Tales of Northumbria Part 7

'"Well," says I, "thoo shall have it iv a pail if thoo'll just let us an' the lad here gan in doon by the drift for an hour ti investigate a private matter o' wor ain--just a visit ov inspection. No harm done, n.o.body need ken, an' up again within the hour, I'll promise thoo that," says I.

'Well, his face prolonged itself at that a bit. "But if it was kenned," says he, "I'd get my notice."

'"n.o.body will ken but us three," says I; "an', look thoo, thoo shall have the pail at yor dinner to-morrow forenoon," says I.

'That did the business for him, I's warn'd, an' he promises ti oot wiv his key an' let us gan in by. Poor chap, though, he got his notice aal the same, though it wasn't my blame: it was because he was ower-greedy an' thought he could get another pailful oot o' somebody else later.

'Well, I says nowt ti Nicholson aboot gannin' doon the pit till the vary mornin', and then I gans along an' catches ahaud on him, an'

says, "Ho-way,[8] thoo mun come along wiv us doon the pit, for I wants ti see the place o' the accident myself, an' I hev arranged aboot gannin' doon," I says. Well, he turns quite white at this, an' whines an' cries not ti gan; but I was res'lute wiv him, an' tarr'fies him wiv a hint ov a gaol if he winnot come doon and show us aal I axes him.

'Well, we went by the drift and straight doon ti the "Number 3, North," or "Joan" district, as we call it worsels, an' there we gropes aboot the trolley-way, just at the corner where the accident must have taken place, an' searched for footmarks.

'The lad, ye ken, must just have started frae the putter's flat wiv a full tub, an' aboot thirty yards doon he must have been gliffed.

Hereaboots, iv a fenced place, Tom must have waited on Jack's "loosin'

off" frae his wark, an' another ten yards further on is where the galloway must have run awa' off frae the rails. I had it aal mapped oot ready i' my mind, an' it was just the details I had ti fit in wiv it.

'There was mair tramplin' aboot than I had expected, what wi' the galloway's stumblin', the tub ploughin' alang through the dirt, an'

the footprints o' the search-party that had come up ti the scene o'

the casualty; but for aal that, I could see here an' there the marks o' Tom's big shoes, wi' the extry broad plates at heel an' toes he used ti wear.

'Mevvies it wasn't ower much ti see, but it heartened us up, for it conformed us i' wor opinions, especially the fact that wherever they was visible they was close in by the wall-side, as if he had been wishful ti hide himself as far as might be--a sort o' presumptuous evidence against him, as the lawyers call it.

'"I will have ti gan back ti bed again," I says ti myself, "ti think it aal oot properly, for though I haven't a doot about it myself, I'll have ti convince aal thae thick-heads o' judges at my lord's 'Size[9]

before I gets him properly convicted, sae I must have it aal pieced oot an' put together like a bairn's puzzle-map."

'Well, we was slowly makin' wor way oot o' the pa.s.sage when I hears something comin' up-by, creak, creakin' as it came. Weel, I's no coward, I's warn'd, an' I'll face any man livin' that ye like ti mention, but I got a fair gliff at that, for I couldn't make oot what it might mean--Nicholson an' us bein' the only folk aboot doon there.

"Gox, it's Jack's ghost!" think I ti mysel iv a sudden sweat o' fear.

Sae oot at once I turns my davy (lamp), an' the lad's, fearin' lest he might notice us, an' shrinks back inti the corner o' the wall as small as could be, with the lad tremblin' aal ower next us. Efter a bit I sees a wee glimmer o' light shakin' i' the darkness, then a shadow ov a man behind it, an' slowly, vary slowly, as if seekin' something, it mounts up the pa.s.sage towards us.

'"Hist!" says I ti the lad iv a thick whisper, "just smear your face an' hands ower wi' clarts, or the ghaist will cop us," I says, an'

grabbin' a handful I clarts his face an' hands iv an instant o' time; then I sc.r.a.pes up a handful for mysel' an' aal, but i' reachin' oot for a good fill o' clarts my hands struck up against a sort ov a heavy bar o' some specie or other.

'I gied a bit haul at it, an' awa it comes up inti my hands--a small, heavy, but handy bit ov iron it was, mevvies about sixteen inches long, wiv a sort o' k.n.o.b at the end o't.

'"I'll have a look at thoo later," says I, an' claps it inti my pocket wi' the one hand, whiles I clarts my face wi' the other. Meantime the creakin' thing was drawin' nigher an' nigher tiv us, but the light wiv it was tarr'ble dim, an' I couldn't have given it a name.

'On came the light an' the shadow, but the creakin' noise had stopped; 'stead o' that there was a squelch, squelch, as ov a man steppin' in an' oot' o' mud.

'It pa.s.sed us biv a finger's breadth, an' I almost shouted aloud by way o' relief, for it was a real live flesh-an'-blood man, wiv a fouled davy, an' no ghost--for ghosts canna spit, I's warn'd.

'"D---- thoo!" I was just aboot ti shoot at him, comin' flayin' folk i' that fas.h.i.+on. "Who is thoo, thoo ----" when he stops short on a sudden, just round the corner above us, an' talks tiv himself oot loud. "Ay, it'll be just aboot here," he muttered, "that it fell," and I could have let flee a yell o' delight that would have brought a fall o' stone doon, for it was no other voice than "Tom the Scholar's"

himsel'.

'"Thoo b----!" I says ti mysel', an' clenches my fist tight; "thoo b----! but I's copped thoo noo."

'"Tell ti me noo, Annexo," continues Tom, usin' the same furrin' sort o' talk as he had ti the lad; "tell ti me noo where it lies--the weapon that freed my destined bride frae unlawful arms. I mun hev it back, for there's a d----d chap i' wor village that they call 'the Heckler,'" he gans on, the impittent sc.o.o.ndrel that he was, "a daft feller that's mad aboot dogs an' sic' like nonsense, but he has his suspicions, an' mevvies might be dangerous, for he has been questionin' my meejum, Nicholson, the driver lad. Speak then, Annexo, speak, my beauty. Where lies my trusty weapon? Speak louder," says he again, impatient like, "for I canna hear i' the darkness."

'Just on that instant I gets another inspiration i' my insides, an'

wivvoot mair ado I whispers oot loud iv a fine, feminine, and superfluous voice: "Search ti the right hand a bit lower doon, canny man," says I, "an' thoo'll find what thoo is wantin'," an' I held oot my hand ready ti grasp his wi' when he stretched it oot.

'"Aha!" says he, quite gratified like, "sae thoo has found a voice, has thoo?"

'It was nigh pitch darkness about us, for his davy had almost gane clean oot wi' the clogged wick, but I could feel his hands gropin'

towards us, an' I says ti mysel', "Another foot, an' a murderer's copped!"

'His hands came hoverin' ower mine, for I could feel the wind o' them; in another second he touches us, an', grabbin' ahaud ov him by way o'

reply, I shouts oot, "Ay, here's Annex-us, thoo b----!"

'The yell he let oot was fearfu', an', startin' back, he dragged his arm oot o' my grasp, an' then leaped forward iv a flash, ducked past us, an' awa off round the corner he fled, us efter him like the aad b.i.t.c.h[10] efter a started hare.

'He had dropped his lamp, an' it was darker nor h.e.l.l itself, but I could hear him das.h.i.+n' along i' front ov us at wondrous speed. Mad keen I was, as I tore efter him ower bits o' balk an' stone lyin'

aboot doon the rolley-way, bended double sae as ti avoid the roof-beams. Bang up against a door I comes, shakin' mysel' intiv a jelly by the shock, but when I had it opened an' was through I could still catch the sound ov his footfalls not far in front ov us. "He'll have come a big bat hissel' against the door," I thinks ti mysel' as I started off again, "ay, an' bein' before us he'll have aal the obstacles ti contend wi' first ov aal. Huzza, ho-way!" an' I tore efter him, a fair deevil for recklessness--makin' no doot he was for the main rolleyway, an' sae oot by the main drift by which we had entered the pit.

'There came the thud ov another door, an' I gans a bit mair cautious like, fendin' wi' my hands i' front ov us. Shortlies efter I notices that the footfalls sounded fainter-like; they seemed ti be comin' frae the left-hand side noo an' not i' front ov us.

'Aal ov a sudden I minds mysel' ov a return air-way that would lead oot by the main drift. "Gox!" I thinks, "thoo's. .h.i.t the mark, but where the openin' is I cannot mind, for it isn't travelled biv any one barrin' the deputies. He pa.s.sed the door i' front ov us, but bi the sound he's ti the left hand ov us noo;" sae I felt along the wall till I comes tiv an open way. "Ho-way," says I, mad ti think he might escape us efter aal, "ho-way, thoo'll get him yet!"

'On, on I went at a reckless speed, ti make up for my bad turn, an' iv another minute I gied tongue like a foxhound, for I heard him pat, pattin' on i' front ov us. "I's copped thoo!" I yelled through the darkness tiv him, ti tarr'fy him, for I heard him stumblin' amangst some loose props or gear o' some sort quite plainly, "I's copped the murderer!"

'Foot upon foot I gains on him; I hears him pantin' just a yard or two i' front ov us. I grasps oot wi' my hands an' touches his shoulder, an' he yells wi' terror, givin' a leap like a hare, an' slips frae under my hands.

'Doon, full length, doon I fell wiv a smash like a fall o' stone, half stunned, my head like a night o' stars.

'Suddenly there comes a yell o' horror--then a thud, a clump, clump, an' a c-clush, an' then stark silence, an' doon, right doon at the bottom ov a staple fifteen fathoms deep ten yards i' front ov us lay aal that was left o' the murderer copped, clean copped, by "the Heckler."'

FOOTNOTES:

[4] 'Mistetched' = spoiled; of ill habits. _Cf._ Chaucer's 'tetch,' a spot.

[5] 'Cavil' = the quarterly ballot amongst coal-hewers for their places down the pit. Seams differ greatly in quality and depth of coal, and in ease of working. This is the miners' own rough-and-ready method of adjusting the inequalities.

[6] The chairman of a local District Council is _ex-officio_ a magistrate.

[7] 'Shootin" (shouting). 'Shuttin',' on the other hand, would mean shooting, whereby quaint confusions have occasionally arisen.

[8] Come along.

[9] The a.s.sizes.

[10] Viz., Bonnie Bella, a famous greyhound of 'the Heckler's.'

'IN MEMORIOV'M'