THE EXAMINATION.
The reader will remember that, according to the arrangements originally
chalked out, Lord Ellingham and Jacob Smith were to have accompanied Tom
Rain to France. But this project was disturbed by the appearance of Old
Death in the house in Red Lion Street, and the incidents to which it
gave rise, as narrated in the last chapter.
For, the Earl—having succeeded in making Old Death and Tidmarsh his
prisoners—resolved to remain in the house, not only that he might, by
means of frequent visits to the subterranean, guard against their
escape, but also to supply them with food and to liberate them when
circumstances should render their farther confinement unnecessary.
Thus was it that Tom Rain and Jacob had proceeded without the Earl to
Dover, and that the lad had returned thence to London the moment he had
seen Rainford safe on board the cutter which Mr. de Medina had hired
especially to convey him to France. Nay—Jacob was not content with
merely witnessing the embarkation of the individual to whom he had
become so deeply attached; but, in spite of the instructions he had
received alike from the Earl and Tom Rain himself to return with the
least possible delay to the metropolis, he had lingered on the pier at
Dover until the white sails of the cutter were no longer in sight.
He therefore arrived somewhat later in London than had been expected,
although he travelled post and spared not the gold placed at his
disposal to urge the postillions on: but when he frankly admitted to
Lord Ellingham and the doctor the reason of his retarded appearance in
Red Lion Street, they could not find it in their hearts to utter a word
of reproach or blame.
No:—for Lord Ellingham's joy was now as exuberant as his apprehensions
had a short time previously been strong and oppressive; and he wrung the
hand of the humble Jacob as if that lad had been his own brother!
"We will presently liberate our prisoners," said the Earl, when Jacob
had related the particulars of his journey with Rainford to Dover, and
of the latter's safe embarkation. "But, before I suffer them to go at
large, it behoves me not only to adopt the means requisite to elicit
certain explanations interesting to myself, but also to take those steps
that will effectually prevent the mysterious subterraneans and dungeons
of this establishment—or rather, of the _two_ houses—from being
accessible or available to the miscreants whom we are about to set free.
Conceiving that Jacob would be sure to come back this evening, and
intending that his return should be followed by the examination and
liberation of those two men, I have ordered the three faithful domestics
who assisted us so materially on Monday morning, and on whose fidelity I
can rely with so much confidence, to be here at half-past nine o'clock."
"For what purpose?" demanded the physician, in astonishment.
"To increase our number so as to overawe the wretches who are to appear
before us," replied the Earl. "It is not that I fear to give them an
inch of vantage-ground; but were they to find themselves in the presence
of only two men and this lad, they might attempt resistance, and use a
violence that would alarm the neighbourhood;—and I need hardly say,
doctor, how necessary it is for all our sakes that we should not be
placed in a position which would compel us to give to a magistrate any
explanation of the modes in which we severally became acquainted with
this establishment or those two vile men."
"Your precautions are most admirably forecast, my dear Earl," responded
Dr. Lascelles. "Hark! there is a single knock at the front door!"
"Run, Jacob, my boy," said the Earl: "my servants have arrived."
The lad left the room without taking a light, but the young nobleman
almost immediately rose and followed him—a second thought suggesting the
prudence of assuring himself against the coming of any unwelcome
intruder instead of his servants.
By the time the Earl reached the middle of the stairs leading down into
the hall, Jacob had opened the street-door.
"Mrs. Bunce!" exclaimed the lad, starting back half in affright, as he
recognised her wizen countenance by the feeble light that streamed from
an adjacent window.
"What! Jacob—you here!" cried the woman. "Why—how come you in this
house? and what have you been doing with yourself lately? I began to
think you was playing us false: but now that I find you here, I suppose
you know all about the trick of Mr. Bones's pretended death, and have
made every thing right with him. But is he here?"
"Yes," answered Jacob boldly—for he had by this time recovered his
presence of mind. "Walk in:—he wants very much to see you."
"And so do I want to see him," added Mrs. Bunce as she entered the hall,
while Jacob barred the door carefully. "I haven't seen him ever since
Monday night; and he was to be sure and come up to the Dials last
evening. So I got alarmed, and come down to see, I went to Turnmill
Street—but I could make no one hear there—for I suppose you know by this
time all about Tidmarsh and the other crib——"
"Yes—and the subterranean too," added Jacob: "all the secrets, so long
kept from me, are now revealed. But walk up, Mrs. Bunce—walk up."
The woman, suspecting nothing wrong, and not altogether displeased to
find (as she believed) that Jacob had risen so high in favour with Old
Death as to become one of his confidants,—the woman, we say, walked up
the staircase, which was well known to her; but, scarcely had she
reached the first turn, when she was suddenly grasped by a vigorous
hand, and a voice exclaimed, "Make no noise, Mrs. Bunce—or it will be
the worse for you."
[Illustration]
"Thank God, you are there, my lord!" cried Jacob now hastily running up
the stairs. "This woman is one of the gang which it has fallen to your
lordship's lot to disperse."
"Oh! Jacob," ejaculated Mrs. Bunce, "you don't know what you are doing!
But who is this lord—and what have I done to injure him?"
"I am the Earl of Ellingham, woman," said Arthur; "and perhaps you are
not ignorant of the long imprisonment which I endured in this place. But
proceed—I will follow you: and remember that you are in the power of
those who will not suffer you to escape."
At that instant there was another knock at the door.
"Remain here," said the nobleman to Mrs. Bunce. "Jacob, let me answer
that summons."
Arthur accordingly proceeded to the door, and gave admittance to his
three men-servants.
They then all repaired to the laboratory together, where the Earl made
Dr. Lascelles acquainted, in a hasty whisper, with the cause of Mrs.
Bunce's appearance on the stage of their present proceedings.
The moment the woman emerged from the darkness of the landing outside to
the light of the laboratory, she cast a hasty and inquiring glance
around on those present; but her eyes settled on Jacob Smith, and she
was evidently much astonished to see him dressed in a plain but most
respectable manner, and looking neat, clean, and even interesting in his
appearance. For the lad possessed good features—very bright eyes—and a
set of white, even teeth; and though his countenance was still somewhat
indicative of a sickly constitution, it nevertheless showed a state of
health considerably improved by the excitement of travelling and by the
happiness imparted to his soul by the successful escape of Thomas
Rainford.
Jacob saw that Mrs. Bunce surveyed him with interest; and at the moment
he felt pity for the woman who had on many occasions shown him some
kindness, and towards whom he had also experienced at times
unaccountable heart-yearnings;—but he could not blame himself for having
just now entrapped her into the power of Lord Ellingham, because he knew
how important it was to assemble in the presence of that nobleman as
many of Old Death's accomplices as possible. Besides, he was well aware
that no harm was intended her; and this assurance he conveyed to her in
a hasty whisper—though not in such a way as to induce her to believe
that he was any longer an accomplice also.
"You will now accompany me _below_," said the Earl, addressing himself
to his three servants.
Jacob hastened to light another lamp (of which there were several in the
laboratory); and the Earl, attended by his domestics, proceeded into the
adjoining bed-room, whence they passed down into the subterranean.
Dr. Lascelles, Mrs. Bunce, and Jacob were left together in the
laboratory.
"What does all this mean?" demanded the woman, accosting the lad in an
imploring manner—for she was afraid, in spite of the whispered assurance
she had received from him.
"I cannot give you any explanation," answered Jacob aloud. "But I may go
so far as to promise you—and this good gentleman," he added, turning
towards the doctor, "will confirm my words—that no harm is intended to
you, provided you give faithful replies to the questions that will be
put to you presently."
"The lad speaks quite properly, woman," said the physician; "and you had
better hold your tongue until _the prisoners_ make their appearance."
"The prisoners!" muttered Mrs. Bunce; and it struck her that allusion
must be made to Old Death and Tidmarsh.
Nor was she mistaken; for, in a few minutes, the Earl and his domestics
re-appeared, escorting into the laboratory those two individuals, whose
hands were fastened by strong cords.
Benjamin Bones looked more hideous than ever. A white bristling beard,
of three or four days' growth gave an additional death-like aspect to
his countenance; and his eyes glared, from beneath their shaggy brows,
with mingled rage and alarm.
Tidmarsh manifested less emotion; but, on entering the laboratory, he
cast a rapid and scrutinizing glance around, as if to ascertain who were
present.
Old Death did the same; and when his eyes caught sight of Jacob Smith,
his forehead contracted into a thousand wrinkles with the intense
ferocity of his malignant hate: then he exchanged a rapid glance with
Mrs. Bunce, who gave him to understand, by a peculiarly significant
look, that she was not there as a witness against him, but as a prisoner
herself.
Dr. Lascelles stood with his back to the fire, contemplating the various
persons assembled, in a manner which showed that he was far from being
an uninterested spectator of the proceedings: indeed, he not only
prepared to listen with attention to all that was about to be said, on
account of the friendly feelings which he experienced towards the Earl
of Ellingham,—but he likewise occupied himself in studying the
physiognomies of Old Death, Tidmarsh, and Mrs. Bunce—a survey which led
him to the comfortable conclusion that if they did not all three perish
on the scaffold sooner or later, it would not be their own fault.
Lord Ellingham ordered the three prisoners to be accommodated with
chairs; and, when they were seated, he addressed them in the following
manner:—
"You are now in the presence of one who has the power to punish you for
your numerous misdeeds, and who, should you refuse to answer the
questions to be put to you, will not hesitate to hand you all three over
into the grasp of justice. The individual who possesses that power, and
who is now about to question you, is myself. All your secrets are known
or suspected—and, even should you refuse to answer my queries, or if you
reply to them falsely, I have the means of arriving at the truth. To
you, Benjamin Bones, do I address myself first:—answer me, then—and say
wherefore your agents or accomplices waylaid me, and bore me off to that
dungeon opening from the subterranean. Speak, villain—and see that you
speak truly!"
"One word, my lord," said the arch-miscreant, his sepulchral tones
quivering and tremulous with mingled rage and alarm: "let me say one
word to you in private!"
"Not a syllable! Speak openly—and cause not idle delay," exclaimed the
young nobleman.
"Do you know," asked Old Death, "that it is in my power to publish a
secret which would not redound to your honour?"
"I can well divine to what you would allude," returned Arthur; "and I
despise your menace. Go and say, if thou wilt, that the Earl of
Ellingham is the half-brother of him——"
"Who was hanged on Monday morning!" growled Old Death; and then he
chuckled horribly in the depth of his malignity. "Ha! ha! ha! the proud
and wealthy Earl of Ellingham the brother of a highwayman who was
hanged,—and that brother, too, the elder one, and born in lawful
wedlock! Ah! this would be a pretty tale to circulate at the West End!"
"Scoundrel! you cannot provoke me to anger," said the Earl, calmly; "but
you may move me to invoke the aid of justice to punish you for daring to
imprison me during four long weeks in a noisome dungeon—a crime for
which the penalty would be transportation for the remainder of your
miserable life. Moreover, that same justice would require of you full
and ample explanations respecting those rooms filled with property of
immense value, and of such a miscellaneous nature that the various
articles could not have been honestly obtained! Ah! you shrink—you
recoil from that menace! Think you that any ridiculous punctilio has
prevented me from forcing the locks of those rooms and examining their
contents? No: the day after _you_ became _my_ prisoner here, and when I
ascertained beyond all doubt that _you_ were the tenant of those rooms,
I hesitated not to visit them, to glean evidence against you. Now, old
man, you see that you are in my power; and you will do well not to push
my patience beyond the sphere of indulgence."
"And what if I tell you all you want to know?" said Benjamin Bones,
appalled by the unveiling of the fearful precipice on which he stood.
"Give me the fullest and completest explanation of many circumstances in
the unravelling of which I feel a special interest—spare me the trouble
of adopting other means to obtain the solution of those mysteries to
which I possess a clue," exclaimed the Earl; "and I shall forthwith
liberate you and your companions, having previously taken measures to
prevent you from holding any farther interest in this house or the
tenement in Turnmill Street, with which the subterranean passage
communicates."
"And—and my property?" gasped Old Death.
"To allow you to retain it, were a sin," answered the Earl emphatically:
"to give it up to the magisterial authorities, or to dispose of it for
the benefit of the poor, would be to court an inquiry which must
inevitably lead to the mention of your name and the consequent
apprehension of your person—a result which would be an indirect
forfeiture of the promise I have given and now repeat: namely, to permit
yourself and companions to depart with impunity on condition that you
make a full and complete confession in regard to all the points wherein
I am interested. What, then, can be done with that property?" exclaimed
the nobleman: "there is but one course to pursue—and that is, _to
destroy it_!"
"Destroy it!—destroy it!" groaned Old Death, writhing with mental
anguish on his chair: "what? destroy all that hard-earned wealth—those
treasures——"
"Every article!" interrupted the nobleman emphatically; "and consider
yourself fortunate in quitting this house to breathe the air of liberty,
rather than to be consigned to a gaol."
"Oh! my God! my God!" cried Old Death, reduced to despair by the
lamentable prospect now placed before him.
"Blaspheme not, villain!—invoke not the sacred name of the Almighty!"
ejaculated Arthur. "Rather implore pardon for your manifold iniquities!"
"It would take a long life of repentance to purge _his_ soul of all the
atrocity that harbours in it," observed the physician, who had intently
watched all the variations of the old man's countenance during this
colloquy.
"My dear doctor," said the Earl, "there is hope for even those who are
most deeply stained with sin—yes, even for this miserable man, who would
sooner cling to his ill-got wealth than adopt the only means now open to
him of avoiding the grasp of justice. But it is useless to prolong this
discussion. Benjamin Bones! once for all, do you consent to make a full
confession, as the first atonement for a life of crime, and to surrender
all your treasures as the second?—or shall I send forthwith to summon
hither the officers of justice?"
"But, if you take mine all, you send me forth into the world a beggar!"
cried Old Death, in a tone which seemed to indicate that he was about to
weep for very rage.
"On that night," said the Earl solemnly, and almost sternly, "when
Thomas Rainford took from thy treasury the money which he conceived to
be his due, did he not leave ample sums behind? and wilt thou tell me
that thou hast not since disposed of those sums in other places of
security? Thou seest, villain, that I can read all thy secrets: so prate
no more about being reduced to beggary."
Old Death's eyes fell beneath the fixed gaze of the Earl of Ellingham,
who thereby perceived that the conjecture which he had just hazarded was
indeed the right one.
"And you will let us go free if I answer all your questions?" said the
arch-miscreant, after a brief pause, during which he consulted his
companions in iniquity by means of a rapid interchange of glances.
"I will," replied the nobleman emphatically.
"But what if I should tell you more than you already seem to
suspect—through ignorance of the precise extent of your real knowledge,"
said Old Death,—"and thus make you acquainted with things likely to
render you vindictive——"
"I scorn a mean and petty vengeance!" exclaimed the young nobleman. "My
word is pledged to a certain condition; and that promise shall be
redeemed, whatever the nature of your revelations may be."
"Then I consent!" exclaimed Old Death. "Bear witness, Dr. Lascelles—for
you are an honourable man——"
"The Earl of Ellingham is too lenient," interrupted the physician. "But,
as it is, I guarantee my word of honour that his lordship will
faithfully fulfil his promise."
"In spite of any thing that may transpire, and for which he may not be
prepared?" added Old Death, determined to drive as sure a bargain as
possible: "because," he continued, "it is quite impossible for me to
foresee the nature of the questions you are going to put to me, my
lord—and, in answering them, I may only commit myself. I am in your
power; but pray use that power mercifully."
"Mercifully!" cried the Earl, in a tone of mingled scorn and disgust. "I
have no sympathy with you of any kind, old man—you are loathsome to me!
I merely make a compact with you—and that bargain shall be adhered to on
my part, if it be fulfilled on yours. I however warn you, that should I
detect you in aught at variance with the truth, our compact ceases—my
promise is annulled—and you remain at my disposal as completely as if no
pledge relative to your safety had ever issued from my lips. Weigh well,
then, the position in which you stand," continued the young nobleman
sternly: "for I am not to be trifled with!"
"I will tell you all you require to know—all—all," responded Old Death,
gasping convulsively: "only let this scene end as soon as possible—for
it does me harm."
"We will proceed at once to business," said the Earl: then seating
himself in front of the prisoners, he addressed his questions to Old
Death, saying, "In the first place, why was I imprisoned in the
subterranean dungeon?"
"To prevent you from using your wealth to bribe the gaol-authorities to
let Rainford escape, or your interest to save him if he was condemned,"
answered Old Death, in a slow and measured tone.
"Then, villain that you are," cried the Earl, scarcely able to subdue
his resentment, "you had an interest in hurrying the son of your own
half-sister Octavia to the scaffold!—Oh! I understand it all! Thomas
felt assured that some profound, secret, and malign influence was at
work against him; for those who were put forward as the prosecutors—the
knight and his nephew—went as unwilling witnesses! Then it was you,"
continued the nobleman, in a tone of fearful excitement,—"it was _you_
whose gold doubtless bribed the attorney Howard to institute those fatal
proceedings!"
"It was—it was!" ejaculated Old Death, trembling from head to foot. "But
Rainford deserved it;—he outraged me—I was good and kind to him—I threw
excellent things in his way—but he made me bring him to this house—he
learnt all my secrets—he robbed me of my treasures—he carried off my
private papers——"
"Silence!" exclaimed the Earl, in a tone which made the arch-villain and
his fellow-prisoners all three start convulsively: "give not a false
colouring to that transaction! Rainford learnt, when in the country, who
you were and how nearly you were allied to his late mother;—he knew also
how you had plundered him of his inheritance—and he was justified in the
conduct he pursued towards you. The money which he took was legitimately
his own, allowing for the accumulation of interest and compound
interest; and the papers were not _yours_—but rightfully his property!"
"Then why did he not tell me who he was?—why did he entrap me, and
compel me at the muzzle of the levelled pistol to conduct him to my
secret places?" demanded Old Death impatiently.
"Your villany and your craft could only be met by stratagem and
counterplot," returned the Earl emphatically; "and in that way did
Rainford meet you. And yet—for the truth of my assertion you cannot
deny—you have sent your own nephew to the scaffold!"
"It was his own fault!" persisted Old Death doggedly. "He should not
have crossed my path—he should not have proclaimed warfare against me. I
would have been his friend——"
"His friend!" exclaimed the Earl, in a tone of bitter scorn.
"Yes—his friend, after his own fashion—in the way he wanted a friend!"
continued Old Death, becoming garrulous with nervous excitement. "But he
outraged me in a way I could not forgive nor forget—he penetrated into
all my secrets—he might have returned and helped himself again and again
from my stores—_he knew too much_ for me to be safe—and moreover he
bound me to a chair in such a way that I fell into a fit, and should
have died had it not been for this man here," added the miscreant,
indicating Tidmarsh. "All those things combined to render Rainford's
death necessary—and he has paid the penalty of his conduct towards me."
Lord Ellingham recoiled in horror from the fiend-like man who could thus
seek to palliate the foul deed of having sent his own relative to the
scaffold, through no moral motives, but merely to gratify his vengeance
and remove one who seemed to be dangerous in his path.
"Let us know more of the sham-death business on your part, Mr. Bones—or
whatever your name is," said Dr. Lascelles.
"You remember that night I came round to the house here and met you,
sir?" hastily exclaimed Tidmarsh, thinking that he should serve himself
by exhibiting a readiness to volunteer any explanation that was
required. "Well—you recollect that it was the night you saw Rainford in
your laboratory, and we knew that he had gone down into the
subterranean. Then, if you please to remember, we went away together—and
I took leave of you at the corner of Turnmill Street. But I suspected
there was something wrong—although I did not dare offer to go into Mr.
Bones's rooms while you were with me. As soon as you had left me,
however, I returned to the house—not by the subterranean, be it well
understood,—and passing through your laboratory——"
"Then you possess counterpart keys, rascal!" exclaimed the physician
angrily. "But go on."
"Well, sir—I passed through your laboratory into the bed-room there,
locking the door of communication after me. Then I entered the first
store-room; but I had scarcely put foot therein when I heard a violent
noise as if some one was trying to break through the trap-door in the
bed-chamber. I confess that I was frightened—because I knew it must be
Rainford, and I suspected him to be a desperate man who meant no good in
that house. I remained quite still—heard him break open the trap and
come forth. I also heard him, dash open the door of your laboratory,
through which he passed; but as I had neglected to lock the other door
there—leading to the landing—he was not compelled to force that also.
Well—I waited a few minutes, till I thought he had left the house; and
then, having great misgivings on account of Mr. Bones, I went into the
next store-room. But there I caught a glimpse of Rainford, standing over
Mr. Bones, who was tied in his chair. I was about to retreat, I must
confess—but Rainford bolted away like a ghost; and I ran up to my
friend, who I thought was dead. I however saw enough, at a second
glance, to convince me that he was only in a kind of trance-like fit;
and in a short time I recovered him. That's my part of the story, sir;
and, I hope——"
"Enough!" exclaimed Lord Ellingham abruptly. "_I_ have now a question to
ask _you_, Mr. Tidmarsh:—Were you not my gaoler when I was a prisoner in
the subterranean?"
"Well, my lord—it's no use denying it," answered the man; "but——"
"Spare your comments. I cannot complain of the way in which you executed
a task doubtless imposed on you by your master here. Moreover, you even
showed me some indulgence, by permitting me to write those letters to my
friends——"
"Give my friend Bones his due, my lord," interrupted Tidmarsh; "for I
showed 'em to him first before I posted them."
"And as they could do no harm, I let them go," hastily exclaimed Old
Death; "for I did not want to punish _you_ more than I could help.
Besides, I was glad you wrote them;—in the first place because they
prevented any noise amongst your friends on account of your
disappearance—and, secondly, because the one you wrote to Rainford was
enough to convince him he had nothing more to hope from you."
"Even while you seek to conciliate me, you cannot prevent the
manifestation of your fiendish hate against him who was the son of your
sister Octavia!" said the Earl, gazing upon Old Death in profound
surprise,—surprise that his heart could be so irredeemably black. "But
now answer me another question," he continued after a few moments'
pause: "how came you to know that I was likely to use my interest or my
gold on behalf of Thomas Rainford?"
"My spies were stationed about Horsemonger Lane gaol," answered Old
Death; "and I had a lodging in the immediate neighbourhood. They came
and told me that you had just gone into the prison to see Rainford; and
I concluded that you must already be aware of the relationship which
existed between you. To resolve and to act with me are the same thing;
and I sent back my men to seize you and convey you to the subterranean."
"And why had you stationed spies about the gaol?" demanded the Earl.
"Because I suspected that Rainford would send for you, or that you would
go to him of your own accord," replied Old Death; "for he had taken from
me the papers which _proved_ who he was—and I supposed that his first
act on possessing them, must have been to communicate with you; and in
that I cannot have been far wrong."
By dint of questioning and cross-questioning, the following additional
facts were elicited;—
When Tidmarsh recovered Old Death from the species of trance or fit
into which he had fallen when bound to the chair, the latter
determined to encompass at least the transportation, if not the
execution, of Tom Rain. For two or three days he remained quiet at
Tidmarsh's abode in Turnmill Street, brooding over his scheme of
vengeance, and communicating with none of his friends elsewhere—not
even with the Bunces. In planning the punishment of Tom Rain, Old
Death knew that he had a most delicate and difficult game to play; for
the highwayman was to be sacrificed to his hatred and his
interests—and yet in such a manner that the victim should not know by
whom the blow was struck nor the source whence his ruin came. The deed
must be effected with so much dark mystery that Rainford should not
even have any ground for supposing that Bones was the real prime mover
of the prosecution; and in this case the arch-villain felt convinced
that Rainford would not even mention his name nor allude to his
establishments in Clerkenwell, when placed before the magistrate or on
his trial. The affair of Sir Christopher Blunt's three thousand pounds
seemed the best point on which to set the whole of this complicated
machinery in motion; and Old Death knew sufficient of Mr. Howard's
cold, calculating, and money-making disposition to be well aware that
his aid in the business could be readily secured. He communicated all
his plans to Tidmarsh; and this latter individual suggested that
Rainford should be led to believe that Old Death was no more. "For,"
said Tidmarsh, "when I entered your store-room and saw Rainford gazing
at you in your fit, I concluded you were really dead, and I am certain
that such was the impression of the highwayman. Besides, he fled in
horror; and Rainford is not the person thus to act save under
extraordinary circumstances." This hint was adopted; and it was
resolved that Rainford should be induced to suppose that Benjamin
Bones was positively defunct—a belief that would of course preclude
the possibility of any suspicion that the said Bones was the
individual who set in motion the springs of that conspiracy which was
to carry the victim to the scaffold. These projects being all settled
between Old Death and his man Tidmarsh, the latter was despatched to
Mrs. Bunce to whom the entire scheme was communicated. She was
instructed to set spies to watch Tom Rain, and to convey to him, if
possible, the information that Benjamin Bones was dead. It was also
determined not to trust Jacob Smith with the plan of vengeance to be
carried out, but, as a precaution on the right side, to let even him
also believe that Old Death was no more. At the same time the lad was
to be used as a spy on Rainford, his devotion to whom was not of
course suspected. When Mrs. Bunce met, or rather overtook Rainford in
Gray's-Inn-Lane on the Saturday night previous to his arrest, it was
really by accident; and she availed herself of that opportunity to
inform him that Old Death had gone to his last account, according to
the instructions communicated to her in the morning of that very day.
She endeavoured to watch whither Rainford went, after she parted from
him; but he disappeared, and she concluded that he had entered some
house in that vicinity. That he had quitted Lock's Fields was known to
her; and she therefore imagined that his new domicile must be in the
Lane. Jacob was accordingly set to watch that neighbourhood; but he
misled her purposely, as will be remembered, by stating that he had
knocked at every house in the street, and had ascertained that no such
person as Rainford lived there. Tom was, however, seen by one of the
spies, in Piccadilly, on the ensuing (Sunday) evening, as he was
returning from Lady Hatfield's house; and he was dogged over to his
old abode in Lock's Fields. In the meantime, Tidmarsh had been to Mr.
Howard, whom he bribed heavily with gold supplied by Old Death for the
purpose; and the lawyer was induced to instruct Dykes, the Bow Street
runner to arrest Rainford on the charge of robbing Sir Christopher
Blunt. This arrangement with the solicitor was effected on the
Saturday afternoon: it was on the Sunday evening that Rainford was
dogged to his own abode; and that very night, as soon as the spy could
communicate with Mrs. Bunce and Dykes, the arrest of the victim was
accomplished in the manner described in a previous chapter. Throughout
all these and the subsequent proceedings, Jacob Smith's friendly
disposition towards Rainford was not suspected; nor were his visits to
Horsemonger Lane Gaol known to the conspirators—inasmuch as the spies,
who had been placed in that neighbourhood to watch for Lord Ellingham,
had no farther business there when once the Earl was captured and
secured.
Such was the substance of the confession, partly elicited fairly and
partly extorted from the three worthies—Old Death, Mrs. Bunce, and Mr.
Tidmarsh—who were now so completely in the power of the Earl of
Ellingham.
"Thus," said Arthur, who, as well as the physician and Jacob Smith, was
appalled at the dreadful discoveries now brought to light,—"thus was
this tremendous conspiracy to take away the existence of a human being,
minutely—I may almost say, scientifically planned in all its details,
and carried on with a secrecy and a success that manifested the most
infernal talent for wicked combinations! Monsters that ye are!" he
cried, unable to retain his feelings any longer; "what vengeance do ye
not merit at my hands? But, no—vengeance is for cowards and grovelling
miscreants like yourselves! Were I inclined—did I stoop to retaliate and
repay ye in your own coin for this enormous misdeed—for you, old man,"
he added, turning his indignant glances upon Benjamin Bones, who shrank
back in dismay,—"you ere now alluded to that cause which makes me
interested in all that regards—or rather regarded," he said, correcting
himself, "your unfortunate victim Thomas Rainford! But, as I was
observing—did I choose to wreak revenge on ye three, how easy were it
done! I might imprison ye for the remainder of your lives in your own
dungeons: I might gag and bind ye in such a way that no cry could escape
your lips, and no avenue of escape be possible, and then either leave ye
to starve—yes, to starve to death in this room; or I might set fire to
the house and consign ye to the torture of flames!"
Mrs. Bunce uttered a faint shriek, and Old Death gave vent to a low
moan, as these awful words fell upon their ears: but Tidmarsh remained
passive and silent.
Jacob Smith and the domestics gazed upon the Earl in anxious suspense,
not unmixed with awe; for, as he spoke, he seemed as if he were armed
with an iron eloquence to reproach, and a vicarious power to punish
fearfully.
The physician surveyed the three prisoners with ineffable disgust.
"But, no!" resumed the Earl: "I would not condescend—I would not degrade
myself so low as to snatch from your hands the weapons with which you
work, and then use them against you! I have yet another point on which I
require information: and when your answers, old man," he continued,
again addressing himself to Bones, "shall have been given, all that will
remain for me to perform is the destruction of your ill-got property,
and the adoption of a measure to deprive you of any future interest in
these houses with their dark subterranean passage and their horrible
dungeons. Benjamin Bones," exclaimed Arthur, after a few moments' pause,
"wherefore did you seek to possess yourself of that little boy whom
Thomas Rainford had so kindly—so generously—so charitably adopted?"
Old Death explained that as he hoped to be enabled to discover the
maternal parent of the lad, and as he conceived that Charley might
afford him information calculated to assist him in that pursuit, he had
endeavoured to get the child into his power.
"The letter which was found on the person of the deceased Sarah Watts,"
said the Earl, "doubtless furnished you with ideas of enacting a scheme
of extortion against the boy's mother, should you be enabled to find her
out, and believing as you do that she is high-born and perhaps wealthy.
That letter fell into the hands of Rainford—no matter how; and, though I
have not seen it, yet the nature of its contents have been communicated
to me. Now, answer me—and answer me truly, if thou canst,—have you any
farther clue beyond that which your acquaintance with the nature of that
letter furnishes?"
"I have not—I have not," replied the old villain hastily: "if I had, I
should not have wanted to get the boy into my power, that I might glean
from him as much as he could impart to me."
"I now, then, warn you to think no more of that child, old man," said
the Earl; "for he is already beyond the reach of your vile aims—and,
even were he not, _I_ would protect him. You see that all your
atrocity—all your intriguing—all your black wickedness does not
invariably conduct you to the goal of success. But moral lessons are
thrown away on such as you. We will therefore terminate this scene as
speedily as possible." Then, turning to his domestics, he added, "You
will repair into the store-rooms of this house, and you will so destroy
and ruin all the rich garments and the larger articles which are there
piled up, that they will become comparatively valueless. The jewellery
you will convey into the subterranean; and all those trinkets you will
throw into the sewer, to which there is an opening from one of the
dungeons. Jacob, you will guide my servants in this task."
"No, Jacob—Jacob!" exclaimed Mrs. Bunce hysterically: "have nothing to
do with a business which——"
"Silence—silence, I command you!" growled Old Death, turning a savage
glance upon the woman, and then fixing a look of demoniac hatred upon
the lad, who was already leading the servants into the adjoining rooms.
Mrs. Bunce remained quiet, in obedience to the order she received from
Old Death.
"And now relative to these houses—this, and the one in Turnmill Street?"
said the nobleman. "Whose property are they?"
"They are my own freehold," responded Bones,—"bought with my money,
long, long ago. But you will not——"
"I will not rob you," interrupted the Earl emphatically. "Where are the
papers proving your title to the possession of this freehold?"
"In the iron-safe, in one of the store-rooms."
The nobleman quitted the laboratory, but presently returned, saying in a
tone of authority, "The key of that safe!"
"It is here—here, in my pocket," muttered the arch-villain. "But my
hands are bound——"
The Earl took the key from the pocket of Old Death and again left the
laboratory. In a few minutes he re-appeared, holding a bundle of papers
in his hand.
"I see by the endorsement that these are the deeds which I require," he
said. "Now set a value upon your property, and I will pay you the
amount. But stay—I will release you, so that you may execute a document
which my solicitor has already prepared, and which simply requires the
necessary filling up to render it available."
The nobleman drew a parchment deed from his pocket; and, aided by the
papers which he had brought from the store-room, inserted the requisite
particulars in the blanks left for the purpose.
He then removed the cords which confined Old Death, who named a large
sum as the purchase-money of the freehold, and for which the Earl wrote
a cheque on his banker without hesitation.
Then the deed of sale and transfer was duly signed by Old Death, and
witnessed by Dr. Lascelles.
"This proceeding on my part," said the Earl, when the business was
concluded, "may appear arbitrary and even vindictive; but it is
necessary, and is not instigated by the spirit of revenge. I have paid
you more than double the value of the property; and, therefore, you
cannot complain. If you feel aggrieved, remember that it is in my power
to transport you for life, on account of the outrage you perpetrated
upon me by making me your prisoner in the subterranean which shall never
be rendered available to you again. I have now performed the whole of
the task which I had imposed upon myself; and you may all three depart!"
Thus speaking, the Earl unbound Tidmarsh; and, having compelled this
individual, as well as Old Death, to surrender their pass-keys to the
two houses, he followed those two villains and the equally vile Mrs.
Bunce to the front-door.
The three passed out into the street; but before they sped away, Old
Death raised his hand, and shaking it ominously, exclaimed, "Lord
Ellingham, I will yet be avenged!"
The young nobleman did not condescend to offer a reply, but closed the
door, and retraced his way to the laboratory.
"Well, my dear Arthur," said the physician, "I think you have had to
deal with as pretty a sample of miscreants as ever underwent
examination. None of those," he added, pointing towards the shelf on
which the casts of the felons' heads were ranged, "could possibly have
competed with them."
"Do you approve, doctor, of all the steps which I have taken?" demanded
the young nobleman.
"You have acted admirably," replied Lascelles. "Indeed, you have behaved
too well to the chief of those fiends, by paying him double the value of
his houses."
"I would not allow even so vile a wretch as he to think that I had
wronged him," returned the nobleman. "You can now remain in
uninterrupted possession of your laboratory, doctor," he added with a
smile. "But let us see how progresses the work of destruction in the
other rooms."
Thither the doctor and the Earl proceeded accordingly.
It would have broken Old Death's heart outright to contemplate the rapid
work which the nobleman's servants and Jacob Smith were making of the
task allotted to them. In the room adjoining the bed-chamber, two of the
domestics were employed in breaking the china, tearing the clothes,
burning the silk handkerchiefs and the parcels of rich lace, ripping to
pieces the muffs and boas, smashing the looking-glasses and pictures,
and committing a havoc such as only the peculiar circumstances of the
case could have justified. In the other store-room, the third servant
and Jacob Smith were unpacking boxes and cases of jewels, and crushing
the various valuables with billets of wood.
The fires were lighted in both rooms, and as much property was destroyed
as it was safe to consume by those means: the jewellery was all conveyed
to the subterranean, and thrown into the common sewer through that
aperture which the hands of the nobleman had so lately hollowed in the
wall of the dungeon.
The day dawned ere the work of destruction was completed: and then the
store-rooms exhibited an appearance forming a strange contrast with
their late wealthy aspect.
The physician returned to his house in Grafton Street; and Lord
Ellingham hastened home to Pall Mall, leaving his servants and Jacob
Smith to follow at their leisure.
In the course of the day he called upon Lady Hatfield, to whom he had
already written two or three notes, acquainting her with the outlines of
the numerous incidents which had so rapidly occurred since the moment of
his escape from the dungeon: and he now gave her a detailed and oral
account of all those exciting occurrences.
Their demeanour towards each other was that of an affectionate brother
and a fond sister; and when the Earl bade her adieu, they embraced with
feelings far different from those which once had filled their hearts.
In the evening, Arthur, accompanied by Jacob Smith, and attended by only
a single valet, departed in his travelling-carriage for Dover, whence on
the ensuing morning he embarked for France.