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Authors: James Benmore
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dupes. I spoke quiet so as not to be overheard by the various onlookers and accused him of hiring these cheaper robbers to ambush us in order to pay less for the necklace. I asked if he thought I was green enough to fall for such a dodge but, in all truth, Percival appeared to be as shocked about the theft as I was and he became most indignant at the accusation.
‘I haven’t told a soul about our business,’ he said as I released him for appearance’s sake and he begun straightening his clothes. ‘Gentlemen of my standing do not boast of their criminal connections, you’ll be amazed to learn. And what’s more,’ he was whispering in my ear now, ‘I would still pay full price for the thing if you can get it back. There! I wouldn’t say that if I had plotted against you.’ This, I had to admit, was probably true and he wrote down an address at Barnard’s Inn to contact him if the necklace was retrieved. ‘You’ve no idea how unhappy I am with you for losing it, Dodger. I’d been assured that you and your collective were careful thieves and now this !’ He waved his hand over my torn clothing like a disapproving mother. ‘Fighting with other robbers in broad daylight,’ he shook his head. ‘I’m disappointed. Get it back, for God’s sake. Because if I haven’t told a soul about this meeting,’ he said as he looked about for any approaching peelers before making his leave, ‘then somebody did.’
He now seemed to regard my gang as though we was just the latest set of unreliable tradesman what was making his upper middle-class life intolerable. I decided to let Percival scarper off then as he would be simple enough to track down if it came out that he waslying and I turned my attention to more pressing matters. I saw Tom and Mouse trying to clear away some interfering gentleman what was trying to get Georgie Bluchers to be stretchered off to a nearby hospital and I knew we had to get away as fast. Georgie – like most people of my class – had a horror of hospitals and he thrashed against those what was trying to take him there. I strutted over into their midst and started telling them all to mind their own business.
‘We don’t have time for no stretchers,’ I announced and gestured for Tom and Mouse to take Georgie by the shoulder. ‘This man needs surgery fast. I happen to know of some medical students what live hereabout what’ll set his leg right in no time. You kind people just go inside and back to your drinks, he’ll be all right with us. Go on,’ I shooed them all away as they dithered, ‘shove off out of it!’
The grumbling crowd soon dispersed and the four of us made off around the corner and went in search of these students who was not as fictitious as they may have sounded. These young men lodged together near Fetters Lane and they was nice respectable boys from good homes. They was known to me on account of their habit of buying opium from off of my friend Herbie Sweet, who himself purchased the goods from my own stolen supply. So – knowing that these fledging surgeons would be easy to incriminate and intimidate – we reached their home, bashed on their door until they had no choice but to admit us and convinced them that they would help Georgie or face severe consequences. Then, once they had promised to remove the shot and fix up our luckless friend, the remaining three of us scudded off towards Holborn, moving fast through the by-lanes and heading north. We didn’t stop until we reached somewhere we knew would be safe and we could discuss this turn of events in private.
*
Barney, the landlord of the Three Cripples pub in Saffron Hill and a man who had once been the closest friend of my old departed teacher, Fagin, unbolted the back entrance of his tavern after I had rapped upon it with my cane using the secret signal, a short but loud series of knocks what only I ever used. An evil chained-up dog with a frothing mouth was barking at us but we ignored him as the door
‘I haven’t told a soul about our business,’ he said as I released him for appearance’s sake and he begun straightening his clothes. ‘Gentlemen of my standing do not boast of their criminal connections, you’ll be amazed to learn. And what’s more,’ he was whispering in my ear now, ‘I would still pay full price for the thing if you can get it back. There! I wouldn’t say that if I had plotted against you.’ This, I had to admit, was probably true and he wrote down an address at Barnard’s Inn to contact him if the necklace was retrieved. ‘You’ve no idea how unhappy I am with you for losing it, Dodger. I’d been assured that you and your collective were careful thieves and now this !’ He waved his hand over my torn clothing like a disapproving mother. ‘Fighting with other robbers in broad daylight,’ he shook his head. ‘I’m disappointed. Get it back, for God’s sake. Because if I haven’t told a soul about this meeting,’ he said as he looked about for any approaching peelers before making his leave, ‘then somebody did.’
He now seemed to regard my gang as though we was just the latest set of unreliable tradesman what was making his upper middle-class life intolerable. I decided to let Percival scarper off then as he would be simple enough to track down if it came out that he waslying and I turned my attention to more pressing matters. I saw Tom and Mouse trying to clear away some interfering gentleman what was trying to get Georgie Bluchers to be stretchered off to a nearby hospital and I knew we had to get away as fast. Georgie – like most people of my class – had a horror of hospitals and he thrashed against those what was trying to take him there. I strutted over into their midst and started telling them all to mind their own business.
‘We don’t have time for no stretchers,’ I announced and gestured for Tom and Mouse to take Georgie by the shoulder. ‘This man needs surgery fast. I happen to know of some medical students what live hereabout what’ll set his leg right in no time. You kind people just go inside and back to your drinks, he’ll be all right with us. Go on,’ I shooed them all away as they dithered, ‘shove off out of it!’
The grumbling crowd soon dispersed and the four of us made off around the corner and went in search of these students who was not as fictitious as they may have sounded. These young men lodged together near Fetters Lane and they was nice respectable boys from good homes. They was known to me on account of their habit of buying opium from off of my friend Herbie Sweet, who himself purchased the goods from my own stolen supply. So – knowing that these fledging surgeons would be easy to incriminate and intimidate – we reached their home, bashed on their door until they had no choice but to admit us and convinced them that they would help Georgie or face severe consequences. Then, once they had promised to remove the shot and fix up our luckless friend, the remaining three of us scudded off towards Holborn, moving fast through the by-lanes and heading north. We didn’t stop until we reached somewhere we knew would be safe and we could discuss this turn of events in private.
*
Barney, the landlord of the Three Cripples pub in Saffron Hill and a man who had once been the closest friend of my old departed teacher, Fagin, unbolted the back entrance of his tavern after I had rapped upon it with my cane using the secret signal, a short but loud series of knocks what only I ever used. An evil chained-up dog with a frothing mouth was barking at us but we ignored him as the door
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