CHAPTER XX. MORE OF MRS. JOPLIN.
One day, at the hour of noon, the court boasting the tall residence ofMr. Grabman was startled from the quiet usually reigning there at broaddaylight by the appearance of two men, evidently no inhabitants of theplace. The squalid, ill-favoured denizens lounging before the doorsstared hard, and at the fuller view of one of the men, most of themretreated hastily within. Then, in those houses, you might have hearda murmur of consternation and alarm. The ferret was in the burrow,--aBow-Street officer in the court! The two men paused, looked round,and stopping before the dingy towerlike house, selected the bell whichappealed to the inmates of the ground-floor, to the left. At thatsummons Bill the cracksman imprudently presented a full view of hiscountenance through his barred window; he drew it back with astonishingcelerity, but not in time to escape the eye of the Bow-Street runner.
"Open the door, Bill,--there's nothing to fear; I have no summonsagainst you, 'pon honour. You know I never deceive. Why should I? Openthe door, I say."
No answer.
The officer tapped with his cane at the foul window.
"Bill, there's a gentleman who comes to you for information, and he willpay for it handsomely."
Bill again appeared at the casement, and peeped forth very cautiouslythrough the bars.
"Bless my vitals, Mr. R----, and it is you, is it? What were you sayingabout paying handsomely?"
"That your evidence is wanted,--not against a pal, man. It will hurt noone, and put at least five guineas in your pocket."
"Ten guineas," said the Bow-Street officer's companion. "You be's a manof honour, Mr. R----!" said Bill, emphatically; "and I scorns to doubtyou, so here goes."
With that he withdrew from the window, and in another minute or so thedoor was opened, and Bill, with a superb bow, asked his visitors intohis room.
In the interval, leisure had been given to the cracksman to remove alltrace of the wonted educational employment of his hopeful children. Theurchins were seated on the floor playing at push-pin; and the Bow-Streetofficer benignly patted a pair of curly heads as he passed them, drewa chair to the table, and wiping his forehead, sat down, quite at home.Bill then deliberately seated himself, and unbuttoning his waistcoat,permitted the butt-ends of a brace of pistols to be seen by his guests.Mr. R----'s companion seemed very unmoved by this significant action.He bent one inquiring, steady look on the cracksman, which, as Billafterwards said, went through him "like a gimlet through a penny," andtaking out a purse, through the network of which the sovereigns gleamedpleasantly, placed it on the table and said,--
"This purse is yours if you will tell me what has become of a womannamed Joplin, with whom you left the village of ----, in Lancashire, inthe year 18--."
"And," put in Mr. R----, "the gentleman wants to know, with no view ofharming the woman. It will be to her own advantage to inform us whereshe is."
"'Pon honour again?" said Bill.
"'Pon honour!"
"Well, then, I has a heart in my buzzom, and if so be I can do a goodturn to the 'oman wot I has loved and kep' company with, why not?"
"Why not, indeed?" said Mr. R----. "And as we want to learn, not onlywhat has become of Mrs. Joplin, but what she did with the child shecarried off from ----, begin at the beginning and tell us all you know."
Bill mused. "How much is there in the pus?"
"Eighteen sovereigns."
"Make it twenty--you nod--twenty then? A bargain! Now I'll go on rightahead. You see as how, some months arter we--that is, Peggy Joplin andself--left ----, I was put in quod in Lancaster jail; so I lost sight ofthe blowen. When I got out and came to Lunnun, it was a matter of sevenyear afore, all of a sudding, I came bang up agin her,--at the cornerof Common Garden. 'Why, Bill!' says she. 'Why, Peggy!' says I; and webussed each other like winky. 'Shall us come together agin?' says she.'Why, no,' says I; 'I has a wife wots a good 'un, and gets her bread bysetting up as a widder with seven small childern. By the by, Peg, what'sa come of your brat?' for as you says, sir, Peg had a child put out toher to nurse. Lor', how she cuffed it! 'The brat!' says she, laughinglike mad, 'oh, I got rid o' that when you were in jail, Bill.' 'As how?'says I. 'Why, there was a woman begging agin St. Poll's churchyard; so Ipurtended to see a friend at a distance: "'Old the babby a moment," saysI, puffing and panting, "while I ketches my friend yonder." So she 'oldsthe brat, and I never sees it agin; and there's an ind of the bother!''But won't they ever ax for the child,--them as giv' it you?' 'Oh, no,'says Peg, 'they left it too long for that, and all the tin was agone;and one mouth is hard enough to feed in these days,--let by other folks'bantlings.' 'Well,' says I, 'where do you hang out? I'll pop in, ina friendly way.' So she tells me,--som'ere in Lambeth,--I forgetshexactly; and many's the good piece of work we ha' done togither."
"And where is she now?" asked Mr. R----'s companion.
"I doesn't know purcisely, but I can com' at her. You see, when my poorwife died, four year com' Chris'mas, and left me with as fine a famuly,though I says it, as h-old King Georgy himself walked afore, with hisgold-'eaded cane, on the terris at Vindsor,--all heights and all h-agesto the babby in arms (for the little 'un there warn't above a year old,and had been a brought up upon spoon-meat, with a dash o' blueruin tomake him slim and ginteel); as for the bigger 'uns wot you don't see,they be doin' well in forin parts, Mr. R----!"
Mr. R. smiled significantly.
Bill resumed. "Where was I? Oh, when my wife died, I wanted sum 'un totake care of the childern, so I takes Peg into the 'ous. But Lor'! howshe larrupped 'em,--she has a cruel heart, has n't she, Bob? Bob is a'cute child, Mr. R----. Just as I was a thinking of turning her out neckan' crop, a gemman what lodges aloft, wot be a laryer, and wot had justsaved my nick, Mr. R----, by proving a h-alibi, said, 'That's atidy body, your Peg!' (for you see he was often a wisiting here, an'h-indeed, sin' then, he has taken our third floor, No. 9); 'I've beena speakin' to her, and I find she has been a nuss to the sick. I hasa frind wots a h-uncle that's ill: can you spare her, Bill, to attindhim?' That I can,' says I; 'anything to obleedge.' So Peg packs off, bagand baggidge."
"And what was the sick gentleman's name?" asked Mr. R----'s companion.
"It was one Mr. Warney,--a painter, wot lived at Clap'am. Since thinI've lost sight of Peg; for we had 'igh words about the childern, andshe was a spiteful 'oman. But you can larn where she be at Mr. Warney's,if so be he's still above ground."
"And did this woman still go by the name of Joplin?"
Bill grinned: "She warn't such a spooney as that,--that name was in yourblack books too much, Mr. R----, for a 'spectable nuss for sick bodies;no, she was then called Martha Skeggs, what was her own mother's nameafore marriage. Anything more, gemman?"
"I am satisfied," said the younger visitor, rising; "there is the purse,and Mr. R---- will bring you ten sovereigns in addition. Good-day toyou."
Bill, with superabundant bows and flourishes, showed his visitors out,and then, in high glee, he began to romp with his children; and thewhole family circle was in a state of uproarious enjoyment when the doorflew open, and in entered Grabman, his brief-bag in hand, dust-soiledand unshaven.
"Aha, neighbour! your servant, your servant; just come back! Always somerry; for the life of me, I couldn't help looking in! Dear me, Bill,why, you're in luck!" and Mr. Grabman pointed to a pile of sovereignswhich Bill had emptied from the purse to count over and weigh on the tipof his forefinger.
"Yes," said Bill, sweeping the gold into his corduroy pocket; "and whodo you think brought me these shiners? Why, who but old Peggy, the 'omanwot you put out at Clapham."
"Well, never mind Peggy, now, Bill; I want to ask you what you have donewith Margaret Joplin, whom, sly seducer that you are, you carried offfrom--"
"Why, man, Peggy be Joplin, and Joplin be Peggy! And it's for that pieceof noos that I got all them pretty new picters of his Majesty Bill,--mynamesake, God bliss 'im!"
"D--n," exclaimed Grabman, aghast; "the young chap's spoiling my gameagain!" And seizing up his br
ief-bag, he darted out of the house, in thehope to arrive at least at Clapham before his competitors.