It was at best a rude kind of liking, for she never failed to tell
any unkind thing she heard about him. She had, however, nothing fresh
to say, and Bill felt relieved. He ate his breakfast and went to his
forge until ten o'clock. Then he called at Swale's. He fancied the
lawyer was "a bit offish," but he promised him the money that night,
and with this promise Bill had to be content. Business had long been
slack; his forge was cold when he got back, and he had no heart to
rekindle it. Frightened and miserable, he was standing in the door
tying on his leather apron, when he saw Dolly coming as fast as she
could toward him.
He did not wait, but went to meet her. "Whativer is ta coming here
for?"
"Thou knows. Get away as fast as ta can. There hev been men searching
t' house, and they hev takken away t' varry suit Bingley wore at Ben
Craven's trial. Now, will ta go? Here's a shilling, it's a' I hev."
Terrified and hurried, he did the worst possible thing for his own
case--he fled, as Dolly advised, and was almost immediately followed
and taken prisoner. In fact, he had been under surveillance, even
before Bingley left his house at midnight. Suspicion had been aroused
by a very simple incident. Mary Clough had noticed that a stone jar,
which had stood in one of the windows of the mill ever since it had
been closed, was removed. In that listless way which apparently trivial
things have of arresting the attention, this jar had attracted Mary
until it had become a part of the closed mill to her. It was in its
usual place when she looked out in the morning; at noon it had
disappeared.
Some one, then, was in the mill. A strong conviction took possession
of her. She watched as the sparrow-hawk watches its prey. Just at dusk
she saw Bingley leave the mill and steal away among the alders that
lined the stream. She suspected where he was going, and, by a shorter
route, reached a field opposite Laycock's house, and, from behind the
hedge, saw Bingley push aside the cellar window and crawl in. He had
tried the door first, but it was just at this hour Laycock was in the
ale-house. The rector was a magistrate; and she went to him with her
tale, and he saw at once the importance of her information. He posted
the men who watched Laycock's house; they saw Bingley leave it, and
when he was about a mile from Hallam they arrested him, and took him
to Leeds. Laycock's arrest had followed as early as a warrant could
be obtained. He sent at once for Mr. North, and frankly confessed to
him his share in the tragedy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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