that he had proved the sincerity of his repentance by coming back of his
own accord, and had not been accessory to the concussion of the brain
from which Mr. Wilson supposed himself to be suffering, accepted his
promise of amendment and gave him a free pardon. It should be added
that Gully kept his promise, and, being now the oldest pupil, graced his
position by becoming a moderately studious, and, on one occasion, even a
sensible lad.
Meanwhile Mrs. Byron, not suspecting the importance of the doctor’s
note, and happening to be in a hurry when it arrived, laid it by
unopened, intending to read it at her leisure. She would have forgotten
it altogether but for a second note which came two days later,
requesting some acknowledgment of the previous communication. On
learning the truth she immediately drove to Moncrief House, and there
abused the doctor as he had never been abused in his life before; after
which she begged his pardon, and implored him to assist her to recover
her darling boy. When he suggested that she should offer a reward for
information and capture she indignantly refused to spend a farthing on
the little ingrate; wept and accused herself of having driven him away
by her unkindness; stormed and accused the doctor of having treated him
harshly; and, finally, said that she would give one hundred pounds to
have him back, but that she would never speak to him again. The doctor
promised to undertake the search, and would have promised anything
to get rid of his visitor. A reward of fifty pounds was offered. But
whether the fear of falling into the clutches of the law for murderous
assault stimulated Cashel to extraordinary precaution, or whether he had
contrived to leave the country in the four days which elapsed between
his flight and the offer of the reward, the doctor’s efforts were
unsuccessful; and he had to confess their failure to Mrs. Byron. She
agreeably surprised him by writing a pleasant letter to the effect that
it was very provoking, and that she could never thank him sufficiently
for all the trouble he had taken. And so the matter dropped.
Long after that generation of scholars had passed away from Moncrief
House, the name of Cashel Byron was remembered there as that of a hero
who, after many fabulous exploits, had licked a master and bolted to the
Spanish Main.
III
There was at this time in the city of Melbourne, in Australia, a wooden
building, above the door of which was a board inscribed “GYMNASIUM AND
SCHOOL OF ARMS.” In the long, narrow entry hung a framed manuscript
which set forth that Ned Skene, ex-champion of England and the colonies,
was to be heard of within daily by gentlemen desirous of becoming
proficient in the art of self-defence. Also the terms on which Mrs.
Skene, assisted by a competent staff of professors, would give lessons
in dancing, deportment, and calisthenics.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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