Foul Play

to do too much in that; but Seaton, a gentleman and a scholar, eclipsed even colonial clerks in this, that he omitted no opportunity of learning the whole business of White & Co., and was al

y hit, before Wardlaw could return to Helen Rolleston. And yet his common sense said, if I was as rich as Croesus, how co

r putting his hand to manual labor. He would lay down his pen at any moment and bear a hand to lift a chest o

n her. He lived sparingly, saved money, bought a strip of land by payment of ten pounds deposit, and sold it in forty hours for one hundred pounds pro

le cargo on board two vessels chartered by

to stowage in the respective vessels. The last time he came he seemed rather the worse for liquor; and Seaton, who accompanied him, having stepped out for a minute for something or other, was rather surprised on his return to find the door closed, and it struck him Mr. Wylie (that was the mate's name) might be inside; the more so as the door closed very easily with a spring bolt, but it could only be opened by a key of peculiar construction. Seaton took out his key, opened the door, and called to the mate, but received no reply. However, he took the precaution to go round the store, and see whether Wylie, rendered somnolent by liquor, might not be lying oblivious among the cases; Wylie, however, was not to be

ess hours, was hushed in silence, all but an occasional footstep on the flags ou

inewy hands appeared on the edge of one of the cases-the edge next the wall; the case vibrated and rocked a little, and the next moment there mounted on the top of it not a cat, nor a monkey, as might have been expected, but an animal that in truth resembles bo

is enterprising sailor could not burn down this particular store without roasting himself the first thing; and indeed he could not burn it down at all; for the roof was flat, and was in fact one gigantic iron tank, like the roof of Mr. Goding's brewery in London. And by a neat contrivance of American

and intelligence, and so deluge them with comments and explanations, we will now s

bunch of eighteen bright steel keys, numbered, a set of

is lantern, saw the gold dust and small ingots packed in parcels, and surround

viz., in pigs, or square blocks, three, or in some cases four, to each chest. Now, these two ways of packing the specie and the baser metal, respectively, had the effect of producing a certain uniformity of weight in the thirty-si

eighteen chests containing the pigs of lead. However, it was done at last, and then he refreshed himself with a draught from his flask. The next thing was, he took the three pigs of lead out of one of the cases marked Shannon, etc., and numbered fifteen, and laid them very gently on the floor. Then he transferred to that empty case the mixed contents of a case branded Proserpine 1, etc., and this he did with the utmost care and nicety, lest gold dust spille

to be done; and he went at it like a man. He carefully screwed down again, one after another, all those eighteen cases marked. Shannon, which he had filled with gold dust, and then, heating a sailor's needle red-hot over his burning wick, he put his own secret marks on those eighteen cases-marks that no eye but his own could detect. By this time, though a very po

overnight, came with a boat for the cases; the warehouse was opened in con

" said they; "told us

ood deal of talking, and presently Wyli

t finding him there, and asked

ly, "why, I hailed from

come in," said Se

ike my betters; but I thought I heard you mention my name, so I made no noise. Well, here I am, anyway, and-Jack, how many trips

fect

k the delivery aboard the lighter there; a

checked as they passed out of the store, and checked again at the small boat, and also on board the lighter. When they were all clea

sir," said he, "is this regular for an officer of

d gentleman; and he looked through a

signment; and that he saw no harm in the officer who was so highly trusted by the merchant

ose I was to go out and see the

ng a fuss about nothi

ng too wise to check zeal and caution, told

the Shannon had shipped all the chests marked with her name; and the captain and mate o

t, sang out, and asked him

s come for your receipt and Hewitt's. Be sm

went ashore with Captain Hewitt's receipt for forty cases on board t

d just shipped. That gentleman merely remarked that both ships were underwrit

f the mate. At all events, it was too slight and subtle to be communicated to others with any hope of convincing them; and, moreover, Sea

lled at the office, and, standing within a few feet of him, handed Hardcastle a letter from Arthu

promised her the best possible accommodation o

tile point. She did not know his other features from Adam, and little thought that young man, bent double over his paper, was her preserver and protege; still less

himself down to the harbor, and went slowly on board

d with so precious a freight; and the old boatman who was rowing him, hearing him make these inquiries,

Lloyds' agent; he overhauled the ship, and

Rolleston that the Shannon was not seaworthy

Messrs. White's communicati

nd constant of purpose; so when she found she could not sail in the Shannon, she called again on Messrs. White, and took her passage

e was to sail

oserpine. She was a good, sound vessel,

Instead of turning sullen, he set himself to carry out Helen Rolleston's

ut in the usual things, such as a standing bedstead with drawers beneath, chest

be easily removed in case it should be necessary to ship dead-lights in heavy weather. He glazed the door leading to her bath-room and quarter gallery with plate glass; he provided a light easy-chair, slung and fitted with grommets, to be hung on hooks screwed into the beams in the midship of the cabin. On this Helen could sit and read, and so become insensible to the motio

in was the port after-cabin; doors opened into cuddy and quarter-gallery. And a fine trouble Miss Rolleston had to get a maid to accompany her; but at last a young woman offered to go with he

te and the captain talking together and looking at him with un

s acts of self-martyrdom. He was there to do the last kind offices of despairing love for th

evening came; he

the feverish stimulus of doing kindly acts for

lleston's lawn, where he had first seen her. He

There was a lamp in the dining-

ad no mother; he no son; they loved one another devotedly. This, their tender gesture, and their sad silence, spoke vol

ften done before, till her light went out; and then he flung

d all of a sudden he saw, as if written on the sky, that

s vow that this should never be; and soon a scheme came into his head to prevent it; but it was a project so wild and dange

d in another minute he was out of the

egan to overpower reason, that had held out so gallantly till now. He found himself at the harbor, staring with wild and bloodshot eyes at the Proserpine, he who, an hour ago, had seen that he had but

g round a lamp-post and fell to moanin

a maudlin drunkard, and half-advis

ce, despairing snarl and ran i

se customers were working people. HAIRCUTTING, SIXPENCE. EASY SHAVING, THREEPENCE. HOT COFFEE, FOURPENCE THE CUP. Sea

eaning over the stove, removing a can of boiling water from the fire to the hob. He turned a

chair and said, "I wan

led looking at him, and said dryly, "Oh,

your own

do. Threepe

l. Be qui

ge to working folk. I must h

man, I'll pa

o you is te

in some alarm; he thought, in his conf

's eyes. Seaton started at his own image; wild, ghastly, and the eyes so bloodshot. The barber chuckled. This start was an extorted complim

g with misery; he calls me a drunkard; another sees me pale with the anguish of my brea

g barber, apathetically; "my p

ts. "I have not got the

articular; lea

his watch without another word and

e scissors, and made trivial remarks f

id, "Don't be so down-hearted, my lad. You are not the f

uchsafed

I'll tell you why; your mouth, it is inclined to turn up a little; now a mustache it bends down, and that alters such a mouth as

out of the plac

e of the long hair he had cut off Seaton's chin with

d in for his cup of coffee. It was the police