"Oh, hang the dishes! I wish you hadn't thought of them at all, or had left them in the pantry," said Collins.
"Well, I like that—after dragging me into the scrape to grumble at me for helping! Now, look here, I've had enough of the fun, and will give up the feed to you, and go back to the rest, if you like."
"And leave me to take care of the precious dishes! I knew you were a coward, Stewart."
"No, I'm not a coward, and I'll stay and see it out, if you like. We must smash the dishes up, you know, and throw the bits about. Swain will never see anything of them then."
"Bravo, Charley! What a pity we hadn't thought of that before! Now, then, let's find a place where we can be sure to be to ourselves, and when we've cleared out the good things we'll begin the smashing business."
It did not take us long to demolish the pies and custards, and each dish as it was emptied was broken into pieces, and we amused ourselves by throwing these as far as we could in every direction.
It was quite a relief when the last tart was eaten and the last dish scattered, and I then proposed returning to the others, for, our penance over, surely we might have some play now.
"You forget we've come fern-grubbing," said Collins. "I propose that, as we have robbed the governor of his dinner, we should take him something for his fernery. It will help to ward off suspicion, too, I should think; it ought, I am sure."
"I am not at all sure," I said, "and I know nothing about ferns either."
"He wants to get back to his nurse," laughed Jackson.