| He remembered all about the incident of the... 642 |
[Jan. 27th, 2010|02:08 am] |
He remembered all about the incident of the boxes, and from a wonderful dog-eared notebook, which he produced from some mysterious receptacle about the seat of his trousers, and which had hieroglyphical entries in thick, half-obliterated pencil, he gave me the destinations of the boxesThere were, he said, six in the cartload which he took from Carfax and left at 197 Chicksand Street, Mile End New Town, and another six which he deposited at Jamaica Lane, BermondseyIf then the Count meant to scatter these ghastly refuges of his over London, these places were chosen as the first of delivery, so that later he might distribute more fullyThe systematic manner in which this was done made me think that he could not mean to confine himself to two sides of LondonHe was now fixed on the far east on the northern shore, on the east of the southern shore, and on the southThe north and west were surely never meant to be left out of his diabolical scheme, let alone the City itself and the very heart of fashionable London in the south-west and westI went back to Smollet, and asked him if he could tell us if any other boxes had been taken from Carfax
He replied, "Well guv'nor, you've treated me very 'an'some", I had given him half a sovereign, "an I'll tell yer all I knowI heard a man by the name of Bloxam say four nights ago in the 'Are an' 'Ounds, in Pincher's Alley, as 'ow he an' his mate 'ad 'ad a rare dusty job in a old 'ouse at PurfleetThere ain't a many such jobs as this 'ere, an' I'm thinkin' that maybe Sam Bloxam could tell ye summut
I asked if he could tell me where to find himI told him that if he could get me the address it would be worth another half sovereign to himSo he gulped down the rest of his tea and stood up, saying that he was going to begin the search then and there
At the door he stopped, and said, "Look 'ere, guv'nor, there ain't no sense in me a keepin' you 'ereI may find Sam soon, or I mayn't, but anyhow he ain't like to be in a way to tell ye much tonightSam is a rare one when he starts on the boozeIf you can give me a envelope with a stamp on it, and put yer address on it, I'll find out where Sam is to be found and post it ye tonightBut ye'd better be up arter 'im soon in the mornin', never mind the booze the night afore
This was all practical, so one of the children went off with a penny to buy an envelope and a sheet of paper, and to keep the changeWhen she came back, I addressed the envelope and stamped it, and when Smollet had again faithfully promised to post the address when found, I took my way to homeWe're on the track anyhowI am tired tonight, and I want to sleepMina is fast asleep, and looks a little too paleHer eyes look as though she had been cryingPoor dear, I've no doubt it frets her to be kept in the dark, and it may make her doubly anxious about me and the othersBut it is best as it isIt is better to be disappointed and worried in such a way now than to have her nerve brokenThe doctors were quite right to insist on her being kept out of this dreadful businessI must be firm, for on me this particular burden of silence must restI shall not ever enter on the subject with her under any circumstancesIndeed, It may not be a hard task, after all, for she herself has become reticent on the subject, and has not spoken of the Count or his doings ever since we told her of our decision
2 October, evening--A long and trying and exciting dayBy the first post I got my directed envelope with a dirty scrap of paper enclosed, on which was written with a carpenter's pencil in a sprawling hand, "Sam Bloxam, Korkrans, 4 Poters Cort, Bartel Street, Walworth
I got the letter in bed, and rose without waking MinaShe looked heavy and sleepy and pale, and far from wellI determined not to wake her, but that when I should return from this new search, I would arrange for her going back to ExeterI think she would be happier in our own home, with her daily tasks to interest her, than in being here amongst us and in ignoranceSeward for a moment, and told him where I was off to, promising to come back and tell the rest so soon as I should have found out anythingI drove to Walworth and found, with some difficulty, Potter's CourtSmollet's spelling misled me, as I asked for Poter's Court instead of Potter's |
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