London on purpose. I couldn’t come before,” he added meaningly, “but now I want to have a talk with you.”
“Stephen Crellock! Why, you are changed.”
“Yes, as aforesaid.”
“Well, sir. What is it you want with me?” said the manager coldly.
“What do I want with you, eh? Oh, come, that’s rich! You’re a lucky one, you are. I go to prison, and you get made manager down here. Ah! you see I know all about it.”
“I do not understand you, sir.”
“Then I’ll tell you, my fine fellow. Some men never get found out, some do; that’s the difference between us two. I’ve gone to the wall – inside it,” he added, with a sickly grin. “You’ve got to be quite the gentleman. But they’ll find you out some day.”
“Well, sir, what is this to lead up to?” said Hallam.
“Oh, I say though, Rob Hallam, this is too rich. Manager here, and going, they say, to marry the prettiest girl in the place.” Hallam started in spite of his self-command. “And I suppose I shall be asked to the wedding, shan’t I?”
“Will you be so good as to explain what is the object of this visit?” said Hallam coldly.
“Why, can’t you see? I’ve come to the bank because I want some money. There, you need not look like that, my lad. It’s my turn now, and you’ve got to put things a bit straight for me after what I suffered sooner than speak.”
“Do you mean you have come here to insult me and make me send for a constable?” cried Hallam.
“Yes, if you like,” said the young man, leaning forward, and gazing full in the manager’s face; “send for one if you like. But you don’t like, Robert Hallam. There, I’m a man of few words. I’ve suffered a deal just through being true to my mate, and now you’ve got to make it up to me.”
“You scoun – ”
“Sh! That’ll do. Just please yourself, my fine fellow; only, if you don’t play fair towards the man who let things go against him without a word, I shall just go round the town and say – ”
“Silence, you scoundrel!” cried Hallam fiercely; and he caught his unpleasant visitor by the arm.
Just then James Thickens entered, as quietly as a shadow, taking everything in at a glance, but without evincing any surprise.
“Think yourself lucky, sir,” continued Hallam aloud, “that I do not have you locked up. Mr Thickens, see this man off the premises.”
Then, in a whisper that his visitor alone could hear, and with a meaning look:
“Be quiet and go. Come to my rooms to-night.”
Volume One – Chapter Four.
Drawing a Dog’s Teeth
“I think that’s all, Mr Hallam, sir,” said Mrs Pinet, looking plump, smiling, and contented, as she ran her eyes over the tea-table in the bank manager’s comfortably-furnished room – “tea-pot, cream, salt, pepper, butter, bread,” – she ran on below her breath in rapid enumeration, “why, bless my heart, I didn’t bring the sauce!”
“Yes, that’s all, Mrs Pinet,” said the manager in his gravely-polite manner.
“But, begging your pardon, it is not, sir; I forgot the sauce.”
“Oh! never mind that to-night.”
“If you’ll excuse me, sir, I would rather,” said plump, pleasant-faced Mrs Pinet, who supplemented a small income by letting apartments; and before she could be checked she hurried out, to return at the end of a few minutes, bearing a small round bottle.
“And King of Oude,” said the little woman. “Shall I take the cover, sir?”
“If you please, Mrs Pinet?”
“Which it’s a pleasure to wait upon such a thorough gentleman,” said Mrs Pinet to herself as she trotted back to her own region, leaving Hallam gazing down at the homely, pleasant meal.
He threw himself into a chair, poured out a cup of the tea, cooled it by the addition of some water from a bottle on a stand, and drank it hastily. Then, sitting back, he seemed to be thinking deeply, and finally drew up to the table, but turned from the food in disgust.
“Pah!” he ejaculated; but returned to his chair, pulled the loaf in half, and then cut off two thick slices, hacked the meat from the bones of two hot steaming chops and took a pat of the butter to lay upon one of the slices of bread. This done, his eye wandered round the room for a moment or two, and he rose and hastily caught up a newspaper, rolled the bread and meat therein, and placed the packet on a shelf before pouring out a portion of the tea through the window and then giving the slop-basin and cup the appearance of having been used. This done, he sat back in his chair to think, and remained so for quite half-an-hour, when Mrs Pinet came with an announcement for which he was quite prepared.
“A strange man, sir,” said the landlady, looking troubled and smoothing down her apron, “a strange young man, sir. I’m afraid, sir – ”
“Afraid, Mrs Pinet?”
“I mean, sir, I’m afraid he’s a tramp, sir; but he said you told him to come.”
“I’m afraid, too, that he is a tramp, Mrs Pinet, poor fellow! But it’s quite right, I did tell him to come. You can show him in.”
“In – in here, sir?”
“Yes, Mrs Pinet. He has been unfortunate, poor fellow! and has come to ask for help.”
Mrs Pinet sighed, mentally declared that Mr Hallam was a true gentleman, and introduced shabby, broken-down and dejected Stephen Crellock.
Hallam did not move nor raise his eyes, while the visitor gave a quick, furtive look round at all in the room, and Mrs Pinet’s departing footsteps sounded quite loud. Then a door was heard to close, and Hallam turned fiercely upon his visitor.
“Now, you scoundrel – you miserable gaol-bird, what do you mean by coming to me?”
“Mean by coming? I mean you to do things right. If you’d had your dues you’d have been where I was; only you played monkey and made me cat.”
“What?”
“And I had my paws burned while you got the chestnuts.”
“You scoundrel!” cried Hallam, rushing to the fireplace and ringing sharply, “I’ll have the constable and put a stop to this.”
“No, no, no, don’t, don’t, Rob. I’ll do anything you like; I won’t say anything,” gasped the visitor piteously, “only: don’t send for the constable.”
“Indeed but I will,” cried Hallam fiercely, as he walked to the door: but his visitor made quite a leap, fell at his feet, and clung to his legs.
“No, no, don’t, don’t,” he cried hoarsely, and Hallam shook him off, opened the door, and called out:
“Never mind,
