CHAPTER XXXI. INVOLVES A CRITICAL POSITION. 'WHO's that?" inquired Brittles, opening the door a little way, with the chain up, and peeping out, shading the candle with his hand. 66 Open the door," replied a man outside; "it's the officers from Bowstreet, as was sent to, to-day." Much comforted by this assurance, Brittles opened the door to its full width, and confronted a portly man in a great-coat: who walked in, without saying anything more, and wiped his shoes on the mat, as coolly as if he lived there. "Just send somebody out to relieve my mate, will you, young man?" said the officer; "he's in the gig, a-minding the prad. Have you got a coach 'us here, that you could put it up in, for five or ten minutes?" Brittles replying in the affirmative, and pointing out the building, the portly man stepped back to the garden-gate, and helped his companion to put up the gig: while Brittles lighted them, in a state of great admiration. This done, they returned to the house; and, being shown into a parlour, took off their great-coats and hats, and showed like what they were. "Tell your governor that Blathers and Duff is here, will you?" said the stouter man, smoothing down his hair, and laying a pair of handcuffs on the table. "Oh! Good evening, master. Can I have a word or two with you in private, if you please?" This was addressed to Mr. Losberne, who now made his appearance; that gentleman, motioning Brittles to retire, brought in the two ladies, and shut the door. "This is the lady of the house," said Mr. Losberne, motioning towards Mrs. Maylie. The Mr. Blathers made a bow. Being desired to sit down, he put his hat on the floor, and, taking a chair, motioned Duff to do the same. latter gentleman, who did not appear quite so much accustomed to good society, or quite so much at his ease in it-one of the two-seated himself, after undergoing several muscular affections of the limbs, and forced the head of his stick into his mouth, with some embarrassment. "Now, with regard to this here robbery, master," said Blathers. "What are the circumstances?" Mr. Losberne, who appeared desirous of gaining time, recounted them at great length, and with much Messrs. Blathers The man who had knocked at the door, was a stout personage of middle height, aged about fifty: with shiny black hair, cropped pretty close; half- circumlocution. whiskers, a round face, and sharp and Duff looked very knowing meaneyes. The other was a red-headed, while, and occasionally exchanged a bony man, in top-boots; with a rather ill-favoured countenance, and a turned-up, sinister-looking, nose. nod. "I can't say, for certain, till I see the work, of course," said Blathers; and everybody else in short, went into the little room at the end of the passage and looked out at the window; and afterwards went round by way of the lawn, and looked in at the window; and after that, had a candle handed out to inspect the shutter with; and after that, a lantern to trace the footsteps with; and after that, a pitchfork to poke the bushes with. This done, amidst the breathless interest of all beholders, they came in again; and Mr. Giles and Brittles were put through a melodramatic representation of their share in the previous night's adventures: which they performed some six times over : contradicting each other, in not more than one important respect, the first time, and in not more than a dozen the last. This consummation being arrived at, Blathers and Duff cleared the room, and held a long council together compared with which, for se "Wery easy disposed of, if it is," crecy and solemnity, a consultation of remarked Duff. "What he says is quite correct," observed Blathers, nodding his head in a confirmatory way, and playing carelessly with the handcuffs, as if they were a pair of castanets. "Who is the boy? What account does he give of himself? Where did he come from? He didn't drop out of the clouds, did he, master?" "Of course not," replied the doctor, with a nervous glance at the two ladies. "I know his whole history; but we can talk about that presently. You would like, first, to see the place where the thieves made their attempt, I suppose!' great doctors on the knottiest point in medicine, would be mere child's play. Meanwhile, the doctor walked up and down the next room in a very uneasy state; and Mrs. Maylie and Rose looked on, with anxious faces. 66 Upon my word," he said, making a halt, after a great number of very rapid turns, "I hardly know what to do." "Surely," said Rose, "the poor child's story, faithfully repeated to these men, will be sufficient to exonerate him." "I doubt it, my dear young lady," said the doctor, shaking his head. “I don't think it would exonerate him, either with them, or with legal functionaries of a higher grade. What is he, after all, they would say? A runaway. Judged by mere worldly considerations and probabilities, his story is a very doubtful one." "You believe it, surely?" interrupted Rose. down the room with even greater rapidity than before. "The more I think of it," said the doctor, "the more I see that it will occasion endless trouble and difficulty if we put these men in possession of the boy's real story. I am certain it will not be believed; and even if they can do nothing to him in the end, still the dragging it forward, and giving publicity to all the doubts that will be cast upon it, must interfere, materially, with your benevolent plan of rescuing him from misery." "Oh! what is to be done?" cried Rose. "Dear, dear! why did they send for these people?" "I believe it, strange as it is; and perhaps I may be an old fool for doing so," rejoined the doctor; "but I don't think it is exactly the tale for a practised police officer, nevertheless." "Why not?" demanded Rose. "Because, my pretty cross-examiner" replied the doctor: "because, viewed with their eyes, there are many ugly points about it; he can only prove the parts that look ill, and none of those that look well. Confound the fellows, they will have the why and the wherefore, and will take nothing for granted. On his own showing, you see, he has been the companion of thieves for some time past; he has been carried to a policeoffice, on a charge of picking a gentleman's pocket; he has been taken away, forcibly, from that gentleman's "All I know is," said Mr. Losberne house, to a place which he cannot de-at last: sitting down with a kind of scribe or point out, and of the situation of which he has not the remotest idea. He is brought down to Chertsey, by men who seem to have taken a violent fancy to him, whether he will or no; and is put through a window to rob a house; and then, just at the very moment when he is going to alarm the inmates, and so do the very thing that would set him all to rights, there rushes into the way, a blundering dog of a half-bred butler, and shoots him! As if on purpose to prevent his doing any good for himself! Don't you see all this?" "I see it, of course," replied Rose, smiling at the doctor's impetuosity; "but still I do not see anything in it, to criminate the poor child." "No," replied the doctor; "of course not! Bless the bright eyes of your sex! They never see, whether for good or bad, more than one side of any question; and that is, always, the one which first presents itself to them." Having given vent to this result of experience, the doctor put his hands into his pockets, and walked up and "Why, indeed!" exclaimed Mrs. Maylie. "I would not have had them here, for the world." desperate calmness, "that we must try and carry it off with a bold face. The object is a good one, and that must be our excuse. The boy has strong symptoms of fever upon him, and is in no condition to be talked to any more; that's one comfort. We must make the best of it; and if bad be the best, it is no fault of ours. Come in!" "Well, master," said Blathers, entering the room followed by his colleague, and making the door fast, before he said any more. "This warn't a put-up thing." "And what the devil's a put-up thing?" demanded the doctor, impatiently. "We call it a put-up robbery, ladies," said Blathers, turning to them, as if he pitied their ignorance, but had a contempt for the doctor's, "when the servants is in it." "Nobody suspected them, in this case," said Mrs. Maylie. "Wery likely not, ma'am," replied Blathers; "but they might have been in it, for all that." "More likely on that wery account," at Edmonton, Blathers,” said Mr. Duff, assisting his colleague's memory. said Duff. "We find it was a town hand," said Blathers, continuing his report; "for the style of work is first-rate." "Wery pretty indeed it is," remarked Duff, in an under tone. "There was two of 'em in it," continued Blathers; " and they had a boy with 'em; that's plain from the size of the window. That's all to be said at present. We'll see this lad that you've got up stairs at once, if you please." 'Perhaps they will take something to drink first, Mrs. Maylie?" said the doctor: his face brightening, as if some new thought had occurred to him. "Oh! to be sure!" exclaimed Rose, eagerly. "You shall have it immediately, if you will." "Why, thank you, miss!" said Blathers, drawing his coat-sleeve across his mouth; it's dry work, this sort of duty. Anythink that's handy, miss; don't put yourself out of the way, on our accounts." "What shall it be?" asked the doctor, following the young lady to the sideboard. "A little drop of spirits, master, if it's all the same," replied Blathers. "It's a cold ride from London, ma'am; and I always find that spirits comes home warmer to the feelings." "That was something in this way, warn't it?" rejoined Mr. Blathers; "that was done by Conkey Chickweed, that was." "You always gave that to him," replied Duff. "It was the Family Pet, I tell you. Conkey hadn't any more to do with it than I had." "Get out!" retorted Mr. Blathers; "I know better. Do you mind that time when Conkey was robbed of his money, though? What a start that was! Better than any novel-book I ever see!" "What was that?" inquired Rose: anxious to encourage any symptoms of good-humour in the unwelcome visitors. "It was a robbery, miss, that hardly anybody would have been down upon," said Blathers. "This here Conkey Chickweed-" "Conkey means Nosey, ma'am," interposed Duff. "Of course the lady knows that, don't she?" demanded Mr. Blathers. "Always interrupting, you are, partner! This here Conkey Chickweed, miss, kept a public-house over Battlebridge way, and he had a cellar, where a good many young lords went to see cockfighting, and badger-drawing, and that; and a wery intellectual manner the sports was conducted in, for I've seen 'em off'en. He warn't one of the family, at that time; and one night he was robbed of three hundred and twenty-seven guineas in a canvas bag, that was stole out of his bedroom in "Ah!" said Mr. Blathers: not hold- the dead of night, by a tall man with ing his wine-glass by the stem, but a black patch over his eye, who had grasping the bottom between the concealed himself under the bed, and thumb and forefinger of his left hand: after committing the robbery, jumped and placing it in front of his chest; slap out of window: which was only a "I have seen a good many pieces story high. He was wery quick about of business like this, in my time, it. But Conkey was quick, too; for ladies." he was woke by the noise; and dart"That crack down in the back lane ing out of bed, he fired a blunderbuss This interesting communication was addressed to Mrs. Maylie, who received it very graciously. While it was being conveyed to her, the doctor slipped out of the room. arter him, and roused the neighbour-weed, a-tearing down the street fullhood. They set up a hue-and-cry, cry. Away goes Spyers; on goes Chickdirectly, and when they came to look weed; round turns the people; everyabout 'em, found that Conkey had hit body roars out, Thieves !'; and the robber; for there was traces of Chickweed himself keeps on shouting, blood, all the way to some palings a all the time, like mad. Spyers loses good distance off; and there they lost sight of him a minute as he turns a 'em. However, he had made off with corner; shoots round; sees a little the blunt; and, consequently, the crowd; dives in; 'Which is the man?' name of Mr. Chickweed, licensed D-me!' says Chickweed, 'I've lost witler, appeared in the Gazette among him again !' It was a remarkable the other bankrupts; and all manner occurrence, but he warn't to be seen of benefits and subscriptions, and I nowhere, so they went back to the don't know what all, was got up for public-house. Next morning, Spyers the poor man, who was in a wery low took his old place, and looked out, state of mind about his loss, and went from behind the curtain, for a tall up and down the streets, for three or man with a black patch over his eye, four days, a-pulling his hair off in such till his own two eyes ached again. a desperate manner that many people At last, he couldn't help shutting 'em, was afraid he might be going to make to ease 'em a minute; and the very away with himself. One day he come moment he did so, he hears Chickweed up to the office, all in a hurry, and a-roaring out, Here he is!' Off he had a private interview with the starts once more, with Chickweed magistrate, who, after a deal of talk, half-way down the street ahead of him; rings the bell, and orders Jem Spyers and after twice as long a run as the in (Jem was a active officer), and tells yesterday's one, the man's lost again! him to go and assist Mr. Chickweed This was done, once or twice more, till in apprehending the man as robbed one-half the neighbours gave out that his house. 'I see him, Spyers,' said Mr. Chickweed had been robbed by Chickweed, 'pass my house yesterday the devil, who was playing tricks with morning.' Why didn't you up, and him arterwards; and the other half, collar him?' says Spyers. I was so that poor Mr. Chickweed had gone struck all of a heap, that you might mad with grief." have fractured my skull with a toothpick,' says the poor man; but we 're sure to have him; for between ten and eleven o'clock at night he passed again.' Spyers no sooner heard this, than he put some clean linen and a comb, in his pocket, in case he should have to stop a day or two; and away he goes, and sets himself down at one of the public-house windows behind the little red curtain; with his hat on, all ready to bolt out, at a moment's notice. He was smoking his pipe here, late at night, when all of a sudden Chickweed roars out 'Here he is! Stop thief! Murder!' Jem Spyers dashes out; and there he sees Chick 6 6 "What did Jem Spyers say?" inquired the doctor: who had returned to the room shortly after the commencement of the story. "Jem Spyers," resumed the officer, "for a long time said nothing at all, and listened to everything without seeming to, which showed he understood his business. But, one morning, he walked into the bar, and taking out his snuff-box, said, 'Chickweed, I've found out who's done this here robbery.' 'Have you?' said Chickweed. 'Oh, my dear Spyers, only let me have wengeance, and I shall die contented! Oh, my dear Spyers, where is the villain!' 'Come!' said Spyers, |