William Again Read Online Free PDF Page A

them,’ said the nurse, smiling. ‘Both purple in the face with holding their breaths. They’d better go now.’
    Again Great-Aunt Jane winked at William. Downstairs Uncle John was standing, gloomy as ever, by the fireplace.
    ‘How is she?’ he said, as they entered.
    ‘I think she’s risin’ a bit,’ said William.
    ‘What did you say he did this morning?’ said Great-Aunt Jane to the nurse.
    ‘He got up early,’ said the nurse, ‘and found a mouse in the mousetrap. He put it into a cardboard box and almost covered the creature in cheese, and made holes in the lid and
put it into his pocket. He wanted to keep it. Then the thing gnawed its way out at breakfast and stampeded the whole table. It ran over Francis, and he yelled, and his father nearly fainted.
William was much annoyed. He said he’d meant to teach it tricks.’
    ‘It was yesterday, wasn’t it,’ said Great-Aunt Jane, ‘that he dared Fatty to walk on the edge of the rain tub, and he overbalanced and fell in?’
    ‘Yes – and Fatty got in a temper and bit him, and they fought and rolled down the bank together into the pond.’
    ‘And Tuesday—’
    ‘Tuesday he brought the scarecrow in from the field in the evening and put it in front of the fire where his uncle usually stands, and it was rather dark, and they hadn’t lit up yet,
and his aunt came in and talked to it for quite a long time before she discovered. She’s rather shortsighted, you know.’
    ‘There was a terrible scuffle going on somewhere last night,’ said Great-Aunt Jane eagerly.
    ‘Oh, yes – his Uncle John went downstairs about eleven for a book he’d forgotten, and William heard him and thought he was a burglar, and attacked him from behind. They fell
downstairs on top of each other, and then William got his uncle rolled up in the hall rug with a pair of gloves in his mouth and his eyeglasses broken before he found out who he was – he’s a
curious boy!’
    Great-Aunt Jane was sitting up and looking quite bright.
    ‘He certainly lends an interest to life. I feel ever so much better since he came. You might send him up now, if he’s in, Nurse, will you?’
    On her way down the nurse met Uncle John.
    ‘How long is this young ruffian going to be here?’ he said furiously. William had successfully dispelled the air of hallowed gloom from the house. ‘He’s sent my nerves to
pieces already – what his effect on that poor sufferer must be—’

    ‘THERE WAS A TERRIBLE SCUFFLING GOING ON SOMEWHERE, LAST NIGHT’
    ‘He seems to be strengthening hers,’ said the nurse. ‘She’s just sent for him.’
    ‘That means a few minutes’ peace for the rest of the house, at any rate,’ he said.
    William entered the sickroom sullenly. He was thoroughly bored with life. Even his enemy, Fatty, was not to be found. Fatty retired every afternoon with his mother to lie down.
    ‘Good afternoon, William,’ said Great-Aunt Jane, ‘are you enjoying your visit?’
    ‘Well,’ said William vaguely, striving to temper truth with politeness, ‘I wun’t mind going home now. I’ve had enough.’ He sat down on her bed and became
confidential. ‘We’ve been here for weeks an’ weeks—’
    ‘Four days,’ amended Great-Aunt Jane.
    ‘Well, four days, then,’ said William, ‘an’ there’s nothing left to do, an’ they make a fuss if I make a noise; an’ I’ve got a lizard in a box at
home and I’m tryin’ to teach it tricks, an’ it’ll have forgot me if I stay here much longer. It was just gettin’ to know me. I could tell by its eyes. An’ they
might forget to feed it or anything – there’s nothing to do here, an’ Mother’s not been well since the sea made her sick, an’ I keep sayin’ – why wait
till she’s all right to go back – case the sea makes her sick again; better go back while she’s feelin’ bad and get it all over again without the fuss of gettin’ all right
an’ then gettin’ bad again; an’ I keep sayin’, why are we