It was at that moment that a wave of genius swept over old Sam. He put
his hand to his head and suddenly jerked out:
“What’s more, I can tell ’ee where this yere Paul is. He’s actin’ a
gardener in a convent at--” He puckered up his brows, fumbled with his
hat, and then got out, “Mighteno.”
The older officer gasped.
“Mailleton-en-haut! Good God! what makes you say that, old man?”
Sam tried to give an account of his experience and the things he had
heard said by the German officers; but he was getting tired, and he
broke off in the middle to say:
“Ye haven’t a bite o’ somethin’ to eat, I suppose, Mister; or a glass
o’ beer? I usually ’as my dinner at twelve o’clock.”
Both the officers laughed, and the older said:
“Get him some food, Bradshaw, and a bottle of beer from the mess. We’ll
keep this old man here. He interests me.”
While the younger man was doing this, the chief pressed a button and
summoned another junior officer.
“Gateshead,” he remarked, “ring up the G. H. Q. and instruct them to
arrest the gardener in that convent at the top of the hill and then to
report.”
The officer saluted and went out, and in a few minutes a tray of hot
food and a large bottle of beer were brought to the old man, and he
was left alone in the corner of the room to negotiate this welcome
compensation. And in the execution he did himself and his county
credit. In the meanwhile the officers were very busy. People were
coming and going and examining maps, and telephone bells were ringing
furiously. They did not disturb old Sam’s gastric operations. He
cleaned up the mess tins and finished the last drop of beer. The senior
officer found time to offer him a cigarette, but he replied:
“Thank ’ee kindly, sir, but I’d rather smoke my pipe.”
The colonel smiled and said:
“Oh, all right; smoke away.”
He lighted up, and the fumes of the shag permeated the room. Some one
opened another window, and the young officer who had addressed him at
first suddenly looked at him and exclaimed:
“Innocent, by God! You couldn’t get shag like that anywhere but in
Norfolk.”
It must have been an hour later when another officer entered and
saluted.
“Message from the G. H. Q., sir,” he said.
“Well?”
“They have arrested the gardener at the convent of St. Eloise, and they
have every reason to believe that he is the notorious Paul Jouperts.”
The colonel stood up, and his eyes beamed. He came over to old Sam and
shook his hand.
“Mr. Gates,” he said, “you are an old brick. You will probably hear
more of this. You have probably been the means of delivering something
very useful into our hands. Your own honor is vindicated. A loving
Government will probably award you five shillings or a Victoria Cross
or something of that sort. In the meantime, what can I do for you?”
Old Sam scratched his chin.
“I want to get back ’ome,” he said.
“Well, even that might be arranged.”
“I want to get back ’ome in toime for tea.”
“What time do you have tea?”
“Foive o’clock or thereabouts.”
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account