But one other day had intervened when, early in the morning as wewere going to breakfast, Mr. Woodcourt came in haste with theastounding news that a terrible murder had been committed for whichMr. George had been apprehended and was in custody. When he toldus that a large reward was offered by Sir Leicester Dedlock for themurderer's apprehension, I did not in my first consternationunderstand why; but a few more words explained to me that themurdered person was Sir Leicester's lawyer, and immediately mymother's dread of him rushed into my remembrance.
This unforeseen and violent removal of one whom she had longwatched and distrusted and who had long watched and distrusted her,one for whom she could have had few intervals of kindness, alwaysdreading in him a dangerous and secret enemy, appeared so awfulthat my first thoughts were of her. How appalling to hear of sucha death and be able to feel no pity! How dreadful to remember,perhaps, that she had sometimes even wished the old man away whowas so swiftly hurried out of life!
Such crowding reflections, increasing the distress and fear Ialways felt when the name was mentioned, made me so agitated that Icould scarcely hold my place at the table. I was quite unable tofollow the conversation until I had had a little time to recover.
But when I came to myself and saw how shocked my guardian was andfound that they were earnestly speaking of the suspected man andrecalling every favourable impression we had formed of him out ofthe good we had known of him, my interest and my fears were sostrongly aroused in his behalf that I was quite set up again.
"Guardian, you don't think it possible that he is justly accused?""My dear, I CAN'T think so. This man whom we have seen so open-hearted and compassionate, who with the might of a giant has thegentleness of a child, who looks as brave a fellow as ever livedand is so simple and quiet with it, this man justly accused of sucha crime? I can't believe it. It's not that I don't or I won't. Ican't!""And I can't," said Mr. Woodcourt. "Still, whatever we believe orknow of him, we had better not forget that some appearances areagainst him. He bore an animosity towards the deceased gentleman.
He has openly mentioned it in many places. He is said to haveexpressed himself violently towards him, and he certainly did abouthim, to my knowledge. He admits that he was alone on the scene ofthe murder within a few minutes of its commission. I sincerelybelieve him to be as innocent of any participation in it as I am,but these are all reasons for suspicion falling upon him.""True," said my guardian. And he added, turning to me, "It wouldbe doing him a very bad service, my dear, to shut our eyes to thetruth in any of these respects."I felt, of course, that we must admit, not only to ourselves but toothers, the full force of the circumstances against him. Yet Iknew withal (I could not help saying) that their weight would notinduce us to desert him in his need.
"Heaven forbid!" returned my guardian. "We will stand by him, ashe himself stood by the two poor creatures who are gone." He meantMr. Gridley and the boy, to both of whom Mr. George had givenshelter.
Mr. Woodcourt then told us that the trooper's man had been with himbefore day, after wandering about the streets all night like adistracted creature. That one of the trooper's first anxieties wasthat we should not suppose him guilty. That he had charged hismessenger to represent his perfect innocence with every solemnassurance be could send us. That Mr. Woodcourt had only quietedthe man by undertaking to come to our house very early in themorning with these representations. He added that he was now uponhis way to see the prisoner himself.
My guardian said directly he would go too. Now, besides that Iliked the retired soldier very much and that he liked me, I hadthat secret interest in what had happened which was only known tomy guardian. I felt as if it came close and near to me. It seemedto become personally important to myself that the truth should bediscovered and that no innocent people should be suspected, forsuspicion, once run wild, might run wilder.
In a word, I felt as if it were my duty and obligation to go withthem. My guardian did not seek to dissuade me, and I went.
It was a large prison with many courts and passages so like oneanother and so uniformly paved that I seemed to gain a newcomprehension, as I passed along, of the fondness that solitaryprisoners, shut up among the same staring walls from year to year,have had--as I have read--for a weed or a stray blade of grass. Inan arched room by himself, like a cellar upstairs, with walls soglaringly white that they made the massive iron window-bars andiron-bound door even more profoundly black than they were, we foundthe trooper standing in a corner. He had been sitting on a benchthere and had risen when he heard the locks and bolts turn.
When he saw us, he came forward a step with his usual heavy tread,and there stopped and made a slight bow. But as I still advanced,putting out my hand to him, he understood us in a moment.
"This is a load off my mind, I do assure you, miss and gentlemen,"said he, saluting us with great heartiness and drawing a longbreath. "And now I don't so much care how it ends."He scarcely seemed to be the prisoner. What with his coolness andhis soldierly bearing, he looked far more like the prison guard.
"This is even a rougher place than my gallery to receive a ladyin," said Mr. George, "but I know Miss Summerson will make the bestof it." As he handed me to the bench on which he had been sitting,I sat down, which seemed to give him great satisfaction.
"I thank you, miss," said he.
"Now, George," observed my guardian, "as we require no newassurances on your part, so I believe we need give you none onours.""Not at all, sir. I thank you with all my heart. If I was notinnocent of this crime, I couldn't look at you and keep my secretto myself under the condescension of the present visit. I feel thepresent visit very much. I am not one of the eloquent sort, but Ifeel it, Miss Summerson and gentlemen, deeply."He laid his hand for a moment on his broad chest and bent his beadto us. Although he squared himself again directly, he expressed agreat amount of natural emotion by these simple means.
"First," said my guardian, "can we do anything for your personalcomfort, George?""For which, sir?" he inquired, clearing his throat.
"For your personal comfort. Is there anything you want that wouldlessen the hardship of this confinement?""Well, sir," replied George, after a little cogitation, "I amequally obliged to you, but tobacco being against the rules, Ican't say that there is.""You will think of many little things perhaps, by and by.
'Whenever you do, George, let us know.""Thank you, sir. Howsoever," observed Mr. George with one of hissunburnt smiles, "a man who has been knocking about the world in avagabond kind of a way as long as I have gets on well enough in aplace like the present, so far as that goes.""Next, as to your case," observed my guardian.
"Exactly so, sir," returned Mr. George, folding his arms upon hisbreast with perfect self-possession and a little curiosity.
"How does it stand now?""Why, sir, it is under remand at present. Bucket gives me tounderstand that he will probably apply for a series of remands fromtime to time until the case is more complete. How it is to be mademore complete I don't myself see, but I dare say Bucket will manageit somehow.""Why, heaven save us, man," exclaimed my guardian, surprised intohis old oddity and vehemence, "you talk of yourself as if you weresomebody else!""No offence, sir," said Mr. George. "I am very sensible of yourkindness. But I don't see how an innocent man is to make up hismind to this kind of thing without knocking his head against thewalls unless he takes it in that point of view.
"That is true enough to a certain extent," returned my guardian,softened. "But my good fellow, even an innocent man must takeordinary precautions to defend himself.""Certainly, sir. And I have done so. I have stated to themagistrates, 'Gentlemen, I am as innocent of this charge asyourselves; what has been stated against me in the way of facts isperfectly true; I know no more about it.' I intend to continuestating that, sir. What more can I do? It's the truth.""But the mere truth won't do," rejoined my guardian.
"Won't it indeed., sir? Rather a bad look-out for me!" Mr. Georgegood-humouredly observed.
"You must have a lawyer," pursued my guardian. "We must engage agood one for you.""I ask your pardon, sir," said Mr. George with a step backward. "Iam equally obliged. But I must decidedly beg to be excused fromanything of that sort.""You won't have a lawyer?""No, sir." Mr. George shook his head in the most emphatic manner.
"I thank you all the same, sir, but--no lawyer!""Why not?""I don't take kindly to the breed," said Mr. George. "Gridleydidn't. And--if you'll excuse my saying so much--I should hardlyhave thought you did yourself, sir.""That's equity," my guardian explained, a little at a loss; "that'sequity, George.""Is it, indeed, sir?" returned the trooper in his off-hand manner.
"I am not acquainted with those shades of names myself, but in ageneral way I object to the breed."Unfolding his arms and changing his position, he stood with onemassive hand upon the table and the other on his hip, as complete apicture of a man who was not to be moved from a fixed purpose asever I saw. It was in vain that we all three talked to him andendeavoured to persuade him; he listened with that gentleness whichwent so well with his bluff bearing, but was evidently no moreshaken by our representations that his place of confinement was.
"Pray think, once more, Mr. George," said I. "Have you no wish inreference to your case?""I certainly could wish it to be tried, miss," he returned, "bycourt-martial; but that is out of the question, as I am well aware.
If you will be so good as to favour me with your attention for acouple of minutes, miss, not more, I'll endeavour to explain myselfas clearly as I can."He looked at us all three in turn, shook his head a little as if hewere adjusting it in the stock and collar of a tight uniform, andafter a moment's reflection went on.
"You see, miss, I have been handcuffed and taken into custody andbrought here. I am a marked and disgraced man, and here I am. Myshooting gallery is rummaged, high and low, by Bucket; suchproperty as I have--'tis small--is turned this way and that till itdon't know itself; and (as aforesaid) here I am! I don'tparticular complain of that. Though I am in these present quartersthrough no immediately preceding fault of mine, I can very wellunderstand that if I hadn't gone into the vagabond way in my youth,this wouldn't have happened. It HAS happened. Then comes thequestion how to meet it"He rubbed his swarthy forehead for a moment with a good-humouredlook and said apologetically, "I am such a short-winded talker thatI must think a bit." Having thought a bit, he looked up again andresumed.
"How to meet it. Now, the unfortunate deceased was himself alawyer and had a pretty tight hold of me. I don't wish to rake uphis ashes, but he had, what I should call if he was living, a devilof a tight hold of me. I don't like his trade the better for that.
If I had kept clear of his trade, I should have kept outside thisplace. But that's not what I mean. Now, suppose I had killed him.
Suppose I really had discharged into his body any one of thosepistols recently fired off that Bucket has found at my place, anddear me, might have found there any day since it has been my place.
What should I have done as soon as I was hard and fast here? Got alawyer."He stopped on hearing some one at the locks............