"It's all right, sir; taters won't hurt. Tatering's a thing you ought to take your time over. The longer they lie out here without the sun on them, the harder the skins will be, and the better they'll keep."

Tom stopped talking to David for some time longer, but his mind was not bent upon the vegetable kingdom as represented by the tuber commonly known as a "tater," but upon that portion of the animal kingdom familiar to him as Pete Warboys.

Now it so happened that a couple of days later, Uncle Richard was going out on business in the nearest town, leaving Tom to amuse himself as he pleased.

"What shall I do, uncle?" said Tom. "Is there anything to grind?"

"No; you are not out enough in the open air. Go and get blackberries, or mushrooms, or something to take you for a long walk. I shall be home to tea."

Tom had been indoors so much, that at first he felt unwilling to go; but that feeling soon wore off, and he started for a long jaunt out through the firs, to the wild common-lands, where Nature revelled undisturbed, and he knew that between blackberries and mushrooms he was pretty sure of getting something to bring back in the basket Mrs Fidler supplied.

And so it proved. As soon as he was well through the fir-wood, where the closely-growing reddish fir-trunks brought to mind Pete's hiding-place, and consequently Pete himself, he found the broken ground rich with brambles cl.u.s.tering over the furze-bushes, and hanging down in the sandy hollows--hot, sunny spots, where the black fruit, rarely gathered, hung in bunches, so that the basket soon began to grow heavy, and a division had to be made with bracken fronds to keep them from being mixed up with the mushrooms he gathered from time to time--not big, flat, dark, brown-gilled fungi, such as grow in moist spots and rich old pastures, but delicate, plump little b.u.t.tons, which he found here and there dotted about the soft velvety bits of sheep-cropped pasture hidden among the clumps of furze.

Then there were other objects of interest: rabbits darted here and there, skurrying into their sandy holes; he caught sight of a weasel, which peered at him for a moment, and then glided away like a short fur-clothed viper. Further on he came upon an olive-green, regularly-marked snake, which seemed in no hurry to escape; another slightly-formed reptile, nearly equal in thickness all along, and looking as if made of oxidised silver, being far more active in its movements to gain sanctuary under a furze bush. Soon after, while reaching out his hand to get at a cl.u.s.ter of blackberries, he saw beneath him in an open sunny patch, where all was yellow sand, a curled-up grey serpent, not three feet from his extended hand. It was thick and short, the tail being joined on to the body without the graduation seen in the others, while the creature's neck looked thin and small behind the flat, spade-shaped head.

"Asleep or awake?" Tom asked himself, as the reptile lay perfectly motionless, with its curiously-marked eyes seeming dull, and as if formed of the same material as the scales.

The lad drew his hand back, for there was something repellent about the little object, and he knew at once that this was a dangerous little viper.

His first instinct was to strike at it, but he had no stick; and he stood perfectly still examining it, and comparing its shape and markings with what he could recall of his readings respecting the adder.

There was no doubt about it. The little reptile was an adder, sunning itself in its warm home; and that it was not asleep Tom soon saw, for the curious tongue was rapidly protruded several times, flickering, as it were, outside the h.o.r.n.y mouth, which seemed to be provided with an opening in front expressly for the tongue to pa.s.s through, while the jaws remained closed.

"Wish I'd a stick," thought the boy, as the viper now slowly raised its head; a couple of coils were in motion, and for the moment it seemed about to glide away, but the head sank again, and once more the little creature lay perfectly still.

"They're dangerous things, and the bite is very painful," thought Tom; but he did not stir to get a stick to kill the reptile, for he was interested in its peculiar form, and the dark, velvety markings along its body, which glistened in the sun.

And there he stood, peering over into the little opening, in profound unconsciousness that he was being silently stalked, till, just as he had made up his mind to go to the nearest fir-tree and cut a stick, in the hope of finding the adder still there on his return, there was a sharp snuffling sound.

Tom started round, to find Pete's ill-looking dog close at hand, but ready to spring away over the bushes as if expecting a blow.

Tom's next glance showed him the disturbed viper, with its head raised, eyes glittering as if filled with fire, and its body all in motion.

Then it was gone; but another pair of eyes were gazing into his, for Pete Warboys slowly raised himself from where he had crawled to the other side of the furze clump.

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR.

"Hulloo!" said Pete, with a sneering grin; "got you then, have I? Who gave you leave to come and pick them?"

"Hulloo, Pete!" said Tom quietly, ignoring the question, for the recollection of his thoughts during the past few days came up strongly, and all that the Vicar, his uncle, and David had said.

"Who are you a hulloo Peteing?" snarled the fellow. "Yer ain't got no guns now to go shooting at people."

"What nonsense!" said Tom; "that wasn't a gun--it was an explosion."

"Yer needn't tell me; I know," said Pete, edging round slowly to Tom's side of the bush.

"I don't believe you were half so much hurt as I was," continued Tom.

"Serve yer right. Yer'd no business to shoot at a fellow."

"I didn't," cried Tom. "Don't I tell you it wasn't a gun?"

"Oh, yer can't cheat me. Here! hi! Kerm here, will yer, or I'll scruntch yer!" he roared to his dog. "Leave that 'ere rarebut alone.

Want him to go sneaking an' telling the perlice, and purtendin' it was me."

The dog gave up chasing an unfortunate rabbit through the bushes, and came trotting up, with hanging head and tail, to his master's side, where he crouched down panting and flinching as Pete raised his hand and made believe to strike.

"I'll half smash yer if yer don't mind," he snarled.

Then, turning to Tom--

"What yer got there--blackb'rys and mash-eroons?"

"Yes; there are plenty about," replied Tom.

"Know that better than you do."

"I dare say you do," said Tom good-humouredly, as he watched the unpleasant looks directed at him, the fellow's whole aspect being such as we read was a.s.sumed by the wolf who sought an excuse for eating the lamb.

All the same, though, Tom's aspect partook more of the good-humoured bulldog than that of the lamb; though Pete kept to his character well, and more and more showed that he was working himself up for a quarrel.

"Yah!" he exclaimed suddenly, after edging himself up pretty closely, and with his hands still in his pockets, thrusting out his lower jaw, and leaning forward stared over his raised shoulder at Tom. "Yah! I feel as if I could half smash yer!"

"Do you?" said Tom quietly.

"Yes, I do. Don't you get a-mocking me. Ain't yer feared?"

"No," said Tom quietly, "not a bit. Have sixpence?"

Pete stared, and leaned over out of the perpendicular, so as to get his face closer to Tom's. "Whort say?"

"Will you have sixpence?" said Tom, thrusting his right hand into his pocket, and withdrawing the above coin.

"Yerse; 'course I will," cried Pete, s.n.a.t.c.hing the piece, spitting on it, and thrusting it into his pocket. "Thought your sort allus telled the truth."

"Well, so we do," said Tom, smiling.

"None o' yer lies now, 'cause it won't do with me," said the fellow menacingly. "Yer said yer warn't afeard, and yer are. All in a funk, that's what yer are: so now then."

"No, I'm not," said Tom, in the coolest way possible, for he had made up his mind to try and carry out the Vicar's plan.

"I tell yer yer are. What yer got here? Yer wouldn't ha' give me sixpence to let yer alone if yer hadn't been afeard. What yer got here, I say?"

"You can see," said Tom, without showing the slightest resentment at the handle of his basket being seized, even though Pete, in perfect a.s.surance that he was frightening his enemy into fits, grew more and more aggressive.

"Yes, I can see," cried Pete. "I've got eyes in my head, same as you chaps as come from London, and think yerselves so precious sharp.