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THE short winter day was nearly ended. The streets were
deserted, save for a few random stragglers, and these hurried straight
along, with the intent look of people who were only anxious to
accomplish their errands as quickly as possible and then snugly
house themselves from the rising wind and the gathering twilight. They
looked neither to the right nor to the left; they paid no attention to
our party, they did not even seem to see them. Edward the Sixth
wondered if the spectacle of a king on his way to jail had ever
encountered such marvelous indifference before. By and by the
constable arrived at a deserted market-square and proceeded to cross
it. When he had reached the middle of it, Hendon laid his hand upon
his arm, and said in a low voice:
'Bide a moment, good sir, there is none in hearing, and I would
say a word to thee.'
'My duty forbids it, sir; prithee, hinder me not, the night
comes on.'
'Stay, nevertheless, for the matter concerns thee nearly. Turn thy
back moment and seem not to see; let this poor lad escape.'
'This to me, sir! I arrest thee in-'
'Nay, be not too hasty. See thou be careful and commit no
foolish error'- then he shut his voice down to a whisper, and said
in the man's ear- 'the pig thou hast purchased for eightpence may cost
thee thy neck, man!'
The poor constable, taken by surprise, was speechless at first,
then found his tongue and fell to blustering and threatening; but
Hendon was tranquil, and waited with patience till his breath was
spent; then said:
'I have a liking to thee, friend, and would not willingly see thee
come to harm. Observe, I heard it all- every word. I will prove it
to thee.' Then he repeated the conversation which the officer and
the woman had had together in the hall, word for word, and ended with:
'There- have I set it forth correctly? Should not I be able to set
it forth correctly before the judge, if occasion required?'
The man was dumb with fear and distress for a moment; then he
rallied and said with forced lightness:
''Tis making a mighty matter indeed, out of a jest; I but
plagued the woman for mine amusement.'
'Kept you the woman's pig for amusement?'
The man answered sharply:
'Naught else, good sir- I tell thee 'twas but a jest.'
'I do begin to believe thee,' said Hendon, with a perplexing
mixture of mockery and half-conviction in his tone; 'tarry thou here a
moment whilst I run and ask his worship- for nathless, he being a
man experienced in law, in jests, in-'
He was moving away, still talking; the constable hesitated,
fidgeted, spat an oath or two, then cried out:
'Hold, hold, good sir- prithee, wait a little- the judge! why man,
he hath no more sympathy with a jest than hath a dead corpse!- come,
and we will speak further. Ods body! I seem to be in evil case- and
all for an innocent and thoughtless pleasantry. I am a man of
family; and my wife and little ones- List to reason, good your
worship; what wouldst thou of me?'
'Only that thou be blind and dumb and paralytic whilst one may
count a hundred thousand- counting slowly,' said Hendon, with the
expression of a man who asks but a reasonable favor, and that a very
little one.
'It is my destruction!' said the constable despairingly. 'Ah, be
reasonable, good sir; only look at this matter, on all its sides,
and see how mere a jest it is- how manifestly and how plainly it is
so. And even if one granted it were not a jest, it is a fault so small
that e'en the grimmest penalty it could call forth would be but a
rebuke and warning from the judge's lips.'
Hendon replied with a solemnity which chilled the air about him:
'This jest of thine hath a name in law- wot you what it is?'
'I knew it not! Peradventure I have been unwise. I never dreamed
it had a name- ah, sweet heaven, I thought it was original.'
'Yes, it hath a name. In the law this crime is called Non compos
mentis lex talionis sic transit gloria Mundi.'
'Ah, my God!'
'And the penalty is death!'
'God be merciful to me, a sinner!'
'By advantage taken of one in fault, in dire peril, and at thy
mercy, thou hast seized goods worth above thirteen pence ha'penny,
paying but a trifle for the same; and this, in the eye of the law,
is constructive barratry, misprision of treason, malfeasance in
office, ad hominem expurgatis in statu quo- and the penalty is death
by the halter, without ransom, commutation, or benefit of clergy.'
'Bear me up, bear me up, sweet sir, my legs do fail me! Be thou
merciful- spare me this doom, and I will turn my back and see naught
that shall happen.'
'Good! now thou'rt wise and reasonable. And thou'lt restore the
pig?'
'I will, I will, indeed- nor ever touch another, though heaven
send it and archangel fetch it. Go- I am blind for thy sake- I see
nothing. I will say thou didst break in and wrest the prisoner from my
hands by force. It is but a crazy, ancient door- I will batter it down
myself betwixt midnight and the morning.'
'Do it, good soul, no harm will come of it; the judge hath a
loving charity for this poor lad, and will shed no tears and break
no jailer's bones for his escape.'
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