第87章

They had seen the man named "Jack" leave the woman at the gate of an apparently respectable villa residence not far from the Regent's Park.Left to himself, he took a turning to the right, which led to a sort of suburban street, principally inhabited by shopkeepers.He stopped at the private door of one of the houses, and let himself in with his own key--looking about him as he opened the door, and staring suspiciously at my men as they lounged along on the opposite side of the way.These were all the particulars which the subordinates had to communicate.I kept them in my room to attend on me, if needful, and mounted to my peep-hole to have a look at Mr.Jay.

He was occupied in dressing himself, and was taking extraordinary pains to destroy all traces of the natural slovenliness of his appearance.This was precisely what I expected.A vagabond like Mr.Jay knows the importance of giving himself a respectable look when he is going to run the risk of changing a stolen bank-note.

At five minutes past ten o'clock he had given the last brush to his shabby hat and the last scouring with bread-crumb to his dirty gloves.At ten minutes past ten he was in the street, on his way to the nearest cab-stand, and I and my subordinates were close on his heels.

He took a cab and we took a cab.I had not overheard them appoint a place of meeting when following them in the Park on the previous day, but I soon found that we were proceeding in the old direction of the Avenue Road gate.The cab in which Mr.Jay was riding turned into the Park slowly.We stopped outside, to avoid exciting suspicion.I got out to follow the cab on foot.Just as I did so, I saw it stop, and detected the two confederates approaching it from among the trees.They got in, and the cab was turned about directly.I ran back to my own cab and told the driver to let them pass him, and then to follow as before.

The man obeyed my directions, but so clumsily as to excite their suspicions.We had been driving after them about three minutes (returning along the road by which we had advanced) when I looked out of the window to see how far they might be ahead of us.As Idid this, I saw two hats popped out of the windows of their cab, and two faces looking back at me.I sank into my place in a cold sweat; the expression is coarse, but no other form of words can describe my condition at that trying moment.

"We are found out!" I said, faintly, to my two subordinates.They stared at me in astonishment.My feelings changed instantly from the depth of despair to the height of indignation.

"It is the cabman's fault.Get out, one of you," I said, with dignity--"get out, and punch his head."Instead of following my directions (I should wish this act of disobedience to be reported at headquarters) they both looked out of the window.Before I could pull them back they both sat down again.Before I could express my just indignation, they both grinned, and said to me: "Please to look out, sir!"I did look out.Their cab had stopped.

Where?

At a church door!

What effect this discovery might have had upon the ordinary run of men I don't know.Being of a strong religious turn myself, it filled me with horror.I have often read of the unprincipled cunning of criminal persons, but I never before heard of three thieves attempting to double on their pursuers by entering a church! The sacrilegious audacity of that proceeding is, I should think, unparalleled in the annals of crime.

I checked my grinning subordinates by a frown.It was easy to see what was passing in their superficial minds.If I had not been able to look below the surface, I might, on observing two nicely dressed men and one nicely dressed woman enter a church before eleven in the morning on a week day, have come to the same hasty conclusion at which my inferiors had evidently arrived.As it was, appearances had no power to impose on _me_.I got out, and, followed by one of my men, entered the church.The other man Isent round to watch the vestry door.You may catch a weasel asleep, but not your humble servant, Matthew Sharpin!

We stole up the gallery stairs, diverged to the organ-loft, and peered through the curtains in front.There they were, all three, sitting in a pew below--yes, incredible as it may appear, sitting in a pew below!

Before I could determine what to do, a clergyman made his appearance in full canonicals from the vestry door, followed by a clerk.My brain whirled and my eyesight grew dim.Dark remembrances of robberies committed in vestries floated through my mind.I trembled for the excellent man in full canonicals--Ieven trembled for the clerk.

The clergyman placed himself inside the altar rails.The three desperadoes approached him.He opened his book and began to read.

What? you will ask.

I answer, without the slightest hesitation, the first lines of the Marriage Service.

My subordinate had the audacity to look at me, and then to stuff his pocket-handkerchief into his mouth.I scorned to pay any attention to him.After I had discovered that the man "Jack" was the bridegroom, and that the man Jay acted the part of father, and gave away the bride, I left the church, followed by my men, and joined the other subordinate outside the vestry door.Some people in my position would now have felt rather crestfallen, and would have begun to think that they had made a very foolish mistake.Not the faintest misgiving of any kind troubled me.Idid not feel in the slightest degree depreciated in my own estimation.And even now, after a lapse of three hours, my mind remains, I am happy to say, in the same calm and hopeful condition.

As soon as I and my subordinates were assembled together outside the church, I intimated my intention of still following the other cab in spite of what had occurred.My reason for deciding on this course will appear presently.The two subordinates appeared to be astonished at my resolution.One of them had the impertinence to say to me: