one,’ I heard Dick shout in a hacking voice. ‘He’s got the necklace in his pocket. Gettit off him!’ I tried to fight as they advanced again but soon they had me helpless against the wall and was searching through my coat pockets.
At the other end of the alley, I could see my other two soldierslocked in battle with their robbers but Tom had already taken a proper beating from hers who, with shameful disregard for her sex, had her on the ground and was punching her. Meanwhile Mouse, who when things turned violent was always tougher than his size and customary mildness would have people believe, had gained victory over his Turpin who had dropped his club and was under serious assault from the fox-cane. But Tom’s assailant finished with her, jumped onto the back of Mouse and the two men defeated him.
Dick was up again and using his mask to dab at the blood underneath. He then walked towards where I was being held up just as I was trying to bite at the Turpin whose hands was going through my pockets. Dick flicked his wrist and revealed a sharp silver blade and held it close to my neck. ‘Stop struggling,’ he hissed as I was punched again in the stomach, ‘and let this happen.’ I groaned as they started patting my waistcoat hard until they found the necklace.
‘This it?’ asked the Turpin as he pulled out the Lady of Stars.
‘Well, what else would it be?’ Dick shot back and then told him to stuff it in his own pocket. Then, with his blade still pressed against my neck, he turned back to me as his four Turpins made to leave. ‘I’ve a mind to kill you anyway,’ Dick declared. ‘But I wouldn’t much care for the mess you’d make. So count yourself as a lucky Jack.’ He then put away the knife, gave me one last punch and I fell to the floor in a ball. I could see Georgie clutching his wounded leg and I heard the sounds of the Turpins’ wicked laughter as they ran off. I lifted my head and saw that Tom and Mouse was also curled up and beaten at the end of the lane where the pub was. Both their canes had been snapped in half.
Chapter 4
Thieves and Nothing More
A scene which is all dark questions and smoky suspicions
Only once the Turpins had fled out of sight did the good patrons of the Drop of Courage come out to inspect the rumpus. They made a good show of only just now chancing upon the scene and some people ran up to the wailing Georgie to help him. I tried to stand and I had a terrible urge to get myself and the others out of the vicinity fast. Some smart gentlemen, who I guessed would be local lawyers, was telling us that the peelers had been sent for and we could give our descriptions of the robbers to them. A stretcher was coming, they told us, to take Georgie to the nearest infirmary where we should then follow. I caught eyes with Tom who had a fresh bruise on her left cheek but was gathering herself together and I could tell she was of the same mind. We needed to grab Mouse and scud away when I heard a refined voice calling my name.
‘Ah, Mr Dawkins, here at last.’ I turned to see Percival stepping out of the back entrance of the pub and ignoring all the surrounding chaos. He tapped his fob watch as he moved past the other gentlemen and pulled me away from their hearing. ‘The money is close by,’ he said as if oblivious to what had been happening out here. ‘And can be sent for at once. But first I must of course see the necklace.’ My first thought on seeing Percival was, of course, that he must be the villain what had arranged this travesty. This seemed plain as he was the very person what had chosen that unfamiliar tavern as the placeof exchange and all this talk about wanting to inspect the necklace must just have been his weak and insulting pantomime designed to throw us off. And so, to show him that I was not so slow as all that, I crossed straight over to him, grabbed him by the coat collar and shoved him against the brick wall so I could charge him with playing us for
At the other end of the alley, I could see my other two soldierslocked in battle with their robbers but Tom had already taken a proper beating from hers who, with shameful disregard for her sex, had her on the ground and was punching her. Meanwhile Mouse, who when things turned violent was always tougher than his size and customary mildness would have people believe, had gained victory over his Turpin who had dropped his club and was under serious assault from the fox-cane. But Tom’s assailant finished with her, jumped onto the back of Mouse and the two men defeated him.
Dick was up again and using his mask to dab at the blood underneath. He then walked towards where I was being held up just as I was trying to bite at the Turpin whose hands was going through my pockets. Dick flicked his wrist and revealed a sharp silver blade and held it close to my neck. ‘Stop struggling,’ he hissed as I was punched again in the stomach, ‘and let this happen.’ I groaned as they started patting my waistcoat hard until they found the necklace.
‘This it?’ asked the Turpin as he pulled out the Lady of Stars.
‘Well, what else would it be?’ Dick shot back and then told him to stuff it in his own pocket. Then, with his blade still pressed against my neck, he turned back to me as his four Turpins made to leave. ‘I’ve a mind to kill you anyway,’ Dick declared. ‘But I wouldn’t much care for the mess you’d make. So count yourself as a lucky Jack.’ He then put away the knife, gave me one last punch and I fell to the floor in a ball. I could see Georgie clutching his wounded leg and I heard the sounds of the Turpins’ wicked laughter as they ran off. I lifted my head and saw that Tom and Mouse was also curled up and beaten at the end of the lane where the pub was. Both their canes had been snapped in half.
Chapter 4
Thieves and Nothing More
A scene which is all dark questions and smoky suspicions
Only once the Turpins had fled out of sight did the good patrons of the Drop of Courage come out to inspect the rumpus. They made a good show of only just now chancing upon the scene and some people ran up to the wailing Georgie to help him. I tried to stand and I had a terrible urge to get myself and the others out of the vicinity fast. Some smart gentlemen, who I guessed would be local lawyers, was telling us that the peelers had been sent for and we could give our descriptions of the robbers to them. A stretcher was coming, they told us, to take Georgie to the nearest infirmary where we should then follow. I caught eyes with Tom who had a fresh bruise on her left cheek but was gathering herself together and I could tell she was of the same mind. We needed to grab Mouse and scud away when I heard a refined voice calling my name.
‘Ah, Mr Dawkins, here at last.’ I turned to see Percival stepping out of the back entrance of the pub and ignoring all the surrounding chaos. He tapped his fob watch as he moved past the other gentlemen and pulled me away from their hearing. ‘The money is close by,’ he said as if oblivious to what had been happening out here. ‘And can be sent for at once. But first I must of course see the necklace.’ My first thought on seeing Percival was, of course, that he must be the villain what had arranged this travesty. This seemed plain as he was the very person what had chosen that unfamiliar tavern as the placeof exchange and all this talk about wanting to inspect the necklace must just have been his weak and insulting pantomime designed to throw us off. And so, to show him that I was not so slow as all that, I crossed straight over to him, grabbed him by the coat collar and shoved him against the brick wall so I could charge him with playing us for
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