Volume Ii Part 8 (1/2)
”Heaven be praised, he _is_, sir,” responded the stranger, fervently.
”Umph,” e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Mr. Gerard, with less piety.
Mr. Long coughed behind his fingers, but otherwise kept a discreet silence.
”You know him, do you, sir?” inquired our host.
”I know him well enough by sight, if, at least, your advertised description of his personal appearance is accurate,” resumed our visitor. ”His height, his beard, the curious indentation upon his forehead, are all characteristic of the man whom I saw last night, and whom I have seen every day for weeks. He is living under the name of Daneton, at Nutgall, a village in Cambridges.h.i.+re, near which I reside. I have not the slightest doubt whatever of his ident.i.ty. As for knowing him, except by sight, however, I cannot say that I do. Without meaning offence, or wis.h.i.+ng to hurt the feelings of relations, I may observe that his mode of life is scarcely one to make acquaintance with him advantageous. If I may speak without reserve upon the matter, I should state that he drank considerably, to the extent, indeed, the landlord of the inn has informed me, of, at least, a bottle and a half of French brandy _per diem_.”
”That _must_ be my uncle,” observed Marmaduke, navely.
”He is so, sir, without a doubt,” continued the stranger. ”I do not seek for any pecuniary reward; but having seen your advertis.e.m.e.nt, I thought it my duty to come up hither, and relieve the feelings of anxious relatives.”
Here the door opened, and Mr. Townshend walked in unannounced, as it was his custom to do. Merely nodding to us all, as though he was an inmate of the house, he sat down at the table with his back to the visitor, and helped himself to a roll and b.u.t.ter.
Mr. Gerard explained briefly the stranger's errand to the officer of justice, and then observed, ”Are we to understand, then, that you have been so good as to come all the way from Nutgall hither, expressly to give us this information?”
”No, sir,” responded the man with frankness; ”I should deceive you if I were to say that much. I have business in the City to-day, and arrived so far by coach; I came on hither, merely a few miles beyond my mark; that is all for which you are indebted to me.”
”That is a great deal,” observed Mr. Long, warmly. ”We take it very kindly that you should have done so much.”
”I thought it only my duty, sir,” replied the visitor, modestly. ”The trouble I do not take into account.”
”What a pity the gentleman did not think of writing by the post,”
observed Mr. Townshend, still proceeding with his breakfast; ”that would have saved him this long expedition, and us many days of anxiety.”
”That is very true,” returned the stranger; ”but the fact is, one does not always like to answer advertis.e.m.e.nts in that way. How did I know who 'H.G.' was? I thought also that a personal interview would be more satisfactory. I am a poor man, but I did not grudge the chance of losing an hour or two on an errand of charity.”
”You are very good,” answered Marmaduke, gloomily.
”And you must, please, permit us,” added Mr. Long, taking out his purse, ”to at least reimburse you for that loss of time.”
”It seems to me,” observed Mr. Townshend, speaking with his mouth full, ”that this gentleman is about to be rather hardly dealt by. It is true that a guinea, or even half a one, may repay him for his lost time; but if his intelligence respecting Sir Ma.s.singberd Heath turns out to be such as he represents it, he will be ent.i.tled to the hundred guineas reward.”
”I never thought of that,” observed Mr. Long, returning his purse to his pocket not without a blush. ”I hope, sir, that you will acquit me of any sordid design in what I proposed to do.”
”Most certainly, sir,” returned the stranger, with animation; ”and indeed your views, as you just expressed them, are quite in accordance with my own. I have no wish whatever for the reward in question; to have done my duty is, I hope, a sufficient recompense for me. On the other hand, I cannot well afford to lose these two or three hours which have been expended in your service. A couple of guineas would quite repay me for this, and even leave the obligation upon my side.”
There was a silence for a little, during which Mr. Long gazed inquiringly at Mr. Gerard, and he, in his turn, looked towards Mr.
Townshend; then, as though the back of that gentleman's head had been cognizant that counsel was demanded of it, the Bow Street runner spoke as follows:
”It would be nothing less than a fraud, in my opinion, if this good gentleman's generosity is taken advantage of in the way he suggests. If the management of this business is to be in my hands, I should say let us behave with rect.i.tude at least, if not with liberality. The hundred guineas are fairly his, if he is correct in what he has told us; whereas, if he is _not_ correct--since no mistake can have occurred in the matter, by his own showing--why, this is merely an attempt to extort money under false pretences.”
”Really, Mr. Townshend,” cried my tutor, starting to his feet, ”I think your profession of thief-catching makes you very unscrupulous in your imputations.”
For my own part, I felt excessively indignant too; and so, I think, would Marmaduke have done, had he not been preoccupied with his own thoughts. Lucy blushed, and cast down her eyes. Her father quietly observed, ”Mr. Townshend may have been somewhat plain-spoken, but what he has said is common sense. If you will be good enough to leave your address at Nutgall with us, sir, we shall communicate with you as soon as we have convinced ourselves of the truth of your suspicions; and then we shall not only have compensation but apologies to offer you.”