Adventure and adventurers > Hudson Bay, or, Everyday life in the wilds of North America

174
A PRACTICAL JOKE.
within its dingy walls; so I jumped the paling that
stood in front of the windows, and took a peep at the
interior before introducing myself.
The scene that met my eye was ludicrous in the ex¬
treme. Mounted on a chair, behind a bedroom door,
stood my friend Crusty, with a large pail of water in
his arms, which he raised cautiously to the top of the
door, for the purpose of tilting it over upon two fellow-
clerks who stood below, engaged in a wrestling match,
little dreaming of the cataract that was soon to fall on
their devoted heads; at the door of a room opposite
stood the doctor, grinning from ear to ear at the thought
of sending a thick stream of water in Crusty’s face from
a large syringe which he held in his hands; while near
the stove sat the jolly skipper, looking as grave as pos¬
sible under the circumstances.
The practical joke was just approaching to a climax
when I looked in. The combatants neared the door
behind which Crusty was ensconced. The pail was
raised, and the syringe pointed, when the hall door
opened, and Mr. Grave walked in ! The sudden change
that ensued could not have been more rapidly effected
had Mr. Grave been a magician. The doctor thrust the
syringe into his pocket, into which a great deal of the
water escaped and dripped from the skirts of his coat as
he walked slowly across the room and began to examine,
with a wonderful degree of earnestness, the edge of an
amputating knife that lay upon his dressing-table. The
two wrestlers sprang with one accord into their own
room, where they hid their flushed faces behind the
door. Certain smothered sounds near the stove pro-