“Don’t tell tales out of school, Grant,” he said. “You’ve had your fight, and have come off better than I expected. Don’t let’s have any more of it, if you can help it. There, have a wash; make haste. Dinner’s waiting.”
The relief I felt was something tremendous, and though five minutes or so before I had not wanted any dinner, I had no sooner had a good wash in the tin bowl with the clean cold water from the pump, and a good rub with the round towel behind the kitchen door, than I felt outrageously hungry; and it was quite a happy, flushed face, with a strapped-up wound on the forehead and a rather swollen and cut lip, that looked out at me from the little square shaving glass on the wall.
That morning I had been despondently thinking that I was making no end of enemies in my new home. That afternoon I began to find that things were not so very bad after all. Shock was sulky, and seemed to delight in showing me the roots of his hair in the nape of his neck, always turning his back; but he did not throw any more apples and he played no more pranks, but went on steadily picking.
I did the same, making no further advances to him, though, as I recalled how I hammered his body and head, and how he must have been pricked by falling into the gooseberry bush, I felt sorry, and if he had offered to shake hands I should have forgotten how grubby his always were, and held out mine at once.
As the afternoon wore on we filled our baskets, and more had to be fetched. Then, later on, I wanted my ladder moved to another tree, and came down and called Ike, but he was not there, so I asked one of the other men, who came and did it for me, and then moved Shock’s.
I was just mounting again when Ike came up, taking long strides and scowling angrily.
“S’pose you couldn’t ha’ waited a moment, could you?” he growled. “I didn’t move the ladder just as you wanted, I suppose. You’re precious partickler, you are. Now, look here, my fine gentleman, next time you want a ladder moved you may move it yourself.”
“But I did call you, Ike,” I said; “and you weren’t there.”
“I hadn’t gone to get another two hundred o’ plarnts, I suppose, and was comin’ back as fast as I could, I s’pose. No, o’ course not. I ought to ha’ been clost to your elber, ready when you called. Never mind; next time you wants the ladder moved get some one else, for I sha’n’t do it;” and he strode away.
Half an hour later he was back to see if I wanted it moved, and waited till I had finished gathering a few more apples, when, smiling quite good-humouredly, he shifted the ladder into a good place.