Detective and mystery stories, English; Police -- Fiction; Short stories
"When some of the Journeyman Butchers that used the house, found that I
wanted a place, they says, 'Oh, we'll get you a place!' And they
actually took me to a sight of places, in Newgate Market, Newport
Market, Clare, Carnaby--I don't know where all. But the wages was--ha,
ha, ha!--was not sufficient, and I never could suit myself, don't you
see? Some of the queer frequenters of the house, were a little
suspicious of me at first, and I was obliged to be very cautious indeed,
how I communicated with Straw or Fendall. Sometimes, when I went out,
pretending to stop and look into the shop-windows, and just casting my
eye round, I used to see some of 'em following me; but, being perhaps
better accustomed than they thought for, to that sort of thing, I used
to lead 'em on as far as I thought necessary or convenient--sometimes a
long way--and then turn sharp round, and meet 'em, and say, 'Oh, dear,
how glad I am to come upon you so fortunate! This London's such a place,
I'm blowed if I an't lost again!' And then we'd go back all together, to
the public-house, and--ha, ha, ha! and smoke our pipes, don't you see?
"They were very attentive to me, I am sure. It was a common thing, while
I was living there, for some of 'em to take me out, and show me London.
They showed me the Prisons--showed me Newgate--and when they showed me
Newgate, I stops at the place where the Porters pitch their loads, and
says, 'Oh dear,' 'is this where they hang the men! Oh Lor!' 'That!' they
says, 'what a simple cove he is! _That_ an't it!' And then they pointed
out which _was_ it, and I says, 'Lor!' and they says, 'Now you'll know
it agen, won't you?' And I said I thought I should if I tried hard--and
I assure you I kept a sharp look out for the City Police when we were
out in this way, for if any of 'em had happened to know me, and had
spoke to me, it would have been all up in a minute. However, by good
luck such a thing never happened, and all went on quiet: though the
difficulties I had in communicating with my brother officers were quite
extraordinary.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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