Just at dusk, Inspectors Wield and Stalker are announced; but we do not
undertake to warrant the orthography of any of the names here mentioned.
Inspector Wield presents Inspector Stalker. Inspector Wield is a
middle-aged man of a portly presence, with a large, moist, knowing eye, a
husky voice, and a habit of emphasising his conversation by the aid of a
corpulent fore-finger, which is constantly in juxtaposition with his eyes
or nose. Inspector Stalker is a shrewd, hard-headed Scotchman—in
appearance not at all unlike a very acute, thoroughly-trained
schoolmaster, from the Normal Establishment at Glasgow. Inspector Wield
one might have known, perhaps, for what he is—Inspector Stalker, never.
The ceremonies of reception over, Inspectors Wield and Stalker observe
that they have brought some sergeants with them. The sergeants are
presented—five in number, Sergeant Dornton, Sergeant Witchem, Sergeant
Mith, Sergeant Fendall, and Sergeant Straw. We have the whole Detective
Force from Scotland Yard, with one exception. They sit down in a
semi-circle (the two Inspectors at the two ends) at a little distance
from the round table, facing the editorial sofa. Every man of them, in a
glance, immediately takes an inventory of the furniture and an accurate
sketch of the editorial presence. The Editor feels that any gentleman in
company could take him up, if need should be, without the smallest
hesitation, twenty years hence.
The whole party are in plain clothes. Sergeant Dornton about fifty years
of age, with a ruddy face and a high sunburnt forehead, has the air of
one who has been a Sergeant in the army—he might have sat to Wilkie for
the Soldier in the Reading of the Will. He is famous for steadily
pursuing the inductive process, and, from small beginnings, working on
from clue to clue until he bags his man. Sergeant Witchem, shorter and
thicker-set, and marked with the small-pox, has something of a reserved
and thoughtful air, as if he were engaged in deep arithmetical
calculations. He is renowned for his acquaintance with the swell mob.
Sergeant Mith, a smooth-faced man with a fresh bright complexion, and a
strange air of simplicity, is a dab at housebreakers. Sergeant Fendall,
a light-haired, well-spoken, polite person, is a prodigious hand at
pursuing private inquiries of a delicate nature. Straw, a little wiry
Sergeant of meek demeanour and strong sense, would knock at a door and
ask a series of questions in any mild character you choose to prescribe
to him, from a charity-boy upwards, and seem as innocent as an infant.
They are, one and all, respectable-looking men; of perfectly good
deportment and unusual intelligence; with nothing lounging or slinking in
their manners; with an air of keen observation and quick perception when
addressed; and generally presenting in their faces, traces more or less
marked of habitually leading lives of strong mental excitement. They
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