Devlin the BarberFarjeon, B. L. (Benjamin Leopold)
General
Devlin the Barber
Farjeon, B. L. (Benjamin Leopold)
Detective and mystery stories; English fiction -- 19th century
"'Where would you like 'em to be?' he asked. 'Underneath you, on your
chair? Git up; you're sitting on 'em. In your workbox? Open it and
behold 'em.'
"And there they was, sir, sure enough, underneath me, though I'd never
stirred from my seat, or in my workbox, which was at the other end of
the room. It wasn't conjuring, sir, it was something I can't put a
name to, and it wasn't natural. I could hardly move for fright, and as
I looked at Mr. Devlin, he seemed to grow taller and thinner, and his
black eyes become blacker, and his moustaches curled up to his nose
till they as good as met. But Lemon didn't feel as I felt; he was that
delighted that he kep on crying--
"'Wonderful! Beautiful! Do it agin, Mr. Devlin, do it agin. Show us
another.'
"I don't know when I've seen him so excited; that Devlin had bewitched
him.
"'We're brothers you and me,' said Devlin to him. 'I am yours, and you
are mine, and we'll never part.'
"The very words, sir, he'd used to me.
"'Hooray!' cried Lemon, 'we're brothers, you and me, and we'll never,
never part.'
"'I once kep a barber's shop myself,' said Devlin.
"'What!' cried Lemon, 'are you one of us?'
"'I am,' said Devlin, 'and I've worked for the best in the trade--for
Truefitt and Shipwright, and all the rest of 'em. I've been abroad
studying the new styles. I'll show you something as 'll make you open
your eyes, something splendid.'
"And before I knew where I was, sir, Devlin, in his shirt-sleeves, had
whipped a large towel round my neck, and had my hair all down, and was
beginning to dress it. Where he got the towel from, and the combs, and
the curling-tongs, and the fire, goodness only knows. I didn't see him
take them from nowhere, but there they was on the table, and there was
Devlin, with his hands in my hair, frizzling it up and corkscrewing
it, and twisting and twirling it, and me setting in the chair for all
the world as if I'd been turned into stone. But though I didn't have
the power to move, I could think about things, and what come into my
head was that the man as had taken the second floor front must be some
unearthly creature, sprung from I won't mention where.
"'Do you really believe so?' whispered Devlin in my ear.
"'Believe what?' I asked, though my throat was that hot and dry that I
wondered how he could make out what I said.
"'That I am an unearthly creature,' he said softly, 'sprung from a
place which shouldn't be mentioned to ears perlite?'
"If I was petrified before, sir, you may guess how I felt when I found
out that he knew what I was thinking of.
"'You shouldn't be, you shouldn't be,' he whispered agin.
"'Shouldn't be what?' I managed to git out, though the words almost
stuck to the roof of my mouth.
"'Sorry you ever took me as a lodger,' he said with a grin. 'Fye, fye!
It isn't grateful of you after sech a good reference as I give you.
Something 'll happen to you if you don't mind.'
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account