October 26, 2025 • 11 mins
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Barry was a boy of many characteristics. The most notable
were an amazing love of sleep and a desperate activity
when awake. He seemed to lay in a fresh stock
of energy every time he had an app and although
the most difficult boy in the world to awaken, when
he was awake, he was irrepressible. It was winter, Berry
found that season of the year did not agree with
(00:21):
his constitution. Just getting up in the middle of the
night is killing me, he remarked one day to a
group of sympathizers. He had the whole school on his
side in this particular matter. For work before breakfast in
winter was decidedly unpopular. At half past seven, every boy
had to be at his desk, putting in an hour
(00:42):
at mathematics before prayers and breakfast. It was pitch dark
at seven when the bell rang as a signal to rise.
It is curious how difficult it was to hear that
bell in winter. Barry never heard it, or rather never
heeded it. He scorned to rise till twenty minut it's
past seven. He could do it, as he termed dressing,
(01:04):
in ten minutes, and had been known to do it
in five. On such occasions. His personal ablutions were apt
to be rather neglected. That old bell is at the
bottom of it, remarked Culverwell, another boy who found that
the heavy clang disturbed his slumbers. It's John who's at
the bottom of the bell, put in Millward. I wish
(01:26):
he'd resign, said Barry. It's time they pensioned him off
and sent him to a hospital for incurables. He's a
hopeless job, said Millward. I spent half an hour one
day trying to make him understand that I was willing
to stand him a shilling if he'd give us a
few minutes grace in the morning. But he's as deaf
as a post, and though he took my shilling, he
(01:48):
rang us up more punctually than ever the next morning.
I wish he'd hang himself with his bell rope, said Culverwell,
the eye the offending bell, which hung idly in his turret,
built over what was once a stable but was now
part of the school building. I wish we could muffle
the old thing, said Millward, looking wistfully up. It's freezing
(02:11):
hard and twill be deadly work getting up tomorrow. I
believe I could shy a stone up and crack, it
suggested another Berry had been silently inspecting the building. Tell
you what, you, fellows, he said, at last, I believe
I could get up there if I had a ladder
out of the small classroom window, jump on the ledge,
(02:32):
then creep up the roof by the chimney, then a
ladder over the space to the turret. A few fellows
will hand me up the ladder. I'll go. They were
all dumb for a moment at his audacity. Then Millward said,
how are you going to get into the small classroom.
It's always locked in playtime, so tis assented Culverwell, then
(02:53):
I must get up to the ledge with a ladder
and then pull it up after me. You're a plucky beggar,
exclaimed in admiration. Shouldn't we have a jolly snooze in
the morning. If you should stop that old bell's jaw,
I will too, said Barry. There must be a ladder
somewhere about. There's the one John uses to clean the
(03:14):
outside of the windows, suggested Millward. But it isn't long enough,
it may do, said Barry. Come along, let's get hold
of it. This is just the time it's dark, and
tisn't tea time for half an hour. It was just
five o'clock, and nearly every boy was indoors. Few cared
for sliding on a worn slide in the dark, and
(03:36):
a game was out of the question. So the three
boys had small fear of being discovered as they prowled
about in search of John's ladder, that Worthy was having
his tea and was not likely to be disturbed by
any noise, for he was stone deaf. The boys hauled
out his ladder almost from under his nose without his
hearing a sound. Culverwell kept cave while Millward held the
(04:00):
ladder for Barry to ascend. It was a plucky, if
not perilous feet to attempt in the dark, but Barry
was a bounding in pluck, and the spirit of adventure
made him keep his nerve. He soon found himself on
the ledge and managed to haul up the ladder after him.
It was an assistance instead of an encumbrance in crossing
the roof, and he soon was within a dozen feet
(04:22):
of the turret. The boy's blow anxiously waited for his reappearance,
but he had a job before him. His idea was
to unship the tongue of the bell. He had a
glorious reward if he could succeed, For John would never
know if the bell rang or not. It would be
superb to have the old factotum pulling away at his
(04:43):
rope and fancying he was fulfilling his duty when the
tongueless bell was swinging silently on its pivot. Barry worked
the tongue this way and that, but it was a
difficult job. The inside of the bell was as dark
as the inside of a wolf. To use a hunter simile,
he had to feel everything, and the medal was terribly cold. However,
(05:04):
at last he managed to unhitch it. He deliberated what
to do with it. Now we had it, He put
it in his pocket and descended as quickly as was
consistent with security. Off with the ladder was his first order.
They soon had it in its place again. Then they
felt safe from detection. What are you going to do
(05:24):
with it, asked Millward, alluding to the rusty tongue which
Barry exhibited. I think I shall leave it at the
bottom of the turret. If I take it away, they'll
know some one's been up. But if we leave it here,
they'll think it's dropped down. Let's hope they will, said
culverwell dubiously. At any rate, I'll chance it, continued Barry.
(05:46):
So you fellows will be able to have a tall
time tomorrow morning, and we shan't get cold till half
past eight at the earliest. The sequel proved the correctness
of Barry's prophecy. Old John sought his bell rope punctually
at seven as usual, rang away steadily for three minutes,
and then retired to his den to commence his never
(06:06):
ending job of shoe cleaning. One or two boys awoke
from sheer habit, but, hearing no bell, went to sleep again.
The rest slumbered peacefully on little thinking to whom they
owed their unwonted repose. The whole household were asleep. The
big bell was a signal for rising to everyone, servants included,
with the exception of John and his wife. Her duty
(06:29):
was to light the school room fires, after which she
retired to her own part of the house to prepare
her husband's breakfast. These two almost useless pensioners on the
Doctor's Bounty inhabited two rooms apart from the rest of
the house. How long every one would have slept cannot
be known, perhaps till nine, For when one depends on
(06:49):
a bell for waking, one waits for the accustomed sound.
But dogs are not like human beings, and Fido, who
always had his breakfast at eight, began making a great disturbance.
At a quarter past Fido woke his mistress, the doctor's wife.
She looked at her watch eight fifteen. She was surprised
beyond measure, as there was a strange silence everywhere. But
(07:13):
the clock on the mantelpiece confirmed her watch, and two
minutes later bells were ringing in a manner which brought
the servants out of their beds with a jump. By
half past eight, everyone boys and all had been awakened informally,
for the bell refused to make a sound. John was
summoned and was at last made to understand what was
(07:33):
the matter. He absurveyed warmly that he had rung the bell,
and went on a tour of inspection. He found the
tongue on the ground, and, obtaining a ladder from the
gardener next door, fastened it in its place again before
it was time to ring for school. Never had such
a gorgeous sleep in my life, said Millward warmly to Barry.
(07:55):
We'll vouch you as silver tankard as a reward of merit.
Pity that she can't be played twice, remarked Culverwell, they
don't seem to suspect anything this time, but if it
were to happen again, there'd be an inquisition. Barry heaved
a regretful sigh. It was hard to think that at
seven next morning, the inexorable bell would toll out as
(08:17):
usual the knell of the parting night. Something that day
put him in a peculiarly reckless mood. More than that,
he did not get his usual afternoon nap. He was
disturbed by an inconsiderate master who wanted to know when
his exercises were going to be handed in to him.
So five o'clock found Berry ready for any deed requiring
(08:38):
more cheek than usual. The bell had struck him directly
after he had written his last line. Whatever might happen,
he would have one more good sleep. He did not
confide his intentions this time to his two friends. He
knew his way now. In five minutes, he had captured
the ladder and placed it against the wall. He was
(09:00):
just stepping off it on to the ledge when he
heard footsteps beneath him perilously near. If he attempted to
draw up the ladder, the noise must attract attention. His
only chance was to keep still in the hope that
the ladder wouldn't be noticed in the dark. But it
was Old John happened to have finished his tea earlier
than usual and was on his way to fetch an
(09:22):
armful of wood. Now, who's been taking my ladder? He
said to himself. Suppose it's one of them boys wanting
to get their balls off the ledge. He put the
ladder on his shoulder and marched off with it. Barry
listened in horror. He did not know it was John
who had captured his only means of retreat. Whoever it was,
(09:43):
he must throw himself on his mercy. Hi, he called out,
in a voice meant to combine a shout and a whisper. Hi,
you dare It was a shout this time, and no mistake,
But it had no effect. Barry knew now it must
be John. It was no use to shout. He tore
(10:04):
off a piece of plaster and shied it in the
direction of the retreating figure. It struck the ground close
to John, but he did not hear it. Poor Berry
was left alone on the ledge fourteen feet from the ground.
He couldn't drop, for there was a nasty grating just
beneath him. Besides, he could not lower himself from the
(10:24):
narrow ledge. He might have done it in daylight, but
not in darkness. Even his pluck must draw the line somewhere.
It was an uninviting night, and not a boy was
out of doors. There was nothing for it but to
accept the inevitable and remain where he was until something happened.
He knew well enough what would happen. After tea. There
(10:45):
would be a calling over. He would be unable to
say add some an inquiry would be made, resulting in
his capture and punishment. Once more, he proved himself a
true prophet. Everything fell out exactly as he had anticipated,
and by the time he was assisted down, he was
so cramped and frozen he would have welcomed the caning
(11:05):
on the spot to warm him. Intentionally or unintentionally, The
authorities did not connect his being on the ledge with
the outrage on the bell of the day before. He
received the usual punishment for missing calling over, but beyond
that nothing was done. Probably the master who captured him
considered he had already received punishment enough. At any rate,
(11:28):
Barry was of the opinion that he had bought his
extra hour's sleep rather dearly, and of that bell by
Paul Blake
Barry was a boy of many characteristics. The most notable
were an amazing love of sleep and a desperate activity
when awake. He seemed to lay in a fresh stock
of energy every time he had an app and although
the most difficult boy in the world to awaken, when
he was awake, he was irrepressible. It was winter, Berry
found that season of the year did not agree with
(00:21):
his constitution. Just getting up in the middle of the
night is killing me, he remarked one day to a
group of sympathizers. He had the whole school on his
side in this particular matter. For work before breakfast in
winter was decidedly unpopular. At half past seven, every boy
had to be at his desk, putting in an hour
(00:42):
at mathematics before prayers and breakfast. It was pitch dark
at seven when the bell rang as a signal to rise.
It is curious how difficult it was to hear that
bell in winter. Barry never heard it, or rather never
heeded it. He scorned to rise till twenty minut it's
past seven. He could do it, as he termed dressing,
(01:04):
in ten minutes, and had been known to do it
in five. On such occasions. His personal ablutions were apt
to be rather neglected. That old bell is at the
bottom of it, remarked Culverwell, another boy who found that
the heavy clang disturbed his slumbers. It's John who's at
the bottom of the bell, put in Millward. I wish
(01:26):
he'd resign, said Barry. It's time they pensioned him off
and sent him to a hospital for incurables. He's a
hopeless job, said Millward. I spent half an hour one
day trying to make him understand that I was willing
to stand him a shilling if he'd give us a
few minutes grace in the morning. But he's as deaf
as a post, and though he took my shilling, he
(01:48):
rang us up more punctually than ever the next morning.
I wish he'd hang himself with his bell rope, said Culverwell,
the eye the offending bell, which hung idly in his turret,
built over what was once a stable but was now
part of the school building. I wish we could muffle
the old thing, said Millward, looking wistfully up. It's freezing
(02:11):
hard and twill be deadly work getting up tomorrow. I
believe I could shy a stone up and crack, it
suggested another Berry had been silently inspecting the building. Tell
you what, you, fellows, he said, at last, I believe
I could get up there if I had a ladder
out of the small classroom window, jump on the ledge,
(02:32):
then creep up the roof by the chimney, then a
ladder over the space to the turret. A few fellows
will hand me up the ladder. I'll go. They were
all dumb for a moment at his audacity. Then Millward said,
how are you going to get into the small classroom.
It's always locked in playtime, so tis assented Culverwell, then
(02:53):
I must get up to the ledge with a ladder
and then pull it up after me. You're a plucky beggar,
exclaimed in admiration. Shouldn't we have a jolly snooze in
the morning. If you should stop that old bell's jaw,
I will too, said Barry. There must be a ladder
somewhere about. There's the one John uses to clean the
(03:14):
outside of the windows, suggested Millward. But it isn't long enough,
it may do, said Barry. Come along, let's get hold
of it. This is just the time it's dark, and
tisn't tea time for half an hour. It was just
five o'clock, and nearly every boy was indoors. Few cared
for sliding on a worn slide in the dark, and
(03:36):
a game was out of the question. So the three
boys had small fear of being discovered as they prowled
about in search of John's ladder, that Worthy was having
his tea and was not likely to be disturbed by
any noise, for he was stone deaf. The boys hauled
out his ladder almost from under his nose without his
hearing a sound. Culverwell kept cave while Millward held the
(04:00):
ladder for Barry to ascend. It was a plucky, if
not perilous feet to attempt in the dark, but Barry
was a bounding in pluck, and the spirit of adventure
made him keep his nerve. He soon found himself on
the ledge and managed to haul up the ladder after him.
It was an assistance instead of an encumbrance in crossing
the roof, and he soon was within a dozen feet
(04:22):
of the turret. The boy's blow anxiously waited for his reappearance,
but he had a job before him. His idea was
to unship the tongue of the bell. He had a
glorious reward if he could succeed, For John would never
know if the bell rang or not. It would be
superb to have the old factotum pulling away at his
(04:43):
rope and fancying he was fulfilling his duty when the
tongueless bell was swinging silently on its pivot. Barry worked
the tongue this way and that, but it was a
difficult job. The inside of the bell was as dark
as the inside of a wolf. To use a hunter simile,
he had to feel everything, and the medal was terribly cold. However,
(05:04):
at last he managed to unhitch it. He deliberated what
to do with it. Now we had it, He put
it in his pocket and descended as quickly as was
consistent with security. Off with the ladder was his first order.
They soon had it in its place again. Then they
felt safe from detection. What are you going to do
(05:24):
with it, asked Millward, alluding to the rusty tongue which
Barry exhibited. I think I shall leave it at the
bottom of the turret. If I take it away, they'll
know some one's been up. But if we leave it here,
they'll think it's dropped down. Let's hope they will, said
culverwell dubiously. At any rate, I'll chance it, continued Barry.
(05:46):
So you fellows will be able to have a tall
time tomorrow morning, and we shan't get cold till half
past eight at the earliest. The sequel proved the correctness
of Barry's prophecy. Old John sought his bell rope punctually
at seven as usual, rang away steadily for three minutes,
and then retired to his den to commence his never
(06:06):
ending job of shoe cleaning. One or two boys awoke
from sheer habit, but, hearing no bell, went to sleep again.
The rest slumbered peacefully on little thinking to whom they
owed their unwonted repose. The whole household were asleep. The
big bell was a signal for rising to everyone, servants included,
with the exception of John and his wife. Her duty
(06:29):
was to light the school room fires, after which she
retired to her own part of the house to prepare
her husband's breakfast. These two almost useless pensioners on the
Doctor's Bounty inhabited two rooms apart from the rest of
the house. How long every one would have slept cannot
be known, perhaps till nine, For when one depends on
(06:49):
a bell for waking, one waits for the accustomed sound.
But dogs are not like human beings, and Fido, who
always had his breakfast at eight, began making a great disturbance.
At a quarter past Fido woke his mistress, the doctor's wife.
She looked at her watch eight fifteen. She was surprised
beyond measure, as there was a strange silence everywhere. But
(07:13):
the clock on the mantelpiece confirmed her watch, and two
minutes later bells were ringing in a manner which brought
the servants out of their beds with a jump. By
half past eight, everyone boys and all had been awakened informally,
for the bell refused to make a sound. John was
summoned and was at last made to understand what was
(07:33):
the matter. He absurveyed warmly that he had rung the bell,
and went on a tour of inspection. He found the
tongue on the ground, and, obtaining a ladder from the
gardener next door, fastened it in its place again before
it was time to ring for school. Never had such
a gorgeous sleep in my life, said Millward warmly to Barry.
(07:55):
We'll vouch you as silver tankard as a reward of merit.
Pity that she can't be played twice, remarked Culverwell, they
don't seem to suspect anything this time, but if it
were to happen again, there'd be an inquisition. Barry heaved
a regretful sigh. It was hard to think that at
seven next morning, the inexorable bell would toll out as
(08:17):
usual the knell of the parting night. Something that day
put him in a peculiarly reckless mood. More than that,
he did not get his usual afternoon nap. He was
disturbed by an inconsiderate master who wanted to know when
his exercises were going to be handed in to him.
So five o'clock found Berry ready for any deed requiring
(08:38):
more cheek than usual. The bell had struck him directly
after he had written his last line. Whatever might happen,
he would have one more good sleep. He did not
confide his intentions this time to his two friends. He
knew his way now. In five minutes, he had captured
the ladder and placed it against the wall. He was
(09:00):
just stepping off it on to the ledge when he
heard footsteps beneath him perilously near. If he attempted to
draw up the ladder, the noise must attract attention. His
only chance was to keep still in the hope that
the ladder wouldn't be noticed in the dark. But it
was Old John happened to have finished his tea earlier
than usual and was on his way to fetch an
(09:22):
armful of wood. Now, who's been taking my ladder? He
said to himself. Suppose it's one of them boys wanting
to get their balls off the ledge. He put the
ladder on his shoulder and marched off with it. Barry
listened in horror. He did not know it was John
who had captured his only means of retreat. Whoever it was,
(09:43):
he must throw himself on his mercy. Hi, he called out,
in a voice meant to combine a shout and a whisper. Hi,
you dare It was a shout this time, and no mistake,
But it had no effect. Barry knew now it must
be John. It was no use to shout. He tore
(10:04):
off a piece of plaster and shied it in the
direction of the retreating figure. It struck the ground close
to John, but he did not hear it. Poor Berry
was left alone on the ledge fourteen feet from the ground.
He couldn't drop, for there was a nasty grating just
beneath him. Besides, he could not lower himself from the
(10:24):
narrow ledge. He might have done it in daylight, but
not in darkness. Even his pluck must draw the line somewhere.
It was an uninviting night, and not a boy was
out of doors. There was nothing for it but to
accept the inevitable and remain where he was until something happened.
He knew well enough what would happen. After tea. There
(10:45):
would be a calling over. He would be unable to
say add some an inquiry would be made, resulting in
his capture and punishment. Once more, he proved himself a
true prophet. Everything fell out exactly as he had anticipated,
and by the time he was assisted down, he was
so cramped and frozen he would have welcomed the caning
(11:05):
on the spot to warm him. Intentionally or unintentionally, The
authorities did not connect his being on the ledge with
the outrage on the bell of the day before. He
received the usual punishment for missing calling over, but beyond
that nothing was done. Probably the master who captured him
considered he had already received punishment enough. At any rate,
(11:28):
Barry was of the opinion that he had bought his
extra hour's sleep rather dearly, and of that bell by
Paul Blake
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