CHAPTER TWENTY.
A NEST "HARRIED."
Having thus seen one criminal disposed of, Mr Sharp returned to hisoffice to take measures for the arrest of a few more of the same class.
Since we last met with our superintendent, he had not led an idle lifeby any means. A brief reference to some of his recent doings will be anappropriate introduction to the little entertainment which he hadprovided for himself and his men on that particular evening.
One day he had been informed that wine and spirits had been disappearingunaccountably at a particular station. He visited the place with one ofhis men, spent the night under a tarpaulin in a goods-shed, and foundthat one of the plate-layers was in the habit of drawing off spiritswith a syphon. The guilty man was handed over to justice, and honestmen, who had felt uneasy lest they should be suspected, were relieved.
On another occasion he was sent to investigate a claim made by a man whowas in the accident at Langrye Station. This man, who was anauctioneer, had not been hurt at all--only a little skin taken off hisnose,--but our fop with the check trousers advised him to make a job ofit, and said that he himself and his friend had intended to make aclaim, only they had another and more important game in hand, whichrendered it advisable for them to keep quiet. This was just before theattack made on Mr Lee in the train between Clatterby and London. Theauctioneer had not thought of such a way of raising money, but jumpedreadily at the idea; went to Glasgow and Dundee, where he consulteddoctors--showed them his broken nose, coughed harshly in their ears,complained of nervous affections, pains in the back, loins, and head,and, pricking his gums slightly, spit blood for their edification; spokeof internal injuries, and shook his head lugubriously. Doctors, unlikelawyers, are not constantly on the watch for impostors. The man'speeled and swelled nose was an obvious fact; his other ailments might,or might not, be serious, so they prescribed, condoled with him, chargedhim nothing, and dismissed him with a hope of speedy cure. Thereafterthe auctioneer went down the Clyde to recruit his injured health, anddid a little in the way of business, just to keep up his spirits, poorfellow! After that he visited Aberdeen for similar purposes, and thensent in a claim of 150 pounds damages against the Grand National TrunkRailway.
Mr Sharp's first proceeding was to visit the doctors to whom theauctioneer had applied, then he visited the various watering-placeswhither the man had gone to recruit and ascertained every particularregarding his proceedings. Finally, he went to the north of Scotland tosee the interesting invalid himself. He saw and heard him, first, in anauction-room, where he went through a hard day's work even for a healthyman; then he visited him in his hotel and found him, the picture ofruddy health, drinking whisky punch. On stating that he was an agent ofthe railway company, and had called to have some conversation regardinghis claim, some of the auctioneer's ruddy colour fled, but being a boldman, he assumed a candid air and willingly answered all questions;admitted that he was better, but said that he had lost much time; hadfor a long period been unable to attend to his professional duties, andstill suffered much from internal injuries. Mr Sharp expressedsympathy with him; said that the case, as he put it, was indeed a hardone, and begged of him to put his statement of it down on paper. Theauctioneer complied, and thought Mr Sharp a rather benignant railwayofficial. When he had signed his name to the paper, his visitor took itup and said, "Now, Mr Blank, this is all lies from beginning to end. Ihave traced your history step by step, down to the present time, visitedall the places you have been to, conversed with the waiters of thehotels where you put up, have heard you to-day go through as good aday's work as any strong man could desire to do, and have seen youfinish up, with a stiff glass of whisky toddy, which I am very sorry tohave interrupted. Now, sir, this is very like an effort to obtain moneyunder false pretences, and, if you don't know what that leads to, youare in a very fair way to find out. The Company which I have the honourto represent, however, is generous. We know that you were in theLangrye accident, for I saw you there, and in consideration of theinjury to your nerves and the damage to your proboscis, we are willingto give you a five-pound note as a sort of sticking-plaster at once toyour nose and your feelings. If you accept that, good; if not you shalltake the consequences of _this_!" The superintendent here held up thewritten statement playfully, and placed it in his pocket-book. Theauctioneer was a wise, if not an honest, man. He thankfully acceptedthe five pounds, and invited Mr Sharp to join him in a tumbler, which,however, the superintendent politely declined.
But this was a small matter compared with another case which Mr Sharphad just been engaged investigating. It was as follows:--
One afternoon a slight accident occurred on the line by which severalpassengers received trifling injuries. At the time only two people madeclaim for compensation, one for a few shillings, the other for a fewpounds. These cases were at once investigated and settled, and it wasthought that there the matter ended. Six months afterwards, however,the company received a letter from the solicitors of a gentleman whosehat it was said, had been driven down on the bridge of his nose, and hadabraded the skin; the slight wound had turned into an ulcer, whichultimately assumed the form of permanent cancer. In consequence of thisthe gentleman had consulted one doctor in Paris and another in Rome, andhad been obliged to undergo an operation--for all of which he claimedcompensation to the extent of 5000 pounds. The company being quiteunable to tell whether this gentleman was in the accident referred to ornot, an investigation was set on foot, in which Mr Sharp bore his part.At great expense official persons were sent to Paris and to Rome to seethe doctors said to have been consulted, and in the end--nearly twoyears after the accident--the Company was found liable for the 5000pounds!
While we are on this subject of compensation, it may not beuninteresting to relate a few curious cases, which will give some ideaof the manner in which railway companies are squeezed for damages--sometimes unjustly, and too often fraudulently. On one occasion, a manwho said he had been in an accident on one of our large railways,claimed 1000 pounds. In this case the company was fortunately able toprove a conspiracy to defraud, and thus escaped; but in many instancesthe companies are defeated in fraudulent claims, and there is noredress. The feelings of the juries who try the cases are worked on;patients are brought into Court exhibiting every symptom of hopelessmalady, but these same patients not unfrequently possess quitemiraculous powers of swift recovery, from what had been styled"incurable damage." One man received 6000 pounds on the suppositionthat he had been permanently disabled, and within a short period he wasattending to his business as well as ever. A youth with a salary of 60pounds a year claimed and got 1200 pounds on the ground of incurableinjury--in other words he was pensioned for life to the extent of 60pounds a year--and, a year afterwards, it was ascertained that he was"dancing at balls," and had joined his father in business as if therewas nothing the matter with him.
A barmaid who, it was said, received "injuries to the spine of apermanent character," was paid a sum of 1000 pounds as--we were about towrite--compensation, but _consolation_ would be the more appropriateterm, seeing that she had little or nothing to be compensated for, asshe was found capable of "dancing at the Licensed Victuallers' Ball"soon after the accident and eventually she married! To oblige railwaysto compensate for loss of time, or property, or health, _to a limitedextent_, seems reasonable, but to compel them to pension off people whohave suffered little or nothing, with snug little annuities of 50 poundsor 60 pounds, does really seem to be a little too hard; at least so itappears to be in the eyes of one who happens to have no interestwhatever in railways, save that general interest in their immense valueto the land, and their inestimable comforts in the matter of locomotion.
The whole subject of compensation stands at present on a false footing.For the comfort of those who wish well to railways, and love justice, wemay add in conclusion, that proposals as to modifications have alreadybeen mooted and brought before Government, so that in all probability,ere long, impostors will
receive a snubbing, and shareholders willreceive increased dividends!
But let us return to Mr Sharp. Having, as we have said, gone to hisoffice, he found his faithful servant Blunt there.
"Why, Blunt," he said, sitting down at the table and tearing open a fewletters that awaited him, "what a good-looking _porter_ you make!"
"So my wife says, sir," replied Blunt with a perfectly grave face, butwith a twinkle in his eye.
"She must be a discriminating woman, Blunt. Well, what news have youto-night? You seemed to think you had found out the thieves at GortonStation the last time we met."
"So I have, sir, and there are more implicated than we had expected.The place is a perfect nest of them."
"Not an uncommon state of things," observed Mr Sharp, "for it iswell-known that one black sheep spoils a flock. We must weed them allout, Blunt, and get our garden into as tidy a condition as possible; itis beginning to do us credit already, but that Gorton Station hasremained too long in a bad state; we must harrow it up a little. Well,let's hear what you have found out. They never suspected you, Isuppose?"
"Never had the least suspicion," replied Blunt with a slight approach toa smile. "I've lived with 'em, now, for a considerable time, and thegeneral opinion of 'em about me is that I'm a decent enough fellow, buttoo slow and stupid to be trusted, so they have not, up to this time,thought me worthy of being made a confidant. However, that didn'tmatter much, 'cause I managed to get round one o' their wives at last,and she let out the whole affair--in strict confidence, of course, andas a dead secret!
"In fact I have just come from a long and interesting conversation withher. She told me that all the men at the station, with one or twoexceptions, were engaged in it, and showed me two of the missing balesof cloth--the cloth, you remember, sir, of which there was such a largequantity stolen four weeks ago, and for which the company has had topay. I find that the chief signalman, Davis, is as bad as the rest. Itwas his wife that gave me the information in a moment ofover-confidence."
"Indeed!" exclaimed Sharp, in some surprise; "and what of Sam Natly andGarvie?"
"They're both of 'em innocent, sir," said Blunt. "I did suspect 'em atone time, but I have seen and heard enough to convince me that they haveno hand in the business. Natly has been goin' about the station a gooddeal of late, because the wife of one of the men is a friend of hiswife, and used to go up to nurse her sometimes when she was ill. As toGarvie, of course he knows as well as everybody else that some of themen there must be thieves, else goods would not disappear from thatstation as they do, but _his_ frequent visits there are for the purposeof reclaiming Davis, who, it seems, is an old playmate of his."
"Reclaiming Davis!" exclaimed Sharp.
"Yes, an' it's my opinion that it'll take a cleverer fellow than him toreclaim Davis, for he's one of the worst of the lot; but Garvie is realearnest. I chanced to get behind a hedge one day when they weretogether, and overheard 'em talkin' about these robberies and othermatters, and you would have thought, sir, that the fireman was a regulardivine. He could quote Scripture quite in a stunnin' way, sir; an'_did_ seem badly cut up when his friend told him that it was of no usetalkin', for it was too late for _him_ to mend."
"Has Garvie, then, been aware all this time that Davis is one of thethieves, and kept it secret?" asked Sharp.
"No, sir," replied Blunt. "Davis denied that he had any hand in therobberies when Garvie asked him. It was about drink that he waspleadin' with him so hard. You know we have suspected him of that too,of late; but from what I heard he must be a regular toper. Garvie wastryin' to persuade him to become a total abstainer. Says he to him,`You know, Davis, that whatever may be true as to the general questionof abstaining from strong drink, _your_ only chance of bein' deliveredlies in total abstinence, because the thing has become a _disease_. Iknow and believe that Christianity would save you from the power ofdrink, but, depend upon it, that it would do so in the way of inducin'you of your own free will to "touch not, taste not, handle not, thatwhich" _you_ "will perish by the using."' Seems to me as if there wassomething in that, sir?" said Blunt, inquiringly.
Sharp nodded assent.
"Then Garvie does not suspect him of being connected with therobberies?" he asked.
"No," replied Blunt; "but he's a deep file is Davis, and could throw asharper man than Garvie off the scent."
After a little further conversation on the subject Mr Sharp dismissedthe pretended porter to his station, and called upon the superintendentof the police force of Clatterby, from whom he received an addition tohis force of men.
That night he led his men to Gorton station, and when he thought asuitable hour had arrived, he caused them to surround the block ofbuildings in which the men of the station resided. Then, placing Bluntand two or three men in front of Davis's house, he went up to the dooralone and knocked.
Mrs Davis opened it. She gave the least possible start on observing bythe light of her lobby lamp who her visitor was--for she knew him well.Mr Sharp took note of the start!
"Good-evening, Mrs Davis," he said.
"Good-evening, sir; this is an unexpected pleasure, Mr Sharp."
"Most of my visits are unexpected, Mrs Davis, but it is only my friendswho count them a pleasure. Is your husband within?"
"He is, sir; pray, walk this way; I'm sure he will be delighted to seeyou. Can you stay to supper with us? we are just going to have it."
"No, thank you, Mrs Davis, I'm out on duty to-night," said Sharp,entering the parlour, where Davis was engaged in reading the newspaper."Good-evening, Mr Davis."
Davis rose with a start. Mr Sharp took note of that also.
"Good-evening, Mr Sharp," he said; "sit down, sir; sit down."
"Thank you, I can't sit down. I'm on duty just now. The fact is, MrDavis, that I am come to make a search among your men, for we haveobtained reliable information as to who are the thieves at this station.As, no doubt, _some_ of the men are honest, and might feel hurt athaving their houses searched, I have thought that the best way toprevent any unpleasant feeling is to begin at the top of the free and godownwards. They can't say that I have made fish of one and flesh ofanother, if I begin, as a mere matter of form, Mr Davis, withyourself."
"Oh, certainly--certainly, Mr Sharp, by all means," replied Davis.
He spoke with an air of candour, but it was quite evident that he wasill at ease.
Calling in one of his men, Mr Sharp began a rigorous search of thehouse forthwith. Mr Davis suggested that he would go out and see thatthe men were in their residences; but Mr Sharp said that there was nooccasion for that, and that he would be obliged by his remaining andassisting in the search of his own house.
Every hole and corner of the ground-floor was examined without anydiscovery being made. Mrs Davis, observing that her visitors wereparticular in collecting every shred of cloth that came in their way,suddenly asked if it was cloth they were in search of. Mr Sharpthought the question and the tone in which it was put told of a guiltyconscience, but he replied that he was in search of many things--clothincluded.
Immediately after, and while they were busy with a dark closet, MrsDavis slipped quietly out of the room. Mr Sharp was stooping at thetime with his back towards her, but the two back buttons of his coatmust have been eyes, for he observed the movement and at once followedher, having previously ordered Mr Davis to move a heavy chest ofdrawers, in order to keep him employed. Taking off his shoes he wentup-stairs rapidly, and seeing an open door, peeped in.
There he saw a sight that would have surprised any man except asuperintendent of police. Mrs Davis was engaged in throwing bales ofcloth over the window with the energy of a coal-heaver and the haste ofone whose house is on fire! The poor woman was not robust, yet the easyway in which she handled those bales was quite marvellous.
Being a cool and patient man, Sharp allowed her to toss over five balesbefore interrupting her. When she was moving across the room with thesixth and last he entered. She stopped, turne
d pale, and dropped thebale of cloth.
"You seem to be very busy to-night Mrs Davis" he observed, inquiringly;"can I assist you?"
"Oh, Mr Sharp!" exclaimed Mrs Davis, covering her face with her hands.
She could say no more.
Mr Sharp took her gently by the arm and led her down-stairs. Theyreached the room below just in time to see Blunt enter, holding theejected bales with both arms to his bosom. Blunt had happened to takehis stand just underneath the window of Mrs Davis's bedroom, and whenthat energetic woman tossed the bales out she pitched them straight intoBlunt's willing arms. The accommodating man waited until he hadreceived all that appeared likely to be delivered to him, and then witha quiet chuckle bore them, as we have seen, into Davis's parlour.
"This is a bad business, Davis," said Sharp, as he slipped a pair ofmanacles on his prisoner.
Davis made no reply. He was very pale, but looked defiant. Mrs Davissat down on a chair and sobbed.
Leaving them in charge of Blunt, Mr Sharp then paid a visit to all themen of the place, and ere long succeeded in capturing all who had beenengaged in the recent robberies, with the various proofs of theirguilt--in the shape of cloth, loaves of sugar, fruit, boxes of tea,etcetera, in their apartments.
It had cost Mr Sharp and his men many weary hours of waiting andinvestigation, but their perseverance was at length well rewarded, forthe "nest" was thoroughly "harried;" the men were dismissed andvariously punished, and that portion of the Grand National Trunk Railwaywas, for the time, most effectually purified.