Opposite to him, but in such a manner that the light of the candles did not fall upon his countenance, sate the Black, whose person Jeffreys was now enabled to examine more narrowly than when they were walking arm-in-arm in the neighbourhood of Horsemonger Lane Gaol; and that survey showed him a man of middle height, well-built, and dressed in good but plain attire. His features were too delicate to be of the negro cast: he had no whiskers, and his hair was of the glossiest jet and seemed to curl naturally. On the table near him lay a pair of pistols; and over the mantelpiece two swords hung cross-wise, beneath a formidable blunderbuss.
The Black allowed Jeffreys leisure to examine the apartment, probably with the view of convincing him, by the appearance of the weapons distributed about, that he was in a place where treachery could be punished in a moment, and that it would be prudent for him to resolve beforehand to accept any conditions that might be proposed to him.
After a short pause, the Black assumed an attitude significant of his intention to open the business of the morning's adventure.
"John Jeffreys," he said, in his calm but imposing manner, "I am well acquainted with all that concerns you; and I know your readiness to serve those who pay you well. Now, however well Old Death may have already paid, or may promise to pay you, for any thing you may have done or may have to do for him, I will pay you better. Do you choose to enter my service—my service exclusively, remember; because, in serving me, you can really serve none other?"
"You seem to know me well, indeed, master," said Jeffreys, assuming a familiar tone, now that he began to fancy the Black to be no better than he should be.
"Dispense with jocularity, sir," exclaimed the other sternly; and Jeffreys shrank from the severe look fixed upon him and the haughty manner which accompanied the words just uttered. "Look you," continued the Black,—"I may as well inform you at once that the companionship which you may expect to enjoy with me, will not be of the kind to which you are accustomed with such men as those from whom you parted an hour ago. If you serve me, you must become my slave: you must execute my bidding without even pausing to reflect on the motives which may instigate the commands I shall give you. You must consent to become a mere automaton in my hands—a machine that is to move only as I choose to direct. There will be no familiarity between us—no friendship. All will be enveloped in the strictest mystery; and you will often have to act without comprehending what you are doing, or the objects you are destined to accomplish. You will moreover be watched by invisible spies—at least by persons whose supervision you will not suspect; so that the least attempt at treachery on your part will be sure to meet with instantaneous punishment—and that punishment is death."
"I see nothing to object to, sir, in all that," said Jeffreys, now speaking in a respectful tone, "providing the advantages are as great as they ought to be."
"The advantages to you will be immense," resumed the Black; "and I will explain them. In the first place, there is nothing criminal in my service—nothing that can make you tremble when a stranger taps you on the shoulder. On the contrary, I will protect you even from the effects of the crimes which you have already committed, should they transpire by accident or by the treachery of any of your former accomplices. Your salary shall be liberal and regularly paid; and thus you will be freed from those vicissitudes which make such men as you rich to-day and poor to-morrow. When the time shall come—which it must—that I no longer need your services, I will settle on you an income for the remainder of your days. These are the advantages which I offer you."
"If you only fulfil one tenth part, sir——" began Jeffreys, delighted at the prospects opening before him.
"I am not in the habit of promising more than I can perform," interrupted the Black haughtily. "If my service suits you, you enter it from this moment."