And then, in a moment, I seemed to be back in the great playground; then away on to the common, where we hunted for lizards amongst the furze, and got more pricks than reptiles. I saw, too, the big old horse-chestnuts round by the great square pond where you could never catch any fish, but always tried for them on account of the character it had of holding monsters, especially eels as big and round as your arm. I never knew any one catch a fish in that pond, but we did a deal of anticipation there, and watched the dragon-flies flit to and fro, and heard the rustle of they transparent wings. Splendid ones they were. First of all, there came early in the summer the thin-bodied ones, some of a steely-blue, some dark with clear wings, and with them those with the wings clouded with dark patches. Then came the large, short, flat-bodied, pointed-tailed fellows, some blue, some olive-green. Late in the season, affecting the damp spots of the common among the furze bushes more than the pond, came the largest long-bodied flies, which hawked to and fro over the same ground, and played havoc among their prey.
You could hear the school-bell from there—the big one in the turret on the top of the great square brick mansion; and in imagination I saw that pond, and the dragon-flies, lizards, and furze, the shady finger-leaved chestnuts, and even heard that bell, while the sweet cakey bread lasted; and then I was back in the Chinese boat on the Chinese river, for Ching leaned over me with something in rice-paper.
“You likee bit piecee flesh meat?”
“What is it?” I said, looking hard at the rather tempting brown meat with its white fat.
“Velly nice,” he said. “Got pep’ salt. Velly good.”
“Yes,” I said; “but is it good? I mean something I should like to eat?”
“Yes; loast lit’ piggee; velly nice.”
He was quite right—it was; and after I had finished I went forward to see if I could get something to drink. Jecks was inspecting the big earthen vessel with a tin baler, and I appealed to him.
“How is the water?” I said.
“Well, sir, yer can’t say quite well thankye, ’cause it arn’t right colour yet, and it’s got a sort o’ fishing-boat flavour in it, as puts yer in mind o’ Yarmouth market at herring time, but it ain’t so pea-soupy as it were, and it might be worse. Try a tot, sir?”