Chapter VI: Master Eustace

"NOW, Nursey, father said before he went away that I might go all round here by myself." And the little boy extended his arms and swung round on one foot to explain to Nurse the wide extent to which he was given leave to ramble.

"Yes, Master Eustace, I know all about it," said Nurse, "and Eliza can walk all round there too."

"But I don't want Eliza; she can nurse the baby or look after Winny; but father said I was getting a big boy now, and must take care of myself, and so, of course—"

"Ah, that is all very well to remember one part of father's talk, and forget all the rest," interrupted Nurse. "Father told you just before he went away that you were to do as Nurse told you. Don't you remember?"

"Yes, but he didn't say anything about Eliza," answered the child.

"Perhaps not; but Eliza must do as I tell her, and so must you," concluded Nurse, looking gravely at the boy.

The Vicarage party had been about a week at the seaside, and mother and father having seen them comfortably settled, had gone on to visit a sick relative according to their original intention. They had stayed at the quiet little village of Stillborough the previous year, and Eustace had rambled round the coast and neighbouring common with his father many times, so that he considered himself quite an expert traveller, and did not at all like to confine his explorations so as to be within ken of Nurse, as she sat on her camp-stool sewing, or reading a little bit to Winny out of her own book. It was still worse, the little boy thought, to have Eliza in attendance upon him, and so he had tried to come to an understanding with Nurse once for all.

Eliza sat near Nurse on the sand, with Winny in her lap, listening and smiling at Master Eustace as he tried to lay down the law that was to govern his own particular wanderings, and having done this at least to his own satisfaction, the little boy walked away.

"I wish the master had not said so much to the child about taking care of himself!" exclaimed Nurse, as she turned her head to look after him. "Of course the master meant it for the best, for him and for us too, but there's nothing that child is afraid of, and a nice treat we shall have with him, I know;" and Nurse sighed.

"Shall I go after him, Nurse?" asked Eliza, who thought nothing of a long ramble on the sands in attendance upon her favourite so greatly had she improved in health already. "Shall I go after him?" she repeated, springing to her feet as she spoke.

But Nurse pulled her skirt to sit down again. "Not now," she said. "I can see him between those clumps of sea-thistles. Ah! he is coming back now," said Nurse, in a tone of satisfaction. "But I tell you what you must do if you should be away from me, and see Master Eustace wandering off by himself—send Winny back to me, if you should have her with you, and just follow on behind Master Eustace, so as to keep him in sight without letting him know anything about it. Try to remember this, Eliza, and that I give Master Eustace into your care, for you will be able to follow him better than I can."

The girl felt very proud of the charge thus entrusted to her.

"See, he is coming back now, Nurse," said Eliza, who was always ready to condone the little fellow's faults.

"There, I have been a far far way, Nursey, and I am back safe, you see," said the little fellow proudly, as he stood before Nurse and made a grimace of defiance at Eliza.

"Yes, I see you are here safe and sound, and if you never try to go further than the far far way near the bushes, Nurse will not scold you," she said.

"Could you see me all the time?" asked the child.

Nurse nodded, and the boy looked disappointed. "Then it isn't a far far way," he said, in a complaining tone.

"Quite far enough, Master Eustace," put in Eliza.

"You don't know anything about this place, for you did not come with us last year," retorted the boy, loftily.

And once more he discussed the subject with Nurse, but they could not arrive at any definite conclusion upon the matter of distance; and when the little boy went off again, Nurse repeated her charge to Eliza to keep her eyes upon and follow him at a distance if he went far.

For the next few days, however, Master Eustace had very little opportunity of going out of bounds, for each day in succession for nearly a week had to be spent indoors, it was so wet and chilly.

It was during this time that Nurse learned to appreciate Eliza for her unfailing patience and good temper in keeping the children amused during the weary hours when they could not get out even for a short walk all day. It was a relief to Nurse, and a boon to the little ones, who were disposed to want all the toys that had been left at home, and did not at all like the restrictions that had to be imposed upon them for the sake of other people in the house.

All the games that Eliza had ever played were brought into requisition, besides many others invented for the occasion.

At length the weather cleared, and the sun shone out as brilliantly as though the sky had never been dimmed by a cloud, and Eliza was almost as delighted as the children at the prospect of being able to go out on the sands once more.

They were all nearly ready to start, the children equipped with pails and spades, when Nurse noticed that Eliza had put on a cotton frock.

"My dear, you must put your warmer frock on to-day," she said.

"Oh, Nurse, see how bright the sun is!" exclaimed Eliza, in a disappointed tone. "And we are all ready to start," she added.

"Never mind! We will only walk slowly down to the beach that you may soon overtake us. But this is just one of the days when your warmer frock is likely to be useful, for there is sure to be a chill in the air after the rain."

Nurse's advice was not pleasant to the girl, and she reluctantly turned back and put on the warm frock instead of the bright pink cotton she had on. She did it as quickly as she could, and ran along the terrace to catch Nurse before they could get down to the beach; but at the corner she also saw Eustace coming from the direction of the shop, and waited for him to join her. He had a little bundle tied up in his handkerchief; the handle of his spade passed through the knot, and the bundle hanging over his shoulder.

"What have you got there, Master Eustace?" she asked.

"I'm Robinson Crusoe," answered the little fellow, in an important tone, and marching on by her side.

Nurse had been reading some chapters of Robinson Crusoe to him during the last few days, and his mind was full of the adventures of that hero.

Eliza was ready to enter into the little boy's amusement, and so she said—

"I'll be your Man Friday."

"Will you?" said the child, eagerly. But the next minute he said, "How can you—you're only a girl?"

"Never mind! I can carry your things and do as you tell me," said Eliza; and the next minute the spade and bundle were transferred from the little boy's shoulder to Eliza's and they went on to the beach walking in this fashion.

"What now?" asked Nurse. "What have you got there, Eliza?" she added.

Eliza shook her head. She believed it was stones, but she did not say so.

"Eliza isn't her name now. She is my Man Friday," answered Eustace.

"Oh, I see! Well, what are you and your Man Friday going to do this morning?" asked Nurse, relieved to find that whatever the little fellow contemplated doing, Eliza would be at hand to keep him out of danger and mischief.

"We are going to look over this island first thing, of course," answered the boy, "and we can't waste our time here. We shall find you by-and-by, I dare say, and then you and baby and Winny will be savages, and you must do what I tell you."

"Very well; but that part had better come after dinner, because you will have to do as I tell you, and come home to dinner in good time, and you must look after your Man Friday, and see he don't get away."

This, of course, was intended as a hint to Eliza, and Nurse knew she understood it as such. And the two went off for their ramble, and Nurse did not see them again until dinner-time, and then Eliza's bundle had somewhat diminished in size.

It was Nurse's custom to put the children to bed for an hour after dinner, and they usually fell asleep in the course of a few minutes. But to-day Eustace pleaded that he and Man Friday might go off on their rambles again as soon as dinner was over.

"We have found a cave, and, of course, we can sleep there," announced Eustace, running to get his hat.

But Nurse said she wanted Man Friday to do something for her before they went out again, and amid tears and expostulations, Eustace was laid in his own little bed, while Eliza and Nurse sat down in the shaded sitting-room for their own afternoon rest. Eliza soon fell asleep, but Nurse could hear that Eustace was grumbling and tumbling about in his bed, and was by no means disposed to go to sleep this afternoon. She let Eliza have her usual rest, for she knew the girl needed it, and so she kept Eustace as quiet as she could until the time for rousing the children came, and they all went out again.

Nurse usually took a parcel of bread-and-butter and cake with her, and they bought some milk on the beach about five o'clock, returning home about seven to a more substantial meal; and afterwards the children were bathed and put to bed.

To-day, however, Eustace demanded that Man Friday should carry their portion of bread-and-butter, that they might eat it together in the cave.

"Don't change your frock," said Nurse, when Eliza went to wash her face and hands before starting out again.

Eustace insisted that his bread-and-butter should be tied up in the handkerchief, and Nurse saw that there was a piece of bread there already, and then learned that the child had bought a penny loaf in the morning by way of providing stores for his journey, and he and Eliza had eaten part of it before dinner. But he insisted upon the remaining portion being taken in the handkerchief, and carried the bundle himself until they got down to the beach, for fear Nurse should tell Eliza to take it out.

Here she was "Eliza," and under Nurse's control; but when once their camp was reached, she was "Man Friday," and under his direction. This was the compact that Nurse had been obliged to make with him in the morning; and so, as soon as her stool was set up, and baby and Winny set about their digging, Eliza and Eustace went off, Nurse looking after them with a smile of complacent assurance that nothing could happen to the little boy with Eliza in attendance, little dreaming what weary, anxious hours would pass before she should see either of them again.

"Now we are going to our cave," announced Eustace, when they were fairly away from "the savages." "I know just where to find it, though I did forget when father first went away. It's a wonderful cave, Friday, and leads right through the mountains to another country."

Eliza opened her eyes. "There are no mountains here, Master Eustace, only the chalk and sand cliffs."

"Of course; you have never seen my island before, Friday, and cannot be expected to know a mountain."

Eustace said this with such a look of lofty disdain that Eliza found it difficult to keep from laughing, which would be altogether wrong in "Man Friday," as Eustace had explained to her. Though she could not help saying, "The cave is a long way off," as they walked on and on until the bank of sea-thistles were left far behind, and the cliffs ran down much closer to the sea than they did near their camp where they had left the savages.

"You have only got to follow me," commanded Eustace, looking round at her. "You're not afraid, are you?" he demanded.

"Oh no, not afraid! I'm not afraid," replied Eliza.

"It's like a girl to be frightened because you cannot see any houses here, and there aren't many people about; but my father says it is a grand view, and we can be close to the sea and the mountains too." And, thus reassured, Eliza followed the little boy into what looked like a hole cut in the side of the cliff. It ran a good way back, but the floor was firm and dry, dotted with pretty little shells, and more delicate seaweed than they found near the camp, and Eliza was soon busy picking up both shells and seaweed, while Eustace, as became his dignity, sat on a shelving bank to watch his "Man Friday," not admitting even to himself that he was tired after his long walk.

"Have you got enough?" he asked at length. "We have got to explore this cave, you know, and find a place where we can make our bed."

Eliza stood up and peered into the shadowy part of the cave, where the sun's rays never reached the sandy bottom, and she found it wet.

"I shouldn't like to sleep here, master," she said, still in her character of "Friday."

"Never fear, I will take care of you, Friday. Now, follow me close," said Eustace, who thought he would rather have Eliza near him while going up the dark steps that had been cut in the chalk which he had once ascended with his father.

"This is a queer place," said Eliza, with a shiver, as they turned a sharp corner at the back of the cave, and began to climb the rough uneven steps that led them up into the darkness, as it seemed to the girl. But if a little fellow like Eustace was not afraid to go first into this queer place, Eliza was not going to yield, and so she followed on as closely as she could, but it was a great relief when at last a streak of daylight could be seen in what looked like the roof of this stairway.

"Now are you frightened?" asked Eustace, triumphantly.

"No, but I am glad to see the light, and I hope we shall soon get to the top."

But Eliza found that when the chalk steps ended a sandy and clay bank began, through which a path had been trodden, and they had to climb this, greatly to the detriment of their clothes. But at last they emerged at the top, and came out upon what looked like a wide heath or common, but there was not a house to be seen anywhere, and Eliza declared she would not go any further for fear of losing their way, and missing the particular slope that would lead them to the steps down to the beach.

"Suppose we untie our bundle, and have our supper," said Eustace, who was hungry after his climb.

Eliza was only too glad to sit down in the bright sunshine and eat the bread-and-butter they had brought with them, or at least a part of it; for Eustace said they must keep part so that their wallet should not be empty.

They sat there for some time, until at last the little boy showed signs of being sleepy, and then Eliza jumped up in great alarm.

"Master, we are a long way from the savages, and I shall be frightened if we don't soon get back," she said.

The little trick answered, and Eustace roused himself.

"You ain't fit for a Man Friday," he said, standing up.

"Ah, I wish the Vicar was here, don't you?" said Eliza, still trying to keep up the fiction that she was afraid, but thankful that they were at last going down the sandy slope that would take them to the beach.