Part 20 (1/2)

”You don't understand,” he said. ”This is not some gin house where bricklayers go to besot themselves with drink and pretend to know something of politics. This place, the Sleeping Bear, is where men of import go. What you want to know-well, someone there will surely be able to tell you.”

”Can you give me a name? Someone with whom I may speak?”

He shook his head. ”I have never been there myself. It is not for the likes of me. I have only heard of its centrality to the cause. You will have to make do on your own, Benjamin. And please, for mercy's sake, leave me alone. I've done all I can for you. You must ask no more of me, bother me no more.”

”You have done all you can for me?” I demanded. ”Why, you have all but put my head in the noose, involving me as you have with your Jacobitical intrigues.”

”I could never have imagined you would come to such harm!” he shouted. ”I could not have known that these men threatened me because of my political interests.”

”Perhaps not,” I said, ”but neither did you offer to help me. I think you nothing but a fool-one who dabbles in things too great for him. Such men always expose themselves before the world.”

”Of course, of course,” he muttered.

I could not but doubt that Barber, his man, had gone to get some sort of a.s.sistance for his master, so I made my way from that house as quickly as I could.

Night was full upon me as I found my way to the Sleeping Bear, located on the first floor of a handsome little house in the shadow of St. Paul's. The interior was well lit and lively. Nearly every table was occupied, and some were quite crowded. Here were men of the middle ranks, some perhaps of a better station, who sat with food and drink and lively conversations. I saw no representatives of the softer s.e.x except for a gaunt woman hard on old age who served them.

My plain style of dress fit in as well as I could hope, but I nevertheless found all eyes upon me in an instant, staring at me with near murderous intent. Never one to shrink from a cool welcome, I strode at once to the barman, an unusually tall old fellow, and asked him for a pot of something refres.h.i.+ng.

He glared at me and offered me my drink, though I was certain he had thought I said a pot of something wretched, wretched, for the drink he gave me was old and warm and tasted like the leavings of yesterday's patrons. I turned to the man and, setting aside the unpleasantness of his drink, thought to engage him in some other conversation, but I saw from the hard look in his eyes that he was not of a conversational nature, so I took my pint and found one of the few empty tables. for the drink he gave me was old and warm and tasted like the leavings of yesterday's patrons. I turned to the man and, setting aside the unpleasantness of his drink, thought to engage him in some other conversation, but I saw from the hard look in his eyes that he was not of a conversational nature, so I took my pint and found one of the few empty tables.

I sat there, holding my pot but hardly daring, for the sake of my health, to drink from it. Some of the men around me resumed their conversations in hushed whispers, though I sensed that the talk now centered around me. Others merely stared malevolently. I remained in that state for but a quarter of an hour before a fellow came and joined me. He was perhaps ten years older than I, well dressed, with thick white eyebrows and a matching wig-overly long and of the sort already out of fas.h.i.+on in those days.

”Are you waiting for someone then, friend?” he asked me, in the thick accent of an Irishman.

”I came in from the street to take the chill off,” I said.

He flashed a warm grin in my direction and raised the bushy shelf of his brow. ”Well, there are a number of places hereabouts where a fellow might do that, but, as I imagine you've already noticed, there's something of a chill in here, if you get my meaning. I recollect that at the Three Welshmen down the street they serve a fine mutton stew and have a mulled wine wondrous for this cold. Certainly you'd be welcome there.”

I looked around. ”I believe the owner of the Three Welshmen would thank you for your praise, but this is no private place. The sign outside advertises it as a public coffeehouse. How can it be that I cannot take refreshment here?”

”The men who come here-well, they come here all the time, and there's none that come here that don't do so regular.”

”But surely each of these men must have come here for the first time once. Were they all used as I am?”

”Perhaps they came with a friend, one already in the habit of visiting,” he said cheerfully. ”Come, now, you've surely heard of coffeehouses that are the province of this group or that. No one here wishes you ill, but it's best that you finish up your drink and find a place more suited to you. That mutton stew must sound pleasing.”

I did not think to accomplish much by simply leaving, nor would it do much good to remain and be ignored. I could only think that this fellow was my one hope of learning something of value. ”In truth,” I said to him, ”I came here because I heard that this was the place to go if I was of a particular frame of mind. Which is to say, if I was looking for men who thought like I did, in a political way.”

He smiled again, but this time it seemed far more forced. ”I can't imagine how you might have heard such a thing. There are countless taverns the city over for any number of political dispositions. This one-well, we don't go much for strangers here, if you take my meaning, and we don't talk politics with them. I don't know what you are looking for, friend, but you won't find it in this place. No one is going to talk to you or answer your questions or invite you in on their chat. It may be, as you say, that you are here because you are like-minded. If that's the case, I wish you happiness, and perhaps our paths will cross again. It may also be that you're a spy, sir, and you don't want to be found out as such a one in this place. No, you surely don't.”

”Tell me,” I said, feeling I now had little to lose, ”is there a man called Johnson who comes here? I should very much like to meet with him.”

I had meant to speak quietly, but my voice carried more than I antic.i.p.ated, and at the next table a fellow half rose until his companion reached out and, with a hand on his shoulder, forced him down again.

”I don't know any Johnson,” my Irish friend said, as though neither of us had witnessed this man's alarm. ”You've come to the wrong place. Now I suggest you take your leave, sir. There's nothing more to be gained by your bringing confusion to my friends.”

There was surely nothing more to be gained by finis.h.i.+ng my drink, so I rose and departed with as much dignity as I could, though I have rarely made a more ignominious exit.

I could hardly have been more frustrated. Surely something should have come of this venture, but I had been rebuffed most coolly and I learned nothing of value. I cursed myself and my foul luck as I walked along Paternoster Row. It was foolishness for me not to have been more vigilant, but my anger overtook my emotions, so I did not see the two men who stepped out to the alley to grab me, each by one arm. I recognized them at once-the Riding Officers who had been standing outside of Elias's house.

”Well, then, here he is,” one of them said. ”It's our Jew, sure enough.”

”This is our lucky night, I think,” the other one answered.

I attempted to break free, but their grips were firm, and I knew I would have to wait for a better chance, provided one came. There were, after all, only two of them, and they would have to remain firm in their grip every second as we traveled to wherever it was they wished to take me. The streets of London at night afforded countless obstacles that might prove just the distraction I needed. It would only be a matter of time before they were put off their guard by a linkboy or a footpad or a wh.o.r.e. One of them might slip in horse kennel or trip over a dead dog.

My hopes were soon dashed, however, as two more of their allies emerged from the shadows. While two of the Riding Officers held me firmly in place, a third grabbed my arms and pulled them behind my back while the fourth began to tie my wrists together with a piece of cord selected for its abrasiveness.

I should surely have been undone had not a most unexpected event transpired. The Irishman, with a band of more than a dozen of the surly men from inside the coffeehouse, stepped forth from the darkness.

”What is the trouble here, gentlemen?” the Irishman asked.

”It's no concern of yours, Dear Joy,” said one of the Riding Officers, using that name so insulting to Irishmen. ”Get you gone.”

”It is is my concern, I'll have you know. Leave that fellow be, for no one is taken on this street but by our leave.” my concern, I'll have you know. Leave that fellow be, for no one is taken on this street but by our leave.”

”You'll be taken too, fellow, if you don't step away,” the Riding Officer said.

Here was brave talk, for each man was outnumbered three or four to one, and none of them looked particularly competent in a fight. The Irishman's little army, sensing the weakness of the Riding Officers, drew blades, all at once. The Customs men, very wisely in my opinion, chose to flee.

As did I. I spun into the darkness of the alley and turned and turned again until I was far enough away that I could no longer hear the shouts of the Riding Officers. I was surely grateful for the timely rescue, but I had no desire to stay and learn if they had chosen to liberate me because they recognized me after I left and wished the bounty for themselves. It might have been that, or it might have been that they hated the Customs more than they hated a stranger. I was not curious enough to risk learning the truth.

It had now been weeks since my escape from Newgate, and other than my encounter with the Riding Officers outside of Elias's house that first night, I had not faced a single other confrontation from men in authority. I could only conclude that they had no effective means of tracking me. I had hidden my ident.i.ty and my movements sufficiently that unless one of their number became astonis.h.i.+ngly fortunate and simply happened upon me by chance, I had little to fear from the government.

Yet the Riding Officers had been lying in wait outside the Sleeping Bear. I was inside the coffeehouse, in total, for less than half of an hour, which meant it was very unlikely that one of the patrons could have recognized me and sent a note to the Riding Officers in time for them to have arrived and awaited my departure. Indeed, even more unlikely since it was the patrons themselves who rescued me from those worthies. It could only be, then, that Mr. Ufford, on sending me to the Sleeping Bear, took pains that I should not emerge from my visit a free man. Though shaken by my encounter with the Customs men, I knew I must act, and act quickly. There was more to Ufford than I yet understood, and I would learn what I could that night.

I waited until two or three in the morning, when no one was on the street and all the houses were dark. I then betook myself to Mr. Ufford's house and forced open a window in the kitchen through which I quickly climbed. The drop down was greater than I antic.i.p.ated, but I landed safely, if not quietly. I remained motionless for some minutes to see if my clumsiness aroused any suspicion. As I waited I felt the warm brush of two or three cats against my leg, so I could only hope that if anyone heard the noise they might blame these creatures rather than an intruder.

Once a safe amount of time had pa.s.sed-or, perhaps more accurately, once I had grown too impatient to wait any longer-I moved from my crouched position, bid a silent farewell to my new feline companions, and made my way through the dark. I recalled well enough where Ufford kept his study, so it took no great amount of time to locate the room, though the darkness was close to absolute.

I made certain the door was shut behind me and found a pair of good wax tapers to light. The room was now sufficiently illuminated that I might search it, though I had no idea what it was I sought. Nevertheless, I began to go through papers in his books, in his drawers, and on his shelves, and it did not take long to find that I was on the right path. Within minutes I found numerous letters written in an indecipherable jumble of letters-most obviously a code, though I had not the slightest ability to decipher such a thing. Nevertheless, the mere presence of this sort of writing informed me of a great deal. Who but a spy would require the use of code? The discovery ignited my resolve, and I dove in with a new vigor.

This new enthusiasm paid off well. I had been in the room for near an hour when, having gone through all the papers, files, and ledgers I could find and not having discovered anything of immediate use, I thought to leaf through some of the large volumes that crowded Ufford's shelves. This project proved of little worth, and I was near to abandoning it when I came across a tome that felt much lighter than its size suggested. It was hollowed out, and when I opened it I found a dozen or so pieces of paper on which had been written the following d.a.m.nable text, signed in the most ostentatious hand: I acknowledge to have received from---the sum of---which I promise to repay, with an interest for it, at the rate of---per annum. I acknowledge to have received from---the sum of---which I promise to repay, with an interest for it, at the rate of---per annum.

James R.

James Rex, the Pretender himself. Ufford had set for himself the task of raising monies for a Jacobite rebellion and had done so with the knowledge of the Pretender. These receipts, signed by the would-be monarch, were left to the priest's management, that he might secure what lenders he could. I picked up the papers and examined them closely. Of course, they could be forgeries, but why would a man pretend to the owners.h.i.+p of doc.u.ments that could lead easily to his execution? I could only conclude that Ufford was in fact an agent of the Pretender and, more than that, he was not the hapless self-aggrandizer the world believed him to be. No, the keeper of these receipts would be a well-trusted member of the Chevalier's circle. Ufford's foolishness and blundering were but a disguise to hide a cunning and capable agent.

I held these receipts tightly in my hand, and the most fanciful thought occurred to me. No one knew how highly placed among the Jacobites sat Mr. Ufford-no one but me. This information would surely be of great interest to the administration, of far more interest than persecuting a simple thieftaker for a murder the world knew he did not commit. Could I not trade the information I now had for my freedom? The thought sat ill with me, for no man likes a traitor, but I owed Ufford no devotion-not when his schemes had landed me in this position in the first place. Surely I owed more loyalty to my monarch. It could be argued that failing to report what I knew was an unforgivable act of negligence.

”Or perhaps one of loyalty to the true king.”

I must have spoken aloud, so transfixed was I by the evidence I had discovered. I had neither seen nor heard the men enter the room. I had been foolish and careless, seduced by the possibilities of my discoveries. Now I turned around and found myself facing three men: Ufford, the Irishman from the Sleeping Bear, and a third man. I had never before met him, but I thought at once there was something familiar in his angular face, sunken cheeks, and beaky nose. He looked in his thirties, perhaps a bit older, and though he dressed in unremarkable clothes and wore an inexpensive bob wig, there was something imposing about his stance.

”Surely,” the Irishman said, ”you would not trade another man's life for your own comfort.”

”It appears that the question is but a hypothetical one,” Ufford observed. He stepped forward and took the receipts from my hand. ”Benjamin shan't have the opportunity to share what he knows with anyone.”