full, complete, and final revelation of the great garret mystery.—confession of pat—indignation of solomon.—his speech on the occasion.—the authorities of the school roused.—pat and the “b. o. w. c.” are hauled up to give an account.
“h allo!” cried bart, who was roused by the noise. “who’s that out there? what’s the row?”
“it’s ony me,” said pat, in a faint voice.
“you, pat! is it you? well, i’d say i’m very glad to see you, only it happens to be too dark to see anything. well, pat, what’s up?”
by this time bart had got out of bed, and had reached the sitting-room, where pat was still standing against the door.
“didn’t ye hair it?” he said.
“hear it? hear what?”
“it!” cried pat. “there’s no mistake this time.”
“o, come, pat, none of that nonsense. that does very well for the little boys; but i understand it all.”
“didn’t ye hair it?” cried pat. “it nairly blew me head off, so it did. an doun hair i coom wid wan lape, so i did—an it afther me.”
“it? what it?”
“shure you know what.”
“you don’t mean that rubbish about a ghost. i know all about that. you needn’t talk to me that way.”
at this moment the distant bray of the donkey sounded once more. pat clutched bart’s arm, and cried,—
“there it is agin. it’s a coomin. o, i knowed it.”
“that!” said bart, opening the door and listening. “why, that’s only the bray of a donkey. you’ve heard it often enough—-haven’t you?”
“the bray of a donkey!” faltered pat. “sure it’s me that’s heard it.”
“well, this must be one.”
“but who ivir heard of a donkey in a garret?”
“o, i dare say he’s strolled up there to visit your friend in the cupola.”
and now, bart, not caring to prolong pat’s terror, explained the cause of the noise that had terrified him, letting him know at the same time why it was done. he told pat that they found out about the screech, and the bell, and sent up the donkey so as to give him a little taste of that fear which he was so anxious to give to others. as they had given him a shock, he was satisfied. had pat been at all an ill-tempered fellow; he might have resented all this; but as he was one of the best-natured fellows in the world, he showed not the smallest particle of resentment. on the contrary, the moment the load of horror was lifted off by bart’s disclosure, his buoyant spirits rose at once, and all burst forth to the full swing of his jovial, mirthful, ridiculous, reckless irish temperament.
“faith, an it’s me that’s caught—’deed an it is so, thin,” he cried, with a burst of laughter. “an ye got the donkey up to the garret! sure it bates the wurruld, so it does. an didn’t i hair the noise? but how cud i ivir dhrame it wor that. an ye got him jist close fornist me, so ye did! it wor just in me own air that he hooted, so it wor.”
pat now grew quite communicative, and told bart all about it. his motive for creating an excitement was simply to get a chance of laughing at the other boys, who had so often laughed at him. there was no malice whatever in his intention; nothing at all of the nature of vengefulness; but simply a mischievous and thoughtless idea of throwing some ridicule on the boys generally. bart’s discovery of the truth was known to him, but he did not care for that; he was determined to keep up his little joke as long as it could be kept up. he had been startled that night when the string had been jerked from his hand, but afterwards concluded that it was the wind. the knock at the doors he explained very simply. he had stolen up barefoot, and as the screech sounded, he had struck each door with a stick, and then ran. he was down below before they could see him. all this pat explained with perfect ease and much merriment, regarding it all as a good joke, not even excepting the last affair with the donkey.
but what, it may be asked, was that screech which had been the beginning of it all?
it was all explained on the following morning.
early on that morning the donkey had been brought down stairs with little difficulty, but with an immense amount of noise. as the boys brought him out, pat marched quietly after them, carrying an enormous owl!
one by one the boys heard the news. the whole school came flocking out to look upon the objects of their late terror. gradually the whole story came out, and the boys, in their sudden recoil from a general panic, now gave way to the wildest uproar and merriment. a laughing procession followed the donkey to his rural home, while pat took the owl down into the kitchen to get some meat for it from solomon.
meanwhile solomon had heard of the revelation of the dark mystery, and was running out to satisfy himself, when he met pat half way.
“o, de sakes, now!” cried old solomon. “what dis heah scubbry dat hab turn up on dis smilin an ’spicious morn. whar’s dat ar an’mal what hab ben kickin up sech a ’menjous bobberation, an ob whose ’sploits i hab heard so much? am dis heah de ’sterious an stror’ny phiantium dat hab frikened dis ’stracted ole nigga man mos to deff?”
“sure an here he is,” said pat, holding forward the bird, “an as fine a owl as ye’d wish fur till clap yer eyes on, so he is.”
solomon stood looking at the owl for a few moments. then he made a low bow, with absurd extravagance of gesture. then he burst forth in a strange tone, which seemed like a desperate attempt at sarcasm.
“mas’r owl, sah,” said he, rolling up his eyes and spreading out his hands,—“mas’r owl, sah, good morn, sah. i’se so drefful glad to see you, sah!—such a ’mendious honna, sah!”
he then made another low bow, after which he went on with an attempt at more scathing sarcasm than ever, in which there was also visible a tinge of something like indignation.
“mas’r owl, sah, ar you awah, sah, dat you hab ben ’ferin berry much wid de ’pose ob an aged but spectb’l gem’n ob colla, sah? a pus’n, sah, dat’s bettan a dozen ob you, sah—bein as he is a granpanderdrum, an ’sides bein fessa ob de cool and airy ’partment in dis yah ’cad’my—fessa, sah, ob ebba so many yeahs’ stan’in, sah—fren ob de docta, sah, an not a pus’n to be ’posed on, sah? do you know what you are, sah? you’re a mis’ble darky, sah—no better’n a crow, sah! do you know what i’m gwino to do, sah, dis bressed moment, sah? i’ve biled turkeys, an chickens, an geese, an ducks, an pattidges, an quails, an snipes, but i hab nebba biled a owl. wal, dat ar’s jest what i’m a gwine to do now, sah. yes, sah, i’m ’termined ’pon dat ar. in you go to de pot, body, bones, an beak—horns, tail, an all, sah.”
“an what’s the use?” said pat: “shure he isn’t a poll parrot, that can talk back at ye an give ye as gud as he gets. he’s ony an owl, an he can’t spake a wurrud, so he can’t.
“any how, i’se gwine to bile him dis bressed minit.”
“ah, now, be aff wid ye; go long, an don’t be foolin,” cried pat, as solomon made an effort to take the owl; “shure he niver did ye any harrum at all at all. shure he’s misther slocum’s tame owl, so he is, that’s run away, an ben livin in our garret—an i’m takin him back to his owner.”
“mis’r sloc’m,” said solomon. “well, mis’r sloc’m doesn’t lib down heah—he doesn’t. what you a bringin him heah for?”
“sure he ony wants his mate.”
“his mate,” cried solomon. “hab his mate flowed off sides him. ef i fin dat ar mate ’bout dese yah primises, i’ll bile her to pieces.”
“ah, be aff wid ye! shure it’s ony a paice av mate that i want fur the owl.”
“a piece ob meat!” cried solomon. “nebba, sah. dat ar bird hab ’sulted me.”
and he drew up his aged form with severe dignity.
but pat coaxed and pleaded, and the end of it was, that solomon was prevailed on to give him a piece of meat. the owl devoured it greedily, and then pat took him away to his owner.
the bird, as pat said, belonged to mr. slocum, who lived about two miles away. he had received him as a very fine specimen of a screech owl, from a sea captain, who had brought him from abroad, and had got tired of him. mr. slocum happened to be in halifax at the time, and brought the bird home in triumph a few weeks before. during the previous week he had escaped, and had found his way through an open window of the cupola into the garret. pat had discovered him first, and as his terrific hoot sounded out, frightening the boys, he took advantage of the circumstance to perform a few additional tricks of his own, with the consequences that have been narrated. it was only on the previous day that pat had found out who was the owner of the wandering bird. he happened to hear people speaking of it in the village store as he was making some purchases. so, now that the whole affair had come to an end, he thought he might as well restore the lively bird to its rightful owner.
meanwhile the donkey had been taken to his pasture, and the boys returned, and school began, and the business of the day soon engrossed their whole attention.
after school pat and the boys of the “b. o. w. c.” received a message from mr. long, requesting them to come to his study.
for the affair had spread, and the teachers had learned all about it. of course it was a thing that could not be passed over. after some discussion, however, it was considered that it was not of sufficient importance to be brought before dr. porter; and so mr. long was requested to see all the boys concerned in the affair, and afterwards report.
mr. long’s study was a room situated immediately under bart’s. he generally left at nine in the evening, and slept elsewhere. consequently he had not been in the way of hearing those “voices of the night.” it was to this room, then, that the “b. o. w. c.,” together with pat, bent their steps, trying to conjecture what mr. long proposed to do about it.
