Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-05-11
THE SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS: SUNDAY, MAY II, 1884.

casions, delivered in a quiet tone as he
came up the stairs two at a time, was,
''Pll make it pretty hot for any boy /
catch out Of bed;" and this was a matter
/ in which he was always as good as, If
not better than, his word.
At one time it was the custom on the
/ announcement of TOzer's approach, to
! place jug or tumbler filled with water
/ on the door of No. dormitOry, where it
occupied a position of advantage with re-
/ spect both to the force of gravity and to
4 the head of ToZer; but the old man was
not TO be caught many times in that
1 way, and this mode of surprising him lost
its zest.
But the period of Tozer's declining
4 vigilance was associated with enterprises
/ more ambitious than bolster matches Of
/ the whole school. These were eXcur-
+ sions after dark into the town, where, by
concert with Black Billy, landlord of the
potato and Welcomes tavern, we or
+ ganized many quiet supper party. Billy
/ was patron of sport, and while he drank
| spirits at our expense, he would haranuge
] US on the decay of the pugilistic and
I other pastimes of his youth. He had all
4 Toddy's enthusiasm for a fight, and was
delighted when he could arrange a ''little
meetin'" in his own back parlor.
One evening-it was, / think, Ginger's
birthday, and he was treating three or
four of us to a surreptitious supper at
BIlly's-Bnly whispered US that - neat
little biZness was a cOmmin' off" between
two ''Teal game 'ums,7 for ten pounds a
side, at the Marshes, on the following
evening, and intimated that if we liked
to go he would keep Gathers eye on us'
while we remained.
This was quite enough for us, and at
arfo 70 bnr r,ffr
dy, Wilson prtnlUs, and myself, scaled the
| high gates at the bottom of the play
ground. crossed the cricket field, and got
into the high road which led TO the
/ Marshes, distant about three parts of a
mile. The ''meeting" was arranged for
II midnight, and it wanted a minute or
two of that hour when we reached the
ground, and were taken in charge by Bill
ly.
The ring was lighted by torches, and
the combatants were stripping. Billy had
procured us capital place, and when the
tight began we followed the general eX-
ample, and laid our money freely.
We were seeing life in this cOmmenda-
Bile fashion, andGinger was shouting with
delight at every good hit, when Wilson.
who stood beside me, plucked my sleeve
and pointing a trembling finger at the
other side of the ring, whispered, Look
therew
looked and saw the white unwhole-
some face and ferret's eye of Pike.
We ducked our heads, but he had
caught sight of Wilson's capt was the
little round cap with the red button which
we wore on birthdays; and without mo-
ments hesitation he gave chase.
Luckily for us, we were on the side Of
the ring nearest the school.
Ginger, as a free and independent agent,
might of course have stayed had,he chosen,
but he said:
Il remain not me. TOgezer let US run,
mes enIdRtS. Courdge!Ze Pike, he is not
crosse? AHOnS! tell you we win him
easy. Bahr'
Away we went then, over the Marsh,
and on the high road, keeping well to-
gether, and holding our wind for the final
pull up the cricket-field. We had few
yards start; but Pike, in spite of his !
bulk, had good staying powers, and we |
could hear him holding the course logged |
ly about fifty yards in the rear.
Teddy had BULBS eye lantern, but we /
dared not show the light; and as it was /
pitch dark, the road was not without its /
dangers. But it was neck or nothing with /
us; for as Pike had not seen our faces, |
everything depended on our reaching the /
house before him. So we cast caution aside /
and went at a headlong pace.
Pike did not gain OE us; but on the /
other hand, we did not gain much on him,
for Ginger's pace was deficient, and we |
were determined to keep all together.
Wereached the cricket-feld, and sprang I
at the fence. All Of us cleared it except |
Ginger, who came to grief. He said:
go, mes entdnts. 1t is nozing. Bah! /
die"
"Gammonv' said we, and picked him
up.
But Pike, who had tackled the fence /
warily. had gained on us; and was COM /
ing up at distance of a few yards.
Ginger was equal to the emergency.
"Run, you," he said to Teddy, land /
make re eye of re bull to blink himself /
OYair Ze deetch."
Teddy understood, and running to the /
deep ditch which bounded the field on one !
side flashed the light beside il for an in /
slant, then shut it off, and caught us up |
again. The TuSe succeeded, for we heard |
Pike founder into the ditch. and emerge, /
swearing freely; his vocabulary of eXple- /
tiyes was extensive and picturesque.
This gave us another good start, and |
we made the best of it, pressing at a rat |
Ting pace up the field until we judged |
that we were within a couple Of hundred |
yards of the gates.
Then we put on tremendous squirt,
pulling Ginger between us, for his wind
was giving out, and reached the gates
probably clear hundred and fifty yards
in advance of Pike.
Ginger would not climb until he had
helped every one of Us over, and in less
than a quarter Of a minute we three were
on the other side. All might have been well
but for another accident to the unlucky
Frenchman.
There was a gap in the upper part of
the door, where the wood he had broken
away from the iron frame, and in this gap
Ginger in climbing over contrived some |
how or other to slip and wedge himself.
History or literature offers no parallel
to his situation.
Balaam's case, when the ass pinned him
agaist the wall, was nothing to it; nor
was FalstafPs in the buck-basket; nor
JOnah's, in the belly of the whale; nor
Quixote's, when the girls tied him by the
wrists to the window.
Ginger kicked and struggled; we were
powerless to eXtricate him, and Pike was
nearing the gates.
sob, mon pduUre centre. Pull me at re
leg. oh, d1dble! Oh, Bah! Pull me at
re leg, say. o mon Diea, how l am nip,
nip, nip at ze UentTep cried he; and we
pulled, but without avail, for the gap was
narrow and Ginger was wide.
We could hear Pike painting and labor
ing on the other side, and then a. heavy
shutting step came down the playground,
and TOzer, whom the DiteOus cries of
Ginger must have reused, appeared on the
scene with a bedroom candle.
To 90 behind him, blow out the can
die, and queeze his hat over his eyes,
was the work of a moment on the part Of
Teddy.
But there was Pike to be dealt with
vet. He reached the gates, and Chamber
ed to the top, when the combined weight
of the two stout men made the rotten wood
split from end to end. Pike wds precipi-
tated 20 the ground, and Ginger, with his
unhappy rentre. fell ON the top OF him.
For the second time we picked up Gin
ger, and, taking him between us, ran at
full speed to the house.
But Jenkins, who had been posted there
by Tozer, watched us from behind the
door as we entered; our names were
known, and our doom sealed.
Ginger was recommended to offer his
services elsewhere, and Teddy, Wilson,
and myself left ToZer's at short notice, I'M
der circumstances not unattended by ig-
nomy. -COrnhiU Magazine.