Page:Braddon--The Trail of the Serpent.djvu/200

196 to could open her lips, he caught her up sudden—'Never you mind how,' he says, 'never you mind how.'

"He expected a sum of money, and he'd been disappointed of it! So had the man who had murdered this young gent's uncle.

"Not much in this, perhaps. But why was he so frightened at the thoughts of her asking him how he expected the money, and how he'd bin disappointed? There it got fishy. At any rate, says I to myself, I'll have a look at you, my friend; so in I walks, very quiet and quite unbeknownst. He was a-sittin' with his back to the door, and the young woman he was a-talkin' to was standin' lookin' out of the winder; so neither of 'em saw me. He was buildin' up some cards into a 'ouse, and had got 'em up very high, when I laid my hand upon his shoulder sudden. He turned round and looked at me." Mr. Peters here paused, and looked round at the little group, who sat watching his fingers with breathless attention. He had evidently come to a point in his narrative.

"Now, what did I see in his face when he looked at me? Why, the very same look that I missed in the face of this young gent when Jinks took him in the mornin'. The very same look that I'd seen in a many faces, and never know'd it differ, whether it came one way or another, always bein' the same look at bottom—the look of a man as is guilty of what will hang him and thinks that he's found out. But as you can't give looks in as evidence, this wasn't no good in a practical way; but I says to myself, if ever there was anything certain in this world since it was begun, I've come across the right un: so I sits down and takes up a newspaper. I signified to him that I was dumb, and he took it for granted that I was deaf as well—which was one of those stupid mistakes your clever chaps sometimes fall into—so he went on a-talking to the girl.

"Well, it was a old story enough, what him and the girl was talkin' of; but every word he said made him out a more cold-blooded villain than the last.

"Presently he offered her some money—four sovereigns. She served him as he ought to have been served, and threw them every one slap in his face. One cut him over the eye; and I was glad of it. 'You're marked, my man,' thinks I, 'and nothin' could be handier agen I want you.' He picked up three of the sovereigns, but for all he could do he couldn't find the fourth. So he had the cut (which was a jolly deep un) plastered up, and he went away. She stared at the river uncommon hard, and then she went away. Now I didn't much like the look she gave the river, so as I had about half an hour to spare before the train started, I followed her. I think she knew it; for presently she turned short off into a little street, and when I turned into it after her she wasn't to be seen right or left.