"And you won"t come into the parler?"
"No."
"It"s the curiest story as you ever did hear. There"s been a man asking arter you down our court, and asking arter me, and finding me out at last, and nearly coming to a bargain with me, when, cus my greediness, I lost him."
"Asking after me?"
"Ah! you may well open those black eyes of yourn--he made me stare, I can tell you. He walks one day into my house, as if it belonged to him, and says, "Are you Mrs. Watts?" "Yes," I says. "Do you remember Mrs.
Gray?" he says. "Not by name," I says. "She was a tramp," he says, "and died here." "Oh!" I says, "if it"s her you mean, whose name I never knowed or cared about, died here, she did." "And the child?" he says.
"Mattie you mean," I says. "Ah! Mattie," he says. And then I says, thinking it was a dodge, my dear, for the perlice are up to all manner of tricks, and you mightn"t have been going on the square, and been wanted, then I says, "And will you obleege me with your reasons for all these questions of a "spectable and hard-working woman?" I says. "My name"s Gray," he says, "and I"m Mattie"s father.""
"Is this true?--oh! is it really true?"
"Hopemaydropdead, my dear, if it isn"t," Mrs. Watts remarked, running her words into each other in the volubility of her protestation; "hopemayneverstiragainfromhere, if t"isn"t, _Miss Gray_! "Mattie"s father," I says. "Yes," he says; "is that so very wonderful?" And I says, "Yes it is, arter all this time ago." And then he asks all manner of questions, which I didn"t see the good of answering, and so was werry ignorant, my dear, until he said he"d give me a suverin to find you out.
I says, "I"d try for a five pun note, for you was a long way off, and it"d be a trouble to look arter you." And he says, "I"ll take that trouble," and I didn"t see the pull of that, knowing he was anxious like, and fancying that five pounds wouldn"t ruin him, so I held out.
And then he looked at his watch, and said he"d come again, which he never did, as I"m an honest ooman."
"How long was this ago?"
"Two months."
"What kind of a man was he?"
"Oh! a little ugly bloke enough--not too well dressed. Your father won"t turn out to be a duke or markis, if he ever turns up agin and brings me my five pounds."
"But you will not tell him where I live?--he may be a bad, cruel man--my mother ran away from him because he treated her ill, I have heard her say. Oh! don"t tell him where I live--I am happy and contented here."
Mrs. Watts brightened up with a new idea. "You must make it a five pun note, then, instead of him, and I"ll tell him I can"t find yer when he comes back to take you home with him. You"ve saved money, I daresay, by this time, and five pounds ain"t much to stand."
Mattie recovered her composure when it came to the money test; there was a motive for Mrs. Watts" appearance there, she thought; after all it was an idle story, a foolish scheme to extort money, which Mattie saw through now.
"I shall not give you any money--not five pence, Mrs. Watts."
"Leave it alone, then," was the sharp reply; "you can"t leave here, and I"ll bring him to you, if he ever comes agin. I didn"t come to get money out of yer, but to keep my eye upon you for your father"s sake. And you"ll never take a step away from this place, right or left, but what I"ll know it--there"s too many on us about here for you to steal away."
"I do not intend to steal away," cried Mattie.
"And considerin" that I"ve come out of kindness, and to give you a piece of news, you might have said thankee for it--bad luck to you, Mattie Gray."
"Oh! bad luck will not come to me at your wish."
The old woman paused at the door, and shook her key at her.
"I never wished bad luck to any living soul, but what it came. Now think of that!"
She went out of the shop and along Great Suffolk Street at a smart pace--like a woman who had suddenly remembered something and started off in a hurry after it. Mattie was perplexed at the interview; doubtful if any truth had mixed itself with Mrs. Watts" statement, and at a loss to reconcile all that she had heard with fabrication. Even from Mrs. Watts"
lips it sounded like truth; the woman seemed in earnest, her offer to take five pounds for her silence an impromptu thought, originated by Mattie"s sudden fear.
"What can it mean?--what can it mean?" reiterated Mattie to herself; "was it unfair to doubt her?--she thought so, or she would not have wished me bad luck so evilly at the last?"
She sat down behind the counter to reflect upon the strangeness of the incident, and was still revolving in her mind the facts or falsities connected with it, when Ann Packet burst from the parlour door into the shop, with eyes distended.
"Have you been up-stairs, Mattie?"
"Upstairs, Ann!--no."
"Have you been asleep?"
"No."
"Oh, lor!--quite sure--not a moment!"
"No--no--what has happened!"
"Somebody"s been up-stairs into all the rooms, into yourn, too, where the money"s put for Mr. Wesden--and--and broken open the drawer."
"And the cash box that I keep there?"
"Open, and EMPTY!"
Mattie dropped again into the chair from which she had risen at the appearance of Ann Packet, and struggled with a sense of faintness which came over her. The bad luck that Mrs. Watts had wished had soon stolen on its way towards her.
CHAPTER II.
STRANGE VISITORS TO GREAT SUFFOLK STREET.
Mattie guessed the plan by which the robbery had been effected, and at which Mrs. Watts had connived. Her attention had been distracted by the story that had been fabricated for the purpose, and then the accomplice, on his hands and knees, had stolen snake-like towards the door opening on the stairs, and made short work with everything of value to be found in the upper floors. What was to be done?--what would Mr. Wesden say, he who had never had a robbery committed on his premises during all the long years of his business life, thanks to his carefulness and watchfulness? What would he think of her? Would he believe that she had paid common attention to the shop he had left in trust to her, to be robbed in the broad noonday? What should she do? wait till the shop was closed and then set forth for Camberwell with the bad news, or start at once, leaving Ann Packet in charge, or wait till Mr. Hinchford came home, and ask him to be the mediator?
Whilst revolving these plans of action in her mind, the proprietor of the establishment, wearied of his country retirement, walked into the shop.
"Oh! sir, something has happened very dreadful!" she exclaimed.
Mr. Wesden began to stare over her head at this salutation.
"What"s that?" he asked.
"Some one has been up-stairs this afternoon, broken open the drawers, and the cash-box, and taken the money, eight pounds, nine shillings and sixpence, sir."
Mr. Wesden sat down in the chair formerly occupied by Mrs. Watts and tried to arrange his ideas; he stared over Mattie"s head harder than ever; he held his own head between his hands, taking off his hat especially for that purpose, and placing it on the counter.
"Money taken out of _this_ house?"
"Yes."