While one detachment rushed to the door and locked it, and another mounted on the desks and forms, the stoutest (and consequently the newest) boy seized the cane, and confronting Mrs Squeers with a stern countenance, snatched off her cap and beaver bonnet, put them on his own head, armed himself with the wooden spoon, and bade her, on pain of death, go down upon her knees and take a dose directly. Before that estimable lady could recover herself, or offer the slightest retaliation, she was forced into a kneeling posture by a crowd of shouting tormentors, and compelled to swallow a spoonful of the odious mixture, rendered more than usually savoury by the immersion in the bowl of Master Wackford's head, whose ducking was intrusted to another rebel. The success of this first achievement prompted the malicious crowd, whose faces were clustered together in every variety of lank and half-starved ugliness, to further acts of outrage. The leader was insisting upon Mrs Squeers repeating her dose, Master Squeers was undergoing another dip in the treacle, and a violent assault had been commenced on Miss Squeers, when John Browdie, bursting open the door with a vigorous kick, rushed to the rescue. The shouts, screams, groans, hoots, and clapping of hands, suddenly ceased, and a dead silence ensued.
`Ye be noice chaps,' said John, looking steadily round. `What's to do here, thou yoong dogs?'
`Squeers is in prison, and we are going to run away!' cried a score of shrill voices. `We won't stop, we won't stop!'
`Weel, then, dinnot stop,' replied John; `who waants thee to stop? Roon awa' loike men, but dinnot hurt the women.'
`Hurrah!' cried the shrill voices, more shrilly still.
`Hurrah?' repeated John. `Weel, hurrah loike men too. Noo then, look out. Hip -- hip -- hip -- hurrah!'
`Hurrah!' cried the voices.
`Hurrah! Agean;' said John. `Looder still.'
The boys obeyed.
`Anoother!' said John. `Dinnot be afeared on it. Let's have a good 'un!'
`Hurrah!'
`Noo then,' said John, `let's have yan more to end wi', and then coot off as quick as you loike. Tak'a good breath noo -- Squeers be in gaol -- the school's brokken oop -- it's a' ower -- past and gane -- think o'
thot, and let it be a hearty 'un! Hurrah!'
Such a cheer arose as the walls of Dotheboys Hall had never echoed before, and were destined never to respond to again. When the sound had died away, the school was empty; and of the busy noisy crowd which had peopled it but five minutes before, not one remained.
`Very well, Mr Browdie!' said Miss Squeers, hot and flushed from the recent encounter, but vixenish to the last; `you've been and excited our boys to run away. Now see if we don't pay you out for that, sir! If my pa is unfortunate and trod down by henemies, we're not going to be basely crowed and conquered over by you and 'Tilda.'
`Noa!' replied John bluntly, `thou bean't. Tak' thy oath o' thot. Think betther o' us, Fanny. I tell'ee both, that I'm glod the auld man has been caught out at last -- dom'd glod -- but ye'll sooffer eneaf wi'out any crowin' fra' me, and I be not the mun to crow, nor be Tilly the lass, so I tell'ee flat. More than thot, I tell'ee noo, that if thou need'st friends to help thee awa' from this place -- dinnot turn up thy nose, Fanny, thou may'st -- thou'lt foind Tilly and I wi' a thout o' old times aboot us, ready to lend thee a hond. And when I say thot, dinnot think I be asheamed of wa'at I've deane, for I say again, Hurrah! and dom the schoolmeasther -- there!'
His parting words concluded, John Browdie strode heavily out, remounted his nag, put him once more into a smart canter, and, carolling lustily forth some fragments of an old song, to which the horse's hoofs rang a merry accompaniment, sped back to his pretty wife and to Nicholas.
For some days afterwards, the neighbouring country was overrun with boys, who, the report went, had been secretly furnished by Mr and Mrs Browdie, not only with a hearty meal of bread and meat, but with sundry shillings and sixpences to help them on their way. To this rumour John always returned a stout denial, which he accompanied, however, with a lurking grin, that rendered the suspicious doubtful, and fully confirmed all previous believers.
There were a few timid young children, who, miserable as they had been, and many as were the tears they had shed in the wretched school, still knew no other home, and had formed for it a sort of attachment, which made them weep when the bolder spirits fled, and cling to it as a refuge. Of these, some were found crying under hedges and in such places, frightened at the solitude. One had a dead bird in a little cage; he had wandered nearly twenty miles, and when his poor favourite died, lost courage, and lay down beside him. Another was discovered in a yard hard by the school, sleeping with a dog, who bit at those who came to remove him, and licked the sleeping child's pale face.
They were taken back, and some other stragglers were recovered, but by degrees they were claimed, or lost again; and, in course of time, Dotheboys Hall and its last breaking-up began to be forgotten by the neighbours, or to be only spoken of as among the things that had been.
