It was nearly an hour after midnight that Nick Gunn, kicking off his shoes, went stealthily out onto the landing. A little light came from the partly open door of the sick-room, but all else was in blackness. He moved along and peered in.
The nurse was siting in a high-backed oak chair by the fire. She had slipped down in the seat, and her untidy head hung on her bosom. A glass stood on the small oak table by her side, and a solitary candle on the high mantel-piece diffused a sickly light. Gunn entered the room, and finding that the sick man was dozing, shook him roughly.
The innkeeper opened his eyes and gazed at him blankly.
“Wake, you fool,” said Gunn, shaking him again.
The other roused and muttered something incoherently. Then he stirred slightly.
“The nurse,” he whispered.
“She’s safe enow,” said Gunn. “I’ve seen to that.”
He crossed the room lightly, and standing before the unconscious woman, inspected her closely and raised her in the chair. Her head fell limply over the arm.
“Dead?” inquired Mullet, in a fearful whisper.
“Drugged,” said Gunn, shortly. “Now speak up, and be lively.”
The innkeeper’s eyes again travelled in the direction of the nurse.
“The men,” he whispered; “the servants.”
“Dead drunk and asleep,” said Gunn, biting the words. “The last day would hardly rouse them. Now will you speak, damn you!”
“I must — take care — of Joan,” said the father.
Gunn shook his clenched hand at him.
“My money — is — is—” said the other. “Promise me on — your oath — Joan.”
“Ay, ay,” growled Gunn; “how many more times? I’ll marry her, and she shall have what I choose to give her. Speak up, you fool! It’s not for you to make terms. Where is it?”
He bent over, but Mullet, exhausted with his efforts, had closed his eyes again, and half turned his head.
“Where is it, damn you?” said Gunn, from between his teeth.
Mullet opened his eyes again, glanced fearfully round the room, and whispered. Gunn, with a stifled oath, bent his ear almost to his mouth, and the next moment his neck was in the grip of the strongest man in Riverstone, and an arm like a bar of iron over his back pinned him down across the bed.
“You dog!” hissed a fierce voice in his ear. “I’ve got you — Captain Rogers at your service, and now you may tell his name to all you can. Shout it, you spawn of hell. Shout it!”
He rose in bed, and with a sudden movement flung the other over on his back. Gunn’s eyes were starting from his head, and he writhed convulsively.
“I thought you were a sharper man, Gunn,” said Rogers, still in the same hot whisper, as he relaxed his grip a little; “you are too simple, you hound! When you first threatened me I resolved to kill you. Then you threatened my daughter. I wish that you had nine lives, that I might take them all. Keep still!”
He gave a half-glance over his shoulder at the silent figure of the nurse, and put his weight on the twisting figure on the bed.
“You drugged the hag, good Gunn,” he continued. “To-morrow morning, Gunn, they will find you in your room dead, and if one of the scum you brought into my house be charged with the murder, so much the better. When I am well they will go. I am already feeling a little bit stronger, Gunn, as you see, and in a month I hope to be about again.”
He averted his face, and for a time gazed sternly and watchfully at the door. Then he rose slowly to his feet, and taking the dead man in his arms, bore him slowly and carefully to his room, and laid him a huddled heap on the floor. Swiftly and noiselessly he put the dead man’s shoes on and turned his pockets inside out, kicked a rug out of place, and put a guinea on the floor. Then he stole cautiously down stairs and set a small door at the back open. A dog barked frantically, and he hurried back to his room. The nurse still slumbered by the fire.
She awoke in the morning shivering with the cold, and being jealous of her reputation, rekindled the fire, and measuring out the dose which the invalid should have taken, threw it away. On these unconscious preparations for an alibi Captain Rogers gazed through half-closed lids, and then turning his grim face to the wall, waited for the inevitable alarm.
A TIGER’S SKIN
The travelling sign-painter who was repainting the sign of the “Cauliflower” was enjoying a well-earned respite from his labours. On the old table under the shade of the elms mammoth sandwiches and a large slice of cheese waited in an untied handkerchief until such time as his thirst should be satisfied. At the other side of the table the oldest man in Claybury, drawing gently at a long clay pipe, turned a dim and regretful eye up at the old signboard.
“I’ve drunk my beer under it for pretty near seventy years,” he said, with a sigh. “It’s a pity it couldn’t ha’ lasted my time.”
The painter, slowly pushing a wedge of sandwich into his mouth, regarded him indulgently.
“It’s all through two young gentlemen as was passing through ‘ere a month or two ago,” continued the old man; “they told Smith, the landlord, they’d been looking all over the place for the ‘Cauliflower,’ and when Smith showed ’em the sign they said they thought it was the ‘George the Fourth,’ and a very good likeness, too.”
The painter laughed and took another look at the old sign; then, with the nervousness of the true artist, he took a look at his own. One or two shadows —
He flung his legs over the bench and took up his brushes. In ten minutes the most fervent loyalist would have looked in vain for any resemblance, and with a sigh at the pitfalls which beset the artist he returned to his interrupted meal and hailed the house for more beer.
“There’s nobody could mistake your sign for anything but a cauliflower,” said the old man; “it looks good enough to eat.”
The painter smiled and pushed his mug across the table. He was a tender-hearted man, and once — when painting the sign of the “Sir Wilfrid Lawson” — knew himself what it was to lack beer. He began to discourse on art, and spoke somewhat disparagingly of the cauliflower as a subject. With a shake of his head he spoke of the possibilities of a spotted cow or a blue lion.
“Talking of lions,” said the ancient, musingly, “I s’pose as you never ‘eard tell of the Claybury tiger? It was afore your time in these parts, I expect.”
The painter admitted his ignorance, and, finding that the allusion had no reference to an inn, pulled out his pipe and prepared to listen.
“It’s a while ago now,” said the old man, slowly, “and the circus the tiger belonged to was going through Claybury to get to Wickham, when, just as they was passing Gill’s farm, a steam-ingine they ‘ad to draw some o’ the vans broke down, and they ‘ad to stop while the blacksmith mended it. That being so, they put up a big tent and ‘ad the circus ‘ere.
“I was one o’ them as went, and I must say it was worth the money, though Henry Walker was disappointed at the man who put ‘is ‘ead in the lion’s mouth. He said that the man frightened the lion first, before ‘e did it.
“It was a great night for Claybury, and for about a week nothing else was talked of. All the children was playing at being lions and tigers and such-like, and young Roberts pretty near broke ‘is back trying to see if he could ride horseback standing up.
“It was about two weeks after the circus ‘ad gone when a strange thing ‘appened: the big tiger broke loose. Bill Chambers brought the news first, ‘aving read it in the newspaper while ‘e was ‘aving his tea. He brought out the paper and showed us, and soon after we ‘eard all sorts o’ tales of its doings.
“At first we thought the tiger was a long way off, and we was rather amused at it. Frederick Scott laughed ‘imself silly a’most up ‘ere one night thinking ‘ow surprised a man would be if ‘e come ‘ome one night and found the tiger sitting in his armchair eating the baby. It didn’t seem much of a laughing matter to me, and I said so; none of us liked it, and even Sam Jones, as ‘ad got t
wins for the second time, said ‘Shame!’ But Frederick Scott was a man as would laugh at anything.
“When we ‘eard that the tiger ‘ad been seen within three miles of Claybury things began to look serious, and Peter Gubbins said that something ought to be done, but before we could think of anything to do something ‘appened.
“We was sitting up ‘ere one evening ‘aving a mug o’ beer and a pipe — same as I might be now if I’d got any baccy left — and talking about it, when we ‘eard a shout and saw a ragged-looking tramp running toward us as ‘ard as he could run. Every now and then he’d look over ‘is shoulder and give a shout, and then run ‘arder than afore.
“‘It’s the tiger!’ ses Bill Chambers, and afore you could wink a’most he was inside the house, ‘aving first upset Smith and a pot o’ beer in the doorway.
“Before he could get up, Smith ‘ad to wait till we was all in. His langwidge was awful for a man as ‘ad a license to lose, and everybody shouting ‘Tiger!’ as they trod on ‘im didn’t ease ‘is mind. He was inside a’most as soon as the last man, though, and in a flash he ‘ad the door bolted just as the tramp flung ‘imself agin it, all out of breath and sobbing ‘is hardest to be let in.
“‘Open the door,’ he ses, banging on it.
“‘Go away,’ ses Smith.
“‘It’s the tiger,’ screams the tramp; ‘open the door.’
“‘You go away,’ ses Smith, ‘you’re attracting it to my place; run up the road and draw it off.’”
“Just at that moment John Biggs, the blacksmith, come in from the taproom, and as soon as he ‘eard wot was the matter ‘e took down Smith’s gun from behind the bar and said he was going out to look after the wimmen and children.
“‘Open the door,’ he ses.
“He was trying to get out and the tramp outside was trying to get in, but Smith held on to that door like a Briton. Then John Biggs lost ‘is temper, and he ups with the gun — Smith’s own gun, mind you — and fetches ‘im a bang over the ‘ead with it. Smith fell down at once, and afore we could ‘elp ourselves the door was open, the tramp was inside, and John Biggs was running up the road, shouting ‘is hardest.
“We ‘ad the door closed afore you could wink a’most, and then, while the tramp lay in a corner ‘aving brandy, Mrs. Smith got a bowl of water and a sponge and knelt down bathing ‘er husband’s ‘ead with it.
“‘Did you see the tiger?’ ses Bill Chambers.
“‘See it?’ ses the tramp, with a shiver. ‘Oh, Lord!’
“He made signs for more brandy, and Henery Walker, wot was acting as landlord, without being asked, gave it to ‘im.
“‘It chased me for over a mile,’ ses the tramp; ‘my ‘eart’s breaking.’
“He gave a groan and fainted right off. A terrible faint it was, too, and for some time we thought ‘ed never come round agin. First they poured brandy down ‘is throat, then gin, and then beer, and still ‘e didn’t come round, but lay quiet with ‘is eyes closed and a horrible smile on ‘is face.
“He come round at last, and with nothing stronger than water, which Mrs. Smith kept pouring into ‘is mouth. First thing we noticed was that the smile went, then ‘is eyes opened, and suddenly ‘e sat up with a shiver and gave such a dreadful scream that we thought at first the tiger was on top of us.
“Then ‘e told us ‘ow he was sitting washing ‘is shirt in a ditch, when he ‘eard a snuffling noise and saw the ‘ead of a big tiger sticking through the hedge the other side. He left ‘is shirt and ran, and ‘e said that, fortunately, the tiger stopped to tear the shirt to pieces, else ‘is last hour would ‘ave arrived.
“When ‘e ‘ad finished Smith went upstairs and looked out of the bedroom winders, but ‘e couldn’t see any signs of the tiger, and ‘e said no doubt it ‘ad gone down to the village to see wot it could pick up, or p’raps it ‘ad eaten John Biggs.
“However that might be, nobody cared to go outside to see, and after it got dark we liked going ‘ome less than ever.
“Up to ten o’clock we did very well, and then Smith began to talk about ‘is license. He said it was all rubbish being afraid to go ‘ome, and that, at any rate, the tiger couldn’t eat more than one of us, and while ‘e was doing that there was the chance for the others to get ‘ome safe. Two or three of ’em took a dislike to Smith that night and told ‘im so.
“The end of it was we all slept in the tap-room that night. It seemed strange at first, but anything was better than going ‘ome in the dark, and we all slept till about four next morning, when we woke up and found the tramp ‘ad gone and left the front door standing wide open.
“We took a careful look-out, and by-and-by first one started off and then another to see whether their wives and children ‘ad been eaten or not. Not a soul ‘ad been touched, but the wimmen and children was that scared there was no doing anything with ’em. None o’ the children would go to school, and they sat at ‘ome all day with the front winder blocked up with a mattress to keep the tiger out.
“Nobody liked going to work, but it ‘ad to be done and as Farmer Gill said that tigers went to sleep all day and only came out toward evening we was a bit comforted. Not a soul went up to the ‘Cauliflower’ that evening for fear of coming ‘ome in the dark, but as nothing ‘appened that night we began to ‘ope as the tiger ‘ad travelled further on.
“Bob Pretty laughed at the whole thing and said ‘e didn’t believe there was a tiger; but nobody minded wot ‘e said, Bob Pretty being, as I’ve often told people, the black sheep o’ Claybury, wot with poaching and, wot was worse, ‘is artfulness.
“But the very next morning something ‘appened that made Bob Pretty look silly and wish ‘e ‘adn’t talked quite so fast; for at five o’clock Frederick Scott, going down to feed ‘is hins, found as the tiger ‘ad been there afore ‘im and ‘ad eaten no less than seven of ’em. The side of the hin-’ouse was all broke in, there was a few feathers lying on the ground, and two little chicks smashed and dead beside ’em.
“The way Frederick Scott went on about it you’d ‘ardly believe. He said that Govinment ‘ud ‘ave to make it up to ‘im, and instead o’ going to work ‘e put the two little chicks and the feathers into a pudding basin and walked to Cudford, four miles off, where they ‘ad a policeman.
“He saw the policeman, William White by name, standing at the back door of the ‘Fox and Hounds’ public house, throwing a ‘andful o’ corn to the landlord’s fowls, and the first thing Mr. White ses was, ‘it’s off my beat,’ he ses.
“‘But you might do it in your spare time, Mr. White,’ ses Frederick Scott. It’s very likely that the tiger’ll come back to my hin ‘ouse for the rest of ’em, and he’d be very surprised if ‘e popped ‘is ‘ead in and see you there waiting for ‘im.’
“He’d ‘ave reason to be,’ ses Policeman White, staring at ‘im.
“‘Think of the praise you’d get,’ said Frederick Scott, coaxing like.
“‘Look ‘ere,’ ses Policeman White, ‘if you don’t take yourself and that pudding basin off pretty quick, you’ll come along o’ me, d’ye see? You’ve been drinking and you’re in a excited state.’
“He gave Frederick Scott a push and follered ‘im along the road, and every time Frederick stopped to ask ‘im wot ‘e was doing of ‘e gave ‘im another push to show ‘im.
“Frederick Scott told us all about it that evening, and some of the bravest of us went up to the ‘Cauliflower’ to talk over wot was to be done, though we took care to get ‘ome while it was quite light. That night Peter Gubbins’s two pigs went. They were two o’ the likeliest pigs I ever seed, and all Peter Gubbins could do was to sit up in bed shivering and listening to their squeals as the tiger dragged ’em off. Pretty near all Claybury was round that sty next morning looking at the broken fence. Some of them looked for the tiger’s footmarks, but it was dry weather and they couldn’t see any. Nobody knew whose turn it would be next, and the most sensible man there, Sam Jones, went straight off ‘ome and killed his pig a
fore ‘e went to work.
“Nobody knew what to do; Farmer Hall said as it was a soldier’s job, and ‘e drove over to Wickham to tell the police so, but nothing came of it, and that night at ten minutes to twelve Bill Chambers’s pig went. It was one o’ the biggest pigs ever raised in Claybury, but the tiger got it off as easy as possible. Bill ‘ad the bravery to look out of the winder when ‘e ‘eard the pig squeal, but there was such a awful snarling noise that ‘e daresn’t move ‘and or foot.
“Dicky Weed’s idea was for people with pigs and such-like to keep ’em in the house of a night, but Peter Gubbins and Bill Chambers both pointed out that the tiger could break a back door with one blow of ‘is paw, and that if ‘e got inside he might take something else instead o’ pig. And they said that it was no worse for other people to lose pigs than wot it was for them.
“The odd thing about it was that all this time nobody ‘ad ever seen the tiger except the tramp and people sent their children back to school agin and felt safe going about in the daytime till little Charlie Gubbins came running ‘ome crying and saying that ‘e’d seen it. Next morning a lot more children see it and was afraid to go to school, and people began to wonder wot ‘ud happen when all the pigs and poultry was eaten.
“Then Henery Walker see it. We was sitting inside ‘ere with scythes, and pitchforks, and such-like things handy, when we see ‘im come in without ‘is hat. His eyes were staring and ‘is hair was all rumpled. He called for a pot o’ ale and drank it nearly off, and then ‘e sat gasping and ‘olding the mug between ‘is legs and shaking ‘is ‘ead at the floor till everybody ‘ad left off talking to look at ‘im.
“‘Wot’s the matter, Henery?’ ses one of ’em.
Works of W. W. Jacobs Page 172