Page:Braddon--The Trail of the Serpent.djvu/308

304 I conclude it is money—a bob and a tanner represent?" said the counsel.

"They must be a jolly ignorant lot, then, anyways," replied Mr. Withers, with more candour than circumlocution. "Any infant knows eighteenpence ven it's showed him."

"Oh, a bob and a tanner are eighteenpence? Very good," said the counsel, encouragingly; "pray go on, Mr. Withers."

"Vell, ten o'clock come, and veren't it a precious stormy night, that's all; and there I was a-vaitin' a-sittin' on this blessed truck at the back of Blind Peter, vich vos my directions. At last the vhistle come, and a precious cautious vhistle it vas too, as soft as a niteingel vot's payin' its addresses to another niteingel; and round I goes to the front, as vos my directions. There, agen' her door, stands the old 'ag, and agen her stands a young man in an old ragged pair of trousis an' a shirt. Lookin' him hard in the face, who does I see but Jim, the old un's grandson; so I ses, 'Jim!' friendly like, but he makes no reply; and then the old un ses, 'Lend this young gent a 'and 'ere, vill yer?' So in I goes, and there on the bed I sees something rolled up very careful in a old counterpane. It giv' me a turn like, and I didn't much like the looks of it; but I ses nothink; and then the young man, Jim, as I thinks, ses, 'Lend us a hand with this 'ere, vill yer?' and it giv'd me another turn like, for though it's Jim's face, somehow it ain't quite Jim's voice—more genteel and fine like; but I goes up to the bed, and I takes hold of von end of vot lays there; and then I gets turn number three— for I find my suspicions was correct—it was a dead body!"

"A dead body?"

"Yes; but who's it vos there vos no knowin', it vos wrapped up in that manner. But I feels myself turn dreadful vhite, and I ses, 'If this ere's anythink wrong, I vashes my hands ov it, and you may do your dirty vork yourself.' I hadn't got the vords out afore this 'ere young man, as I thought at first vos Jim, caught me by the throat sudden, and threw me down on my knee. I ain't a baby; but, lor', I vos nothink in his grasp, though his hand vos as vite and as deliket as a young lady's. 'Now, you just look 'ere,' he says; and I looked, as vell as I could, vith my eyes a-startin' out ov of my head in cosekence of bein' just upon the choke, 'you see vot this is,' and vith his left hand he takes a pistol out ov his pocket; 'you refuse to do vot ve vant done, or you go for to be noisy or in any vay ill-conwenient, and it's the last time as ever you'll have the chance ov so doing. Get up,' he says, as if I vos a dog; and I gets up, and I agrees to do vot he vants, for there vas that there devil in that young man's hye, that I began to think it vos best not to go agen him."

Here Mr. Withers paused for refreshment after his exertion