fiddler Treen, seated upon a barrel. It was the best of weather ; the sky was blue and cloudless, and gloriously blue was the distant stretch of sea. The sports began with their minor interests and humours. Sam Hocken, the butcher, threw his opponents so easily that there was some talk of his challenging the champion after the great match. David Jury and young Pascoe, notoriously rivals in a love-matter, betrayed such animosity in their wrestling that the judicious Roskruge parted them. A diversion was caused by the sudden entry into v the ring of Mrs^ Polgethy. Scorning the money-taker, she made her way to the centre, wet-aproned and barearmed, evidently fresh from the wash-tub, and in a shrill, angry voice that verged upon a scream, she cried, ' Where's my man? Where's 'Binadab ?' A big fellow came sheepishly forward from the crowd of men. He was about to wrestle with a gigautio miner ; but he quailed before the- eye of the little woman. The wrath of Mrs Polgethy found vent in the terrible question, 'Hast thee digged they tetties ?' Alas I the silence of Abinadab too plainly indicated that the potatoes were undug. ' Shamo upon 'cc, 'Bindadab Polgethy ! Here be I working an' slaving from morn till night, while you jm idling like a good-for-nort, making sport for this tribe o' gaping fulesl' And the scorn of Mrs Polgethy, which had been fooussed on her spouse, npw took a wider, and she swept the arena with her contemptuous gaze. There was a titter, but no conspiouous sign of resentment, for Mrs Polgethy had a reputation for repartee ; she oould hit off a man's defect of oharacter or appearance, in a facile epigram, and her nioknames stuok like burs. It was not until Abinadab had departed, and the white apron of his wife fluttered behind him through the exit, that the company dared break into their shout of derisive laughter.. : Then came tho great contest, and a thrill of expjeofcation ran through the orowd when

the umpire oalled the names. Widgery and Gerry entered the ring and formally saluted each other. Roskruge, who had hitherto presided with magisterial calm, could not oonoeal his eagerness as he gave the signal. ; ~ The men instantly olosed, and Gerry had the initial advantage of grip - an advantage whioh he never lost. In a few mbmentß it beoame evident that Widgery was struggling with a stronger man. Yet he made a wonderful defence, full of surprising recoveries. The dense crowd swayed with excitement a.g they watched the writhing forms, and a proud shout rose from-Porthil-lian throats when the stranger went under. But ihe second bout went otherwise. Widgery played warily; Gerry's points were grapple, and sheer strength, and the Bodmiu man dodged till he oould close with benefit. There was a sinuosity about the fellow that was almost serpentine ; his method was dexterous, but, devoid of attaok, it seemed mere defensive wriggling. Suddenly, however, there was a stiffening of the elusive limbs, a heaving of the crouching back, and Gerry was flung off and fell with a thud. It waß an astonishing throw ; it evoked an enthusiasm that overwhelmed all looal jealousy, and a loud ; cheer went up from the ranks of Tuscany. Conjecture was keen as to' the ultimate victor, and to conjecture he must be left ; for, while the men rested, Hookaday rekindled his pipe, that had gone out in the breathless interest of the contest, and carelessly flung the match into the furze. There was instantly a blaza, and in a: few seconds the fagots were alight. An attempt was made to beat out the flames, but the wind blew the fire along the screen of furze, : ; and the dry fuel oaught . with amazing speed. : There was> a general rush for the narrow outlet ; shouting, laughing, coughing,; the orowd of men surged but into the open meadow. . ' Bless my saw! an 1 body I 1 cried Eoskrugo, looking ruefully at the fire. Half the arena was now ablaze ;._ myriads of sparks flew up in -the sunshine -from the semioircle of flame, and a widening cloud of gray smoke overspread the landscape. The men for the most part took a humorous view of the , conflagration, and watched it with something akin to ■ amusement; when suddenly, above the roar of the fire and the -multitudinous crackling, there rose the piercing music of a fiddle 1 ; , ' Where's the fiddler ? Where's Fiddler Treen ?' oried a dozen voices. Then, with a gasp of horror, the men realised that the old fellow was inside the blazing ring. 'Treenl Fiddler Treenl come forth!' they shouted. But the musio continue!. The tune was 'Judy Jinks,' and the rollicking ditty sounded horribly grotesque in the oircumstanoes. ' I The fiddler's mazed 1' cried Hookaday ; and Dan Gerry said, .« Iss, us must stoop that toon! 1 and, running towards the entrance to the arena, he disappeared in the smoke. There was an agony of waiting,' but Gerry "did not return ; and the fiddling continued, with a wild quiokening of the time. Several men attempted to tear a gap where the fagots had not yet oaught, but they were driven back, half sufiooated. There were frantic ones of « Gerry 1 Gerry!' and by. this time many womeu, attracted by the fire, had oome upon the soene. A girl with wild eyes and a piteous! face clutched Widgery by the arm, and asked, ' Where's my Dan V and the Bodmin man, without a word, plunged blindly to the resbue, and was ~lost in the dense gray cloud. But neither Gerry nor Widgery. came back, and the dreadful fiddling was fast and furious— 1 Judy Jinks ' had reached delirium. Hockaday would have followed, but the men held him back. The frenzied musio beoame incoherent, and ominously ceased ; and nothing was heard but the roar and crackle of the fire. Then God, in His pity, ohanged the wind ; the tongues of flame veered, and there was a sudden clearing in the smoke. The soene was laid bare, with its charred hurdles and heaps of smoking ashes, and the farther hedge of fagots still ablaze. With a cry the men rushed forward. They found Widgery lying faoe downward, unconsoious, but alive; and Gerry near him, far gone in suffocation. Both men were badly burned, but happily not beyond the doctor's skill. After weeks of tender nursing Widgery returned to his native Bodmin with anew skin, but minus his eyebrows ; and the faoe of Gerry was indelibly soared. Aa for Fiddler Treen, they led him forth elated and unsoathed, with the smell of the burning upon him and a touoh of the fire in bis-signal white hair. His face was grotesquely blackened, and there was a strange light in his little beady eyes. One hand clutched his fiddle, the strings of whioh, had snapped, and he flourished his bow in salutation to the crowd. I 1 baint so spry as the rest of 'cc,' cried the old fellow, ' an' my scampering days be awver. When the lot of 'cc cleared out, 'twas a poor job for the fiddler. 'Twas flame and smoke -everywhere. I rinned here, an' I rinned there, but there was no way out. 'Twas fire an' blazes round about, an' tte old fiddler in the middle of it. I said-to meself, • Fiddler, 'tis surely the end of 'cc, for the ohariot's oome. Then I drawed the bow across my fiddle for the last time, for the sake of bygones ; an' when I heard the voice of 'en I said, llf 'tis to be, plaise th' Ordainer, I'll go home, fiddling!' An' I tell 'cc, they danced to the toon, and thousands of sparks ! But 'twas cruel hot, too hot for mortal oatgut, and wan by wan the strings went— all but the G ; he's all right ' -he plucked the metal string affeotionately. . < Iss, I reckon the G's like his maister— there's a few toons left in 'en yet.' Thus ended untimely the great matoh between Widgery of Bodmin and Dan Gerry of Porthillian. The prize-money was equally divided between-the two men. As_ for that coveted, trophy of championship, the bedizened hat, its finery of ribbons was oonsumed in the flre, and the charred ruin was an object for no man's aspiration. — James Patey.