sharp practice—continued.

mr sharp had several peculiarities, which, at first sight, might have puzzled a stranger. he was peculiar in his choice of routes by which to reach a given spot appearing frequently to prefer devious, difficult, and unfrequented paths to straight and easy roads. in the time of his visits to various places, too, he was peculiarly irregular, and seemed rather to enjoy taking people by surprise.

on the present occasion his chief peculiarity appeared to be a desire to approach the station by a round-about road. in carrying out his plans he went round the corner of a house, from which point of view he observed a goods train standing near a goods-shed with an engine attached. in order to reach it he had the choice of two routes. one of these was through a little wicket-gate, near to which a night-watchman was stationed—for the shades of evening were by that time descending on the scene, the other was through a back yard, round by a narrow lane and over a paling, which it required more than an average measure of strength and agility to leap. mr sharp chose the latter route. what were palings and narrow lanes and insecure footing in deepening gloom to him! why, he rejoiced in such conditions! he didn’t like easy work. he abhorred a bed of roses—not that he had ever tried one, although it is probable that he had often enjoyed a couch of grass, straw, or nettles. rugged circumstances were his glory. it was as needful for him to encounter such—in his winnowing processes—as it is for the harrow to encounter stones in preparing the cultivated field. moving quietly but swiftly round by the route before mentioned mr sharp came suddenly on the night-watchman.

“good-evening, jim.”

“evenin’, sir.”

“keep your eyes open to-night, jim. we must find out who it is that has taken such a fancy to apples of late.”

“i will, sir; i’ll keep a sharp look-out.”

it was jim’s duty to watch that locality of the line, where large quantities of goods of all descriptions were unavoidably left to wait for a few hours on sidings. such watchmen are numerous on all lines; and very necessary, as well as valuable, men most of them are—fellows who hold the idea of going to rest at regular hours in quiet contempt; men who sleep at any time of the night or day that chances to be most convenient, and who think no more of a hand-to-hand scuffle with a big thief or a burglar than they do of eating supper. nevertheless, like every other class of men in this wicked world, there are black sheep amongst them too.

“is that train going up to the station just now, jim?” asked mr sharp, pointing to the engine, whose gentle simmering told of latent energy ready for immediate use.

“i believe so, sir.”

“i’ll go up with her. good-night.”

mr sharp crossed the line, and going towards the engine found that the driver and fireman were not upon it. he knew, however, that they could not be far off—probably looking after something connected with their train—and that they would be back immediately; he climbed up to the foot-plate and sat down on the rail. he there became reflective, and recalled, with some degree of amusement as well as satisfaction, some of the more recent incidents of his vocation. he smiled as he remembered how, not very far from where he sat, he had on a cloudy evening got into a horse-box, and boring a hole in it with a gimlet, applied his eye thereto,—his satellite david blunt doing the same in another end of the same horse-box, and how, having thus obtained a clear view of a truck in which several casks of wine were placed, he beheld one of the servants on the line in company with one of his friends who was not a servant on the line, coolly bore a hole in one of the wine casks and insert a straw, and, by that means, obtain a prolonged and evidently satisfactory draught—which accounted at once for the fact that wine had been leaking in that locality for some time past, and that the said servant had been seen more than once in a condition that was deemed suspicious.

mr sharp also reflected complacently—and he had time to reflect, for the driver and fireman were rather long of coming—on another case in which the thieves were so wary that for a long time he could make nothing of them, although their depredations were confined to a train that passed along the line at a certain hour, but at last were caught in consequence of his hitting on a plan of having a van specially prepared for himself. he smiled again—almost laughed when he thought of this van—how it was regularly locked and labelled on a quiet siding; how a plank was loosened in the bottom of it, by which means he got into it, and was then shunted out, and attached to the train, so that neither guard, nor driver, nor fireman, had any idea of what was inside; how he thereafter bored several small gimlet holes in the various sides of the van and kept a sharp look-out from station to station as they went along; how at last he came to the particular place—not a station, but a place where a short pause was made—where the wary thieves were; how he saw them—two stout fellows—approach in the gloom of evening and begin their wicked work of cutting tarpaulings and abstracting goods; how he thereupon lifted his plank and dropped out on the line, and how he powerfully astonished them by laying his hands on their collars and taking them both in the very act!

at last mr sharp’s entertaining reflections were interrupted by the approach of the driver of the engine, who carried a top-coat over his left arm.

as he drew near and observed who stood upon his engine, the man gave an involuntary and scarcely perceptible start.

there must have been something peculiarly savage and ungenerous in the breast of mr sharp, one would have thought, to induce him to suspect a man whose character was blameless. but he did suspect that man on the faith of that almost imperceptible touch of discomposure, and his suspicion did not dissipate although the man came boldly and respectfully forward.

“ho-ho!” thought mr sharp, “there is more chaff here to be winnowed than i had bargained for.” his only remark, however, was—

“good-evening; i suppose you start for the station in a few minutes?”

“yes, sir,” said the man, moving towards the rear of the tender.

“you’d better get up at once, then,” said mr sharp, descending quickly—“what have you got there, my good man?”

“my top-coat sir,” said the driver, with a confused look.

“ah, let us see—eh! what’s all this? a salmon! a brace of grouse! and a pair of rabbits! well, you seem to have provided a good supper for to-night. there don’t appear to be very stringent game-laws where you come from!”

the man was so taken aback that he could not reply. as the fireman came out of the neighbouring goods-shed at that moment, mr sharp ordered the driver to mount to his place, and then waiting beside the engine received the fireman with an amiable “good-night.”

this man also had a top-coat over his arm, betrayed the same uneasiness on observing mr sharp, went though precisely the same examination, and was found to have made an identically similar provision for his supper.

almost immediately after him the guard issued from the shed, also burdened with a top-coat! mr sharp muttered something about, “birds of a feather,” and was about to advance to meet the guard when that individual’s eyes fell on him. he turned back at once, not in a hurry, but quietly as though he had forgotten something. the superintendent sprang through the open door, but was too late. the guard had managed to drop his booty. thereupon mr sharp returned to the engine, ordered the steam to be turned on, and the driver drove himself and his friends to the station and to condign punishment.

having disposed of this little incidental case, mr sharp—after hearing and commenting upon several matters related to him by the members of his corps, and having ordered david blunt to await him in the office as he had a job for him that night,—returned towards the locality which he had so recently quitted. in doing this he took advantage of another goods train, from which he dropped at a certain hole-and-corner spot, while it was slowly passing the goods-shed before mentioned. from this spot he took an observation and saw the pipe of jim, the night-watchman, glowing in the dark distance like a star of the first magnitude.

“ha!” thought mr sharp, “smoking! you’ll have to clear your eyes of smoke if you hope to catch thieves to-night, my fine fellow; but i shall try to render you some able assistance.”

so thinking, he moved quietly about among the vans and trucks, stooping and climbing as occasion required, and doing it all so noiselessly that, had the night permitted him to be visible at all, he might have been mistaken for a stout shadow or a ghost. he went about somewhat like a retriever snuffing the air for game. at last he reached a truck, not very far from the place where jim paced slowly to and fro, watching, no doubt, for thieves. little did he think how near he was to a thief at that moment!

the truck beside which mr sharp stood sent forth a delicious odour of american apples. the superintendent of police smelt them. worse than that—he undid a corner of the thick covering of the track, raised it and smelt again—he put in a hand. evidently his powers of resistance to temptation were small, for both hands went in—he stooped his head, and then, slowly but surely, his whole body went in under the cover and disappeared. infatuated superintendent! while he lay there gorging himself, no doubt with the dainty fruit, honest jim paced slowly to and fro until, a very dark and quiet hour of the night having arrived, he deemed it time to act, put out his pipe, and moved with stealthy tread towards the apple-truck. there were no thieves about as far as he could see. he was placed there for the express purpose of catching thieves. ridiculous waste of time and energy—he would make a thief! he would become one; he would detect and catch himself; repay himself with apples for his trouble, and enjoy himself consumedly! noble idea! no sooner thought than carried into effect. he drew out a large clasp-knife, which opened and locked with a click, and cut a tremendous slash about two feet long in the cover of the truck—passing, in so doing, within an inch of the demoralised superintendent’s nose. thieves, you see, are not particular, unless, indeed, we may regard them as particularly indifferent to the injuries they inflict on their fellow-men—but, what did we say? their fellow-men?—a railway is not a fellow-man. surely jim’s sin in robbing a railway must be regarded as a venial one. honest men do that every day and appear to think nothing of it! nobody appears to think anything of it. a railway would seem to be the one great unpardonable outlaw of the land, which does good to nobody, and is deemed fair game by everybody who can catch it—napping. but it is not easily caught napping. neither was mr superintendent sharp.

jim’s hand came through the hole in the covering and entered some sort of receptacle, which must have been broken open by somebody, for the hand was quickly withdrawn with three apples in it. again it entered. mr sharp might have kissed it easily, but he was a man of considerable self-restraint—at least when others were concerned. he thought it advisable that there should be some of the stolen goods found in jim’s pockets! he did not touch the hand, therefore, while it was drawn back with other three apples in it. you see it was a large hand, and could hold three at a time. a third time it entered and grasped more of the forbidden fruit.

“there’s luck in odd numbers,” thought mr sharp, as he seized the wrist with both of his iron hands, and held it fast.

the appalling yell which jim uttered was due more to superstitious dread than physical fear, for, on discovering that the voice which accompanied the grip was that of mr sharp, he struggled powerfully to get free. after the first violent effort was over, mr sharp suddenly slid one hand along jim’s arm, caught him by the collar, and, launching himself through the hole which had been cut so conveniently large, plunged into jim’s bosom and crushed him to the earth.

this was quite sufficient for jim, who got up meekly when permitted, and pleaded for mercy. mr sharp told him that mercy was a commodity in which he did not deal, that it was the special perquisite of judges, from whom he might steal it if they would not give or sell it to him, and, bidding him come along quietly, led him to the station, and locked him up for the night.

not satisfied with what he had already accomplished, mr sharp then returned to his office, where he found the faithful blunt awaiting him, to whom he related briefly what he had done.

“now,” said he, in conclusion, “if we can only manage to clear up that case of the beer-cask, we shall have done a good stroke of business to-day. have you found out anything in regard to it?”

the case to which mr sharp referred was that of a cask of beer which had been stolen from the line at a station not three miles distant from clatterby.

“yes, sir,” said david blunt with a satisfied smile, “i have found out enough to lead to the detection of the thief.”

“indeed, who d’ye think it is?”

“one of the men at the station, sir. there have been two about it but the other is a stranger. you see, sir,” continued blunt, with an earnest look, and in a business tone of voice, “when you sent me down to investigate the case i went d’rect to the station-master there and heard all he had to say about it—which wasn’t much;—then off i goes to where the truck was standin’, from which the cask had bin taken and pottered about there for some time. at last i tried on the red indian dodge—followed up tracks and signs, till at last i came upon a mark as if somethin’ had bin rolled along the bank, and soon traced it to a gap broken through a hedge into a field. i followed it up in the field, and in a short time came on the cask itself. of course i made a careful examination of the locality, and found very distinct foot-prints, particularly one of ’em on a piece of clay as sharp as if it had been struck in wax. while thus engaged i found a shoe—”

“ha!” exclaimed mr sharp.

“and here it is,” said blunt taking the shoe from under his chair and laying it on the table.

the superintendent took it up, examined it and then replaced it on the table with a nod, saying, “proceed.”

“well, sir, of course i looked well for the other shoe, but didn’t find it; so i came away with what i had got, takin’ care to place a lump of a stone over the foot-print in the clay, so as to guard but not touch it,—for it wasn’t the print of this shoe, sir, though somewhat like it.”

“ha!” exclaimed mr sharp again.

after revolving the matter in his mind for some minutes, and consulting with his satellite, mr sharp resolved to go down at once to the place and watch the beer-cask.

“it is not very late yet,” he said, “and these thirsty boys will be sure to want a drop of beer to their supper to-night. what makes you so sure that bill jones is the thief?”

“because,” answered blunt, “i observed that he was the only man at the station that had on a pair of new shoes!”

“well, come along,” said sharp, smiling grimly, “we shall find out before long.”

they soon reached the scene of the robbery, and were able to examine the place by the light of the moon, which had just managed to pierce the thick veil of clouds that had covered it during the earlier part of that night. then they retired to a shady cavern, or hole, or hollow at the foot of the embankment, near to the gap in the hedge, and there they prepared to pass the night, with a heap of mingled clods and stones for their couch, and an overhanging bank of nettles for their canopy.

it was a long weary watch that began. there these patient men sat, hour after hour, gazing at the moon and stars till they almost fell asleep, and then entering into animated, though softly uttered, conversation until they roused themselves up. it was strange converse too, about struggles and fights with criminals and the detection of crime. but it was not all on such subjects. no, they forsook the professional path occasionally and strayed, as pleasantly as other men do, into the flowery lanes of social life—talking of friends, and wives, and children, and home, with as much pathos and tenderness as if their errand that night had been to succour some comrade in distress, instead of to watch like wolves, and pounce on unawares, and half throttle if need be, and bear off to punishment, an erring fellow-mortal.

but no fellow-mortal came that night to be thus pounced on, throttled, and borne off. when it became obvious that there was no use in remaining longer, mr sharp and his satellite returned to the office, and the former bade the latter go home for the night.

the satellite, thus set free, went home and set immediately—in his bed. the luminary himself postponed his setting for a time, put the thief’s shoe in his pocket and went straight to the residence of bill jones, which he reached shortly after the grey dawn had appeared. here he found bill in bed; but being peremptory in his demand for admission, bill arose and let him in.

“you look rather pale this morning, bill?”

“bin at work late, sir,” said bill uneasily, observing that the superintendent was casting an earnest glance all round his room.

jones was a bachelor, so there wasn’t much of any kind to look at in the room.

“you’ve been treating yourself to a new pair of shoes, i see, jones, what have you done with the old ones?”

“i—they’re worn-out, sir—i—”

“yes, i see—ah! here is one of them,” said mr sharp, drawing an old shoe out of a corner; “you don’t require to look for the other, i’ve got it here,” he added, drawing its fellow from his pocket.

jones stood aghast.

“look here, jones,” said mr sharp, gazing sternly into the culprit’s face, “you needn’t trouble yourself to deny the theft. i haven’t yet looked at the sole of this shoe, but i’ll engage to tell how many tackets are in it. we have discovered a little lump of clay down near the station, with a perfect impression of a sole having fifteen tackets therein,—three being wanting on the right, side, two on the left, and one at the toe—now, let us see,” he said, turning it up, “am i not a good prophet eh?”

bill gave in at once! he not only made “a clean breast of it,” but also gave information that led to the capture of his accomplice before that day’s sun went down, and before mr sharp allowed himself to go to bed.

thus did our superintendent winnow the chaff from the wheat continually.

now, dear reader, do not say, “from all this it would appear that railway servants must be a bad lot of men!” it would be a thousand pities to fail into such an error, when we are labouring to prove to you the very reverse, namely, that the bad ones being continually and well “looked after,” none but the good are left. our aim necessarily involves that we should dilate much on evil, so that the evil unavoidably bulks large in your eyes; but if we were capable of laying before you all the good that is done, felt and said by the thousands of our true-hearted men-of-the-line, the evil that is mingled with them would shrink into comparative insignificance.

the truth is, that in writing these details we desire to reassure ourself, as well as to comfort you, o timid railway traveller, by asserting and illustrating the unquestionable fact, that if our dangers on the line are numerous and great, our safeguards at all points are far more numerous and much greater.