England -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction; Short stories, English
At this thought Dan broke fairly down and sobbed as though his heart
were breaking. I felt uncommonly sorry for him; he had been very fond of
King; and I was sorry for his superstition. What a mistake it seemed for
Mrs. Sanker to have allowed them to grow up in it.
At three o'clock the next day the inquest met again. The coroner and
jury, who seemed to have got thoroughly interested in the case now, kept
their time to a minute. There was much stir in the neighbourhood, and
the street was full before the Angel Inn. As to Frog Lane, it was said
the excitement there had never been equalled. The report that it was one
of St. Peter's boys who had done it, went echoing everywhere; no one
thought of doubting it. _I_ did not. Watching Harry Dance's face when he
had given his evidence, I felt sure that every word he said was true.
Some one _had_ flung King over: and that some one, there could be no
question of it, was one of those common adversaries, the Frogs. If King
must have gone to sleep that afternoon, better that Dan, as he had said,
or one of the rest of us, had stayed by to protect him!
Mark Ferrar had turned up. His brother found him at South Crabb. He came
to the inquest in his best clothes, those he had worn at Malvern. I
noticed then, but I had not remembered it, that he had a grass-green
neckerchief on, tied with a large bow and ends. His good-natured, ugly,
honest face was redder than ever as he stood to give his evidence. He
did not show any of the stammering confusion that Dance had done, but
spoke out with modest self-possession.
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account