“STOP THIEF!”
Mr. Kayll had heard the whole long, sad story of the struggles of his
cousin, Mrs. Coleson, to keep her children and herself from starving.
He believed that even now she would not have asked for help, but that
the illness of her youngest child and her own failing strength had
compelled her to do so much against her will. There was no one else to
whom she could go, for her only other relation, Mr. Coleson’s mother,
although she was well off, was a very hard and proud old lady, who had
long ago refused to have anything more to do with her daughter-in-law.
In consequence, though he could ill afford it, Mr. Kayll lent her five
pounds that he had intended for the use of his own family. With that
sum the widow would be able to get on for a while, and he could only
hope that she would never be brought quite so low again.
“At least,” he said, as he rose to go, and glanced at Amy as she slept
with her head on her tiny sister’s pillow, “you have there a good and
helpful little girl, who must be a great comfort to you.”
Mrs. Coleson smiled rather sadly.
“She is of more use than many a grown-up person,” she replied. “Poor
Amy! It has been a hard life for her. She has scarcely known what it is
to be a child.”
And then farewell for the present was said without disturbing the
sleepers, and Mr. Kayll stood once more out under the stars. It was
now half an hour after midnight. He heard a clock strike as he started
homewards, feeling very sad and grave for him, for he was a man who was
nearly always cheerful, even under circumstances that would have made
most other people sit down and sigh over the hardness of their fate.
“Poor things!” he said to himself more than once as he went. “How
altered! Poor Amy!” And by Amy he meant not the little girl but her
mother, whom he had long ago known as a merry happy child, without a
care or trouble in the world. It was no wonder Mr. Kayll wished for
once in his life with all his heart that he were rich, that he might
put poverty and want away from these poor relations of his for ever.
The appearance of the streets had quite changed since he came. The
shops were now shut, and the foot-passengers had nearly all gone. Only
the policeman was still on his beat, and a few stray late people were
hurrying home to bed.
Mr. Kayll thought of his wife sitting up tired and half asleep, and
wondering what kept him so long, and this thought made him hasten his
steps more and more until he was almost running.
All at once, as he was passing a closed shop, the door was suddenly
thrown open, and a man dashed swiftly by him. Without noticing this
much, he was keeping up his own steady trot, when he heard someone else
running behind him, and the next instant a big powerful man had caught
hold of him by the collar, and a voice said in his ear:
“I’ve got one of you at any rate! Police! Thieves!”
Mr. Kayll tried to shake off his grasp, but he found this was
impossible, so gave up the attempt and stood still.
“Nonsense! What do you mean? What’s the matter?” he asked.
But the man, who had no hat on, and was not completely dressed, shouted
again loudly, “Police! Thieves!” while, unseen by either of them, a
third man crept out of the same shop-door, and glided quietly away in
the opposite direction. Then two policemen came up, and much to his
astonishment and anger Mr. Kayll was given into custody.
“It’s absurd!” he said indignantly. “Why, I haven’t twopence about me
anywhere.”
But he might say what he liked; it was all of no use. The man without a
hat declared that he had broken into his shop, in company with another
man who had escaped.
And this is the paragraph that came out in the papers afterwards:
“Robert Kayll was charged with being concerned, with another man not
in custody, in burglariously breaking and entering 4050 Queen Street,
Bacton, and stealing two sovereigns, the property of Henry Brown,
jeweller. Henry Brown, of 4050 Queen Street, said he saw the house
closed on Monday night at half-past eleven o’clock. At about ten
minutes to one he was disturbed by a noise down-stairs, and saw two
men walking out of the street door. The prisoner was one of the two
men. Witness ran after them, caught hold of the prisoner, and called
out ‘Police.’ The other man ran away. He held on to prisoner till the
police arrived, when he gave him into custody. Witness then examined
the premises, and found that a cash-desk had been broken open, and
that four pounds had been taken. Two of the missing sovereigns were
found on the prisoner.--The prisoner said he was passing the door,
and the prosecutor ran out and caught him. He had no idea how the two
sovereigns came into his possession. He was committed for trial.”