“You needn’t be afraid of that,” said I. “Mother and Jenny will be just having tea about this time, most likely, in the kitchen; and, if father’s at home and not out in his wherry, he’ll be taking a caulk in his old seat under the mulberry-tree.”
“Begorrah, thin,” cried Mick, in high glee at my now giving him this information, “we’ll put the little baiste roight over the wall forninst whare he’s a-sottin’; an’, faith, if Jocko says him, he’ll rouse him oop fast enuff, an’ thin yer fayther’ll think he’s the divvle, sure, jist ez the chaplin did aboard the ship t’other day whin Jocko got into his cabin an’ carried on ‘Meg’s divarshuns’!”
“The very thing,” I said, entering into the joke and anticipating father’s astonishment. “Sling him over by that apple-tree, and then nobody will be able to see how he got in.”
Mick at once carried out my suggestion.
The apple-tree, which had all its pretty pink and white blossoms out in full bloom, ran up close to the side of the wall, one branch indeed projecting over it, though at too great a height for the street boys to get at the fruit, having to content themselves instead with shying stones at what they were unable to reach.
Clambering up the face of the rough old brick wall like a cat, Mick carefully let down Jocko on the other side at this point, telling him in a whispered word of command that he was on ‘sentry go’ and mustn’t stir till the order was given to ‘relieve guard.’
Jocko evidently understood him clearly; for, although I expected he would have climbed back again on Mick’s shoulder almost as soon as he put him down, the intelligent animal remained in the garden.
All things therefore working together as we wished, Mick and I now proceeded up to the front door and knocked.
Unfortunately, father had seen the Active coming in and “blown the gaff” on us; and so, instead of our taking them by surprise, we found them on the lookout and all ready to receive us.
Little Jenny, who had grown considerably since I had last seen her, and was all the prettier, too, as Mick, I noticed, observed as well as myself, of course opened the door for us; and coming up the passage behind her was mother and father, with the cockatoo ‘Ally Sloper’ bringing up the roar of the procession, all of them laughing and talking, and saying, all in one breath and at the same time, how glad they were to see me and Mick again, old ‘Ally Sloper’ screaming out louder than the lot, “I’ll wring your neck! I’ll wring your neck!” We did have a tea.