Detective and mystery stories; Jack, the Ripper -- Fiction; Serial murders -- Fiction; Whitechapel (London, England) -- Fiction
“Yes. They believe they’ve found the weapon what he does his awful
deeds with,” said Chandler. “At any rate, within a hundred yards of
that little dark passage where they found the bodies—one at each end,
that was—there was discovered this morning a very peculiar kind o’
knife—‘keen as a razor, pointed as a dagger’—that’s the exact words the
boss used when he was describing it to a lot of us. He seemed to think
a lot more of that clue than of the other—I mean than of the
description people gave of the chap who walked quickly by with a
newspaper parcel. But now there’s a pretty job in front of us. Every
shop where they sell or might a’ sold, such a thing as that knife,
including every eating-house in the East End, has got to be called at!”
“Whatever for?” asked Daisy.
“Why, with an idea of finding out if anyone saw such a knife fooling
about there any time, and, if so, in whose possession it was at the
time. But, Mr. Bunting”—Chandler’s voice changed; it became
businesslike, official—“they’re not going to say anything about
that—not in newspapers—till to-morrow, so don’t you go and tell
anybody. You see, we don’t want to frighten the fellow off. If he knew
they’d got his knife—well, he might just make himself scarce, and they
don’t want that! If it’s discovered that any knife of that kind was
sold, say a month ago, to some customer whose ways are known,
then—then—”
“What’ll happen then?” said Mrs. Bunting, coming nearer.
“Well, then, nothing’ll be put about it in the papers at all,” said
Chandler deliberately. “The only objec’ of letting the public know
about it would be if nothink was found—I mean if the search of the
shops, and so on, was no good. Then, of course, we must try and find
out someone—some private person-like, who’s watched that knife in the
criminal’s possession. It’s there the reward—the five hundred pounds
will come in.”
“Oh, I’d give anything to see that knife!” exclaimed Daisy, clasping
her hands together.
“You cruel, bloodthirsty, girl!” cried her stepmother passionately.
They all looked round at her, surprised.
“Come, come, Ellen!” said Bunting reprovingly.
“Well, it _is_ a horrible idea!” said his wife sullenly. “To go and
sell a fellow-being for five hundred pounds.”
But Daisy was offended. “Of course I’d like to see it!” she cried
defiantly. “I never said nothing about the reward. That was Mr.
Chandler said that! I only said I’d like to see the knife.”
Chandler looked at her soothingly. “Well, the day may come when you
_will_ see it,” he said slowly.
A great idea had come into his mind.
“No! What makes you think that?”
“If they catches him, and if you comes along with me to see our Black
Museum at the Yard, you’ll certainly see the knife, Miss Daisy. They
keeps all them kind of things there. So if, as I say, this weapon
_should_ lead to the conviction of The Avenger—well, then, that knife
’ull be there, and you’ll see it!”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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