The Human Boy

e fondness for natural history." That's how he put it, because I heard him; and the Doctor said it

drawing and such like; because, when one or two of the chaps really got keen about natural history, and even chucked cricket for butterflies and beetles, others, who didn't care a straw about

, my name being Ashby minor, and Ashby major kept a spider pretty nearly as big as a young bird, which he had poked out of a hole in the playground wall. He caged it in a tin match-box, and fed it with blue-bottles and wasps. At least, he got blue-bottles and wasps for it, but the fool wouldn't eat

swagger to keep big live things in your 96desk;

body but Mannering would have spotted them. After that Gideon and Brookes caught a blind-worm one foot two inches long; and Gideon sold his half for fivepence, so Brookes got 97it all. Nobody knew what a blind-worm likes to eat, unfortunately, and it died, but not for a fortnight. Then there was another scene with my dormouse, which led to tremendous things. There's a hole in a desk where the ink-pot goes in, and one day my mouse got out through it, having climbed up two dictionaries and a Greek Testament to do so. It happened old Briggs himself was taking the Lower Fourth, which is my class, and I hoped it would be all right. But he didn't seem friendly over it, and I noticed, when he told us to find the mouse, he put his feet upon the rungs of his chair. It's a rum thing about old Briggs that he doesn't care much f

manded a clearance on the spot; and he was

o think, above any of this childish folly, to inspect the desks, one by o

story chaps of all, and had a piebald rat, which even fellows in the Sixth had offered him half-a-crown and three shillings for, yet he would not part with it. So, though we didn't like him much, we felt almost sorry for the fix he was in now. Of course, we thought that such a demon on Religious Knowledge as Ferrars would drag out his piebald rat right away, and perh

guinea-pigs; and Morrant's two sparrows were let go, which was no kindness to them, because Morrant had cut their wings so jolly short it would have taken them months to grow enough feathers to fly with, and meantime a cat got them both; and Playfair's mole, which, by-the-way, had been queer for some time, owing to having no earth to burrow in, was ord

turned it over on my hand with a gold pencil-case, and said it had probably got a chill to its vital organs and would die; but old Briggs explained that it might live if put 101in cotton-wool; so

whom he had whispered something before he went, gave out that his natural history half-

the cheek--you suppose

s

ven my respect for the Doctor couldn't stand against it. I know what you chaps think. I dare say you reckon I'm a hound, but I couldn't help doi

at can you do? I didn't understand Ferrars. He

I sha'n't try to score off your rat, because I know it's a jolly fine one, a

to lay a finger on the rat. But Freckles, Murdoch, and Morrant wouldn't swear. Finally he paid Morrant sixpence and so got him over, and Murdoch he let crib off him in "prep." three times; and Freckles,

y; now, though not a year old, it had turned into as fine a rat as you could wish to meet anywhere. In appearance it had pink eyes and a white head, and a fairish amount of white fur about the body, which got thinner on its stomach, so that you could see the pink skin through to some extent. But the piebaldne

otty about it. Which I think 104was true, for one day, going into the class-room to get a knife from my desk, I saw Ferrars with his rat out, talking to it. He was swatting like anyt

.' Stick to me this time, o

ne Reid" because that

th chapter of the Second Book of Kings, Ferrars got excited, and, seeing me, said, "By Jove! then I'll learn that chapter by heart, though i

cked about tha

happened before, but something tells me my prosperity and success is all bound up in that rat. He's a familiar spirit, in fa

s, owing to the nasty food they eat. Not that 'Mayne Reid' has nasty food; but

I often saw him glancing down in class just to get a glimpse of its little eyes looking up at him. That taking the piebald rat into class shows the lengths Ferrars ran. The whole thing was very peculiar. Some 106chaps said there was a strong likeness growing up between Ferrars and the rat; and certainly his thin, white face had a rattish look sometim

nately rare, when the Doctor took our class himself in Scripture. But Ferrars was such a flyer that we all got tarred with the same brush; and the Doctor, after questioning Ferrars for half an hour

ut the plagues as ever Moses did, just got out his rat and gave it a bit of almond and a short breather of a yard or so along the floor. But, the Doctor coming back suddenly, he had only just time to pop it into

his mouth fell open, and his face got the color of new putty. At the same time I

rrars?" said the Docto

ly a little passing

give you a few drops of brandy and water. You nee

-leg; he also knew it was now behind the bookshelf, and might reappear at any moment. So he said he

his eyes swelled and stuck out of his head like glass beads, and his cheeks got hollow. He ran awful risks going into the Doctor's study th

s got wedged in behind the bookshelf and will die if not let out, or 109else there was a rat-ho

killed,

stop and make a clean breast of it, and ask him, for the sake of humanity, to have the bookshelf moved. But it's all up with me

which was a thing he didn't often do; and of course he wa

He--the Doctor, I mean--had been jolly glum all through class, and when it was ended he did a rum thing, 110which was awful to see, knowing all we did. He told us to keep our places, then went to the fireplace and picked up

ature is brown or black, as the case may be. This rat, then, had an owner, and that owner brought it into my study--my study!--and suffered it to escape here. That I do well to be angry you will the more easily understand when I tell you that the unsavory creature was upon my desk last night, and has scratched and even eaten 111some papers whereon were notes for my next sermon. It was discovered this morning by one of the do

at for some reason I thought I'd try and help him. So, like a fool

at came over in that box of pineapples and things

this problem I will apply for it, Corkey min

om his stomach or somewhere new, Ferrars spoke, and I never saw a chap lo

, it was my

obey! You, of all boys, to

an ordinary

the Doctor. "This it is to consider a boy, to devote thought to

knowing anything now, sir.

g voice, "you are now adding wicked buffoonery

think. It--it did help me somehow, and now it's dead it wouldn't be sportsmanlike to it

Ferrars awfully clo

hysterical and neurotic condition, Robert Ferrars, which I

pt for half an hour; and when Ferrars ca

e after we'd gone

Bible. I never thought he'd have even tried to understand me; but he did, and he quite saw my side about the rat. He said kind words over it, too, and was sorry it wa

you arrange th

ayne Reid' was to me. But he's in the book-post by now, beautifully done up in shavings and fresh geranium leaves. It's no good talking any more. Only I will say that if he

it, and went to sle