The Iron Horse, Robert Michael Ballantyne [good ebook reader .TXT] 📗

act!

At last Mr Sharp's entertaining reflections were interrupted by the approach of the driver of the engine, who carried a top-coat over his left arm.

As he drew near and observed who stood upon his engine, the man gave an involuntary and scarcely perceptible start.

There must have been something peculiarly savage and ungenerous in the breast of Mr Sharp, one would have thought, to induce him to suspect a man whose character was blameless. But he did suspect that man on the faith of that almost imperceptible touch of discomposure, and his suspicion did not dissipate although the man came boldly and respectfully forward.

"Ho-ho!" thought Mr Sharp, "there is more chaff here to be winnowed than I had bargained for." His only remark, however, was--

"Good-evening; I suppose you start for the station in a few minutes?"

"Yes, sir," said the man, moving towards the rear of the tender.

"You'd better get up at once, then," said Mr Sharp, descending quickly--"what have you got there, my good man?"

"My top-coat sir," said the driver, with a confused look.

"Ah, let us see--eh! what's all this? A salmon! a brace of grouse! and a pair of rabbits! Well, you seem to have provided a good supper for to-night. There don't appear to be very stringent game-laws where you come from!"

The man was so taken aback that he could not reply. As the fireman came out of the neighbouring goods-shed at that moment, Mr Sharp ordered the driver to mount to his place, and then waiting beside the engine received the fireman with an amiable "Good-night."

This man also had a top-coat over his arm, betrayed the same uneasiness on observing Mr Sharp, went though precisely the same examination, and was found to have made an identically similar provision for his supper.

Almost immediately after him the guard issued from the shed, also burdened with a top-coat! Mr Sharp muttered something about, "birds of a feather," and was about to advance to meet the guard when that individual's eyes fell on him. He turned back at once, not in a hurry, but quietly as though he had forgotten something. The superintendent sprang through the open door, but was too late. The guard had managed to drop his booty. Thereupon Mr Sharp returned to the engine, ordered the steam to be turned on, and the driver drove himself and his friends to the station and to condign punishment.

Having disposed of this little incidental case, Mr Sharp--after hearing and commenting upon several matters related to him by the members of his corps, and having ordered David Blunt to await him in the office as he had a job for him that night,--returned towards the locality which he had so recently quitted. In doing this he took advantage of another goods train, from which he dropped at a certain hole-and-corner spot, while it was slowly passing the goods-shed before mentioned. From this spot he took an observation and saw the pipe of Jim, the night-watchman, glowing in the dark distance like a star of the first magnitude.

"Ha!" thought Mr Sharp, "smoking! You'll have to clear your eyes of smoke if you hope to catch thieves to-night, my fine fellow; but I shall try to render you some able assistance."

So thinking, he moved quietly about among the vans and trucks, stooping and climbing as occasion required, and doing it all so noiselessly that, had the night permitted him to be visible at all, he might have been mistaken for a stout shadow or a ghost. He went about somewhat like a retriever snuffing the air for game. At last he reached a truck, not very far from the place where Jim paced slowly to and fro, watching, no doubt, for thieves. Little did he think how near he was to a thief at that moment!

The truck beside which Mr Sharp stood sent forth a delicious odour of American apples. The superintendent of police smelt them. Worse than that--he undid a corner of the thick covering of the track, raised it and smelt again--he put in a hand. Evidently his powers of resistance to temptation were small, for both hands went in--he stooped his head, and then, slowly but surely, his whole body went in under the cover and disappeared. Infatuated superintendent! While he lay there gorging himself, no doubt with the dainty fruit, _honest_ Jim paced slowly to and fro until, a very dark and quiet hour of the night having arrived, he deemed it time to act, put out his pipe, and moved with stealthy tread towards the apple-truck. There were no thieves about as far as he could see. He was placed there for the express purpose of catching thieves. Ridiculous waste of time and energy--he would _make_ a thief! He would become one; he would detect and catch himself; repay himself with apples for his trouble, and enjoy himself consumedly! Noble idea! No sooner thought than carried into effect. He drew out a large clasp-knife, which opened and locked with a click, and cut a tremendous slash about two feet long in the cover of the truck--passing, in so doing, within an inch of the demoralised superintendent's nose. Thieves, you see, are not particular, unless, indeed, we may regard them as particularly indifferent to the injuries they inflict on their fellow-men--but, what did we say? their fellow-men?--a railway is not a fellow-man. Surely Jim's sin in robbing a railway must be regarded as a venial one. _Honest_ men do that every day and appear to think nothing of it! Nobody appears to think anything of it. A railway would seem to be the one great unpardonable outlaw of the land, which does good to nobody, and is deemed fair game by everybody who can catch it--napping. But it is not easily caught napping. Neither was Mr Superintendent Sharp.

Jim's hand came through the hole in the covering and entered some sort of receptacle, which must have been broken open by somebody, for the hand was quickly withdrawn with three apples in it. Again it entered. Mr Sharp might have kissed it easily, but he was a man of considerable self-restraint--at least when others were concerned. He thought it advisable that there should be some of the stolen goods found in Jim's pockets! He did not touch the hand, therefore, while it was drawn back with other three apples in it. You see it was a large hand, and could hold three at a time. A third time it entered and grasped more of the forbidden fruit.

"There's luck in odd numbers," thought Mr Sharp, as he seized the wrist with both of his iron hands, and held it fast.

The appalling yell which Jim uttered was due more to superstitious dread than physical fear, for, on discovering that the voice which accompanied the grip was that of Mr Sharp, he struggled powerfully to get free. After the first violent effort was over, Mr Sharp suddenly slid one hand along Jim's arm, caught him by the collar, and, launching himself through the hole which had been cut so conveniently large, plunged into Jim's bosom and crushed him to the earth.

This was quite sufficient for Jim, who got up meekly when permitted, and pleaded for mercy. Mr Sharp told him that mercy was a commodity in which he did not deal, that it was the special perquisite of judges, from whom he might steal it if they would not give or sell it to him, and, bidding him come along quietly, led him to the station, and locked him up for the night.

Not satisfied with what he had already accomplished, Mr Sharp then returned to his office, where he found the faithful Blunt awaiting him, to whom he related briefly what he had done.

"Now," said he, in conclusion, "if we can only manage to clear up that case of the beer-cask, we shall have done a good stroke of business to-day. Have you found out anything in regard to it?"

The case to which Mr Sharp referred was that of a cask of beer which had been stolen from the line at a station not three miles distant from Clatterby.

"Yes, sir," said David Blunt with a satisfied smile, "I have found out enough to lead to the detection of the thief."

"Indeed, who d'ye think it is?"

"One of the men at the station, sir. There have been two about it but the other is a stranger. You see, sir," continued Blunt, with an earnest look, and in a business tone of voice, "when you sent me down to investigate the case I went d'rect to the station-master there and heard all he had to say about it--which wasn't much;--then off I goes to where the truck was standin', from which the cask had bin taken and pottered about there for some time. At last I tried on the Red Indian dodge-- followed up tracks and signs, till at last I came upon a mark as if somethin' had bin rolled along the bank, and soon traced it to a gap broken through a hedge into a field. I followed it up in the field, and in a short time came on the cask itself. Of course I made a careful examination of the locality, and found very distinct foot-prints, particularly one of 'em on a piece of clay as sharp as if it had been struck in wax. While thus engaged I found a shoe--"

"Ha!" exclaimed Mr Sharp.

"And here it is," said Blunt taking the shoe from under his chair and laying it on the table.

The superintendent took it up, examined it and then replaced it on the table with a nod, saying, "Proceed."

"Well, sir, of course I looked well for the other shoe, but didn't find it; so I came away with what I had got, takin' care to place a lump of a stone over the foot-print in the clay, so as to guard but not touch it,--for it wasn't the print of _this_ shoe, sir, though somewhat like it."

"Ha!" exclaimed Mr Sharp again.

After revolving the matter in his mind for some minutes, and consulting with his satellite, Mr Sharp resolved to go down at once to the place and watch the beer-cask.

"It is not very late yet," he said, "and these thirsty boys will be sure to want a drop of beer to their supper to-night. What makes you so sure that Bill Jones is the thief?"

"Because," answered Blunt, "I observed that he was the only man at the station that had on a pair of new shoes!"

"Well, come along," said Sharp, smiling grimly, "we shall find out before long."

They soon reached the scene of the robbery, and were able to examine the place by the light of the moon, which had just managed to pierce the thick veil of clouds that had covered it during the earlier part of that night. Then they retired to a shady cavern, or hole, or hollow at the foot of the embankment, near to the gap in the hedge, and there they prepared to pass the night, with a heap of mingled clods and stones for their couch, and an overhanging bank of nettles for their canopy.

It was a long weary watch that began. There these patient men sat, hour after hour, gazing at the moon