V. Acquaintance Dodge
Yes, it was undoubtedly the same woman. I had seen her before, and knew her to be of very equivocal character. Nay, I will go a step further, and assure my readers that she was a person of very disreputable antecedents, and had recently served a term of imprisonment in consequence of certain disclosures for which our firm was responsible.
Her penchant for frequent changes of names made it difficult to follow her career. But the last name under which I had known her was Angelina Dyer, and as Angelina Dyer she was convicted of assisting at the operations of a gang of burglars, of whom I have an exciting story to tell some day.
Knowing the true character of this woman, therefore, it caused me no small surprise to see her talking to Mr Lanimore, one of our city aldermen, whom I would have deemed one of the last individuals in the world to have dealings with Angelina Dyer.
My curiosity was aroused. I determined to see the farce to the end, and for the present relinquished my intention of taking a hansom to Liverpool-street Station, whither I was bent on a mission that could easily wait for another opportunity.
Angelina was naturally rather handsome, and on the present occasion was dressed with such remarkably good taste that the casual onlooker might easily mistake her for the lady she was evidently pretending to be.
Her face wore an expression of pleased surprise, and she held out her hand with a warmth of welcome which there was no resisting. There was a handshake, very cordial on the one side, somewhat hesitating on the other, and then I knew what was going on just as well as if I had been within earshot.
Alderman Lanimore was finding it difficult to recognise his impulsive interlocutor, and Angelina was expressing her delight at meeting such an old friend. And in London, too, of all places in the world!
There was a few moments’ smiling repudiation of bygone acquaintanceship on one side, and an apparently regretful realisation of the truth on the other, and then the little comedy ended, the lady bowing ceremoniously, and the gentleman raising his hat politely.
A second later Angelina had vanished in the never-ending crowd which makes the neighbourhood of the Mansion House one of the typical sights of London. Mrs Dyer’s abrupt departure did not trouble me. I knew where to find her if I wanted her again. And I also knew that there would be a further development of this seemingly trivial adventure, for that the lady with the angelic name had had an ulterior motive in accosting the alderman I was certain.
Nor was my conviction long in being verified. Mr Lanimore, followed by myself, walked along Cheapside, with a good-natured smile on his face, until he reached Sir William Bennet’s famous horological establishment. Then it struck him that he had better compare his timepiece with the big clock over the shop, and he mechanically put his hand to his fob to withdraw his costly gold repeater.
It was gone!
I could almost have laughed, aloud at this development of my little comedy, for though I had not been quite sure what form Angelina’s cunning would take, and although in spite of my keen watch I had not seen her take anything, I had no doubt that pocket-picking was the lady’s real game.
Nor did the alderman’s next act surprise me. He hailed an empty passing hansom and almost shouted to the driver, “Bell and White, Holborn, and drive like wildfire.”
That he would invoke our aid had also been one of my foregone conclusions, for we had already transacted business for him in connection with the large firm of which he was the senior partner.
Feeling glad that Mr Lanimore had not seen me, I waited until another hansom had appeared, and then gave the driver a somewhat similar order to the one given by the alderman a few moments before.
Arrived at our office, I found that the impatient victim of the “auld acquaintance” dodge had been waiting a few minutes for an audience with one of the principals. Mr Jones conducted a branch business now, and was seldom at the London office. Mr White had sold out and retired, and my uncle only just entered the office as I did.
“Leave this case to me,” I whispered, “I know all about it.”
With a smile and a nod of comprehension, Mr Bell betook himself to his own private sanctum, while I removed my outdoor wraps and proceeded to interview the alderman.
“Good morning, Mr Lanimore! What can we do for you this time?”
“Oh, such a fool as I have been, Miss Bell! Actually let a strange woman stop me in the street and talk to me! Pretended to know me, and I never suspected the hussy’s intentions.”
“And the result?”
“My beautiful gold repeater, given to me by our employees when I was elected sheriff, has disappeared.”
“That is very serious.”
“Serious! good heavens! It’s as much as my happiness and reputation are worth to lose that watch! I must have it back, and the affair must not get into the newspapers.”
“I suppose not. Publicity is not always desirable.”
“In this case it would be ruination. The circumstances are so exasperating. My partners are inclined to twit me about what they call my ‘starched morality!’ My rivals in the Council Chamber are on the lookout for a chance of picking a hole in my character. My wife is desperately and absurdly jealous. They would one and all refuse to believe that I did not know to whom I was speaking, and I should be branded as a hypocrite who practised social vices under the cloak of pretended morality.”
“What was the woman like?”
“Tall, of fine figure, and ladylike appearance, with bright complexion, and a quantity of bright golden hair. She also wore a pair of gold rimmed eyeglasses.”
“H’m! not much to go by. There are so many stylish-looking woman with yellow hair and bright complexions nowadays. A little ready money and a determination to be in the fashion can work wonders. Did you observe any other peculiarity about the pick-pocket?”
“No, nothing. You see, I had not time to notice much, for the interview was short and I was quite unsuspicious.”
“Well, there is very little to act upon. Still, I daresay you will find our firm of more use than the police would have been.”
“I am quite sure of it. Those other cases you undertook for me were nothing short of miraculous, and I have the utmost faith in your powers.”
“Thank you. I believe I may almost promise that you shall have your watch back within a week. Meanwhile, say nothing about the affair to anyone else. You can be supposed to have taken your repeater to be regulated.”
When Mr Lanimore left our office he was much more at ease about his property than when he came in, and I was pretty confident about my ability to fulfil my apparently rash promise.
I had taken shorthand notes of all the details Mr Lanimore was able to give me. Not that I needed them. But it looks well to be as business-like as possible.
A few minutes later I was explaining the whole affair to my uncle, and we soon had our plans for future action completed. We generally keep an eye, through our subordinates, on such likely people for business as Angelina Dyer, and knew that she was lodging in a street off Commercial-road at this moment.
We also felt sure that for this day, at least, she would suspend further active operations in the city. At present she would be displaying her prizes to the admiring gaze of her associates. Pawnshops are a worked-out field for our regular watch-lifters. They have a safer means of disposing their gains. Not far from Houndsditch there lives a man under whose clever manipulative fingers stolen watches and jewellery lose their identity. If ordinary “faking” won’t work the oracle, then the melting-pot is resorted to.
In all probability Alderman Lanimore’s repeater would be in the hands of the watch-faker within twenty-four hours. We must, therefore, secure it to-night – if not by strategy, then by force.
Four subordinates were instantly instructed to keep a careful watch upon Angelina Dyer’s abode, and to set about the business without delay. Half-an-hour later I started on the track, accompanied by Adam Henniker. We had both undergone a considerable transformation, and would not have been recognised by our best friends. We looked like very well-to-do country simpletons who had never been in London before, and who were agog with amazement at all we saw. We noticed many a smile of covert meaning on the faces of passers-by, whose knowledge of the neighbourhood we were in made them question the wisdom of our gorgeously liberal display of jewellery.
But we did not anticipate trouble, as our colleagues were mostly near enough to assist us at a moment’s notice, although until they received that notice, we were as utter strangers to each other in our occasional encounters.
I had had no time to snatch a meal before setting out to watch for Angelina again, and was feeling very hungry, but dared not relax my attention. I knew, however, that people of the class we had chosen to represent saw no breach of manners in eating in the street, and we decided that our assumption of the roles of country Johnnies would look much more natural if we comported ourselves with true country unconsciousness.
When, therefore, Angelina realised our expectations by emerging from her habitation, and walking towards Aldgate, Adam was cutting a big sandwich with a huge clasp-knife, and I was making futile efforts to dispose of a cake that had proved much less tempting than when it was displayed in the vendor’s window.
In an instant Angelina spotted prey, and Adam, with his mouth half-full of sandwich, contrived to give her an excuse for speaking to us, if she had needed one, remarking loudly, “Aw doant care, Jane, aw’m not gooin’ whoam withawt seein’ th’ place wheer th’ Whitechapel murders were done. Aw say, missis, con yo tell us which is th’ street as th’ fust murder were done in?”
“Why, yes,” was the smiling reply. “It’s just over here. I’m going that way, and I’ll show you the street.”
Five minutes later the business was accomplished. We had caught the pickpocket in flagrante delicto, and one of our men had come up in time to help us to ease her of the watch and chain she had just stolen from Adam. We gave her the alternative of going to prison for both thefts she had committed that day, or of purchasing present immunity by delivering the alderman’s gold repeater to us.
“Well, if ever I let a set of lags take me in again like that!” she remarked, in great disgust. “Here, take the blooming ticker, and thank your stars that none of my pals are about.”
When Alderman Lanimore received his property back safe and sound the next morning, he could not restrain his admiration of our astuteness, which had of course suppressed disenchanting explanations.
“Wonderful!” he exclaimed. “I never heard tell of anything like it. Your deductions and methods of reasoning must be more than human. Wonderful!”