TOM GOES DOWN THE WELL

Waikato Times, Volume 98, Issue 16152, 29 November 1924, Page 14 (Supplement)

TOM GOES DOWN THE WELL

“THE SILVER TEAPOT.” “I see It, I see Ittt" cried Tom eagerly, balancing himself perilously over the -well-curb. “It’s down at the bottom I” “Did you suppose It would float?” asked Bess, with a touch of scorn in her tones. “Let me see,” cried Bob, pushing forward. “You clear out,” said Archie; “you’re to blame for dropping it in; you’d better go before you tumble In yourself, you little goose.” Archie’s broken arm felt very stiff to-day, and his temper was slightly damaged, too. All four children gathered round the well, at the bottom of which lay the silver teapot, like truth, bright and shining, but apparently not to be recovered by mortals. Mr Bradley had gone to the village, and the children were determined to get the silver teapot up before his return, for as yet they had not thought it necessary to mention its disappearance, and Mr Bradley was not the man to notice its absence. “Of course, if it were lost we should have to tell,” Bess had said to her brother; “but as long as we know where it is, and that it’s safe, there s no need to say anything about it.” “Well, what’s to be done?” asked Archie. “I can’t go after it, -.with my broken arm.” “Now I suppose we will hear of nothing but your broken arm for a. month, and you’ll shirk everything for it. “I can't study ’cause my arm’s, broken; I can’t go errands ’cause my arm's broken; I can't go. to church ’cause my arm’s broken'; that will be your whine, Archie; but don’t try i your dodges on me, for I won't stand j it. If it really hurts you I’m sorry, and I’ll lick any fellow that touches you till you get well again, but none of your humbug. Of course you can’t go down the well; you couldn’t if your arm wasn’t broken.” This from Tom. Meanwhile Bess had gone to the house for a long flshing-pole, and soon returned carrying it. “We’ll fasten a hook to the end of it, and fish the teapot up,” said she. “Ho, Hoi Do you suppose it will bite like a fish?” laughed Tom. “No, Ido not, Tom Bradley. But I suppose if I tie a string to the pole, and fasten an iron hook to one end, with a stone to keep it down, that I can wriggle it round in the water till the hook catches in the handle, and then we can drag- it up; that’s what I suppose,” answered Bess, preparing to carry out her design. “There’s something in that, Bess; you’re not so stupid as you look. Give me the pole and let me try.” “No, go and get one for yourself.” “Where shall I And a hook?” “In the smoke-house, where I got mine." “Oh, get me*one, too," cried Bob.

“And me,” cried Archie. Before half an hour had passed, the four children, all armed with fish-ing-poles, were intently fishing in the water, catching their hooks in the stones in the wall of the well, entangling their lines, digging their elbows into each other’s sides, in frantic attempts to pull their hooks loose; scolding, pushing, and getting generally excited. Every few moments Tom would pull Bess back by her sun-bonnet, and save her from tumbling over in her eagerness; but so far from being grateful to her deliverer, Bess resented the treatment indignantly. “Stop jerking my head so,” she cried. , . "You’ll be In, In a minute; you’d have been in then if I hadn’t jerked you," answered Tom. “Well, what if I had! Let me alone. If I go in, that’s my own lookout." “Your own look in, you mean. My gracious, wouldn’t you astonish the toads down there! But you’d get your face clean." “Now, Tom, you let me be; I nearly had it that time!” “So you’ve said forty times. This is all humbug; I’m going down on the rope for it.” ~ _ “Oh, no, Tom, please don t. Indeed you’ll be drowned; the rope will break; you’ll kill yourself; you’ll catch cold,” cried Bess, in alarm. She could fight Tom all day long, when in the mood for it; but to see him deliberately rush into danger, or to contemplate the fact that a hair of his precious head might be hurt, was more than our intrepid Bess could 6 "Pooh 1 girl! coward!” retorted thankless Tom, pointing the finger of Kcorn at his sister. “Who’s afraid of what? Stand back, small boys, I’m going in,” and Tom began to divest himself of his jacket. “You’ll poison the water,” suggested Archie. “It will be so cold,” moaned Bob. But nobody took any notice of Bob; he was treated with great contempt, and much hustled, as the author of

the mischief. All felt that if Tom came to grief Bob would be answerable. '

“I’ll scream for a hundred years without stopping, Tom,” cried Bess wildly. "You shan't go down, you shan’t; I’ll call someone. Murray 1 Peter 1 Maggie! O-o-o-o-o-o-me I O-o-o-ob, o-o-o-o-o-me I”

“Stop screaming, and help,” said Tom, who had his shirt sleeves rolled up to the elbow, and his trousers to his knee—why, no one but Tom could tell. “Now do you three hold on tight to this bucket; don’t let go for a moment; pull away as hard sis you can when I tell you to. Now for it!” And without more ado Tom clung to the other rope with his hands, and twisted his feet round the buckethandle.

“Hold on tight, and let me down easy,” said Tom, and the three children clung desperately to their rope, and lowered him little by little. Long experience in rescuing cats from a watery grave in the well had taught the children how to manage tbs ropes and buckets; but they had not calculated on the fact that Tom would he heavier than a oat; and it was with rod fates and straining muscles that they dragged away on their rope. However, they were able to keep Tom steady, and he, clinging with one hand to his rope, and pushing himself away from the sides of the well with the other, made his dangerous descent as successfully as though his helpers had ! been gifted with Samson's strength. A sudden splash and shiver told them he had reached the water, and a shout of triumph declared that the teapot was rescued.

As Tom shouted all three children let go the rope and rushed to the side of the well to look at the victorious hero.

It was a most fortunate circumstance that the water in the well was low, and that Tom, plunged suddenly to the bottom by this unexpected movement, was able, after much scrambling, to stand upright with his head 1 out of water; otherwise the earthly career of Thomas Bradley would have been brought to a sudden and untimely end. As it was, he stood In the cold water up to his shoulders, clinging still to the rope, holding the teapot with one hand, and wildly vociferating to his admiring audience whose heads hund over the well-curb, and their faces, as seen in this position by Tom, looked like those of grinning fiends:

“What made you let go?” roared Tom, and his voice sounded hollow and unnatural as It resounded from the depths of his cool and shady retreat.

“Oh, Tom, have you got It? Have you really? Isn't it cold? Are you hurt? Were you frightened? Is the teapot broken?” were a few of the questions that came faintly to him from above and sounded very unlike angel whispers to the diver for teapots, who stood first on pne leg, then on the other, to prevent equal cramp in both. “Draw me up! You sillies 1 You goose of a Bessl Why'don’t you draw me up?” “We’re so tired?” oalled down Archie. “I helped to lower you with only one arm, but I can’t drag any more. My arm’s broken.” “Bess! Draw me up, I tell you!” screamed Tom from below. “I will, Tom; I’m going to,” answered Bess, who novv reached up and recovered the bucket, that had flown with a jerk to the top of the well-roof when it had been so suddenly abandoned. But all the united efforts of Bess and Bob and Archie’s right arm could not raise Tom. After a desperate tug he was raised an inch, and suddenly lowered again. The result was a splash/ a scramble below, and Tom’s voice sputtering incoherent inveotfvss. Again and again the children tugged, and again and again Tom splashed, scrambled, and sputtered. At last a red, anxious face looked down to him, and Bessie’s voice, choked with tears, called out:

“Oh, Tom, do hold on till I call Maggie; we can't get you up.” Away ran Bess to call help, followed by Archie; but Bob, whose ideas on some points were as yet but feebly developed, seized one of the long poles, and began to poke at his brother with it, under the impression that some good would come of these unaided efforts.

“Stow it, Bob! You’ll put my eye outl” cried poor Tom, desperately, as the swinging iron hook circled round his head.

"Catch hold I Catch hold I" cried Bob, getting excited as he saw how near he came to grappling his brother. “Just let me get up once, and I’ll catch hold,” muttered Tom, wrathfully; then, raising his voice, he yelled as loud as he could for help. “Pete I P-e-e-e-e-terl P-e-e-e—eter 1” But Peter was a mile away, and consequently could not hear. Maggie had improved the occasion of her master’s absence to visit her friend and neighbour, Miss Flaherty, for half an hour; and Kate, summoned from her baking, came to the rescue, but only assisted by winging her hands and wailing. "Oh dear! Oh dear I he’ll catch his death of cold! What children you are!"

“Take hold of the rope and pull,” cried Bess.

“I couldn’t raise him; I’d oply put j him up a bit, and drop him again,” j said Kate, who shewed’ a lamentable '• want of confidence in her own abilities. “Oh, do something!” cried Bess, now almost beside herself with fear; “do something, Kate. Oh, where is , Murray?” ! “Gone for a load of wood, and won’t be home till night," answered

Kate. | “Oh, Tom, can't you shin up the

rope?” called down Bess. “No. I’m too stiff now with cold;

besides, I couldn’t do it anyway," moaned the captive Tom, who looked like a Triton blowing on a conchshell, as he stood with, uplifted teapot. He seemed to think that the teapot should be kept dry at all hazards, and wearied his arm to keep it above water.

“I’ll run next door and call Mr Wilson," said Bess, more hopefully, and started on this errand, while Kate, suddenly Inspired, rushed to the kitchen sink, where stood the Iron pump, oonnected hy a pipe with the well, and began to pump vigorously, apparently with the anticipation of seeing Tom ooze through the spout, for which purpose, and to make the matter surer, she removed the filter. As Bess ran she was suddenly stopped at the gate by the sight of a carriage which had just driven up, and out of which now stepped Aunt Maria and Aunt Maria’s husband, Uncle Daniel. These were the very grimmest and grandest of all the relations. When they came to see mamma, Bess had always to sit perfectly still on a chair, answer very politely, have her very best dress on, her hair parted directly in the middle, and be intensely proper. As for the boys, they had to pass through soap and water, and endure their newest clothes, could not whittle, nor whistle, nor wrestle, and were sustained under these tribulations only by the expectation of a good dinner and a generous dessert! The white-aad-gold china always came out on these occasions, the best double-damask tablecloth and napkins, the heaviest silver forks and spoons, the silver salt-cellars, and—oh„ agony of agonies I—the silver teapot 1 For one awful moment Bess stood stunned. Then -her anxiety for Tom overcame every otlfer consideration, and before Aunt Maria could say, “How do you do, Elizabeth?” she had caught her uncle by his august •ooat-tail and in a piteous voice besought him to oome and pull on the rope. “Pull on a rope, Elisabeth!” said Uncle Daniel in mild astonishment. “Why should I pull on a rope, my dear?” and Aunt Maria murmured, “How astonishing!”

"Oh, come quick] Hurry faster I Tom’s down the well!” cried Bess, with freely flowing tears. "Tom down a welll And how did he get there?” Uncle Daniel never hurried, and always required, a reason before he could be moved..

“He went down for the teapot,” sobbed Bess, “the silver teapot, and we can’t-pull him up again; and he’s all oramped with cold. _ Oh, do hurry 1” “The silver teapot down the well; my mother’s silver teapot I Daniel, didn’t I always say that Mary Bradley should never have had that teapot?" And with dignified strides Aunt Maria marched to the well. Tom’s teeth by this time were chattering so that he fully expected they would all drop out, and the three fishers were so completely' overcome by their fears as to be speechless. As we have said, Uncle Daniel was a slow man. He leisurely looked down at Tom, then up at the wheel, then at the rope, and calmly remarked, “all new, I see." Then he slowly took off his coat, as slowly carried it into the house, stopped to give an order to his coachman, who had driven round to the stable, and came with measured pace to where the three frightened children stood listening to Aunt Maria, who was doing her duty by them strictly and fully. Uncle Daniel then took hold of the rope, gave a long, strong, calm pull, and in an instant, Tom, “dripping with coolness, arose from the well.”