HOW JAMES MULLEN AND MYSELF ALMOST MET
The Professor was in such huge good humour at the success of his ruse
that when we returned together to the hair-cutting establishment he
was almost inclined to be genial, especially as I took the joke in
good part, and frankly admitted that I had never been so “let through”
before. So friendly was he, in fact that he readily agreed to my
proposal that I should go over the way and bring back a bottle of
something to ease his cough; and after I had pledged “Downy Tom,” and
expressed the intention of getting up a little earlier in the morning
the next time I meant trying to steal a march upon him, and “Downy
Tom” had pledged me in what--in delicate allusion to recent events--he
humorously termed pigeon’s milk, but which was in reality the best Old
Tom, we fell to discussing events almost confidentially.
“So it _is_ Jeanes as yer after--as I always suspected, though you
never harsked questions about him direct, but only as if by haccident
and among the others” he said, as he lit his pipe. “It ’ud have saved a
lot of trouble if yer’d told me so at fust.”
“What do you mean by ‘saved trouble’?” I asked.
“Why, if I’d ’ave knowed it was Jeanes for certain, I’d ’ave ’elped
yer--for a consideration, of course. I only took yer into the shop
because I meant to find out who yer _was_ hafter. Jeanes ain’t nothink
to me; but there is some of my pals as I wouldn’t have no ’arm come
to, not for a pot o’ money. And I knew if I ’ad yer there I could find
out who it was yer wanted, and give ’im the tip if it was a pal. Why,
I’ve been a-playin’ with yer all this time--a-playing hoff first one
name and then another to see if it was your bloke. Then when I began
to suspect it _was_ Jeanes, I planned the little game I played yer
ter-day--an’ _didn’t_ yer tumble prettily! Ha, ha, ha, ha!” and off the
Professor went again into a paroxysm of laughter at my expense.
It suited my purpose to humour him, so I joined good-humouredly in the
laugh against myself; but as a matter of fact I had not been quite such
a “pigeon” as the Professor supposed. Up to a certain point the scoring
had been in my favour, and not in his, for I had succeeded, not only in
intercepting an important letter which had been sent to his care, but
also in returning that letter--after I had made myself acquainted with
its contents--to the place whence I took it, so that it might reach the
hand of the person to whom it was addressed.
But I knew very well that, should the Professor’s suspicions be once
aroused--as must have been the case after he detected me in the act
of examining the letters--I should not only never again be allowed to
go within the reach of the rack where he kept them, but should in all
probability be refused admission to his shop. Hence I had no choice
but to adopt the somewhat daring course of openly offering him a bribe
to take me into his service. If he really were Mullen’s confederate
he would already have had cause to suspect my motives, but if, on the
other hand, Mullen and the Professor had no other connection than that
the former was having his letters addressed to the latter’s shop, it
was quite within the bounds of possibility that the worthy Professor
would, for a consideration, be prepared to tell me all he knew about
the customer in question. That the object of the leading questions he
had from time to time put to me was to discover whom I was in search
of, I had been well aware, although I freely admit that I had been,
as I have said, “let through” in regard to the man who had called for
Jeanes’s letter.
When the Professor had had his laugh out I asked him quietly if he knew
that the letter for Jeanes was gone.
“Do I know it’s gone, yer bally fool?” he said. “Why, of course I do.
Wasn’t it me came and called yer for it just now when I had such a bad
korf; and didn’t yer say there wasn’t any letter?”
“Yes, yes,” I said, looking rather foolish; “of course I know that you
came and asked for a letter, and that I told you there wasn’t one, but
I didn’t know that you knew that the letter was really gone.”
“Well, considerin’ as it was me took it when I came back to get my
pipe, I ought ter know,” he answered, and then, with a sudden change of
manner, “Look ’ere, Watson, or whatever yer name is, I think us two can
do a deal together. Yer want to get ’old of ’Enery Jeanes, don’t yer?”
I nodded.
“Supposin’ I knew where ’e was to be found at this very minute, wot ’ud
yer give me for the hinformation?”
“Ten pounds,” I answered.
He snorted.
“Can’t be done under twenty, ready money. Give us yer twenty and I’ll
tell yer.”
“No,” I said. “Take me to where Jeanes is to be found, wherever it is,
and I’ll give you, not twenty, but fifty pounds, as soon as I’m sure it
is the right man. I swear it, so help me God! and I won’t go back on my
word.”
His eyes sparkled.
“Yer a gentleman, I b’lieve,” he said, “and I’ll trust yer. But yer
must keep my name out of it. Now listen. When I went down the stairs to
get that ’arf-pint I met Jeanes a-comin’ up for ’is letters. I guessed
it was ’im yer was after, and I wasn’t going to ’ave no harrests nor
rows in my shop. Besides, if yer wanted ’im bad, I guessed yer’d be
willin’ to drop money on it and if there was any money to be dropped I
didn’t see why I shouldn’t be the one to pick it up.”
Here was news, indeed! If the Professor was to be believed--and,
notwithstanding my recent experience, I failed to see what motive he
could have for misleading me in this instance--the man I was in search
of had been in the town, and in that very house, scarcely more than two
hours ago! And I had been sitting there idly, when every moment, every
second, was precious!
“Go on! go on!” I said excitedly. “Tell me the rest as fast as you can.
There’s not a moment to spare. I’ll see you don’t lose by it.”
He nodded and continued, but still in the same leisurely way.
“Well, I harsked Jeanes to wait while I fetched the letter. That’s wot
I came back to get my pipe for. Yer remember I took the letters down
and pretended to count ’em? Well, I sneaked it then and gave it ’im.
He gave me a sovereign, and said there wouldn’t be any more letters
comin’ for ’im, and ’e shouldn’t be calling at the shop no more. Then
’e harsked me wot time the next train left for London, and I told ’im
in a quarter of an hour, and ’e said that wouldn’t do, as ’e ’adn’t ’ad
no lunch and was starvin’ ’ungry. So I told ’im there wasn’t another
for two hours and a ’arf, and ’e said that would do capital, and where
was the best place to get dinner. I told ’im the Railway Hotel, and ’e
went there, ’cos I followed him to make sure. Then I whipped back and
played that little game on yer just to make sure it _was_ Jeanes yer
wanted. And now I guess that fifty pounds is as good as mine. Jeanes’ll
be at the hotel now, or if ’e’s left there we can make sure of ’im
at the station when ’e catches the London express. Wot d’ yer want
him for? Looks a ’armless, pleasant kind of bloke, and very pleasant
spoken.”
“What’s he like?” I said.
“Youngish, fair, and big eyes like a gal’s. Wore a blue serge suit and
a white straw ’at.”
“Clean shaven?” I asked.
“Yes, clean shaved; or any’ow, ’e’d no ’air on ’is face.”
“That’s the man,” I said. “Well, come along, we’ll be off to the hotel.
Do you know any one there, by-the-bye?”
“I knows the chief waiter. ’E often ’as five bob on a ’orse with me.”
“All right. Then you’d better go in first and see your friend the
waiter and find out where Jeanes is. If he heard anybody asking for him
by name in the hall he might think something was wrong and make a bolt.
Then you’d lose your fifty pounds--which would be a pity.”
The Professor assented, and we started for the Railway Hotel, he
walking in front as if without any connection with me, and I some
twenty paces behind. When the swing doors closed upon his bulky figure
I stopped, as we had arranged, and pretended to look into a shop window
until he should rejoin me.
I had been nervous and excited when we set out, but now that the crisis
had come, and I was so soon to stand face to face with Henry Jeanes
_alias_ James Cross, _alias_ James Mullen, _alias_ Captain Shannon, I
was as cool and collected as ever I was in my life.
The next moment the Professor came hurrying out, with a face on which
dismay was plainly written.
“’E’s been there, right enough,” he said, all in a burst, and with
a horrible oath, his features working meanwhile with agitation, the
genuineness of which there was no mistaking. “But instead of ’aving
lunch, as ’e told me ’e should, the ---- ’ad a glass of sherry and
caught the 12.15 express to London, and ’e’s more than got there by
now, rot ’im!”