Survival School [alternate history] (Turn-of-the-Century Toughs)

Chapter Ten

From the Superintendent of the House of Transformation tothe High Master of the Second Landstead:

Since the opening of this Institution, there have been brought under its influence two thousand five hundred and twenty-eight boys. They have been sent to us from every town and city in the Second Landstead, the majority of them reeking with filth and iniquity, with no conception of decency or order; often they come half fed, and without sufficient clothing to cover their nakedness; ignorant, save in crime, blasphemy and untruth; learned by their association in earliest childhood with the very lowest order of depraved humanity; some of them do not even know their own or their parents' names; a large number of them, before entering the Institution, knew nothing of the cycle of rebirth, or their responsibility to their neighbors; some had never entered a chapel; they have known no ambition in life, beyond the gratification of their unbridled passions, and to elude the vigilance of the police authorities. But this moral degradation is small cause for wonder, when we consider the homes and environment from whence they came – steeped in iniquity, becoming a menace to the peace of society, and ultimately inmates of our penal institutions.

Such is the material upon which we have to work, out of which we are to make useful men, through the great avenues of industry and a common-school education, aided by the teachings of the clerics of rebirth. To counteract the baneful influences with which they have been surrounded, to regenerate their entire nature, and step by step lead them into the path of truth and virtue, to endeavor to return them to society with a proper regard for the rights of others, with a reverence for the knowledge of the cycle of rebirth in their hearts, with a respect for honest industry – this is the great work which we have undertaken here, and which we hope, by sacred aid, to bring to full fruition.

o—o—o

Bat's heart felt as though it were about to burst. He forced his weary legs further, straining to reach his goal. Beside him, clinging to Bat's waist as Bat was clinging to his, Joe gave a despairing moan.

They both collapsed onto the grass next to the lane, beneath one of the shade trees. Several yards ahead of them, watchers cheered as the winners of the race crossed the line.

"Journeymen," Joe managed to gasp as he caught his breath. "I'd have sworn this was the one race I could win. I suppose that journeymen get all their strength from their nightly battles."

Still lying on his back, Joe waved his hand in the direction of the field north of the lane, where Family Cottage Obedient and Family Cottage Mannerly were engaged in a ferocious effort to better each other in a game of picket-ball. Raising himself onto his elbows, Bat was just in time to see the batter of Cottage Mannerly duck a throw that appeared aimed at his head. The spectators booed.

Joe, who hadn't noticed, groaned at the pain of their running. "That was worse than a day in the manufactory."

Sitting up, Bat looked at Joe, then beyond him to the nearby shed, newly constructed and opened. Somehow, despite the House's stringent budget, the Superintendent had managed to find the money to replace the broom manufactory.

"I'm sorry," Bat said softly. Nobody was within hearing; most of the other apprentices were in the field on the south side of the lane, waging various feats: wheelbarrow races, tugs of war, bulldog games, and – most popular of all – pie-eating contests.

Joe opened his eyes and smiled up at Bat. "Don't be," he said equally softly. "I'd forgotten that Super slept above the manufactory. You saved me from being a murderer." He sat up abruptly, as though shoving aside that months-old episode, and said, "Untie us, will you? My hands are all torn up from yesterday morning's brooms."