It was plain, by this time, that Mr. Bruff and I had made another
mistake. The sailor with the black beard was clearly not a spy in the
service of the Indian conspiracy. Was he, by any possibility, the man
who had got the Diamond?
"After a little," pursued the Sergeant, "the cab moved on slowly
down the street. The mechanic crossed the road, and went into the
eating-house. The boy waited outside till he was hungry and tired--and
then went into the eating-house, in his turn. He had a shilling in his
pocket; and he dined sumptuously, he tells me, on a black-pudding, an
eel-pie, and a bottle of ginger-beer. What can a boy not digest? The
substance in question has never been found yet."
"What did he see in the eating-house?" I asked.
"Well, Mr. Blake, he saw the sailor reading the newspaper at one table,
and the mechanic reading the newspaper at another. It was dusk before
the sailor got up, and left the place. He looked about him suspiciously
when he got out into the street. The boy--BEING a boy--passed unnoticed.
The mechanic had not come out yet. The sailor walked on, looking about
him, and apparently not very certain of where he was going next. The
mechanic appeared once more, on the opposite side of the road. The
sailor went on, till he got to Shore Lane, leading into Lower Thames
Street. There he stopped before a public-house, under the sign of 'The
Wheel of Fortune,' and, after examining the place outside, went in.
Gooseberry went in too. There were a great many people, mostly of the
decent sort, at the bar. 'The Wheel of Fortune' is a very respectable
house, Mr. Blake; famous for its porter and pork-pies."
The Sergeant's digressions irritated me. He saw it; and confined himself
more strictly to Gooseberry's evidence when he went on.
"The sailor," he resumed, "asked if he could have a bed. The landlord
said 'No; they were full.' The barmaid corrected him, and said 'Number
Ten was empty.' A waiter was sent for to show the sailor to Number Ten.
Just before that, Gooseberry had noticed the mechanic among the people
at the bar. Before the waiter had answered the call, the mechanic had
vanished. The sailor was taken off to his room. Not knowing what to do
next, Gooseberry had the wisdom to wait and see if anything happened.
Something did happen. The landlord was called for. Angry voices were
heard up-stairs. The mechanic suddenly made his appearance again,
collared by the landlord, and exhibiting, to Gooseberry's great
surprise, all the signs and tokens of being drunk. The landlord thrust
him out at the door, and threatened him with the police if he came back.
From the altercation between them, while this was going on, it appeared
that the man had been discovered in Number Ten, and had declared with
drunken obstinacy that he had taken the room. Gooseberry was so struck
by this sudden intoxication of a previously sober person, that he
couldn't resist running out after the mechanic into the street. As long
as he was in sight of the public-house, the man reeled about in the most
disgraceful manner. The moment he turned the corner of the street, he
recovered his balance instantly, and became as sober a member of society
as you could wish to see. Gooseberry went back to 'The Wheel of Fortune'
in a very bewildered state of mind. He waited about again, on the chance
of something happening. Nothing happened; and nothing more was to be
heard, or seen, of the sailor. Gooseberry decided on going back to the
office. Just as he came to this conclusion, who should appear, on the
opposite side of the street as usual, but the mechanic again! He looked
up at one particular window at the top of the public-house, which was
the only one that had a light in it. The light seemed to relieve his
mind. He left the place directly. The boy made his way back to Gray's
Inn--got your card and message--called--and failed to find you. There
you have the state of the case, Mr. Blake, as it stands at the present
time."